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

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On this day the Summer solstice may occur in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Winter solstice may occur in the Southern Hemisphere.

June 22 in History

  • 217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom.
  • 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus who surrenders after the battle, ending the Third Macedonian War.
  • 813 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars led by Krum defeat the Byzantine army near Edirne. Emperor Michael I is forced to abdicate in favor of Leo V the Armenian.
  • 910 – The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army near the Rednitz River, killing its leader Gebhard, Duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine).
  • 1527 – Fatahillah expels Portuguese forces from Sunda Kelapa, now regarded as the foundation of Jakarta.
  • 1593 – Battle of Sisak: Allied Christian troops defeat the Ottomans.
  • 1633 – The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy.
  • 1774 – The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
  • 1783 – A poisonous cloud caused by the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France.
  • 1807 – In the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake.
  • 1813 – War of 1812: After learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord sets out on a 30 kilometer journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.
  • 1839 – Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.
  • 1870 – The United States Department of Justice is created by the U.S. Congress.
  • 1893 – The Royal Navy battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Victoria which sinks taking 358 crew with her, including the fleet’s commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon.
  • 1897 – British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged.
  • 1898 – Spanish–American War: In a chaotic operation, 6,000 men of the U.S. Fifth Army Corps begins landing at Daiquirí, Cuba, about 16 miles (26 km) east of Santiago de Cuba. Lt. Gen. Arsenio Linares y Pombo of the Spanish Army outnumbers them two-to-one, but does not oppose the landings.
  • 1907 – The London Underground’s Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway opens.
  • 1911 – George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Government forces bring an end to the Magonista rebellion of 1911 in the Second Battle of Tijuana.
  • 1918 – The Hammond Circus Train Wreck kills 86 and injures 127 near Hammond, Indiana.
  • 1940 – World War II: France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice in 1918.
  • 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.
  • 1942 – World War II: Erwin Rommel is promoted to Field Marshal after the Axis capture of Tobruk.
  • 1942 – The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by US Congress.
  • 1944 – World War II: Opening day of the Soviet Union’s Operation Bagration against the Army Group Centre.
  • 1944 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Okinawa comes to an end.
  • 1948 – The ship HMT Empire Windrush brought the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants to Tilbury, marking the start of modern immigration to the United Kingdom.
  • 1948 – King George VI formally gives up the title “Emperor of India”, half a year after Britain actually gave up its rule of India.
  • 1965 – The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea is signed.
  • 1969 – The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
  • 1978 – Charon, the first of Pluto’s satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy.
  • 1984 – Virgin Atlantic Airways launches with its first flight from London Gatwick Airport.
  • 1986 – The famous Hand of God goal, scored by Diego Maradona in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, ignites controversy. This was later followed by the Goal of the Century. Argentina wins 2–1 and later goes on to win the World Cup.
  • 1990 – Cold War: Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin.
  • 2000 – Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan’s Hanyang District, killing 49 people.
  • 2002 – An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw strikes a region of northwestern Iran killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response.
  • 2009 – A Washington D.C Metro train traveling southbound near Fort Totten station collides into another train waiting to enter the station. Nine people are killed in the collision (eight passengers and the train operator) and at least 80 others are injured.
  • 2012 – Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco.
  • 2012 – A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter plane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both of the plane’s pilots and worsening already-strained relations between Turkey and Syria.
  • 2015 – The Afghan National Assembly building is attacked by gunmen after a suicide bombing. All six of the gunmen are killed and 18 people are injured.

Births on June 22

  • 662 – Rui Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 716)
  • 916 – Sayf al-Dawla, founder of the Emirate of Aleppo (d. 967)
  • 1000 – Robert I, duke of Normandy (d. 1035)
  • 1373 – Elizabeth Bonifacia, heiress of Poland (d. 1399)
  • 1427 – Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Italian writer and wife of Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici (d. 1482)
  • 1450 – Eleanor of Naples, duchess of Ferrara (d. 1493)
  • 1477 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, English nobleman (d. 1530)
  • 1593 – Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet, English politician and militarian (d. 1671)
  • 1680 – Ebenezer Erskine, Scottish minister and theologian (d. 1754)
  • 1684 – Francesco Manfredini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
  • 1704 – John Taylor, English author and scholar (d. 1766)
  • 1713 – John Sackville, English cricketer and politician (d. 1765)
  • 1738 – Jacques Delille, French poet and translator (d. 1813)
  • 1757 – George Vancouver, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1798)
  • 1763 – Étienne Méhul, French pianist and composer (d. 1817)
  • 1767 – Wilhelm von Humboldt, German philosopher, academic, and politician, Interior Minister of Prussia (d. 1835)
  • 1792 – James Beaumont Neilson, Scottish engineer and businessman (d. 1865)
  • 1805 – Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1872)
  • 1820 – James Hutchison Stirling, Scottish physician and philosopher (d. 1909)
  • 1834 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon and linguist (d. 1920)
  • 1837 – Paul Morphy, American chess player (d. 1884)
  • 1837 – Ernst Ziller, German-Greek architect, designed the Presidential Mansion (d. 1923)
  • 1844 – Oscar von Gebhardt, German theologian and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1845 – Tom Dula, American soldier (d. 1868)
  • 1845 – Richard Seddon, English-New Zealand politician, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
  • 1855 – Samuel Morris, Australian cricketer (d. 1931)
  • 1856 – Henry Rider Haggard, English novelist (d. 1925)
  • 1861 – Maximilian von Spee, Danish-German admiral (d. 1914)
  • 1864 – Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician and academic (d. 1909)
  • 1871 – William McDougall, English psychologist and polymath (d. 1938)
  • 1873 – Filippo Silvestri, Italian entomologist and academic (d. 1949)
  • 1874 – Walter Friedrich Otto, German philologist and scholar (d. 1958)
  • 1876 – Pascual Díaz y Barreto, Mexican archbishop (d. 1936)
  • 1879 – Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 9th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1962)
  • 1880 – Johannes Drost, Dutch swimmer (d. 1954)
  • 1884 – James Rector, American sprinter and lawyer (d. 1949)
  • 1885 – Milan Vidmar, Slovenian engineer and chess player (d. 1962)
  • 1887 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1888 – Harold Hitz Burton, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of Cleveland (d. 1964)
  • 1890 – Aleksander Warma, Estonian commander and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (d. 1970)
  • 1891 – Franz Alexander, Hungarian psychoanalyst and physician (d. 1964)
  • 1892 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German general and pilot (d. 1945)
  • 1894 – Bernard Ashmole, English archaeologist and art historian (d. 1988)
  • 1896 – Leonard W. Murray, Canadian admiral (d. 1971)
  • 1897 – Edmund A. Chester, American journalist and broadcaster (d. 1973)
  • 1897 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist and philosopher (d. 1990)
  • 1898 – Erich Maria Remarque, German-Swiss soldier and author (d. 1970)
  • 1899 – Richard Gurley Drew, American engineer, invented Masking tape (d. 1980)
  • 1899 – Michał Kalecki, Polish economist and academic (d. 1970)
  • 1900 – Oskar Fischinger, German-American abstract artist, filmmaker, and painter (d. 1967)
  • 1901 – Elias Katz, Finnish runner and coach (d. 1947)
  • 1902 – Marguerite De La Motte, American actress (d. 1950)
  • 1903 – John Dillinger, American criminal (d. 1934)
  • 1903 – Carl Hubbell, American baseball player (d. 1988)
  • 1906 – William Kneale, English logician and philosopher (d. 1990)
  • 1906 – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American pilot and author (d. 2001)
  • 1906 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1907 – Eriks Ādamsons, Latvian writer, poet, and novelist (d. 1946)
  • 1909 – Katherine Dunham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2006)
  • 1909 – Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Spanish aristocratic (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Mike Todd, American producer and manager (d. 1958)
  • 1910 – John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Indian-English lieutenant and mountaineer (d. 1998)
  • 1910 – Anne Ziegler, English singer (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Konrad Zuse, German computer scientist and engineer, invented the Z3 computer (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Vernon Kirby, South African tennis player (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1983)
  • 1912 – Raymonde Allain, French model and actress (d. 2008)
  • 1913 – Sándor Weöres, Hungarian poet and author (d. 1989)
  • 1914 – Mei Zhi, Chinese author and essayist (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – Dolf van der Linden, Dutch conductor and composer (d. 1999)
  • 1915 – Cornelius Warmerdam, American pole vaulter and coach (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Randolph Hokanson, American pianist (d. 2018)
  • 1915 – Thomas Quinn Curtiss, American writer, and film and theatre critic (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Johnny Jacobs, American television announcer (d. 1982)
  • 1916 – Richard Eastham, American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1916 – Emil Fackenheim, Jewish philosopher and Reform rabbi (d. 2003)
  • 1918 – Cicely Saunders, English Anglican nurse, social worker, physician and writer (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – Gower Champion, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1980)
  • 1919 – Henri Tajfel, Polish social psychologist (d. 1982)
  • 1919 – Clifton McNeely, American basketball player and coach (d. 2003)
  • 1920 – James H. Pomerene, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2008)
  • 1920 – Jovito Salonga, Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Joseph Papp, American director and producer (d. 1991)
  • 1921 – Barbara Vucanovich, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Radovan Ivšić, Croatian writer (d. 2009)
  • 1921 – Barbara Perry, American actress (d. 2019)
  • 1922 – Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Group (d. 2002)
  • 1922 – Clair Cameron Patterson, American scientist (d. 1995)
  • 1923 – José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Christopher Booth, English clinician and historian (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Larkin Kerwin, Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – George Englund, American film editor, director, producer and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Rachid Solh, Lebanese politician, 48th Prime Minister of Lebanon (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Doreen Mantle, South African-English actress
  • 1927 – Anthony Low, Indian-English historian and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Ralph Waite, American actor and director (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Bruce Kent, English activist and laicised Roman Catholic priest
  • 1930 – Yuri Artyukhin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – Walter Bonatti, Italian journalist and mountaineer (d. 2011)
  • 1931 – Ruby Garrard Woodson, American educator and cultural historian (d. 2008)
  • 1932 – Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
  • 1932 – Yevgeny Kychanov, Russian orientalist, historian, and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (d. 2005)
  • 1932 – June Salter, Australian actress (d. 2001)
  • 1932 – Prunella Scales, English actress
  • 1932 – John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, English businessman and politician, Leader of the House of Lords
  • 1933 – Dianne Feinstein, American politician
  • 1934 – James Bjorken, American physicist, author, and academic
  • 1936 – Kris Kristofferson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1936 – Ferran Olivella, Spanish footballer
  • 1936 – Hermeto Pascoal, Brazilian accordion player and composer
  • 1937 – Chris Blackwell, English record producer, co-founded Island Records
  • 1937 – Bernie McGann, Australian saxophonist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Don Matthews, American-Canadian football player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1939 – Ed Paschke, Polish-American painter and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1940 – Joan Busfield, English sociologist, psychologist, and academic
  • 1940 – Hubert Chesshyre, English historian and author
  • 1940 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1940 – Esther Rantzen, English journalist
  • 1941 – Ed Bradley, American journalist (d. 2006)
  • 1941 – Terttu Savola, Finnish journalist and politician
  • 1943 – Brit Hume, American journalist and author
  • 1943 – Klaus Maria Brandauer, Austrian actor and director
  • 1944 – Peter Asher, English singer, guitarist, and producer
  • 1944 – Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Rainer Brüderle, German economist and politician, German Minister of Economics and Technology
  • 1946 – Linda Bond, Canadian 19th General of The Salvation Army
  • 1946 – Sheila Hollins, Baroness Hollins, English psychiatrist and academic
  • 1946 – Eliades Ochoa, Cuban singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1946 – Józef Oleksy, Polish economist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Stephen Waley-Cohen, English journalist and businessman
  • 1947 – Octavia E. Butler, American author (d. 2006)
  • 1947 – Howard Kaylan, American pop-rock singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1947 – Pete Maravich, American basketball player (d. 1988)
  • 1947 – Jerry Rawlings, Ghanaian lieutenant and politician, President of Ghana
  • 1948 – James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss, Scottish businessman
  • 1948 – Todd Rundgren, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1949 – Larry Junstrom, American bass player
  • 1949 – Brian Leveson, English lawyer and judge
  • 1949 – Alan Osmond, American singer and producer
  • 1949 – Meryl Streep, American actress and singer
  • 1949 – Luís Filipe Vieira, Portuguese businessman
  • 1949 – Lindsay Wagner, American actress
  • 1949 – Elizabeth Warren, American academic and politician
  • 1950 – Sharon Maughan, English actress
  • 1950 – Adrian Năstase, Romanian lawyer and politician, 59th Prime Minister of Romania
  • 1950 – Greg Oliphant, Australian rugby league player
  • 1950 – Zenonas Petrauskas, Lithuanian lawyer and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1950 – Tom Alter, Indian actor (d. 2017)
  • 1951 – Brian Cookson, British cyclist and sports administrator
  • 1951 – Craig Gruber, American bass player (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Humphrey Ocean, English painter and academic
  • 1952 – Graham Greene, Canadian actor
  • 1952 – Santokh Singh, Malaysian football player
  • 1953 – Wim Eijk, Dutch cardinal
  • 1953 – Mauro Francaviglia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1953 – Cyndi Lauper, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1953 – Bruce McAvaney, Australian journalist and sportscaster
  • 1954 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (d. 1977)
  • 1955 – Green Gartside, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Christine Orengo, British academic and educator
  • 1956 – Darryl Brohman, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Alfons De Wolf, Belgian cyclist
  • 1956 – Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistani agriculturist and politician, 25th Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1956 – Tim Russ, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Markus Schatte, German footballer, manager, and coach
  • 1956 – Derek Forbes, Scottish bass player and guitarist
  • 1957 – Danny Baker, English journalist and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Garry Gary Beers, Australian bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1957 – Kevin Bond, English footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Michael Stratton, English geneticist and academic
  • 1958 – Rocío Banquells, Mexican pop singer and actress
  • 1958 – Bruce Campbell, American actor, director, producer and writer
  • 1959 – Michael Kinane, Irish jockey
  • 1959 – Nicola Sirkis, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1959 – Daniel Xuereb, French footballer
  • 1960 – Erin Brockovich, American lawyer and environmentalist
  • 1960 – Margrit Klinger, German runner
  • 1960 – Tracy Pollan, American actress
  • 1961 – Jimmy Somerville, Scottish singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Stephen Chow, Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Bobby Gillespie, Scottish musician and singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Clyde Drexler, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Gerald Hillringhaus, German footballer
  • 1963 – Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 61st Yokozuna
  • 1963 – John Tenta, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2006)
  • 1964 – Cadillac Anderson, American basketball player
  • 1964 – Amy Brenneman, American actress
  • 1964 – Dan Brown, American author and academic
  • 1964 – Miroslav Kadlec, Czech footballer
  • 1965 – Uwe Boll, German director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Ľubomír Moravčík, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1966 – Michael Park, English racing driver (d. 2005)
  • 1966 – Emmanuelle Seigner, French actress
  • 1966 – Dean Woods, Australian cyclist
  • 1968 – Darrell Armstrong, American basketball player and coach
  • 1968 – Miri Yu, Zainichi, Korean novelist
  • 1971 – Gary Connolly, English rugby player
  • 1971 – Mary Lynn Rajskub, American actress and comedian
  • 1971 – Kurt Warner, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Damien Oliver, Australian jockey
  • 1973 – Carson Daly, American radio and television host
  • 1974 – Jo Cox, British MP (d. 2016)
  • 1974 – Vijay, Indian film actor in Tamil cinema
  • 1975 – Urmas Reinsalu, Estonian academic and politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Defence
  • 1978 – Champ Bailey, American football player
  • 1978 – Dan Wheldon, English racing driver (d. 2011)
  • 1979 – Joey Cheek, American speed skater
  • 1979 – Thomas Voeckler, French cyclist
  • 1980 – Ilya Bryzgalov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Stephanie Jacobsen, Hong Kong-Australian actress
  • 1981 – Sione Lauaki, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1981 – Aquivaldo Mosquera, Colombian footballer
  • 1982 – Andoni Iraola, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Ian Kinsler, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Soraia Chaves, Portuguese actress and model
  • 1983 – Allar Raja, Estonian rower
  • 1984 – Dustin Johnson, American golfer
  • 1984 – Rubén Iván Martínez, Spanish footballer
  • 1984 – Jerome Taylor, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1984 – Janko Tipsarević, Serbian tennis player
  • 1985 – Thomas Leuluai, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1987 – Danny Green, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Nikita Rukavytsya, Ukrainian-Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Omri Casspi, Israeli basketball player
  • 1989 – Cédric Mongongu, Congolese footballer
  • 1989 – Jung Yong-hwa, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1990 – Sebastian Jung, German footballer
  • 1991 – Hugo Mallo, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Ura Kazuki, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1992 – Harry Reid, British actor
  • 1993 – Loris Karius, German footballer
  • 1994 – Sebastien Haller, French footballer
  • 1994 – Carlos Vinícius Santos de Jesus, Brazilian footballer
  • 1996 – Mikel Merino, Spanish footballer
  • 1999 – Sam Retford, Australian-English actor

Deaths on June 22

  • 431 – Paulinus of Nola, Christian bishop and poet (b. 354)
  • 910 – Gebhard, Frankish nobleman
  • 910 – Gerhard I, Frankish nobleman
  • 947 – Qian Hongzuo, king of Wuyue (b. 928)
  • 1017 – Leo Passianos, Byzantine general
  • 1101 – Roger I of Sicily, Norman nobleman (b. 1031)
  • 1276 – Innocent V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1225)
  • 1343 – Aimone, Count of Savoy (b. 1291)
  • 1429 – Jamshīd al-Kāshī, Persian astronomer and mathematician (b. 1380)
  • 1521 – Leonardo Loredan, Italian politician, 76th Doge of Venice (b. 1436)
  • 1535 – John Fisher, English bishop and saint (b. 1469)
  • 1632 – James Whitelocke, English judge and politician, Chief Justice of Chester (b. 1570)
  • 1634 – Johann von Aldringen, Austrian field marshal (b. 1588)
  • 1664 – Katherine Philips, Anglo-Welsh poet (b. 1631)
  • 1699 – Josiah Child, English merchant, economist, and politician (b. 1630)
  • 1714 – Matthew Henry, Welsh minister and author (b. 1662)
  • 1766 – Carlo Zimech, Maltese priest and painter (b. 1696)
  • 1868 – Heber C. Kimball, American religious leader (b. 1801)
  • 1872 – Rudecindo Alvarado, Argentinian general (b. 1792)
  • 1874 – Howard Staunton, English chess player (b. 1810)
  • 1892 – Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1819)
  • 1894 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (b. 1823)
  • 1905 – Francis Lubbock, American colonel and politician, 9th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
  • 1913 – Ștefan Octavian Iosif, Romanian poet and translator (b. 1875)
  • 1925 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (b. 1849)
  • 1928 – A. B. Frost, American illustrator and painter (b. 1851)
  • 1931 – Armand Fallières, French politician, 9th President of France (b. 1841)
  • 1933 – Tim Birkin, English racing driver and lieutenant (b. 1896)
  • 1935 – Szymon Askenazy, Polish historian and diplomat (b. 1866)
  • 1936 – Moritz Schlick, German-Austrian physicist and philosopher (b. 1882)
  • 1938 – C. J. Dennis, Australian poet and author (b. 1876)
  • 1940 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1873)
  • 1942 – August Froehlich, German priest and activist (b. 1891)
  • 1945 – Isamu Chō, Japanese general (b. 1895)
  • 1945 – Mitsuru Ushijima, Japanese general (b. 1887)
  • 1956 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer and novelist (b. 1873)
  • 1959 – Hermann Brill, German educator and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (b. 1895)
  • 1964 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (b. 1904)
  • 1965 – David O. Selznick, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1902)
  • 1966 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – Judy Garland, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
  • 1970 – Đặng Thùy Trâm, Vietnamese surgeon and author (b. 1942)
  • 1974 – Darius Milhaud, French composer and educator (b. 1892)
  • 1977 – Jacqueline Audry, French director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
  • 1977 – Peter Laughner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs and Pere Ubu) (b. 1952)
  • 1979 – Louis Chiron, Monégasque race car driver (b. 1899)
  • 1984 – Joseph Losey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
  • 1987 – Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
  • 1988 – Dennis Day, American singer and actor (b. 1916)
  • 1990 – Ilya Frank, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
  • 1993 – Pat Nixon, American educator, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
  • 1995 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (b. 1931)
  • 1995 – Al Hansen, American sculptor and author (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
  • 1997 – Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1919)
  • 2003 – Vasil Bykaŭ, Belarusian war novelist (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Bob Bemer, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Mattie Stepanek, American poet and author (b. 1990)
  • 2007 – Erik Parlevliet, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1964)
  • 2008 – Natalia Bekhtereva, Russian neuroscientist and psychologist (b. 1924)
  • 2008 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1937)
  • 2008 – Dody Goodman, American actress and dancer (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Coşkun Özarı, Turkish footballer and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Juan Luis Galiardo, Spanish actor and producer (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Henning Larsen, Danish architect, designed the Copenhagen Opera House (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (b. 1978)
  • 2014 – Fouad Ajami, Lebanese-American author and academic (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Rama Narayanan, Indian director and producer (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – James Horner, American composer and conductor (b. 1953)
  • 2017 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (b. 1982)
  • 2017 – Quett Masire, Botswanan politician (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Vinnie Paul, American musician (b. 1964)

Holidays and observances on June 22

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aaron of Aleth
    • Alban, first recorded Martyr in Britain (commemoration, Anglicanism)
    • Blessed Pope Innocent V
    • Eusebius of Samosata (Orthodox Church)
    • John Fisher (Catholic Church)
    • Nicetas of Remesiana
    • Paulinus of Nola
    • Thomas More (Catholic Church)
    • June 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Croatia)
  • Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War (Belarus)
  • Father’s Day (Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey)
  • Teachers’ Day (El Salvador)

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

by
  • 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
  • 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
  • 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.
  • 1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
  • 1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
  • 1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
  • 1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.
  • 1660 – Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy.
  • 1738 – A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
  • 1787 – After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.
  • 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place.
  • 1809 – Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence.
  • 1810 – May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the “May Week”, starting the Argentine War of Independence.
  • 1819 – The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
  • 1833 – The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.
  • 1865 – In Mobile, Alabama, around 300 people are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
  • 1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
  • 1895 – Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
  • 1895 – The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Jingsong as its president.
  • 1914 – The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.
  • 1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.
  • 1926 – Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.
  • 1935 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • 1938 – Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.
  • 1940 – World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.
  • 1946 – The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their Emir.
  • 1953 – Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
  • 1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.
  • 1955 – In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.
  • 1955 – First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: A British expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reaches the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day.
  • 1961 – Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, his goal to initiate a project to put a “man on the Moon” before the end of the decade.
  • 1963 – The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • 1966 – Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
  • 1968 – The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated.
  • 1973 – In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy.
  • 1977 – Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in theaters.
  • 1977 – The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare’s work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
  • 1978 – The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.
  • 1979 – John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1976.
  • 1979 – American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.
  • 1981 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
  • 1982 – Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.
  • 1985 – Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
  • 1986 – The Hands Across America event takes place.
  • 1997 – A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
  • 1999 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People’s Republic of China’s nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.
  • 2000 – Liberation Day of Lebanon: Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (with the exception of the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 18 years after the invasion of 1982.
  • 2001 – Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with Dr. Sherman Bull.
  • 2002 – China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait, with the loss of all 225 people on board.
  • 2008 – NASA’s Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
  • 2009 – North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device, after which Pyongyang also conducts several missile tests, building tensions in the international community.
  • 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
  • 2012 – The SpaceX Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.
  • 2013 – Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India.
  • 2013 – A gas cylinder explodes on a school bus in the Pakistani city of Gujrat, killing at least 18 people.
  • 2018 – The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union.
  • 2018 – Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
  • 2020 – George Floyd, a black man, is killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest when he is restrained in a prone position face-down on the ground for several minutes, provoking protests across the United States and elsewhere around the world.

Births on May 25

  • 1048 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. 1085)
  • 1320 – Toghon Temür, Mongolian emperor (d. 1370)
  • 1334 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (d. 1398)
  • 1416 – Jakobus (“James”), Count of Lichtenburg (d. 1480)
  • 1417 – Catherine of Cleves, Duchess consort regent of Guelders (d. 1479)
  • 1550 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint and nurse (d. 1614)
  • 1606 – Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
  • 1661 – Claude Buffier, Polish-French historian and philosopher (d. 1737)
  • 1713 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
  • 1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1776)
  • 1783 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American farmer and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1841)
  • 1791 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1841)
  • 1803 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1873)
  • 1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)
  • 1818 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (d. 1897)
  • 1818 – Louise de Broglie, Countess d’Haussonville, French essayist and biographer (d. 1882)
  • 1830 – Trebor Mai (né Robert Williams), Welsh poet (d. 1877)
  • 1846 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian-Turkish poet and translator (d. 1900)
  • 1848 – Johann Baptist Singenberger, Swiss composer, educator, and publisher (d. 1924)
  • 1852 – William Muldoon, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1933)
  • 1856 – Louis Franchet d’Espèrey, Algerian-French general (d. 1942)
  • 1860 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1865 – John Mott, American evangelist and saint, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
  • 1865 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
  • 1867 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (d. 1950)
  • 1869 – Robbie Ross, Canadian journalist and art critic (d. 1918)
  • 1869 – Mathilde Verne, English pianist and educator (d. 1936)
  • 1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian-English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1964)
  • 1879 – William Stickney, American golfer (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1882 – Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
  • 1883 – Carl Johan Lind, Swedish hammer thrower (d. 1965)
  • 1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and activist (d. 1945)
  • 1886 – Philip Murray, Scottish-American miner and labor leader (d. 1952)
  • 1887 – Padre Pio, Italian priest and saint (d. 1968)
  • 1888 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1969)
  • 1889 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)
  • 1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (d. 1972)
  • 1893 – Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, American country musician (d. 1968)
  • 1897 – Alan Kippax, Australian cricketer (d. 1972)
  • 1897 – Gene Tunney, American boxer and soldier (d. 1978)
  • 1898 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher and television game show panelist; co-founded Random House (d. 1971)
  • 1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, author, and flute player (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Alain Grandbois, Canadian poet and author (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1995)
  • 1908 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (d. 1963)
  • 1909 – Alfred Kubel, German politician, 5th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (d. 1957)
  • 1913 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and producer (d. 1965)
  • 1916 – Brian Dickson, Canadian captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Giuseppe Tosi, Italian discus thrower (d. 1981)
  • 1917 – Steve Cochran, American film, television and stage actor (d. 1965)
  • 1917 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Arthur Wint, Jamaican runner and diplomat (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Jack Steinberger, German-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1922 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
  • 1924 – István Nyers, French-Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
  • 1925 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet and author (d. 1974)
  • 1925 – Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Eldon Griffiths, English journalist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Claude Pinoteau, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – William Bowyer, English painter and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author and poet (d. 2009)
  • 1926 – Bill Sharman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – David Wynne, English sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Robert Ludlum, American soldier and author (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Norman Petty, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1984)
  • 1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Georgy Grechko, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Irwin Winkler, American director and producer
  • 1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2003)
  • 1932 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach
  • 1933 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Basdeo Panday, Trinidadian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
  • 1933 – Ray Spencer, English footballer (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Jógvan Sundstein, Faroese accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
  • 1935 – John Ffowcs Williams, Welsh engineer and academic
  • 1935 – Cookie Gilchrist, American football player (d. 2011)
  • 1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (d. 1988)
  • 1936 – Tom T. Hall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1936 – Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Tom Phillips, English painter and academic
  • 1938 – Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet (d. 1988)
  • 1938 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Geoffrey Robinson, English businessman and politician
  • 1939 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor
  • 1940 – Nobuyoshi Araki, Japanese photographer
  • 1941 – Rudolf Adler, Czech filmmaker:88
  • 1941 – Uta Frith, German developmental psychologist
  • 1941 – Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova
  • 1943 – Jessi Colter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1943 – John Palmer, English keyboard player
  • 1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
  • 1944 – Digby Anderson, English journalist and philosopher
  • 1944 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1944 – Charlie Harper, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1944 – Robert MacPherson, American mathematician and academic
  • 1944 – Frank Oz, English-born American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor
  • 1944 – Chris Ralston, English rugby player
  • 1946 – Bill Adam, Scottish-Canadian racing driver
  • 1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer, created Arduin (d. 1988)
  • 1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress
  • 1947 – Catherine G. Wolf, American psychologist and computer scientist
  • 1948 – Bülent Arınç, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
  • 1948 – Marianne Elliott, Northern Irish historian, author, and academic
  • 1948 – Klaus Meine, German rock singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
  • 1949 – Barry Windsor-Smith, English painter and illustrator
  • 1950 – Robby Steinhardt, American rock violinist and singer
  • 1951 – Bob Gale, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Jeffrey Bewkes, American businessman
  • 1952 – Nick Fotiu, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1952 – David Jenkins, Trinidadian-Scottish runner
  • 1952 – Al Sarrantonio, American author and publisher
  • 1952 – Gordon H. Smith, American businessman and politician
  • 1953 – Eve Ensler, American playwright and producer
  • 1953 – Daniel Passarella, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1953 – Stan Sakai, Japanese-American author and illustrator
  • 1953 – Gaetano Scirea, Italian footballer (d. 1989)
  • 1954 – John Beck, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1954 – Murali, Indian actor, producer, and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1955 – Alistair Burt, English lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Stavros Arnaoutakis, Greek politician
  • 1956 – Larry Hogan, American politician, 62nd Governor of Maryland
  • 1956 – David P. Sartor, American composer and conductor
  • 1957 – Alastair Campbell, English journalist and author
  • 1957 – Edward Lee, American author
  • 1957 – Robert Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1958 – Dorothy Straight, American children’s author
  • 1958 – Paul Weller, English singer, songwriter and musician
  • 1959 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor, and author
  • 1959 – Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician
  • 1959 – Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1960 – Amy Klobuchar, American lawyer and politician
  • 1960 – Anthea Turner, English journalist and television host
  • 1962 – Ric Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1963 – George Hickenlooper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1963 – Mike Myers, Canadian-American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Ludovic Orban, Romanian engineer, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Romania
  • 1964 – David Shaw, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Yahya Jammeh, Gambian colonel and politician, President of the Gambia
  • 1967 – Luc Nilis, Belgian footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Mark Rosewater, Head designer of Magic: the Gathering
  • 1968 – Kendall Gill, American basketball player, boxer, and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
  • 1969 – Anne Heche, American actress
  • 1969 – Karen Bernstein, Canadian voice actress
  • 1969 – Stacy London, American journalist and author
  • 1970 – Robert Croft, Welsh-English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Jamie Kennedy, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Stefano Baldini, Italian runner
  • 1971 – Marco Cappato, Italian politician
  • 1972 – Karan Johar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Octavia Spencer, American actress and author
  • 1973 – Daz Dillinger, American rapper and producer
  • 1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress
  • 1974 – Dougie Freedman, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Frank Klepacki, American drummer and composer
  • 1974 – Miguel Tejada, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1975 – Blaise Nkufo, Congolese-Swiss footballer
  • 1976 – Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper
  • 1976 – Erki Pütsep, Estonian cyclist
  • 1976 – Ethan Suplee, American actor
  • 1976 – Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
  • 1976 – Miguel Zepeda, Mexican footballer
  • 1977 – Andre Anis, Estonian footballer
  • 1977 – Alberto Del Rio, Mexican-American mixed martial artist and wrestler
  • 1978 – Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Brian Urlacher, American football player
  • 1979 – Carlos Bocanegra, American international soccer player, defender and Sports Executive
  • 1979 – Sayed Moawad, Egyptian footballer
  • 1979 – Caroline Ouellette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1979 – Sam Sodje, English-Nigerian footballer
  • 1979 – Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
  • 1979 – Chris Young, American baseball pitcher
  • 1980 – David Navarro, Spanish footballer
  • 1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball player
  • 1981 – Matt Utai, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1982 – Adam Boyd, English footballer
  • 1982 – Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer
  • 1982 – Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder
  • 1982 – Roger Guerreiro, Polish footballer
  • 1982 – Justin Hodges, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan runner
  • 1982 – Jason Kubel, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Stacey Pensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist
  • 1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer
  • 1984 – Luke Ball, Australian footballer
  • 1984 – Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – A. J. Foyt IV, American race car driver
  • 1984 – Shawne Merriman, American football player
  • 1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress
  • 1985 – Demba Ba, French footballer
  • 1985 – Gert Kams, Estonian footballer
  • 1985 – Roman Reigns, American football player and wrestler
  • 1986 – Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Yoan Gouffran, French footballer
  • 1986 – Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician
  • 1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist
  • 1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer
  • 1987 – Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper
  • 1988 – Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer
  • 1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer
  • 1990 – Bo Dallas, American wrestler
  • 1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1993 – James Porter, English cricketer
  • 1994 – Matt Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast
  • 1995 – Kagiso Rabada, South African cricketer
  • 1996 – David Pastrňák, Czech ice hockey player

Deaths on May 25

  • 675 – Li Hong, Chinese prince (b. 652)
  • 709 – Aldhelm, English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (b. 639)
  • 803 – Higbald of Lindisfarne, English bishop
  • 912 – Xue Yiju, chancellor of Later Liang
  • 916 – Flann Sinna, king of Meath
  • 939 – Yao Yanzhang, general of Chu
  • 986 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Muslim astronomer (b. 903)
  • 992 – Mieszko I of Poland (b. 935)
  • 1085 – Pope Gregory VII (b. 1020)
  • 1261 – Pope Alexander IV (b. 1185)
  • 1452 – John Stafford, English archbishop and politician
  • 1555 – Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (b. 1508)
  • 1555 – Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
  • 1595 – Valens Acidalius, German poet and critic (b. 1567)
  • 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian priest and saint (b. 1515)
  • 1607 – Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Italian Carmelite nun and mystic (b. 1566)
  • 1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
  • 1667 – Gustaf Bonde, Finnish-Swedish politician, 5th Lord High Treasurer of Sweden (b. 1620)
  • 1681 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1600)
  • 1741 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German bishop and theologian (b. 1660)
  • 1786 – Peter III of Portugal (b. 1717)
  • 1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1751)
  • 1797 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1719)
  • 1805 – William Paley, English priest and philosopher (b. 1743)
  • 1849 – Benjamin D’Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (b. 1777)
  • 1895 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, and jurist (b. 1822)
  • 1899 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (b. 1822)
  • 1912 – Austin Lane Crothers, American educator and politician, 46th Governor of Maryland (b. 1860)
  • 1917 – Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet and critic (b. 1891)
  • 1919 – Eliza Pollock, American archer (b. 1840)
  • 1919 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company (b. 1867)
  • 1924 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1889)
  • 1926 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (b. 1879)
  • 1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1876)
  • 1930 – Randall Davidson, Scottish-English archbishop (b. 1848)
  • 1934 – Gustav Holst, English trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1874)
  • 1937 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (b. 1859)
  • 1939 – Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1942 – Emanuel Feuermann, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (b. 1902)
  • 1943 – Nils von Dardel, Swedish painter (b. 1888)
  • 1948 – Witold Pilecki, Polish officer and Resistance leader (b. 1901)
  • 1951 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian poet and author (b. 1887)
  • 1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian photographer and journalist (b. 1913)
  • 1957 – Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (b. 1883)
  • 1968 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881)
  • 1970 – Tom Patey, Scottish mountaineer and author (b. 1932)
  • 1977 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Itzhak Bentov, Czech-Israeli engineer, mystic, and author (b. 1923)
  • 1979 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French racing driver and sports car manufacturer (b. 1899)
  • 1981 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1904)
  • 1983 – Idris of Libya (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Jack Stewart, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1917)
  • 1986 – Chester Bowles, American journalist and politician, 22nd Under Secretary of State (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)
  • 1995 – Élie Bayol, French racing driver (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player and coach, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 1996 (b. 1948)
  • 1995 – Dany Robin, French actress (b. 1927)
  • 1996 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (b. 1929)
  • 2003 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing Company (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (b. 1938)
  • 2005 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (b. 1934)
  • 2005 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer and director (b. 1936)
  • 2005 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (b. 1909)
  • 2007 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded Simplot (b. 1909)
  • 2009 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (b. 1905)
  • 2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)
  • 2010 – Michael H. Jordan, American businessman (b. 1936)
  • 2010 – Alan Hickinbotham, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2010 – Gabriel Vargas, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player and coach (b. 1965)
  • 2011 – Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (b. 1958)
  • 2012 – Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Marcel Côté, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (b. 1913)
  • 2014 – Toaripi Lauti, Tuvaluan educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Tuvalu (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – George Braden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of the Northwest Territories (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Robert Lebel, Canadian bishop (b. 1924)
  • 2019 – Claus von Bülow, Danish-British socialite (b.1926)

Holidays and observances on May 25

  • Africa Day (African Union)
  • African Liberation Day (African Union, Rastafari)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Aldhelm
    • Bede
    • Canius
    • Dionysius of Milan
    • Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad
    • Gerard of Lunel
    • Madeleine Sophie Barat
    • Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
    • Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux
    • Pope Boniface IV
    • Pope Gregory VII
    • Pope Urban I
    • Zenobius of Florence
    • May 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Venezuela)
  • Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Hungary)
  • Earliest day on which Holiday of Saint Etchmiadzin can fall, while July 27 is the latest; celebrated on the 64th day after Easter. (Armenia)
  • Earliest day on which Memorial Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Monday in May. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia)
  • Earliest day on which Turkmen Carpet Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Turkmenistan)
  • First National Government / National Day (Argentina)
  • Geek Pride Day (geek culture)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Jordan from the United Kingdom in 1946.
  • Last bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries)
  • Liberation Day (Lebanon)
  • International Missing Children’s Day and its related observances:
    • National Missing Children’s Day (United States),
  • National Tap Dance Day (United States)
  • Towel Day in honour of the work of the writer Douglas Adams

March 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

by
  • 1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
  • 1329 – Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
  • 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reaches the northern end of The Bahamas on his first voyage to Florida.
  • 1625 – Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
  • 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
  • 1794 – The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
  • 1809 – Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
  • 1836 – Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacres 342 Texas POWs at Goliad, Texas.
  • 1866 – President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.
  • 1871 – The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
  • 1884 – A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
  • 1886 – Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
  • 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River.
  • 1915 – Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life.
  • 1918 – The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
  • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war’s first major Chinese victory over Japan.
  • 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.
  • 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
  • 1945 – World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan’s ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers.
  • 1958 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.
  • 1964 – The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
  • 1975 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
  • 1977 – Tenerife airport disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). Sixty-one survived on the Pan Am flight. This is the deadliest aviation accident in history.
  • 1980 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
  • 1980 – Silver Thursday: A steep fall in silver prices, resulting from the Hunt Brothers attempting to corner the market in silver, leads to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.
  • 1981 – The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.
  • 1986 – A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people.
  • 1990 – The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.
  • 1993 – Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China.
  • 1993 – Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.
  • 1998 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: An American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is shot down by a Yugoslav SAM, the first and only Nighthawk to be lost in combat.
  • 2000 – A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others.
  • 2002 – Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel.
  • 2002 – Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors; 19 other people are injured.
  • 2004 – HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
  • 2009 – The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.
  • 2014 – Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.
  • 2015 – Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead.
  • 2016 – A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
  • 2020 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO.

Births on March 27

  • 972 – Robert II, king of France (d. 1031)
  • 1401 – Albert III, duke of Bavaria (d. 1460)
  • 1416 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded Order of the Minims (d. 1507)
  • 1546 – Johannes Piscator, German theologian (d. 1625)
  • 1627 – Stephen Fox, English politician (d. 1716)
  • 1676 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
  • 1679 – Domenico Lalli, Italian poet and librettist (d. 1741)
  • 1681 – Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish-Italian cardinal (d. 1760)
  • 1702 – Johann Ernst Eberlin, German organist and composer (d. 1762)
  • 1710 – Joseph Abaco, Belgian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
  • 1712 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and author (d. 1779)
  • 1714 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian historian and theologian (d. 1795)
  • 1724 – Jane Colden, American botanist and author (d. 1766)
  • 1745 – Lindley Murray, American-English Quaker and grammarian (d. 1826)
  • 1746 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (d. 1767)
  • 1746 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican-French lawyer and politician (d. 1785)
  • 1765 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1841)
  • 1781 – Alexander Vostokov, Estonian-Russian philologist and academic (d. 1864)
  • 1784 – Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian philologist, orientalist, and author (d. 1842)
  • 1785 – Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
  • 1797 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1863)
  • 1801 – Alexander Barrow, American lawyer and politician (d. 1846)
  • 1802 – Charles-Mathias Simons, German-Luxembourger jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1874)
  • 1809 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French engineer, urban planner, and politician (d. 1891)
  • 1811 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (d. 1880)
  • 1814 – Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, anthologist, and author (d. 1889)
  • 1820 – Edward Augustus Inglefield, English admiral and explorer (d. 1894)
  • 1822 – Henri Murger, French novelist and poet (d. 1861)
  • 1824 – Virginia Minor, American women’s suffrage activist (d. 1894)
  • 1839 – John Ballance, Irish-New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1893)
  • 1843 – George Frederick Leycester Marshall, English colonel and entomologist (d. 1934)
  • 1844 – Adolphus Greely, American general and explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1935)
  • 1845 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
  • 1845 – Jakob Sverdrup, Norwegian bishop and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (d. 1899)
  • 1847 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
  • 1851 – Ruperto Chapí, Spanish composer, co-founded Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (d. 1909)
  • 1851 – Vincent d’Indy, French composer and educator (d. 1931)
  • 1852 – Jan van Beers, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1927)
  • 1854 – Giovanni Battista Grassi, Italian physician, zoologist, and entomologist (d. 1925)
  • 1855 – William Libbey, American target shooter, colonel, mountaineer, geographer, geologist, and archaeologist (d. 1927)
  • 1857 – Karl Pearson, English mathematician, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1936)
  • 1859 – George Giffen, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1927)
  • 1860 – Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)
  • 1862 – Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (d. 1938)
  • 1863 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1933)
  • 1866 – John Allan, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Victoria (d. 1936)
  • 1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946)
  • 1869 – James McNeill, Irish politician, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1938)
  • 1869 – J. R. Clynes, English trade unionist and politician, Home Secretary (d. 1949)
  • 1871 – Heinrich Mann, German author and poet (d. 1950)
  • 1871 – Joseph G. Morrison, American captain and Nazarene minister (d. 1939)
  • 1871 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician, Minister of Labour (d. 1948)
  • 1875 – Albert Marquet, French painter (d. 1947)
  • 1877 – Oscar Grégoire, Belgian water polo player and swimmer (d. 1947)
  • 1878 – Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (d. 1947)
  • 1879 – Sándor Garbai, Hungarian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1947)
  • 1879 – Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1929)
  • 1879 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourger-American painter and photographer (d. 1973)
  • 1881 – Arkady Averchenko, Russian playwright and satirist (d. 1925)
  • 1882 – Thomas Graham Brown, Scottish mountaineer and physiologist (d. 1965)
  • 1883 – Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)
  • 1884 – Gordon Thomson, English rower and lieutenant (d. 1953)
  • 1885 – Julio Lozano Díaz, Honduran accountant and politician, 40th President of Honduras (d. 1957)
  • 1885 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (d. 1961)
  • 1886 – Sergey Kirov, Russian politician (d. 1934)
  • 1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1886 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect, designed IBM Plaza and Seagram Building (d. 1969)
  • 1887 – Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (d. 1932)
  • 1888 – George Alfred Lawrence Hearne, English-South African cricketer (d. 1978)
  • 1889 – Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Harald Julin, Swedish swimmer and water polo player (d. 1967)
  • 1890 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (d. 1974)
  • 1891 – Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian novelist and playwright (d. 1974)
  • 1891 – Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Belarusian-Lithuanian architect, journalist, and diplomat, created the Flag of Belarus (d. 1959)
  • 1892 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1892 – Thorne Smith, American author (d. 1934)
  • 1893 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (d. 1947)
  • 1893 – G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1981)
  • 1893 – George Beranger, Australian-American actor and director (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – René Fonck, French colonel and pilot (d. 1953)
  • 1895 – Roland Leighton, English soldier and poet (d. 1915)
  • 1897 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1958)
  • 1897 – Fred Keating, American magician, stage and film actor (d. 1961)
  • 1899 – Francis Ponge, French poet and author (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Herbert Arthur Stuart, German-Swiss physicist and academic (d. 1974)
  • 1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (d. 1983)
  • 1901 – Carl Barks, American illustrator and screenwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1901 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
  • 1901 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
  • 1901 – Kenneth Slessor, Australian journalist and poet (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Sidney Buchman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
  • 1902 – Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1950)
  • 1905 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1935)
  • 1905 – Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German general (d. 1980)
  • 1905 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (d. 1980)
  • 1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 1969)
  • 1909 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Ben Webster, American saxophonist (d. 1973)
  • 1909 – Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1937)
  • 1910 – Ai Qing, Chinese poet and author (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (d. 1965)
  • 1912 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Theodor Dannecker, German SS officer (d. 1945)
  • 1914 – Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1915 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – Colin Rowe, English-American architect, theorist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Phil Chess, Czech-American record producer, co-founded Chess Records (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Harold Nicholas, American actor and dancer (d. 2000)
  • 1922 – Dick King-Smith, English author (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Stefan Wul, French author and surgeon (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Louis Simpson, Jamaican-American poet, translator, and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
  • 1924 – Ian Black, Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and lawn bowls player (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Frank O’Hara, American writer (d. 1966)
  • 1927 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)
  • 1928 – Jean Dotto, French cyclist (d. 2000)
  • 1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
  • 1929 – Reg Evans, Australian actor (d. 2009)
  • 1930 – Daniel Spoerri, Romanian-Swiss photographer, writer and artist
  • 1931 – David Janssen, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1932 – Junior Parker, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1971)
  • 1932 – Bailey Olter, Micronesian politician, 3rd President of the Federated States of Micronesia (d. 1999)
  • 1933 – Lê Văn Hưng, South Vietnamese Brigadier general (d. 1975)
  • 1934 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist, author, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest and missionary (d. 1981)
  • 1935 – Julian Glover, English actor
  • 1936 – Malcolm Goldstein, American violinist and composer
  • 1937 – Alan Hawkshaw, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1939 – Jay Kim, South Korean-American engineer and politician
  • 1939 – Cale Yarborough, American race car driver and businessman
  • 1940 – Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver
  • 1940 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright
  • 1941 – Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Slovakia
  • 1941 – Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Michael Jackson, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1942 – John Sulston, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
  • 1942 – Michael York, English actor
  • 1943 – Mike Curtis, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
  • 1944 – Jesse Brown, American marine and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Bryan Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1946 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1947 – Oliver Friggieri, Maltese author, critic, poet and philosopher
  • 1947 – Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot
  • 1947 – Walt Mossberg, American journalist
  • 1948 – Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Tony Banks, English keyboardist and songwriter
  • 1950 – Petros Efthymiou, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs
  • 1950 – Maria Ewing, African-American soprano
  • 1950 – Chris Stewart, English musician and author
  • 1950 – Terry Yorath, Welsh international footballer, Midfielder and international manager
  • 1951 – Andrei Kozyrev, Belgian-Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Russia
  • 1952 – Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier
  • 1952 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
  • 1953 – Herman Ponsteen, Dutch cyclist
  • 1954 – Gerard Batten, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Patrick McCabe, Irish writer
  • 1955 – Mariano Rajoy, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
  • 1955 – Susan Neiman, Jewish American-German philosopher and author
  • 1956 – Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong activist and politician
  • 1956 – Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier
  • 1957 – Kostas Vasilakakis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Stephen Dillane, English actor
  • 1958 – Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer
  • 1959 – Andrew Farriss, Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist
  • 1960 – Hans Pflügler, German footballer
  • 1960 – Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1961 – Ellery Hanley, English rugby league player and coach
  • 1961 – Tony Rominger, Swiss professional cyclist
  • 1962 – Jann Arden, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Brett French, Australian rugby league player
  • 1962 – Rob Hollink, Dutch poker player
  • 1962 – John O’Farrell, English journalist and author
  • 1962 – Brad Wright, American-Spanish basketball player
  • 1962 – Kevin J. Anderson, American science fiction writer
  • 1963 – Cory Blackwell, American basketball player
  • 1963 – Randall Cunningham, American football player, coach, and pastor
  • 1963 – Filippos Sachinidis, Greek-Canadian economist and politician
  • 1963 – Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist
  • 1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
  • 1963 – Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter
  • 1965 – Gregor Foitek, Swiss race car driver
  • 1966 – Žarko Paspalj, Serbian basketball player
  • 1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress
  • 1968 – Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete
  • 1969 – Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Pauley Perrette, American actress
  • 1970 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
  • 1970 – Derek Aucoin, Canadian baseball player
  • 1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1970 – Brent Fitz, Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and recording artist
  • 1970 – Jarrod McCracken, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1970 – Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
  • 1970 – Uwe Rosenberg, German game designer, created Bohnanza
  • 1971 – David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
  • 1972 – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1972 – Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler
  • 1973 – Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer
  • 1974 – Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1974 – George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer
  • 1974 – Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer
  • 1975 – Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1975 – Kim Felton, Australian golfer
  • 1975 – Jeff Palmer, American gay porn actor and singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1975 – Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania
  • 1976 – Danny Fortson, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer
  • 1977 – Vítor Meira, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1978 – Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer
  • 1978 – Marius Bakken, Norwegian runner
  • 1978 – Amélie Cocheteux, French tennis player
  • 1979 – Tom Palmer, English rugby union player
  • 1979 – Mohsen Moeini, Iranian author and director
  • 1979 – Imran Tahir, Pakistani-South African cricketer
  • 1979 – Jennifer Wilson, Zimbabwean-South African field hockey player
  • 1980 – Sean Ryan, American football player
  • 1980 – Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player
  • 1980 – Maksim Shevchenko, Kazakhstani footballer
  • 1981 – Terry McFlynn, Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Akhil Kumar, Indian boxer
  • 1981 – Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish runner
  • 1981 – Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner
  • 1982 – Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer
  • 1983 – Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter
  • 1983 – Vasily Koshechkin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1984 – Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australian rugby player
  • 1984 – Ben Franks, Australian-born New Zealand rugby player
  • 1984 – Brett Holman, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Dustin Byfuglien, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Danny Vukovic, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Manuel Neuer, German footballer
  • 1987 – Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer
  • 1987 – Samuel Francis, Nigerian-Qatari sprinter
  • 1987 – Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter
  • 1987 – Buster Posey, American baseball player
  • 1988 – Jessie J, English singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer
  • 1988 – Brenda Song, American actress
  • 1988 – Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1988 – Holliday Grainger, English actress
  • 1989 – Matt Harvey, American baseball player
  • 1989 – Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player
  • 1990 – Erdin Demir, Swedish-Turkish footballer
  • 1990 – Ben Hunt, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1990 – Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer
  • 1990 – Kimbra, New Zealand musician
  • 1990 – Brodha V, Indian Rapper and Music Producer
  • 1992 – Marc Muniesa, Spanish footballer
  • 1995 – Bill Tuiloma, New Zealand footballer

Deaths on March 27

  • 710 – Rupert of Salzburg, Austrian bishop and saint (b. 660)
  • 853 – Haymo of Halberstadt, German bishop and author (b. 778)
  • 913 – Du Xiao, chancellor of Later Liang
  • 913 – Zhang empress of Later Liang
  • 916 – Alduin I, Frankish nobleman
  • 965 – Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (born c. 890)
  • 973 – Hermann Billung, Frankish lieutenant (b. 900)
  • 1045 – Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara’i, Fatimid vizier
  • 1184 – Giorgi III, King of Georgia
  • 1248 – Maud Marshal, English countess (b. 1192)
  • 1350 – Alfonso XI of Castile (b. 1312)
  • 1378 – Pope Gregory XI (b. 1336)
  • 1462 – Vasily II of Moscow (b. 1415)
  • 1472 – Janus Pannonius, Hungarian bishop and poet (b. 1434)
  • 1482 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1457)
  • 1564 – Lütfi Pasha, Turkish historian and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1488)
  • 1572 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian polymath (b. c. 1523)
  • 1598 – Theodor de Bry, Belgian-German engraver, goldsmith, and publisher (b. 1528)
  • 1613 – Sigismund Báthory (b. 1573)
  • 1615 – Margaret of Valois (b. 1553)
  • 1621 – Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian cardinal (b. 1554)
  • 1624 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (b. 1578)
  • 1625 – James VI and I of the United Kingdom (b. 1566)
  • 1635 – Robert Naunton, English politician (b. 1563)
  • 1676 – Bernardino de Rebolledo, Spanish poet, soldier, and diplomat (b. 1597)
  • 1679 – Abraham Mignon, Dutch painter (b. 1640)
  • 1697 – Simon Bradstreet, English businessman and politician, 20th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1603)
  • 1729 – Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1679)
  • 1757 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1717)
  • 1770 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (b. 1696)
  • 1848 – Gabriel Bibron, French zoologist and herpetologist (b. 1805)
  • 1849 – Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, Irish-Canadian politician, 35th Governor General of Canada (b. 1776)
  • 1850 – Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer and banker (b. 1797)
  • 1864 – Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist and academic (b. 1800)
  • 1869 – James Harper, American publisher and politician, 65th Mayor of New York City (b. 1795)
  • 1875 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, Peruvian soldier and politician, President of Peru (b. 1808)
  • 1875 – Edgar Quinet, French historian and academic (b. 1803)
  • 1878 – George Gilbert Scott, English architect, designed the Albert Memorial and St Mary’s Cathedral (b. 1811)
  • 1886 – Henry Taylor, English poet and playwright (b. 1800)
  • 1889 – John Bright, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1811)
  • 1890 – Carl Jacob Löwig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
  • 1898 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and activist (b. 1817)
  • 1900 – Joseph A. Campbell, American businessman, founded the Campbell Soup Company (b. 1817)
  • 1910 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American ichthyologist, zoologist, and engineer (b. 1835)
  • 1913 – Richard Montgomery Gano, American minister, physician, and general (b. 1830)
  • 1918 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (b. 1838)
  • 1918 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (b. 1881)
  • 1921 – Harry Barron, English general and politician, 16th Governor of Western Australia (b. 1847)
  • 1922 – Nikolay Sokolov, Russian composer and educator (b. 1859)
  • 1923 – James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (b. 1842)
  • 1925 – Carl Neumann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1832)
  • 1926 – Kick Kelly, American baseball player, manager, and umpire (b. 1856)
  • 1926 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887)
  • 1927 – Joe Start, American baseball player and manager (b. 1842)
  • 1927 – Klaus Berntsen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1844)
  • 1928 – Leslie Stuart, English organist and composer (b. 1863)
  • 1931 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (b. 1867)
  • 1934 – Francis William Reitz, South African lawyer and politician, 5th State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1844)
  • 1938 – William Stern, German-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1871)
  • 1940 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)
  • 1942 – Julio González, Catalan sculptor and painter (b. 1876)
  • 1943 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1882)
  • 1945 – Vincent Hugo Bendix, American engineer and businessman, founded Bendix Corporation (b. 1881)
  • 1945 – Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1866)
  • 1946 – Karl Groos, German psychologist and philosopher (b. 1861)
  • 1949 – Elisheva Bikhovski, Israeli-Russian poet (b. 1888)
  • 1952 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (b. 1894)
  • 1956 – Évariste Lévi-Provençal, French orientalist and historian (b. 1894)
  • 1958 – Leon C. Phillips, American lawyer and politician, 11th Governor of Oklahoma (b. 1890)
  • 1960 – Gregorio Marañón, Spanish physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1887)
  • 1967 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
  • 1968 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
  • 1968 – Vladimir Seryogin, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1922)
  • 1973 – Mikhail Kalatozov, Georgian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Eduardo Santos, Colombian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1888)
  • 1975 – Arthur Bliss, English conductor and composer (b. 1891)
  • 1976 – Georg August Zinn, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Hesse (b. 1901)
  • 1977 – Shirley Graham Du Bois, American author, playwright, and composer (b. 1896)
  • 1977 – Diana Hyland, American actress (b. 1936)
  • 1977 – Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch airline pilot (b. 1927)
  • 1978 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded the White Spot (b. 1902)
  • 1978 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey (b. 1922)
  • 1978 – Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1920)
  • 1980 – Steve Fisher, American author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Jakob Ackeret, Swiss engineer and academic (b. 1898)
  • 1982 – Fazlur Khan, Bangladeshi-American engineer and architect, designed the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower (b. 1929)
  • 1987 – William Bowers, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 1988 – Charles Willeford, American author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
  • 1989 – May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
  • 1989 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (b. 1898)
  • 1990 – Percy Beard, American hurdler and coach (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 1992 – Colin Gibson, English footballer (b. 1923)
  • 1992 – Lang Hancock, Australian businessman (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – James E. Webb, American colonel and politician, 16th Under Secretary of State (b. 1906)
  • 1993 – Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (b. 1900)
  • 1994 – Elisabeth Schmid, German archaeologist and osteologist (b. 1912)
  • 1994 – Lawrence Wetherby, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1908)
  • 1995 – René Allio, French director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 1997 – Lane Dwinell, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Ella Maillart, Swiss skier, sailor, field hockey player, and photographer (b. 1903)
  • 1998 – David McClelland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (b. 1946)
  • 2000 – George Allen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942)
  • 2002 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
  • 2002 – Dudley Moore, English actor (b. 1935)
  • 2002 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 2003 – Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1926)
  • 2004 – Robert Merle, French author (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (b. 1913)
  • 2006 – Dan Curtis, American director and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish author (b. 1921)
  • 2006 – Rudolf Vrba, Czech Holocaust survivor and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (b. 1962)
  • 2007 – Nancy Adams, New Zealand botanist and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Dick Giordano, American illustrator (b. 1932)
  • 2011 – Clement Arrindell, Nevisian judge and politician, 1st Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist and feminist (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense and first United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Johnny Helms, American trumpet player, bandleader, and educator (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – T. Sailo, Indian soldier and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on March 27

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexander, a Pannonian soldier, martyred in 3rd century.
    • Amador of Portugal
    • Augusta of Treviso
    • Charles Henry Brent (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh
    • John of Egypt
    • Philetus
    • Romulus of Nîmes, a Benedictine abbot, martyred c. 730.
    • Rupert of Salzburg
    • Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia
    • March 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Armed Forces Day (Myanmar)
  • International whisk(e)y day
  • World Theatre Day (International)

February 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

by

February 9 in History

  • 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
  • 1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
  • 1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
  • 1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
  • 1778 – Rhode Island becomes the fourth US state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
  • 1788 – The Habsburg Empire joins the Russo-Turkish War in the Russian camp.
  • 1825 – After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
  • 1849 – The new Roman Republic is declared.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1870 – US president Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
  • 1889 – US president Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
  • 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
  • 1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
  • 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.
  • 1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
  • 1913 – A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
  • 1920 – Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.
  • 1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
  • 1934 – The Balkan Entente is formed.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy, is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.
  • 1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
  • 1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time (aka War Time) is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
  • 1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.
  • 1945 – World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
  • 1945 – World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.
  • 1950 – Second Red Scare: US Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
  • 1951 – Korean War: The two-day Geochang massacre begins as a battalion of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army kills 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, in the South Gyeongsang district of South Korea
  • 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
  • 1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers across the USA.
  • 1965 – The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam, the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.
  • 1971 – The 6.5–6.7 Mw  Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.
  • 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the USA’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
  • 1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
  • 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 3739, a Tupolev Tu-104, crashes during takeoff from Irkutsk Airport, killing 24.
  • 1978 – The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • 1986 – Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
  • 1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
  • 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf, killing two people.
  • 1996 – Copernicium is discovered, by Sigurd Hofmann, Victor Ninov et al.
  • 2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people died, and 85 others were injured.
  • 2018 – Winter Olympics: Opening ceremony is performed in Pyeongchang County in South Korea.

Births on February 9

  • 1060 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1130)
  • 1274 – Louis of Toulouse, French bishop (d. 1297)
  • 1313 – Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile, Portuguese infanta (d. 1357)
  • 1344 – Meinhard III, count of Tyrol (d. 1363)
  • 1441 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and painter (d. 1501)
  • 1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1611)
  • 1579 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1639)
  • 1651 – Procopio Cutò, French entrepreneur (d. 1727)
  • 1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish field marshal (d. 1737)
  • 1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)
  • 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 1809)
  • 1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel, German-French composer (d. 1799)
  • 1748 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)
  • 1763 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
  • 1769 – George W. Campbell, Scottish-American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1848)
  • 1773 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
  • 1775 – Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1856)
  • 1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix, German biologist and explorer (d. 1826)
  • 1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1852)
  • 1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German engineer, invented Gabelsberger shorthand (d. 1849)
  • 1800 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844)
  • 1814 – Samuel J. Tilden, American lawyer and politician, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
  • 1815 – Federico de Madrazo, Spanish painter (d.1894)
  • 1834 – Felix Dahn, German lawyer, historian, and author (d. 1912)
  • 1826 – Keʻelikōlani, Hawaiian royal and governor (d. 1883)
  • 1837 – José Burgos, Filipino priest and revolutionary (d. 1872)
  • 1839 – Silas Adams, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (d. 1929)
  • 1846 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman and financier (d. 1904)
  • 1847 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh-English clergyman and theologian (d. 1902)
  • 1854 – Aletta Jacobs, Dutch physician and suffrage activist (d. 1929)
  • 1856 – Hara Takashi, Japanese politician, 10th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1921)
  • 1859 – Akiyama Yoshifuru, Japanese general (d. 1930)
  • 1863 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (d. 1933)
  • 1864 – Miina Härma, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, English-French actress (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (d. 1949)
  • 1867 – Natsume Sōseki, Japanese author and poet (d. 1916)
  • 1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American pathologist and physician (d. 1910)
  • 1874 – Amy Lowell, American poet, critic, and educator (d. 1925)
  • 1876 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1963)
  • 1878 – Jack Kirwan, Irish international footballer (d. 1959)
  • 1880 – Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1883 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (d. 1951)
  • 1885 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1935)
  • 1885 – Clarence H. Haring, American historian and author (d. 1960)
  • 1889 – Larry Semon, American actor, producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1928)
  • 1891 – Ronald Colman, English-American actor (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978)
  • 1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas, Greek lawyer and politician, 163rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1987)
  • 1895 – Hermann Brill, German lawyer and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (d. 1959)
  • 1896 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian captain and pilot (d. 1935)
  • 1898 – Jūkichi Yagi, Japanese poet and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1901 – Brian Donlevy, American actor (d. 1972)
  • 1901 – James Murray, American actor (d. 1936)
  • 1905 – David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, English hurdler and politician (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – André Kostolany, Hungarian-French economist and journalist (d. 1999)
  • 1907 – Trường Chinh, Vietnamese politician, 4th President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
  • 1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1909 – Heather Angel, English-American actress (d. 1986)
  • 1909 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)
  • 1909 – Dean Rusk, American colonel and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Jacques Monod, French biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1911 – William Orlando Darby, American general (d. 1945)
  • 1912 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
  • 1912 – Ginette Leclerc, French actress (d. 1992)
  • 1914 – Ernest Tubb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
  • 1916 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1918 – Lloyd Noel Ferguson, African American chemist (d. 2011)
  • 1920 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and soprano (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Robert E. Ogren, American zoologist (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Brendan Behan, Irish rebel, poet, and playwright (d. 1964)
  • 1923 – Tonie Nathan, American radio host, producer, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – John B. Cobb, American philosopher and theologian
  • 1925 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Richard A. Long, American historian and author (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Frank Frazetta, American painter and illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1928 – Roger Mudd, American journalist
  • 1929 – A. R. Antulay, Indian social worker and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist and author (d. 2003)
  • 1931 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Robert Morris, American sculptor and painter (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player and manager
  • 1932 – Gerhard Richter, German painter and photographer
  • 1935 – Lionel Fanthorpe, English-Welsh priest, journalist, and author
  • 1936 – Clive Swift, English actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Ron Logan, Disney theatrical producer and professor
  • 1939 – Mahala Andrews, British vertebrae palaeontologist (d. 1997)
  • 1939 – Barry Mann, American pianist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1939 – Janet Suzman, South African-British actress and director
  • 1940 – Brian Bennett, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1940 – J. M. Coetzee, South African-Australian novelist, essayist, and linguist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Kermit Gosnell, American abortionist and serial killer
  • 1941 – Sheila Kuehl, American actress, lawyer, gay rights activist, and politician
  • 1942 – Carole King, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1943 – Barbara Lewis, American soul/R&B singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor
  • 1943 – Joseph Stiglitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1944 – Derryn Hinch, New Zealand-Australian radio and television host and politician
  • 1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
  • 1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress, activist, and former fashion model
  • 1945 – Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japanese cell biologist, 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
  • 1945 – Carol Wood, American mathematician and academic
  • 1946 – Bob Eastwood, American golfer
  • 1946 – Vince Papale, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1946 – Jim Webb, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of the Navy
  • 1947 – Carla Del Ponte, Swiss lawyer and diplomat
  • 1947 – Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Major Harris, American R&B singer (d. 2012)
  • 1947 – Alexis Smirnoff, Canadian-American wrestler and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1948 – Guy Standing, English economist and academic
  • 1949 – Bernard Gallacher, Scottish golfer and journalist
  • 1949 – Judith Light, American actress
  • 1950 – Richard F. Colburn, American sergeant and politician
  • 1951 – David Pomeranz, American singer, musician, and composer
  • 1952 – Danny White, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Ciarán Hinds, Irish actor
  • 1953 – Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary, priest, and martyr (d. 1985)
  • 1953 – Gabriel Rotello, American journalist and author, founded OutWeek
  • 1954 – Jo Duffy, American author
  • 1954 – Chris Gardner, American businessman and philanthropist
  • 1954 – Kevin Warwick, English cybernetics scientist
  • 1955 – Jerry Beck, American historian and author
  • 1955 – Jimmy Pursey, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, English actor
  • 1956 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1957 – Terry McAuliffe, American businessman and politician, 72nd Governor of Virginia
  • 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Sandy Lyle, Scottish golfer
  • 1958 – Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host
  • 1960 – Holly Johnson, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1960 – David Simon, American journalist, author, screenwriter, and television producer
  • 1960 – Peggy Whitson, American biochemist and astronaut
  • 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, Canadian ballerina
  • 1963 – Brian Greene, American physicist
  • 1963 – Peter Rowsthorn, Australian comedian and actor
  • 1963 – Travis Tritt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1964 – Debrah Miceli, Italian-American wrestler and manager
  • 1964 – Dewi Morris, English rugby player
  • 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Alejandro Ávila, Mexican telenovela actor
  • 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Dieter Baumann, German runner
  • 1966 – Harald Eia, Norwegian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Todd Pratt, American baseball player and coach
  • 1967 – Dan Shulman, Canadian sportscaster
  • 1967 – Gaston Browne, Antiguan and Barbudan Prime Minister
  • 1968 – Alejandra Guzmán, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1968 – Derek Strong, American basketball player and race car driver
  • 1968 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
  • 1969 – Jimmy Smith, American football player
  • 1970 – Glenn McGrath, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Matt Gogel, American golfer
  • 1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Belarusian gymnast
  • 1973 – Colin Egglesfield, American actor
  • 1973 – Makoto Shinkai, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Jordi Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Brad Maynard, American football player
  • 1974 – Amber Valletta, American model
  • 1974 – John Wallace, American basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen, Norwegian cyclist and coach
  • 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
  • 1975 – Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1976 – Charlie Day, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1978 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1979 – Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball player
  • 1979 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
  • 1980 – Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
  • 1980 – Margarita Levieva, Russian-American actress
  • 1980 – Manu Raju, American journalist
  • 1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor, producer, and musical performer
  • 1981 – Daisuke Sekimoto, Japanese wrestler
  • 1982 – Domingo Cisma, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Jameer Nelson, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1982 – Chris Weale, English footballer and manager
  • 1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
  • 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player, singer, and producer
  • 1984 – Shōhōzan Yūya, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1985 – David Gallagher, American actor
  • 1987 – Sam Coulson, English guitarist
  • 1987 – Michael B. Jordan, American actor
  • 1987 – Davide Lanzafame, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
  • 1988 – Lotte Friis, Danish swimmer
  • 1989 – Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
  • 1990 – Tariq Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Logan Ryan, American football player
  • 1992 – Kyle Feldt, Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Mitchell Frei, Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Avan Jogia, Canadian actor
  • 1993 – Niclas Füllkrug, German footballer
  • 1995 – André Burakovsky, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1995 – Mario Pašalić, Croatian footballer
  • 1997 – Saquon Barkley, American football player

Deaths on February 9

  • 966 – Ono no Michikaze, Japanese calligrapher (b. 894)
  • 967 – Sayf al-Dawla, emir of Aleppo (b. 916)
  • 978 – Luitgarde, duchess consort of Normandy
  • 1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony
  • 1014 – Yang Yanzhao, Chinese general
  • 1135 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1075)
  • 1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1147)
  • 1251 – Matthias II, duke of Lorraine
  • 1407 – William I, margrave of Meissen (b. 1343)
  • 1450 – Agnès Sorel, French mistress of Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
  • 1555 – John Hooper, English bishop and martyr (b. 1495)
  • 1555 – Rowland Taylor, English priest and martyr (b. 1510)
  • 1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (b. 1526)
  • 1600 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1542)
  • 1619 – Lucilio Vanini, Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1585)
  • 1640 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1612)
  • 1670 – Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
  • 1675 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (b. 1613)
  • 1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (b. 1664)
  • 1777 – Seth Pomeroy, American general and gunsmith (b. 1706)
  • 1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French soldier, poet, and philosopher (b. 1716)
  • 1857 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and translator (b. 1798)
  • 1874 – Jules Michelet, French historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1798)
  • 1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (b. 1821)
  • 1891 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (b. 1819)
  • 1903 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (b. 1816)
  • 1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1872)
  • 1928 – William Gillies, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Queensland (b. 1868)
  • 1930 – Richard With, Norwegian captain and businessman, founded Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
  • 1932 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and banker (b. 1869)
  • 1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani, Bangladeshi soldier and activist (b. 1904)
  • 1945 – Ella D. Barrier, American educator (b. 1852)
  • 1950 – Ted Theodore, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Queensland (b. 1884)
  • 1951 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist, bandleader, and actor (b. 1910)
  • 1957 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (b. 1868)
  • 1960 – Alexandre Benois, Russian painter and critic (b. 1870)
  • 1960 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1877)
  • 1965 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, Bangladeshi theologian and educator (b. 1874)
  • 1966 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor and singer (b. 1885)
  • 1976 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
  • 1977 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer and businessman, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (b. 1894)
  • 1978 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist and coach (b. 1893)
  • 1979 – Allen Tate, American poet and academic (b. 1899)
  • 1980 – Tom Macdonald, Welsh journalist and author (b. 1900)
  • 1981 – M. C. Chagla, Indian jurist and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1900)
  • 1981 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914)
  • 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese illustrator, animator, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 1994 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
  • 1995 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 1995 – David Wayne, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 1998 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist, economist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
  • 2003 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2004 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Robert Kearns, American engineer, invented the windscreen wiper (b. 1927)
  • 2006 – Freddie Laker, English pilot and businessman, founded Laker Airways (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
  • 2008 – Christopher Hyatt, American occultist and author (b. 1943)
  • 2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian painter, poet, and sculptor (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – O. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – John Hick, English philosopher and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Gabriel Axel, Danish actor, director, and producer (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Logan Scott-Bowden, English general (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Liu Han, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1965)
  • 2015 – Ed Sabol, American film producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1916)
  • 2016 – Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander (b. 1948)
  • 2017 – André Salvat, French Army colonel (b. 1920)
  • 2018 – Reg E. Cathey, American actor of stage, film, and television (b. 1958)
  • 2018 – Nebojša Glogovac, Serbian actor (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic composer (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – John Gavin, American actor and United States ambassador to Mexico (b. 1931)
  • 2020 – Sergiy Vilkomir, Ukrainian-born computer scientist (b. 1956)

Holidays and observances on February 9

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alto of Altomünster
    • Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
    • Ansbert of Rouen
    • Apollonia
    • Bracchio
    • Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire
    • Maron (Maronite Church)
    • Miguel Febres Cordero
    • Nebridius
    • Sabinus of Canosa
    • Teilo (Wales)
    • February 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Clean Monday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of Great Lent. (Eastern Christianity)
  • Earliest day on which People’s Sunday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent. (Malta)
  • St. Maroun’s Day (public holiday in Lebanon)