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July 3 in History
- 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
- 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.
- 1035 – William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy, reigns until 1087.
- 1608 – Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
- 1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
- 1767 – Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
- 1767 – Norway’s oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Iroquois allied to Britain kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
- 1819 – The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
- 1839 – The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today’s Framingham State University, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.
- 1844 – The last pair of great auks is killed.
- 1848 – Governor-General Peter von Scholten emancipates all remaining slaves in the Danish West Indies.
- 1849 – France invades the Roman Republic and restores the Papal States.
- 1852 – Congress establishes the United States’ 2nd mint in San Francisco.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett’s Charge.
- 1866 – Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgrätz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
- 1884 – Dow Jones & Company publishes its first stock average.
- 1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.
- 1886 – The New-York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
- 1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
- 1898 – A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
- 1913 – Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett’s Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
- 1938 – World speed record for a steam locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 125.88 miles per hour (202.58 km/h).
- 1938 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
- 1940 – World War II: The Royal Navy attacks the French naval squadron in Algeria, to ensure that it will not fall under German control. Of the four French battleships present, one is sunk, two are damaged, and one escapes back to France.
- 1944 – World War II: The Minsk Offensive clears German troops from the city.
- 1952 – The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the United States Congress.
- 1952 – The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
- 1967 – The Aden Emergency: The Battle of the Crater in which the British Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders retake the Crater district following the Arab Police mutiny.
- 1969 – Space Race: The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
- 1970 – The Troubles: The “Falls Curfew” begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1970 – Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashes into the Les Agudes mountain in the Montseny Massif near the village of Arbúcies in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard.
- 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
- 1988 – United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
- 1988 – The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus.
- 1996 – British Prime Minister John Major announced the Stone of Scone would be returned to Scotland.
- 2013 – Egyptian coup d’état: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after four days of protests all over the country calling for Morsi’s resignation, to which he did not respond. President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Adly Mansour is declared acting president.
Births on July 3
- 321 – Valentinian I, Roman emperor (d. 375)
- 1423 – Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
- 1442 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
- 1518 – Li Shizhen, Chinese physician and mineralogist (d. 1593)
- 1530 – Claude Fauchet, French historian and author (d. 1601)
- 1534 – Myeongjong of Joseon, Ruler of Korea (d. 1567)
- 1550 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (d. 1591)
- 1569 – Thomas Richardson, English politician and judge (d. 1635)
- 1683 – Edward Young, English poet, dramatist and literary critic (Night-Thoughts) (d. 1765)
- 1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (d. 1768)
- 1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
- 1738 – John Singleton Copley, American painter (d. 1815)
- 1778 – Carl Ludvig Engel, German architect (d. 1840)
- 1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German-Italian painter and engraver (d. 1869)
- 1814 – Ferdinand Didrichsen, Danish botanist and physicist (d. 1887)
- 1823 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek-Ottoman statesman, diplomat, playwright, and translator (d. 1891)
- 1844 – Dankmar Adler, German-born American architect and engineer (d. 1900)
- 1846 – Achilles Alferaki, Russian composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog (d. 1919)
- 1851 – Charles Bannerman, English-Australian cricketer and umpire (d. 1930)
- 1854 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and theorist (d. 1928)
- 1860 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American sociologist and author (d. 1935)
- 1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1906)
- 1869 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (d. 1933)
- 1870 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
- 1871 – William Henry Davies, Welsh poet and writer (d.1940)
- 1874 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1928)
- 1875 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1951)
- 1876 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (d. 1957)
- 1878 – George M. Cohan, American songwriter, actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
- 1879 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American mathematician, linguist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
- 1880 – Carl Schuricht, Polish-German conductor (d. 1967)
- 1883 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian author (d. 1924)
- 1886 – Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (d. 1969)
- 1888 – Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1889 – Richard Cramer, American actor (d. 1960)
- 1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
- 1896 – Doris Lloyd, English actress (d. 1968)
- 1897 – Jesse Douglas, American mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
- 1898 – Stefanos Stefanopoulos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1982)
- 1900 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1901 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, American composer (d. 1953)
- 1903 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Johnny Gibson, American hurdler and coach (d. 2006)
- 1906 – George Sanders, Russian-born British actor (d. 1972)
- 1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American author (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping magnate (d.1996)
- 1910 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
- 1911 – Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricketer (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist, actress, and author (d. 1965)
- 1916 – John Kundla, American basketball player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1917 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (d. 1990)
- 1918 – S. V. Ranga Rao, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1974)
- 1918 – Johnny Palmer, American golfer (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Cecil FitzMaurice, 8th Earl of Orkney (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Gerald W. Thomas, American soldier and academic (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Paul O’Dea, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
- 1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
- 1921 – François Reichenbach, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1922 – Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Theo Brokmann Jr., Dutch football player (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-Mexican film actress and dancer
- 1924 – S. R. Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Terry Moriarty, Australian rules footballer (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Danny Nardico, American professional boxer (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Philip Jamison, American artist
- 1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpet player (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Rae Allen, American actress, singer, and director
- 1926 – Laurence Street, Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Tim O’Connor, American actor (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Evelyn Anthony, English author (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Clément Perron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Joanne Herring, American socialite, businesswoman, political activist, philanthropist, diplomat, and television talk show host
- 1930 – Pete Fountain, American clarinet player (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Carlos Kleiber, German-Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Edward Brandt, Jr., American physician and mathematician (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Cheo Feliciano, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, astronaut, and politician
- 1936 – Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, English lawyer and politician
- 1936 – Baard Owe, Norwegian-Danish actor
- 1937 – Nicholas Maxwell, English philosopher and academic
- 1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
- 1938 – Jean Aitchison, English linguist and academic
- 1939 – Brigitte Fassbaender, German soprano and director
- 1939 – László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – Coco Laboy, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1940 – Lamar Alexander, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
- 1940 – Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1940 – Lance Larson, American swimmer
- 1940 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer and activist
- 1941 – Liamine Zéroual, Algerian politician, 4th President of Algeria
- 1942 – Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Gary Waldhorn, British actor
- 1943 – Judith Durham, Australian folk-pop singer-songwriter and musician
- 1943 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
- 1943 – Norman E. Thagard, American astronaut
- 1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
- 1945 – Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, Scottish politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 2018)
- 1946 – Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
- 1946 – Leszek Miller, Polish political scientist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1946 – Michael Shea, American author (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Dave Barry, American journalist and author
- 1947 – Betty Buckley, American actress and singer
- 1947 – Mike Burton, American swimmer
- 1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish author and illustrator
- 1949 – Susan Penhaligon, English actress
- 1949 – John Verity, English guitarist
- 1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (d. 2006)
- 1949 – Bo Xilai, Chinese politician, Chinese Minister of Commerce
- 1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
- 1950 – James Hahn, American judge and politician, 40th Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1951 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
- 1952 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1952 – Lu Colombo, Italian singer
- 1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
- 1952 – Carla Olson, American singer-songwriter and music producer
- 1952 – Wasim Raja, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1952 – Amit Kumar, Indian film playback singer, actor, director, music director and musician
- 1953 – Lotta Sollander, Swedish alpine skier
- 1954 – Les Cusworth, English rugby player
- 1955 – Claude Rajotte, Canadian radio and television host
- 1956 – Montel Williams, American talk show host and television personality
- 1957 – Poly Styrene, British musician (d. 2011)
- 1958 – Matthew Fraser, Canadian-English journalist and academic
- 1958 – Charlie Higson, English actor, singer, and author
- 1958 – Siân Lloyd, Welsh meteorologist and journalist
- 1958 – Didier Mouron, Swiss-Canadian painter
- 1958 – Aaron Tippin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
- 1959 – Ian Maxtone-Graham, American screenwriter and producer
- 1959 – Stephen Pearcy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 – David Shore, Canadian screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1962 – Scott Borchetta, American record executive and entrepreneur
- 1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor and producer
- 1964 – Yeardley Smith, American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
- 1965 – Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1965 – Connie Nielsen, Danish-American actress
- 1965 – Komsan Pohkong, Thai lawyer and academic
- 1965 – Christophe Ruer, French pentathlete (d. 2007)
- 1966 – Moisés Alou, American baseball player
- 1967 – Katy Clark, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1968 – Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo-Albanian soldier and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
- 1970 – Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
- 1970 – Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
- 1970 – Teemu Selänne, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1971 – Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks
- 1973 – Paul Rauhihi, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1973 – Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
- 1973 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1976 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1976 – Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
- 1976 – Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist
- 1976 – Bobby Skinstad, Zimbabwean-South African rugby union player
- 1977 – David Bowens, American football player
- 1978 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese runner
- 1979 – Jamie Grove, English cricketer
- 1980 – Mazharul Haque, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Roland Schoeman, South African swimmer
- 1980 – Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1983 – Edinson Vólquez, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Manny Lawson, American football player
- 1984 – Churandy Martina, Dutch sprinter
- 1984 – Corey Sevier, Canadian actor and producer
- 1986 – Marco Antônio de Mattos Filho, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Kisenosato Yutaka, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1987 – Sebastian Vettel, German race car driver
- 1988 – Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
- 1988 – Vladislav Sesganov, Russian figure skater
- 1988 – James Troisi, Australian footballer
- 1989 – Mitchell Dodds, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Elle King, American singer, songwriter, and actress
- 1990 – Nathan Gardner, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
- 1990 – Lucas Mendes, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Alison Howie, Scottish field hockey player
- 1991 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian tennis player
- 1992 – Will Smith, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Ben Winchell, American actor
Deaths on July 3
- 458 – Anatolius of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch and saint (b. 449)
- 710 – Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (b. 656)
- 896 – Dong Chang, Chinese warlord
- 964 – Henry I, Frankish nobleman and archbishop
- 1090 – Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 1060)
- 1288 – Stephen de Fulbourn, English-born Irish cleric and politician
- 1503 – Pierre d’Aubusson, Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (b. 1423)
- 1570 – Aonio Paleario, Italian academic and reformer (b. 1500)
- 1642 – Marie de’ Medici, French queen consort and regent (b. 1573)
- 1672 – Francis Willughby, English ornithologist and ichthyologist (b. 1635)
- 1749 – William Jones, Welsh-English mathematician and academic (b. 1675)
- 1790 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l’Isle, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1736)
- 1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar and author (b. 1714)
- 1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, astronomer, and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
- 1809 – Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
- 1863 – George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
- 1863 – Little Crow, American tribal leader (b. 1810)
- 1881 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1811)
- 1887 – Clay Allison, American rancher (b. 1841)
- 1888 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and author (b. 1822)
- 1904 – Édouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
- 1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and playwright (b. 1860)
- 1908 – Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist and author (b. 1845)
- 1916 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman and financier (b. 1834)
- 1918 – Mehmed V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1844)
- 1921 – James Mitchel, Irish-American weight thrower (b. 1864)
- 1927 – Gérard de Courcelles, French race car driver
- 1933 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian educator and politician, 19th President of Argentina (b. 1852)
- 1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
- 1940 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (b. 1882)
- 1941 – Friedrich Akel, Estonian physician and politician, Head of State of Estonia (b. 1871)
- 1954 – Siegfried Handloser, German physician and general (b. 1895)
- 1954 – Reginald Marsh, French-American painter, illustrator, and academic (b. 1898)
- 1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
- 1957 – Richard Mohaupt, German composer and Kapellmeister (b. 1904)
- 1958 – Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, English politician, 4th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1867)
- 1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1942)
- 1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
- 1974 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet and critic (b. 1888)
- 1977 – Alexander Volkov, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1891)
- 1978 – James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1979 – Louis Durey, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Ross Martin, American actor and director (b. 1920)
- 1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1893)
- 1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
- 1989 – Jim Backus, American actor and voice artist (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
- 1994 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player and coach (b. 1934)
- 1995 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
- 1995 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 1998 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (b. 1949)
- 1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1952)
- 1999 – Pelageya Polubarinova-Kochina, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
- 1999 – Manoj Kumar Pandey,Param Vir ChakraIndian army personnel
- 2001 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
- 2004 – Andriyan Nikolayev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Alberto Lattuada, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Clive Hornby, English actor and drummer (b. 1944)
- 2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
- 2009 – Alauddin Al-Azad, Bangladeshi author and poet (b.1932)
- 2009 – John Keel, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Abu Daoud, Palestinian terrorist, planned the Munich massacre (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Ali Bahar, Bahraini singer and guitarist (b. 1960)
- 2012 – Nguyễn Hữu Có, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Yvonne B. Miller, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Sergio Pininfarina, Italian engineer and politician (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Richard Alvin Tonry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Roman Bengez, Slovenian footballer and manager (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Francis Ray, American author (b. 1944)
- 2013 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actress and screenwriter (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Radu Vasile, Romanian historian and politician, 57th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Bernard Vitet, French trumpet player and composer (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Jini Dellaccio, American photographer (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Tim Flood, Irish hurler and coach (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Ira Ruskin, American politician (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Ukrainian-American rabbi and author (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Boyd K. Packer, American religious leader and educator (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Wayne Townsend, American farmer and politician (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Phil Walsh, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1960)
- 2020 – Saroj Khan, Indian dance choreographer, known as “The Mother of Dance/Choreography in India”.(b. 1948)
Holidays and observances on July 3
- Christian feast day:
- Anatolius of Constantinople
- Anatolius of Laodicea
- Dathus
- Germanus of Man
- Gurthiern
- Heliodorus of Altino
- Mucian
- Peregrina Mogas Fontcuberta
- Pope Leo II
- Thomas the Apostle
- July 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Emancipation Day (United States Virgin Islands)
- Independence Day, celebrates the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation by Soviet troops in 1944 (Belarus)
- The start of the Dog Days according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac but not according to established meaning in most European cultures
- Women’s Day (Myanmar)
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May 14 in History
- 1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.
- 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the effective ruler of England.
- 1509 – Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Republic of Venice.
- 1607 – Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
- 1608 – The Protestant Union, a coalition of Protestant German states, is founded to defend the rights, land and safety of each member against the Catholic Church and Catholic German states.
- 1610 – Henry IV of France is assassinated by Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and Louis XIII ascends the throne.
- 1643 – Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
- 1747 – War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.
- 1796 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.
- 1800 – The 6th United States Congress recesses, and the process of moving the U.S. Government from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., begins the following day.
- 1804 – William Clark and 42 men depart from Camp Dubois to join Meriwether Lewis at St. Charles, Missouri, marking the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition‘s historic journey up the Missouri River.
- 1811 – Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor.
- 1836 – The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.
- 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends as former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward.
- 1870 – The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
- 1878 – The last witchcraft trial held in the United States begins in Salem, Massachusetts, after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.
- 1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
- 1913 – Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
- 1918 – Cape Town Mayor, Sir Harry Hands, inaugurates the Two-minute silence.
- 1925 – Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway is published.
- 1931 – Five unarmed civilians are killed in the Ådalen shootings, as the Swedish military is called in to deal with protesting workers.
- 1935 – The Constitution of the Philippines is ratified by a popular vote.
- 1939 – Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
- 1940 – World War II: Rotterdam, Netherlands is bombed by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany despite a ceasefire, killing about 900 people and destroying the historic city center.
- 1943 – World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.
- 1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
- 1951 – Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
- 1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
- 1961 – Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle.
- 1970 – Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of the Red Army Faction.
- 1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
- 1977 – A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport (now Kenneth Kaunda International Airport) in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.
- 1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: the Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.
- 1988 – Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
- 2004 – The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
- 2004 – Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4815 crashes into the Amazon rainforest during approach to Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, killing 33 people.
- 2010 – Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.
- 2012 – Agni Air Flight CHT crashes in Nepal after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.
Births on May 14
- 1316 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1378)
- 1553 – Margaret of Valois (d. 1615)
- 1574 – Francesco Rasi, Italian singer-songwriter, theorbo player, and poet (d. 1621)
- 1592 – Alice Barnham, wife of statesman Francis Bacon (d. 1650)
- 1630 – Katakura Kagenaga, Japanese samurai (d. 1681)
- 1652 – Johann Philipp Förtsch, German composer (d. 1732)
- 1657 – Sambhaji, Indian emperor (d. 1689)
- 1666 – Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1732)
- 1679 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1764)
- 1699 – Hans Joachim von Zieten, Prussian general (d. 1786)
- 1701 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (d. 1782)
- 1710 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (d. 1771)
- 1725 – Ludovico Manin, the last Doge of Venice (d. 1802)
- 1727 – Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (d. 1788)
- 1737 – George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, Irish-English politician and diplomat, Governor of Grenada (d. 1806)
- 1752 – Timothy Dwight IV, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1817)
- 1752 – Albrecht Thaer, German agronomist and author (d. 1828)
- 1761 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1816)
- 1771 – Robert Owen, Welsh businessman and social reformer (d. 1858)
- 1771 – Thomas Wedgwood, English photographer (d. 1805)
- 1781 – Friedrich Ludwig Georg von Raumer, German historian and academic (d. 1873)
- 1794 – Fanny Imlay, daughter of British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (d. 1816)
- 1814 – Charles Beyer, German-English engineer, co-founded Beyer, Peacock and Company (d. 1876)
- 1817 – Alexander Kaufmann, German poet and educator (d. 1893)
- 1820 – James Martin, Irish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1886)
- 1830 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (d. 1905)
- 1832 – Rudolf Lipschitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1903)
- 1851 – Anna Laurens Dawes, American author and suffragist (d. 1938)
- 1852 – Henri Julien, Canadian illustrator (d. 1908)
- 1863 – John Charles Fields, Canadian mathematician, founder of the Fields Medal (d. 1932)
- 1867 – Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Bavaria (d. 1919)
- 1868 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (d. 1935)
- 1869 – Arthur Rostron, English captain (d. 1940)
- 1872 – Elia Dalla Costa, Italian cardinal (d. 1961)
- 1878 – J. L. Wilkinson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
- 1879 – Fred Englehardt, American jumper (d. 1942)
- 1880 – Wilhelm List, German field marshal (d. 1971)
- 1881 – Lionel Hill, Australian politician, 30th Premier of South Australia (d. 1963)
- 1881 – George Murray Hulbert, American judge and politician (d. 1950)
- 1885 – Otto Klemperer, German composer and conductor (d. 1973)
- 1887 – Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
- 1888 – Archie Alexander, American mathematician and engineer (d. 1958)
- 1893 – Louis Verneuil, French actor and playwright (d. 1952)
- 1897 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1959)
- 1897 – Ed Ricketts, American biologist and ecologist (d. 1948)
- 1899 – Charlotte Auerbach, German-Jewish Scottish folklorist, geneticist, and zoologist. (d.1994)
- 1899 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (d. 1993)
- 1899 – Earle Combs, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Hal Borland, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Walter Rehberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1957)
- 1900 – Cai Chang, Chinese first leader of All-China Women’s Federation (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Leo Smit, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1943)
- 1900 – Edgar Wind, German-English historian, author, and academic (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Robert Ritter, German psychologist and physician (d. 1951)
- 1903 – Billie Dove, American actress (d. 1997)
- 1904 – Hans Albert Einstein, Swiss-American engineer and educator (d. 1973)
- 1904 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (d. 1961)
- 1905 – Jean Daniélou, French cardinal and theologian (d. 1974)
- 1905 – Herbert Morrison, American soldier and journalist (d. 1989)
- 1905 – Antonio Berni, Argentinian painter, illustrator, and engraver (d. 1981)
- 1907 – Ayub Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 2nd President of Pakistan (d. 1974)
- 1907 – Hans von der Groeben, German journalist and diplomat (d. 2005)
- 1908 – Betty Jeffrey, Australian nurse and author (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Godfrey Rampling, English sprinter and colonel (d. 2009)
- 1910 – Ken Viljoen, South African cricketer (d. 1974)
- 1910 – Ne Win, Prime Minister and President of Burma (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Gul Khan Nasir, Pakistani journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1983)
- 1914 – William Thomas Tutte, British codebreaker and mathematician (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Robert F. Christy, Canadian-American physicist and astronomer (d. 2012)
- 1916 – Lance Dossor, English-Australian pianist and educator (d. 2005)
- 1916 – Marco Zanuso, Italian architect and designer (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Lou Harrison, American composer and critic (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Norman Luboff, American composer and conductor (d. 1987)
- 1919 – Solange Chaput-Rolland, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2001)
- 1919 – John Hope, American soldier and meteorologist (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Richard Deacon, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1922 – Franjo Tuđman, Yugoslav historian; later 1st President of Croatia (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Mrinal Sen, Bangladeshi-Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Patrice Munsel, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (d. 1997)
- 1925 – Al Porcino, American trumpet player (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Ninian Sanderson, Scottish race car driver (d. 1985)
- 1926 – Eric Morecambe, English comedian and actor (d. 1984)
- 1927 – Herbert W. Franke, Austrian scientist and author
- 1928 – Dub Jones, American R&B bass singer (d. 2000)
- 1928 – Frederik H. Kreuger, Dutch engineer, author, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Brian Macdonald, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Barbara Branden, Canadian-American author (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Henry McGee, English actor and singer (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1930 – William James, Australian general and physician (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Alvin Lucier, American composer and academic
- 1932 – Robert Bechtle, American lithographer and painter
- 1933 – Siân Phillips, Welsh actress and singer
- 1935 – Ethel Johnson, American professional wrestler (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Rudi Šeligo, Slovenian playwright and politician (d. 2004)
- 1936 – Bobby Darin, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1973)
- 1936 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
- 1938 – Robert Boyd, English pediatrician and academic
- 1939 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (d. 2016)
- 1939 – Troy Shondell, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1940 – Chay Blyth, Scottish sailor and rower
- 1940 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
- 1940 – George Mathewson, Scottish banker and businessman
- 1941 – Ada den Haan, Dutch swimmer
- 1942 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (d. 2003)
- 1942 – Byron Dorgan, American lawyer and politician
- 1942 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Tony Pérez, Cuban-American baseball player and manager
- 1942 – Malise Ruthven, Irish author and academic
- 1943 – Jack Bruce, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)
- 1943 – L. Denis Desautels, Canadian accountant and civil servant
- 1943 – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 5th President of Iceland
- 1943 – Derek Leckenby, English pop-rock guitarist (d. 1994)
- 1943 – Richard Peto, English statistician and epidemiologist
- 1944 – Gene Cornish, Canadian-American guitarist
- 1944 – George Lucas, American director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm
- 1944 – David Kelly, Welsh scientist (d. 2003)
- 1945 – Francesca Annis, English actress
- 1945 – George Nicholls, English rugby player
- 1945 – Yochanan Vollach, Israeli footballer
- 1946 – Sarah Hogg, Viscountess Hailsham, English economist and journalist
- 1947 – Al Ciner, American pop-rock guitarist
- 1947 – Ana Martín, Mexican actress, singer producer and former model (Miss Mexico 1963)
- 1948 – Timothy Stevenson, English lawyer and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
- 1948 – Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer and coach (d. 2007)
- 1949 – Sverre Årnes, Norwegian author, screenwriter, and director
- 1949 – Walter Day, American game designer and businessman, founded Twin Galaxies
- 1949 – Johan Schans, Dutch swimmer
- 1949 – Klaus-Peter Thaler, German cyclist
- 1951 – Jay Beckenstein, American saxophonist
- 1952 – David Byrne, Scottish singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1952 – Michael Fallon, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Defence
- 1952 – Orna Grumberg, Israeli computer scientist and academic
- 1952 – Raul Mälk, Estonian politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1952 – Wim Mertens, Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist.
- 1952 – Donald R. McMonagle, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1952 – Robert Zemeckis, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Tom Cochrane, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Hywel Williams, Welsh politician
- 1955 – Marie Chouinard, Canadian dancer and choreographer
- 1955 – Alasdair Fraser, Scottish fiddler
- 1955 – Peter Kirsten, South African cricketer and rugby player
- 1955 – Dennis Martínez, Nicaraguan baseball player and coach
- 1955 – Jens Sparschuh, German author and playwright
- 1956 – Hazel Blears, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
- 1956 – Steve Hogarth, English singer-songwriter and keyboardist
- 1958 – Christine Brennan, American journalist and author
- 1958 – Chris Evans, English-Australian politician, 26th Australian Minister for Employment
- 1958 – Rudy Pérez, Cuban-born American composer and music producer
- 1958 – Wilma Rusman, Dutch runner
- 1959 – Carlisle Best, Barbadian cricketer
- 1959 – Patrick Bruel, French actor, singer, and poker player
- 1959 – Markus Büchel, Liechtensteiner politician, 9th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (d. 2013)
- 1959 – Robert Greene, American author and translator
- 1959 – John Holt, American football player (d. 2013)
- 1959 – Rick Vaive, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1959 – Heather Wheeler, English politician
- 1960 – Anne Clark, English singer-songwriter and poet
- 1960 – Alec Dankworth, English bassist and composer
- 1960 – Frank Nobilo, New Zealand golfer
- 1960 – Ronan Tynan, Irish tenor
- 1961 – David Quantick, English journalist and critic
- 1961 – Tommy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 2015)
- 1961 – Tim Roth, English actor and director
- 1961 – Alain Vigneault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1962 – Ian Astbury, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1962 – C.C. DeVille, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor
- 1962 – Danny Huston, Italian-American actor and director
- 1963 – Pat Borders, American baseball player and coach
- 1963 – David Yelland, English journalist and author
- 1964 – James M. Kelly, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1964 – Suzy Kolber, American sportscaster and producer
- 1964 – Alan McIndoe, Australian rugby league player
- 1964 – Eric Peterson, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1965 – Eoin Colfer, Irish author
- 1966 – Marianne Denicourt, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Mike Inez, American rock bass player and songwriter
- 1966 – Fab Morvan, French singer-songwriter, dancer and model
- 1966 – Raphael Saadiq, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1967 – Natasha Kaiser-Brown, American sprinter and coach
- 1967 – Tony Siragusa, American football player and journalist
- 1968 – Mary DePiero, Canadian diver
- 1969 – Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
- 1969 – Sabine Schmitz, German race car driver and sportscaster
- 1969 – Henry Smith, English politician
- 1969 – Danny Wood, American singer-songwriter, record producer, and choreographer
- 1971 – Deanne Bray, American actress
- 1971 – Sofia Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Martin Reim, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Kirstjen Nielsen, American attorney, 6th United States Secretary of Homeland Security
- 1973 – Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer and actress
- 1973 – Voshon Lenard, American basketball player
- 1973 – Fraser Nelson, Scottish journalist
- 1973 – Hakan Ünsal, Turkish footballer and sportscaster
- 1973 – Julian White, English rugby player
- 1974 – Anu Välba, Estonian journalist
- 1975 – Nicki Sørensen, Danish cyclist
- 1976 – Hunter Burgan, American bass player
- 1976 – Brian Lawrence, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – Martine McCutcheon, English actress and singer
- 1977 – Sophie Anderton, English model and actress
- 1977 – Roy Halladay, American baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1977 – Ada Nicodemou, Cypriot-Australian actress
- 1978 – Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Eddie House, American basketball player
- 1978 – André Macanga, Angolan footballer and manager
- 1978 – Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1979 – Dan Auerbach, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1979 – Edwige Lawson-Wade, French basketball player
- 1979 – Clinton Morrison, English-Irish footballer
- 1979 – Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1980 – Zdeněk Grygera, Czech footballer
- 1980 – Pavel Londak, Estonian footballer
- 1980 – Eugene Martineau, Dutch decathlete
- 1980 – Júlia Sebestyén, Hungarian figure skater
- 1980 – Hugo Southwell, English-Scottish rugby player
- 1980 – Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
- 1981 – Pranav Mistry, Indian computer scientist, invented SixthSense
- 1983 – Anahí, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1983 – Keeley Donovan, English journalist
- 1983 – Frank Gore, American football player
- 1983 – Uroš Slokar, Slovenian basketball player
- 1983 – Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1983 – Amber Tamblyn, American actress, author, model, director
- 1984 – Gary Ablett, Jr., Australian footballer
- 1984 – Luke Gregerson, American baseball player
- 1984 – Olly Murs, English singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Michael Rensing, German footballer
- 1984 – Indrek Siska, Estonian footballer
- 1984 – Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Facebook
- 1985 – Dustin Lynch, American singer-songwriter
- 1985 – Sam Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1985 – Simona Peycheva, Bulgarian gymnast
- 1985 – Zack Ryder, American wrestler
- 1986 – Andrea Bovo, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Clay Matthews III, American football player
- 1986 – Marco Motta, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (d. 2012)
- 1987 – Franck Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer
- 1987 – François Steyn, South African rugby player
- 1988 – Jayne Appel, American basketball player
- 1989 – Rob Gronkowski, American football player
- 1989 – Alina Talay, Belorussian hurdler
- 1993 – Miranda Cosgrove, American actress and singer
- 1993 – Kristina Mladenovic, French tennis player
- 1993 – Bence Rakaczki, Hungarian footballer (d. 2014)
- 1994 – Marcos Aoás Corrêa, Brazilian footballer
- 1994 – Pernille Blume, Danish swimmer
- 1994 – Bronte Campbell, Australian swimmer
- 1994 – Dennis Praet, Belgian footballer
- 1995 – Bernardo Fernandes da Silva Junior, Brazilian footballer
- 1995 – Jonah Placid, Australian rugby player
- 1996 – Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ
- 2001 – Jack Hughes, American hockey player
Deaths on May 14
- 649 – Pope Theodore I
- 934 – Zhu Hongzhao, Chinese general and governor
- 964 – Pope John XII (b. 927)
- 1080 – William Walcher, Bishop of Durham
- 1219 – William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, English soldier and politician (b. 1147)
- 1470 – Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
- 1576 – Tahmasp I, Shah of Persia (b. 1514)
- 1603 – Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1543)
- 1608 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1543)
- 1610 – Henry IV of France (b. 1553)
- 1643 – Louis XIII of France (b. 1601)
- 1649 – Friedrich Spanheim, Swiss theologian and academic (b. 1600)
- 1667 – Georges de Scudéry, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1601)
- 1688 – Antoine Furetière, French scholar, lexicographer, and author (b. 1619)
- 1754 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French playwright and producer (b. 1692)
- 1761 – Thomas Simpson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1710)
- 1847 – Fanny Mendelssohn, German pianist and composer (b. 1805)
- 1860 – Ludwig Bechstein, German author (b. 1801)
- 1873 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (b. 1797)
- 1878 – Ōkubo Toshimichi, Japanese samurai and politician (b. 1830)
- 1881 – Mary Seacole, Jamaican-English nurse and author (b. 1805)
- 1889 – Volney Howard, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1809)
- 1893 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1810)
- 1906 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, journalist, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1829)
- 1912 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (b. 1843)
- 1912 – August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist (b. 1849)
- 1918 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1841)
- 1919 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (b. 1844)
- 1923 – N. G. Chandavarkar, Indian jurist and politician (b. 1855)
- 1923 – Charles de Freycinet, French engineer and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
- 1931 – David Belasco, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1853)
- 1934 – Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (b. 1872)
- 1935 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (b. 1868)
- 1936 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (b. 1861)
- 1940 – Emma Goldman, Lithuanian author and activist (b. 1869)
- 1940 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (b. 1902)
- 1943 – Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
- 1945 – Heber J. Grant, American religious leader, 7th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1856)
- 1945 – Wolfgang Lüth, Latvian-German captain (b. 1913)
- 1945 – Isis Pogson, English astronomer and meteorologist (b. 1852)
- 1953 – Yasuo Kuniyoshi, American painter and photographer (b. 1893)
- 1954 – Heinz Guderian, Prussian-German general (b. 1888)
- 1956 – Joan Malleson, English physician (b. 1889)
- 1957 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (b. 1884)
- 1959 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (b. 1897)
- 1959 – Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (b. 1862)
- 1960 – Lucrezia Bori, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1887)
- 1962 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1880)
- 1968 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (b. 1893)
- 1969 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Billie Burke, American actress and singer (b. 1884)
- 1973 – Jean Gebser, German linguist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1905)
- 1976 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1943)
- 1979 – Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (b. 1890)
- 1980 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1983 – Roger J. Traynor, American academic and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (b. 1900)
- 1983 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican politician, 46th President of Mexico (b. 1900)
- 1984 – Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1910)
- 1984 – Walter Rauff, German SS officer (b. 1906)
- 1987 – Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (b. 1918)
- 1987 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovenian poet and playwright (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (b. 1886)
- 1991 – Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (b. 1910)
- 1992 – Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (b. 1899)
- 1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1908)
- 1994 – Cihat Arman, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1915)
- 1994 – W. Graham Claytor Jr., American businessman, lieutenant, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 1997 – Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (b. 1934)
- 1997 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (b. 1925)
- 1998 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and environmentalist (b. 1890)
- 1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Keizō Obuchi, Japanese politician, 84th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
- 2001 – Paul Bénichou, French writer, intellectual, critic, and literary historian (b. 1908)
- 2001 – Gil Langley, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (b. 1919)
- 2003 – Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (b. 1912)
- 2003 – Robert Stack, American actor and producer (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Jimmy Martin, American musician (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Lew Anderson, American actor and saxophonist (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (b. 1905)
- 2006 – Eva Norvind, Mexican actress, director, and producer (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Mary Scheier, American sculptor and educator (b. 1908)
- 2007 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and author (b. 1921)
- 2010 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (b. 1938)
- 2010 – Norman Hand, American football player (b. 1972)
- 2010 – Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean soldier and politician, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Mario Trejo, Argentinian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Wayne Brown, American accountant and politician, 14th Mayor of Mesa (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Arsen Chilingaryan, Armenian footballer and manager (b. 1962)
- 2013 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian author and activist (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Ray Guy, Canadian journalist (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Jeffrey Kruger, English-American businessman (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Emanuel Raymond Lewis, American librarian and author (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Morvin Simon, New Zealand historian, composer, and conductor (b. 1944)
- 2015 – B.B. King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Micheál O’Brien, Irish footballer and hurler (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Stanton J. Peale, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (b. 1953)
- 2016 – Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (b. 1962)
- 2017 – Powers Boothe, American actor (b. 1948)
- 2018 – Tom Wolfe, American author (b. 1931)
- 2019 – Tim Conway, American actor, writer (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on May 14
- Christian feast day:
- Boniface of Tarsus
- Engelmund of Velsen
- Matthias the Apostle (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion)
- Michael Garicoïts
- Mo Chutu of Lismore (Roman Catholic Church)
- Victor and Corona
- May 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which the first day of Sanja Matsuri can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third weekend of May. (Sensō-ji, Tokyo)
- Flag Day (Paraguay)
- Hastings Banda’s Birthday (Malawi)
- National Unification Day (Liberia)
- The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival. (Izumo-taisha)
-
January 20 in History
- 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
- 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
- 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
- 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
- 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
- 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
- 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
- 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
- 1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
- 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
- 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
- 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
- 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
- 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
- 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
- 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
- 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
- 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
- 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
- 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
- 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
- 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
- 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”.
- 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
- 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
- 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
- 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America.
- 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
- 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.
- 1972 – Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
- 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated the 39th President of the United States of America.
- 1981 – Ronald Reagan is inaugurated the 40th President of the United States of America. Twenty minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
- 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
- 1989 – George H. W. Bush is inaugurated the 41st President of the United States of America.
- 1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
- 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
- 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
- 1993 – Bill Clinton is inaugurated the 42nd President of the United States of America.
- 2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States of America.
- 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
- 2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
- 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
- 2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, becoming the oldest person to assume the office.
- 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.
Births on January 20
- 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
- 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072)
- 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330)
- 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490)
- 1488 – John George, Marquess of Montferrat, Italian noble (d. 1533)
- 1488 – Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552)
- 1499 – Sebastian Franck, German humanist (probable; d. 1543)
- 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
- 1526 – Rafael Bombelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1572)
- 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
- 1569 – Heribert Rosweyde, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629)
- 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
- 1586 – Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
- 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
- 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
- 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
- 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
- 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
- 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
- 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
- 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
- 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
- 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
- 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
- 1799 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
- 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
- 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
- 1814 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (d. 1868)
- 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
- 1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)
- 1865 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
- 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
- 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
- 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957)
- 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
- 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
- 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
- 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
- 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
- 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949)
- 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
- 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
- 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
- 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
- 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
- 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
- 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983)
- 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
- 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
- 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
- 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
- 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
- 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
- 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
- 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, Japanese biologist
- 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
- 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
- 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
- 1935 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
- 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player
- 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
- 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
- 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
- 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
- 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
- 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
- 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
- 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
- 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Pat Parker, African American poet
- 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
- 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
- 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
- 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
- 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
- 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
- 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
- 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
- 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
- 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019)
- 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
- 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
- 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
- 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer
- 1956 – John Naber, American swimmer
- 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
- 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
- 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
- 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
- 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
- 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
- 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
- 1963 – James Denton, American actor
- 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
- 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
- 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
- 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
- 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
- 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
- 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer defender and manager
- 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
- 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
- 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
- 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
- 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and television journalist
- 1967 – Kellyanne Conway, American political strategist and pundit
- 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
- 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
- 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
- 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer
- 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
- 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
- 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
- 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
- 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
- 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
- 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
- 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian racing driver
- 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
- 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
- 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
- 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
- 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
- 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
- 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
- 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
- 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
- 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
- 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
- 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
- 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
- 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
- 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
- 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
- 1984 – Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player
- 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
- 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
- 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
- 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
- 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
- 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model
- 1991 – Tom Cairney, Scottish footballer, midfielder
- 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
- 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver
- 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
- 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
- 1994 – Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer, defender
- 1994 – Lucas Piazon, Brazilian footballer
- 1995 – Joey Badass, American rapper and actor
- 1995 – Calum Chambers, English footballer, defender
Deaths on January 20
- 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767)
- 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
- 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
- 924 – Li Jitao, Chinese general of Later Tang
- 928 – Zhao Guangfeng, Chinese official and chancellor
- 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964)
- 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester
- 1156 – Henry, English bishop and saint
- 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123)
- 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
- 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130)
- 1265 – John Maunsell, English Lord Chancellor
- 1336 – John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (b. 1306)
- 1343 – Robert, king of Naples (b. 1275)
- 1479 – John II, king of Sicily (b. 1398)
- 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
- 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
- 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
- 1666 – Anne of Austria, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601)
- 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
- 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
- 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
- 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
- 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
- 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
- 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748)
- 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
- 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
- 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
- 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786)
- 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
- 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
- 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
- 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
- 1891 – Kalākaua, king of Hawaii (b. 1836)
- 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
- 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
- 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
- 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
- 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
- 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
- 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
- 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
- 1924 – Henry “Ivo” Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
- 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
- 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
- 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
- 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1947 – Andrew Volstead, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860)
- 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
- 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
- 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
- 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
- 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
- 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
- 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
- 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
- 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
- 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
- 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
- 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
- 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
- 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
- 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
- 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
- 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
- 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
- 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
- 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
- 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
- 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919)
- 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
- 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
- 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
- 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Naomi Parker Fraley, American naval machiner (b. 1921)
- 2020 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947)
- 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives
Holidays and observances on January 20
- Armed Forces Day (Mali)
- Army Day (Laos)
- Christian feast day:
- Abadios
- Blessed Basil Moreau
- Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
- Euthymius the Great
- Fabian
- Manchán of Lemanaghan
- Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando
- Richard Rolle (Church of England)
- Sebastian
- Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Heroes’ Day (Cape Verde)
- Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region)
- Martyrs’ Day (Azerbaijan)