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July 11 in History
- 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter’s Basilica and put to death.
- 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).
- 911 – Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy.
- 1174 – Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III, Count of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.
- 1302 – Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch): A coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France’s royal army.
- 1346 – Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.
- 1405 – Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.
- 1476 – Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances.
- 1576 – Martin Frobisher sights Greenland.
- 1616 – Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec.
- 1735 – Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.
- 1789 – Jacques Necker is dismissed as France’s Finance Minister sparking the Storming of the Bastille.
- 1796 – The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
- 1798 – The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
- 1801 – French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history.
- 1804 – A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
- 1833 – Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.
- 1848 – Waterloo railway station in London opens.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.
- 1882 – The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
- 1889 – Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
- 1893 – The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.
- 1893 – A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.
- 1895 – Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière demonstrate movie film technology to scientists.
- 1897 – Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies.
- 1899 – Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
- 1906 – Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.
- 1914 – Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
- 1914 – USS Nevada (BB-36) is launched.
- 1919 – The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.
- 1920 – In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.
- 1921 – A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect.
- 1921 – The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People’s Republic.
- 1921 – Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
- 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens.
- 1924 – Eric Liddell won the gold medal in 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, after refusing to run in the heats for 100m, his favoured distance, on the Sunday.
- 1934 – Engelbert Zaschka of Germany flies his large human-powered aircraft, the Zaschka Human-Power Aircraft, about 20 meters at Berlin Tempelhof Airport without assisted take-off.
- 1936 – The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
- 1940 – World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.
- 1941 – The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
- 1943 – Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.
- 1947 – The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.
- 1950 – Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.
- 1957 – Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismai’li worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.
- 1960 – France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina) and Niger.
- 1960 – Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.
- 1962 – First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
- 1962 – Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.
- 1971 – Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
- 1972 – The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.
- 1973 – Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris, France on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.
- 1977 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- 1978 – Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists.
- 1979 – America’s first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
- 1983 – A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.
- 1990 – Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins.
- 1991 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.
- 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins; lasts until 22 July.
- 2006 – Mumbai train bombings: Two hundred nine people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
- 2010 – The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others.
- 2011 – Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.
Births on July 11
- 154 – Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (d. 222)
- 1274 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (d. 1329)
- 1406 – William, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (d. 1482)
- 1459 – Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, German nobleman (d. 1527)
- 1558 – Robert Greene, English author and playwright (d. 1592)
- 1561 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (d. 1627)
- 1603 – Kenelm Digby, English astrologer, courtier, and diplomat (d. 1665)
- 1628 – Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese daimyō (d. 1701)
- 1653 – Sarah Good, American woman accused of witchcraft (d. 1692)
- 1657 – Frederick I of Prussia (d. 1713)
- 1662 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1726)
- 1709 – Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1785)
- 1723 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (d. 1799)
- 1751 – Caroline Matilda, British princess, queen consort of Denmark (d. 1775)
- 1754 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (d. 1825)
- 1760 – Peggy Shippen, American wife of Benedict Arnold and American Revolutionary War spy (d. 1804)
- 1767 – John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (d. 1848)
- 1826 – Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and author (d. 1871)
- 1832 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1896)
- 1834 – James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (d. 1903)
- 1836 – Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (d. 1896)
- 1846 – Léon Bloy, French author and poet (d. 1917)
- 1849 – N. E. Brown, English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (d. 1934)
- 1850 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary (d. 1938)
- 1866 – Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1953)
- 1875 – H. M. Brock, British painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Friedrich Lahrs, German architect and academic (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Isabel Martin Lewis, American astronomer and author (d. 1966)
- 1882 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1939)
- 1888 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1985)
- 1892 – Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
- 1894 – Erna Mohr, German zoologist (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Dorothy Wilde, English author and poet (d. 1941)
- 1897 – Bull Connor, American police officer (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Wilfrid Israel, German businessman and philanthropist (d. 1943)
- 1899 – E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Gwendolyn Lizarraga, Belizean businesswoman, activist, and politician (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Rudolf Abel, English-Russian colonel (d. 1971)
- 1903 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (d. 1976)
- 1904 – Niño Ricardo, Spanish guitarist and composer (d. 1972)
- 1905 – Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (d. 1952)
- 1906 – Harry von Zell, American actor and announcer (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, Minister of Intra-German Relations (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Irene Hervey, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1909 – Jacques Clemens, Dutch catholic priest (d. 2018)
- 1910 – Sally Blane, American actress (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Erna Flegel, German Third Reich nurse (d. 2006)
- 1912 – Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Peta Taylor, English cricketer (d. 1989)
- 1912 – William F. Walsh, American captain and politician, 48th Mayor of Syracuse (d. 2011)
- 1913 – Paul Gibb, English cricketer (d. 1977)
- 1913 – Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (d. 1966)
- 1916 – Mortimer Caplin, American tax attorney, educator, and IRS Commissioner (d. 2019)
- 1916 – Hans Maier, Dutch water polo player (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Reg Varney, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Venetia Burney, English educator, who named Pluto (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Yul Brynner, Russian actor and dancer (d. 1985)
- 1920 – Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Gene Evans, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1922 – Fritz Riess, German-Swiss racing driver (d. 1991)
- 1923 – Richard Pipes, Polish-American historian and academic (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Tun Tun, Indian actress and comedian (d. 2003)
- 1924 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Brett Somers, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Charlie Tully, Northern Irish footballer and manager (d. 1971)
- 1924 – Oscar Wyatt, American businessman
- 1925 – Charles Chaynes, French composer (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Frederick Buechner, American minister, theologian, and author
- 1927 – Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Chris Leonard, English footballer
- 1928 – Greville Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, Welsh-English lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Bobo Olson, American boxer (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Andrea Veneracion, Filipina choirmaster (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Danny Flores, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (d. 2006)
- 1929 – David Kelly, Irish actor (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Jack Alabaster, New Zealand cricketer
- 1930 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Dick Gray, American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Thurston Harris, American doo-wop singer (d. 1990)
- 1931 – Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
- 1931 – Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Alex Hassilev, French-born American folk singer and musician
- 1932 – Jean-Guy Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1933 – Jim Carlen, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company
- 1935 – Frederick Hemke, American saxophonist and educator
- 1935 – Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author
- 1941 – Bill Boggs, American journalist and producer
- 1941 – Henry Lowther, English trumpet player
- 1943 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (d. 2006)
- 1943 – Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic
- 1943 – Tom Holland, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Peter Jensen, Australian metropolitan
- 1943 – Robert Malval, Haitian businessman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Haiti
- 1943 – Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver (d. 1983)
- 1944 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Michael Levy, Baron Levy, English philanthropist
- 1944 – Patricia Polacco, American author and illustrator
- 1946 – Martin Wong, American painter (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Jeff Hanna, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
- 1947 – Norman Lebrecht, English author and critic
- 1947 – Bo Lundgren, Swedish politician
- 1950 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani physicist and academic
- 1950 – J. R. Morgan, Welsh author and academic
- 1950 – Bonnie Pointer, American singer (d. 2020)
- 1951 – Ed Ott, American baseball player and coach
- 1952 – Bill Barber, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Stephen Lang, American actor and playwright
- 1953 – Piyasvasti Amranand, Thai businessman and politician, Thai Minister of Energy
- 1953 – Angélica Aragón, Mexican film, television, and stage actress and singer
- 1953 – Peter Brown, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – Suresh Prabhu, Indian accountant and politician, Indian Minister of Railways
- 1953 – Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Mexican actress, director, and producer
- 1953 – Leon Spinks, American boxer
- 1953 – Mindy Sterling, American actress
- 1953 – Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (d. 2008)
- 1953 – Bramwell Tovey, English-Canadian conductor and composer
- 1953 – Paul Weiland, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Julia King, English engineer and academic
- 1955 – Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (d. 2010)
- 1956 – Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic
- 1956 – Robin Renucci, French actor and director
- 1956 – Sela Ward, American actress
- 1957 – Johann Lamont, Scottish educator and politician
- 1957 – Peter Murphy, English singer-songwriter
- 1957 – Michael Rose, Jamaican singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Mark Lester, English actor
- 1958 – Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager
- 1959 – Richie Sambora, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1959 – Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – David Baerwald, American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician
- 1960 – Caroline Quentin, English actress
- 1961 – Antony Jenkins, English banker and businessman
- 1962 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1962 – Pauline McLynn, Irish actress and author
- 1962 – Fumiya Fujii, Japanese music artist
- 1963 – Al MacInnis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Dean Richards, English rugby player and coach
- 1963 – Lisa Rinna, American actress and talk show host
- 1965 – Tony Cottee, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1965 – Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kick-boxer and sportscaster
- 1965 – Scott Shriner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1966 – Nadeem Aslam, Pakistani-English author
- 1966 – Kentaro Miura, Japanese author and illustrator
- 1966 – Rod Strickland, American basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Ricky Warwick, Northern Irish musician
- 1967 – Andy Ashby, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
- 1968 – Michael Geist, Canadian journalist and academic
- 1968 – Daniel MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
- 1968 – Esera Tuaolo, American football player
- 1969 – Ned Boulting, British sports journalist and television presenter
- 1970 – Justin Chambers, American actor
- 1970 – Sajjad Karim, English lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Eric Owens, American opera singer
- 1971 – Leisha Hailey, Japanese-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1972 – Cormac Battle, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1973 – Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek runner
- 1974 – Alanas Chošnau, Lithuanian singer-songwriter
- 1974 – Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer and manager
- 1974 – André Ooijer, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1975 – Willie Anderson, American football player
- 1975 – Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1975 – Lil’ Kim, American rapper and producer
- 1976 – Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-American basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Brandon Short, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Kathleen Edwards, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
- 1979 – Raio Piiroja, Estonian footballer
- 1980 – Tyson Kidd, Canadian wrestler
- 1980 – Kevin Powers, American soldier and author
- 1981 – Andre Johnson, American football player
- 1982 – Chris Cooley, American football player
- 1983 – Engin Baytar, German-Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Peter Cincotti, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1983 – Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and dancer
- 1984 – Yorman Bazardo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 – Tanith Belbin, Canadian-American ice dancer
- 1984 – Jacoby Jones, American football player
- 1984 – Joe Pavelski, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Morné Steyn, South African rugby player
- 1985 – Robert Adamson, American actor, director, and producer
- 1985 – Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer
- 1986 – Raúl García, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer
- 1986 – Ryan Jarvis, English footballer
- 1987 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer
- 1988 – Étienne Capoue, French footballer
- 1988 – Natalie La Rose, Dutch singer, songwriter and dancer
- 1989 – Tobias Sana, Swedish footballer
- 1989 – Travis Waddell, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Mona Barthel, German tennis player
- 1990 – Connor Paolo, American actor
- 1990 – Adam Jezierski, Polish-Spanish actor and singer
- 1990 – Patrick Peterson, American football player
- 1990 – Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
- 1993 – Rebecca Bross, American gymnast
- 1993 – Heini Salonen, Finnish tennis player
- 1994 – Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer
- 1994 – Anthony Milford, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1994 – Lucas Ocampos, Argentinian footballer
- 1995 – Joey Bosa, American football player
- 1995 – Tyler Medeiros, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1996 – Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter
Deaths on July 11
- 472 – Anthemius, Roman emperor (b. 420)
- 937 – Rudolph II of Burgundy (b. 880)
- 969 – Olga of Kiev (b. 890)
- 1174 – Amalric I of Jerusalem (b. 1136)
- 1183 – Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1117)
- 1302 – Robert II, Count of Artois (b. 1250)
- 1302 – Pierre Flotte, French politician and lawyer
- 1344 – Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg (b. c. 1286)
- 1362 – Anna von Schweidnitz, empress of Charles IV (b. 1339)
- 1382 – Nicole Oresme, French philosopher (b. 1325)
- 1451 – Barbara of Cilli, Slovenian noblewoman
- 1484 – Mino da Fiesole, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1429)
- 1535 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1484)
- 1581 – Peder Skram, Danish admiral and politician (b. 1503)
- 1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (b. 1527)
- 1599 – Chōsokabe Motochika, Japanese daimyō (b.1539)
- 1688 – Narai, Thai king (b. 1629)
- 1774 – Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, Irish-English general (b. 1715)
- 1775 – Simon Boerum, American farmer and politician (b. 1724)
- 1797 – Ienăchiță Văcărescu, Romanian historian and philologist (b. 1740)
- 1806 – James Smith, Irish-American lawyer and politician (b. 1719)
- 1825 – Thomas P. Grosvenor, American soldier and politician (b. 1744)
- 1844 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian philosopher and poet (b. 1800)
- 1897 – Patrick Jennings, Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1831)
- 1905 – Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1849)
- 1908 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (b. 1876)
- 1909 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1835)
- 1929 – Billy Mosforth, English footballer and engraver (b. 1857)
- 1937 – George Gershwin, American pianist, songwriter, and composer (b. 1898)
- 1959 – Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (b. 1882)
- 1966 – Delmore Schwartz, American poet and short story writer (b. 1913)
- 1967 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (b. 1917)
- 1971 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
- 1971 – Pedro Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (b. 1940)
- 1974 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1976 – León de Greiff, Colombian poet and educator (b. 1895)
- 1979 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1925)
- 1983 – Ross Macdonald, American-Canadian author (b. 1915)
- 1987 – Avi Ran, Israeli footballer (b. 1963)
- 1987 – Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1901)
- 1989 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
- 1994 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (b. 1942)
- 1998 – Panagiotis Kondylis, Greek philosopher and author (b. 1943)
- 1999 – Helen Forrest, American singer (b. 1917)
- 1999 – Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (b. 1945)
- 2000 – Pedro Mir, Dominican lawyer, author, and poet (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Robert Runcie, English archbishop (b. 1921)
- 2001 – Herman Brood, Dutch musician and painter (b. 1946)
- 2003 – Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer (b. 1948)
- 2004 – Laurance Rockefeller, American financier and philanthropist (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Renée Saint-Cyr, French actress and producer (b. 1904)
- 2005 – Gretchen Franklin, English actress and dancer (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Jesús Iglesias, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (b. 1959)
- 2006 – John Spencer, English snooker player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
- 2007 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (b. 1939)
- 2007 – Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 43rd First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Colombia (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed’s (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (b. 1908)
- 2009 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (b. 1972)
- 2009 – Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (b. 1911)
- 2010 – Walter Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and pastor (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Rob Grill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Art Ceccarelli, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Marion Cunningham, American author (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Richard Scudder, American journalist and publisher, co-founded MediaNews Group (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Donald J. Sobol, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Marvin Traub, American businessman and author (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Eugene P. Wilkinson, American admiral (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Charlie Haden, American bassist and composer (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Carin Mannheimer, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Bill McGill, American basketball player (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (b. 1949)
- 2014 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (b. 1958)
- 2015 – Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (b. 1928)
- 2015 – James U. Cross, American general (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Lawrence K. Karlton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1935)
- 2015 – André Leysen, Belgian businessman (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on July 11
- Christian Feast Day:
- Benedict of Nursia
- Olga of Kiev
- Pope Pius I
- July 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- China National Maritime Day (China)
- Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina)
- Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium)
- Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland)
- Free Slurpee Day (Participating stores of the 7-Eleven chain in North America)
- National Day of Remembrance of Victims of Genocide by Ukrainian Nationalists on Citizens of the Second Republic of Poland (Poland)
- Gospel Day (Kiribati)
- Imamat Day (Isma’ilism)
- National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland)
- The first day of Naadam (July 11–15) (Mongolia)
- World Population Day (International)
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July 9 in History
- 491 – Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forces Odoacer back into Ravenna.
- 551 – A major earthquake strikes Beirut, triggering a devastating tsunami that affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing thousands of deaths.
- 660 – Korean forces under general Kim Yu-sin of Silla defeat the army of Baekje in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.
- 869 – The 8.4–9.0 Mw Sanriku earthquake strikes the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan. Inundation from the tsunami extended several kilometers inland.
- 969 – The Fatimid general Jawhar leads the Friday prayer in Fustat in the name of Caliph al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah, thereby symbolically completing the Fatimid conquest of Egypt.
- 1357 – Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague.
- 1386 – The Old Swiss Confederacy makes great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach.
- 1401 – Timur attacks the Jalairid Sultanate and destroys Baghdad.
- 1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
- 1572 – Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum.
- 1609 – Bohemia is granted freedom of religion through the Letter of Majesty by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II.
- 1701 – A Bourbon force under Nicolas Catinat withdraws from a smaller Habsburg force under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Battle of Carpi.
- 1745 – French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after.
- 1755 – The Braddock Expedition is soundly defeated by a smaller French and Native American force in its attempt to capture Fort Duquesne in what is now downtown Pittsburgh.
- 1762 – Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III.
- 1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island.
- 1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.
- 1790 – The Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Baltic fleet.
- 1793 – The Act Against Slavery in Upper Canada bans the importation of slaves and will free those who are born into slavery after the passage of the Act at 25 years of age.
- 1807 – The Treaties of Tilsit are signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia.
- 1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.
- 1811 – Explorer David Thompson posts a sign near what is now Sacajawea State Park in Washington state, claiming the Columbia District for the United Kingdom.
- 1815 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord becomes the first Prime Minister of France.
- 1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain.
- 1821 – Four hundred and seventy prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence.
- 1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk; he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
- 1850 – Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River.
- 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
- 1875 – The Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule begins, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans.
- 1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championships begins.
- 1893 – Daniel Hale Williams, American heart surgeon, performs the first successful open-heart surgery in United States without anesthesia.
- 1896 – William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- 1900 – The Federation of Australia is given royal assent.
- 1900 – The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
- 1918 – In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express, killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.
- 1922 – Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the ‘minute barrier’.
- 1932 – The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution.
- 1937 – The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
- 1943 – World War II: The Allied invasion of Sicily soon causes the downfall of Mussolini and forces Hitler to break off the Battle of Kursk.
- 1944 – World War II: American forces take Saipan, bringing the Japanese archipelago within range of B-29 raids, and causing the downfall of the Tojo government.
- 1944 – World War II: Continuation War: Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.
- 1955 – The Russell–Einstein Manifesto calls for a reduction of the risk of nuclear warfare.
- 1956 – The 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock.
- 1958 – A 7.8 Mw strike-slip earthquake in Alaska causes a landslide that produces a megatsunami. The runup from the waves reached 525 m (1,722 ft) on the rim of Lituya Bay; five people were killed.
- 1962 – Starfish Prime tests the effects of a nuclear test at orbital altitudes.
- 1979 – A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by “Nazi hunters” Serge and Beate Klarsfeld outside their home in France in an unsuccessful assassination attempt.
- 1982 – Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.
- 1986 – The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
- 1993 – The Parliament of Canada passes the Nunavut Act leading to the 1999 creation of Nunavut, dividing the Northwest Territories into arctic (Inuit) and sub-arctic (Dene) lands based on a plebiscite.
- 1995 – The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.
- 1999 – Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
- 2002 – The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, replacing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The organization’s first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.
- 2006 – One hundred and twenty-five people are killed when S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310 passenger jet, veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.
- 2011 – South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.
Births on July 9
- 1249 – Emperor Kameyama of Japan (d. 1305)
- 1455 – Frederick IV of Baden, Dutch bishop (d. 1517)
- 1511 – Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1571)
- 1526 – Elizabeth of Austria, Polish noble (d. 1545)
- 1577 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English-American soldier and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1618)
- 1578 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1637)
- 1654 – Emperor Reigen of Japan (d. 1732)
- 1686 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1749)
- 1689 – Alexis Piron, French epigrammatist and playwright (d. 1773)
- 1721 – Johann Nikolaus Götz, German poet and author (d. 1781)
- 1753 – William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, English admiral and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1825)
- 1764 – Ann Ward, English author and poet (d. 1823)
- 1775 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (d. 1818)
- 1800 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (d. 1885)
- 1808 – Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and colonel (d. 1887)
- 1819 – Elias Howe, American inventor, invented the sewing machine (d. 1867)
- 1825 – A. C. Gibbs, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Oregon (d. 1886)
- 1828 – Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian cardinal (d. 1913)
- 1834 – Jan Neruda, Czech journalist and poet (d. 1891)
- 1836 – Camille of Renesse-Breidbach (d. 1904)
- 1848 – Robert I, Duke of Parma (d. 1907)
- 1853 – William Turner Dannat, American painter (d. 1929)
- 1856 – John Verran, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of South Australia (d. 1932)
- 1858 – Franz Boas, German-American anthropologist and linguist (d. 1942)
- 1867 – Georges Lecomte, French author and playwright (d. 1958)
- 1879 – Carlos Chagas, Brazilian physician and parasitologist (d. 1934)
- 1879 – Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1936)
- 1887 – James Ormsbee Chapin, American-Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1975)
- 1887 – Saturnino Herrán, Mexican painter (d. 1918)
- 1887 – Samuel Eliot Morison, American admiral and historian (d. 1976)
- 1889 – Léo Dandurand, American-Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and referee (d. 1964)
- 1893 – George Geary, English cricketer and coach (d. 1981)
- 1901 – Barbara Cartland, prolific English author (d. 2000)
- 1902 – Peter Acland, English soldier (d. 1993)
- 1905 – Clarence Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (d. 1984)
- 1907 – Eddie Dean, American singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
- 1908 – Allamah Rasheed Turabi, Pakistani philosopher and scholar (d. 1973)
- 1908 – Minor White, American photographer, critic, and educator (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Basil Wolverton, American author and illustrator (d. 1978)
- 1910 – Govan Mbeki, South African anti-apartheid and ANC leader and activist (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Mervyn Peake, English author and illustrator (d. 1968)
- 1911 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and author (d. 2008)
- 1914 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of East Germany (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Mac Wilson, Australian rules footballer (d. 2017)
- 1915 – David Diamond, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Lee Embree, American sergeant and photographer (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Dean Goffin, New Zealand composer (d. 1984)
- 1916 – Edward Heath, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Krystyna Dańko, Polish orphan, survivor of Holocaust (d. 2019)
- 1918 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Jarl Wahlström, Finnish 12th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1999)
- 1921 – David C. Jones, American general (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Angelines Fernández, Spanish-Mexican actress (d. 1994)
- 1922 – Jim Pollard, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
- 1924 – Pierre Cochereau, French organist and composer (d. 1984)
- 1925 – Guru Dutt, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1964)
- 1925 – Charles E. Wicks, American engineer, author, and academic (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Ronald I. Spiers, American ambassador
- 1926 – Murphy Anderson, American illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Ben Roy Mottelson, American-Danish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 – Pedro Dellacha, Argentine football defender and coach (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Mathilde Krim, Italian-American medical researcher and health educator (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Ed Ames, American singer and actor
- 1927 – Red Kelly, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and politician (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Federico Bahamontes, Spanish cyclist
- 1928 – Vince Edwards, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1996)
- 1929 – Lee Hazlewood, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Jesse McReynolds, American singer and mandolin player
- 1929 – Chi Haotian, Chinese general
- 1929 – Hassan II of Morocco (d. 1999)
- 1930 – K. Balachander, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Buddy Bregman, American composer and conductor (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Janice Lourie, American computer scientist and graphic artist
- 1930 – Elsa Lystad, Norwegian actress
- 1930 – Roy McLean, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Sylvia Bacon, American judge
- 1932 – Donald Rumsfeld, American captain and politician, 13th United States Secretary of Defense
- 1932 – Amitzur Shapira, Israeli sprinter and long jumper (d. 1972)
- 1933 – Oliver Sacks, English-American neurologist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1934 – Michael Graves, American architect, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Mercedes Sosa, Argentinian singer and activist (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Michael Williams, English actor (d. 2001)
- 1936 – June Jordan, American poet and educator (d. 2002)
- 1936 – David Zinman, American violinist and conductor
- 1937 – David Hockney, English painter and photographer
- 1938 – Brian Dennehy, American actor (d. 2020)
- 1938 – Sanjeev Kumar, Indian film actor (d. 1985)
- 1940 – David B. Frohnmayer, American lawyer and politician, 12th Oregon Attorney General (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American psychoanalyst and theorist (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Mac MacLeod, English musician
- 1942 – David Chidgey, Baron Chidgey, English engineer and politician
- 1942 – Richard Roundtree, American actor
- 1943 – John Casper, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1944 – Judith M. Brown, Indian-English historian and academic
- 1944 – John Cunniff, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1945 – Dean Koontz, American author and screenwriter
- 1945 – Root Boy Slim, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1993)
- 1946 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1980)
- 1947 – Haruomi Hosono, Japanese singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1947 – Mitch Mitchell, English drummer (d. 2008)
- 1947 – O. J. Simpson, American football player and actor
- 1947 – Patrick Wormald, English historian (d. 2004)
- 1948 – Hassan Wirajuda, Indonesian lawyer and politician, 15th Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1949 – Raoul Cédras, Haitian military officer and politician
- 1950 – Amal ibn Idris al-Alami, Moroccan physician and neurosurgeon
- 1950 – Adriano Panatta, Italian tennis player and sailor
- 1950 – Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 4th President of Ukraine
- 1951 – Chris Cooper, American actor
- 1951 – Māris Gailis, Latvian politician, businessman, and former Prime Minister of Latvia
- 1952 – John Tesh, American pianist, composer, and radio and television host
- 1953 – Margie Gillis, Canadian dancer and choreographer
- 1953 – Thomas Ligotti, American author
- 1954 – Théophile Abega, Cameroonian footballer and politician (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Kevin O’Leary, Canadian journalist and businessman
- 1955 – Steve Coppell, English footballer and manager
- 1955 – Lindsey Graham, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1955 – Jimmy Smits, American actor and producer
- 1955 – Willie Wilson, American baseball player and manager
- 1956 – Tom Hanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Michael Lederer, American author, poet, and playwright
- 1957 – Marc Almond, English singer-songwriter
- 1957 – Tim Kring, American screenwriter and producer
- 1957 – Kelly McGillis, American actress
- 1957 – Paul Merton, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Malaysian politician
- 1958 – Jacob Joseph, Malaysian football coach
- 1959 – Jim Kerr, Scottish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1959 – Kevin Nash, American wrestler
- 1959 – Clive Stafford Smith, English lawyer and author
- 1960 – Yūko Asano, Japanese actress and singer
- 1960 – Wally Fullerton Smith, Australian rugby league player
- 1960 – Eduardo Montes-Bradley, Argentinian journalist, photographer, and author
- 1963 – Klaus Theiss, German footballer
- 1964 – Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1964 – Gianluca Vialli, Italian footballer and coach
- 1965 – Frank Bello, American bass player
- 1965 – Thomas Jahn, German director and screenwriter
- 1965 – Jason Rhoades, American sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1966 – Pamela Adlon, American actress and voice artist
- 1966 – Zheng Cao, Chinese-American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Gary Glasberg, American television writer and producer (d. 2016)
- 1966 – Marco Pennette, American screenwriter and producer
- 1967 – Gunnar Axén, Swedish politician
- 1967 – Yordan Letchkov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1967 – Mark Stoops, American football player and coach
- 1968 – Paolo Di Canio, Italian footballer and manager
- 1968 – Lars Gyllenhaal, Swedish historian and author
- 1969 – Nicklas Barker, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1969 – Jason Kearton, Australian footballer and coach
- 1970 – Trent Green, American football player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Masami Tsuda, Japanese author and illustrator
- 1971 – Marc Andreessen, American software developer, co-founded Netscape
- 1972 – Ara Babajian, American drummer and songwriter
- 1973 – Kelly Holcomb, American football player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Siân Berry, English environmentalist and politician
- 1974 – Ian Bradshaw, Barbadian cricketer
- 1974 – Gary Kelly, Irish footballer
- 1974 – Nikola Šarčević, Swedish singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1975 – Shelton Benjamin, American wrestler
- 1975 – Isaac Brock, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1975 – Robert Koenig, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Craig Quinnell, Welsh rugby player
- 1975 – Jack White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1976 – Thomas Cichon, Polish-German footballer and manager
- 1976 – Fred Savage, American actor, director, and producer
- 1976 – Radike Samo, Fijian-Australian rugby player
- 1978 – Kara Goucher, American runner
- 1978 – Nuno Santos, Portuguese footballer
- 1979 – Gary Chaw, Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Lee Chun-soo, South Korean footballer
- 1981 – Junauda Petrus, American author and performance artist
- 1982 – Alecko Eskandarian, American soccer player and manager
- 1982 – Sakon Yamamoto, Japanese race car driver
- 1984 – Chris Campoli, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Gianni Fabiano, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Jacob Hoggard, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Ave Pajo, Estonian footballer
- 1984 – Piia Suomalainen, Finnish tennis player
- 1984 – LA Tenorio, Filipino basketball player
- 1985 – Paweł Korzeniowski, Polish swimmer
- 1985 – Ashley Young, English footballer
- 1986 – Sébastien Bassong, Cameroonian footballer
- 1986 – Simon Dumont, American skier
- 1986 – Kiely Williams, American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1987 – Gert Jõeäär, Estonian cyclist
- 1987 – Rebecca Sugar, American animator, composer, and screenwriter
- 1988 – Raul Rusescu, Romanian footballer
- 1990 – Earl Bamber, New Zealand race car driver
- 1990 – Fábio, Brazilian footballer
- 1990 – Rafael, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Mitchel Musso, American actor and singer
- 1993 – Mitch Larkin, Australian swimmer
- 1993 – DeAndre Yedlin, American footballer
- 1999 – Claire Corlett, American voice actress
Deaths on July 9
- 230 – Empress Dowager Bian, Cao Cao’s wife (b. 159)
- 518 – Anastasius I Dicorus, Byzantine emperor (b. 430)
- 715 – Naga, Japanese prince
- 880 – Ariwara no Narihira, Japanese poet (b. 825)
- 981 – Ramiro Garcés, king of Viguera
- 1169 – Guido of Ravenna, Italian cartographer, entomologist and historian
- 1228 – Stephen Langton, English cardinal and theologian (b. 1150)
- 1270 – Stephen Báncsa, Hungarian cardinal (b. c. 1205)
- 1386 – Leopold III, Duke of Austria (b. 1351)
- 1441 – Jan van Eyck, Dutch painter
- 1546 – Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, Scottish statesman (b. c. 1493)
- 1553 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (b. 1521)
- 1654 – Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans (b. 1633)
- 1706 – Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, Canadian captain and explorer (b. 1661)
- 1737 – Gian Gastone de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1671)
- 1742 – John Oldmixon, English historian, poet, and playwright (b. 1673)
- 1746 – Philip V of Spain (b. 1683)
- 1747 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1670)
- 1766 – Jonathan Mayhew, American minister (b. 1720)
- 1795 – Henry Seymour Conway, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1721)
- 1797 – Edmund Burke, Irish-English philosopher, academic, and politician (b. 1729)
- 1828 – Cathinka Buchwieser, German operatic singer and actress (b. 1789)
- 1850 – Báb, Persian religious leader, founded Bábism (b. 1819)
- 1850 – Zachary Taylor, American general and politician, 12th President of the United States (b. 1784)
- 1852 – Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1794)
- 1856 – Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1776)
- 1856 – James Strang, American religious leader and politician (b. 1813)
- 1880 – Paul Broca, French physician and anatomist (b. 1824)
- 1882 – Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean captain (b. 1848)
- 1903 – Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist and photographer (b. 1842)
- 1927 – John Drew, Jr., American actor (b. 1853)
- 1932 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (b. 1855)
- 1937 – Oliver Law, American commander (b. 1899)
- 1938 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1870)
- 1947 – Lucjan Żeligowski, Polish-Lithuanian general and politician (b. 1865)
- 1949 – Fritz Hart, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1874)
- 1951 – Harry Heilmann, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1894)
- 1955 – Don Beauman, English race car driver (b. 1928)
- 1955 – Adolfo de la Huerta, Mexican politician and provisional president, 1920 (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Ferenc Talányi, Slovene journalist and painter (b. 1883)
- 1962 – Georges Bataille, French philosopher, novelist, and poet (b. 1897)
- 1961 – Whittaker Chambers, American spy and witness in Hiss case(b. 1901)
- 1967 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (b. 1874)
- 1967 – Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani dentist and politician (b. 1893)
- 1970 – Sigrid Holmquist, Swedish actress (b. 1899)
- 1971 – Karl Ast, Estonian author and politician (b. 1886)
- 1972 – Robert Weede, American opera singer (b. 1903)
- 1974 – Earl Warren, American jurist and politician, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1891)
- 1977 – Alice Paul, American activist (b. 1885)
- 1979 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (b. 1899)
- 1980 – Vinicius de Moraes, Brazilian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1913)
- 1984 – Edna Ernestine Kramer, American mathematician (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1896)
- 1985 – Jimmy Kinnon, Scottish-American activist, founded Narcotics Anonymous (b. 1911)
- 1986 – Patriarch Nicholas VI of Alexandria (b. 1915)
- 1992 – Kelvin Coe, Australian ballet dancer (b. 1946)
- 1992 – Eric Sevareid, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 1993 – Metin Altıok, Turkish poet and educator (b. 1940)
- 1994 – Bill Mosienko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
- 1996 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (b. 1944)
- 2000 – Doug Fisher, English actor (b. 1941)
- 2002 – Mayo Kaan, American bodybuilder (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2004 – Paul Klebnikov, American journalist and historian (b. 1963)
- 2004 – Isabel Sanford, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Chuck Cadman, Canadian engineer and politician (b. 1948)
- 2005 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (b. 1931)
- 2005 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Milan Williams, American keyboard player and producer (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Charles Lane, American actor (b. 1905)
- 2008 – Séamus Brennan, Irish accountant and politician, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (b. 1948)
- 2010 – Jessica Anderson, Australian author and playwright (b. 1916)
- 2011 – Don Ackerman, American basketball player (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Facundo Cabral, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Shin Jae-chul, South Korean-American martial artist (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Chick King, American baseball player (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Terepai Maoate, Cook Islander physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Eugênio Sales, Brazilian cardinal (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Markus Büchel, Liechtensteiner politician, 9th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (b. 1959)
- 2013 – Andrew Nori, Solomon lawyer and politician (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Barbara Robinson, American author and poet (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Toshi Seeger, American activist, co-founded the Clearwater Festival (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Lorenzo Álvarez Florentín, Paraguayan violinist and composer (b. 1926)
- 2014 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Eileen Ford, American businesswoman, co-founded Ford Models (b. 1922)
- 2014 – John Spinks, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1953)
- 2015 – Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (b. 1958)
- 2015 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
- 2019 – William E. Dannemeyer, American politician (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (b. 1930)
- 2019 – Fernando de la Rúa, 43rd President of Argentina (b. 1937)
- 2019 – Rip Torn, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2019 – Freddie Jones, English actor (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on July 9
- Arbor Day (Cambodia)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Agilulfus of Cologne
- Amandina of Schakkebroek (one of Martyrs of Southern Hunan)
- Blessed Marija Petković
- Everilda
- Gregorio Grassi (one of Martyrs of Shanxi)
- Martyr Saints of China
- Martyrs of Gorkum
- Our Lady of Itatí
- Our Lady of Peace, Octave of the Visitation
- Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá
- Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus
- Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican commemoration)
- Veronica Giuliani
- July 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Australia)
- Constitution Day (Palau)
- Constitutionalist Revolution Day (São Paulo)
- Day of the Employees of the Diplomatic Service (Azerbaijan)
- Earliest day on which Martyrdom of the Báb can fall, while July 10 is the latest; observed on the 17th of Raḥmat (Bahá’í Faith)
- Independence Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the United Provinces of South America by the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. (Argentina)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.
- Nunavut Day (Nunavut)
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June 28 in History
- 1098 – Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
- 1360 – Muhammed VI becomes the tenth Nasrid king of Granada after killing his brother-in-law Ismail II.
- 1461 – Edward, Earl of March, is crowned King Edward IV of England.
- 1519 – Charles V is elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1575 – Sengoku period of Japan: The combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu are victorious in the Battle of Nagashino.
- 1635 – Guadeloupe becomes a French colony.
- 1651 – The Battle of Berestechko between Poland and Ukraine starts.
- 1709 – Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava.
- 1745 – A New England colonial army captures the French fortifications at Louisbourg (New Style).
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island ends with the American victory, leading to the commemoration of Carolina Day.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness.
- 1797 – French troops disembark in Corfu, beginning the French rule in the Ionian Islands.
- 1807 – Second British invasion of the Río de la Plata; John Whitelocke lands at Ensenada on an attempt to recapture Buenos Aires and is defeated by the locals.
- 1838 – Coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
- 1841 – The Paris Opera Ballet premieres Giselle in the Salle Le Peletier.
- 1846 – Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone.
- 1855 – Sigma Chi fraternity is founded in North America.
- 1859 – The first conformation dog show is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
- 1865 – The Army of the Potomac is disbanded.
- 1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is captured at Glenrowan.
- 1881 – The Austro–Serbian Alliance of 1881 is secretly signed.
- 1882 – The Anglo-French Convention of 1882 marks the territorial boundaries between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
- 1894 – Labor Day becomes an official US holiday.
- 1895 – The United States Court of Private Land Claims rules James Reavis’s claim to Barony of Arizona is “wholly fictitious and fraudulent.”
- 1896 – An explosion in the Newton Coal Company’s Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners.
- 1902 – The U.S. Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal.
- 1904 – The SS Norge runs aground on Hasselwood Rock in the North Atlantic 430 kilometres (270 mi) northwest of Ireland. More than 635 people die during the sinking.
- 1911 – The Nakhla meteorite, the first one to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars, falls to Earth, landing in Egypt.
- 1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I.
- 1917 – World War I: Greece joins the Allied powers.
- 1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the state of war between Germany and the Allies of World War I.
- 1921 – Serbian King Alexander I proclaims the new constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution.
- 1922 – The Irish Civil War begins with the shelling of the Four Courts in Dublin by Free State forces.
- 1926 – Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.
- 1936 – The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
- 1940 – Romania cedes Bessarabia (current-day Moldova) to the Soviet Union after facing an ultimatum.
- 1942 – World War II: Nazi Germany starts its strategic summer offensive against the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.
- 1945 – Poland’s Soviet-allied Provisional Government of National Unity is formed over a month after V-E Day.
- 1948 – Cold War: The Tito–Stalin Split results in the expulsion of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia from the Cominform.
- 1948 – Boxer Dick Turpin beats Vince Hawkins at Villa Park in Birmingham to become the first black British boxing champion in the modern era.
- 1950 – Korean War: Suspected communist sympathizers (between 60,000 to 200,000) are executed in the Bodo League massacre.
- 1950 – Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul and leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea’s offensive. The city falls later that day.
- 1950 – Korean War: North Korean Army conducts the Seoul National University Hospital massacre.
- 1956 – in Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist government both in Poland and Europe.
- 1964 – Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
- 1969 – Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
- 1973 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.
- 1976 – The Angolan court sentences US and UK mercenaries to death sentences and prison terms in the Luanda Trial.
- 1978 – The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke bars quota systems in college admissions.
- 1981 – A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of the Islamic Republican Party.
- 1987 – For the first time in military history, a civilian population is targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht.
- 1989 – On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
- 1997 – Holyfield–Tyson II: Mike Tyson is disqualified in the third round for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield’s ear.
- 2001 – Slobodan Milošević is extradited to the ICTY in The Hague to stand trial.
- 2004 – Iraq War: Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
- 2009 – Honduran president Manuel Zelaya is ousted by a local military coup following a failed request to hold a referendum to rewrite the Honduran Constitution. This was the start of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.
- 2016 – A terrorist attack in Turkey’s Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others.
Births on June 28
- 751 – Carloman I, king of the Franks (d. 771)
- 1243 – Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (d. 1304)
- 1444 – Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1487)
- 1476 – Pope Paul IV (d. 1559)
- 1490 – Albert of Brandenburg, German archbishop (d. 1545)
- 1491 – Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
- 1503 – Giovanni della Casa, Italian author and poet (d. 1556)
- 1547 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1599)
- 1557 – Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (d. 1595)
- 1560 – Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1657)
- 1573 – Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby, English noble (d. 1644)
- 1577 – Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter and diplomat (d. 1640)
- 1582 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English politician (d. 1662)
- 1604 – Heinrich Albert, German composer and poet (d. 1651)
- 1641 – Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien, consort to King John III Sobieski (d. 1716)
- 1653 – Muhammad Azam Shah, Mughal emperor (d. 1707)
- 1703 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (d. 1791)
- 1712 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and polymath (d. 1778)
- 1719 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1785)
- 1734 – Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French organist and composer (d. 1794)
- 1742 – William Hooper, American physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1790)
- 1824 – Paul Broca, French physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (d. 1880)
- 1825 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist (d. 1909)
- 1831 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1907)
- 1836 – Emmanuel Rhoides, Greek journalist and author (d. 1904)
- 1844 – John Boyle O’Reilly, Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer (d. 1890)
- 1852 – Charles Cruft, English showman, founded Crufts Dog Show (d. 1938)
- 1867 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian dramatist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
- 1873 – Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
- 1875 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (d. 1949)
- 1880 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1971)
- 1883 – Pierre Laval, French soldier and politician, 101st Prime Minister of France (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Lamina Sankoh, Sierra Leonean banker and politician (d. 1964)
- 1888 – George Challenor, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1947)
- 1888 – Stefi Geyer, Hungarian violinist and educator (d. 1956)
- 1891 – Esther Forbes, American historian and author (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Carl Spaatz, American general (d. 1974)
- 1892 – Carl Panzram, American serial killer (d. 1930)
- 1893 – August Zamoyski, Polish-French sculptor (d. 1970)
- 1894 – Francis Hunter, American tennis player (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Richard Rodgers, American playwright and composer (d. 1979)
- 1906 – Maria Goeppert Mayer, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Jimmy Mundy, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1907 – Yvonne Sylvain, First female Haitian physician (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Eric Ambler, English author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Franz Antel, Austrian director and producer (d. 2007)
- 1913 – George Lloyd, English soldier and composer (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Walter Oesau, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1914 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician and Nazi war criminal (d. 1992)
- 1917 – A. E. Hotchner, American author and playwright (d. 2020)
- 1918 – William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, Scottish-English politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1999)
- 1919 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Clarissa Eden, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1921 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Hans Frauenfelder, American physicist and biophysicist
- 1923 – Pete Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Adolfo Schwelm Cruz, Argentinian racing driver (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Gaye Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
- 1926 – George Booth, American cartoonist
- 1926 – Mel Brooks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1926 – Robert Ledley, American academic and inventor (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Correlli Barnett, English historian and author
- 1927 – Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Hans Blix, Swedish politician and diplomat, 33rd Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1928 – Patrick Hemingway, American writer
- 1928 – Harold Evans, English-American historian and journalist
- 1928 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Cyril Smith, English politician (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Alfred Miodowicz, Polish politician
- 1930 – William C. Campbell, Irish-American biologist and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Jack Gold, English director and producer (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1931 – Junior Johnson, American race car driver (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Lucien Victor, Belgian cyclist (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Pat Morita, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Gusty Spence, Northern Irish loyalist and politician (d. 2011)
- 1934 – Robert Carswell, Baron Carswell, Northern Irish lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
- 1934 – Roy Gilchrist, Jamaican cricketer (d. 2001)
- 1934 – Bette Greene, American journalist and author
- 1934 – Carl Levin, American lawyer and politician
- 1934 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
- 1935 – John Inman, English actor (d. 2007)
- 1936 – Chuck Howley, American football player
- 1937 – George Knudson, Canadian golfer (d. 1989)
- 1937 – Fernand Labrie, Canadian endocrinologist and academic
- 1937 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1995)
- 1938 – John Byner, American actor and comedian
- 1938 – Leon Panetta, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of Defense
- 1938 – S. Sivamaharajah, Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper publisher and politician (d. 2006)
- 1938 – Simon Douglas-Pennant, 7th Baron Penrhyn, British baron
- 1939 – Klaus Schmiegel, German chemist
- 1940 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Al Downing, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1941 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist and academic, developed the OBJ language (d. 2006)
- 1941 – David Johnston, Canadian academic, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor General of Canada
- 1942 – Chris Hani, South African politician (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Hans-Joachim Walde, German decathlete (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Frank Zane, American professional bodybuilder and author
- 1943 – Jens Birkemose, Danish painter
- 1943 – Donald Johanson, American paleontologist and academic
- 1943 – Klaus von Klitzing, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1945 – Ken Buchanan, Scottish boxer
- 1945 – David Knights, English bass player and producer
- 1945 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1989)
- 1945 – Türkan Şoray, Turkish actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Robert Asprin, American soldier and author (d. 2008)
- 1946 – Bruce Davison, American actor and director
- 1946 – David Duckham, English rugby player
- 1946 – Robert Xavier Rodríguez, American classical composer
- 1946 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (d. 1991)
- 1946 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (d. 1989)
- 1947 – Mark Helprin, American novelist and journalist
- 1947 – Laura Tyson, American economist and academic
- 1948 – Kathy Bates, American actress
- 1948 – Sergei Bodrov, Russian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Deborah Moggach, English author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Daniel Wegner, Canadian-American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Don Baylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1950 – Philip Fowke, English pianist and educator
- 1950 – Mauricio Rojas, Chilean-Swedish economist and politician
- 1950 – Chris Speier, American baseball player and coach
- 1951 – Mick Cronin, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1951 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Lalla Ward, English actress and author
- 1952 – Enis Batur, Turkish poet and author
- 1952 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Jean-Christophe Rufin, French physician and author
- 1954 – A. A. Gill, Scottish author and critic (d. 2016)
- 1954 – Alice Krige, South African actress
- 1955 – Shirley Cheriton, British actress
- 1956 – Amira Hass, Israeli journalist and author
- 1956 – Noel Mugavin, Australian footballer and coach
- 1957 – Lance Nethery, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1957 – Georgi Parvanov, Bulgarian historian and politician, 4th President of Bulgaria
- 1957 – Mike Skinner, American race car driver
- 1957 – Jim Spanarkel, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1958 – Donna Edwards, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Félix Gray, Tunisian-French singer-songwriter
- 1959 – Clint Boon, English singer and keyboard player
- 1959 – John Shelley, British illustrator
- 1960 – John Elway, American football player and manager
- 1960 – Roland Melanson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Jeff Malone, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Anișoara Cușmir-Stanciu, Romanian long jumper
- 1962 – Artur Hajzer, Polish mountaineer (d. 2013)
- 1962 – Ann-Louise Skoglund, Swedish hurdler
- 1963 – Peter Baynham, Welsh actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Charlie Clouser, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
- 1964 – Christina Ashcroft, Canadian sport shooter
- 1964 – Mark Grace, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1964 – Bernie McCahill, New Zealand rugby player
- 1964 – Dan Stains, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1964 – Steve Williamson, English saxophonist and composer
- 1965 – Jessica Hecht, American actress
- 1965 – Tiaan Strauss, South African rugby player
- 1966 – Peeter Allik, Estonian painter and illustrator (d. 2019)
- 1966 – Bobby Bare Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – John Cusack, American actor and screenwriter
- 1966 – Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress
- 1967 – Leona Aglukkaq, Canadian politician, 7th Canadian Minister of Health
- 1967 – Gil Bellows, Canadian actor and producer
- 1967 – Zhong Huandi, Chinese runner
- 1967 – Lars Riedel, German discus thrower
- 1968 – Chayanne, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1969 – Tichina Arnold, American actress and singer
- 1969 – Stéphane Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
- 1969 – Fabrizio Mori, Italian hurdler
- 1970 – Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer and coach
- 1970 – Tom Merritt, American journalist
- 1970 – Mike White, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Lorenzo Amoruso, Italian footballer
- 1971 – Fabien Barthez, French footballer
- 1971 – Bobby Hurley, American basketball player and coach
- 1971 – Ron Mahay, American baseball player and scout
- 1971 – Elon Musk, South African-born American businessman
- 1971 – Aileen Quinn, American actress and singer
- 1972 – Ngô Bảo Châu, Vietnamese-French mathematician and academic
- 1972 – Chris Leslie, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 1972 – Geeta Tripathee, Nepali poet, lyricist and literary critic
- 1972 – Alessandro Nivola, American actor
- 1973 – Adrián Annus, Hungarian hammer thrower
- 1973 – Corey Koskie, Canadian baseball player
- 1974 – Rob Dyrdek, American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and reality television star
- 1975 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish singer-songwriter, and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1976 – Shinobu Asagoe, Japanese tennis player
- 1976 – Seth Wescott, American snowboarder
- 1977 – Chris Spurling, American baseball player
- 1977 – Mark Stoermer, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1977 – Harun Tekin, Turkish singer and guitarist
- 1978 – Simon Larose, Canadian tennis player
- 1979 – Randy McMichael, American football player
- 1979 – Neil Shanahan, Irish racing driver (d. 1999)
- 1979 – Florian Zeller, French author and playwright
- 1980 – Jevgeni Novikov, Estonian footballer
- 1981 – Savage, New Zealand rapper
- 1981 – Michael Crafter, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Guillermo Martínez, Cuban javelin thrower
- 1981 – Brandon Phillips, American baseball player
- 1982 – Ibrahim Camejo, Cuban long jumper
- 1985 – Phil Bardsley, English footballer
- 1985 – Colt Hynes, American baseball player
- 1986 – Kellie Pickler, American singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Sonata Tamošaitytė, Lithuanian hurdler
- 1987 – Terrence Williams, American basketball player
- 1989 – Jason Clark, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Andrew Fifita, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – David Fifita, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Julia Zlobina, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
- 1989 – Markiplier, American internet personality
- 1989 – Nicole Rottmann, Austrian tennis player
- 1991 – Seohyun, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress
- 1991 – Kevin De Bruyne, Belgian footballer
- 1991 – Kang Min-hyuk, South Korean singer, drummer, and actor
- 1992 – Oscar Hiljemark, Swedish footballer
- 1992 – Elaine Thompson, Jamaican sprinter
- 1993 – Bradley Beal, American basketball player
- 1994 – Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan
- 1994 – Emily Blue, American singer-songwriter
- 1996 – Donna Vekić, Croatian tennis player
- 1996 – Larissa Werbicki, Canadian rower
- 1999 – Markéta Vondroušová, Czech tennis player
- 2002 – Marta Kostyuk, Ukrainian tennis player
Deaths on June 28
- 202 – Yuan Shao, Chinese warlord
- 548 – Theodora I, Byzantine empress
- 572 – Alboin, King of the Lombards
- 683 – Leo II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 611)
- 767 – Paul I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 700)
- 928 – Louis the Blind, Holy Roman emperor (b. 880)
- 975 – Cyneweard, bishop of Wells
- 1031 – Taira no Tadatsune, Japanese governor
- 1061 – Floris I, count of Holland
- 1175 – Andrey Bogolyubsky, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1111)
- 1189 – Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony, (b. 1156)
- 1194 – Xiao Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1127)
- 1385 – Andronikos IV, Byzantine emperor (b. 1348)
- 1497 – James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley, English rebel leader (b. c. 1463)
- 1575 – Yonekura Shigetsugu, Japanese samurai
- 1586 – Primož Trubar, Slovenian author and reformer (b. 1508)
- 1598 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (b. 1527)
- 1607 – Domenico Fontana, Italian architect (b. 1543)
- 1716 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1665)
- 1757 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Frederick William I (b. 1687)
- 1798 – John Henry Colclough, Irish revolutionary (b. c. 1769)
- 1813 – Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1755)
- 1834 – Joseph Bové, Russian architect, designed the Triumphal Arch of Moscow (b. 1784)
- 1836 – James Madison, American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (b. 1751)
- 1880 – Texas Jack Omohundro, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
- 1881 – Jules Armand Dufaure, French politician, 33rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1798)
- 1889 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (b. 1818)
- 1892 – Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Greek Foreign Minister (b. 1810)
- 1913 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (b. 1841)
- 1914 – Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg (b. 1868)
- 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria (b. 1863)
- 1915 – Victor Trumper, Australian cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1917 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and educator (b. 1868)
- 1922 – Velimir Khlebnikov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1885)
- 1929 – Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (b. 1844)
- 1936 – Alexander Berkman, American author and activist (d. 1870)
- 1939 – Douglas H. Johnston, governor of the Chickasaw Nation (b. 1856)
- 1940 – Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (b. 1896)
- 1944 – Friedrich Dollmann, German general (b. 1882)
- 1945 – Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, Turkish journalist (b. 1879)
- 1947 – Stanislav Kostka Neumann, Czech writer, poet and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Jake Swirbul, American businessman, co-founded the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (b. 1898)
- 1962 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
- 1962 – Cy Morgan, American baseball player (b. 1878)
- 1965 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, bandleader, and composer (b. 1905)
- 1966 – Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Turkish historian and politician, 21st Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Franz Stangl, Austrian SS officer (b. 1908)
- 1974 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (b. 1890)
- 1975 – Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis, Greek architect (b. 1913)
- 1975 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Clifford Dupont, English-Rhodesian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Rhodesia (b. 1905)
- 1980 – José Iturbi, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1895)
- 1981 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (b. 1958)
- 1983 – Alf Francis, German-English motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor (b. 1918)
- 1984 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician (b. 1917)
- 1985 – Lynd Ward, American author and illustrator (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Joris Ivens, Dutch journalist, director, and producer (b. 1898)
- 1992 – Guy Nève, Belgian racing driver (b. 1955)
- 1992 – Mikhail Tal, Latvian chess player (b. 1936)
- 1995 – Petri Walli, Finnish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
- 2000 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 2001 – Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (b. 1902)
- 2003 – Joan Lowery Nixon, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Brenda Howard, American activist (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1976)
- 2006 – Jim Baen, American publisher, founded Baen Books (b. 1943)
- 2006 – Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1919)
- 2006 – George Unwin, English pilot and commander (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Eugene B. Fluckey, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Kiichi Miyazawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1919)
- 2009 – A. K. Lohithadas, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
- 2009 – Billy Mays, American TV personality (b. 1958)
- 2010 – Robert Byrd, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Richard Isay, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Leontine T. Kelly, American bishop (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Robert Sabatier, French author and poet (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Ted Hood, American sailor and architect (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Tamás Katona, Hungarian historian and politician (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Kenneth Minogue, New Zealand-Australian political scientist and academic (b. 1930)
- 2013 – F. D. Reeve, American author and academic (b. 1928)
- 2013 – David Rubitsky, American sergeant (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Seymour Barab, American cellist and composer (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Jim Brosnan, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2014 – On Kawara, Japanese painter (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Meshach Taylor, American actor (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Jack Carter, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Jope Seniloli, Fijian politician, Vice-President of Fiji (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Wally Stanowski, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
- 2016 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Pat Summitt, American women’s college basketball head coach (b. 1952)
- 2016 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (b. 1931)
- 2018 – Harlan Ellison, American writer (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances on June 28
- Christian feast day:
- Basilides and Potamiana
- Irenaeus of Lyon (Western Christianity)
- Heimerad
- Blessed Maria Pia Mastena
- Paulus I
- Vincenza Gerosa
- June 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Ukraine)
- Earliest day on which Vardavar can fall, while August 1 is the latest; celebrated on the 14th weeks after Easter (Armenia)
- Family Day (Vietnam)
- Poznań Remembrance Day (Poland)
- Vidovdan, celebrating St. Vitus and an important day in Serbian history. (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Tau Day, a day similar to Pi Day celebrating the number Tau, which is equivalent to 2*Pi.
-
May 1 in History
- 475 BC – Roman consul Publius Valerius Poplicola celebrates a Roman triumph for his victory over Veii and the Sabines.
- 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
- 524 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an eight-year reign and is succeeded by his brother Godomar.
- 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
- 1169 – Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.
- 1328 – Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state.
- 1455 – Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces end the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland.
- 1576 – Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1707 – The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.
- 1753 – Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
- 1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain
- 1776 – Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Upper Bavaria, by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.
- 1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
- 1786 – In Vienna, Austria, Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro is performed for the first time.
- 1794 – War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ends, in which French forces defeat the Spanish and regain nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
- 1820 – Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
- 1840 – The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
- 1844 – Hong Kong Police Force, the world’s second modern police force and Asia’s first, is established.
- 1846 – The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
- 1851 – Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London.
- 1856 – The Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honor of Queen Isabela II.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Union Army completes its capture of New Orleans.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
- 1865 – The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
- 1866 – The Memphis Race Riots begin. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 1875 – Alexandra Palace reopens after being burned down in a fire in 1873.
- 1884 – The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demands the eight-hour work day in the United States.
- 1884 – Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States.
- 1885 – The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
- 1886 – Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day in many countries.
- 1893 – The World’s Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
- 1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy destroys the Pacific Squadron of the Spanish Navy after a seven-hour battle. Spain loses all seven of its ships, and 381 Spanish sailors die. There are no American vessel losses or combat deaths.
- 1900 – The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.
- 1915 – The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her 202nd, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives.
- 1919 – German troops enter Munich to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
- 1925 – The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members.
- 1927 – The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.
- 1929 – The 7.2 Mw Kopet Dag earthquake shakes the Iran–Turkmenistan border region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing up to 3,800 and injuring 1,121.
- 1930 – “Pluto” is officially proposed for the name of the newly-discovered dwarf planet Pluto by Vesto Slipher in the Lowell Observatory Observation Circular. The name quickly catches on.
- 1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
- 1941 – World War II: German forces launch a major attack during the siege of Tobruk.
- 1944 – World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners are shot by the Germans at Kaisariani, Athens in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi.
- 1945 – World War II: A German newsreader officially announces that Adolf Hitler has “fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany”. The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin.
- 1945 – World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda.
- 1945 – World War II: Forces of the Soviet Red Army liberate Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at Stalag Luft I near Barth, Germany.
- 1945 – World War II: Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.
- 1945 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans liberate Trieste.
- 1946 – Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
- 1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy.
- 1947 – Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded.
- 1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
- 1956 – A doctor in Japan reports an “epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system”, marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
- 1957 – Thirty-four people are killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashes in Hampshire, England.
- 1960 – Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra; also known as “Maharashtra Day”.
- 1960 – Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
- 1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
- 1965 – Cross-Strait relations: Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China, takes place.
- 1967 – Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: Protests erupt following the announcement by Richard Nixon that the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces would attack Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign.
- 1971 – Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
- 1974 – The Argentine terrorist organization Montoneros is expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón.
- 1977 – Thirty-six people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
- 1978 – Japan’s Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
- 1982 – Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.
- 1983 – The Sydney Entertainment Centre is opened.
- 1987 – Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
- 1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
- 1990 – The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.
- 1993 – Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion.
- 1994 – Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident whilst leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
- 1995 – Croatian War of Independence: Croatian forces launch Operation Flash.
- 1999 – The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924
- 1999 – SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon.
- 2001 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares the existence of “a state of rebellion”, hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, storm towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion.
- 2002 – OpenOffice.org released version 1.0, the first stable version of the software.
- 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the “Mission Accomplished” speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”.
- 2004 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
- 2009 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.
- 2011 – Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2019 – Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.
Births on May 1
- 1218 – John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
- 1218 – Rudolf I of Germany (d. 1291)
- 1285 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
- 1326 – Rinchinbal Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1332)
- 1488 – Sidonie of Bavaria, eldest daughter of Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria-Munich (d. 1505)
- 1527 – Johannes Stadius, German astronomer, astrologer, mathematician (d. 1579)
- 1545 – Franciscus Junius, French theologian (d. 1602)
- 1579 – Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch-American farmer, co-founded New Netherland (d. 1662)
- 1582 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (d. 1643)
- 1585 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (d. 1612)
- 1591 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (d. 1666)
- 1594 – John Haynes, English-American politician, 1st Governor of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1653)
- 1602 – William Lilly, English astrologer (d. 1681)
- 1672 – Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1719)
- 1730 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (d. 1790)
- 1735 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch admiral and philanthropist (d. 1819)
- 1751 – Judith Sargent Murray, American poet and playwright (d. 1820)
- 1764 – Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1820)
- 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Irish-English field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1852)
- 1783 – Phoebe Hinsdale Brown, American hymnwriter (d. 1861)
- 1803 – James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet and author (d. 1849)
- 1821 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (d. 1897)
- 1824 – Alexander William Williamson, English chemist and academic (d. 1904)
- 1825 – Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1898)
- 1825 – George Inness, American painter and educator (d. 1894)
- 1827 – Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
- 1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 1877)
- 1829 – Frederick Sandys, English painter and illustrator (d. 1904)
- 1830 – Guido Gezelle, Belgian priest and poet (d. 1899)
- 1831 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (d. 1903)
- 1847 – Henry Demarest Lloyd, American journalist and politician (d. 1903)
- 1848 – Adelsteen Normann, Norwegian painter (d. 1919)
- 1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (d. 1942)
- 1851 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian psychiatrist and neurologist (d. 1891)
- 1852 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and professional scout (d. 1903)
- 1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)
- 1853 – Jacob Mikhailovich Gordin, Jewish Ukrainian-American journalist, actor, and playwright (d. 1909)
- 1855 – Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
- 1857 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
- 1859 – Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
- 1862 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (d. 1941)
- 1864 – Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother’s Day (d. 1948)
- 1871 – Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian and scholar (d. 1948)
- 1871 – Emiliano Chamorro Vargas, President of Nicaragua (d. 1966)
- 1872 – Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter (d. 1960)
- 1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese soldier and politician, 4th President of Portugal (d. 1918)
- 1874 – Romaine Brooks, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1970)
- 1874 – Paul Van Asbroeck, Belgian target shooter (d. 1959)
- 1875 – Dave Hall, American runner (d. 1972)
- 1881 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher (d. 1955)
- 1884 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (d. 1964)
- 1885 – Clément Pansaers, Belgian poet (d. 1922)
- 1885 – Ralph Stackpole, American sculptor and painter (d. 1973)
- 1887 – Alan Cunningham, Anglo-Irish general and diplomat, High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan (d. 1983)
- 1890 – Clelia Lollini, Italian physician (d. 1963 or 1964)
- 1891 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (d. 1988)
- 1895 – Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet secret police official, head of the NKVD (d. 1940)
- 1895 – May Hollinworth, Australian theatre producer and director (d. 1968)
- 1896 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (d. 1947)
- 1896 – Mark W. Clark, American general (d. 1984)
- 1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Alfred Schmidt, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Ignazio Silone, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Aleksander Wat, Polish poet and writer (d. 1967)
- 1901 – Sterling Allen Brown, American poet, academic, and critic (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Antal Szerb, Hungarian scholar and author (d. 1945)
- 1905 – Henry Koster, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Horst Schumann, German SS officer and physician (d. 1983)
- 1907 – Hayes Alvis, American bassist (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Kate Smith, American singer and actress (d. 1986)
- 1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and author (d. 1968)
- 1908 – Morris Kline, American mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (d. 1996)
- 1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1990)
- 1910 – Behice Boran, Turkish sociologist and politician (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Raya Dunayevskaya, Ukrainian-American philosopher and activist (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Dirk Andries Flentrop, Dutch organ builder (d. 2003)
- 1910 – J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer and ufologist (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Nejdet Sançar, Turkish literature teacher (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Wilfred Watson, English-Canadian poet, playwright and educator (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Otto Kretschmer, German admiral (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Louis Nye, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1980)
- 1914 – Jaap van der Poll, Dutch javelin thrower (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Hanns Martin Schleyer, German businessman (d. 1977)
- 1916 – Antoni Bazaniak, Polish sprint canoeist (d. 1979)
- 1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2006)
- 1917 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French actress and singer (d. 2017)
- 1917 – Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (d. 2001)
- 1918 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 1977)
- 1918 – Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Manna Dey, Indian singer and composer (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Morocco (d. 2018)
- 1919 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Vladimir Colin, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Alastair Gillespie, Canadian scholar and politician (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Antônio Maria Mucciolo, Italian-Brazilian archbishop (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Marcel Rayman, Polish soldier (d. 1944)
- 1924 – Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
- 1924 – Karel Kachyňa, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Terry Southern, American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1925 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Scott Carpenter, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Sardar Fazlul Karim, Bangladeshi philosopher, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic
- 1927 – Gary Bertini, Israeli conductor and composer (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (d. 2004)
- 1927 – Albert Zafy, Malagasy politician, 3rd President of Madagascar (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Bernard Vukas, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (d. 1983)
- 1928 – Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Delfim Netto, Brazilian economist
- 1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (d. 2009)
- 1929 – Sonny Ramadhin, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1930 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Richard Riordan, American lieutenant and politician, 39th Mayor of Los Angeles and publisher
- 1930 – Little Walter Jacobs, American blues harp player and singer (d. 1968)
- 1931 – Naim Attallah, Palestinian author
- 1932 – Sandy Woodward, English admiral (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Tabibar Rahman Sarder, Bangladeshi politician. (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
- 1934 – Tang Chang, Thai artist (d. 1990)
- 1934 – Shirley Horn, American singer and pianist (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Phillip King, Tunisian-English sculptor
- 1934 – John Meillon, Australian actor (d. 1989)
- 1936 – Danièle Huillet, French filmmaker (d. 2006)
- 1936 – Hans E. Wallman, Swedish director, producer, and composer (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer
- 1939 – Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1939 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch model (d. 1980)
- 1939 – Victor Davies, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1943 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (d. 2004)
- 1943 – Joe Walsh, Irish politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2007)
- 1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, author, and activist
- 1946 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (d. 2015)
- 1947 – Sergio Infante, Chilean-Swedish poet and author
- 1948 – Györgyi Balogh, Hungarian sprinter
- 1948 – Patricia Hill Collins, American sociologist and scholar
- 1949 – Jim Clench, Canadian bass player (d. 2010)
- 1949 – Tim Hodgkinson, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
- 1949 – Paul Teutul, Sr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
- 1950 – Dann Florek, American actor and director
- 1950 – Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1951 – Gordon Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer and coach
- 1951 – Geoff Lees, English race car driver
- 1951 – Sally Mann, American photographer
- 1952 – Richard Blundell, English economist and academic
- 1952 – Kim Lewison, English lawyer and judge
- 1952 – Peter Smith, Malaysian-born English academic and judge
- 1953 – Glen Ballard, American songwriter and producer
- 1954 – Ray Parker, Jr., American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1954 – Joel Rosenberg, Canadian-American author and activist (d. 2011)
- 1955 – Alex Cunningham, Scottish politician
- 1955 – Martin O’Donnell, American composer
- 1955 – Ray Searage, American baseball player and coach
- 1956 – Catherine Frot, French actress
- 1956 – Phil Foglio, American illustrator
- 1957 – Rick Darling, Australian cricketer
- 1957 – Uberto Pasolini, Italian banker, director, and producer
- 1959 – Yasmina Reza, French actress and playwright
- 1959 – Lawrence Seeff, South African cricketer and basket weaver
- 1960 – Steve Cauthen, American jockey and sportscaster
- 1961 – Sultan Günal-Gezer, Dutch politician
- 1961 – Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Marilyn Milian, American judge
- 1961 – Vasiliy Sidorenko, Russian hammer thrower
- 1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
- 1962 – Ted Sundquist, American football player, coach, and manager
- 1964 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
- 1966 – Olaf Thon, German footballer and manager
- 1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer and manager
- 1968 – D’arcy Wretzky, American bass player and singer
- 1969 – Wes Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Mary Lou McDonald, Irish politician
- 1969 – Billy Owens, American basketball player
- 1970 – Bernard Butler, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1971 – Ethan Albright, American football player
- 1971 – Stuart Appleby, Australian golfer
- 1971 – Kim Grant, South African tennis player
- 1971 – Artur Kohutek, Polish hurdler and soldier
- 1971 – Ajith Kumar, Indian film actor in Tamil cinema and race car driver
- 1972 – Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Yemeni terrorist
- 1972 – Julie Benz, American actress
- 1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
- 1973 – Peter Baah, English footballer and manager
- 1973 – Mike Jesse, German footballer
- 1973 – Curtis Martin, American football player
- 1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
- 1975 – Austin Croshere, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
- 1975 – Nina Hossain, English journalist
- 1975 – Alexey Smertin, Russian international footballer
- 1976 – Patricia Stokkers, Dutch swimmer
- 1977 – Vera Lischka, Austrian swimmer and politician
- 1978 – James Badge Dale, American actor
- 1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
- 1979 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
- 1980 – Marvin Cabrera, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Rob Davison, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1980 – Inês Henriques, Portuguese race walker
- 1980 – Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver
- 1980 – Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
- 1980 – Yuliya Tabakova, Russian athlete
- 1981 – Manny Acosta, Panamanian baseball player
- 1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1981 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer
- 1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
- 1982 – Beto, Portuguese footballer
- 1982 – Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor
- 1982 – Mark Farren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1982 – Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen
- 1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
- 1982 – Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer
- 1983 – Alain Bernard, French swimmer
- 1983 – Human Tornado, American wrestler
- 1983 – Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor
- 1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Mišo Brečko, Slovenian footballer
- 1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
- 1984 – Farah Fath, American actress
- 1984 – Keiichiro Koyama, Japanese singer and actor
- 1984 – Víctor Montaño, Colombian footballer
- 1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian footballer
- 1985 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Cassie Jaye, American actress and film director
- 1986 – Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician
- 1986 – Lee Chang-min, South Korean singer
- 1986 – Brent Stanton, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Glen Coffee, American football player
- 1987 – Iván DeJesús Jr., Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Amir Johnson, American basketball player
- 1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
- 1987 – Saidi Ntibazonkiza, Burundian footballer
- 1987 – Shahar Pe’er, Israeli tennis player
- 1988 – Maria Balaba, Latvian figure skater
- 1988 – Maxim Gustik, Belarusian freestyle skier
- 1988 – Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier
- 1989 – Alejandro Arribas, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Poļina Jeļizarova, Latvian runner
- 1990 – Uriel Álvarez, Mexican footballer
- 1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
- 1990 – Diego Contento, German footballer
- 1990 – Scooter Gennett, American baseball player
- 1991 – Marcus Stroman, American baseball player
- 1991 – Daniel Talbot, British sprinter
- 1992 – Trevor Philp, Canadian alpine skier
- 1992 – Bradley Roby, American football player
- 1993 – Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, French footballer
- 1993 – Ifeoma Nwoye, Nigerian wrestler
- 1994 – Wallace Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1995 – Collin Seedorf, Dutch footballer
- 1996 – Christopher J. Alexis Jr., Grenadian road cyclist
- 1996 – Daniel Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1996 – Jacob Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1996 – Michael Seaton, Jamaican footballer
- 2004 – Charli D’Amelio, American social media influencer and dancer
Deaths on May 1
- 408 – Arcadius, Byzantine emperor (b. 377)
- 558 – Marcouf, missionary and saint
- 908 – Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretender
- 1118 – Matilda of Scotland (b. 1080)
- 1171 – Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster (b. 1110)
- 1187 – Roger de Moulins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
- 1255 – Walter de Gray, English prelate and statesman
- 1277 – Stefan Uroš I of Serbia (b. 1223)
- 1278 – William II of Villehardouin
- 1308 – Albert I of Germany (b. 1255)
- 1312 – Paul I Šubić of Bribir
- 1539 – Isabella of Portugal (b. 1503)
- 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
- 1572 – Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
- 1668 – Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (b. 1604)
- 1730 – François de Troy, French painter and engraver (b. 1645)
- 1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (b. 1677)
- 1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1669)
- 1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, Polish-German historian, economist, and jurist (b. 1719)
- 1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general (b. 1768)
- 1838 – Antoine Louis Dugès, French obstetrician and naturalist (b. 1797)
- 1856 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (b. 1774)
- 1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish-English missionary and explorer (b. 1813)
- 1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist and physician (b. 1824)
- 1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer and academic (b. 1841)
- 1913 – John Barclay Armstrong, American lieutenant (b. 1850)
- 1920 – Princess Margaret of Connaught (b. 1882)
- 1935 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (b. 1889)
- 1943 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
- 1945 – Joseph Goebbels, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
- 1945 – Magda Goebbels, German wife of Joseph Goebbels (b. 1901)
- 1953 – Everett Shinn, American painter and illustrator (b. 1876)
- 1956 – LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
- 1965 – Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (b. 1911)
- 1968 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1895)
- 1968 – Harold Nicolson, English author and politician (b. 1886)
- 1970 – Yi Un, Korean prince (b. 1897)
- 1973 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
- 1976 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (b. 1908)
- 1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (b. 1939)
- 1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1903)
- 1982 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (b. 1903)
- 1984 – Jüri Lossmann, Estonian-Swedish runner (b. 1891)
- 1985 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (b. 1897)
- 1986 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 1989 – V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (b. 1930)
- 1989 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (b. 1926)
- 1991 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
- 1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1925)
- 1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1924)
- 1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
- 1995 – Antonio Salemme, Italian-American painter (b. 1892)
- 1997 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1927)
- 1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (b. 1935)
- 2000 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (b. 1960)
- 2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
- 2008 – Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Helen Wagner, American actress (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Henry Cooper, English boxer (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (b. 1920)
- 2012 – James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Chris Kelly, American rapper (b. 1978)
- 2013 – Pierre Pleimelding, French footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2014 – Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Radhia Cousot, Tunisian-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 2014 – Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (b. 1951)
- 2015 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (b. 1940)
- 2015 – María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on May 1
- Christian feast day:
- Andeolus
- Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs)
- Benedict of Szkalka
- Brioc
- James the Less (Anglican Communion)
- Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic)
- Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
- Marcouf
- Philip the Apostle (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
- Richard Pampuri
- Sigismund of Burgundy
- Ultan
- May 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Samoa)
- Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in May. (Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain, Romania)
- Earliest day on which National Day of Prayer can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday in May. (United States)
- Earliest day on which World Asthma Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. (International)
- Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
- Constitution Day (Argentina, Latvia, Marshall Islands)
- Commemoration of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat following the foundation of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (India):
- International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day
- Lei Day (Hawaii)
- International Workers’ Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances:
- Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of May. (Barbados, Dominica)
- Law Day (United States), formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
- Loyalty Day, formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
- May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30):
- Beltane (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Northern hemisphere)
- Earliest day on which Beltane can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Ireland, Scotland)
- Calan Mai (Wales)
- Samhain (Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Southern Hemisphere)
-
March 22 in History
- 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
- 238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperors.
- 871 – Æthelred of Wessex is defeated by a Danish invasion army at the Battle of Marton.
- 1508 – Ferdinand II of Aragon commissions Amerigo Vespucci chief navigator of the Spanish Empire.
- 1621 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
- 1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony’s population, during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.
- 1630 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.
- 1638 – Anne Hutchinson is expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious dissent.
- 1713 – The Tuscarora War comes to an end with the fall of Fort Neoheroka, effectively opening up the interior of North Carolina to European colonization.
- 1739 – Nader Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
- 1765 – The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act that introduces a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies.
- 1784 – The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.
- 1829 – In the London Protocol, the three protecting powers (United Kingdom, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece.
- 1849 – The Austrians defeat the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara.
- 1871 – In North Carolina, William Woods Holden becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by impeachment.
- 1872 – Illinois becomes the first state to require gender equality in employment.
- 1873 – The Spanish National Assembly abolishes slavery in Puerto Rico.
- 1894 – The first playoff game for the Stanley Cup starts.
- 1906 – The first England vs France rugby union match is played at Parc des Princes in Paris
- 1920 – Azeri and Turkish army soldiers with participation of Kurdish gangs attacked the Armenian inhabitants of Shushi (Nagorno Karabakh).
- 1933 – Cullen–Harrison Act: President Franklin Roosevelt signs an amendment to the Volstead Act, legalizing the manufacture and sale of “3.2 beer” (3.2% alcohol by weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines.
- 1939 – Germany takes Memel from Lithuania.
- 1942 – World War II: In the Mediterranean Sea, the Royal Navy confronts Italy’s Regia Marina in the Second Battle of Sirte.
- 1943 – World War II: The entire village of Khatyn (in what is the present-day Republic of Belarus) is burnt alive by Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118.
- 1945 – World War II: The city of Hildesheim, Germany heavily damaged in a British air raid, though it had little military significance and Germany was on the verge of final defeat.
- 1945 – The Arab League is founded when a charter is adopted in Cairo, Egypt.
- 1960 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
- 1972 – The United States Congress sends the Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification.
- 1972 – In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the United States Supreme Court decides that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.
- 1975 – A fire at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Decatur, Alabama causes a dangerous reduction in cooling water levels.
- 1978 – Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope suspended between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- 1982 – NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from the Kennedy Space Center on its third mission, STS-3.
- 1992 – USAir Flight 405 crashes shortly after takeoff from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, leading to a number of studies into the effect that ice has on aircraft.
- 1992 – Fall of communism in Albania: The Democratic Party of Albania wins a decisive majority in the parliamentary election.
- 1993 – The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips (80586), featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64 bit data path.
- 1995 – Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns to earth after setting a record of 438 days in space.
- 1997 – Tara Lipinski, aged 14 years and nine months, becomes the youngest women’s World Figure Skating Champion.
- 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas, two bodyguards, and nine civilian bystanders are killed in the Gaza Strip when hit by Israeli Air Force Hellfire missiles.
- 2006 – Three Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the murder of their colleague from the U.S., Tom Fox.
- 2013 – At least 37 people are killed and 200 are injured after a fire destroys a camp containing Burmese refugees near Ban Mae, Thailand.
- 2016 – Three suicide bombers kill 32 people and injure 316 in the 2016 Brussels bombings at the airport and at the Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.
- 2017 – A terrorist attack in London near the Houses of Parliament leaves four people dead and at least 20 injured.
- 2019 – Robert S. Mueller III delivers his report on the Russian government’s influence on the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.
- 2019 – Two buses crashes in Kitampo, a town north of Ghana’s capital Accra, killing at least 50 people.
- 2020 – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the country’s largest ever self-imposed curfew, in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Births on March 22
- 841 – Bernard Plantapilosa, Frankish son of Bernard of Septimania (d. 885)
- 875 – William I, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 918)
- 1212 – Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (d. 1235)
- 1367 – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (probable; d. 1399)
- 1394 – Ulugh Beg, Persian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1449)
- 1459 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1519)
- 1499 – Johann Carion, German astrologer and chronicler (d. 1537)
- 1503 – Antonio Francesco Grazzini, Italian author and educator (d. 1583)
- 1517 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer (d. 1590)
- 1519 – Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, English noblewoman (d. 1580)
- 1582 – John Williams, Archbishop of York (d. 1650)
- 1599 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish-English painter and etcher (d. 1641)
- 1609 – John II Casimir Vasa, Polish king (d. 1672)
- 1615 – Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh, British scientist (d. 1691)
- 1663 – August Hermann Francke, German clergyman, philanthropist, and scholar (d. 1727)
- 1684 – William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, English politician, Secretary at War (d. 1764)
- 1712 – Edward Moore, English poet and playwright (d. 1757)
- 1720 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect, designed the Yellow Palace and Bernstorff Palace (d. 1799)
- 1723 – Charles Carroll, American lawyer and politician (d. 1783)
- 1728 – Anton Raphael Mengs, German painter and theorist (d. 1779)
- 1785 – Adam Sedgwick, English scientist (d. 1873)
- 1797 – William I, German Emperor (d. 1888)
- 1808 – Caroline Norton, English feminist, social reformer, and author (d. 1877)
- 1808 – David Swinson Maynard, American physician and lawyer (d. 1873)
- 1812 – Stephen Pearl Andrews, American author and activist (d. 1886)
- 1814 – Thomas Crawford, American sculptor, designed the Statue of Freedom (d. 1857)
- 1817 – Braxton Bragg, American general (d. 1876)
- 1818 – John Ainsworth Horrocks, English-Australian explorer, founded Penwortham (d. 1846)
- 1822 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, scholar, statesman and jurist (d. 1895)
- 1842 – Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1912)
- 1846 – Randolph Caldecott, English illustrator and painter (d. 1886)
- 1846 – James Timberlake, American lieutenant, police officer, and farmer (d. 1891)
- 1852 – Otakar Ševčík, Czech violinist and educator (d. 1934)
- 1852 – Hector Sévin, French cardinal (d. 1916)
- 1855 – Dorothy Tennant, British painter (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Paul Doumer, French mathematician, journalist, and politician, 14th President of France (d. 1932)
- 1866 – Jack Boyle, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1913)
- 1868 – Robert Andrews Millikan, American colonel and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
- 1869 – Tom McInnes, Scottish-English footballer (d. 1939)
- 1873 – Ernest Lawson, Canadian-American painter (d. 1939)
- 1880 – Ernest C. Quigley, Canadian-American football player and coach (d. 1960)
- 1884 – Arthur H. Vandenberg, American journalist and politician (d. 1951)
- 1884 – Lyda Borelli, Italian actress (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Aryeh Levin, Polish-Lithuanian rabbi and educator (d. 1969)
- 1886 – August Rei, Estonian lawyer and politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1963)
- 1887 – Chico Marx, American actor (d. 1961)
- 1890 – George Clark, American race car driver (d. 1978)
- 1892 – Charlie Poole, American country banjo player (d. 1931)
- 1892 – Johannes Semper, Estonian poet and scholar (d. 1970)
- 1896 – He Long, Chinese general and politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1969)
- 1896 – Joseph Schildkraut, Austrian-American actor (d. 1964)
- 1899 – Ruth Page, American ballerina and choreographer (d. 1991)
- 1901 – Greta Kempton, Austrian-American painter (d. 1991)
- 1902 – Johannes Brinkman, Dutch architect, designed the Van Nelle Factory (d. 1949)
- 1902 – Madeleine Milhaud, French actress and composer (d. 2008)
- 1903 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (d. 1987)
- 1907 – James M. Gavin, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1990)
- 1908 – Jack Crawford, Australian tennis player (d. 1991)
- 1908 – Louis L’Amour, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1988)
- 1909 – Gabrielle Roy, Canadian author and educator (d. 1983)
- 1910 – Nicholas Monsarrat, English sailor and author (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor and performer (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Karl Malden, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Agnes Martin, Canadian-American painter and educator (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Leslie Johnson, English race car driver (d. 1959)
- 1913 – Tom McCall, American journalist and politician, 30th Governor of Oregon (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Lew Wasserman, American businessman and talent agent (d. 2002)
- 1913 – James Westerfield, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1914 – John Stanley, American author and illustrator (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Donald Stokes, Baron Stokes, English businessman (d. 2008)
- 1917 – Virginia Grey, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Irving Kaplansky, Canadian-American mathematician and academic (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Paul Rogers, English actor (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Cheddi Jagan, Guyanese politician, 4th President of Guyana (d. 1997)
- 1919 – Bernard Krigstein, American illustrator (d. 1990)
- 1920 – James Brown, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Werner Klemperer, German-American actor (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Fanny Waterman, English pianist and educator, founded the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition
- 1920 – Katsuko Saruhashi, Japanese geochemist (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Ross Martin, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1921 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1922 – John J. Gilligan, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd Governor of Ohio (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Marcel Marceau, French mime and actor (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Al Neuharth, American journalist and author, founded USA Today (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Yevgeny Ostashev, Russian test pilot, participant in the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite (d. 1960)
- 1924 – Osman F. Seden, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1924 – Bill Wendell, American television announcer (d. 1999)
- 1927 – Marty Blake, American basketball player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Nicolas Tikhomiroff, Russian photographer (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Carrie Donovan, American journalist (d. 2001)
- 1928 – E. D. Hirsch, American author, critic, and academic
- 1928 – Ed Macauley, American basketball player, coach, and priest (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Yayoi Kusama, Japanese artist
- 1929 – P. Ramlee, Malaysian actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. (d. 1973)
- 1930 – Derek Bok, American lawyer and academic
- 1930 – Pat Robertson, American minister and broadcaster, founded the Christian Broadcasting Network
- 1930 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer and songwriter
- 1931 – Burton Richter, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1931 – William Shatner, Canadian actor
- 1931 – Leslie Thomas, Welsh journalist and author (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Larry Evans, American chess player and journalist (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Abolhassan Banisadr, Iranian economist and politician, 1st President of Iran
- 1934 – May Britt, Swedish actress
- 1934 – Sheila Cameron, English lawyer and judge
- 1934 – Orrin Hatch, American lawyer and politician
- 1935 – Lea Pericoli, Italian tennis player and journalist
- 1935 – Frank Pulli, American baseball player and umpire (d. 2013)
- 1935 – M. Emmet Walsh, American actor
- 1936 – Ron Carey, American trade union leader (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Roger Whittaker, Kenyan-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1936 – Erol Büyükburç, Turkish singer-songwriter, pop music composer, and actor (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Angelo Badalamenti, American pianist and composer
- 1937 – Armin Hary, German sprinter
- 1937 – Jon Hassell, American trumpet player and composer
- 1938 – Rein Etruk, Estonian chess player (d. 2012)
- 1940 – Dave Keon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American physician and author (d. 1996)
- 1940 – George Edward Alcorn, Jr. American physicist and inventor
- 1941 – Billy Collins, American poet
- 1941 – Jeremy Clyde, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1941 – Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (d. 2019)
- 1941 – Cassam Uteem, Mauritian politician, 2nd President of Mauritius
- 1942 – Jorge Ben Jor, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Dick Pound, Canadian lawyer and academic
- 1943 – George Benson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Nazem Ganjapour, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1976)
- 1945 – Eric Roth, American screenwriter and producer
- 1946 – Don Chaney, American basketball player and coach
- 1946 – Rivka Golani, Israeli viola player and composer
- 1946 – Rudy Rucker, American mathematician, computer scientist, and author
- 1946 – Harry Vanda, Dutch-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1947 – George Ferguson, English architect and politician, 1st Mayor of Bristol
- 1947 – James Patterson, American author and producer
- 1947 – Maarten van Gent, Dutch basketball player and coach
- 1948 – Andrew Lloyd Webber, English composer and director
- 1949 – Fanny Ardant, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Brian Hanrahan, English journalist (d. 2010)
- 1952 – Des Browne, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1953 – Kenneth Rogoff, American economist and chess grandmaster
- 1955 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress
- 1955 – Pete Sessions, American politician
- 1955 – Valdis Zatlers, Latvian physician and politician, 7th President of Latvia
- 1956 – Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (born María Teresa Mestre y Batista)
- 1957 – Jürgen Bucher, German footballer
- 1957 – Stephanie Mills, American actress and singer
- 1959 – Matthew Modine, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Tarmo Laht, Estonian architect
- 1960 – Lauri Vahtre, Estonian historian and politician
- 1961 – Simon Furman, British comic book writer
- 1963 – Deborah Bull, English ballerina
- 1963 – Susan Ann Sulley, English pop singer (The Human League)
- 1963 – Martin Vizcarra, Peruvian engineer and politician, 67th President of Peru
- 1964 – David Gillespie, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Pia Cayetano, Filipino lawyer and politician
- 1966 – Todd Ewen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1966 – Artis Pabriks, Latvian academic and politician, 11th Minister for Defence of Latvia
- 1966 – António Pinto, Portuguese runner
- 1966 – Brian Shaw, American basketball player and coach
- 1967 – Mario Cipollini, Italian cyclist
- 1967 – Bernie Gallacher, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2011)
- 1970 – Andreas Johnson, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Leontien van Moorsel, Dutch cyclist
- 1970 – Hwang Young-cho, South Korean runner
- 1971 – Keegan-Michael Key, American actor, comedian, and writer
- 1972 – Shawn Bradley, German-American basketball player, coach, and actor
- 1972 – Cory Lidle, American baseball player (d. 2006)
- 1972 – Elvis Stojko, Canadian figure skater and sportscaster
- 1973 – Beverley Knight, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Marcus Camby, American basketball player
- 1974 – Philippe Clement, Belgian footballer
- 1974 – Geo Meneses, Mexican producer and singer
- 1975 – Cole Hauser, American actor and producer
- 1975 – Jiří Novák, Czech-Monegasque tennis player
- 1976 – Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player
- 1976 – Kathryn Jean Lopez, American journalist
- 1976 – Asako Toki, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1976 – Kellie Shanygne Williams, American actress
- 1976 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress and producer
- 1977 – Joey Porter, American football player and coach
- 1977 – Tom Poti, American ice hockey player
- 1979 – Aaron North, American guitarist
- 1979 – Juan Uribe, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Arne Gabius, German runner
- 1982 – Piá, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Enrico Gasparotto, Italian cyclist
- 1982 – Michael Janyk, Canadian skier
- 1984 – Piotr Trochowski, German footballer
- 1985 – Mayola Biboko, Belgian footballer
- 1985 – Jakob Fuglsang, Danish cyclist
- 1985 – Mike Jenkins, American football player
- 1985 – Justin Masterson, American baseball player
- 1985 – Kelli Waite, Australian swimmer
- 1986 – David Choi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1986 – Dexter Fowler, American baseball player
- 1987 – Ike Davis, American baseball player
- 1987 – Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (d. 2013)
- 1987 – Liam Doran, British rally cross driver
- 1989 – Ruben Popa, Romanian footballer
- 1989 – J. J. Watt, American football player
- 1989 – Tyler Oakley, American internet celebrity
Deaths on March 22
- 880 – Carloman of Bavaria, Frankish king
- 1144 – William of Norwich, child murder victim
- 1322 – Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1278)
- 1418 – Dietrich of Nieheim, German bishop and historian (b. 1345)
- 1421 – Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, English soldier and politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1388)
- 1454 – John Kemp, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1471 – George of Poděbrady (b. 1420)
- 1544 – Johannes Magnus, Swedish archbishop and theologian (b. 1488)
- 1602 – Agostino Carracci, Italian painter and educator (b. 1557)
- 1685 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (b. 1638)
- 1687 – Jean-Baptiste Lully, Italian-French composer and conductor (b. 1632)
- 1758 – Jonathan Edwards, English minister, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1703)
- 1772 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (b. 1718)
- 1820 – Stephen Decatur, American commander (b. 1779)
- 1832 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German novelist, poet, playwright, and diplomat (b. 1749)
- 1840 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician and academic (b. 1798)
- 1864 – Konstanty Kalinowski, writer, journalist, lawyer and revolutionary (b. 1838)
- 1881 – Samuel Courtauld, English businessman (b. 1793)
- 1896 – Thomas Hughes, English lawyer and politician (b. 1822)
- 1913 – Song Jiaoren, Chinese educator and politician (b. 1882)
- 1913 – Ruggero Oddi, Italian physiologist and anatomist (b.1864)
- 1924 – William Macewen, Scottish surgeon and neuroscientist (b. 1848)
- 1931 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1851)
- 1942 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (b. 1875)
- 1942 – William Donne, English captain and cricketer (b. 1875)
- 1945 – John Hessin Clarke, American lawyer and judge (b. 1857)
- 1952 – D. S. Senanayake, 1st Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1883)
- 1955 – Ivan Šubašić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
- 1958 – Mike Todd, American film producer (b. 1909)
- 1960 – José Antonio Aguirre, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Basque Country (b. 1904)
- 1966 – John Harlin, American mountaineer and pilot (b. 1935)
- 1971 – Johannes Villemson, Estonian-American runner (b. 1893)
- 1971 – Nella Walker, American actress and vaudevillian (b. 1886)
- 1974 – Peter Revson, American race car driver (b. 1939)
- 1974 – Orazio Satta Puliga, Italian automobile designer (b. 1910)
- 1976 – John Dwyer McLaughlin, American painter (b. 1898)
- 1977 – A. K. Gopalan, Indian educator and politician (b. 1904)
- 1978 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (b. 1905)
- 1979 – Ben Lyon, American actor and studio executive (b. 1901)
- 1981 – James Elliott, American runner and coach (b. 1915)
- 1981 – Gil Puyat, Filipino businessman and politician, 13th President of the Senate of the Philippines (b. 1907)
- 1986 – Olive Deering, American actress (b. 1918)
- 1986 – Mark Dinning, American singer (b. 1933)
- 1987 – Odysseas Angelis, Greek general and politician (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Peta Taylor, English cricketer (b. 1912)
- 1990 – Gerald Bull, Canadian engineer and academic (b. 1928)
- 1991 – Léon Balcer, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1917)
- 1991 – Paul Engle, American novelist, poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Dave Guard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 1991 – Gloria Holden, English-American actress (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Steve Olin, American baseball player (b. 1965)
- 1994 – Dan Hartman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (b. 1950)
- 1994 – Walter Lantz, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1899)
- 1996 – Don Murray, American drummer (b. 1945)
- 1996 – Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1936)
- 1996 – Billy Williamson, American guitarist (b. 1925)
- 1999 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (b. 1913)
- 1999 – David Strickland, American actor (b. 1969)
- 2000 – Carlo Parola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1921)
- 2001 – Stepas Butautas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
- 2001 – Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
- 2001 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and voice actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (b. 1910)
- 2001 – Robert Fletcher Shaw, Canadian businessman, academic, and civil servant (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Rudolf Baumgartner, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Terry Lloyd, English journalist (b. 1952)
- 2004 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer and academic (b. 1943)
- 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, Co-founded Hamas (b. 1937)
- 2004 – V. M. Tarkunde, Indian lawyer and civil rights activist (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Rod Price, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2005 – Gemini Ganesan, Indian film actor (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Kenzō Tange, Japanese architect, designed the Yoyogi National Gymnasium and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Pierre Clostermann, French soldier, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer and author (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Kurt von Trojan, Austrian-Australian journalist and author (b. 1937)
- 2007 – U. G. Krishnamurti, Indian-Italian philosopher and educator (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Cachao López, Cuban-American bassist and composer (b. 1918)
- 2010 – James Black, Scottish biologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
- 2010 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Artur Agostinho, Portuguese journalist (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Joe Blanchard, American football player and wrestler (b. 1928)
- 2012 – John Payton, American lawyer and activist (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Mickey Sullivan, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
- 2012 – David Waltz, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Neil L. Whitehead, English anthropologist and author (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Vladimír Čech, Czech actor and politician (b. 1951)
- 2013 – James Nabrit, American lawyer and academic (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Bebo Valdés, Cuban-Swedish pianist and composer (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Ray Williams, American basketball player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Yashwant Vithoba Chittal, Indian author (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Mickey Duff, Polish-English boxer and manager (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Thor Listau, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Tasos Mitsopoulos, Cypriot politician, Cypriot Minister of Defence (b. 1965)
- 2015 – Arkady Arkanov, Ukrainian-Russian actor and playwright (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Horst Buhtz, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
- 2015 – George Neel, Jr., American businessman (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Norman Scribner, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1936)
- 2016 – Phife Dawg, American rapper (b. 1970)
- 2016 – Rob Ford, Canadian businessman and politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (b. 1969)
- 2016 – Rita Gam, American actress (b. 1927)
- 2018 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (b. 1911)
Holidays and observances on March 22
- Bihar Day (Bihar, India)
- Christian feast day:
- Basil of Ancyra
- Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen
- Darerca of Ireland
- Epaphroditus
- Jonathan Edwards (Lutheranism)
- Lea of Rome
- Nicholas Owen
- Paul of Narbonne
- March 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Easter Sunday can fall (last in 1818, will not happen again until 2285), while April 25 is the latest. (Christianity)
- Emancipation Day or Día de la Abolición de la Esclavitud (Puerto Rico)
- World Water Day (International)
-
March 17 in History
- 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
- 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
- 455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.
- 1001 – The Raja of Butuan in what is now the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song dynasty.
- 1337 – Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England.
- 1452 – The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia resulting in a Christian victory.
- 1560 – Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique.
- 1677 – The Siege of Valenciennes, during the Franco-Dutch War, ends with France’s taking of the city.
- 1776 – American Revolution: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
- 1780 – American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.
- 1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy.
- 1824 – The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.
- 1842 – The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed.
- 1852 – Annibale De Gasparis discovers in Naples the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte
- 1860 – The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars.
- 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
- 1891 – SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
- 1921 – The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution.
- 1939 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins.
- 1941 – In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1942 – Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland.
- 1945 – The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses, ten days after its capture.
- 1947 – First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
- 1948 – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
- 1950 – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name “californium”.
- 1957 – A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
- 1958 – The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite.
- 1960 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
- 1963 – Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people.
- 1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
- 1968 – As a result of nerve gas testing by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Skull Valley, Utah, over 6,000 sheep are found dead.
- 1969 – Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
- 1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
- 1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
- 1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the “Night Stalker”, commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles murder spree.
- 1988 – A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
- 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
- 1992 – Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
- 1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.
- 2000 – Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.
- 2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- 2004 – Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.
Births on March 17
- 763 – Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (d. 809)
- 1231 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
- 1473 – James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
- 1523 – Giovanni Francesco Commendone, Catholic cardinal (d. 1584)
- 1537 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese daimyō (d. 1598)
- 1611 – Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, Swedish field marshal (d. 1662)
- 1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1729)
- 1676 – Thomas Boston, Scottish philosopher and theologian (d. 1732)
- 1686 – Jean-Baptiste Oudry, French painter and engraver (d. 1755)
- 1725 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (d. 1806)
- 1777 – Patrick Brontë, Irish-English priest and author (d. 1861)
- 1777 – Roger B. Taney, American politician and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1864)
- 1780 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister, economist, and educator (d. 1847)
- 1781 – Ebenezer Elliott, English poet and educator (d. 1849)
- 1804 – Jim Bridger, American fur trader and explorer (d. 1881)
- 1806 – Norbert Rillieux, African American inventor and chemical engineer (d. 1894)
- 1820 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (d. 1897)
- 1834 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (d. 1900)
- 1839 – Josef Rheinberger, Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (d. 1901)
- 1846 – Kate Greenaway, English author and illustrator (d. 1901)
- 1849 – Charles F. Brush, American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (d. 1929)
- 1849 – Cornelia Clapp, American marine biologist (d. 1934)
- 1856 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
- 1862 – Silvio Gesell, Belgian merchant and economist (d. 1930)
- 1864 – Joseph Baptista, Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1930)
- 1866 – Pierce Butler, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1939)
- 1867 – Patrice Contamine de Latour, Spanish poet (d. 1926)
- 1877 – Edith New, British militant suffragette (d. 1951)
- 1877 – Otto Gross, Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (d. 1920)
- 1880 – Patrick Hastings, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1952)
- 1880 – Lawrence Oates, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1912)
- 1881 – Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1884 – Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (d. 1934)
- 1885 – Ralph Rose, American track and field athlete (d. 1913)
- 1886 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (d. 1974)
- 1888 – Paul Ramadier, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1961)
- 1889 – Harry Clarke, Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d. 1931)
- 1891 – Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1962)
- 1892 – Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1923)
- 1894 – Paul Green, American playwright and academic (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Lloyd Rees, Australian painter (d. 1988)
- 1901 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (d. 1970)
- 1902 – Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (d. 1971)
- 1904 – Chaim Gross, Austrian-American sculptor and educator (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (d. 1996)
- 1907 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Takeo Miki, Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
- 1910 – Sonny Werblin, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1991)
- 1912 – Bayard Rustin, American activist (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Robert S. Arbib Jr., American ornithologist, writer and conservationist (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Ray Ellington, English drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (d. 1965)
- 1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
- 1921 – Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (d. 2009)
- 1922 – Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Siegfried Lenz, Polish-German author and playwright (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Betty Allen, American soprano and educator (d. 2009)
- 1928 – William John McKeag, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Paul Horn, American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (d. 2014)
- 1930 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1991)
- 1931 – Patricia Breslin, American actress (d. 2011)
- 1931 – David Peakall, English-American chemist and toxicologist (d. 2001)
- 1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams, American journalist and activist
- 1933 – Penelope Lively, English author
- 1935 – Fred T. Mackenzie, American biologist and academic
- 1935 – Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor
- 1936 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor (d. 2016)
- 1936 – Ken Mattingly, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
- 1937 – Galina Samsova, Russian ballerina
- 1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
- 1938 – Keith O’Brien, Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal (d. 2018)
- 1938 – Zola Taylor, American singer (d. 2007)
- 1939 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1939 – Bill Graham, Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston, English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
- 1939 – Giovanni Trapattoni, Italian footballer and manager
- 1940 – Mark White, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese soldier and politician
- 1941 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Max Stafford-Clark, English director and academic
- 1942 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and rapist (d. 1994)
- 1943 – Jeff Banks, Welsh fashion designer
- 1943 – Andrew Brook, Canadian philosopher, author, and academic
- 1944 – Pattie Boyd, English model, author, and photographer
- 1944 – Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 – John Sebastian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Michael Hayden, American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- 1947 – Dennis Bond, English footballer, midfielder
- 1947 – Yury Chernavsky, Russian-American songwriter and producer
- 1948 – William Gibson, American-Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1949 – Patrick Duffy, American actor, director, and producer
- 1949 – Pat Rice, Irish footballer and coach
- 1949 – Stuart Rose, English businessman
- 1951 – Scott Gorham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1951 – Kurt Russell, American actor and producer
- 1952 – Barry Horne, English activist (d. 2001)
- 1953 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino activist (d. 2001)
- 1953 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
- 1955 – Cynthia McKinney, American activist and politician
- 1955 – Paul Overstreet, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Gary Sinise, American actor, director, and bass player
- 1956 – Patrick McDonnell, American author and illustrator
- 1956 – Rory McGrath, British comedian, television personality, and writer
- 1957 – Michael Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 2003)
- 1958 – Christian Clemenson, American actor
- 1959 – Danny Ainge, American baseball and basketball player
- 1959 – Paul Black, American singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1960 – Arye Gross, American actor
- 1960 – Vicki Lewis, American actress and singer
- 1961 – Sam Bowie, American basketball player
- 1961 – Dana Reeve, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2006)
- 1961 – Casey Siemaszko, American actor
- 1962 – Carsten Almqvist, Swedish business executive
- 1962 – Ank Bijleveld, Dutch politician
- 1962 – Janet Gardner, American singer and guitarist
- 1962 – Clare Grogan, Scottish singer and actress
- 1962 – Rob Sitch, Australian actor, director, and producer
- 1963 – Roger Harper, Guyanese cricketer and coach
- 1964 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1964 – Lee Dixon, English footballer and journalist
- 1964 – Rob Lowe, American actor and producer
- 1964 – Jacques Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer and coach
- 1965 – Andrew Hudson, South African cricketer
- 1966 – Andrew Rosindell, English journalist and politician
- 1967 – Jason Alchin, Australian rugby league player
- 1967 – Billy Corgan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer
- 1967 – Barry Minkow, American pastor and businessman
- 1968 – Eri Nitta, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
- 1968 – Mathew St. Patrick, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Edgar Grospiron, French skier
- 1969 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founded own eponymous brand (d. 2010)
- 1970 – Patrick Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Gene Ween, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Bill Mueller, American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1972 – Torquil Campbell, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1972 – Mia Hamm, American soccer player
- 1973 – Rico Blanco, Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1973 – Caroline Corr, Irish singer and drummer
- 1973 – Vance Wilson, American baseball player and manager
- 1974 – Mark Dolan, English comedian and television host
- 1975 – Justin Hawkins, English singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Puneeth Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
- 1975 – Test, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2009)
- 1975 – Natalie Zea, American actress
- 1976 – Scott Downs, American baseball player
- 1976 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2009)
- 1976 – Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
- 1977 – Tamar Braxton, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1978 – Zachery Kouwe, American journalist
- 1979 – Stormy Daniels, born Stephanie Gregory, American adult film actress
- 1979 – Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer
- 1979 – Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler
- 1980 – Danny Califf, American soccer player
- 1980 – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistani tennis player
- 1981 – Aaron Baddeley, American-Australian golfer
- 1981 – Servet Çetin, Turkish footballer
- 1981 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
- 1981 – Nicky Jam, American-Puerto-Rican singer and songwriter
- 1982 – Steven Pienaar, South African footballer
- 1983 – James Heath, English golfer
- 1983 – Raul Meireles, Portuguese footballer
- 1983 – Attila Vajda, Hungarian sprint canoeist
- 1984 – Ryan Rottman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1985 – Tuğba Karademir, Turkish-Canadian figure skater
- 1986 – Chris Davis, American baseball player
- 1986 – Edin Džeko, Bosnian footballer
- 1986 – Miles Kane, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1986 – Silke Spiegelburg, German pole vaulter
- 1987 – Federico Fazio, Argentinian international footballer, centre backland rugby league player
- 1987 – Ryan Parent, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Bobby Ryan, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Emmanuel Sanders, American football player
- 1988 – Rasmus Elm, Swedish footballer
- 1988 – Fraser Forster, English footballer
- 1988 – Grimes, Canadian artist, musician and music video director
- 1988 – Ryan White, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Shinji Kagawa, Japanese footballer
- 1990 – Hozier, Irish singer-songwriter and musician
- 1990 – Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player
- 1991 – Jack De Belin, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Patrick Cantlay, American golfer
- 1992 – John Boyega, English actor
- 1993 – Matteo Bianchetti, Italian footballer
- 1994 – Dean Britt, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Ashley Taylor, Australian rugby league player
- 1997 – Katie Ledecky, American swimmer
Deaths on March 17
- 45 BC – Titus Labienus, Roman general (b. 100 BC)
- 45 BC – Publius Attius Varus, Roman governor of Africa
- 180 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
- 624 – Amr ibn Hishām, Arab polytheist
- 659 – Gertrude of Nivelles, Frankish abbess
- 836 – Haito, bishop of Basel
- 905 – Li Yu, Prince of De, prince and emperor of the Tang Dynasty
- 1008 – Kazan, emperor of Japan (b. 968)
- 1040 – Harold Harefoot, king of England
- 1058 – Lulach, king of Scotland
- 1199 – Jocelin of Glasgow, Scottish monk and bishop (b. 1130)
- 1267 – Pierre de Montreuil, French architect
- 1270 – Philip of Montfort, French knight and nobleman
- 1272 – Go-Saga, emperor of Japan (b. 1220)
- 1361 – An-Nasir Hasan, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
- 1394 – Louis of Enghien, French nobleman
- 1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian sociologist, historian, and scholar (b. 1332)
- 1425 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1407)
- 1516 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian nobleman (b. 1479)
- 1527 – Rana Sanga, Indian ruler (b. 1482)
- 1565 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1500)
- 1611 – Sophia of Sweden, duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
- 1620 – John Sarkander, Polish-Moravian priest and saint (b. 1576)
- 1640 – Philip Massinger, English playwright (b. 1583)
- 1649 – Gabriel Lalemant, French missionary and saint (b. 1610)
- 1663 – Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland, English diplomat (b. 1605)
- 1680 – François de La Rochefoucauld, French author (b. 1613)
- 1704 – Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch soldier and engineer (b. 1641)
- 1715 – Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop and historian (b. 1643)
- 1741 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (b. 1671)
- 1764 – George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, English astronomer and politician (b. 1695)
- 1782 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1700)
- 1828 – James Edward Smith, English botanist and entomologist (b. 1759)
- 1829 – Sophia Albertina, princess-abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1753)
- 1830 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician (b. 1764)
- 1846 – Friedrich Bessel, German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1784)
- 1849 – William II, Dutch sovereign prince and king (b. 1792)
- 1853 – Christian Doppler, Austrian physicist and mathematician (b. 1803)
- 1871 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (b. 1802)
- 1875 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (b. 1832)
- 1917 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
- 1926 – Aleksei Brusilov, Georgian-Russian general (b. 1853)
- 1937 – Austen Chamberlain, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1863)
- 1940 – Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (b. 1854)
- 1946 – Dai Li, Chinese general (b. 1897)
- 1949 – Aleksandra Ekster, Russian-French painter and set designer (b. 1882)
- 1956 – Fred Allen, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author (b. 1894)
- 1956 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1957 – Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino captain and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
- 1958 – John Pius Boland, Irish tennis player and politician (b. 1870)
- 1958 – Bertha De Vriese, Belgian physician (b. 1877)
- 1961 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (b. 1860)
- 1965 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football player and coach (b. 1862)
- 1974 – Louis Kahn, American architect and academic, designed Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (b. 1901)
- 1976 – Luchino Visconti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1983 – Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1983 – Louisa E. Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (b. 1891)
- 1986 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (b.1923)
- 1990 – Capucine, French model and actress (b. 1928)
- 1992 – Grace Stafford, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1993 – Helen Hayes, American actress (b. 1900)
- 1994 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish-English actress and director (b. 1925)
- 1996 – René Clément, French director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 1996 – Terry Stafford, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 1997 – Jermaine Stewart, American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1957)
- 1999 – Ernest Gold, Austrian-American composer (b. 1921)
- 1999 – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French activist (b. 1905)
- 2002 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress and producer (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, American television broadcaster and producer (b. 1908)
- 2005 – Royce Frith, Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (b. 1923)
- 2005 – George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (b. 1904)
- 2005 – Andre Norton, American author (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1913)
- 2006 – İstemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1945)
- 2007 – John Backus, American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Roger Bennett, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1959)
- 2008 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian television host and politician (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1950)
- 2010 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Michael Gough, English actor (b. 1916)
- 2011 – Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Margaret Whitlam, Australian swimmer and author (b. 1919)
- 2013 – William B. Caldwell III, American general (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Lawrence Fuchs, American scholar and academic (b. 1927)
- 2013 – A.B.C. Whipple, American journalist and historian (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (b. 1974)
- 2014 – Joseph Kerman, American musicologist and critic (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Rachel Lambert Mellon, American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (b. 1910)
- 2015 – Frank Perris, Canadian motorcycle racer (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Meir Dagan, Israeli general (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1960)
- 2018 – Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian (b. 1954)
- 2018 – Phan Văn Khải, the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on March 17
- Children’s Day (Bangladesh)
- Christian feast day:
- Alexius of Rome (Eastern Church)
- Gertrude of Nivelles
- John Sarkander
- Joseph of Arimathea (Western Church)
- Patrick of Ireland
- March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
- Saint Patrick’s Day, a public holiday in Ireland, Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, widely celebrated in the English-speaking world and to a lesser degree in other parts of the world.
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February 2 in History
- 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of “Roman law”.
- 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
- 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
- 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
- 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.
- 1207 – Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
- 1438 – Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.
- 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
- 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1645 – Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Inverlochy.
- 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
- 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe’s adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
- 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
- 1850 – Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
- 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.
- 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
- 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
- 1899 – The Australian Premiers’ Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia’s capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
- 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
- 1909 – The Paris Film Congress opens. An attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPCC cartel in the United States.
- 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
- 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
- 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
- 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
- 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
- 1935 – Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.
- 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.
- 1959 – Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.
- 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
- 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
- 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.
- 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
- 1982 – Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
- 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
- 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
- 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
- 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
- 2002 – Wedding of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
- 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
- 2005 – The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
- 2007 – Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.
- 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead.
Births on February 2
- 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
- 1282 – Maud Chaworth, Countess of Leicester (d. 1322).
- 1425 (or 1426) – Eleanor of Navarre, Queen regnant of Navarre (d. 1479)
- 1443 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1486)
- 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513)
- 1457 – Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526)
- 1467 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican sister (d. 1501)
- 1494 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
- 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574)
- 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583)
- 1509 – John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader (d. 1536)
- 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565)
- 1536 – Piotr Skarga, Polish writer (d. 1612)
- 1551 – Nicolaus Reimers, German astronomer (d. 1600)
- 1576 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (d. 1622)
- 1585 – Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare’s youngest daughter (d. 1662)
- 1585 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s only son (baptised; d. 1596)
- 1588 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (d. 1644)
- 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
- 1611 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1633)
- 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
- 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679)
- 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
- 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II of England (d. 1687)
- 1651 – William Phips, Royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1695)
- 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732)
- 1677 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (d. 1745)
- 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772)
- 1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
- 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766)
- 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794)
- 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785)
- 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
- 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838)
- 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835)
- 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856)
- 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887)
- 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862)
- 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884)
- 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909)
- 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912)
- 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
- 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921)
- 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913)
- 1856 – Frederick William Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (d. 1938)
- 1856 – Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (d. 1905)
- 1857 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (d. 1918)
- 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
- 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949)
- 1862 – Émile Coste, French fencer (d. 1927)
- 1862 – Cornelius McKane, American physician, educator, and hospital founder (d. 1912)
- 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927)
- 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925)
- 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956)
- 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962)
- 1877 – Frank L. Packard, Canadian author (d. 1942)
- 1878 – Joe Lydon, American boxer (d. 1937)
- 1880 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
- 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
- 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944)
- 1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1941)
- 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958)
- 1883 – Julia Nava de Ruisánchez, Mexican activist and writer (d. 1964)
- 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975)
- 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952)
- 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
- 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
- 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1970)
- 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924)
- 1895 – George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
- 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981)
- 1895 – George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (d. 1964)
- 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
- 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson’s (d. 1972)
- 1897 – Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Anni Frind, German lyric soprano (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988)
- 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born American violinist and educator (d. 1987)
- 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
- 1902 – John Tonkin, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1995)
- 1904 – Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997)
- 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1911 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (d. 1968)
- 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997)
- 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985)
- 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014)
- 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985)
- 1917 – Mary Ellis, British World War II ferry pilot (d. 2018)
- 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999)
- 1920 – George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (d. 2004)
- 1920 – John Russell, American Olympic equestrian
- 1920 – Arthur Willis, English footballer, full-back, player-manager (d. 1987)
- 1922 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey player (d. 1978)
- 1922 – Robert Chef d’Hôtel, French athlete (d. 2019)
- 1922 – James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
- 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster (d.2012)
- 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988)
- 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982)
- 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France
- 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991)
- 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime minister of Italy
- 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Tommy Harmer, English footballer, inside forward, youth team coach (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
- 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, diplomat and jurist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993)
- 1931 – Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor (d. 2018)
- 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician
- 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author
- 1932 – Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (d. 2002)
- 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor (d. 2018)
- 1933 – M’el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (d. 2009)
- 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma
- 1935 – Pete Brown, American golfer (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic
- 1936 – Duane Jones, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991)
- 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach
- 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic
- 1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
- 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist
- 1937 – Alexandra Strelchenko, Russian Singer (d. 2019)
- 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
- 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
- 1939 – Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress (d. 2010)
- 1939 – Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology
- 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000)
- 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008)
- 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach
- 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer
- 1941 – Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor
- 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor
- 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012)
- 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator
- 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic
- 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman
- 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali
- 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009)
- 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009)
- 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
- 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973)
- 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
- 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996)
- 1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor and singer
- 1949 – Ross Valory, American rock bass player and songwriter
- 1950 – Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler
- 1950 – Libby Purves, British journalist and author
- 1950 – Barbara Sukowa, German actress
- 1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler
- 1951 – Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Ken Bruce, Scottish radio host
- 1952 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas
- 1952 – Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter
- 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea
- 1952 – Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic
- 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
- 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman
- 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor
- 1954 – Nelson Ne’e, Solomon Islander politician (d. 2013)
- 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
- 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author
- 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author
- 1955 – Michael Talbott, American actor
- 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress
- 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author
- 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
- 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013)
- 1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress and academic
- 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player
- 1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
- 1962 – Kate Raison, Australian actress
- 1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
- 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1963 – Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia
- 1963 – Philip Laats, Belgian martial artist
- 1963 – Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist
- 1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer
- 1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
- 1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach
- 1966 – Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1966 – Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian
- 1966 – Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
- 1967 – Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
- 1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
- 1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach
- 1969 – Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
- 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Arly Jover, Spanish actress
- 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014)
- 1971 – Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1971 – Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress
- 1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1972 – Aleksey Naumov, Russian footballer
- 1973 – Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach
- 1973 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
- 1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer
- 1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Donald Driver, American football player
- 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer
- 1976 – James Hickman, English swimmer
- 1976 – Ana Roces, Filipino actress
- 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech footballer
- 1978 – Adam Christopher, New Zealand writer
- 1978 – Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer
- 1978 – Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player
- 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1978 – Rich Sommer, American actor
- 1978 – Faye White, English footballer
- 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver
- 1979 – Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter
- 1979 – Christine Lampard, Irish television host
- 1979 – Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player
- 1979 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
- 1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
- 1980 – Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist
- 1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler
- 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Michelle Bass, English model and singer
- 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
- 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
- 1982 – Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host
- 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper
- 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer
- 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler
- 1984 – Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress
- 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 – Masoud Azizi, Afghan sprinter
- 1985 – Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor
- 1985 – Kristo Saage, Estonian basketball player
- 1985 – Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer
- 1986 – Miwa Asao, Japanese volleyball player
- 1987 – Anthony Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
- 1987 – Saia Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
- 1987 – Faydee, Australian singer
- 1987 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011
- 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer
- 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player
- 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer
- 1987 – Victoria Song, Chinese singer and actress
- 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer
- 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress
- 1989 – Harrison Smith, American football player
- 1989 – Southside, American record producer
- 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer
- 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
- 1991 – Shohei Nanba, Japanese actor
- 1992 – Lammtarra, American race horse (d. 2014)
- 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer
- 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer
- 1993 – Bobby Decordova-Reid, English born Jamaican international footballer, forward
- 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer
- 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer
- 1995 – Arfa Karim, Pakstani student and computer prodigy (d. 2012)
- 1996 – Harry Winks, English international footballer, midfielder
Deaths on February 2
- 619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint
- 880 – Bruno, duke of Saxony
- 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064)
- 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186)
- 1237 – Joan, Lady of Wales
- 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
- 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
- 1347 – Thomas Bek, Bishop of Lincoln, was the bishop of Lincoln (b. 1282)
- 1348 – Narymunt, Prince of Pinsk
- 1435 – Joan II of Naples, Queen of Naples (b. 1371)
- 1446 – Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (b. 1378)
- 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372)
- 1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty (b. c. 1400)
- 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief
- 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478)
- 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1558)
- 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525)
- 1648 – George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603)
- 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608)
- 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
- 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596)
- 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594)
- 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610)
- 1704 – Guillaume de l’Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661)
- 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639)
- 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643)
- 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666)
- 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689)
- 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
- 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713)
- 1804 – George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1749)
- 1831 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (b. 1768)
- 1836 – Letizia Ramolino, Italian noblewoman (b. 1750)
- 1861 – Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary (b. 1829)
- 1881 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1808)
- 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882)
- 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841)
- 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824)
- 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834)
- 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829)
- 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845)
- 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858)
- 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894)
- 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867)
- 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
- 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (b. 1848)
- 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880)
- 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879)
- 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883)
- 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905)
- 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876)
- 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907)
- 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884)
- 1945 – Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
- 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870)
- 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894)
- 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
- 1952 – Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866)
- 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886)
- 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
- 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878)
- 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890)
- 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914)
- 1966 – Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (b. 1906)
- 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878)
- 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
- 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
- 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876)
- 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902)
- 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922)
- 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883)
- 1979 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (b. 1930)
- 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957)
- 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
- 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (b. 1897)
- 1986 – Anita Cobby, Australian murder victim (b. 1959)
- 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
- 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
- 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951)
- 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901)
- 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905)
- 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
- 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (b. 1914)
- 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Marija Gimbutas, Lithuanian-American archeologist (b. 1921)
- 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917)
- 1995 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player (b. 1909)
- 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (b. 1919)
- 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
- 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
- 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (b. 1904)
- 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914)
- 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
- 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
- 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937)
- 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
- 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (b. 1939)
- 2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
- 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960)
- 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian general (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (b. 1975)
- 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920)
- 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923)
- 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961)
- 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974)
- 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924)
- 2013 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Walt Sweeney, American football player (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (b. 1992)
- 2014 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967)
- 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962)
- 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Nigel Walker, English footballer (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1968)
- 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (b. 1977)
- 2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on February 2
- Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Adalbard
- Cornelius the Centurion
- Martyrs of Ebsdorf
- February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Philippines)
- Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)
- Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances:
- Bun Day (Iceland)
- Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway)
- Nickanan Night (Cornwall)
- Rosenmontag (Germany)
- Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
- A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland)
- Celebration of Yemanja or Our Lady of Navigators (Candomblé)
- Le Jour des Crêpes (France)
- Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics)
- Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)
- Groundhog Day (United States and Canada), and its related observances:
- Inventor’s Day (Thailand)
- Trader’s Day (Poland)
- Victory of the Battle of Stalingrad (Russia)
- World Wetlands Day
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January 21 in History
- 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
- 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
- 1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.
- 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
- 1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire, as a result of a torch being left behind in the box of a nobleman after a performance. It is rebuilt in 1754.
- 1774 – Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
- 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
- 1854 – The RMS Tayleur sinks off Lambay Island on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia with great loss of life.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
- 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
- 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
- 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
- 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
- 1919 – A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place.
- 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
- 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
- 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
- 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
- 1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
- 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
- 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
- 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes at Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, killing 37 people.
- 1960 – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
- 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
- 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
- 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
- 1980 – Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
- 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
- 1985 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
- 1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
- 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
- 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
- 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
- 2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
- 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.
- 2009 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow.
- 2011 – Anti government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Five people lose their lives from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister’s office. To date, no one has been held accountable for the deaths.
- 2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women’s march, on Donald Trump’s first full day as President of the United States.
- 2018 – Rocket Lab’s Electron becomes the first rocket to reach orbit using an electric pump-fed engine and deploys three CubeSats.
Births on January 21
- 1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (d. 1284)
- 1277 – Galeazzo I Visconti, lord of Milan
- 1338 – Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1493 – Giovanni Poggio, Italian cardinal and diplomat (d. 1556)
- 1598 – Matsudaira Tadamasa, Japanese samurai and daimyō (d. 1645)
- 1612 – Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz (d. 1640)
- 1636 – Melchiorre Cafà, Maltese Baroque sculptor (baptised; d. 1667)
- 1655 – Antonio Molinari, Italian painter (d. 1704)
- 1659 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (d. 1722)
- 1675 – Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margravine of Baden-Baden (d. 1733)
- 1714 – Anna Morandi Manzolini, Spanish anatomist (d. 1774)
- 1717 – Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish military officer and governor of Cuba (d. 1779)
- 1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
- 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French rococo painter (d. 1805)
- 1732 – Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (d. 1797)
- 1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (d. 1789)
- 1741 – Chaim of Volozhin, Orthodox rabbi (d. 1821)
- 1763 – Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (d. 1794)
- 1775 – Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer (d. 1832)
- 1784 – Peter De Wint, English painter (d. 1849)
- 1788 – William Henry Smyth, Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist
- 1796 – Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1880)
- 1797 – Joseph Méry, French author and journalist (d. 1866)
- 1800 – Theodor Fliedner, German Lutheran minister (d. 1864)
- 1801 – John Batman, Australian entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1839)
- 1804 – Moritz von Schwind, Austrian painter (d. 1871)
- 1808 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, 16th President of Peru (d. 1875)
- 1810 – Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, French general (d. 1892)
- 1811 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, British statesman (d. 1885)
- 1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (d. 1890)
- 1813 – Giuseppe Montanelli, Italian statesman and author (d. 1862)
- 1814 – Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, German bibliographer and historian (d. 1885)
- 1815 – Horace Wells, American dentist (d. 1848)
- 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (d. 1899)
- 1820 – Egide Walschaerts, Belgian mechanical engineer (d. 1901)
- 1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)
- 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1900)
- 1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (d. 1907)
- 1839 – Caterina Volpicelli, Italian Roman Catholic nun (d. 1894)
- 1840 – Sophia Jex-Blake, English physician and feminist (d. 1912)
- 1841 – Édouard Schuré, French philosopher and author (d. 1929)
- 1843 – Émile Levassor, French engineer (d. 1897)
- 1845 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
- 1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
- 1846 – Albert Lavignac, French music scholar (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Joseph Achille Le Bel, French chemist (d. 1930)
- 1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (d. 1933)
- 1851 – Giuseppe Allamano, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1926)
- 1854 – Karl Julius Beloch, German classical and economic historian (d. 1929)
- 1854 – Eusapia Palladino, Italian Spiritualist (d. 1918)
- 1855 – Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1874)
- 1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
- 1864 – Israel Zangwill, British author (d. 1926)
- 1865 – Heinrich Albers-Schonberg, German gynecologist and radiologist (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (d. 1965)
- 1868 – Felix Hoffmann, German chemist (d. 1946)
- 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian Mystic (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Olga Preobrajenska, Russian ballerina (d. 1962)
- 1873 – Arturo Labriola, Italian revolutionary syndicalist (d. 1959)
- 1874 – René-Louis Baire, French mathematician (d. 1932)
- 1875 – Paul E. Kahle, German orientalist (d. 1964)
- 1877 – Baldassarre Negroni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Joseph Roffo, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1933)
- 1880 – George Van Biesbroeck, Belgian–American astronomer (d. 1974)
- 1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (d. 1959)
- 1881 – André Godard, French archaeologist, architect and historian (d. 1965)
- 1881 – Ivan Ribar, Yugoslav politician (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (d. 1937)
- 1882 – Francis Gailey, Australian-American swimmer (d. 1972)
- 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (d. 1929)
- 1883 – Mathias Hynes, British tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
- 1885 – Duncan Grant, British painter and designer (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Harold A. Wilson, English runner (d. 1932)
- 1886 – John M. Stahl, American director and producer (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Wolfgang Köhler, German psychologist and phenomenologist (d. 1967)
- 1887 – Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (d. 1960)
- 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
- 1889 – Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Albert Battel, German Army lieutenant and lawyer (d. 1952)
- 1891 – Francisco Lázaro, Portuguese marathon runner (d. 1912)
- 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1977)
- 1895 – Noe Itō, Japanese anarchist, author and feminist (d. 1923)
- 1896 – Guy Gilpatric, American pilot and journalist (d. 1950)
- 1896 – Paula Hitler, younger sister of Adolf Hitler (d. 1960)
- 1896 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Masa Perttilä, Finnish wrestler (d. 1968)
- 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
- 1898 – Rudolph Maté, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, producer and director (d. 1964)
- 1898 – Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (d. 1930)
- 1898 – Eduard Zintl, German chemist (d. 1941)
- 1899 – John Bodkin Adams, British general practitioner and convict (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1969)
- 1899 – Edith Tolkien, wife and muse of J. R. R. Tolkien (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
- 1900 – Elof Ahrle, Swedish actor and director (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Anselm Franz, Austrian engineer (d. 1994)
- 1900 – Bernhard Rensch, German evolutionary biologist (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Fernando Quiroga Palacios, Spanish Cardinal (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
- 1903 – William Lyon, American film editor (d. 1974)
- 1903 – Raymond Suvigny, French weightlifter (d. 1945)
- 1904 – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (d. 1984)
- 1904 – John Porter, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1997)
- 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957)
- 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)
- 1906 – Leo Halle, Dutch footballer (d. 1992)
- 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
- 1907 – Carlo Cavagnoli, Italian boxer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Jānis Mendriks, Latvian Catholic priest (d. 1953)
- 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Teofilo Spasojević, Serbian footballer (d. 1970)
- 1910 – Hideo Shinojima, Japanese footballer (d. 1975)
- 1910 – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
- 1910 – Rosa Kellner, German athlete (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Károly Takács, Hungarian shooter (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Dick Garrard, Australian wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Lee Yoo-hyung, Korean footballer and manager (d. 2003)
- 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
- 1915 – André Lichnerowicz, French mathematician (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (d. 1981)
- 1916 – Pietro Rava, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish midwife; American and Yiddish-language actress; producer of the Yiddish stage (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Erling Persson, H&M founder (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Jimmy Hagan, English footballer (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Richard Winters, American soldier (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist and conductor (d. 1989)
- 1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1987)
- 1921 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Predrag Vranicki, Croatian Marxist Humanist, and member of the Praxis school in the 1960s in Yugoslavia (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1995)
- 1923 – Alberto de Mendoza, Argentine actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1925 – Charles Aidman, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1925 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Clive Donner, British director (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (d. 1980)
- 1926 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Roger Taillibert, French architect (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Robert J. White, American neurosurgeon (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Rudolf Kraus, German footballer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentinian general and politician, 41st President of Argentina (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Radley Metzger, American filmmaker (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Yoshiko Kuga, Japanese actress
- 1933 – Habib Thiam, Senegalese politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Tony Marchi, English footballer, wing half
- 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
- 1934 – Antonio Karmany, Spanish cyclist
- 1934 – Alfonso Portugal, Mexican footballer (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Dick Davies, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Judit Ágoston-Mendelényi, Hungarian fencer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
- 1938 – Sandy Barr, American wrestler and referee (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Romano Fogli, Italian footballer
- 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1939 – Paul Genevay, French sprinter
- 1939 – Friedel Lutz, German footballer
- 1939 – Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer
- 1939 – Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1940 – Patrick Robinson, British novelist
- 1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
- 1941 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
- 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
- 1941 – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
- 1942 – Freddy Breck, German singer, producer, and news anchor (d. 2008)
- 1942 – Eugène Camara, Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2019)
- 1942 – Han Pil-hwa, North Korean speed skater
- 1942 – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1942 – Michael G. Wilson, American producer and screenwriter
- 1943 – Zdravko Hebel, Croatian water polo player (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Arnar Jónsson, Icelandic actor
- 1943 – Alfons Peeters, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer
- 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist
- 1945 – Pete Kircher, English drummer
- 1945 – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
- 1946 – Ichiro Hosotani, Japanese footballer
- 1946 – Nella Martinetti, Swiss singer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Tomás Pineda, El Salvadoran footballer
- 1946 – Miguel Reina, Spanish footballer
- 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
- 1947 – Andrzej Bachleda, Polish former alpine skier
- 1947 – Dorian M. Goldfeld, American mathematician
- 1947 – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
- 1947 – Joseph Nicolosi, American clinical psychologist (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Giuseppe Savoldi, Italian footballer
- 1947 – Roberto Zywica, Argentine footballer
- 1948 – Zygmunt Kukla, Polish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1948 – Hugo Tocalli, Argentine footballer
- 1949 – Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam
- 1949 – Clifford Ray, American basketball coach and player
- 1950 – Marion Becker, German javelin thrower
- 1950 – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
- 1950 – José Marín, Spanish racewalker
- 1950 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
- 1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
- 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
- 1952 – Werner Grissmann, Austrian alpine skier
- 1952 – Mikhail Umansky, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
- 1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (d. 2018)
- 1953 – Felipe Yáñez, Spanish cyclist
- 1954 – Thomas de Maizière, German politician of the Christian Democratic Union
- 1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
- 1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
- 1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
- 1955 – Nello Musumeci, Italian politician and President of Sicily
- 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
- 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
- 1958 – Matt Salmon, American politician
- 1958 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi footballer
- 1958 – Sergei Walter, Ukrainian politician (d. 2015)
- 1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
- 1959 – Sergei Alifirenko, Russian pistol shooter
- 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1960 – Sidney Lowe, American basketball player
- 1960 – Mike Terrana, American hard rock and heavy metal drummer
- 1961 – Kevin Cramer, American politician
- 1961 – Cornelia Pröll, Austrian alpine skier
- 1961 – Ivo Pukanić Croatian journalist (d. 2008)
- 1961 – Gary Shaw, English footballer
- 1961 – Piotr Ugrumov, Russian cyclist
- 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
- 1962 – Isabelle Nanty, French actress, director and screenwriter
- 1962 – Gabriele Pin, Italian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Zoran Thaler, Slovenian politician
- 1962 – Erik Verlinde, Dutch theoretical physicist
- 1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Andreas Bauer, German ski jumper
- 1964 – Tony Dolan, English musician and actor
- 1964 – Gérald Passi, French footballer
- 1964 – Ricardo Serna, Spanish footballer
- 1964 – Aleksandar Šoštar, Serbian water polo player
- 1964 – Danny Wallace, English footballer
- 1965 – Robert Del Naja, British artist, musician and singer
- 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (d. 2002)
- 1965 – Masahiro Wada, Japanese footballer
- 1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
- 1967 – Alfred Jermaniš, Slovenian footballer
- 1967 – Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper
- 1968 – Dmitry Fomin, Soviet and Russian volleyball player
- 1968 – Ilya Smirin, Israeli chess Grandmaster
- 1968 – Artur Dmitriev, Soviet and Russian ice skater
- 1968 – Sébastien Lifshitz, French director
- 1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
- 1969 – John Ducey, American actor
- 1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
- 1969 – Karina Lombard, French-American actress and singer
- 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
- 1970 – Alen Bokšić, former Croatian footballer
- 1970 – Marina Foïs, French actress
- 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
- 1970 – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
- 1971 – Uni Arge, Faroese footballer and entertainer
- 1971 – Rafael Berges, Spanish footballer
- 1971 – Doug Edwards, American basketball player
- 1971 – Dmitri Khlestov, Russian footballer
- 1971 – Dylan Kussman, American actor
- 1971 – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
- 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Billel Dziri, Algerian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
- 1972 – Sead Kapetanović, Bosnian footballer
- 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
- 1972 – Cat Power, American singer, musician and actress
- 1972 – Shawn Rojeski, American curler
- 1972 – Sabina Valbusa, Italian cross-country skier
- 1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
- 1973 – Chris Kilmore, American musician and DJ
- 1973 – Edvinas Krungolcas, Lithuanian modern pentathlete
- 1973 – Flavio Maestri, Peruvian footballer
- 1974 – Malena Alterio, Spanish actress
- 1974 – Maxwell Atoms, American animator, screenwriter and voice actor
- 1974 – Kim Dotcom, German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist
- 1974 – Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle distance runner
- 1974 – Vincent Laresca, American actor
- 1974 – Ulrich Le Pen, French footballer
- 1974 – Marco Zanotti, Italian cyclist
- 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
- 1975 – Casey FitzRandolph, American speedskater
- 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
- 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1975 – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer, left winger
- 1975 – Jason Moran, American jazz pianist, composer and educator
- 1975 – Florin Șerban, Romanian director
- 1975 – Alyaksandr Yermakovich, Belarusian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
- 1976 – Raivis Belohvoščiks, Latvian cyclist
- 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer
- 1976 – Lars Eidinger, German actor
- 1976 – Giorgio Frezzolini, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Igors Stepanovs, Latvian footballer
- 1977 – Hussein Abdulghani, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1977 – Bradley Carnell, South African footballer
- 1977 – John DeSantis, Canadian actor
- 1977 – Kirsten Klose, German hammer thrower
- 1977 – Denis Lunghi, Italian cyclist
- 1977 – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
- 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
- 1977 – Michael Ruffin, American basketball player
- 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
- 1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
- 1978 – Peter von Allmen, Swiss cross-country skier
- 1978 – Hernán Rodrigo López, Uruguayan footballer
- 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Quinton Jacobs, Namibian footballer
- 1979 – Byung-hyun Kim, South Korean baseball player
- 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper and actor
- 1979 – Melendi, Spanish singer
- 1979 – Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby player
- 1979 – Sebastian Schindzielorz, German footballer
- 1980 – Troy Dumais, American diver
- 1980 – Karsten Forsterling, Australian rower
- 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer and manager
- 1980 – Lee Kyung-won, South Korean badminton player
- 1980 – Kevin McKenna, Canadian soccer player
- 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
- 1980 – Alexander Os, former Norwegian biathlete
- 1980 – Xavier Pons, Spanish rally diver
- 1980 – Mari Possa, El Salvadoran pornographic actress
- 1980 – Bratislav Ristić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
- 1981 – Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Roberto Guana Italian footballer
- 1981 – Wu Hanxiong, Chinese fencer
- 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
- 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
- 1981 – Shawn Redhage, American-Australian basketball player
- 1981 – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
- 1981 – David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
- 1982 – Richard José Blanco, Venezuelan footballer
- 1982 – Adriano Ferreira Martins, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
- 1982 – Sarah Ourahmoune, French boxer
- 1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
- 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
- 1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
- 1983 – Monique Adamczak, Australian tennis player
- 1983 – Victor Leandro Bagy, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Ranko Despotović, Serbian footballer
- 1983 – Svetlana Khodchenkova, Russian actress
- 1983 – Marieke van den Ham, Dutch water polo player
- 1983 – Billy Mwanza, Zambian footballer
- 1983 – Maryse Ouellet, French-Canadian wrestler
- 1983 – Álvaro Quirós, Spanish golfer
- 1983 – Francesca Segat, Italian swimmer
- 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer, right back, football pundit and scout
- 1983 – Kelly VanderBeek, Canadian alpine skier
- 1984 – Leonardo Burián, Uruguayan footballer
- 1984 – Luke Grimes, American actor
- 1984 – Amy Hastings, American track and fielder
- 1984 – Alex Koslov, Moldovan-American wrestler
- 1984 – Dejan Milovanović, Serbian footballer
- 1984 – Wes Morgan, Jamaican footballer
- 1984 – Haloti Ngata, American footballer
- 1985 – Markus Berger, Austrian footballer
- 1985 – Artur Beterbiev, Russian boxer
- 1985 – Aura Dione, Danish singer and songwriter
- 1985 – Nick Gehlfuss, American actor
- 1985 – Salvatore Giunta, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1985 – Yumi Hara, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
- 1985 – Rodrigo San Miguel, Spanish basketball player
- 1985 – Ri Se-gwang, North Korean artistic gymnast
- 1985 – Dmitri Sokolov, Russian basketball player
- 1985 – Ryan Suter, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – César Arzo, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Edson Barboza, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1986 – João Gomes Júnior, Brazilian swimmer
- 1986 – Javi López, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Gina Mambrú, volleyball player from Dominican Republic
- 1986 – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Mike Taylor, American basketball player
- 1986 – Óscar Vílchez, Peruvian footballer
- 1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor
- 1987 – Ioannis Athanasoulas, Greek basketball player
- 1987 – Andrei Cojocari, Moldovan footballer
- 1987 – Alexander Dercho, German footballer
- 1987 – Aida Hadzialic, Swedish politician
- 1987 – Shaun Keeling, South African rower
- 1987 – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
- 1987 – Kevin Kratz, German footballer
- 1987 – Danny Munyao, Zambian footballer
- 1987 – Henrico Drost, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Will Johnson, Canadian footballer
- 1987 – Mulopo Kudimbana, Congolese footballer
- 1987 – Nyasha Mushekwi, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1987 – Dominik Roels, German cyclist
- 1987 – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
- 1987 – Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Japanese actress
- 1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
- 1988 – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
- 1988 – Rolands Freimanis, Latvian basketball player
- 1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian-American model and actress
- 1988 – Aleksandar Lazevski, Macedonian footballer
- 1988 – Ángel Mena, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1988 – Valérie Tétreault, Canadian tennis player
- 1988 – Pieter Timmers, Belgian swimmer
- 1988 – Nemanja Tomić, Serbian footballer
- 1988 – Ben Turner, English footballer
- 1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
- 1989 – Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player
- 1989 – Férébory Doré, Congolese footballer
- 1989 – Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer
- 1989 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
- 1989 – Matteo Pelucchi, Italian cyclist
- 1989 – Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player
- 1990 – Arash Afshin, Iranian footballer
- 1990 – Diogo Amado, Portuguese footballer
- 1990 – Andriy Bohdanov, Ukrainian footballer
- 1990 – Kelly Rohrbach, American model and actress
- 1990 – André Martins, Portuguese footballer
- 1990 – Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
- 1990 – Doni Tata Pradita, Indonesian motorcycle racer
- 1991 – Ali Al-Busaidi, Omani footballer
- 1991 – Javier Calvo, Spanish actor and director
- 1991 – Mohammad Ghadir, Arab-Israeli footballer
- 1991 – Jan Hirt, Czech cyclist
- 1991 – Mateusz Mika, Polish volleyball player
- 1991 – Alfredo Ortuño, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Marta Pagnini, Italian gymnast
- 1991 – Craig Roberts, Welsh actor and director
- 1991 – Luis Alfonso Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
- 1992 – Verónica Cepede Royg, Paraguayan tennis player
- 1992 – Sven Erik Bystrøm, Norwegian cyclist
- 1992 – James Duckworth, Australian tennis player
- 1992 – Kwame Karikari, Ghanaian footballer
- 1992 – Nicolás Mezquida, Uruguayan footballer
- 1992 – Roland Szolnoki, Hungarian footballer
- 1993 – Clément Mignon, French swimmer
- 1993 – Muralha, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Chiara Pierobon, Italian cyclist (d. 2015)
- 1994 – Amin Affane, Swedish footballer
- 1994 – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
- 1994 – Kang Seung-yoon, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
- 1994 – Nils Allen “Booboo” Stewart Jr., American actor
- 1994 – Lim Kim, South Korean singer and actress
- 1995 – Yulia Belorukova, Russian cross-country skier
- 1995 – Nguyễn Công Phượng, Vietnamese footballer
- 1995 – Marine Johannes, French basketball player
- 1995 – Alanna Kennedy, Australian footballer player
- 1996 – Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
- 1996 – Aldo Kalulu, French footballer
- 1996 – Cristian Pavón, Argentine footballer
- 1997 – Jeremy Shada, American actor, musician and singer
- 1998 – Borna Sosa, Croatian footballer
- 1999 – Rubina Ali, Indian actress
- 2003 – Natalie Garcia, rhythmic gymnast
- 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 2nd in line for the Norwegian throne
Deaths on January 21
- 420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
- 496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (b. 438)
- 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. 880)
- 918 – Liu Zhijun, Chinese general
- 939 – Yang Pu, Chinese emperor (b. 900)
- 942 – An Chongrong, Chinese general (Five Dynasties)
- 945 – Yang Tan, Chinese general and governor
- 1118 – Pope Paschal II (b. 1050)
- 1203 – Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1139)
- 1320 – Árni Helgason, Icelandic bishop (b. c. 1260)
- 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (b. 1489)
- 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1491)
- 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (b. 1540)
- 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. 1570)
- 1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (b. 1643)
- 1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1621)
- 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (b. 1616)
- 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
- 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (b. 1638)
- 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1661)
- 1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1675)
- 1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (b. 1689)
- 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1717)
- 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1742)
- 1789 – Baron d’Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (b. 1723)
- 1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)
- 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (b. 1728)
- 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (b. 1729)
- 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (b. 1737)
- 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (b. 1761)
- 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (b. 1781)
- 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (b. 1801)
- 1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (b. 1820)
- 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1812)
- 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (b. 1791)
- 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
- 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (b. 1842)
- 1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (b. 1835)
- 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1857)
- 1918 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (b. 1857)
- 1919 – Gojong of Korea (b. 1852)
- 1919 – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1839)
- 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
- 1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
- 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
- 1932 – Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (b. 1880)
- 1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
- 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1898)
- 1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
- 1945 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and engineer (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
- 1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)
- 1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (b. 1880)
- 1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Frances Gertrude McGill, pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist (b. 1882)
- 1959 – Carl Switzer, American child actor and hunting guide (b. 1927)
- 1960 – Matt Moore, Irish-American actor and director (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Gwynne Evans, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1968 – Will Lang, Jr., American journalist (b. 1914)
- 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (b. 1906)
- 1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (b. 1949)
- 1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (b. 1893)
- 1984 – Jackie Wilson, American singer (b. 1934)
- 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
- 1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (b. 1919)
- 1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
- 1989 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
- 1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)
- 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
- 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (b. 1907)
- 2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
- 2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (b. 1953)
- 2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (b. 1938)
- 2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (b. 1946)
- 2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (b. 1960)
- 2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (b. 1918)
- 2019 – Kaye Ballard, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2019 – Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (b. 1933)
- 2019 – Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (b. 1990)
- 2019 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (b. 1926)
- 2020 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
- 2020 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances on January 21
- Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
- Birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (Norway)
- Christian feast day:
- Agnes
- Demiana (Coptic Church)
- Fructuosus
- John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Meinrad of Einsiedeln
- January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
- Flag Day (Quebec)
- Grandmother’s Day (Poland)
- Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
- Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)
-
January 15 in History
- 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
- 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the “Holy Catholic faith”.
- 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
- 1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
- 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
- 1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
- 1818 – A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a “supplement” (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
- 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
- 1867 – Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, collapses.
- 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
- 1876 – The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
- 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
- 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
- 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
- 1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
- 1911 – Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
- 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
- 1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
- 1934 – The 8.0 Mw Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
- 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
- 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
- 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
- 1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
- 1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
- 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
- 1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
- 1962 – Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
- 1966 – The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
- 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
- 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
- 1970 – Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
- 1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
- 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
- 1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
- 1976 – Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1981 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
- 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
- 1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
- 2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
- 2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
- 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
- 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off.
- 2013 – A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
- 2015 – The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc’s value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets
- 2016 – The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
- 2019 – Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.
- 2019 – Theresa May’s UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.
Births on January 15
- 961 – Seongjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 997)
- 1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
- 1462 – Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1528)
- 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1511)
- 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
- 1595 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (d. 1661)
- 1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)
- 1623 – Algernon Sidney, British philosopher (d. 1683)
- 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1704)
- 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (d. 1762)
- 1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1778)
- 1747 – John Aikin, English surgeon and author (d. 1822)
- 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
- 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1872)
- 1795 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian playwright, composer, and poet (d. 1829)
- 1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet and author (d. 1811)
- 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French economist and politician (d. 1865)
- 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
- 1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
- 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (d. 1911)
- 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
- 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
- 1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)
- 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1889)
- 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
- 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek-French soldier and actor (d. 1889)
- 1858 – Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter (d. 1899)
- 1859 – Archibald Peake, English-Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
- 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
- 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
- 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
- 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish poet, playwright, and painter (d. 1907)
- 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1954)
- 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (d. 1944)
- 1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and journalist (d. 1929)
- 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1956)
- 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1961)
- 1882 – Henry Burr, Canadian singer, radio performer, and producer (d. 1941)
- 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and author (d. 1973)
- 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
- 1890 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
- 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and translator (d. 1938)
- 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
- 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Marjorie Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1982)
- 1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Greek-Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1903 – Paul A. Dever, American lieutenant and politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
- 1907 – Janusz Kusociński, Polish runner and soldier (d. 1940)
- 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 2003)
- 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-French engineer (d. 1939)
- 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)
- 1912 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Ukrainian-Russian lieutenant (d. 1963)
- 1914 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general (d. 2014)
- 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (d. 2003)
- 1917 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (d. 1994)
- 1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian general and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
- 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer and politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (d. 2012)
- 1919 – George Cadle Price, Belizean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Bob Davies, American basketball player and coach (d. 1990)
- 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1920 – John O’Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Eric Willis, Australian sergeant and politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish pianist, songwriter, and poet (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese economist and politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
- 1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist and composer
- 1925 – Ignacio López Tarso, Mexican actor
- 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
- 1928 – W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
- 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated in 1968)
- 1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1985)
- 1931 – Lee Bontecou, American painter and sculptor
- 1932 – Lou Jones, American sprinter (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Frank Bough, English journalist and radio host
- 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author and academic (d. 2019)
- 1933 – Peter Maitlis, English chemist and academic
- 1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian civil servant and politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Margaret O’Brien, American actress and singer
- 1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
- 1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
- 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
- 1939 – Per Ahlmark, Swedish journalist and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor
- 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American academic and judge (d. 2013)
- 1943 – George Ambrum, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Margaret Beckett, English metallurgist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- 1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
- 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
- 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
- 1945 – Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (d. 1993)
- 1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
- 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
- 1945 – David Pleat, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1946 – Charles Brown, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Mary Hogg, English lawyer and judge
- 1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (d. 1977)
- 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2001)
- 1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Ian Stewart, Scottish runner
- 1949 – Howard Twitty, American golfer
- 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer and coach
- 1952 – Boris Blank, Swiss singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
- 1953 – Randy White, American football player
- 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author and illustrator
- 1955 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
- 1955 – Khalid Islambouli, Egyptian lieutenant (d. 1982)
- 1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
- 1956 – Mayawati, Indian educator and politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
- 1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
- 1957 – David Ige, American politician
- 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Andrew Tyrie, English journalist and politician
- 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
- 1958 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2016)
- 1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian psychologist and politician, 16th President of Serbia
- 1959 – Greg Dowling, Australian rugby league player
- 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
- 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player and songwriter
- 1961 – Serhiy N. Morozov, Ukrainian footballer and coach
- 1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
- 1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
- 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
- 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
- 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer and coach
- 1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
- 1966 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
- 1967 – Ted Tryba, American golfer
- 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
- 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player and manager
- 1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
- 1971 – Regina King, American actress
- 1972 – Shelia Burrell, American heptathlete
- 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
- 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist and critic
- 1973 – Essam El Hadary, Egyptian footballer
- 1973 – Suparno Satpathy, Indian socio-political leader
- 1974 – Séverine Deneulin, international development academic
- 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
- 1975 – Mary Pierce, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
- 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1976 – Iryna Lishchynska, Ukrainian runner
- 1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
- 1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
- 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
- 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
- 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
- 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
- 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
- 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
- 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper and producer
- 1981 – Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot putter and hammer thrower
- 1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
- 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
- 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1982 – Brett Lebda, American ice hockey player
- 1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish pianist and composer
- 1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
- 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
- 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
- 1984 – Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator
- 1985 – René Adler, German footballer
- 1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
- 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
- 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
- 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
- 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
- 1987 – Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer
- 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
- 1988 – Skrillex, American DJ and producer
- 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
- 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
- 1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
- 1991 – Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper
- 1991 – James Mitchell, Australian basketball player
- 1992 – Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer
- 1994 – Eric Dier, English footballer
- 1998 – Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast
- 2004 – Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter
Deaths on January 15
- AD 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
- 378 – Chak Tok Ich’aak I, Mayan ruler
- 570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
- 849 – Theophylact, Byzantine emperor (b. 793)
- 936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
- 950 – Wang Jingchong, Chinese general
- 1149 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen consort of Castile (b. 1116)
- 1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
- 1569 – Catherine Carey, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England (b. 1524)
- 1584 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (b. 1520)
- 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
- 1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian lawyer, historian, and scholar (b. 1552)
- 1672 – John Cosin, English bishop and academic (b. 1594)
- 1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
- 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
- 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1719)
- 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (b. 1725)
- 1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
- 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English-French mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
- 1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
- 1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
- 1866 – Massimo d’Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (b. 1798)
- 1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
- 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer and conductor (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Fanny Kemble, English actress (b. 1809)
- 1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (b. 1822)
- 1905 – George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
- 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
- 1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright and translator (b. 1850)
- 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
- 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German economist, theorist, and philosopher (b. 1871)
- 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
- 1929 – George Cope, American painter (b. 1855)
- 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English cricketer and politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
- 1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author, theoretician, and educator (b. 1902)
- 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (b. 1865)
- 1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
- 1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
- 1951 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (b. 1868)
- 1951 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian captain and sailor (b. 1887)
- 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian sergeant and politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
- 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (b. 1900)
- 1959 – Regina Margareten, Hungarian businesswoman (b. 1863)
- 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (b. 1905)
- 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
- 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- 1970 – Frank Clement, English race car driver (b. 1886)
- 1970 – William T. Piper, American engineer and businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
- 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
- 1973 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
- 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Graham Whitehead, English race car driver (b. 1922)
- 1982 – Red Smith, American journalist (b. 1905)
- 1983 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1984 – Fazıl Küçük, Cypriot journalist and politician (b. 1906)
- 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish republican activist and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Gordon Jackson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1923)
- 1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist and composer (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
- 1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
- 1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
- 1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1934)
- 1999 – Betty Box, English composer and producer (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
- 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
- 2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
- 2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author and critic (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi lawyer and judge (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
- 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American computer scientist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino educator and diplomat (b. 1905)
- 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese commander and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1908)
- 2008 – Robert V. Bruce, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
- 2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (b. 1908)
- 2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Samuel Jaskilka, American general (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (b. 1970)
- 2014 – John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (b. 1915)
- 2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (b. 1954)
- 2016 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)
- 2016 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish pop singer (b. 1971)
- 2019 – Carol Channing, American actress (b. 1921)
- 2019 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (b. 1936)
Holidays and observances on January 15
- Arbor Day (Egypt)
- Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
- Army Day (India)
- Christian feast day:
- Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
- Arnold Janssen
- Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)
- Ita
- Our Lady of the Poor
- Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
- Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)
- Paul the Hermit
- January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Martin Luther King Jr. Day can fall (the 15th being his birthday), while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
- Earliest day on which Sinulog Festival can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in January. (Philippines)
- John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
- Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
- Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia)
- Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. (Kamakura, Japan)
- Teacher’s Day (Venezuela)
- The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
- Thai Pongal, Tamil harvest festival