1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
1635 – In the Eighty Years’ War the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans.
1656 – Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
1778 – Constitution of the province of Cantabria ratified at the Assembly Hall in Bárcena la Puente, Reocín, Spain.
1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
1808 – Mahmud II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
1809 – Peninsular War: Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley’s British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force led by Joseph Bonaparte.
1821 – José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.
1854 – USS Constellation(1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church: Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
1914 – In the culmination of the July Crisis, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, igniting World War I.
1915 – The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
1917 – The Silent Parade took place in New York City, in protest to murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
1932 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
1935 – First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
1938 – Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
1939 – The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be tried in a military court, with punishment ranging from duty in a shtrafbat battalion, imprisonment in a Gulag, or execution.
1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
1957 – Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan, kills 992.
1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.
1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
1974 – Spetsgruppa A, Russia’s elite special force, was formed.
1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
1984 – The Summer Olympics officially known as the games of the XXIII were opened in Los Angeles.
1996 – The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.
2001 – Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championship.
2002 – Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
2002 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 crashes after takeoff from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing 14 of the 16 people on board.
2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
2010 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.
2011 – While flying from Seoul, South Korea to Shanghai, China, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 747-400F freighter attempts to divert to Jeju International Airport, but crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island, killing both crew members on board.
2017 – Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.
2018 – Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Births on July 28
1347 – Margaret of Durazzo, Queen of Naples and Hungary (d. 1412)
1516 – William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman (d. 1592)
1609 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
1635 – Robert Hooke, English physicist and chemist (d. 1703)
1645 – Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, French princess (d. 1721)
1659 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (d. 1715)
1746 – Thomas Heyward, Jr., American judge and politician (d. 1809)
1750 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, playwright, and politician (d. 1794)
1783 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (d. 1860)
1796 – Ignaz Bösendorfer, Austrian businessman, founded the Bösendorfer Company (d. 1859)
1804 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (d. 1872)
1815 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian colonel (d. 1889)
1844 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
1860 – Elias M. Ammons, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Colorado (d. 1925)
1860 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1922)
1863 – Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
1866 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (d. 1943)
1866 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (d. 1938)
1867 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-Argentinian astronomer (d. 1951)
1872 – Albert Sarraut, French journalist and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (d. 1962)
1874 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (d. 1945)
1879 – Lucy Burns, American activist, co-founded the National Woman’s Party (d. 1966)
1879 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter (d. 1944)
1887 – Marcel Duchamp, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
1887 – Willard Price, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 1983)
1893 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (d. 1952)
1896 – Barbara La Marr, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1926)
1898 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (d. 1970)
1901 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
1901 – Rudy Vallée, American actor, singer, and saxophonist (d. 1986)
1902 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (d. 1959)
1902 – Sir Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
1907 – Earl Tupper, American inventor and businessman, founded Tupperware Brands (d. 1983)
1909 – Aenne Burda, German publisher (d. 2005)
1909 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (d. 1957)
1914 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (d. 1984)
1915 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
1915 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (d. 2000)
1915 – Frankie Yankovic, American polka musician (d. 1998)
1916 – David Brown, American journalist and producer (d. 2010)
1920 – Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (d. 2014)
1922 – Jacques Piccard, Belgian-Swiss oceanographer and engineer (d. 2008)
1923 – Ray Ellis, American conductor and producer (d. 2008)
1924 – Luigi Musso, Italian race car driver (d. 1958)
1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist
1925 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
1926 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist (d. 2003)
1927 – John Ashbery, American poet (d. 2017)
1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
1929 – Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist and short story writer
1930 – Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
1930 – Junior Kimbrough, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
1930 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 2006)
1930 – Ramsey Muir Withers, Canadian general (d. 2014)
1931 – Alan Brownjohn, English poet and author
1931 – Johnny Martin, Australian cricketer (d. 1992)
1932 – Natalie Babbitt, American author and illustrator (d. 2016)
1932 – Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, Brazilian colonel (d. 2015)
1933 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 2016)
1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
1935 – Neil McKendrick, English historian and academic
1936 – Russ Jackson, Canadian football player and coach
1936 – Garfield Sobers, Barbadian cricketer
1937 – Francis Veber, French director and screenwriter
1938 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
1938 – Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
1938 – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, 90th President of Peru
1938 – Chuan Leekpai, Thai lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand
1939 – Richard Johns, English air marshal
1940 – Philip Proctor, American voice actor and screenwriter
1941 – Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor and educator
1941 – Susan Roces, Filipino actress and producer
1942 – Marty Brennaman, American sportscaster
1942 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1943 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
1943 – Bill Bradley, American basketball player and politician
1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2008)
1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield
1946 – Jonathan Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1946 – Linda Kelsey, American actress
1946 – Fahmida Riaz, Pakistani poet and activist
1947 – Peter Cosgrove, Australian general and politician, 26th Governor General of Australia
1947 – Sally Struthers, American actress
1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
1948 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1949 – Vida Blue, American baseball player and sportscaster
1949 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer and guitarist (d. 2001)
1949 – Simon Kirke, English drummer
1949 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
1949 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter and producer
1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.
1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years’ War.
1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years’ War.
1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy at the Battle of Ramillies.
1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá’í Faith; Bahá’ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
1863 – The General German Workers’ Association, a precursor of the modern Social Democratic Party of Germany, is founded in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony.
1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.
1934 – Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the “Battle of Toledo”, a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
1945 – World War II: Germany’s Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
1949 – Cold War: The Western occupying powers approve the Basic Law and establish a new German state, the Federal Republic of Germany.
1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with China.
1960 – A tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.
1992 – Italy’s most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.
2002 – The “55 parties” clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
2013 – A freeway bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
2016 – Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, killed at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
2016 – Eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people were killed and at least 200 people injured.
2017 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao, following the Maute’s attack in Marawi.
Births on May 23
635 – K’inich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
675 – Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
1127 – Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (d. 1173)
1330 – Gongmin of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1374)
1586 – Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (d. 1666)
1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
1614 – Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1675)
1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
1629 – William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1663)
1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
1730 – Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Prussian prince and general (d. 1813)
1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
1789 – Franz Schlik, Austrian earl and general (d. 1862)
1790 – Jules Dumont d’Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
1790 – James Pradier, French neoclassical sculptor (d. 1852)
1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
1800 – Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1877)
1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
1817 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (d. 1862)
1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
1834 – Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (d. 1891)
1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
1837 – Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1919)
1837 – Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1912)
1838 – Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
1840 – George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (d. 1910)
1844 – `Abdu’l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)
1861 – József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (d. 1927)
1863 – Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (d. 1930)
1864 – William O’Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
1888 – Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (d. 1976)
1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
1892 – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British peer and grandfather of Diana Spencer (d. 1975)
1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1937)
1898 – Scott O’Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)
1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)
1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor and comedian (d. 1986)
1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
1911 – Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (d. 1983)
1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
1912 – John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
1914 – Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (d. 2009)
1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (d. 1981)
1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)
1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate (d. 2012)
1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
1920 – Helen O’Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
1923 – Irving Millman, American virologist and microbiologist (d. 2012)
1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1926 – Basil Salvadore D’Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African activist and politician (d. 1995)
1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)
1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic (d. 2019)
1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress
1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
1934 – Robert Moog, electronic engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
1940 – Bjorn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (d. 2002)
1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
1940 – Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
1941 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1941 – Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive
1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016)
1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer
1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (d. 2019)
1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2017)
1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
1954 – Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish international footballer, striker
1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor
1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
1958 – Drew Carey, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor
1961 – Daniele Massaro, Italian footballer and manager
1961 – Norrie May-Welby, Scottish Australian gender activist
1962 – Karen Duffy, American actress
1963 – Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician
1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress
1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1967 – Luís Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer
1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player (d. 2018)
1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
1980 – Ben Ross, Australian rugby league player
1983 – Silvio Proto, Belgian-Italian footballer
1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
1985 – Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russian tennis player
1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
1986 – Ryan Coogler, American film director and screenwriter
1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.
1271 – Ninth Crusade, Edward I of England disembarks at Acre.
1386 – England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.
1450 – ‘Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) is assassinated.
1540 – Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of California.
1662 – The figure who later became Mr. Punch makes his first recorded appearance in England.
1671 – Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England’s Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
1726 – Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap’s molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.
1763 – The Siege of Fort Detroit begins during Pontiac’s War against British forces.
1864 – Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.
1865 – American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest surrenders his forces at Gainesville, Alabama.
1865 – American Civil War: President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation ending belligerent rights of the rebels and enjoining foreign nations to intern or expel Confederate ships.
1873 – Der Krach: Vienna stock market crash heralds the Long Depression.
1874 – The first horsebus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, traveling two routes.
1877 – Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. This day became the Independence Day of Romania.
1877 – A magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Peru kills 2,541, including some as far away as Hawaii and Japan.
1887 – Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show opens in London.
1901 – Australia opens its first national parliament in Melbourne.
1904 – The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h).
1911 – The works of Gabriele D’Annunzio are placed in the Index of Forbidden Books by the Vatican.
1915 – World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.
1918 – World War I: Germany repels Britain’s second attempt to blockade the port of Ostend, Belgium.
1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrates its capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreshchatyk.
1926 – Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd’s diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim.)
1927 – Old Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
1936 – Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.
1940 – World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks the French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder.
1941 – World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
1942 – Holocaust: The SS executes 588 Jewish residents of the Podolian town of Zinkiv (Khmelnytska oblast, Ukraine). The Zoludek Ghetto (in Belarus) is destroyed and all its inhabitants executed or deported.
1945 – World War II: The final German Instrument of Surrender is signed at the Soviet headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst.
1945 – World War II: The German occupation of the Channel Islands comes to an end.
1946 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II.
1948 – Czechoslovakia’s Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
1949 – Rainier III becomes Prince of Monaco.
1950 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, which according to him was indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the “Schuman Declaration”, is considered by some people to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
1955 – Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
1958 – Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo has world premiere in San Francisco.
1960 – The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle’s Enovid, making Enovid the world’s first approved oral contraceptive pill.
1961 – FCC Chairman Newton N. Minow gives his Wasteland Speech.
1964 – Ngô Đình Cẩn, de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his brother President Ngô Đình Diệm before the family’s toppling, is executed.
1969 – Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
1970 – Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House.
1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.
1977 – Hotel Polen fire: A disastrous fire burns down the Hotel Polen in Amsterdam causing 33 deaths and 21 severe injuries.
1979 – Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran.
1980 – In Florida, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 1,400-ft. section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 150 ft. into the water and die.
1980 – In Norco, California, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase.
1987 – LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
1988 – New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
1992 – Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
1992 – Westray Mine disaster kills 26 workers in Nova Scotia, Canada.
1994 – Disappearance of Cleashindra Hall in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
2001 – In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee.
2002 – The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected terrorists among them deported to several different countries.
2012 – A Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft crashes into Mount Salak in West Java, Indonesia, killing 45 people.
2015 – An Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft crashes near the Spanish city of Seville with three people on board killed.
2015 – Russia stages its biggest ever military parade in Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day.
2018 – The historic defeat for Barisan Nasional, the governing coalition of Malaysia since the country’s independence in 1957 in 2018 Malaysian general election.
2018 – At the height of the 2018 East Africa floods, the Patel dam breaks in Solai, Kenya, killing 48 people and displacing another 2000.
Births on May 9
1147 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (d. 1199)
1170 – Valdemar II of Denmark (d. 1241)
1540 – Maharana Pratap, Indian ruler (d. 1597)
1555 – Jerónima de la Asunción, Spanish Catholic nun and founder of the first monastery in Manila (d. 1630)
1594 – Louis Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg, military leader in the Thirty Years’ War (d. 1662)
1617 – Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (d. 1655)
1740 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (probable; d. 1816)
1746 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1818)
1763 – János Batsányi, Hungarian-Austrian poet and author (d. 1845)
1800 – John Brown, American activist (d. 1859)
1801 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded the town of Fleetwood (d. 1866)
1814 – John Brougham, Irish-American actor and playwright (d. 1880)
1823 – Frederick Weld, English-New Zealand politician, 6th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
1824 – Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, Polish apologist and author (d. 1896)
1825 – James Collinson, Victorian painter (d. 1881)
1836 – Ferdinand Monoyer, French ophthalmologist, invented the Monoyer chart (d. 1912)
1837 – Adam Opel, German engineer, founded the Opel Company (d. 1895)
1845 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer and businessman (d. 1913)
1850 – Edward Weston, English-American chemist (d. 1936)
1855 – Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer (d. 1932)
1860 – J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (d. 1937)
1866 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian economist and politician (d. 1915)
1870 – Harry Vardon, British golfer (d. 1937)
1873 – Anton Cermak, Czech-American captain and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1933)
1874 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1939)
1882 – George Barker, American painter (d. 1965)
1882 – Henry J. Kaiser, American shipbuilder and businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards (d. 1967)
1883 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher, author, and critic (d. 1955)
1884 – Valdemar Psilander, Danish actor (d. 1917)
1885 – Gianni Vella, Maltese artist (d. 1977)
1888 – Francesco Baracca, Italian fighter pilot (d. 1918)
1888 – Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector (d. 1964)
1892 – Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1989)
1893 – William Moulton Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1947)
1895 – Richard Barthelmess, American actor (d. 1963)
1895 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (d. 1961)
1895 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (d. 1989)
1896 – Richard Day, Canadian-American art director and set decorator (d. 1972)
1900 – Maria Malicka, Polish stage and film actress (d. 1992)
1904 – Conrad Bernier, Canadian-American organist, composer, and educator (d. 1988)
1905 – Lilí Álvarez, Spanish tennis player, author, and feminist (d. 1998)
1906 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (d. 1988)
1907 – Jackie Grant, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1978)
1907 – Kathryn Kuhlman, American evangelist and author (d. 1976)
1907 – Baldur von Schirach, German politician (d. 1974)
1909 – Don Messer, Canadian violinist (d. 1973)
1909 – Gordon Bunshaft, American architect, designed the Solow Building (d. 1990)
1911 – Harry Simeone, American music arranger, conductor, and composer (d. 2005)
1912 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (d. 1963)
1912 – Per Imerslund, Norwegian-German soldier and author (d. 1943)
1912 – Géza Ottlik, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1990)
1914 – Patricia Swift Blalock, American librarian (d.2011)
1914 – Denham Fouts, American prostitute (d. 1948)
1914 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat (d. 2016)
1914 – Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (d. 2005)
1914 – Hank Snow, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
1916 – William Pène du Bois, American author and illustrator (d. 1993)
1917 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1918 – Moisis Michail Bourlas, Greek soldier and educator (d. 2011)
1918 – Orville Freeman, American soldier and politician, 16th United States Secretary of Agriculture (d. 2003)
1918 – Mike Wallace, American journalist, media personality and one-time game show host (d. 2012)
1919 – Clifford Chadderton, Canadian soldier and journalist (d. 2013)
1920 – William Tenn, English-American author and academic (d. 2010)
1920 – Richard Adams, English novelist (d. 2016)
1921 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest, poet, and activist (d. 2016)
1921 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (d. 1943)
1921 – Mona Van Duyn, American poet and academic (d. 2004)
1923 – Johnny Grant, American radio host and producer (d. 2008)
1924 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer, poet, and author (d. 1997)
1926 – John Middleton Murry, Jr., English soldier, pilot, and author (d. 2002)
1927 – Manfred Eigen, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
1928 – Ralph Goings, American painter (d. 2016)
1928 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (d. 1995)
1928 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian figure skater (d. 2012)
1930 – Joan Sims, English actress (d. 2001)
1930 – Kalifa Tillisi, Libyan historian and linguist (d. 2010)
1931 – Vance D. Brand, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut
1932 – Conrad Hunte, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1999)
1934 – Alan Bennett, English screenwriter, playwright, and novelist
1935 – Nokie Edwards, American guitarist (d. 2018)
1935 – Roger Hargreaves, English author and illustrator (d. 1988)
1936 – Terry Downes, British boxer and former world middle-weight champion (d. 2017)
1936 – Albert Finney, English actor (d. 2019)
1936 – Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician
1937 – Sonny Curtis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1937 – Rafael Moneo, Spanish architect, designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and Valladolid Science Museum
1937 – Dave Prater, American singer (d. 1988)
1938 – Charles Simić, Serbian-American poet and editor
1939 – Ralph Boston, American long jumper
1939 – Ion Țiriac, Romanian tennis player and manager
1939 – Ken Warby, Australian motorboat racer
1939 – Giorgio Zancanaro, Italian baritone
1939 – John Ogbu, Nigerian-American anthropologist and professor (d. 2003)
1940 – James L. Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1941 – Dorothy Hyman, English sprinter
1941 – Danny Rapp, American musician (d. 1983)
1942 – John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
1942 – Tommy Roe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1943 – Vince Cable, English economist and politician, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
1943 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish historian and journalist (d. 2009)
1943 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (d. 2014)
1944 – Richie Furay, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Gamal El-Ghitani, Egyptian journalist and author (d. 2015)
1945 – Jupp Heynckes, German footballer and manager
1945 – Steve Katz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1946 – Candice Bergen, American actress and producer
1946 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (d. 2002)
1947 – Yukiya Amano, Japanese diplomat (d. 2019)
1948 – Hans Georg Bock, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
1948 – John Mahaffey, American golfer
1948 – Steven W. Mosher, American social scientist and author
1948 – Calvin Murphy, American basketball player and radio host
1949 – Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1949 – Richard S. Williamson, American lawyer and diplomat, 17th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (d. 2013)
1951 – Alley Mills, American actress
1953 – Bruno Brokken, Belgian high jumper
1955 – Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (d. 2012)
1955 – Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish soprano and actress
1956 – Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress and producer
1956 – Jana Wendt, Australian television host
1958 – Graham Smith, Canadian swimmer
1959 – Andrew Jones, New Zealand cricketer
1960 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
1961 – Sean Altman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1961 – John Corbett, American actor
1962 – Dave Gahan, English singer-songwriter
1962 – Paul Heaton, English singer-songwriter
1963 – Joe Cirella, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1965 – Ken Nomura, Japanese race car driver and sportscaster
1965 – Steve Yzerman, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
1966 – Mark Tinordi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1968 – Masahiko Harada, Japanese ski jumper
1968 – Graham Harman, American philosopher and academic
1968 – Ruth Kelly, British economist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
1968 – Marie-José Pérec, French sprinter
1968 – Neil Ruddock, English international footballer and television personality
1970 – Doug Christie, American basketball player
1970 – Hao Haidong, Chinese footballer & all time top scorer for Chinese national team
1970 – Ghostface Killah, American rapper and actor
1971 – Jason Lee, English footballer and manager
1971 – Dan Chiasson, American poet and critic
1972 – Megumi Odaka, Japanese actress and singer
1973 – Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan runner
1973 – Leonard Myles-Mills, Ghanaian sprinter
1975 – Tamia, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1975 – Brian Deegan, American motocross rider
1977 – Averno, Mexican wrestler
1977 – Marek Jankulovski, Czech footballer
1977 – Svein Tuft, Canadian cyclist
1978 – Leandro Cufré, Argentinian footballer
1978 – Santiago Dellapè, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
1978 – Aaron Harang, American baseball player
1978 – Marwan al-Shehhi, Emirati terrorist (d. 2001)
1979 – Pierre Bouvier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
1979 – Andrew W.K., American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, motivational speaker, and music producer
2013 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1918)
2013 – Humberto Lugo Gil, Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (b. 1933)
2013 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (b. 1921)
2014 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (b. 1938)
2014 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
2014 – Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1935)
2014 – Mary Stewart, English-Scottish author and poet (b. 1916)
2015 – Edward W. Estlow, American football player and journalist (b. 1920)
2015 – Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (b. 1917)
2015 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (b. 1921)
2017 – Robert Miles, a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (b. 1969)
2018 – Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (b. 1938)
2019 – Freddie Starr, English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (1943)
2020 – Little Richard, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (b. 1932)
Holidays and observances on May 9
Anniversary of Dianetics (Church of Scientology)
Christian feast day:
Beatus of Lungern
Beatus of Vendome
Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church)
George Preca
Gerontius of Cervia
Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar)
Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran)
Pachomius the Great
Tudy of Landevennec
May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances:
Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Guernsey and Jersey)
National Day (Alderney)
Europe Day, commemorating the Schuman Declaration. (European Union)
Victory Day observances, celebration of the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany (Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)
Victory and Peace Day, marks the capture of Shusha (1992) in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the end of World War II. (Armenia)
598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro-Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
1282 – The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
1296 – Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
1699 – Guru Gobind Singh establishes the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
1815 – Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation which would later inspire Italian unification.
1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is “depolarized” by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.
1822 – The Florida Territory is created in the United States.
1841 – The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens.
1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.
1844 – One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
1856 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium.
1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece.
1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
1870 – Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction.
1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empire.
1899 – German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.
1912 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
1918 – Outburst of bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate.
1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h).
1940 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.
1944 – World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria.
1944 – Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war.
1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna; Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.
1949 – Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
1959 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City.
1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
1976 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day.
1979 – Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.
1982 – Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
2002 – 2002 Lyon car attack takes place.
2009 – Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan.
2017 – SpaceX conducts the world’s first reflight of an orbital class rocket.
Births on March 30
892 – Shi Jingtang, founder of the Later Jin Dynasty (d. 942)
1135 – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (April 6 also proposed, d. 1204)
1326 – Ivan II of Moscow (d. 1359)
1432 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (d. 1481)
1510 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer and organist (d. 1566)
1551 – Salomon Schweigger, German theologian (d. 1622)
1606 – Vincentio Reinieri, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1647)
1632 – John Proctor, farmer hanged for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials (d. 1692)
1640 – John Trenchard, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1695)
1727 – Tommaso Traetta, Italian composer and educator (d. 1779)
1746 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and sculptor (d. 1828)
1750 – John Stafford Smith, English organist and composer (d. 1836)
1793 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1877)
1805 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist and botanist (d. 1887)
1811 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (d. 1899)
1820 – Anna Sewell, English author (d. 1878)
1820 – James Whyte, Scottish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1882)
1844 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (d. 1896)
1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (d. 1890)
1853 – Arnoldo Sartorio, German composer, pianist, and teacher (d. 1936)
1857 – Léon Charles Thévenin, French engineer (d. 1926)
1858 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (d. 1941)
1863 – Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1930)
1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
1874 – Charles Lightoller, English 2nd officer on the RMS Titanic (d. 1952)
1874 – Josiah McCracken, American hammer thrower, shot putter, and football player (d. 1962)
1874 – Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
1875 – Thomas Xenakis, Greek-American gymnast (d. 1942)
1879 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (d. 1954)
1880 – Seán O’Casey, Irish dramatist, playwright, and memoirist (d. 1964)
1882 – Melanie Klein, Jewish Austrian-English psychologist and author (d. 1960)
1888 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-born cartoonist (d. 1957)
1891 – Chunseong, Korean monk, writer and philosopher (d. 1977)
1892 – Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1945)
1892 – Fortunato Depero, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1960)
1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972)
1892 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (d. 1918)
1892 – Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (d. 1968)
1894 – Tommy Green, English race walker (d. 1975)
1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Aircraft Company (d. 1977)
1895 – Jean Giono, French author and poet (d. 1970)
1895 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (d. 1975)
1895 – Charlie Wilson, English footballer (d. 1971)
1899 – Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Indian author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
1902 – Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (d. 2007)
1902 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and composer (d. 1969)
1903 – Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (d. 1984)
1904 – Ripper Collins, American baseball player and coach (d. 1970)
1905 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (d. 1927)
1905 – Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper and academic (d. 1998)
1905 – Albert Pierrepoint, English hangman (d. 1992)
1907 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (d. 1994)
1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (d. 1940)
1911 – Ekrem Akurgal, Turkish archaeologist and academic (d. 2002)
1912 – Jack Cowie, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1994)
1912 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (d. 2004)
1913 – Marc Davis, American animator (d. 2000)
1913 – Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2002)
1913 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
1913 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (d. 2012)
1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson I, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1948)
1915 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2015)
1917 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1995)
1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (d. 1996)
1919 – Robin M. Williams, New Zealand mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
1921 – André Fontaine, French historian and journalist (d. 2013)
1922 – Turhan Bey, American actor (d. 2012)
1922 – Arthur Wightman, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
1923 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet and playwright (d. 1986)
1926 – Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman, founded IKEA (d. 2018)
1927 – Wally Grout, Australian cricketer (d. 1968)
1928 – Robert Badinter, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice
1928 – Colin Egar, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2008)
1928 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and educator (d. 2013)
1929 – Richard Dysart, American actor (d. 2015)
1929 – Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
1929 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (d. 2012)
1930 – John Astin, American actor
1930 – Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter
1933 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
1934 – Paul Crouch, American broadcaster, co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (d. 2013)
1934 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and academic, designed Haas House (d. 2014)
1935 – Karl Berger, German pianist and composer
1935 – Willie Galimore, American football player (d. 1964)
1935 – Gordon Mumma, American composer
1937 – Warren Beatty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1937 – Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth, English businessman
1938 – John Barnhill, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
1938 – Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer, founded the World Economic Forum
1940 – Norman Gifford, English cricketer
1940 – Jerry Lucas, American basketball player and educator
1940 – Hans Ragnemalm, Swedish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
1941 – Graeme Edge, English singer-songwriter and drummer
1941 – Ron Johnston, English geographer and academic
1941 – Wasim Sajjad, Pakistani lawyer and politician, President of Pakistan
1941 – Bob Smith, American soldier and politician
1942 – Ruben Kun, Nauruan lawyer and politician, 14th President of Nauru (d. 2014)
1942 – Tane Norton, New Zealand rugby player
1942 – Kenneth Welsh, Canadian actor
1943 – Jay Traynor, American pop and doo-wop singer (d. 2014)
1944 – Mark Wylea Erwin, American businessman and diplomat
1944 – Brian Wilshire, Australian radio host
1945 – Eric Clapton, English guitarist and singer-songwriter
1947 – Dick Roche, Irish politician, Minister of State for European Affairs
1947 – Terje Venaas, Norwegian bassist
1948 – Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham, English computer programmer and politician
1948 – Eddie Jordan, Irish racing driver and team owner, founded Jordan Grand Prix
1948 – Mervyn King, English economist and academic
1948 – Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, American rock singer
1949 – Liza Frulla, Canadian talk show host and politician, 3rd Minister of Canadian Heritage
1949 – Dana Gillespie, English singer-songwriter and actress
1949 – Naomi Sims, American model and author (d. 2009)
1950 – Janet Browne, English-American historian and academic
1950 – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor
1950 – Grady Little, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1950 – Warren Snowdon, Australian educator and politician, 39th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
1951 – Paul Da Vinci, English singer-songwriter
1952 – Stuart Dryburgh, English-New Zealand cinematographer
1952 – Peter Knights, Australian footballer and coach
1955 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
1956 – Bill Butler, Scottish educator and politician
1956 – Juanito Oiarzabal, Spanish mountaineer
1956 – Shahla Sherkat, Iranian journalist and author
1957 – Marie-Christine Koundja, Chadian author and diplomat
1957 – Paul Reiser, American actor and comedian
1958 – Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor and stand-up comedian
1958 – Joey Sindelar, American golfer
1959 – Martina Cole, English television host and author
1960 – Laurie Graham, Canadian skier
1960 – Bill Johnson, American skier (d. 2016)
1961 – Mike Thackwell, New Zealand racing driver
1961 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1999)
1962 – Mark Begich, American politician
1962 – MC Hammer, American rapper and actor
1962 – Gary Stevens, English international footballer, defender and manager
1963 – Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Mongolian journalist and politician, 4th President of Mongolia
1963 – Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer and conductor
1963 – Panagiotis Tsalouchidis, Greek footballer
1964 – Vlado Bozinovski, Macedonian-Australian footballer and manager
1964 – Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1965 – Piers Morgan, English journalist and talk show host
1966 – Efstratios Grivas, Greek chess player and author
1966 – Dmitry Volkov, Russian swimmer
1966 – Leonid Voloshin, Russian triple jumper
1967 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and coach (d. 2008)
1967 – Richard Hutten, Dutch furniture designer
1967 – Julie Richardson, New Zealand tennis player
1968 – Celine Dion, Canadian singer-songwriter
1969 – Troy Bayliss, Australian motorcycle racer
1970 – Tobias Hill, English poet and author
1970 – Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian food/agriculture researcher and author
1971 – Mari Holden, American cyclist
1971 – Mark Consuelos, American actor and television personality
1972 – Mili Avital, Israeli-American actress
1972 – Emerson Thome, Brazilian footballer and scout
1972 – Karel Poborský, Czech footballer
1973 – Adam Goldstein, American keyboard player, DJ, and producer (d. 2009)
1973 – Jan Koller, Czech footballer
1973 – Kareem Streete-Thompson, Caymanian-American long jumper
1974 – Martin Love, Australian cricketer
1975 – Paul Griffen, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
1976 – Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
1976 – Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter
1976 – Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish politician, Minister for Education of Denmark
1977 – Abhishek Chaubey, Indian director and screenwriter
1978 – Paweł Czapiewski, Polish runner
1978 – Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach
1978 – Bok van Blerk, South African singer-songwriter and actor
1979 – Norah Jones, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1979 – Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Ukrainian footballer
1980 – Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer
1981 – Jammal Brown, American football player
1981 – Andrea Masi, Italian rugby player
1982 – Mark Hudson, English footballer
1982 – Philippe Mexès, French footballer
1982 – Javier Portillo, Spanish footballer
1982 – Jason Dohring, American actor
1983 – Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer
1984 – Mario Ančić, Croatian tennis player
1984 – Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player
1985 – Giacomo Ricci, Italian racing driver
1986 – Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer
1987 – Trent Barreta, American wrestler
1987 – Calum Elliot, Scottish footballer
1987 – Kwok Kin Pong, Hong Kong footballer
1987 – Marc-Édouard Vlasic, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Will Matthews, Australian rugby league player
1988 – Thanasis Papazoglou, Greek footballer
1988 – Richard Sherman, American football player
1988 – Larisa Yurkiw, Canadian alpine skier
1989 – Chris Sale, American baseball player
1989 – João Sousa, Portuguese tennis player
1990 – Thomas Rhett, American country music singer and songwriter
1990 – Michal Březina, Czech figure skater
1992 – Palak Muchhal, Indian playback singer
1993 – Anitta, Brazilian singer and entertainer
1994 – Jetro Willems, Dutch footballer
1997 – Cha Eun-woo, South Korean singer and actor, A member of the South Korean boy band, Astro
1998 – Kalyn Ponga, Australian rugby league player
2000 – Colton Herta, American race car driver
Deaths on March 30
116 – Quirinus of Neuss, Roman martyr and saint
365 – Ai of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 341)
943 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 889)
987 – Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (b. 960)
1180 – Al-Mustadi, Caliph (b. 1142)
1202 – Joachim of Fiore, Italian mystic and theologian (b. 1135)
1465 – Isabella of Clermont, queen consort of Naples (b. c. 1424)
1472 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (b. 1435)
1486 – Thomas Bourchier, English cardinal (b. 1404)
1526 – Konrad Mutian, German humanist (b. 1471)
1540 – Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, German cardinal (b. 1469)
1559 – Adam Ries, German mathematician and academic (b. 1492)
1587 – Ralph Sadler, English politician, Secretary of State for England (b. 1507)
1662 – François le Métel de Boisrobert, French poet and playwright (b. 1592)
1689 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish atheist and philosopher (b. 1634)
1707 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French general and engineer (b. 1633)
1764 – Pietro Locatelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1695)
1783 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist and physician (b. 1718)
1804 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1718)
1806 – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (b. 1757)
2012 – Francesco Mancini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1968)
2012 – Granville Semmes, American businessman, founded 1-800-Flowers (b. 1928)
2012 – Leonid Shebarshin, Russian KGB officer (b. 1935)
2013 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (b. 1923)
2013 – Bobby Parks, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
2013 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (b. 1934)
2013 – Edith Schaeffer, Chinese-Swiss religious leader and author, co-founded L’Abri (b. 1914)
2013 – Bob Turley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
2014 – Ray Hutchison, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
2014 – Kate O’Mara, English actress (b. 1939)
2015 – Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
2015 – Roger Slifer, American author, illustrator, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1954)
2015 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1921)
2018 – Bill Maynard, English actor (b. 1928)
2020 – Bill Withers, American musician (b. 1938)
Holidays and observances on March 30
Christian feast day:
Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy
Blessed Maria Restituta Kafka
John Climacus
Mamertinus of Auxerre
Quirinus of Neuss
Thomas Son Chasuhn, Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy (part of The Korean Martyrs)
Tola of Clonard
March 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which the first day of Hocktide can fall, while April 3 is the latest; observed on the second Monday after Easter. (Hungerford, England; popular in medieval England)
Land Day (Palestine)
National Doctors’ Day (United States)
Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
1351 – Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
1484 – William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop’s Fables.
1552 – Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
1636 – Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
1697 – Safavid government troops take control of Basra
1812 – An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
1871 – The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
1913 – First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
1915 – The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
1917 – World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
1922 – The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
1931 – Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
1931 – Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
1934 – The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
1958 – The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
1970 – South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
1981 – Social Democratic Party (UK) is founded as a party.
1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
1997 – Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven’s Gate mass suicides.
1998 – During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
2005 – Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
2010 – The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors. After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.
2017 – Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.
Births on March 26
1031 – Malcolm III, king of Scotland (d. 1093)
1516 – Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and zoologist (d. 1565)
1554 – Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne (d. 1611)
1584 – John II, duke of Zweibrücken (d. 1635)
1633 – Mary Beale, British artist (d. 1699)
1634 – Domenico Freschi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1710)
1656 – Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist (d. 1725)
1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia (d. 1757)
1698 – Prokop Diviš, Czech priest, scientist and inventor (d. 1765)
1749 – William Blount, American politician (d. 1800)
1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American-French physicist and politician, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1814)
1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator (d. 1838)
1794 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (d. 1872)
1804 – David Humphreys Storer, American physician and academic (d. 1891)
1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)
1829 – Théodore Aubanel, French poet (d. 1886)
1842 – Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, French occultist (d. 1909)
1850 – Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary (d. 1898)
1852 – Élémir Bourges, French author (d. 1925)
1854 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (d. 1925)
1856 – William Massey, Irish-New Zealand farmer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1925)
1857 – Théodore Tuffier, French surgeon (d. 1929)
1859 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (d. 1936)
1859 – Adolf Hurwitz, Jewish German-Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
1860 – André Prévost, French tennis player (d. 1919)
1866 – Fred Karno, English producer and manager (d. 1941)
1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)
1874 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (d. 1963)
1875 – Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1922)
1875 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (d. 1965)
1876 – William of Wied, prince of Albania (d. 1945)
1876 – Kate Richards O’Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor (d. 1948)
1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (d. 1965)
1879 – Waldemar Tietgens, German rower (d. 1917)
1881 – Guccio Gucci, Italian fashion designer, founded Gucci (d. 1953)
1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss politician (d. 1940)
1884 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (d. 1969)
1884 – Georges Imbert, French chemical engineer and inventor (d. 1950)
1886 – Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician (d. 1971)
1888 – Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist (d. 1948)
1893 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic, and diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany (d. 1978)
1893 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (d. 1964)
1894 – Viorica Ursuleac, Ukrainian-Romanian soprano and actress (d. 1985)
1895 – Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper (d. 1967)
1898 – Rudolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Puma SE (d. 1974)
1898 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (d. 1979)
1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)
1904 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author (d. 1987)
1904 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
1904 – Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer (d. 1947)
1905 – Monty Berman, English cinematographer and producer (d. 2006)
1905 – André Cluytens, Belgian-French conductor and director (d. 1967)
1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
1906 – Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet player and composer (d. 1981)
1907 – Azellus Denis, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1991)
1907 – Mahadevi Varma, Indian poet and activist (d. 1987)
1908 – Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1971)
1909 – Chips Rafferty, Australian actor (d. 1971)
1910 – K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 10th Sri Lankan Minister of Justice (d. 2002)
1911 – Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 2001)
1911 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (d. 1960)
1911 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
1911 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (d. 1983)
1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, Jewish Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar (d. 2010)
1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
1914 – Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1995)
1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005)
1915 – Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter (d. 1989)
1915 – Hwang Sun-won, North Korean author and poet (d. 2000)
1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
1916 – Bill Edrich, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1986)
1916 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (d. 1986)
1917 – Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
1919 – Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
1919 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1965)
1920 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer and journalist (d. 2012)
1922 – William Milliken, American politician, 44th Governor of Michigan (d. 2019)
1922 – Oscar Sala, Italian-Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2010)
1922 – Guido Stampacchia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
1923 – Gert Bastian, German general and politician (d. 1992)
1923 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1925 – Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1999)
1925 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
1925 – Vesta Roy, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2002)
1925 – Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician (d. 2020)
1925 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (d. 2010)
1925 – James Moody, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2010)
1927 – Harold Chapman, English photographer
1929 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
1929 – Edwin Turney, American businessman, co-founded Advanced Micro Devices (d. 2008)
1930 – Sandra Day O’Connor, American lawyer and jurist
1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
1932 – Leroy Griffith, American businessman
1932 – James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic (d. 2000)
1933 – Tinto Brass, Italian director and screenwriter
1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
1934 – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer (d. 2002)
1937 – Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter
1937 – James Lee, Canadian businessman and politician, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
1938 – Norman Ackroyd, English painter and illustrator
1938 – Anthony James Leggett, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1940 – James Caan, American actor and singer
1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1941 – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic
1941 – Lella Lombardi, Italian racing driver (d. 1992)
1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
1943 – Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of the Interior
1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist and author
1944 – Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1945 – Paul Bérenger, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius
1945 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast and coach (d. 2004)
1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor and singer
1946 – Alain Madelin, French politician, French Minister of Finance
1947 – Subhash Kak, Indian-American professor and author
1947 – John Rowles, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
1948 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist and educator
1948 – Richard Tandy, English pianist and keyboard player (Electric Light Orchestra)
1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer-songwriter and actor
1949 – Jon English, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2016)
1949 – Rudi Koertzen, South African cricketer and umpire
1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer
1949 – Fran Sheehan, American bass player
1949 – Patrick Süskind, German author and screenwriter
1949 – Ernest Lee Thomas, American actor
1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
1950 – Graham Barlow, English cricketer
1950 – Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer
1950 – Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
1951 – Željko Pavličević, Croatian professional basketball coach and former professional player
1951 – Carl Wieman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1952 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island
1953 – Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor
1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner
1954 – Clive Palmer, Australian businessman and politician
1954 – Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels
1954 – Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright (d. 2008)
1956 – Charly McClain, American country singer
1956 – Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul
1957 – Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician
1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality
1957 – Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author
1957 – Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist
1958 – Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
1960 – Marcus Allen, American football player and sportscaster
1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer
1960 – Graeme Rutjes, Australian-Dutch footballer
1961 – William Hague, English historian and politician, First Secretary of State
1962 – Richard Coles, English pianist, saxophonist, and priest
1962 – Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player and coach
1962 – Yuri Gidzenko, Russian pilot and cosmonaut
1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Eric Allan Kramer, American-Canadian actor
1963 – Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese author
1964 – Martin Bella, Australian rugby league player
1964 – Martin Donnelly, Irish racing driver
1964 – Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish-American ice hockey player and coach
1965 – Trey Azagthoth, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
1966 – Michael Imperioli, American actor and screenwriter
1967 – Jason Chaffetz, American politician
1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1968 – James Iha, American guitarist and songwriter
1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
1970 – Paul Bosvelt, Dutch footballer
1970 – Jelle Goes, Dutch footballer and coach
1970 – Thomas Kyparissis, Greek footballer
1970 – Martin McDonagh, English-born Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director
1971 – Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist
1971 – Martyn Day, Scottish politician
1971 – Erick Morillo, Colombian-American DJ and producer
1971 – Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1971 – Paul Williams, English footballer and manager
1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
1972 – Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
1973 – Larry Page, American computer scientist and businessman, co-founder of Google
1973 – T. R. Knight, American actor
1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
1974 – Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player
1974 – Vadimas Petrenko, Lithuanian footballer
1974 – Michael Peca, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1976 – Amy Smart, American actress and former model
814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
1069 – Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
1547 – Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father’s death.
1568 – The Edict of Torda prohibited the persecution of individuals on the religious ground in John Sigismund Zápolya’s Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
1671 – Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
1754 – Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
1855 – A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.
1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d’état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War.
1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
1918 – Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.’s biggest snowfall, causes the city’s greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.
2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.
Births on January 28
1312 – Joan II, queen of Navarre (d. 1349)
1368 – Razadarit, king of Hanthawaddy (d. 1421)
1457 – Henry VII, king of England (d. 1509)
1533 – Paul Luther, German scientist (d. 1593)
1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German-Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1610)
1582 – John Barclay, French-Scottish poet and author (d. 1621)
1600 – Clement IX, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1669)
1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (d. 1687)
1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (d. 1691)
1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
1706 – John Baskerville, English printer and typographer (d. 1775)
1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shōgun (d. 1761)
1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1749)
1726 – Christian Felix Weiße, German poet and playwright (d. 1802)
1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, Polish-German physician, anthropologist, and paleontologist (d. 1830)
1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
1797 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (d. 1867)
1818 – George S. Boutwell, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
1833 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (d. 1885)
1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-American explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
1843 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1890)
1853 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and theorist (d. 1895)
1853 – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1900)
1855 – William Seward Burroughs I, American businessman, founded the Burroughs Corporation (d. 1898)
1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934)
1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer and educator (d. 1944)
1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (d. 1918)
1864 – Charles Williams Nash, American businessman, founded Nash Motors (d. 1948)
1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (d. 1928)
1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
1873 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (d. 1954)
1873 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer (d. 1940)
1874 – Alex Smith, Scottish golfer (d. 1930)
1875 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1965)
1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer and conductor (d. 1940)
1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (d. 1970)
1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (d. 1962)
1885 – Vahan Terian, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1920)
1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French author and poet (d. 1973)
1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (d. 1976)
1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and educator (d. 1982)
1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (d. 1986)
1900 – Alice Neel, American painter (d. 1984)
1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1978)
1903 – Kathleen Lonsdale, Irish crystallographer and 1st female FRS (d. 1971)
1906 – Pat O’Callaghan, Irish athlete (d. 1991)
1906 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (d. 1992)
1908 – Paul Misraki, Turkish-French composer and historian (d. 1998)
1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (d. 2018)
1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
1919 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (d. 2002)
1921 – Vytautas Norkus, Lithuanian–American basketball player (d. 2014)
1922 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (d. 2014)
1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (d. 1976)
1925 – Raja Ramanna, Indian physicist and politician (d. 2004)
1926 – Jimmy Bryan, American race car driver (d. 1960)
1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
1927 – Ronnie Scott, English saxophonist (d. 1996)
1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1927 – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
1929 – Acker Bilk, English singer and clarinet player (d. 2014)
1929 – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American sculptor and illustrator
1929 – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German academic and politician, 54th President of the German Bundesrat
1930 – Roy Clarke, English screenwriter, comedian and soldier
1933 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
1935 – David Lodge, English author and critic
1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director, and writer
1937 – Karel Čáslavský, Czech historian and television host (d. 2013)
1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1938 – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter and coach (d. 2016)
1939 – John M. Fabian, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman and philanthropist, founded Grupo Carso
1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater
1942 – Erkki Pohjanheimo, Finnish director and producer
1943 – Dick Taylor, English guitarist and songwriter
1944 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (d. 2013)
1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
1945 – Frank Doubleday, American actor (d. 2018)
1945 – Maxwell Fuller, Australian chess player (d. 2013)
1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress and director
1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American educator and politician, 78th Governor of New Hampshire
1948 – Bob Moses, American drummer
1948 – Charles Taylor, Liberian politician, 22nd President of Liberia
1949 – Mike Moore, New Zealand union leader and politician, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball player and coach
1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress, singer and model
1950 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini king
1950 – David C. Hilmers, American colonel, physician, and astronaut
1950 – Naila Kabeer, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic
1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut
1951 – Billy Bass Nelson, American R&B/funk bass player
1952 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1954 – Peter Lampe, German theologian and historian
1954 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (d. 2013)
1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems
1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, French lawyer and politician, 23rd President of France
1956 – Richard Danielpour, American composer and educator
1956 – Peter Schilling, German singer-songwriter
1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean-South African golfer
1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian, actor, and author
1959 – Frank Darabont, American director and producer
1960 – Loren Legarda, Filipino journalist and politician
1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – David Lawrence, English cricketer
1966 – Seiji Mizushima, Japanese director and producer
1967 – Billy Brownless, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
1968 – Rakim, American rapper
1969 – Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer
1969 – Mo Rocca, American comedian and television journalist
1969 – Linda Sánchez, American lawyer and politician
1972 – Mark Regan, English rugby player
1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
1972 – Léon van Bon, Dutch cyclist
1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player and coach
1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
1974 – Ramsey Nasr, Dutch author and poet
1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player and politician
1975 – Pedro Pinto, Portuguese-American journalist
1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player and coach
1976 – Sireli Bobo, Fijian rugby player
1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player and coach
1976 – Rick Ross, American rapper and producer
1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
1977 – Sandis Buškevics, Latvian basketball player and coach
1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer, dancer, and television personality
1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese race car driver
1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer and sportscaster
1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
1978 – Stephen Farrelly, Irish professional wrestler
1978 – Big Freedia, New Orleans musician, “Queen of Bounce”
1980 – Nick Carter, American singer-songwriter and actor
1980 – Yasuhito Endō, Japanese footballer
1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
1980 – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter
1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
1985 – J. Cole, American singer
1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
1986 – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
1986 – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
1988 – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
1992 – Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer
1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress
Deaths on January 28
592 – Guntram, French king (b. 532)
814 – Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor (pleurisy; b. 742)
919 – Zhou Dewei, Chinese general
929 – Gao Jixing, founder of Chinese Jingnan (b. 858)
947 – Jing Yanguang, Chinese general (b. 892)
1061 – Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1031)
1142 – Yue Fei, Chinese general (b. 1103)
1256 – William II, Count of Holland, King of Germany (b. 1227)
1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
1290 – Dervorguilla of Galloway, Scottish noble, mother of king John Balliol of Scotland (b. c. 1210)
1443 – Robert le Maçon, French diplomat (b. 1365)
1501 – John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, English baron and Lord High Treasurer (b. 1433)
1547 – Henry VIII, king of England (b. 1491)
1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (b. 1545)
1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
1666 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (b. 1591)
1672 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
1681 – Richard Allestree, English priest and academic (b. 1619)
1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (b. 1611)
1688 – Ferdinand Verbiest, Flemish Jesuit missionary in China (b. 1623)
1697 – Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, English general and politician (b. 1645)
1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (b. 1684)
1782 – Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1697)
1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (b. 1799)
1873 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (b. 1809)
1903 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (b. 1847)
1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist and theorist (b. 1819)
1918 – John McCrae, Canadian soldier, physician, and author (b. 1872)
1921 – Mustafa Suphi, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1883)
1930 – Emmy Destinn, Czech soprano and poet (b. 1878)
1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
