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American comedian

May 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.
  • 1536 – George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.
  • 1536 – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage is annulled.
  • 1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
  • 1642 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
  • 1673 – Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
  • 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.
  • 1805 – Muhammad Ali becomes Wāli of Egypt.
  • 1809 – Emperor Napoleon I orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
  • 1814 – Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
  • 1814 – The Constitution of Norway is signed and Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.
  • 1859 – Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified the first rules of Australian rules football.
  • 1863 – Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language.
  • 1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.
  • 1875 – Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis (2:37.75)
  • 1900 – Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
  • 1900 – The children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author’s sister.
  • 1902 – Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.
  • 1914 – The Protocol of Corfu is signed, recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal Albanian sovereignty.
  • 1915 – The last British Liberal Party government (led by H. H. Asquith) falls.
  • 1933 – Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.
  • 1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States’ first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.
  • 1940 – World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
  • 1943 – World War II: Dambuster Raids commence by No. 617 Squadron RAF.
  • 1954 – The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, outlawing racial segregation in public schools.
  • 1967 – Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.
  • 1969 – Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
  • 1973 – Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
  • 1974 – The Troubles: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.
  • 1974 – Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army’s headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
  • 1977 – Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese’s in San Jose, California.
  • 1980 – General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
  • 1980 – On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.
  • 1983 – The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world’s largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds , in response to the Appalachian Observer’s Freedom of Information Act request.
  • 1983 – Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
  • 1984 – Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a “monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend”, sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
  • 1987 – Iran–Iraq War: An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. Navy warship USS Stark, killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
  • 1990 – The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
  • 1992 – Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests.
  • 1994 – Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.
  • 1995 – Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in San Diego and proceeds to go on a rampage.
  • 1997 – Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 2000 – Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen
  • 2004 – The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.
  • 2006 – The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.
  • 2007 – Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.
  • 2014 – A plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.

Births on May 17

  • 1155 – Jien, Japanese monk, poet, and historian (d. 1225)
  • 1443 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland (d. 1460)
  • 1451 – Engelbert II of Nassau, Count of Nassau-Vianden and Lord of Breda (1475–1504) (d. 1504)
  • 1490 – Albert, Duke of Prussia, last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (d. 1568)
  • 1500 – Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (d. 1540)
  • 1551 – Martin Delrio, Belgian occultist and theologian (d. 1601)
  • 1568 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Swedish princess (d. 1625)
  • 1610 – Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1664)
  • 1628 – Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (d. 1662)
  • 1636 – Edward Colman, English Catholic courtier under Charles II (d. 1678)
  • 1682 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)
  • 1698 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (d. 1752)
  • 1706 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)
  • 1718 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1778)
  • 1732 – Francesco Pasquale Ricci, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1817)
  • 1743 – Seth Warner, American colonel (d. 1784)
  • 1749 – Edward Jenner, English physician and microbiologist (d. 1823)
  • 1758 – Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, English politician (d. 1839)
  • 1768 – Caroline of Brunswick (d. 1821)
  • 1768 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1854)
  • 1794 – Anna Brownell Jameson, Irish-English author (d. 1860)
  • 1818 – Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (d. 1899)
  • 1821 – Sebastian Kneipp, German priest and therapist (d. 1897)
  • 1835 – Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Queensland (d. 1900)
  • 1836 – Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet (d. 1923)
  • 1836 – Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian-American chess player (d. 1900)
  • 1845 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (d. 1902)
  • 1860 – Martin Kukučín, Slovak author and playwright (d. 1928)
  • 1860 – Charlotte Barnum, American mathematician and social activist (d. 1934)
  • 1863 – Léon Gérin, Canadian lawyer, sociologist, and civil servant (d. 1951)
  • 1864 – Louis Richardet, Swiss target shooter (d. 1923)
  • 1864 – Ante Trumbić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 27th Mayor of Split (d. 1938)
  • 1866 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (d. 1925)
  • 1868 – Horace Elgin Dodge, American businessman, co-founded Dodge (d. 1920)
  • 1868 – Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1936)
  • 1870 – Newton Moore, Australian politician, 8th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1936)
  • 1873 – Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist (d. 1935)
  • 1873 – Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist (d. 1957)
  • 1874 – George Sheldon, American diver (d. 1907)
  • 1882 – Karl Burman, Estonian architect and painter (d. 1965)
  • 1886 – Alfonso XIII of Spain, Spanish monarch (d. 1941)
  • 1888 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
  • 1889 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (d. 1946)
  • 1889 – Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author (d. 1959)
  • 1891 – Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and politician (d. 1957)
  • 1893 – Frederick McKinley Jones, American inventor and entrepreneur (d. 1961)
  • 1895 – Saul Adler, Belarusian-English captain and parasitologist (d. 1966)
  • 1895 – Reinhold Saulmann, Estonian sprinter and bandy player (d. 1936)
  • 1897 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
  • 1898 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Carmen de Icaza, Spanish writer (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Werner Egk, German pianist and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – Marie-Anne Desmarest, French author (d. 1973)
  • 1906 – Zinka Milanov, Croatian-American soprano and educator (d. 1989)
  • 1909 – Julius Sumner Miller, American physicist and academic (d. 1987)
  • 1911 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-American model (d. 1992)
  • 1911 – Maureen O’Sullivan, Irish-American actress (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Ace Parker, American baseball and football player (d. 2013)
  • 1912 – Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, American inventor (d. 2006)
  • 1913 – Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver and author (d. 2007)
  • 1914 – Robert N. Thompson, American-Canadian chiropractor and politician (d. 1997)
  • 1918 – Joan Benham, English actress (d. 1981)
  • 1918 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Merle Miller, American author and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1919 – Gustav Naan, Russian-Estonian physicist and philosopher (d. 1994)
  • 1920 – Harry Männil, Estonian-Venezuelan businessman, co-founded ACO Group (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Dennis Brain, English composer (d. 1957)
  • 1921 – Bob Merrill, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1922 – Jean Rédélé, French racing driver, founded Alpine (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Michael Beetham, English commander and pilot (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Roy Bentley, English footballer (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Francis Tombs, Baron Tombs, English engineer and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, English-Scottish soldier and politician
  • 1926 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Franz Sondheimer, German-English chemist and academic (d. 1981)
  • 1929 – Branko Zebec, Yugoslav football player and coach (d. 1988)
  • 1931 – Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader, founded Heaven’s Gate (d. 1997)
  • 1931 – Dewey Redman, American saxophonist (d. 2006)
  • 1932 – Rodric Braithwaite, English soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
  • 1932 – Peter Burge, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
  • 1933 – Yelena Gorchakova, Russian javelin thrower (d. 2002)
  • 1934 – Friedrich-Wilhelm Kiel, German educator and politician
  • 1934 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Ronald Wayne, American computer scientist, co-founded Apple Inc.
  • 1935 – Dennis Potter, English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)
  • 1937 – Hazel R. O’Leary, American lawyer and politician, 7th United States Secretary of Energy
  • 1938 – Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)
  • 1938 – Marcia Freedman, Israeli activist
  • 1938 – Pervis Jackson, American R&B bass singer (d. 2008)
  • 1939 – Hugh Dykes, Baron Dykes, English politician
  • 1939 – Gary Paulsen, American author
  • 1940 – Alan Kay, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1940 – Reynato Puno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
  • 1941 – David Cope, American composer and author
  • 1941 – Ben Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Nebraska
  • 1942 – Taj Mahal, American blues singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1943 – Sirajuddin of Perlis, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
  • 1943 – Johnny Warren, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – B.S. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer
  • 1945 – Tony Roche, Australian tennis player and coach
  • 1946 – Udo Lindenberg, German singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1947 – Stephen Platten, English bishop
  • 1948 – Dick Gaughan, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – Bill Bruford, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
  • 1949 – Keith, American pop singer
  • 1950 – Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (d. 1991)
  • 1950 – Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley, English accountant and politician
  • 1950 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (d. 2008)
  • 1950 – Alan Johnson, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • 1950 – Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1951 – Simon Hughes, English lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Howard Hampton, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1954 – Michael Roberts, South African-English jockey
  • 1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor and director (d. 2017)
  • 1955 – David Townsend, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
  • 1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
  • 1956 – Annise Parker, American politician
  • 1956 – Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host
  • 1956 – Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist and author
  • 1957 – Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Paul Di’Anno, English rock singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
  • 1960 – Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter, actor, and producer
  • 1960 – Simon Fuller, English talent manager and producer, created the Idols series
  • 1961 – Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Jamil Azzaoui, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1961 – Justin King, English businessman
  • 1962 – Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish journalist and author
  • 1962 – Andrew Farrar, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1962 – Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American comedian, actor, and talk show host
  • 1962 – Jane Moore, English journalist and author
  • 1962 – Rosalind Picard, American computer scientist and engineer, co-founded Affectiva
  • 1963 – Jon Koncak, American basketball player
  • 1963 – Page McConnell, American keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1964 – Stratos Apostolakis, Greek footballer and coach
  • 1964 – Mauro Martini, Italian race car driver
  • 1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (d. 1999)
  • 1965 – Trent Reznor, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
  • 1965 – Jeremy Vine, English journalist and author
  • 1966 – Qusay Hussein, Iraqi soldier and politician (d. 2003)
  • 1966 – Mark Kratzmann, Australian tennis player and coach
  • 1966 – Danny Manning, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Gilles Quénéhervé, French sprinter
  • 1967 – Nancy Benoit, American professional wrestling valet and model (d. 2007)
  • 1967 – Mohamed Nasheed, Maldivian lawyer and politician 4th President of the Maldives
  • 1967 – Patrick Ortlieb, Austrian skier
  • 1968 – Dave Abbruzzese, American rock drummer and songwriter
  • 1969 – Keith Hill, English footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Hubert Davis, American basketball player and coach
  • 1970 – Jordan Knight, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1970 – Matt Lindland, American mixed martial artist, wrestler, and politician
  • 1970 – Jodie Rogers, Australian diver
  • 1970 – René Vilbre, Estonian director and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Mark Connors, Australian rugby player
  • 1971 – Shaun Hart, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Stella Jongmans, Dutch athlete
  • 1971 – Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Dutch royal
  • 1971 – Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island
  • 1972 – Barry Hayles, English born Jamaican international footballer
  • 1973 – Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1974 – Andrea Corr, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
  • 1974 – Wiki González, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1974 – Eddie Lewis, American international soccer player
  • 1975 – Marcelinho Paraíba, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – Alex Wright, German wrestler
  • 1976 – Kandi Burruss, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1976 – Shayne Dunley, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – José Guillén, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1976 – Daniel Komen, Kenyan runner
  • 1976 – Wang Leehom, American-Taiwanese singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
  • 1976 – Mayte Martínez, Spanish runner
  • 1976 – Kirsten Vlieghuis, Dutch freestyle swimmer
  • 1978 – John Foster, American baseball player and coach
  • 1978 – Paddy Kenny, English footballer
  • 1978 – Carlos Peña, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1978 – Magdalena Zděnovcová, Czech tennis player
  • 1979 – David Jarolím, Czech footballer
  • 1979 – Wayne Thomas, English footballer
  • 1980 – Davor Džalto, Bosnian historian and philosopher
  • 1980 – Fredrik Kessiakoff, Swedish cyclist
  • 1980 – Alistair Overeem, Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer
  • 1980 – Ariën van Weesenbeek, Dutch drummer
  • 1981 – Beñat Albizuri, Spanish cyclist
  • 1981 – Leon Osman, English footballer
  • 1981 – Lim Jeong-hee, South Korean singer
  • 1981 – Chris Skidmore, English historian and politician
  • 1981 – Giannis Taralidis, Greek footballer
  • 1982 – Matt Cassel, American football player
  • 1982 – Dan Hardy, English mixed martial artist
  • 1982 – Reiko Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
  • 1982 – Tony Parker, French-American basketball player
  • 1982 – Chloe Smith, English politician
  • 1983 – Channing Frye, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Chris Henry, American football player (d. 2009)
  • 1983 – Nicky Hofs, Dutch footballer
  • 1983 – Kevin Kingston, Australian rugby league player
  • 1983 – Jeremy Sowers, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer
  • 1984 – Christine Ohuruogu, English runner
  • 1984 – Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player
  • 1984 – Passenger, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1985 – Teófilo Gutiérrez, Colombian footballer
  • 1985 – Derek Hough, American actor, singer, and dancer
  • 1985 – Christine Nesbitt, Canadian speed skater
  • 1985 – Todd Redmond, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Matt Ryan, American football player
  • 1986 – Marius Činikas, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1986 – Timo Simonlatser, Estonian skier
  • 1986 – Jodie Taylor, English footballer
  • 1987 – Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norwegian cyclist
  • 1987 – Aleandro Rosi, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Nikki Reed, American actress, singer, and screenwriter
  • 1988 – Jennison Myrie-Williams, English footballer
  • 1989 – Mose Masoe, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Rain Raadik, Estonian basketball player
  • 1989 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer
  • 1990 – Fabian Giefer, German footballer
  • 1990 – Charlie Gubb, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – Katrina Hart, English runner
  • 1990 – Guido Pella, Argentine tennis player
  • 1991 – Johanna Konta, Australian-English tennis player
  • 1991 – Adil Omar, Pakistani rapper and music producer
  • 1991 – Abigail Raye, Canadian field hockey player

Deaths on May 17

  • 528 – Empress Dowager Hu of Northern Wei
  • 528 – Yuan Yong, imperial prince of Northern Wei
  • 528 – Yuan Zhao, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 526)
  • 896 – Liu Jianfeng, Chinese warlord
  • 924 – Li Maozhen, Chinese warlord and king (b. 856)
  • 946 – Al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (b. 893)
  • 1299 – Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (b. c. 1240)
  • 1336 – Go-Fushimi, emperor of Japan (b. 1288)
  • 1365 – Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1328)
  • 1395 – Konstantin Dejanović/Constantine Dragaš, Serbian ruler (b. 1355)
  • 1464 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1427)
  • 1510 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)
  • 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Welsh politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1478)
  • 1536 – George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford, English courtier and diplomat, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1504)
  • 1536 – William Brereton, English courtier (b. 1487)
  • 1536 – Henry Norris, English courtier (b. 1482)
  • 1546 – Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (b. 1511)
  • 1551 – Shin Saimdang, South Korean poet and calligraphist (b. 1504)
  • 1558 – Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Portuguese poet (b. 1485)
  • 1575 – Matthew Parker, English archbishop and academic (b. 1504)
  • 1606 – False Dmitriy I, pretender to the Russian throne (b. 1582)
  • 1607 – Anna d’Este, French princess (b. 1531)
  • 1626 – Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (b. 1570)
  • 1643 – Giovanni Picchi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1571)
  • 1727 – Catherine I of Russia (b. 1684)
  • 1729 – Samuel Clarke, English clergyman and philosopher (b. 1675)
  • 1765 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (b. 1713)
  • 1797 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright and composer (b. 1719)
  • 1801 – William Heberden, English physician and scholar (b. 1710)
  • 1807 – John Gunby, American general (b. 1745)
  • 1809 – Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)
  • 1822 – Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, French general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1766)
  • 1829 – John Jay, American politician and diplomat, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)
  • 1838 – René Caillié, French explorer and author (b. 1799)
  • 1838 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French bishop and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1754)
  • 1839 – Archibald Alison, Scottish priest and author (b. 1757)
  • 1868 – Kondō Isami, Japanese commander (b. 1834)
  • 1875 – John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States, Confederate States general (b. 1821)
  • 1879 – Asa Packer, American businessman, founded Lehigh University (b. 1805)
  • 1880 – Ziya Pasha, Greek author and translator (b. 1826)
  • 1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (b. 1804)
  • 1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian priest and poet (b. 1820)
  • 1911 – Frederick August Otto Schwarz, German-American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (b. 1836)
  • 1916 – Boris Borisovich Golitsyn, Russian physicist and seismologist (b. 1862)
  • 1917 – Clara Ayres, American nurse (b. 1880)
  • 1917 – Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (b. 1829)
  • 1919 – Guido von List, Austrian-German journalist, author, and poet (b. 1848)
  • 1921 – Karl Mantzius, Danish actor and director (b. 1860)
  • 1922 – Dorothy Levitt, English racing driver and journalist (b. 1882)
  • 1927 – Harold Geiger, American pilot and lieutenant (b. 1884)
  • 1934 – Cass Gilbert, American architect (b. 1859)
  • 1935 – Paul Dukas, French composer, critic, and educator (b. 1865)
  • 1936 – Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 124th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1868)
  • 1938 – Jakob Ehrlich, Czech-Austrian academic and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1943 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (b. 1864)
  • 1947 – George Forbes, New Zealand farmer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
  • 1951 – William Birdwood, Anglo-Indian field marshal (b. 1865)
  • 1960 – Jules Supervielle, Uruguayan-French poet and author (b. 1884)
  • 1963 – John Wilce, American football player, coach, and physician (b. 1888)
  • 1964 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist and parapsychologist (b. 1895)
  • 1974 – Ernest Nash, German-American photographer and scholar (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral and pilot (b. 1892)
  • 1980 – Gündüz Kılıç, Turkish football player and coach (b. 1918)
  • 1985 – Abe Burrows, American director, composer, and author (b. 1910)
  • 1987 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, sociologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
  • 1992 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (b. 1903)
  • 1995 – Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1912)
  • 1996 – Kevin Gilbert, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1966)
  • 1999 – Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian trumpet player and producer (b. 1949)
  • 1999 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (b. 1966)
  • 2000 – Donald Coggan, English archbishop (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (b. 1928)
  • 2001 – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (b. 1908)
  • 2002 – László Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1927)
  • 2002 – Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Turkish poet and composer (b. 1940)
  • 2004 – Jørgen Nash, Danish poet and painter (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Ezzedine Salim, Iraqi politician (b. 1943)
  • 2005 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 2006 – Cy Feuer, American director, producer, and composer (b. 1911)
  • 2007 – Lloyd Alexander, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – T. K. Doraiswamy, Indian poet and author (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan journalist, author, and poet (b. 1920)
  • 2009 – Jung Seung-hye, South Korean journalist and producer (b. 1965)
  • 2010 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet (b. 1929)
  • 2011 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Gideon Ezra, Israeli geographer and politician, Israeli Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Patrick Mafisango, Congolese-Rwandan footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2012 – Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
  • 2013 – Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Peter Schulz, German politician, Mayor of Hamburg (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine general and politician, 42nd President of Argentina (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Thongbanh Sengaphone, Laotian politician (b. 1953)
  • 2017 – Todor Veselinović, Serbian football player and manager (b. 1930)
  • 2019 – Herman Wouk, American author (b. 1915)
  • 2020 – Lucky Peterson, American blues singer, keyboardist and guitarist (b. 1964)

Holidays and observances on May 17

  • Birthday of the Raja (Perlis)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Giulia Salzano
    • Paschal Baylon
    • William Hobart Hare (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Restituta
    • May 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Children’s Day (Norway)
  • Constitution Day (Nauru)
  • Norwegian Constitution Day
  • The earliest date on which Trinity Sunday can fall, while June 20 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. (Western Christianity)
  • Feast of ‘Aẓamat (Bahá’í Faith, day shifts with March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
  • Galician Literature Day or Día das Letras Galegas (Galicia)
  • National Day Against Homophobia (Canada)
  • International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia also known as IDAHOT
  • Liberation Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Navy Day (Argentina)
  • World Hypertension Day
  • World Information Society Day (International)

May 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love.
  • 1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, are officially married at Greenwich.
  • 1568 – Battle of Langside: The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
  • 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
  • 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
  • 1780 – The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in the Cumberland River area of what would become the U.S. state of Tennessee, providing for democratic government and a formal system of justice.
  • 1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the “First Fleet”) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
  • 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
  • 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
  • 1846 – Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a “proclamation of neutrality” which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
  • 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
  • 1861 – Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
  • 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca: The battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
  • 1880 – In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
  • 1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea (“Golden Law”), Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.
  • 1909 – The first Giro d’Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
  • 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
  • 1917 – Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
  • 1940 – World War II: Germany’s conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech to the House of Commons.
  • 1940 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the German invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
  • 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting against German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
  • 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
  • 1950 – The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
  • 1951 – The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
  • 1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
  • 1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
  • 1954 – The original Broadway production of The Pajama Game opens and runs for another 1,063 performances. Later received three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
  • 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon’s car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
  • 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
  • 1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
  • 1960 – Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
  • 1967 – Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
  • 1969 – May 13 Incident involving sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • 1971 – Over 900 unarmed Bengali Hindus are murdered in the Demra massacre.
  • 1972 – Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
  • 1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
  • 1981 – Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
  • 1985 – Police bombed MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
  • 1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
  • 1990 – The Dinamo–Red Star riot took place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
  • 1992 – Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People’s Republic of China.
  • 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
  • 1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
  • 1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
  • 1998 – India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
  • 2005 – Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan; Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
  • 2006 – São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
  • 2011 – Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
  • 2012 – Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
  • 2013 – American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.
  • 2014 – An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.

Births on  May 13

  • 1024 – Hugh of Cluny, French abbot and saint (d. 1109)
  • 1179 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (d. 1201)
  • 1221 – Alexander Nevsky, Russian prince and saint (d. 1263)
  • 1254 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (d. 1321)
  • 1453 – Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, Scottish princess (d. 1488)
  • 1588 – Ole Worm, Danish physician and historian (d. 1654)
  • 1597 – Cornelis Schut, Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver (d. 1655)
  • 1638 – Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (d. 1712)
  • 1699 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
  • 1712 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (d. 1772)
  • 1713 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1765)
  • 1717 – Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1780)
  • 1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
  • 1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (d. 1821)
  • 1742 – Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
  • 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823)
  • 1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
  • 1794 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
  • 1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (d. 1875)
  • 1811 – Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (b. 1859)
  • 1822 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (d. 1902)
  • 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
  • 1832 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (d. 1864)
  • 1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1897)
  • 1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
  • 1853 – Vaiben Louis Solomon, Australian politician, 21st Premier of South Australia (d. 1908)
  • 1856 – Tom O’Rourke, American boxer and manager (d. 1938)
  • 1857 – Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
  • 1868 – Sumner Paine, American target shooter (d. 1904)
  • 1869 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (d. 1944)
  • 1877 – Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (d. 1948)
  • 1881 – Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (d. 1922)
  • 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964)
  • 1882 – Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
  • 1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
  • 1884 – Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (d.1944)
  • 1885 – Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
  • 1887 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (d. 1951)
  • 1888 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
  • 1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
  • 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964)
  • 1901 – Murilo Mendes, Brazilian poet and telegrapher (d. 1975)
  • 1904 – Louis Duffus, Australian-South African cricketer and journalist (d. 1984)
  • 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (d. 1977)
  • 1907 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (d. 1989)
  • 1908 – Eugen Kapp, Estonian composer and educator (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (d. 1992)
  • 1911 – Robert Middleton, American actor (d. 1977)
  • 1911 – Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
  • 1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1988)
  • 1912 – Judah Nadich, American colonel and rabbi (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1989)
  • 1913 – Theo Helfrich, German racing driver (d. 1978)
  • 1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (d. 1980)
  • 1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
  • 1914 – Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1914 – Antonia Ferrín Moreiras, Spanish mathematician, academic, and astronomer (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (d. 2004)
  • 1918 – Balasaraswati, Indian dancer and instructor (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Gwyn Howells, Australian public servant (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Gareth Morris, English flute player (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Michael Ainsworth, English cricketer (d. 1978)
  • 1922 – Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (d. 1991)
  • 1922 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
  • 1923 – Ruth Adler Schnee, German-American textile designer and interior designer
  • 1924 – Theodore Mann, American director and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (d. 1958)
  • 1927 – Fred Hellerman, American folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Herbert Ross, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua
  • 1928 – Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – John Galvin, American general (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Mike Gravel, American lieutenant and politician
  • 1930 – José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish journalist and author
  • 1930 – Vernon Shaw, Dominican politician, 5th President of Dominica (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)
  • 1931 – Sydney Lipworth, South African-English lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
  • 1933 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1934 – Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Leon Wagner, American baseball player and actor (d. 2004)
  • 1935 – Dominic Cossa, American opera singer
  • 1935 – Jan Saudek, Czech photographer and painter
  • 1935 – Kája Saudek, Czech author and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – Bill Rompkey, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1937 – Trevor Baylis, English inventor, invented the wind-up radio (d. 2018)
  • 1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian librarian and author
  • 1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
  • 1937 – Beverley Owen, American actress (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (d. 1995)
  • 1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy
  • 1938 – Laurent Beaudoin, Canadian businessman
  • 1938 – Anna Cropper, British actress (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Francine Pascal, American author and playwright
  • 1938 – Buck Taylor, American actor
  • 1939 – Hildrun Claus, German long jumper
  • 1939 – Peter Frenkel, German race walker and coach
  • 1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
  • 1940 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (d. 1989)
  • 1940 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese runner (d. 1968)
  • 1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
  • 1941 – Joe Brown, English singer and musician
  • 1941 – Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach
  • 1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
  • 1942 – Leighton Gage, American author (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Roger Young, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Anthony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, English lawyer and judge
  • 1943 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
  • 1943 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1944 – Sir Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet, Scottish explorer, lawyer, and judge
  • 1944 – Robert L. Crawford Jr., American actor
  • 1944 – Carolyn Franklin, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor
  • 1945 – Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1945 – Magic Dick, American blues-rock harmonica, trumpet, and saxophone player
  • 1945 – Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer
  • 1946 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (d. 2017)
  • 1946 – Jean Rondeau, French race car driver and constructor (d. 1985)
  • 1946 – Marv Wolfman, American author
  • 1947 – Charles Baxter, American novelist, essayist, and poet
  • 1947 – Edgar Burcksen, Dutch-American film editor
  • 1948 – Sheila Jeffreys, English-Australian political scientist, author, and academic
  • 1948 – Dean Meminger, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Jane Glover, English conductor and scholar
  • 1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress
  • 1949 – Philip Kruse, Norwegian trumpeter and orchestra leader
  • 1950 – Andy Cunningham, English actor (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1950 – Joe Johnston, American film director and effects artist
  • 1950 – Manning Marable, American author and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
  • 1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1951 – Rosie Boycott, English journalist and author
  • 1951 – Sharon Sayles Belton, American politician, 45th Mayor of Minneapolis
  • 1951 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (d. 2014)
  • 1951 – Herman Philipse, Dutch philosopher and academic
  • 1951 – Selina Scott, English journalist, producer, and author
  • 1951 – Paul Thompson, English drummer
  • 1952 – John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio
  • 1952 – Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author
  • 1953 – Zlatko Burić, Croat-Danish actor
  • 1953 – Gerry Sutcliffe, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
  • 1953 – David Voelker, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
  • 1953 – Harm Wiersma, Dutch draughts player and politician
  • 1953 – Ruth A. David, American electrical engineer
  • 1954 – Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Richard Madeley, English journalist and author
  • 1956 – Fred Melamed, American actor
  • 1956 – Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of Bhartiya Janta Party
  • 1957 – Alan Ball, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Frances Barber, English actress
  • 1957 – Mark Heap, English actor
  • 1957 – David Hill, English organist and conductor
  • 1957 – Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Filipino Secretary of the Interior
  • 1957 – Koji Suzuki, Japanese author and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Anthony Ray Parker, American actor
  • 1961 – Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress
  • 1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor
  • 1962 – Paul Burstow, English politician
  • 1962 – Nick Hurd, English businessman and politician, Minister for Civil Society
  • 1963 – Andrea Leadsom, English politician
  • 1963 – Wally Masur, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host
  • 1964 – Chris Maitland, English drummer
  • 1964 – Tom Verica, American actor, television director, and producer
  • 1965 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (d. 2006)
  • 1965 – Tasmin Little, English violinist and educator
  • 1965 – János Marozsán, Hungarian footballer
  • 1965 – Hikari Ōta, Japanese comedian and actor
  • 1965 – José Rijo, Dominican baseball player
  • 1965 – Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2018)
  • 1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Tish Cyrus, American actress and film producer
  • 1967 – Shon Greenblatt, American actor
  • 1967 – Tommy Gunn, pornographic actor
  • 1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1967 – Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (d. 2001)
  • 1968 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
  • 1968 – Susan Floyd, American actress
  • 1968 – Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia
  • 1968 – PMD, American rapper
  • 1968 – Dmitriy Shevchenko, Russian discus thrower and coach
  • 1969 – Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1969 – Nikos Aliagas, French-Greek journalist and television host
  • 1970 – Doug Evans, American football player
  • 1970 – Robert Maćkowiak, Polish sprinter
  • 1971 – Imogen Boorman, English actress and martial artist
  • 1971 – Rob Fredrickson, American football player
  • 1971 – Espen Lind, Norwegian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1971 – Tom Nalen, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
  • 1972 – Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1972 – Pieta van Dishoeck, Dutch rower
  • 1973 – Eric Lewis, American pianist
  • 1973 – Bridgett Riley, American boxer and stuntwoman
  • 1975 – Jamie Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Cristian Bezzi, Italian rugby player and coach
  • 1975 – Brian Geraghty, American actor
  • 1976 – Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and scout
  • 1976 – Ana Popović, Serbian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Magdalena Walach, Polish actress
  • 1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter
  • 1977 – Anthony Q. Farrell, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Robby Hammock, American baseball player and coach
  • 1977 – Neil Hopkins, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – James Middlebrook, English cricketer
  • 1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress and director
  • 1977 – Brian Thomas Smith, American actor and producer
  • 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper
  • 1978 – Brooke Anderson, American journalist
  • 1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach
  • 1978 – Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Germán Magariños, Argentinian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1978 – Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Nuwan Zoysa, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1979 – Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
  • 1979 – Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
  • 1979 – Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1980 – L. J. Smith, American football player
  • 1981 – Luciana Berger, English politician
  • 1981 – Nicolas Jeanjean, French rugby player
  • 1981 – Sunny Leone, Canadian American actress, model, and pornstar
  • 1981 – Michael Mantenuto, American actor (d. 2017)
  • 1981 – Shaun Phillips, American football player
  • 1981 – Ryan Piers Williams, American actor and film director
  • 1982 – Albert Crusat, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player
  • 1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American soccer player
  • 1983 – Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer
  • 1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
  • 1983 – Johnny Hoogerland, Dutch cyclist
  • 1983 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
  • 1983 – Jacob Reynolds, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
  • 1984 – J. B. Cox, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Benny Dayal, Indian singer
  • 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler
  • 1984 – Caroline Rotich, Kenyan runner
  • 1985 – Javier Balboa, Spanish-Equatoguinean footballer
  • 1985 – Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1985 – David Hernandez, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Carolina Luján, Argentine chess player
  • 1985 – Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer
  • 1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1986 – Eun-Hee Ji, South Korean golfer
  • 1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor
  • 1986 – Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor
  • 1986 – Scott Sutter, English footballer
  • 1986 – Nino Schurter, Swiss cyclist
  • 1986 – Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Antonio Adán, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Hugo Becker, French actor
  • 1987 – Matt Doyle, American actor and singer
  • 1987 – Laura Izibor, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1987 – Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Sandro Mareco, Argentine chess player
  • 1987 – Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
  • 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist
  • 1987 – Charlotte Wessels, Dutch singer-songwriter
  • 1987 – Bobby Shuttleworth, American soccer player
  • 1988 – Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer
  • 1988 – Didier Cohen, Australian DJ, producer and media personality
  • 1988 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1989 – P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Mychal Givens, American baseball player
  • 1991 – Jennifer Beattie, Scottish footballer
  • 1991 – Anders Fannemel, Norwegian ski jumper
  • 1992 – Bill Arnold, American ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1992 – Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Georgina García Pérez, Spanish tennis player
  • 1993 – Stefan Kraft, Austrian ski jumper
  • 1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer
  • 1993 – Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
  • 1993 – Siim-Tanel Sammelselg, Estonian ski jumper
  • 1993 – Tones and I, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1994 – Łukasz Moneta, Polish footballer
  • 1997 – Reimis Smith, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on May 13

  • 189 – Emperor Ling of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 156)
  • 1112 – Ulric II, Margrave of Carniola
  • 1176 – Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
  • 1285 – Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros
  • 1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
  • 1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (b. 1521)
  • 1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician (b. 1547)
  • 1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher and author (b. 1632)
  • 1726 – Francesco Antonio Pistocchi, Italian singer (b. 1659)
  • 1782 – Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist (b. 1736)
  • 1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1721)
  • 1809 – Beilby Porteus, English bishop (b. 1731)
  • 1832 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (b. 1769)
  • 1835 – John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (b. 1752)
  • 1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
  • 1878 – Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (b. 1797)
  • 1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (b. 1809)
  • 1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (b. 1809)
  • 1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (b. 1864)
  • 1916 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (b. 1859)
  • 1921 – Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
  • 1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (b. 1857)
  • 1929 – Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (b. 1878)
  • 1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
  • 1938 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
  • 1941 – Frederick Christian, English cricketer (b. 1877)
  • 1941 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (b. 1891)
  • 1945 – Tubby Hall, American drummer (b. 1895)
  • 1946 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (b. 1869)
  • 1947 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1926)
  • 1948 – Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (b. 1920)
  • 1957 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (b. 1886)
  • 1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
  • 1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (b. 1893)
  • 1962 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (b. 1910)
  • 1963 – Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (b. 1885)
  • 1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898)
  • 1975 – Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1905)
  • 1977 – Mickey Spillane, American mobster (b. 1934)
  • 1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
  • 1985 – Richard Ellmann, American literary critic and biographer (b. 1918)
  • 1988 – Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1929)
  • 1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (b. 1920)
  • 1994 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (b. 1925)
  • 1995 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (b. 1921)
  • 1999 – Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (b. 1902)
  • 2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (b. 1951)
  • 2001 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (b. 1939)
  • 2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress and author (b. 1925)
  • 2002 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
  • 2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
  • 2008 – Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
  • 2008 – Ron Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Frank Aletter, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 2009 – Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (b. 1934)
  • 2009 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
  • 2011 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (b. 1933)
  • 2011 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Donald “Duck” Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (b. 1979)
  • 2012 – Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (b. 1906)
  • 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (b. 1977)
  • 2014 – J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (b. 1937)
  • 2018 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (b. 1948)
  • 2019 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (b. 1922)
  • 2019 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist, and politician (b. 1933)

Holidays and observances on May 13

  • Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Our Lady of Fátima
    • Gerard of Villamagna
    • Glyceria
    • John the Silent (Roman Catholic)
    • Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)
    • Frances Perkins (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Servatius
    • May 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Rotuma Day (Rotuma)

May 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church.
  • 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule.
  • 1191 – Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus; she is crowned Queen consort of England the same day.
  • 1328 – Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
  • 1364 – Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków.
  • 1510 – The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan kills all the officials invited to a banquet and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming dynasty eunuch Liu Jin during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.
  • 1551 – National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru.
  • 1588 – French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry I, Duke of Guise, enters the city and a spontaneous uprising occurs.
  • 1593 – London playwright Thomas Kyd is arrested and tortured by the Privy Council for libel.
  • 1743 – Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Bohemia after defeating her rival, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1778 – Heinrich XI, count of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, is elevated to Prince by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: In the largest defeat of the Continental Army, Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
  • 1797 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
  • 1821 – The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks is fought in Valtetsi.
  • 1846 – The Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: U.S. federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: Two divisions of James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton’s defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the “Mule Shoe”, with the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at “the Bloody Angle” on the northwest.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Palmito Ranch: The first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
  • 1870 – The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
  • 1881 – In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
  • 1885 – North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
  • 1888 – In Southeast Asia, the North Borneo Chartered Company’s territories become the British protectorate of North Borneo.
  • 1926 – The Italian-built airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.
  • 1932 – Ten weeks after his abduction, Charles Jr., the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, is found dead near Hopewell, New Jersey, just a few miles from the Lindberghs’ home.
  • 1933 – The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricts agricultural production through government purchase of livestock for slaughter and paying subsidies to farmers when they remove land from planting, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • 1937 – The Duke and Duchess of York are crowned as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Westminster Abbey.
  • 1941 – Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world’s first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.
  • 1942 – World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: In eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later.
  • 1942 – World War II: The U.S. tanker SS Virginia is torpedoed in the mouth of the Mississippi River by the German submarine U-507.
  • 1948 – Wilhelmina, Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, cedes the throne.
  • 1949 – Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.
  • 1965 – The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack Australian troops defending Fire Support Base Coral.
  • 1978 – In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the local government asks the US, France and Belgium to restore order.
  • 1981 – Francis Hughes, Provisional IRA hunger striker, dies in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland.
  • 1982 – During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
  • 1989 – The San Bernardino train disaster kills four people. A week later an underground gasoline pipeline explodes killing two more people.
  • 1998 – Four students are shot at Trisakti University, leading to widespread riots and the fall of Suharto.
  • 2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro, becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro’s 1959 revolution.
  • 2003 – The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by al-Qaeda, kill 26 people.
  • 2006 – Mass unrest by the Primeiro Comando da Capital begins in São Paulo (Brazil), leaving at least 150 dead.
  • 2006 – Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country.
  • 2008 – An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.
  • 2008 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts the largest-ever raid of a workplace in Postville, Iowa, arresting nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud.
  • 2010 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes on final approach to Tripoli International Airport in Tripoli, Libya, killing 103 out of the 104 people on board.
  • 2015 – A train derailment in Philadelphia kills eight people and injures more than 200.
  • 2015 – Massive Nepal earthquake kills 218 people and injures more than 3500.
  • 2017 – The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400 thousand computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom’s National Health Services and Telefónica computers.
  • 2018 – Paris knife attack: A man was fatally shot by police in Paris after killing one and injuring several others.

Births on May 13

1401 – Emperor Shōkō of Japan (d. 1428)

  • 1479 – Pompeo Colonna, Catholic cardinal (d. 1532)
  • 1496 – Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)
  • 1590 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
  • 1606 – Joachim von Sandrart, German art-historian and painter (d. 1688)
  • 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French-Canadian soldier and politician, 3rd Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
  • 1626 – Louis Hennepin, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1705)
  • 1670 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (d. 1733)
  • 1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect and engineer, designed the Palace of Caserta and Royal Palace of Milan (d. 1773)
  • 1725 – Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1785)
  • 1739 – Johann Baptist Wanhal, Czech-Austrian organist and composer (d. 1813)
  • 1754 – Franz Anton Hoffmeister, German composer and publisher (d. 1812)
  • 1755 – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1824)
  • 1767 – Manuel Godoy, Spanish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1851)
  • 1774 – Ellis Cunliffe Lister, English politician (d. 1853)
  • 1777 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman (d. 1855)
  • 1803 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (d. 1873)
  • 1804 – Robert Baldwin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Premier of West Canada (d. 1858)
  • 1806 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (d. 1881)
  • 1812 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (d. 1888)
  • 1814 – Adolf von Henselt, German pianist and composer (d. 1889)
  • 1820 – Florence Nightingale, Italian-English nurse, social reformer, and statistician (d. 1910)
  • 1825 – Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, French lawyer and explorer (d. 1878)
  • 1828 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (d. 1882)
  • 1829 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer and educator (d. 1896)
  • 1839 – Tôn Thất Thuyết, Vietnamese mandarin (d. 1913)
  • 1840 – Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean colonel (d. 1912)
  • 1842 – Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
  • 1845 – Gabriel Fauré, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
  • 1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, American historian and politician (d. 1924)
  • 1850 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
  • 1859 – William Alden Smith, American lawyer and politician (d. 1932)
  • 1859 – Frank Wilson, English-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1918)
  • 1863 – Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur. (d. 1915)
  • 1867 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer and accountant (d. 1938)
  • 1869 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, wrestler, and weightlifter (d. 1946)
  • 1872 – Anton Korošec, Slovenian priest and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1940)
  • 1873 – J. E. H. MacDonald, English-Canadian painter (d. 1932)
  • 1874 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian pediatrician and immunologist (d. 1929)
  • 1875 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (d. 1960)
  • 1880 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (d. 1951)
  • 1885 – Paltiel Daykan, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (d. 1969)
  • 1885 – Saneatsu Mushanokōji, Japanese author (d. 1976)
  • 1886 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and pilot (d. 1937)
  • 1899 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (d. 1967)
  • 1889 – Otto Frank, German-Swiss businessman and Holocaust survivor; father of diarist Anne Frank (d. 1980)
  • 1892 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-German actor and director (d. 1970)
  • 1895 – William Giauque, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
  • 1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Helene Weigel, Austrian-German actress (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – The Duke of Paducah, American country comedian, radio host and banjo player (d. 1986)
  • 1903 – Faith Bennett, British actress and ATA pilot during WWII (d. 1969)
  • 1903 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Édouard Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1994)
  • 1907 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1908 – Nicholas Kaldor, Hungarian-English economist (d. 1986)
  • 1910 – James Dudley, American baseball player, wrestling manager and executive (d. 2004)
  • 1910 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (d. 2010)
  • 1910 – Dorothy Hodgkin, English biochemist, crystallographer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Gordon Jenkins, American pianist and composer (d. 1984)
  • 1911 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (d. 1972)
  • 1912 – Henry Jonsson, Swedish runner (d. 2001)
  • 1912 – Marshal Royal, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1995)
  • 1914 – Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet and author (d. 1993)
  • 1914 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Tony Strobl, American comics artist and animator (d. 1991)
  • 1916 – Albert Murray, American author and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – Julius Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
  • 1921 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and illustrator (d. 1986)
  • 1921 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Marco Denevi, Argentinian lawyer and author (d. 1998)
  • 1922 – Murray Gershenz, American actor and businessman (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Bob Goldham, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 1991)
  • 1922 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Maxine Cooper, American actress and photographer (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1925 – Yogi Berra, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Paulette Poujol-Oriol, Hatian educator and writer (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Viren J. Shah, Indian politician, 21st Governor of West Bengal (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Burt Bacharach, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1929 – Sam Nujoma, Namibian politician, 1st President of Namibia
  • 1929 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Jesús Franco, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe, South African-English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1933 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (d. 2010)
  • 1935 – Felipe Alou, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1935 – Johnny Bucyk, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1936 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (d. 2009)
  • 1936 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (d. 2007)
  • 1936 – Frank Stella, American painter and sculptor
  • 1937 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (d. 1996)
  • 1937 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Susan Hampshire, English actress
  • 1937 – Miriam Stoppard, English physician and author
  • 1938 – Millie Perkins, American actress
  • 1939 – Cyril Chantler, English pediatrician and academic
  • 1939 – Jalal Dabagh, Kurdish journalist and politician
  • 1939 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek minister and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (d. 2011)
  • 1939 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
  • 1940 – Lill Lindfors, Swedish singer
  • 1940 – Norman Whitfield, American songwriter and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1941 – Ruud de Wolff, Dutch singer (d. 2000)
  • 1942 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1942 – Michel Fugain, French singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Billy Swan, American country singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Dragoljub Velimirović, Serbian chess player and theoretician (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Chris Patten, English academic and politician, 28th Governor of Hong Kong
  • 1945 – Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer and manager (d. 2007)
  • 1945 – Ian McLagan, English keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1946 – Daniel Libeskind, American architect, designed the Imperial War Museum North and Jewish Museum
  • 1947 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian journalist and politician
  • 1948 – Lindsay Crouse, American actress
  • 1948 – Dave Heineman, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of Nebraska
  • 1948 – Richard Riehle, American actor
  • 1948 – Steve Winwood, English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
  • 1949 – Ross Bleckner, American painter
  • 1950 – Bruce Boxleitner, American actor and author
  • 1950 – Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor, director, and producer
  • 1950 – Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, Scottish lawyer, academic, and politician
  • 1950 – Billy Squier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – George Karl, American basketball player and coach
  • 1955 – Kix Brooks, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1956 – Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1956 – Sergio Marchi, Argentinean-Canadian urban planner and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of International Trade
  • 1956 – Greg Phillinganes, American keyboardist
  • 1956 – Asad Rauf, Pakistani cricketer and umpire
  • 1957 – Ziya Onis, Turkish economist and academic
  • 1958 – Kim Greist, American actress
  • 1958 – Andreas Petroulakis, Greek cartoonist
  • 1958 – Dries van Noten, Belgian fashion designer
  • 1959 – Dave Christian, American ice hockey player
  • 1959 – Ray Gillen, American rock singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1959 – Ving Rhames, American actor
  • 1960 – Lisa Martin, Australian runner
  • 1961 – Thomas Dooley, German-American soccer player and manager
  • 1961 – Billy Duffy, English rock guitarist and songwriter
  • 1961 – Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor and comedian
  • 1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor
  • 1962 – Brett Gurewitz, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1962 – Gregory H. Johnson, English-born American astronaut
  • 1963 – Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player and politician
  • 1963 – Gavin Hood, South African actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Stefano Modena, Italian race car driver
  • 1963 – Vanessa A. Williams, American actress and producer
  • 1964 – Pierre Morel, French director and cinematographer
  • 1965 – Renée Simonsen, Danish model and writer
  • 1965 – Stacy Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1966 – Stephen Baldwin, American actor
  • 1966 – Bebel Gilberto, American-Brazilian singer-songwriter
  • 1966 – Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress
  • 1967 – Mireille Bousquet-Mélou, French mathematician
  • 1967 – Bill Shorten, Australian politician
  • 1968 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder and actor
  • 1968 – Catherine Tate, English actress and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Suzanne Clément, Canadian actress
  • 1969 – Kim Fields, American actress
  • 1970 – Mark Foster, English swimmer
  • 1970 – Jim Furyk, American golfer
  • 1970 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
  • 1970 – Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
  • 1970 – David A. R. White, American actor and producer
  • 1971 – Doug Basham, American wrestler
  • 1971 – Jamie Luner, American actress
  • 1972 – Christian Campbell, Canadian-American actor, writer and photographer
  • 1973 – Mackenzie Astin, American actor
  • 1973 – Lutz Pfannenstiel, German footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2015)
  • 1975 – Ricky Ortiz, American professional wrestler and football player
  • 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rap musician and producer
  • 1977 – Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player and coach
  • 1977 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (d. 2017)
  • 1977 – Onur Saylak, Turkish actor, filmmaker and director
  • 1977 – Rachel Wilson, Canadian actress and voice actress
  • 1978 – Aaron Abrams, Canadian actor
  • 1978 – Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian model, actress, and singer
  • 1978 – Jason Biggs, American actor and comedian
  • 1978 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer and fashion designer
  • 1979 – Adrian Serioux,Canadian soccer player
  • 1979 – Aaron Yoo, American actor
  • 1980 – Keith Bogans, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Rami Malek, American actor
  • 1981 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese-American composer and conductor
  • 1981 – Dennis Trillo, Filipino actor and singer
  • 1982 – Donnie Nietes, Filipino boxer
  • 1983 – Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor
  • 1983 – Alina Kabaeva, Russian gymnast and politician
  • 1983 – Yujiro Kushida, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
  • 1983 – Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
  • 1983 – Virginie Razzano, French tennis player
  • 1983 – Francisco Javier Torres, Mexican footballer
  • 1984 – Clare Bowen, Australian actress and singer
  • 1985 – Paolo Goltz, Argentinian footballer
  • 1985 – Andrew Howe, Italian long jumper and sprinter
  • 1985 – Jeroen Simaeys, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Jonathan Orozco, Mexican footballer
  • 1986 – Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress
  • 1987 – Kieron Pollard, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1988 – Marcelo, Brazilian footballer
  • 1989 – Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress
  • 1990 – Florent Amodio, French figure skater
  • 1992 – Volha Khudzenka, Belarusian kayaker
  • 1995 – Luke Benward, American actor and singer
  • 1995 – Irina Khromacheva, Russian tennis player
  • 1997 – Morgan Lake, English athlete

Deaths on May 12

  • 805 – Æthelhard, archbishop of Canterbury
  • 940 – Eutychius, patriarch of Alexandria (b. 877)
  • 1003 – Sylvester II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 946)
  • 1012 – Sergius IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 970)
  • 1090 – Liutold of Eppenstein, duke of Carinthia
  • 1161 – Fergus of Galloway, Scottish nobleman
  • 1182 – Valdemar I, king of Denmark (b. 1131)
  • 1331 – Engelbert of Admont, Benedictine abbot and scholar
  • 1382 – Joanna I, queen of Naples (b. 1328)
  • 1465 – Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of Morea (b. 1409)
  • 1490 – Joanna, Portuguese princess and regent (b. 1452)
  • 1529 – Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington, English noblewoman (b. 1460)
  • 1599 – Murad Mirza, Mughal prince (b. 1570)
  • 1634 – George Chapman, English poet and playwright (b. 1559)
  • 1641 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1593)
  • 1684 – Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest (b. 1620)
  • 1699 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
  • 1700 – John Dryden, English poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1631)
  • 1708 – Adolphus Frederick II, duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
  • 1748 – Thomas Lowndes, English astronomer and academic (b. 1692)
  • 1759 – Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (b. 1700)
  • 1784 – Abraham Trembley, Swiss zoologist and academic (b. 1710)
  • 1792 – Charles Simon Favart, French playwright and composer (b. 1710)
  • 1796 – Johann Uz, German poet and author (b. 1720)
  • 1801 – Nicholas Repnin, Russian general and politician, Governor-General of Baltic provinces (b. 1734)
  • 1842 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Belarusian-Polish painter (b. 1799)
  • 1845 – János Batsányi, Hungarian poet and academic (b. 1763)
  • 1856 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1786)
  • 1859 – Sergey Aksakov, Russian author and academic (b. 1791)
  • 1860 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed Upper Brook Street Chapel and the Palace of Westminster (b. 1795)
  • 1864 – J. E. B. Stuart, American general (b. 1833)
  • 1867 – Friedrich Wilhelm Eduard Gerhard, German archaeologist and academic (b. 1795)
  • 1878 – Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic (b. 1795)
  • 1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian activist (b. 1843)
  • 1884 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer and educator (b. 1824)
  • 1907 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author and critic (b. 1848)
  • 1916 – James Connolly, Scottish-born Irish socialist and rebel leader (b. 1868)
  • 1925 – Amy Lowell, American poet and critic (b. 1874)
  • 1931 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1858)
  • 1935 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish field marshal and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1867)
  • 1944 – Max Brand, American journalist and author (b. 1892)
  • 1944 – Arthur Quiller-Couch, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1863)
  • 1956 – Louis Calhern, American actor and singer (b. 1895)
  • 1957 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish bobsledder and race car driver (b. 1928)
  • 1957 – Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1885)
  • 1963 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (b. 1878)
  • 1963 – Robert Kerr, Irish-Canadian sprinter and coach (b. 1882)
  • 1964 – Agnes Forbes Blackadder, Scottish medical doctor (b. 1875)
  • 1966 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (b. 1896)
  • 1967 – John Masefield, English poet and author (b. 1878)
  • 1970 – Nelly Sachs, German poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
  • 1971 – Heinie Manush, American baseball player and coach (b. 1901)
  • 1973 – Frances Marion, American screenwriter, novelist and journalist (b. 1888)
  • 1973 – Art Pollard, American race car driver (b. 1927)
  • 1974 – Wayne Maki, Canadian National Hockey League player (b. 1944)
  • 1980 – Lillian Roth, American actress 9b. 1910)
  • 1985 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (b. 1901)
  • 1986 – Elisabeth Bergner, German actress (b. 1897)
  • 1992 – Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and songwriter (b. 1911)
  • 1992 – Robert Reed, American actor (b. 1932)
  • 1993 – Zeno Colò, Italian Olympic alpine skier (b.1920)
  • 1994 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1902)
  • 1994 – John Smith, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1938)
  • 1995 – Ștefan Kovács, Romanian football player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 1999 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American illustrator (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (b. 1980)
  • 2001 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (b. 1912)
  • 2001 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-American diplomat (b. 1933)
  • 2005 – Ömer Kavur, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2005 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Hussein Maziq, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Robert Rauschenberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2008 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian (b. 1910)
  • 2009 – Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Jan Bens, Dutch footballer and coach (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist, author, and academic (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Marco Cé, Italian cardinal (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – H. R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Lorenzo Zambrano, Mexican businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – William Zinsser American journalist and critic (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (b. 1935)
  • 2017 – Mauno Koivisto, Finnish banker and politician, 9th President of Finland (b. 1923)
  • 2018 – Dennis Nilsen, Scottish serial killer (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances on May 12

  • 2nd Amendment Day (Pennsylvania, United States)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Blessed Imelda
    • Blessed Joan of Portugal
    • Crispoldus
    • Dominic de la Calzada
    • Epiphanius of Salamis
    • Gregory Dix (Church of England)
    • Modoald
    • Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla, and Pancras
    • Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople (Eastern Church)
    • Philip of Agira
    • May 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Finnish Identity (Finland)
  • International Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day
  • International Nurses Day
  • Saint Andrea the First Day (Georgia)

May 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
  • 413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
  • 589 – Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.
  • 1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
  • 1450 – Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
  • 1516 – A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murdered Emperor Lê Tương Dực and fled, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended.
  • 1541 – Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River(then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519).
  • 1788 – King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements.
  • 1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris.
  • 1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.
  • 1842 – A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.
  • 1846 – Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
  • 1877 – At Gilmore’s Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
  • 1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named “Coca-Cola” as a patent medicine.
  • 1898 – The first games of the Italian football league system are played.
  • 1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play.
  • 1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
  • 1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded.
  • 1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I.
  • 1921 – The creation of the Communist Party of Romania.
  • 1924 – The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania.
  • 1927 – Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.
  • 1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.
  • 1941 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
  • 1942 – World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington.
  • 1942 – World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
  • 1945 – World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Reims comes into effect.
  • 1945 – End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.
  • 1945 – Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.
  • 1945 – The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia.
  • 1946 – Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.
  • 1963 – South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
  • 1967 – The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
  • 1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
  • 1976 – The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
  • 1978 – The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
  • 1980 – The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.
  • 1984 – Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
  • 1984 – The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.
  • 1987 – The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.
  • 1988 – A fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the “worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history”.
  • 1997 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao’an International Airport, killing 35 people.
  • 2019 – British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.

Births on May 8

  • 1326 – Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (d. 1360)
  • 1427 – John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1470)
  • 1460 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1536)
  • 1492 – Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist and writer (d. 1550)
  • 1508 – Charles Wriothesley, English Officer of Arms (d. 1562)
  • 1521 – Peter Canisius, Dutch-Swiss priest and saint (d. 1597)
  • 1551 – Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (d. 1603)
  • 1587 – Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
  • 1622 – Claes Rålamb, Swedish politician (d. 1698)
  • 1628 – Angelo Italia, Sicilian Jesuit and architect (d. 1700)
  • 1629 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (d. 1697)
  • 1632 – Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and politician (d. 1706)
  • 1639 – Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian artist (d. 1709)
  • 1641 – Nicolaes Witsen, Mayor of Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1717)
  • 1653 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1734)
  • 1670 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (d. 1726)
  • 1698 – Henry Baker, English naturalist (d. 1774)
  • 1720 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
  • 1735 – Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter and politician (d. 1811)
  • 1737 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1745 – Carl Stamitz, German violinist and composer (d. 1801)
  • 1753 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and rebel leader (d. 1811)
  • 1786 – John Vianney, French priest and saint (d. 1859)
  • 1815 – Edward Tompkins, American lawyer and politician (d. 1872)
  • 1818 – Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian pharmacist and politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1896)
  • 1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1885)
  • 1824 – William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (d. 1860)
  • 1825 – George Bruce Malleson, English-Indian colonel and author (d. 1898)
  • 1828 – Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman and activist, co-founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
  • 1828 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (d. 1898)
  • 1829 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (d. 1869)
  • 1835 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (d. 1910)
  • 1839 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian judge, author, and songwriter (d. 1920)
  • 1842 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (d. 1909)
  • 1846 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American businessman and composer (d. 1919)
  • 1850 – Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1915)
  • 1853 – Dan Brouthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1932)
  • 1856 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (d. 1952)
  • 1858 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (d. 1924)
  • 1858 – J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (d. 1932)
  • 1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (d. 1925)
  • 1867 – Margarete Böhme, German novelist (d. 1939)
  • 1879 – Wesley Coe, American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
  • 1884 – Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)
  • 1885 – Thomas B. Costain, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1965)
  • 1892 – Adriaan Pelt, Dutch journalist and diplomat (d. 1981)
  • 1893 – Francis Ouimet, American golfer (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – Edd Roush, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
  • 1893 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – James H. Kindelberger, American businessman (d. 1962)
  • 1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American archbishop (d. 1979)
  • 1895 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (d. 1972)
  • 1898 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (d. 1960)
  • 1899 – Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (d. 1959)
  • 1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (d. 1967)
  • 1901 – Turkey Stearnes, American baseball player (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1903 – Fernandel, French actor and singer (d. 1971)
  • 1903 – Mary Stewart, Baroness Stewart of Alvechurch, British politician and educator (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – John Snagge, English journalist (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1965)
  • 1906 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – George Male, English footballer (d. 1998)
  • 1910 – Andrew E. Svenson, American author and publisher (d. 1975)
  • 1910 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
  • 1911 – Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of The Interior (d. 1997)
  • 1911 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1938)
  • 1912 – George Woodcock, Canadian author and poet (d. 1995)
  • 1913 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1984)
  • 1913 – Sid James, South African-English actor and singer (d. 1976)
  • 1915 – Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (d. 2016)
  • 1916 – Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader and educator (d. 1993)
  • 1916 – Ramananda Sengupta, Indian cinematographer (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – John Anderson, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Kansas (d. 2014)
  • 1919 – Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
  • 1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish illustrator (d. 1991)
  • 1920 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (d. 2003)
  • 1920 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1922 – Mary Q. Steele, American naturalist and author (d. 1992)
  • 1924 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1989)
  • 1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician, 2nd President of Tanzania
  • 1926 – David Attenborough, English environmentalist and television host
  • 1926 – David Hurst, German actor (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Don Rickles, American comedian and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1927 – Chumy Chúmez, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – László Paskai, Hungarian cardinal (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Robert Conley, American journalist (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (d. 2010)
  • 1929 – Ethel D. Allen, American physician and politician (d. 1981)
  • 1929 – Girija Devi, Indian classical singer (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Claude Castonguay, Canadian banker and politician
  • 1929 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Doug Atkins, American football player (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – René Maltête, French photographer and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1930 – Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, and translator
  • 1932 – Julieta Campos, Cuban-Mexican author and translator (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
  • 1932 – Harry Wells, Australian rugby league player
  • 1934 – Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, South African-English lawyer and judge
  • 1934 – Maurice Norman, English footballer
  • 1934 – David Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton, English soldier and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland, Scottish politician
  • 1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager
  • 1936 – Kazuo Koike, Japanese author
  • 1936 – Haljand Udam, Estonian orientalist and academic (d. 2005)
  • 1937 – Bernard Cleary, Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
  • 1937 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 2010)
  • 1937 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
  • 1938 – Javed Burki, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
  • 1938 – Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1939 – Paul Drayton, American sprinter (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – James Blyth, Baron Blyth of Rowington, English businessman and academic
  • 1940 – Irwin Cotler, Canadian lawyer and politician, 47th Canadian Minister of Justice
  • 1940 – Emilio Delgado, Mexican-American actor, “Sesame Street”
  • 1940 – Ricky Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1985)
  • 1940 – Toni Tennille, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1941 – John Fred, American singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1941 – Bill Lockyer, American academic and politician, 30th Attorney General of California
  • 1941 – James Traficant, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Martin Dobkin, Canadian doctor and politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga
  • 1942 – Robin Hobbs, English cricketer
  • 1942 – Norman Lamont, Scottish banker and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • 1942 – Pierre Morency, Canadian poet and playwright
  • 1942 – Terry Neill, Irish footballer and manager
  • 1943 – Pat Barker, English author
  • 1943 – Johnny Greaves, Australian rugby league player
  • 1943 – Jon Mark, English-New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Paul Samwell-Smith, English bass player and producer
  • 1943 – Danny Whitten, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
  • 1944 – Gary Glitter, English singer-songwriter
  • 1944 – Bill Legend, English drummer
  • 1945 – Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, Dutch jurist and politician
  • 1945 – Mike German, Baron German, Welsh educator and politician, Deputy First Minister for Wales
  • 1945 – Janine Haines, Australian politician (d. 2004)
  • 1945 – Keith Jarrett, American pianist and composer
  • 1946 – André Boulerice, Canadian politician
  • 1946 – Jonathan Dancy, English philosopher, author, and academic
  • 1947 – H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1947 – Felicity Lott, English soprano
  • 1947 – John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, Scottish historian and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
  • 1948 – Steve Braun, American baseball player and coach
  • 1948 – Stephen Stohn, American-Canadian lawyer and producer
  • 1949 – David Vines, Australian economist and academic
  • 1950 – Robert Mugge, American director and producer
  • 1950 – Lepo Sumera, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2000)
  • 1951 – Philip Bailey, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
  • 1951 – Mike D’Antoni, American basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Chris Frantz, American drummer and producer
  • 1952 – Peter McNab, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Billy Burnette, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1953 – Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American drummer
  • 1954 – Pam Arciero, American puppeteer and voice actress
  • 1954 – David Keith, American actor and director
  • 1954 – John Michael Talbot, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Stephen Furst, American actor and director (d. 2017)
  • 1955 – Mladen Markač, Croatian general
  • 1955 – Keith Osgood, English footballer
  • 1956 – Jeff Wincott, Canadian actor and martial artist
  • 1957 – Bill Cowher, American football player and coach
  • 1957 – Rino Katase, Japanese actress
  • 1957 – Gary Lunn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 6th Canadian Minister of Natural Resources
  • 1958 – Roddy Doyle, Irish novelist, playwright, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Simone Kleinsma, Dutch actress and singer
  • 1958 – Brooks Newmark, American-English businessman and politician, Lord of the Treasury
  • 1958 – Lovie Smith, American football player and coach
  • 1959 – Ronnie Lott, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, English politician
  • 1959 – Ikue Sakakibara, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1960 – Franco Baresi, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1960 – Eric Brittingham, American bass player
  • 1961 – Bill de Blasio, American politician, 109th Mayor of New York City
  • 1961 – Gert Kruys, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Vallo Reimaa, Estonian academic and politician
  • 1961 – David Winning, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Natalia Molchanova, Russian diver (d. 2015)
  • 1962 – David Sole, Scottish rugby player
  • 1963 – Sylvain Cossette, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Anthony Field, Australian guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1963 – Michel Gondry, French director and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Izabela Kloc, Polish politician
  • 1963 – Aleksandr Kovalenko, Belarusian triple jumper
  • 1963 – Rick Zombo, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1964 – Päivi Alafrantti, Finnish javelin thrower
  • 1964 – Melissa Gilbert, American actress and director
  • 1964 – Bobby Labonte, American race car driver
  • 1964 – Nathalie Roy, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Dave Rowntree, English drummer and animator
  • 1964 – Metin Tekin, Turkish footballer, manager, and journalist
  • 1966 – Cláudio Taffarel, Brazilian footballer and coach
  • 1967 – Viviana Durante, Italian ballerina and actress
  • 1967 – Angus Scott, British sports television presenter
  • 1968 – Teet Kask, Estonian ballet dancer and choreographer
  • 1968 – Nathalie Normandeau, Canadian politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
  • 1968 – Johan Pehrson, Swedish lawyer and politician
  • 1969 – Jonny Searle, English rower
  • 1969 – Akebono Tarō, American-Japanese sumo wrestler, the 64th Yokozuna
  • 1969 – John Timu, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1970 – Michael Bevan, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1970 – Naomi Klein, Canadian author and activist
  • 1970 – Luis Enrique, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Chuck Huber, American voice actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Candice Night, American singer-songwriter
  • 1972 – Darren Hayes, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1972 – Ray Whitney, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese author and illustrator
  • 1973 – Jesús Arellano, Mexican footballer
  • 1973 – Marcus Brigstocke, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Marge Kõrkjas, Estonian swimmer
  • 1974 – Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
  • 1974 – Christian XXX, American pornographic star
  • 1975 – Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1975 – Jussi Markkanen, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Gastón Mazzacane, Argentinian race car driver
  • 1975 – Dmitri Ustritski, Estonian footballer
  • 1976 – Gonçalo Abecasis, Portuguese-American biochemist and academic
  • 1976 – Martha Wainwright, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Joe Bonamassa, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Bad News Brown, Canadian rapper, harmonica player, and actor (d. 2011)
  • 1977 – Theodoros Papaloukas, Greek basketball player
  • 1977 – Kathrin Bringmann, German mathematician and academic
  • 1978 – Lúcio, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – Jang Woo-hyuk, South Korean rapper and dancer
  • 1979 – Ole Morten Vågan, Norwegian bassist
  • 1980 – Keyon Dooling, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Panagiotis Kafkis, Greek basketball player
  • 1980 – Evgeny Lebedev, Russian-English publisher and philanthropist
  • 1980 – Michelle McManus, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1980 – Benny Yau, Hong Kong-Canadian actor and singer
  • 1981 – Stephen Amell, Canadian actor
  • 1981 – Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Tatyana Dektyareva, Russian hurdler
  • 1981 – Björn Dixgård, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Manny Gamburyan, Armenian-American mixed martial artist
  • 1981 – John Maine, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Buakaw Banchamek, Thai kick-boxer
  • 1982 – Christina Cole, English actress
  • 1982 – Adrián González, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Uğur Yıldırım, Turkish-Dutch footballer
  • 1983 – Juan Martin Goity, Argentinian-German rugby player
  • 1983 – Bershawn Jackson, American hurdler
  • 1983 – Lawrence Vickers, American football player
  • 1983 – Vicky McClure, English actress
  • 1984 – David King, English figure skater
  • 1985 – Tommaso Ciampa, American wrestler
  • 1985 – Silvia Stroescu, Romanian gymnast
  • 1985 – Sarah Vaillancourt, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Usama Young, American football player
  • 1986 – Pemra Özgen, Turkish tennis player
  • 1986 – Galen Rupp, American runner
  • 1986 – Marvell Wynne, American soccer player
  • 1987 – Felix Jones, American football player
  • 1987 – Aarne Nirk, Estonian hurdler
  • 1987 – Mark Noble, English footballer
  • 1987 – Kurt Tippett, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Tanel Kurbas, Estonian basketball player
  • 1988 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014)
  • 1989 – Liam Bridcutt, English footballer
  • 1989 – Lars Eller, Danish ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Dinesh Patel, Indian baseball player
  • 1990 – Kemba Walker, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Ethan Gage, Canadian soccer player
  • 1991 – Valentijn Lietmeijer, Dutch basketball player
  • 1991 – Anamaria Tămârjan, Romanian gymnast
  • 1992 – Kevin Hayes, American ice hockey player
  • 1993 – Pat Cummins, Australian cricketer
  • 1996 – 6ix9ine, American rapper
  • 2001 – Jordyn Huitema, Canadian soccer player
  • 2003 – Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco

Deaths on May 8

  • 535 – Pope John II
  • 615 – Pope Boniface IV (b. 550)
  • 685 – Pope Benedict II
  • 997 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 939)
  • 1157 – Ahmed Sanjar, Seljuk sultan (b. 1086)
  • 1192 – Ottokar IV, duke of Styria (b. 1163)
  • 1220 – Richeza of Denmark, queen of Sweden
  • 1278 – Duan Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1269)
  • 1319 – Haakon V, king of Norway (b. 1270)
  • 1473 – John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (b. 1420)
  • 1538 – Edward Foxe, English bishop and academic (b. 1496)
  • 1551 – Barbara Radziwiłł, queen of Poland (b. 1520)
  • 1668 – Catherine of St. Augustine, French-Canadian nun and saint (b. 1632)
  • 1766 – Samuel Chandler, English minister and author (b. 1693)
  • 1773 – Ali Bey al-Kabir, Egyptian sultan (b. 1728)
  • 1781 – Richard Jago, English priest and poet (b. 1715)
  • 1782 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1699)
  • 1785 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1719)
  • 1785 – Pietro Longhi, Italian painter (b. 1701)
  • 1788 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1723)
  • 1794 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (b. 1743)
  • 1819 – Kamehameha I, king of the Hawaiian Islands
  • 1822 – John Stark, American general (b. 1728)
  • 1828 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian guitarist, cellist, and composer (b. 1781)
  • 1837 – Alexander Balashov, Russian general and politician, Russian Minister of Police (b. 1770)
  • 1842 – Jules Dumont d’Urville, French admiral and explorer (b. 1790)
  • 1853 – Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest, 21st Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1785)
  • 1880 – Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
  • 1891 – Helena Blavatsky, Russian-English mystic and author (b. 1831)
  • 1891 – John Robertson, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1816)
  • 1893 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and president, 1880–1884 (b. 1833)
  • 1903 – Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (b. 1848)
  • 1907 – Edmund G. Ross, American soldier and politician, 13th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1826)
  • 1925 – John Beresford, Irish polo player (b. 1847)
  • 1936 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (b. 1880)
  • 1941 – Natalie, queen consort of Serbia (b. 1859)
  • 1941 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (b. 1858)
  • 1942 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1890)
  • 1943 – Mordechai Anielewicz, Polish commander (b. 1919)
  • 1944 – Themistoklis Diakidis, Greek high jumper (b. 1882)
  • 1945 – Frank Bourne, British soldier, last survivor of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift (b. 1854)
  • 1945 – Wilhelm Rediess, German SS officer (b. 1900)
  • 1945 – Bernhard Rust, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1883)
  • 1945 – Josef Terboven, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1947 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (b. 1858)
  • 1948 – U Saw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1900)
  • 1950 – Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician and immunologist (b. 1865)
  • 1952 – William Fox, Austrian businessman, founded Fox Theatres (b. 1879)
  • 1959 – John Fraser, Canadian soccer player (b. 1881)
  • 1960 – J. H. C. Whitehead, Indian-English mathematician and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1965 – Wally Hardinge, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
  • 1969 – Remington Kellogg, American zoologist and paleontologist (b. 1892)
  • 1972 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (b. 1880)
  • 1972 – Beatrice Helen Worsley, Mexican-Canadian computer scientist (b. 1921)
  • 1975 – Avery Brundage, American businessman and art collector (b. 1887)
  • 1980 – Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (b. 1920)
  • 1981 – Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist (b. 1896)
  • 1982 – Neil Bogart, American record producer, co-founded Casablanca Records (b. 1943)
  • 1982 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
  • 1983 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (b. 1909)
  • 1984 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader’s Digest (b. 1890)
  • 1984 – Gino Bianco, Italian-Brazilian race car driver (b. 1916)
  • 1985 – Karl Marx, German conductor and composer (b. 1897)
  • 1985 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (b. 1918)
  • 1985 – Dolph Sweet, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 1986 – Ernle Bradford, English historian and author (b. 1922)
  • 1987 – Doris Stokes, English psychic and author (b. 1920)
  • 1988 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer and educator (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Jean Langlais, French pianist and composer (b. 1907)
  • 1991 – Rudolf Serkin, Czech-Austrian pianist and educator (b. 1903)
  • 1992 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (b. 1933)
  • 1993 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
  • 1994 – George Peppard, American actor and producer (b. 1928)
  • 1995 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (b. 1953)
  • 1996 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (b. 1937)
  • 1996 – Luis Miguel Dominguín, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1926)
  • 1996 – Larry Levis, American poet, author, and critic (b. 1946)
  • 1996 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler (b. 1915)
  • 1998 – Charles Rebozo, American banker and businessman (b. 1912)
  • 1999 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1999 – Ed Gilbert, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 1999 – Dana Plato, American actress (b. 1964)
  • 1999 – Soeman Hs, Indonesian author and educator (b. 1904)
  • 2000 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (b. 1918)
  • 2000 – Dédé Fortin, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
  • 2000 – Henry Nicols, American activist (b. 1973)
  • 2003 – Elvira Pagã, Brazilian vedette, singer, and artist (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Jean Carrière, French author (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1981)
  • 2006 – Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer and author (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Philip R. Craig, American author and poet (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1945)
  • 2008 – Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (b. 1982)
  • 2009 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Bud Shrake, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Everett Lilly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Jerry McMorris, American businessman (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Stacy Robinson, American football player (b. 1962)
  • 2012 – Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Ampon Tangnoppakul, Thai criminal (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (b. 1911)
  • 2013 – Jeanne Cooper, American actress (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Bryan Forbes, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Hugh J. Silverman, American philosopher and theorist (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Ken Whaley, Austrian-English bass player (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Nancy Malone, American actress, director, and producer (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Yago Lamela, Spanish long jumper (b. 1977)
  • 2014 – Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian singer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – R. Douglas Stuart Jr., American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Norway (b. 1916)
  • 2014 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (b. 1936)
  • 2015 – Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Mwepu Ilunga, Congolese footballer (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Menashe Kadishman, Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Juan Schwanner, Hungarian-Chilean footballer and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Atanas Semerdzhiev, Bulgarian soldier and politician, 1st Vice President of Bulgaria (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Tom M. Apostol, American analytic number theorist (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (b. 1922)
  • 2018 – Big Bully Busick, American professional wrestler (b. 1954)
  • 2018 – Anne V. Coates, British film editor (Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, Erin Brockovich), Oscar winner (1963) (b. 1925)
  • 2019 – Sprent Dabwido, President of Nauru from 2011 to 2013 (b. 1972)

Holidays and observances on May 8

  • Christian feast day:
    • Amato Ronconi
    • Apparition of Saint Michael
    • Arsenius the Great
    • Desideratus
    • Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine
    • Julian of Norwich (Anglican, Lutheran)
    • Magdalene of Canossa
    • Our Lady of Luján
    • Peter of Tarentaise
    • Blessed Teresa Demjanovich (Ruthenian Catholic Church)
    • May 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Romania)
  • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (United States and others)
  • Earliest day on which State Flag and State Emblem Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Belarus)
  • Earliest day on which World Fair Trade Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday of May (site of the WFTO) (International)
  • Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)
  • Furry Dance (Helston, UK)
  • Liberation Day (Czech Republic)
  • Miguel Hidalgo’s birthday (Mexico)
  • Parents’ Day (South Korea)
  • Truman Day (Missouri)
  • Veterans Day (Norway)
  • Victory in Europe Day, and its related observances (Europe):
    • Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, continues to May 9
  • White Lotus Day (Theosophy)
  • World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day (International)

May 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
  • 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
  • 1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
  • 1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
  • 1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
  • 1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
  • 1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
  • 1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
  • 1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
  • 1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
  • 1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
  • 1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
  • 1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
  • 1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
  • 1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
  • 1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
  • 1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
  • 1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
  • 1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
  • 1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
  • 1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
  • 1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
  • 1930 – The 7.1 Mw  Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
  • 1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
  • 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
  • 1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
  • 1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
  • 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
  • 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
  • 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
  • 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
  • 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
  • 1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
  • 1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
  • 1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
  • 1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
  • 1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
  • 1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
  • 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
  • 1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
  • 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
  • 2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
  • 2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
  • 2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
  • 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.

Births on May 7

  • Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
  • 1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
  • 1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
  • 1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
  • 1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
  • 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
  • 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
  • 1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
  • 1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
  • 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
  • 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
  • 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
  • 1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
  • 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
  • 1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
  • 1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
  • 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
  • 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
  • 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
  • 1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
  • 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
  • 1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
  • 1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
  • 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
  • 1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
  • 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
  • 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
  • 1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
  • 1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
  • 1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
  • 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
  • 1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
  • 1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
  • 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
  • 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
  • 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
  • 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
  • 1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
  • 1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
  • 1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
  • 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
  • 1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
  • 1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
  • 1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
  • 1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
  • 1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
  • 1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
  • 1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
  • 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
  • 1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
  • 1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
  • 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
  • 1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
  • 1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
  • 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
  • 1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
  • 1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
  • 1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
  • 1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
  • 1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
  • 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
  • 1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
  • 1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
  • 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
  • 1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
  • 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
  • 1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
  • 1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
  • 1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
  • 1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
  • 1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
  • 1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
  • 1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
  • 1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
  • 1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
  • 1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
  • 1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
  • 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
  • 1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
  • 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
  • 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
  • 1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
  • 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
  • 1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
  • 1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
  • 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
  • 1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
  • 1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
  • 1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
  • 1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
  • 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
  • 1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
  • 1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
  • 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
  • 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
  • 1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
  • 1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
  • 1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
  • 1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
  • 1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
  • 1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
  • 1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
  • 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
  • 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
  • 1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
  • 1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
  • 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
  • 1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
  • 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
  • 1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
  • 1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
  • 1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
  • 1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
  • 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
  • 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
  • 1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
  • 1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
  • 1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
  • 1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
  • 1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
  • 1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
  • 1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
  • 1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
  • 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
  • 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
  • 1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
  • 1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
  • 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
  • 1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
  • 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
  • 1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
  • 1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
  • 1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
  • 1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
  • 1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
  • 1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
  • 1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player

Deaths on May 7

  • 721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
  • 833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
  • 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
  • 1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
  • 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
  • 1166 – William I of Sicily
  • 1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
  • 1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
  • 1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
  • 1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
  • 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
  • 1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
  • 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
  • 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
  • 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
  • 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
  • 1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
  • 1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
  • 1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
  • 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
  • 1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
  • 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
  • 1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
  • 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
  • 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
  • 1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
  • 1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
  • 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
  • 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
  • 1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
  • 1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
  • 1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
  • 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
  • 1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
  • 1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
  • 1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
  • 1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
  • 1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
  • 1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
  • 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
  • 1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
  • 1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
  • 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
  • 1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
  • 1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
  • 1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
  • 1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
  • 1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
  • 1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
  • 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
  • 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
  • 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish journalist (b. 1956)
  • 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American author and activist (b. 1971)
  • 2005 – Peter Rodino, American captain and politician (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
  • 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American singer and philanthropist (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Isabella Blow, English magazine editor (b. 1958)
  • 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
  • 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader, founded the Nation of Yahweh (b. 1935)
  • 2009 – David Mellor, English designer (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Danny Ozark, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
  • 2011 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – Big George, English songwriter, producer, and radio host (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Sammy Barr, Scottish trade union leader (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Ferenc Bartha, Hungarian economist and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Dennis E. Fitch, American captain and pilot (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1948)
  • 2013 – George Sauer, Jr., American football player (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Dick Welteroth, American baseball player (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Frank DiPascali, American businessman (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – John Dixon, Australian-American author, and illustrator (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on May 7

  • Christian feast day:
    • Agathius of Byzantium
    • Agostino Roscelli
    • Pope Benedict II
    • Flavia Domitilla
    • Gisela of Hungary
    • Harriet Starr Cannon (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • John of Beverley
    • Rose Venerini
    • Stanislaus (Roman Martyrology)
    • May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan)
  • Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam)
  • Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov (Russia, Bulgaria)

May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

May 2 in History

  • 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter
  • 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
  • 1335 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
  • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
  • 1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
  • 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
  • 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
  • 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
  • 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
  • 1672 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
  • 1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
  • 1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory after Mexican rebels under José María Morelos y Pavón abandon the city after 72 days under siege by royalist Spanish troops under Félix María Calleja.
  • 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
  • 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
  • 1866 – Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
  • 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
  • 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
  • 1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
  • 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
  • 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
  • 1918 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
  • 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
  • 1933 – Germany’s independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
  • 1941 – Following the coup d’état against Iraq Crown Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
  • 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
  • 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
  • 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
  • 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
  • 1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
  • 1963 – Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship’s hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
  • 1964 – First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
  • 1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
  • 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
  • 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
  • 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
  • 1989 – Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
  • 1994 – A bus crashes in Gdańsk, Poland killing 32 people.
  • 1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven and wounding over 175 civilians.
  • 1998 – The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
  • 1999 – Panamanian general election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
  • 2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
  • 2004 – The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2nd.
  • 2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
  • 2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
  • 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man, is killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
  • 2011 – An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others sick from the bacteria outbreak.
  • 2012 – A pastel version of The Scream, by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
  • 2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

Births on May 2

  • 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
  • 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
  • 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
  • 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
  • 1476 – Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
  • 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
  • 1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
  • 1567 – Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
  • 1579 – Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)
  • 1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
  • 1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
  • 1695 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
  • 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
  • 1707 – Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
  • 1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
  • 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
  • 1740 – Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
  • 1750 – John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
  • 1752 – Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
  • 1754 – Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
  • 1772 – Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
  • 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
  • 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
  • 1806 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
  • 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
  • 1813 – Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
  • 1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
  • 1822 – Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
  • 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
  • 1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
  • 1843 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
  • 1859 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
  • 1860 – John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
  • 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
  • 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
  • 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
  • 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
  • 1879 – James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
  • 1880 – Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
  • 1882 – Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans’ American citizenship (d. 1971)
  • 1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
  • 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
  • 1887 – Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
  • 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
  • 1889 – Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
  • 1890 – E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
  • 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
  • 1894 – Norma Talmadge, leading US actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
  • 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
  • 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
  • 1897 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
  • 1898 – Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)
  • 1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
  • 1901 – Edouard Zeckendorf, Belgian doctor, army officer and mathematician (d. 1983)
  • 1901 – Willi Bredel, German writer (d. 1964)
  • 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
  • 1902 – Werner Finck, German Kabarett comedian, actor and author (d. 1978)
  • 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
  • 1904 – Bill Brandt, German-English photographer and journalist (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – Alan Rawsthorne, British composer (d. 1971)
  • 1905 – Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
  • 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
  • 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
  • 1908 – Frank Rowlett, American cryptologist (d. 1998)
  • 1909 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader, musician, and actor (d. 1991)
  • 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
  • 1910 – Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
  • 1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
  • 1912 – Karl Adam, German rowing coaches (d. 1976)
  • 1912 – Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
  • 1912 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
  • 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilder and car designer (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Aydın Sayılı, Turkish historian and academic (d. 1993)
  • 1915 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
  • 1917 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (d. 2000)
  • 1920 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian singer and sitar player (d. 1983)
  • 1920 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter, soldier, and pilot (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist
  • 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Albert Nordengen, Norwegian banker and politician (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Arthur Clues, Australian rugby league player (d. 1998)
  • 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – John Neville, English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1993)
  • 1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
  • 1927 – Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright and novelist (d. 2009)
  • 1927 – Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
  • 1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, French writer and translator of German origin
  • 1928 – Horst Stein, German conductor (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
  • 1929 – James Dillion, American discus thrower (d. 2010)
  • 1929 – Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Martha Grimes, American author and poet
  • 1932 – Maury Allen, American journalist, actor, and author (d. 2010)
  • 1933 – Bunk Gardner, American musician
  • 1933 – Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
  • 1934 – Manfred Durniok, German film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1935 – Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (d.1958)
  • 1936 – Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
  • 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
  • 1937 – Klaus Enders, German motorcycle sidecar racer (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1937 – Gisela Elsner, German writer (d. 1992)
  • 1938 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
  • 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist and engineer
  • 1939 – Ernesto Castano, Italian football player
  • 1940 – Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, Surinamese politician
  • 1941 – Tony Adamowicz, American race car driver (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Bruce Cameron, Scottish bishop
  • 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
  • 1941 – Eddy Louiss, French jazz musician (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman
  • 1942 – Wojciech Pszoniak, Polish film and theater actor
  • 1944 – Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
  • 1945 – Randy Cain, American soul singer (d. 2009)
  • 1945 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
  • 1945 – Goldy McJohn, Canadian keyboard player (d. 2017)
  • 1946 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
  • 1947 – James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company
  • 1947 – Lynda Myles, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Philippe Herreweghe, Belgian conductor
  • 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
  • 1949 – Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman
  • 1950 – Simon Gaskell, English chemist and academic
  • 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
  • 1950 – Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Richard Ground, English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
  • 1950 – Fausto Silva, Brazilian television presenter
  • 1951 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
  • 1952 – Chris Anderson, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
  • 1952 – Isla St Clair, Scottish singer and actress
  • 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
  • 1953 – Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player
  • 1954 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
  • 1954 – Dawn Primarolo, English politician
  • 1954 – Stephen Venables, English mountaineer and author
  • 1955 – Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
  • 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
  • 1956 – Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City
  • 1958 – Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Stanislav Levý, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1958 – David O’Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animator, director, and producer
  • 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
  • 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
  • 1961 – Sophie Thibault, Canadian journalist
  • 1961 – Phil Vickery, English chef and author
  • 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
  • 1962 – Michael Grandage, English director and producer
  • 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
  • 1965 – Félix José, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1966 – Uwe Freiler, German footballer
  • 1966 – Margus Kolga, Estonian diplomat
  • 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
  • 1967 – Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
  • 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
  • 1967 – David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
  • 1968 – Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Julia Hartley-Brewer, English broadcaster and columnist
  • 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1970 – Marco Walker, Swiss footballer and coach
  • 1971 – Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
  • 1971 – Fatima Yusuf, Nigerian sprinter
  • 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
  • 1972 – Ahti Heinla, Estonian programmer and businessman, co-developed Skype
  • 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, American-Canadian wrestler, actor, and producer
  • 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Andy Johnson, English-Welsh footballer
  • 1974 – Janek Meet, Estonian footballer
  • 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
  • 1975 – Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer
  • 1976 – Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
  • 1977 – Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
  • 1977 – Jan Fitschen, German runner
  • 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
  • 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish journalist and politician
  • 1977 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress and singer
  • 1977 – Kalle Palander, Finnish skier
  • 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
  • 1979 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish-American actress, presenter and VJ (d. 2011)
  • 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
  • 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
  • 1980 – Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
  • 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
  • 1980 – Artūras Masiulis, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Lassaâd Ouertani, Tunisian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Vincent Tong, Canadian actor, singer, voice actor and director
  • 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
  • 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
  • 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
  • 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
  • 1981 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1982 – Timothy Benjamin, Welsh sprinter
  • 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
  • 1983 – Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
  • 1983 – Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
  • 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
  • 1983 – Ove Vanebo, Norwegian politician
  • 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
  • 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1985 – Kyle Busch, American race car driver
  • 1985 – Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
  • 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
  • 1987 – Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress
  • 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Pat McAfee, American football player
  • 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Justin Young, English singer and songwriter
  • 1988 – Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
  • 1988 – Stephen Henderson, Irish footballer
  • 1989 – Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actress
  • 1990 – Paul George, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
  • 1992 – Sunmi, South Korean singer
  • 1992 – María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
  • 1993 – Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
  • 1993 – Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer
  • 1993 – Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper
  • 1996 – Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer
  • 1996 – Julian Brandt, German footballer
  • 1996 – Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer
  • 2015 – Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, British royal, and fourth in line to the British throne

Deaths on May 2

  • 373 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
  • 649 – Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian of the Syriac Orthodox Church (b. 565)
  • 821 – Liu Zong, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
  • 1219 – Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
  • 1230 – William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
  • 1293 – Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (b. c.1215)
  • 1300 – Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
  • 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
  • 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
  • 1564 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
  • 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
  • 1667 – George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
  • 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
  • 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
  • 1799 – Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
  • 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
  • 1810 – Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
  • 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
  • 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
  • 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
  • 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
  • 1880 – Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
  • 1885 – Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
  • 1915 – Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
  • 1918 – Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
  • 1925 – Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
  • 1927 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
  • 1929 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (b. 1879)
  • 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
  • 1945 – Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
  • 1945 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
  • 1947 – Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
  • 1953 – Wallace Bryant, American archer (b. 1863)
  • 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
  • 1963 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
  • 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
  • 1969 – Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
  • 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
  • 1974 – James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
  • 1977 – Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1922)
  • 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
  • 1980 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
  • 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 1984 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
  • 1984 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
  • 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
  • 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
  • 1986 – Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
  • 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
  • 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
  • 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
  • 1990 – David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
  • 1991 – Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician(b.1924)
  • 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
  • 1994 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
  • 1995 – John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
  • 1998 – hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
  • 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
  • 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – Lord Voldemort, English wizard and terrorist (b. 1926)
  • 1999 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
  • 2000 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
  • 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
  • 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
  • 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
  • 2008 – Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2009 – Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2009 – Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
  • 2009 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
  • 2010 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (b. 1955)
  • 2012 – Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
  • 2013 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2013 – Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2015 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (b. 1947)
  • 2020 – Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (b. 1982)

Holidays and observances on May 2

  • Christian feast day:
    • Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
    • Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
    • Germanus of Normandy
    • May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • International Harry Potter Day
  • The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá’í Faith) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
  • Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
  • Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
  • Flag Day (Poland)
  • Indonesia National Education Day
  • Teachers’ Day (Iran) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar)

May 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 475 BC – Roman consul Publius Valerius Poplicola celebrates a Roman triumph for his victory over Veii and the Sabines.
  • 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
  • 524 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an eight-year reign and is succeeded by his brother Godomar.
  • 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
  • 1169 – Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.
  • 1328 – Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state.
  • 1455 – Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces end the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland.
  • 1576 – Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
  • 1707 – The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.
  • 1753 – Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
  • 1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain
  • 1776 – Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Upper Bavaria, by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.
  • 1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
  • 1786 – In Vienna, Austria, Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro is performed for the first time.
  • 1794 – War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ends, in which French forces defeat the Spanish and regain nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
  • 1820 – Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
  • 1840 – The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
  • 1844 – Hong Kong Police Force, the world’s second modern police force and Asia’s first, is established.
  • 1846 – The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
  • 1851 – Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London.
  • 1856 – The Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honor of Queen Isabela II.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Union Army completes its capture of New Orleans.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
  • 1865 – The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
  • 1866 – The Memphis Race Riots begin. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • 1875 – Alexandra Palace reopens after being burned down in a fire in 1873.
  • 1884 – The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demands the eight-hour work day in the United States.
  • 1884 – Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States.
  • 1885 – The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
  • 1886 – Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day in many countries.
  • 1893 – The World’s Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
  • 1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
  • 1898 – Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy destroys the Pacific Squadron of the Spanish Navy after a seven-hour battle. Spain loses all seven of its ships, and 381 Spanish sailors die. There are no American vessel losses or combat deaths.
  • 1900 – The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.
  • 1915 – The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her 202nd, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives.
  • 1919 – German troops enter Munich to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
  • 1925 – The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members.
  • 1927 – The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.
  • 1929 – The 7.2 Mw  Kopet Dag earthquake shakes the Iran–Turkmenistan border region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing up to 3,800 and injuring 1,121.
  • 1930 – “Pluto” is officially proposed for the name of the newly-discovered dwarf planet Pluto by Vesto Slipher in the Lowell Observatory Observation Circular. The name quickly catches on.
  • 1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
  • 1941 – World War II: German forces launch a major attack during the siege of Tobruk.
  • 1944 – World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners are shot by the Germans at Kaisariani, Athens in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi.
  • 1945 – World War II: A German newsreader officially announces that Adolf Hitler has “fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany”. The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin.
  • 1945 – World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda.
  • 1945 – World War II: Forces of the Soviet Red Army liberate Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at Stalag Luft I near Barth, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.
  • 1945 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans liberate Trieste.
  • 1946 – Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
  • 1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy.
  • 1947 – Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded.
  • 1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
  • 1956 – A doctor in Japan reports an “epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system”, marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
  • 1957 – Thirty-four people are killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashes in Hampshire, England.
  • 1960 – Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra; also known as “Maharashtra Day”.
  • 1960 – Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
  • 1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
  • 1965 – Cross-Strait relations: Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China, takes place.
  • 1967 – Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas.
  • 1970 – Vietnam War: Protests erupt following the announcement by Richard Nixon that the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces would attack Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign.
  • 1971 – Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
  • 1974 – The Argentine terrorist organization Montoneros is expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón.
  • 1977 – Thirty-six people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
  • 1978 – Japan’s Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
  • 1982 – Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.
  • 1983 – The Sydney Entertainment Centre is opened.
  • 1987 – Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
  • 1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
  • 1990 – The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.
  • 1993 – Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion.
  • 1994 – Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident whilst leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
  • 1995 – Croatian War of Independence: Croatian forces launch Operation Flash.
  • 1999 – The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924
  • 1999 – SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon.
  • 2001 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares the existence of “a state of rebellion”, hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, storm towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion.
  • 2002 – OpenOffice.org released version 1.0, the first stable version of the software.
  • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the “Mission Accomplished” speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”.
  • 2004 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
  • 2009 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.
  • 2011 – Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
  • 2019 – Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.

Births on May 1

  • 1218 – John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
  • 1218 – Rudolf I of Germany (d. 1291)
  • 1285 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
  • 1326 – Rinchinbal Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1332)
  • 1488 – Sidonie of Bavaria, eldest daughter of Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria-Munich (d. 1505)
  • 1527 – Johannes Stadius, German astronomer, astrologer, mathematician (d. 1579)
  • 1545 – Franciscus Junius, French theologian (d. 1602)
  • 1579 – Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch-American farmer, co-founded New Netherland (d. 1662)
  • 1582 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (d. 1643)
  • 1585 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (d. 1612)
  • 1591 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (d. 1666)
  • 1594 – John Haynes, English-American politician, 1st Governor of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1653)
  • 1602 – William Lilly, English astrologer (d. 1681)
  • 1672 – Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1719)
  • 1730 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (d. 1790)
  • 1735 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch admiral and philanthropist (d. 1819)
  • 1751 – Judith Sargent Murray, American poet and playwright (d. 1820)
  • 1764 – Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1820)
  • 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Irish-English field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1852)
  • 1783 – Phoebe Hinsdale Brown, American hymnwriter (d. 1861)
  • 1803 – James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet and author (d. 1849)
  • 1821 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (d. 1897)
  • 1824 – Alexander William Williamson, English chemist and academic (d. 1904)
  • 1825 – Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1898)
  • 1825 – George Inness, American painter and educator (d. 1894)
  • 1827 – Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
  • 1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 1877)
  • 1829 – Frederick Sandys, English painter and illustrator (d. 1904)
  • 1830 – Guido Gezelle, Belgian priest and poet (d. 1899)
  • 1831 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (d. 1903)
  • 1847 – Henry Demarest Lloyd, American journalist and politician (d. 1903)
  • 1848 – Adelsteen Normann, Norwegian painter (d. 1919)
  • 1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (d. 1942)
  • 1851 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian psychiatrist and neurologist (d. 1891)
  • 1852 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and professional scout (d. 1903)
  • 1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)
  • 1853 – Jacob Mikhailovich Gordin, Jewish Ukrainian-American journalist, actor, and playwright (d. 1909)
  • 1855 – Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
  • 1857 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
  • 1859 – Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
  • 1862 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (d. 1941)
  • 1864 – Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother’s Day (d. 1948)
  • 1871 – Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian and scholar (d. 1948)
  • 1871 – Emiliano Chamorro Vargas, President of Nicaragua (d. 1966)
  • 1872 – Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter (d. 1960)
  • 1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese soldier and politician, 4th President of Portugal (d. 1918)
  • 1874 – Romaine Brooks, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1970)
  • 1874 – Paul Van Asbroeck, Belgian target shooter (d. 1959)
  • 1875 – Dave Hall, American runner (d. 1972)
  • 1881 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher (d. 1955)
  • 1884 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (d. 1964)
  • 1885 – Clément Pansaers, Belgian poet (d. 1922)
  • 1885 – Ralph Stackpole, American sculptor and painter (d. 1973)
  • 1887 – Alan Cunningham, Anglo-Irish general and diplomat, High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan (d. 1983)
  • 1890 – Clelia Lollini, Italian physician (d. 1963 or 1964)
  • 1891 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (d. 1988)
  • 1895 – Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet secret police official, head of the NKVD (d. 1940)
  • 1895 – May Hollinworth, Australian theatre producer and director (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (d. 1947)
  • 1896 – Mark W. Clark, American general (d. 1984)
  • 1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Alfred Schmidt, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Ignazio Silone, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1978)
  • 1900 – Aleksander Wat, Polish poet and writer (d. 1967)
  • 1901 – Sterling Allen Brown, American poet, academic, and critic (d. 1989)
  • 1901 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
  • 1901 – Antal Szerb, Hungarian scholar and author (d. 1945)
  • 1905 – Henry Koster, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1906 – Horst Schumann, German SS officer and physician (d. 1983)
  • 1907 – Hayes Alvis, American bassist (d. 1972)
  • 1907 – Kate Smith, American singer and actress (d. 1986)
  • 1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and author (d. 1968)
  • 1908 – Morris Kline, American mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1910 – Behice Boran, Turkish sociologist and politician (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Raya Dunayevskaya, Ukrainian-American philosopher and activist (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Dirk Andries Flentrop, Dutch organ builder (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer and ufologist (d. 1986)
  • 1910 – Nejdet Sançar, Turkish literature teacher (d. 1975)
  • 1911 – Wilfred Watson, English-Canadian poet, playwright and educator (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Otto Kretschmer, German admiral (d. 1998)
  • 1913 – Louis Nye, American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1980)
  • 1914 – Jaap van der Poll, Dutch javelin thrower (d. 2010)
  • 1915 – Hanns Martin Schleyer, German businessman (d. 1977)
  • 1916 – Antoni Bazaniak, Polish sprint canoeist (d. 1979)
  • 1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (d. 1996)
  • 1917 – Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French actress and singer (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 1977)
  • 1918 – Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Manna Dey, Indian singer and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Morocco (d. 2018)
  • 1919 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Vladimir Colin, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1991)
  • 1922 – Alastair Gillespie, Canadian scholar and politician (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1999)
  • 1923 – Antônio Maria Mucciolo, Italian-Brazilian archbishop (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Marcel Rayman, Polish soldier (d. 1944)
  • 1924 – Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
  • 1924 – Karel Kachyňa, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Terry Southern, American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1925 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Scott Carpenter, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Sardar Fazlul Karim, Bangladeshi philosopher, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic
  • 1927 – Gary Bertini, Israeli conductor and composer (d. 2005)
  • 1927 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (d. 2004)
  • 1927 – Albert Zafy, Malagasy politician, 3rd President of Madagascar (d. 2017)
  • 1927 – Bernard Vukas, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (d. 1983)
  • 1928 – Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Delfim Netto, Brazilian economist
  • 1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1929 – Sonny Ramadhin, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1930 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (d. 2011)
  • 1930 – Richard Riordan, American lieutenant and politician, 39th Mayor of Los Angeles and publisher
  • 1930 – Little Walter Jacobs, American blues harp player and singer (d. 1968)
  • 1931 – Naim Attallah, Palestinian author
  • 1932 – Sandy Woodward, English admiral (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Tabibar Rahman Sarder, Bangladeshi politician. (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
  • 1934 – Tang Chang, Thai artist (d. 1990)
  • 1934 – Shirley Horn, American singer and pianist (d. 2005)
  • 1934 – Phillip King, Tunisian-English sculptor
  • 1934 – John Meillon, Australian actor (d. 1989)
  • 1936 – Danièle Huillet, French filmmaker (d. 2006)
  • 1936 – Hans E. Wallman, Swedish director, producer, and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer
  • 1939 – Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch model (d. 1980)
  • 1939 – Victor Davies, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1943 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (d. 2004)
  • 1943 – Joe Walsh, Irish politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, author, and activist
  • 1946 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (d. 2015)
  • 1947 – Sergio Infante, Chilean-Swedish poet and author
  • 1948 – Györgyi Balogh, Hungarian sprinter
  • 1948 – Patricia Hill Collins, American sociologist and scholar
  • 1949 – Jim Clench, Canadian bass player (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – Tim Hodgkinson, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
  • 1949 – Paul Teutul, Sr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
  • 1950 – Dann Florek, American actor and director
  • 1950 – Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer and coach
  • 1951 – Gordon Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer and coach
  • 1951 – Geoff Lees, English race car driver
  • 1951 – Sally Mann, American photographer
  • 1952 – Richard Blundell, English economist and academic
  • 1952 – Kim Lewison, English lawyer and judge
  • 1952 – Peter Smith, Malaysian-born English academic and judge
  • 1953 – Glen Ballard, American songwriter and producer
  • 1954 – Ray Parker, Jr., American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1954 – Joel Rosenberg, Canadian-American author and activist (d. 2011)
  • 1955 – Alex Cunningham, Scottish politician
  • 1955 – Martin O’Donnell, American composer
  • 1955 – Ray Searage, American baseball player and coach
  • 1956 – Catherine Frot, French actress
  • 1956 – Phil Foglio, American illustrator
  • 1957 – Rick Darling, Australian cricketer
  • 1957 – Uberto Pasolini, Italian banker, director, and producer
  • 1959 – Yasmina Reza, French actress and playwright
  • 1959 – Lawrence Seeff, South African cricketer and basket weaver
  • 1960 – Steve Cauthen, American jockey and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Sultan Günal-Gezer, Dutch politician
  • 1961 – Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1961 – Marilyn Milian, American judge
  • 1961 – Vasiliy Sidorenko, Russian hammer thrower
  • 1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
  • 1962 – Ted Sundquist, American football player, coach, and manager
  • 1964 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
  • 1966 – Olaf Thon, German footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer and manager
  • 1968 – D’arcy Wretzky, American bass player and singer
  • 1969 – Wes Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Mary Lou McDonald, Irish politician
  • 1969 – Billy Owens, American basketball player
  • 1970 – Bernard Butler, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1971 – Ethan Albright, American football player
  • 1971 – Stuart Appleby, Australian golfer
  • 1971 – Kim Grant, South African tennis player
  • 1971 – Artur Kohutek, Polish hurdler and soldier
  • 1971 – Ajith Kumar, Indian film actor in Tamil cinema and race car driver
  • 1972 – Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Yemeni terrorist
  • 1972 – Julie Benz, American actress
  • 1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
  • 1973 – Peter Baah, English footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Mike Jesse, German footballer
  • 1973 – Curtis Martin, American football player
  • 1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
  • 1975 – Austin Croshere, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
  • 1975 – Nina Hossain, English journalist
  • 1975 – Alexey Smertin, Russian international footballer
  • 1976 – Patricia Stokkers, Dutch swimmer
  • 1977 – Vera Lischka, Austrian swimmer and politician
  • 1978 – James Badge Dale, American actor
  • 1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
  • 1979 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
  • 1980 – Marvin Cabrera, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Rob Davison, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1980 – Inês Henriques, Portuguese race walker
  • 1980 – Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver
  • 1980 – Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
  • 1980 – Yuliya Tabakova, Russian athlete
  • 1981 – Manny Acosta, Panamanian baseball player
  • 1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1981 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer
  • 1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
  • 1982 – Beto, Portuguese footballer
  • 1982 – Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor
  • 1982 – Mark Farren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
  • 1982 – Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen
  • 1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
  • 1982 – Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer
  • 1983 – Alain Bernard, French swimmer
  • 1983 – Human Tornado, American wrestler
  • 1983 – Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor
  • 1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Mišo Brečko, Slovenian footballer
  • 1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
  • 1984 – Farah Fath, American actress
  • 1984 – Keiichiro Koyama, Japanese singer and actor
  • 1984 – Víctor Montaño, Colombian footballer
  • 1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
  • 1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Cassie Jaye, American actress and film director
  • 1986 – Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician
  • 1986 – Lee Chang-min, South Korean singer
  • 1986 – Brent Stanton, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Glen Coffee, American football player
  • 1987 – Iván DeJesús Jr., Puerto Rican baseball player
  • 1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Amir Johnson, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
  • 1987 – Saidi Ntibazonkiza, Burundian footballer
  • 1987 – Shahar Pe’er, Israeli tennis player
  • 1988 – Maria Balaba, Latvian figure skater
  • 1988 – Maxim Gustik, Belarusian freestyle skier
  • 1988 – Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier
  • 1989 – Alejandro Arribas, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Poļina Jeļizarova, Latvian runner
  • 1990 – Uriel Álvarez, Mexican footballer
  • 1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
  • 1990 – Diego Contento, German footballer
  • 1990 – Scooter Gennett, American baseball player
  • 1991 – Marcus Stroman, American baseball player
  • 1991 – Daniel Talbot, British sprinter
  • 1992 – Trevor Philp, Canadian alpine skier
  • 1992 – Bradley Roby, American football player
  • 1993 – Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, French footballer
  • 1993 – Ifeoma Nwoye, Nigerian wrestler
  • 1994 – Wallace Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1995 – Collin Seedorf, Dutch footballer
  • 1996 – Christopher J. Alexis Jr., Grenadian road cyclist
  • 1996 – Daniel Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Jacob Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Michael Seaton, Jamaican footballer
  • 2004 – Charli D’Amelio, American social media influencer and dancer

Deaths on May 1

  • 408 – Arcadius, Byzantine emperor (b. 377)
  • 558 – Marcouf, missionary and saint
  • 908 – Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretender
  • 1118 – Matilda of Scotland (b. 1080)
  • 1171 – Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster (b. 1110)
  • 1187 – Roger de Moulins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
  • 1255 – Walter de Gray, English prelate and statesman
  • 1277 – Stefan Uroš I of Serbia (b. 1223)
  • 1278 – William II of Villehardouin
  • 1308 – Albert I of Germany (b. 1255)
  • 1312 – Paul I Šubić of Bribir
  • 1539 – Isabella of Portugal (b. 1503)
  • 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
  • 1572 – Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
  • 1668 – Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (b. 1604)
  • 1730 – François de Troy, French painter and engraver (b. 1645)
  • 1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (b. 1677)
  • 1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1669)
  • 1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, Polish-German historian, economist, and jurist (b. 1719)
  • 1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general (b. 1768)
  • 1838 – Antoine Louis Dugès, French obstetrician and naturalist (b. 1797)
  • 1856 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (b. 1774)
  • 1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish-English missionary and explorer (b. 1813)
  • 1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist and physician (b. 1824)
  • 1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer and academic (b. 1841)
  • 1913 – John Barclay Armstrong, American lieutenant (b. 1850)
  • 1920 – Princess Margaret of Connaught (b. 1882)
  • 1935 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (b. 1889)
  • 1943 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
  • 1945 – Joseph Goebbels, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
  • 1945 – Magda Goebbels, German wife of Joseph Goebbels (b. 1901)
  • 1953 – Everett Shinn, American painter and illustrator (b. 1876)
  • 1956 – LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (b. 1883)
  • 1960 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (b. 1875)
  • 1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
  • 1965 – Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (b. 1911)
  • 1968 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Harold Nicolson, English author and politician (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – Yi Un, Korean prince (b. 1897)
  • 1973 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
  • 1976 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (b. 1908)
  • 1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (b. 1939)
  • 1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1903)
  • 1982 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (b. 1903)
  • 1984 – Jüri Lossmann, Estonian-Swedish runner (b. 1891)
  • 1985 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (b. 1897)
  • 1986 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (b. 1905)
  • 1986 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (b. 1916)
  • 1988 – Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (b. 1936)
  • 1989 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (b. 1912)
  • 1989 – V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (b. 1930)
  • 1989 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (b. 1904)
  • 1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (b. 1926)
  • 1991 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
  • 1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1925)
  • 1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1924)
  • 1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
  • 1995 – Antonio Salemme, Italian-American painter (b. 1892)
  • 1997 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1927)
  • 1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (b. 1935)
  • 2000 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (b. 1926)
  • 2002 – Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (b. 1960)
  • 2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
  • 2008 – Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (b. 1917)
  • 2010 – Helen Wagner, American actress (b. 1918)
  • 2011 – Henry Cooper, English boxer (b. 1934)
  • 2011 – Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Chris Kelly, American rapper (b. 1978)
  • 2013 – Pierre Pleimelding, French footballer and manager (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Radhia Cousot, Tunisian-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1947)
  • 2014 – Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (b. 1951)
  • 2015 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances on May 1

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andeolus
    • Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs)
    • Benedict of Szkalka
    • Brioc
    • James the Less (Anglican Communion)
    • Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic)
    • Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
    • Marcouf
    • Philip the Apostle (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
    • Richard Pampuri
    • Sigismund of Burgundy
    • Ultan
    • May 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Samoa)
  • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in May. (Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain, Romania)
  • Earliest day on which National Day of Prayer can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday in May. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which World Asthma Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. (International)
  • Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
  • Constitution Day (Argentina, Latvia, Marshall Islands)
  • Commemoration of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat following the foundation of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (India):
    • Maharashtra Day
  • International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day
  • Lei Day (Hawaii)
  • International Workers’ Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances:
    • Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of May. (Barbados, Dominica)
    • Law Day (United States), formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
    • Loyalty Day, formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
  • May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30):
    • Beltane (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Northern hemisphere)
    • Earliest day on which Beltane can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Ireland, Scotland)
    • Calan Mai (Wales)
  • Samhain (Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Southern Hemisphere)

May 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
  • 1386 – Battle of the Vikhra River: The Principality of Smolensk is defeated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and becomes its vassal.
  • 1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
  • 1483 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands, is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
  • 1521 – Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops defeat a Danish force in the Battle of Västerås.
  • 1770 – James Cook arrives in Australia at Botany Bay, which he names.
  • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Maryland’s House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Capture of New Orleans by Union forces under David Farragut.
  • 1864 – Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the American Civil War.
  • 1903 – A landslide kills 70 people in Frank, in the District of Alberta, Canada.
  • 1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the People’s Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the British public.
  • 1911 – Tsinghua University, one of mainland China’s leading universities, is founded.
  • 1916 – World War I: The UK’s 6th Indian Division surrenders to Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Kut in one of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
  • 1916 – Easter Rising: After six days of fighting, Irish rebel leaders surrender to British forces in Dublin, bringing the Easter Rising to an end.
  • 1944 – World War II: British agent Nancy Wake, a leading figure in the French Resistance and the Gestapo’s most wanted person, parachutes back into France to be a liaison between London and the local maquis group.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Surrender of Caserta is signed by the commander of German forces in Italy.
  • 1945 – World War II: Airdrops of food begin over German-occupied regions of the Netherlands.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Captain-class frigate HMS Goodall (K479) is torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet becoming the last Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the European theatre of World War II.
  • 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler marries his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor; Hitler and Braun both commit suicide the following day.
  • 1945 – Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
  • 1945 – The Italian commune of Fornovo di Taro is liberated from German forces by Brazilian forces.
  • 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convenes and indicts former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.
  • 1951 – Tibetan delegates to the Central People’s Government arrive in Beijing and draft a Seventeen Point Agreement for Chinese sovereignty and Tibetan autonomy.
  • 1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D television broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.
  • 1965 – Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches its seventh rocket in its Rehber series.
  • 1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the previous day, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
  • 1968 – The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opens at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with some of its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.
  • 1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
  • 1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
  • 1975 – Vietnam War: The North Vietnamese army completes its capture of all parts of South Vietnamese-held Trường Sa Islands.
  • 1986 – A fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library damages or destroys 400,000 books and other items.
  • 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: American and European spy satellites capture the ruins of the 4th Reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant.
  • 1991 – A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as ten million homeless.
  • 1991 – The 7.0 Mw  Racha earthquake affects Georgia with a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), killing 270 people.
  • 1992 – Riots in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 63 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
  • 1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.
  • 2011 – The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton takes place at Westminster Abbey in London.
  • 2013 – A powerful explosion occurs in an office building in Prague, believed to have been caused by natural gas, injures 43 people.
  • 2013 – National Airlines Flight 102, a Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft, crashes during takeoff from Bagram Airfield in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, killing seven people.
  • 2015 – A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox sets the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero fans were in attendance for the game, as the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests.

Births on April 29

  • 912 – Minamoto no Mitsunaka, Japanese samurai (d. 997)
  • 1469 – William II, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1509)
  • 1587 – Sophie of Saxony, Duchess of Pomerania (d. 1635)
  • 1636 – Esaias Reusner, German lute player and composer (d. 1679)
  • 1665 – James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1745)
  • 1667 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish-English physician and polymath (d. 1735)
  • 1686 – Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1742)
  • 1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French actor and dancer (d. 1810)
  • 1745 – Oliver Ellsworth, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
  • 1758 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (d. 1820)
  • 1762 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French general and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1833)
  • 1780 – Charles Nodier, French librarian and author (d. 1844)
  • 1783 – David Cox, English landscape painter (d. 1859)
  • 1784 – Samuel Turell Armstrong, American publisher and politician, 14th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)
  • 1810 – Thomas Adolphus Trollope, English journalist and author (d. 1892)
  • 1814 – Sadok Barącz, Galician religious leader, historian, folklorist, archivist (d. 1892)
  • 1818 – Alexander II of Russia (d. 1881)
  • 1837 – Georges Ernest Boulanger, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1891)
  • 1842 – Carl Millöcker, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1899)
  • 1847 – Joachim Andersen, Danish flautist, composer, conductor, and co-founder of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (d. 1907)
  • 1848 – Raja Ravi Varma, Indian painter and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1912)
  • 1858 – Georgia Hopley, American journalist, temperance advocate, and the first woman prohibition agent (d. 1944)
  • 1863 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Egyptian-Greek journalist and poet (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and politician, founded the Hearst Corporation (d. 1951)
  • 1863 – Maria Teresia Ledóchowska, Austrian nun and missionary (d. 1922)
  • 1872 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman and lawyer (d. 1930)
  • 1872 – Forest Ray Moulton, American astronomer and academic (d. 1952)
  • 1875 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English novelist and short story writer (d. 1950)
  • 1878 – Friedrich Adler, Jewish-German academic, artist and designer (d.1945)
  • 1879 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d. 1961, March 8)
  • 1880 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish military officer, diplomat and politician (d. 1943)
  • 1882 – Auguste Herbin, French painter (d. 1960)
  • 1882 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch printer, typographer, and Nazi resister (d. 1945)
  • 1891 – Bharathidasan, Indian poet and activist (d. 1964)
  • 1894 – Marietta Blau, Austrian physicist and academic (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d. 1948)
  • 1887 – Raymond Thorne, American swimmer (d. 1921)
  • 1893 – Harold Urey, American chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
  • 1895 – Vladimir Propp, Russian scholar and critic (d. 1970)
  • 1895 – Malcolm Sargent, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1967)
  • 1899 – Duke Ellington, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1974)
  • 1899 – Mary Petty, American illustrator (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Concha de Albornoz, Spanish feminist and intellectual, exiled during the Spanish Civil War (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Amelia Best, Australian politician, one of the first women elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (d. 1989)
  • 1907 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Jack Williamson, American author and academic (d. 2006)
  • 1909 – Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Richard Carlson, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1915 – Henry H. Barschall, German-American physicist and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Maya Deren, Ukrainian-American director, poet, and photographer (d. 1961)
  • 1917 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – George Allen, American football player and coach (d. 1990)
  • 1919 – Gérard Oury, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1920 – Edward Blishen, English author and radio host (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Harold Shapero, American composer (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Helmut Krackowizer, Austrian motorcycle racer and journalist (d. 2001)
  • 1922 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian guitarist and harmonica player (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Irvin Kershner, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Zizi Jeanmaire, French ballerina and actress
  • 1925 – John Compton, Saint Lucian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator, director, and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – Elmer Kelton, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
  • 1927 – Dorothy Manley, English sprinter
  • 1927 – Bill Slater, English footballer (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Carl Gardner, American singer (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Heinz Wolff, German-English physiologist, engineer, and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Walter Kempowski, German author and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Mickey McDermott, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Maurice Strong, Canadian businessman and diplomat (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Jeremy Thorpe, English lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Jean Rochefort, French actor and director (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Frank Auerbach, British-German painter
  • 1931 – Lonnie Donegan, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
  • 1931 – Chris Pearson, Canadian politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Joy Clements, American soprano and actress (d. 2005)
  • 1932 – David Tindle, English painter and educator
  • 1933 – Ed Charles, American baseball player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – Mark Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 61st Prime Minister of Belgium
  • 1933 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Willie Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
  • 1934 – Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1934 – Peter de la Billière, English general
  • 1934 – Erika Fisch, German sprinter and hurdler
  • 1934 – Pedro Pires, Cape Verdean politician, 3rd President of Cape Verde
  • 1935 – Otis Rush, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian bassist and conductor
  • 1936 – Adolfo Nicolás, Spanish priest, 13th Superior General of the Society of Jesus
  • 1936 – Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, English banker and philanthropist
  • 1936 – April Stevens, American pop singer
  • 1937 – Arvo Mets, Estonian-Russian poet and translator (d. 1997)
  • 1937 – Jill Paton Walsh, English author
  • 1938 – Bernard Madoff, American businessman, financier and convicted felon
  • 1938 – Klaus Voormann, German artist, bass player, and producer
  • 1940 – Stephanos of Tallinn, Estonian metropolitan
  • 1940 – Brian Taber, Australian cricketer
  • 1941 – Jonah Barrington, English-Irish squash player
  • 1941 – Dorothy Edgington, British philosopher
  • 1941 – Hanne Darboven, German painter (d. 2009)
  • 1942 – Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, English politician, Minister of State for Europe
  • 1942 – Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie, English civil servant and academic
  • 1942 – Galina Kulakova, Russian skier
  • 1943 – Duane Allen, American country singer
  • 1943 – Brenda Dean, Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, English union leader and politician (d. 2018)
  • 1943 – Ruth Deech, Baroness Deech, English lawyer and academic
  • 1944 – Francis Lee, English footballer and businessman
  • 1945 – Brian Charlesworth, English biologist, geneticist, and academic
  • 1945 – Hugh Hopper, English bass guitarist (d. 2009)
  • 1945 – Catherine Lara, French singer-songwriter and violinist
  • 1945 – Tammi Terrell, American soul singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
  • 1946 – Aleksander Wolszczan, Polish astronomer
  • 1947 – Serge Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1947 – Tommy James, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1947 – Johnny Miller, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1947 – Jim Ryun, American runner and politician
  • 1948 – Bruce Cutler, American lawyer
  • 1950 – Paul Holmes, New Zealand journalist (d. 2013)
  • 1950 – Phillip Noyce, Australian director and producer
  • 1950 – Debbie Stabenow, American social worker and politician
  • 1951 – Rick Burleson, American baseball player
  • 1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
  • 1951 – John Holmes, English diplomat, British Ambassador to France
  • 1952 – Nora Dunn, American actress and comedian
  • 1952 – David Icke, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Bob McClure, American baseball player and coach
  • 1952 – Rob Nicholson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1952 – Ron Washington, American baseball player and manager
  • 1954 – Jake Burton Carpenter, American snowboarder and businessman, founded Burton Snowboards
  • 1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1955 – Don McKinnon, Australian rugby league player
  • 1955 – Kate Mulgrew, American actress
  • 1956 – Karen Barad, American physicist and philosopher
  • 1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, British-Irish actor
  • 1957 – Mark Kendall, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1958 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
  • 1958 – Eve Plumb, American actress
  • 1958 – Gary Cohen, American baseball play-by-play announcer
  • 1958 – Kevin Moore, English footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1960 – Bill Glasson, American golfer
  • 1960 – Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian author and academic
  • 1962 – Bruce Driver, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Rob Druppers, Dutch runner
  • 1962 – Stephan Burger, German Catholic archbishop
  • 1963 – Mike Babcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1964 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Radek Jaroš, Czech mountaineer and author
  • 1965 – Michel Bussi, French geographer, author, and academic
  • 1965 – Peter Rauhofer, Austrian-American disc jockey and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1965 – Larisa Turchinskaya, Russian-Australian heptathlete and coach
  • 1965 – Brendon Tuuta, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1966 – Christian Tetzlaff, German violinist
  • 1966 – Phil Tufnell, English cricketer and radio host
  • 1967 – Marcel Albers, Dutch race car driver (d. 1992)
  • 1967 – Curtis Joseph, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, 4th President of Croatia
  • 1968 – Carnie Wilson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Jack Mackenroth, American swimmer, model, and fashion designer
  • 1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player
  • 1970 – Uma Thurman, American actress
  • 1972 – Dustin McDaniel, American lawyer and politician, 55th Arkansas Attorney General
  • 1974 – Jasper Wood, Canadian violinist and educator
  • 1974 – Anggun, Diva Indonesia
  • 1975 – Rafael Betancourt, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1975 – Artem Yashkin, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1976 – Fabio Liverani, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Chiyotaikai Ryūji, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1977 – Zuzana Hejdová, Czech tennis player
  • 1977 – Claus Jensen, Danish international footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Titus O’Neil, American football player and wrestler
  • 1977 – Attila Zsivoczky, Hungarian decathlete and high jumper
  • 1978 – Tony Armas, Jr., Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1978 – Bob Bryan, American tennis player
  • 1978 – Mike Bryan, American tennis player
  • 1978 – Javier Colon, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1978 – Craig Gower, Australian rugby player
  • 1978 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor and comedian
  • 1979 – Lee Dong-gook, South Korean footballer
  • 1979 – Ryan Sharp, Scottish race car driver and manager
  • 1980 – Mathieu Biron, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Kelly Shoppach, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Lisa Allen, English chef
  • 1981 – George McCartney, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Émilie Mondor, Canadian runner (d. 2006)
  • 1983 – Jay Cutler, American football player
  • 1983 – Tommie Harris, American football player
  • 1983 – David Lee, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Kirby Cote, Canadian swimmer
  • 1984 – Paulius Jankūnas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1984 – Lina Krasnoroutskaya, Russian tennis player
  • 1984 – Vassilis Xanthopoulos, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – Jean-François Jacques, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Byun Yo-han, South Korean actor
  • 1986 – Lee Chae-young, South Korean actress
  • 1986 – Viljar Veski, Estonian basketball player
  • 1986 – Sisa Waqa, Fijian rugby league player
  • 1986 – Monique Alfradique, Brazilian actress
  • 1987 – Knut Børsheim, Norwegian golfer
  • 1987 – Sara Errani, Italian tennis player
  • 1988 – Elías Hernández, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Alfred Hui, Hong Kong singer
  • 1988 – Jovan Leacock, American football player
  • 1988 – Taoufik Makhloufi, Algerian athlete
  • 1988 – Jonathan Toews, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Younha, South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer
  • 1991 – Adam Smith, English footballer
  • 1991 – Jung Hye-sung, South Korean actress
  • 1992 – Emilio Orozco, American soccer player
  • 1992 – Alina Rosenberg, German Paralympic equestrian
  • 1994 – Christina Shakovets, German tennis player
  • 1995 – Victoria Sinitsina, Russian ice dancer
  • 1996 – Katherine Langford, Australian actress
  • 1998 – Kimberly Birrell, Australian tennis player
  • 2007 – Infanta Sofía of Spain, Spanish princess

Deaths on April 29

  • 643 – Hou Junji, Chinese general and politician, Chancellor of the Tang dynasty
  • 926 – Burchard II, Duke of Swabia (b. 883)
  • 1380 – Catherine of Siena, Italian mystic, philosopher, and saint (b. 1347)
  • 1417 – Louis II of Anjou (b. 1377)
  • 1594 – Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and theologian (b. 1517)
  • 1630 – Agrippa d’Aubigné, French soldier and poet (b. 1552)
  • 1658 – John Cleveland, English poet and author (b. 1613)
  • 1676 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b. 1607)
  • 1688 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
  • 1698 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk (b. 1655)
  • 1707 – George Farquhar, Irish-English actor and playwright (b. 1678)
  • 1743 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French theorist and author (b. 1658)
  • 1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (b. 1694)
  • 1771 – Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, French-Italian architect, designed Winter Palace and Catherine Palace (b. 1700)
  • 1776 – Edward Wortley Montagu, English explorer and author (b. 1713)
  • 1793 – John Michell, English geologist and astronomer (b. 1724)
  • 1798 – Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, Austrian entomologist and author (b. 1723)
  • 1833 – William Babington, Anglo-Irish physician and mineralogist (b. 1756)
  • 1854 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1768)
  • 1903 – Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and zoologist (b. 1835)
  • 1905 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (b. 1847)
  • 1916 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1850)
  • 1920 – William H. Seward Jr., American general and banker (b. 1839)
  • 1921 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (b. 1863)
  • 1933 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet and journalist (b. 1863)
  • 1937 – William Gillette, American actor and playwright (b. 1853)
  • 1944 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese academic and politician, 3rd President of Portugal (b. 1851)
  • 1945 – Matthias Kleinheisterkamp, German SS officer (b. 1893)
  • 1947 – Irving Fisher, American economist and statistician (b. 1867)
  • 1951 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (b. 1889)
  • 1954 – Kathleen Clarice Groom, Australian-English author and screenwriter (b. 1872)
  • 1956 – Harold Bride, English soldier and operator (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876)
  • 1959 – Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, India-born English soldier and Governor of Gibraltar (b. 1891)
  • 1964 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (b. 1905)
  • 1966 – William Eccles, English physicist and engineer (b. 1875)
  • 1966 – Paula Strasberg, American actress, acting coach, and member of the Communist Party (b. 1909)
  • 1967 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1929)
  • 1968 – Lin Zhao, Chinese dissident and Christian executed during the Cultural Revolution (b. 1932)
  • 1976 – Edvard Drabløs, Norwegian actor and director (b. 1883)
  • 1978 – Theo Helfrich, German race car driver (b. 1913)
  • 1979 – Muhsin Ertuğrul, Turkish actor and director (b. 1892)
  • 1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
  • 1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, English-American director and producer (b. 1899)
  • 1982 – Raymond Bussières, French actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Mae Clarke, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Michael Gordon, American actor and director (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 1997 – Mike Royko, American journalist and author (b. 1932)
  • 1998 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
  • 2000 – Phạm Văn Đồng, Vietnamese lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1906)
  • 2001 – Arthur B. C. Walker, Jr., American physicist and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2002 – Bob Akin, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2003 – Janko Bobetko, Croatian Army general and Chief of the General Staff (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – William J. Bell, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1927)
  • 2005 – Louis Leithold, American mathematician and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to India (b. 1908)
  • 2007 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (b. 1978)
  • 2007 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer and rugby player (b. 1940)
  • 2007 – Ivica Račan, Croatian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944)
  • 2008 – Chuck Daigh, American race car driver (b. 1923)
  • 2008 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic (b. 1906)
  • 2010 – Sandy Douglas, English computer scientist and academic, designed OXO (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Siamak Pourzand, Iranian journalist and critic (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Joanna Russ, American writer, academic and radical feminist (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Shukri Ghanem, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Joel Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Roland Moreno. French engineer, invented the smart card (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Kenny Roberts, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Alex Elisala, New Zealand-Australian rugby player (b. 1992)
  • 2013 – Pesah Grupper, Israeli politician, 13th Israel Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Parekura Horomia, New Zealand politician, 40th Minister of Māori Affairs (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – John La Montaine, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Ernest Michael, American mathematician and scholar (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Kevin Moore, English footballer (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Marianna Zachariadi, Greek pole vaulter (b. 1990)
  • 2014 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (b. 1966)
  • 2014 – Al Feldstein, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Bob Hoskins, English actor (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – François Michelin, French businessman (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman, co-founded Weight Watchers (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Calvin Peete, American golfer (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Dan Walker, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Illinois (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Renato Corona, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (b. 1948)
  • 2019 – Josef Šural, Czech footballer (b. 1990)
  • 2020 – Irrfan Khan, Indian film actor (b. 1967)

Holidays and observances on April 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Catherine of Siena (Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican Church)
    • Endelienta
    • Hugh of Cluny
    • Robert of Molesme
    • Torpes of Pisa
    • April 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare (United Nations)
  • International Dance Day (UNESCO)
  • Shōwa Day, traditionally the start of the Golden Week holiday period, which is April 29 and May 3–5. (Japan)

April 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day, Uncategorized /
  • 224 – The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V effectively ending the Parthian Empire.
  • 357 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnus Magnentius.
  • 1192 – Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne is confirmed by election. The killing is carried out by Hashshashin.
  • 1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
  • 1503 – The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
  • 1611 – Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, the largest Catholic university in the world.
  • 1758 – The Marathas defeat the Afghans in the Battle of Attock and capture the city.
  • 1788 – Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  • 1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly and then sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
  • 1792 – France invades the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium and Luxembourg), beginning the French Revolutionary Wars.
  • 1794 – Sardinians, headed by Giovanni Maria Angioy, start a revolution against Savoy domination, expelling Viceroy Balbiano and his officials from Cagliari, the capital and largest city of the island.
  • 1796 – The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
  • 1869 – Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.
  • 1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
  • 1887 – A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of William I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.
  • 1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in England.
  • 1920 – Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.
  • 1923 – Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.
  • 1930 – The Independence Producers hosted the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.
  • 1941 – The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against Serbs of the Independent State of Croatia.
  • 1944 – World War II: Nine German E-boats attacked US and UK units during Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy landings, killing 946.
  • 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.
  • 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
  • 1948 – Igor Stravinsky conducted the premiere of his American ballet, Orpheus at the New York City Center.
  • 1949 – The Hukbalahap are accused of assassinating former First Lady of the Philippines Aurora Quezon, while she is en route to dedicate a hospital in memory of her late husband; her daughter and ten others are also killed.
  • 1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
  • 1952 – The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.
  • 1952 – The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
  • 1965 – United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: American troops land in the Dominican Republic to “forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship” and to evacuate U.S. Army troops.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.
  • 1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
  • 1970 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to take part in the Cambodian campaign.
  • 1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.
  • 1975 – General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departs for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on victory.
  • 1977 – The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.
  • 1978 – President of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels.
  • 1986 – The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Coral Sea.
  • 1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.
  • 1988 – Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing is blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage rips open in mid-flight.
  • 1993 – A Zambia Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo crashes off the coast of Libreville, Gabon, killing all 30 passengers, which included the entire Zambia national football team.
  • 1994 – Former Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and analyst Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
  • 1996 – Whitewater controversy: President Bill Clinton gives a 4½ hour videotaped testimony for the defense.
  • 1996 – Port Arthur massacre, Tasmania: A gunman, Martin Bryant, opens fire at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.
  • 2004 – CBS News released evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The photographs show rape and abuse from the American troops over Iraqi detainees.

Births on April 28

  • AD 32 – Otho, Roman emperor (d. 69 AD)
  • 1402 – Nezahualcoyotl, Acolhuan philosopher, warrior, poet and ruler (d. 1472)
  • 1442 – Edward IV, king of England (d. 1483)
  • 1545 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (d. 1598)
  • 1573 – Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême, son of Charles IX (d. 1650)
  • 1604 – Joris Jansen Rapelje, Dutch settler in colonial North America (d. 1662)
  • 1623 – Wilhelmus Beekman, Dutch politician (d. 1707)
  • 1630 – Charles Cotton, English poet and author (d. 1687)
  • 1676 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (d. 1751)
  • 1715 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1767)
  • 1758 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831)
  • 1761 – Marie Harel, French cheesemaker (d. 1844)
  • 1765 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
  • 1819 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (d. 1884)
  • 1827 – William Hall, Canadian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1904)
  • 1838 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and scholar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1913)
  • 1848 – Ludvig Schytte, Danish pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1909)
  • 1854 – Hertha Marks Ayrton, Polish-British engineer, mathematician, and physicist. (d. 1923)
  • 1855 – José Malhoa, Portuguese painter (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician, 7th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (d. 1929)
  • 1865 – Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1868 – Lucy Booth, English composer (d. 1953)
  • 1868 – Georgy Voronoy, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1908)
  • 1874 – Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1936)
  • 1874 – Sidney Toler, American actor and director (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Nicola Romeo, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1938)
  • 1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor and director (d. 1954)
  • 1886 – Erich Salomon, German-born news photographer (d. 1944)
  • 1886 – Art Shaw, American hurdler (d. 1955)
  • 1888 – Walter Tull, English footballer and soldier (d. 1918)
  • 1889 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1970)
  • 1896 – Na Hye-sok, South Korean journalist, poet, and painter (d. 1948)
  • 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (d. 1963)
  • 1897 – Ye Jianying, Chinese general and politician, Head of State of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Alice Berry, Australian activist (d. 1978)
  • 1900 – Heinrich Müller, German SS officer (d. 1945)
  • 1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – H. B. Stallard, English runner and surgeon (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author and critic (d. 1979)
  • 1906 – Kurt Gödel, Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Ethel Catherwood, American-Canadian high jumper and javelin thrower (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (d. 1974)
  • 1909 – Arthur Võõbus, Estonian-American theologist and orientalist (d. 1988)
  • 1910 – Sam Merwin, Jr., American author (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Lee Falk, American director, producer, and playwright (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Odette Hallowes, French soldier and spy (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Kaneto Shindō, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Rose Murphy, American singer (d. 1989)
  • 1914 – Michel Mohrt, French author, historian (d. 2011)
  • 1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, created Lamborghini (d. 1993)
  • 1917 – Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Rowland Evans, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
  • 1921 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Carolyn Cassady, American author (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian educator and politician, 1st President of Zambia
  • 1925 – T. John Lesinski, American judge and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – John Leonard Thorn, English lieutenant, author, and academic
  • 1926 – James Bama, American artist and illustrator
  • 1926 – Bill Blackbeard, American historian and author (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Harper Lee, American novelist (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Hulusi Sayın, Turkish general (d. 1991)
  • 1928 – Yves Klein, French painter (d. 1962)
  • 1928 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (d. 1997)
  • 1930 – James Baker, American lawyer and politician, 61st United States Secretary of State
  • 1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1933 – Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American neuropharmacologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Lois Duncan, American journalist and author (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Pedro Ramos, Cuban baseball player
  • 1935 – Jimmy Wray, Scottish boxer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (d. 2006)
  • 1937 – Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – John White, Scottish international footballer(d. 1964)
  • 1938 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1941 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1941 – Lucien Aimar, French cyclist
  • 1941 – John Madejski, English businessman and academic
  • 1941 – Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Mike Brearley, English cricketer and psychoanalyst
  • 1943 – Aryeh Bibi, Iraqi-born Israeli politician
  • 1944 – Elizabeth LeCompte, American director and producer
  • 1944 – Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician, 10th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
  • 1944 – Alice Waters, American chef and author
  • 1946 – Nour El-Sherif, Egyptian actor and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Ginette Reno, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1946 – Larissa Grunig, American theorist and activist
  • 1947 – Christian Jacq, French historian and author
  • 1947 – Nicola LeFanu, English composer and academic
  • 1947 – Steve Khan, American jazz guitarist
  • 1948 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1948 – Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1949 – Jeremy Cooke, English lawyer and judge
  • 1949 – Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
  • 1949 – Bruno Kirby, American actor and director (d. 2006)
  • 1950 – Willie Colón, Puerto Rican-American trombonist and producer
  • 1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian, talk show host, and producer
  • 1950 – Steve Rider, English journalist and sportscaster
  • 1951 – Tim Congdon, English economist and politician
  • 1951 – Larry Smith, Canadian football player and politician
  • 1952 – Chuck Leavell, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
  • 1953 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (d. 2003)
  • 1953 – Kim Gordon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1953 – Brian Greenhoff, English footballer and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Timothy Curley, American educator
  • 1954 – Michael P. Jackson, American politician, 3rd Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
  • 1954 – Vic Sotto, Filipino actor-producer, singer-songwriter, comedian and television personality
  • 1954 – Ron Zook, American football player and coach
  • 1955 – Eddie Jobson, English keyboard player and violinist
  • 1955 – Dieter Rubach, German bass player
  • 1956 – Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Wilma Landkroon, Dutch singer
  • 1958 – Hal Sutton, American golfer
  • 1960 – Tom Browning, American baseball player
  • 1960 – Elena Kagan, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
  • 1960 – Phil King, English bass player
  • 1960 – Ian Rankin, Scottish author
  • 1960 – Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strongman and weightlifter (d. 1993)
  • 1960 – Walter Zenga, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Sandrine Dumas, French actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Lloyd Eisler, Canadian figure skater and coach
  • 1963 – Marc Lacroix, Belgian biochemist and academic
  • 1964 – Stephen Ames, Trinidadian golfer
  • 1964 – Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese composer
  • 1964 – Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar, English surgeon and academic
  • 1964 – Barry Larkin, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1964 – L’Wren Scott, American model and fashion designer (d. 2014)
  • 1965 – Jennifer Rardin, American author (d. 2010)
  • 1966 – John Daly, American golfer
  • 1966 – Too Short, American rapper, producer and actor
  • 1967 – Chris White, English engineer and politician
  • 1968 – Howard Donald, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1968 – Andy Flower, South-African-Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
  • 1969 – LeRon Perry Ellis, American basketball player
  • 1970 – Richard Fromberg, Australian tennis player
  • 1970 – Nicklas Lidström, Swedish ice hockey player and scout
  • 1970 – Diego Simeone, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Brad McEwan, Australian journalist
  • 1972 – Violent J, American rapper
  • 1972 – Helena Tulve, Estonian composer
  • 1972 – Jean-Paul van Gastel, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Jorge Garcia, American actor and producer
  • 1973 – Earl Holmes, American football player and coach
  • 1973 – Andrew Mehrtens, South African-New Zealand rugby player
  • 1974 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and producer
  • 1974 – Margo Dydek, Polish basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1974 – Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
  • 1974 – Vernon Kay, English radio and television host
  • 1974 – Dominic Matteo, Scottish footballer and journalist
  • 1975 – Michael Walchhofer, Austrian skier
  • 1976 – Shane Jurgensen, Australian cricketer
  • 1978 – Lauren Laverne, English singer and television host
  • 1978 – Robert Oliveri, American actor
  • 1978 – Nate Richert, American actor
  • 1979 – Scott Fujita, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1980 – Bradley Wiggins, English cyclist
  • 1981 – Jessica Alba, American model and actress
  • 1981 – Pietro Travagli, Italian rugby player
  • 1982 – Nikki Grahame, English model and journalist
  • 1982 – Chris Kaman, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Josh Brookes, Australian motorcycle racer
  • 1983 – David Freese, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Roger Johnson, English footballer
  • 1983 – Graham Wagg, English cricketer
  • 1983 – Thomas Waldrom, New Zealand-English rugby player
  • 1984 – Dmitri Torbinski, Russian footballer
  • 1985 – Lucas Jakubczyk, German sprinter and long jumper
  • 1985 – Deividas Stagniūnas, Lithuanian ice dancer
  • 1986 – Roman Polák, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Jenna Ushkowitz, Korean-American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1987 – Ryan Conroy, Scottish footballer
  • 1987 – Samantha Akkineni, Indian actress and model
  • 1987 – Bradley Johnson, English footballer
  • 1987 – Zoran Tošić, Serbian footballer
  • 1988 – Jonathan Biabiany, French footballer
  • 1988 – Juan Manuel Mata, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Katariina Tuohimaa, Finnish tennis player
  • 1989 – Emil Salomonsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1989 – Kim Sung-kyu, South Korean singer
  • 1990 – Niels-Peter Mørck, Danish footballer
  • 1992 – Blake Bortles, American football player
  • 1992 – DeMarcus Lawrence, American football player
  • 1993 – Craig Garvey, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Eva Samková, Czech snowboarder
  • 1995 – Jonathan Benteke, Belgian footballer
  • 1995 – Melanie Martinez, American singer

Deaths on April 28

  • 224 – Artabanus V of Parthia (b. 191)
  • 948 – Hu Jinsi, Chinese general and prefect
  • 988 – Adaldag, archbishop of Bremen
  • 1109 – Abbot Hugh of Cluny (b. 1024)
  • 1192 – Conrad of Montferrat (b. 1140)
  • 1197 – Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth (b. 1132)
  • 1257 – Shajar al-Durr, sovereign sultana of Egypt
  • 1260 – Luchesius Modestini, founding member of the Third Order of St. Francis
  • 1400 – Baldus de Ubaldis, Italian jurist (b. 1327)
  • 1489 – Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1449)
  • 1533 – Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1461)
  • 1643 – Francisco de Lucena, Portuguese politician (b. 1578)
  • 1710 – Thomas Betterton, English actor and manager (b. 1630)
  • 1716 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (b. 1673)
  • 1726 – Thomas Pitt, English merchant and politician (b. 1653)
  • 1741 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (b. 1668)
  • 1772 – Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician and politician (b. 1737)
  • 1781 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (b. 1723)
  • 1813 – Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (b. 1745)
  • 1816 – Johann Heinrich Abicht, German philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1762)
  • 1841 – Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (b. 1803)
  • 1853 – Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet (b. 1773)
  • 1858 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (b. 1801)
  • 1865 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian-English businessman, founded Cunard Line (b. 1787)
  • 1881 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (b. 1818)
  • 1883 – John Russell, English hunter and dog breeder (b. 1795)
  • 1902 – Cyprien Tanguay, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1819)
  • 1903 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American scientist (b. 1839)
  • 1905 – Fitzhugh Lee, American general and politician, 40th Governor of Virginia (b. 1835)
  • 1925 – Richard Butler, English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
  • 1928 – May Jordan McConnel, Australian trade unionist and suffragist (b. 1860)
  • 1929 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (b. 1879)
  • 1936 – Fuad I of Egypt (b. 1868)
  • 1944 – Mohammed Alim Khan, Manghud ruler (b. 1880)
  • 1944 – Frank Knox, American journalist and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1874)
  • 1945 – Roberto Farinacci, Italian soldier and politician (b. 1892)
  • 1945 – Hermann Fegelein, German general (b. 1906)
  • 1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1883)
  • 1946 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and academic (b. 1870)
  • 1954 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1956 – Fred Marriott, American race car driver (b. 1872)
  • 1957 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
  • 1962 – Bennie Osler, South African rugby player (b. 1901)
  • 1963 – Wilhelm Weber, German gymnast (b. 1880)
  • 1970 – Ed Begley, American actor (b. 1901)
  • 1973 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (b. 1893)
  • 1976 – Richard Hughes, American author and poet (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Ricardo Cortez, American actor (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Sepp Herberger, German footballer and coach (b. 1897)
  • 1978 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (b. 1909)
  • 1980 – Tommy Caldwell, American bass player (b. 1949)
  • 1987 – Ben Linder, American engineer and activist (b. 1959)
  • 1991 – Steve Broidy, American film producer (b. 1905)
  • 1992 – Francis Bacon, Irish painter (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Diva Diniz Corrêa, Brazilian zoologist (b. 1918)
  • 1993 – Jim Valvano, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
  • 1994 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
  • 1996 – Lester Sumrall, American minister, founded LeSEA (b. 1913)
  • 1997 – Ann Petry, American novelist (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 1999 – Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 1999 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1927)
  • 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and manager (b. 1920)
  • 1999 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2000 – Penelope Fitzgerald, English author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (b. 1950)
  • 2002 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Percy Heath, American bassist (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (b. 1971)
  • 2005 – Taraki Sivaram, Sri Lankan journalist and author (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Steve Howe, American baseball player (b. 1958)
  • 2007 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – René Mailhot, Canadian journalist (b. 1942)
  • 2007 – Tommy Newsom, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Bertha Wilson, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and jurist (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina and actress (b. 1939)
  • 2009 – Richard Pratt, Polish-Australian businessman (b. 1934)
  • 2011 – Erhard Loretan, Swiss mountaineer (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and author (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Al Ecuyer, American football player (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Patricia Medina, English actress (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Milan N. Popović, Serbian psychiatrist and author (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Aberdeen Shikoyi, Kenyan rugby player (b. 1985)
  • 2013 – Brad Lesley, American baseball player (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Fredrick McKissack, American author (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Bernie Wood, New Zealand journalist and author (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Barbara Fiske Calhoun, American cartoonist and painter (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – William Honan, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Edgar Laprade, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Idris Sardi, Indonesian violinist and composer (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Ryan Tandy, Australian rugby player (b. 1981)
  • 2015 – Antônio Abujamra, Brazilian actor and director (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Marcia Brown, American author and illustrator (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Michael J. Ingelido, American general (b. 1916)
  • 2016 – Jenny Diski, English author and screenwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2017 – Mariano Gagnon, American Catholic priest and author (b. 1929)
  • 2018 – James Hylton, American race car driver (b. 1934)
  • 2019 – Richard Lugar, American politician (b.1932)
  • 2019 – John Singleton, American film director (b. 1968)

Holidays and observances on April 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aphrodisius and companions
    • Gianna Beretta Molla
    • Kirill of Turov (Orthodox, added to Roman Martyrology in 1969)
    • Louis de Montfort
    • Pamphilus of Sulmona
    • Peter Chanel
    • Vitalis and Valeria of Milan
    • April 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Lawyers’ Day (Odisha, India)
  • Mujahideen Victory Day (Afghanistan)
  • National Heroes Day (Barbados)
  • Restoration of Sovereignty Day (Japan)
  • Sardinia Day (Sardinia)
  • Workers’ Memorial Day and World Day for Safety and Health at Work (international)
    • National Day of Mourning (Canada)

April 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

April 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty).
  • 1183 BC – Traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy marking the end of the legendary Trojan War, given by chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria Erastothenes, among others.
  • 1547 – Battle of Mühlberg. Duke of Alba, commanding Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles I of Spain, defeats the troops of Schmalkaldic League.
  • 1558 – Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
  • 1704 – The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.
  • 1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress”.
  • 1877 – Russo-Turkish War: Russian Empire declares war on Ottoman Empire.
  • 1885 – American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.
  • 1895 – Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop “Spray”.
  • 1913 – The Woolworth Building, a skyscraper in New York City, is opened.
  • 1914 – The Franck–Hertz experiment, a pillar of quantum mechanics, is presented to the German Physical Society.
  • 1915 – The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
  • 1916 – Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.
  • 1916 – Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for the crew of the sunken Endurance.
  • 1918 – World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs.
  • 1922 – The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation.
  • 1926 – The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.
  • 1932 – Benny Rothman leads the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, leading to substantial legal reforms in the United Kingdom.
  • 1933 – Nazi Germany begins its persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.
  • 1944 – World War II: The SBS launches a raid against the garrison of Santorini in Greece.
  • 1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
  • 1955 – The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
  • 1957 – Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.
  • 1963 – Marriage of Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
  • 1965 – Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d’état against Juan Bosch.
  • 1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had “gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily”.
  • 1970 – China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
  • 1970 – The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President.
  • 1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
  • 1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
  • 1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
  • 1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.
  • 1996 – In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is passed into law.
  • 2004 – The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
  • 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
  • 2011 – WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak.
  • 2013 – A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people and injuring 2,500 others.
  • 2013 – Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China’s Xinjiang results in death of 21 people.

Births on April 24

  • 1086 – Ramiro II of Aragon (d. 1157)
  • 1492 – Sabina of Bavaria, Bavarian duchess and noblewoman (d. 1564)
  • 1532 – Thomas Lucy, English politician (d. 1600)
  • 1533 – William I of Orange, founding father of the Netherlands (d. 1584)
  • 1538 – Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (d. 1587)
  • 1545 – Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, English Earl (d. 1581)
  • 1562 – Xu Guangqi, Ming Dynasty Chinese politician, scholar and lay Catholic leader (d. 1633)
  • 1581 – Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (d. 1660)
  • 1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, third son of King Henry IV of France (d. 1660)
  • 1620 – John Graunt, English demographer and statistician (d. 1674)
  • 1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1780)
  • 1718 – Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish-English painter and educator (d. 1784)
  • 1743 – Edmund Cartwright, English clergyman and engineer, invented the power loom (d. 1823)
  • 1784 – Peter Vivian Daniel, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1860)
  • 1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist, essayist, and short story writer (d. 1882)
  • 1823 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician, President of Mexico (d. 1889)
  • 1845 – Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
  • 1856 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (d. 1951)
  • 1860 – Queen Marau, last Queen of Tahiti (d.1935)
  • 1862 – Tomitaro Makino, Japanese botanist (d. 1957)
  • 1868 – Sandy Herd, Scottish golfer (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Erich Raeder, German admiral (d. 1960)
  • 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss-French painter (d. 1958)
  • 1879 – Susanna Bokoyni, Hungarian-American circus performer (d. 1984)
  • 1880 – Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer and businessman, developed the zipper (d. 1954)
  • 1880 – Josef Müller, Croatian entomologist (d. 1964)
  • 1882 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish-English air marshal (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Thomas Cronan, American triple jumper (d. 1962)
  • 1885 – Con Walsh, Irish-Canadian hammer thrower and footballer (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Denys Finch Hatton, English hunter (d. 1931)
  • 1888 – Pe Maung Tin, Burma-based scholar and educator (d. 1973)
  • 1889 – Stafford Cripps, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1952)
  • 1889 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican colonel and politician, 45th President of Mexico (d. 1955)
  • 1897 – Benjamin Lee Whorf, American linguist, anthropologist, and engineer (d. 1941)
  • 1899 – Oscar Zariski, Russian-American mathematician and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author and educator (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician, founded the Falange (d. 1936)
  • 1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American painter and educator (d. 1997)
  • 1905 – Al Bates, American long jumper (d. 1999)
  • 1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – William Joyce, American-born Irish-British Nazi propaganda broadcaster (d. 1946)
  • 1906 – Mimi Smith, English nurse (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Gabriel Figueroa, Mexican cinematographer (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Marceline Day, American actress (d. 2000)
  • 1908 – Inga Gentzel, Swedish runner (d. 1991)
  • 1908 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (d. 1963)
  • 1912 – Ruth Osburn, American discus thrower (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1914 – William Castle, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1914 – Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
  • 1914 – Justin Wilson, American chef and author (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2002)
  • 1919 – David Blackwell, American mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1919 – Glafcos Clerides, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 4th President of Cyprus (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Gino Valenzano, Italian race car driver (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Marc-Adélard Tremblay, Canadian anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Doris Burn, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Clement Freud, German-English radio host, academic, and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Ruth Kobart, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Franco Leccese, Italian sprinter (d. 1992)
  • 1926 – Marilyn Erskine, American actress
  • 1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Swedish farmer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Josy Barthel, Luxembourgian runner and politician, Luxembourgian Minister for Energy (d. 1992)
  • 1928 – Tommy Docherty, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1928 – Johnny Griffin, American saxophonist (d. 2008)
  • 1928 – Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Dr. Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (d. 2006)
  • 1930 – Jerome Callet, American instrument designer, educator, and author (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Richard Donner, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1930 – José Sarney, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 31st President of Brazil
  • 1931 – Abdelhamid Kermali, Algerian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Bridget Riley, English painter and illustrator
  • 1934 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1936 – David Crombie, Canadian educator and politician, 56th Mayor of Toronto
  • 1936 – Jill Ireland, English actress (d. 1990)
  • 1937 – Joe Henderson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2001)
  • 1940 – Sue Grafton, American author (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Richard Holbrooke, American journalist, banker, and diplomat, 22nd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – John Williams, Australian-English guitarist and composer
  • 1942 – Richard M. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 54th Mayor of Chicago
  • 1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, activist, and producer
  • 1943 – Richard Sterban, American country & gospel bass singer
  • 1943 – Gordon West, English footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Peter Cresswell, English judge
  • 1944 – Maarja Nummert, Estonian architect
  • 1944 – Tony Visconti, American record producer, musician and singer
  • 1945 – Doug Clifford, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1946 – Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Josep Borrell, Spanish engineer and politician, 22nd President of the European Parliament
  • 1947 – João Braz de Aviz, Brazilian cardinal
  • 1947 – Claude Dubois, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Denise Kingsmill, Baroness Kingsmill, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician
  • 1947 – Roger D. Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1948 – Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Eliana Gil, Ecuadorian-American psychiatrist, therapist, and author
  • 1949 – Eddie Hart, American sprinter
  • 1949 – Véronique Sanson, French singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1950 – Rob Hyman, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1951 – Ron Arad, Israeli architect and academic
  • 1951 – Christian Bobin, French author and poet
  • 1951 – Nigel Harrison, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1951 – Enda Kenny, Irish educator and politician, 13th Taoiseach of Ireland
  • 1952 – Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
  • 1952 – Ralph Winter, American film producer
  • 1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
  • 1954 – Mumia Abu-Jamal, American journalist, activist, and convicted murderer
  • 1954 – Jack Blades, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1955 – Marion Caspers-Merk, German politician
  • 1955 – John de Mol Jr., Dutch businessman, co-founded Endemol
  • 1955 – Eamon Gilmore, Irish trade union leader and politician, 25th Tánaiste of Ireland
  • 1955 – Margaret Moran, British politician and criminal
  • 1955 – Guy Nève, Belgian race car driver (d. 1992)
  • 1955 – Michael O’Keefe, American actor
  • 1955 – Bill Osborne, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1956 – James A. Winnefeld, Jr., American admiral
  • 1957 – Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed, Pakistani-English businessman and politician
  • 1958 – Brian Paddick, English police officer and politician
  • 1959 – Paula Yates, British-Australian television host and author (d. 2000)
  • 1961 – Andrew Murrison, English physician and politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
  • 1962 – Clemens Binninger, German politician
  • 1962 – Stuart Pearce, English footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1962 – Steve Roach, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Paula Frazer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Billy Gould, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1963 – Mano Solo, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1964 – Helga Arendt, German sprinter (d. 2013)
  • 1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1964 – Djimon Hounsou, Beninese-American actor and producer
  • 1964 – Witold Smorawiński, Polish guitarist, composer, and educator
  • 1965 – Jeff Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1966 – Pierre Brassard, Canadian comedian and actor
  • 1966 – Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1966 – David Usher, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Dino Rađa, Croatian basketball player
  • 1967 – Omar Vizquel, Venezuelan-American baseball player and coach
  • 1968 – Aidan Gillen, Irish actor
  • 1968 – Todd Jones, American baseball player
  • 1968 – Roxanna Panufnik, English composer
  • 1968 – Hashim Thaçi, Kosovan soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Kosovo
  • 1969 – Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
  • 1969 – Rory McCann, Scottish actor
  • 1969 – Eilidh Whiteford, Scottish academic and politician
  • 1970 – Damien Fleming, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Kumar Dharmasena, Sri Lankan cricketer and umpire
  • 1971 – Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
  • 1972 – Chipper Jones, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Jure Košir, Slovenian skier and singer
  • 1973 – Gabby Logan, English gymnast, television and radio host
  • 1973 – Damon Lindelof, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Brian Marshall, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1973 – Eric Snow, American basketball player and coach
  • 1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
  • 1973 – Toomas Tohver, Estonian footballer
  • 1973 – Lee Westwood, English golfer
  • 1974 – Eric Kripke, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Stephen Wiltshire, English illustrator
  • 1975 – Dejan Savić, Yugoslavian and Serbian water polo player
  • 1976 – Steve Finnan, Irish international footballer
  • 1976 – Frédéric Niemeyer, Canadian tennis player and coach
  • 1977 – Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1977 – Diego Placente, Argentine footballer
  • 1978 – Diego Quintana, Argentine footballer
  • 1980 – Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Karen Asrian, Armenian chess player (d. 2008)
  • 1981 – Taylor Dent, American tennis player
  • 1981 – Yuko Nakanishi, Japanese swimmer
  • 1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1982 – David Oliver, American hurdler
  • 1982 – Simon Tischer, German volleyball player
  • 1983 – Hanna Melnychenko, Ukrainian heptathlete
  • 1985 – Mike Rodgers, American sprinter
  • 1986 – Aaron Cunningham, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1987 – Kris Letang, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Rein Taaramäe, Estonian cyclist
  • 1987 – Jan Vertonghen, Belgian international footballer
  • 1987 – Varun Dhawan, Indian actor
  • 1989 – Elīna Babkina, Latvian basketball player
  • 1989 – David Boudia, American diver
  • 1989 – Taja Mohorčič, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1990 – Kim Tae-ri, South Korean actress
  • 1990 – Jan Veselý, Czech basketball player
  • 1991 – Sigrid Agren, French-Swedish model
  • 1991 – Morgan Ciprès, French figure skater
  • 1991 – Batuhan Karadeniz, Turkish footballer
  • 1992 – Joe Keery, American actor
  • 1992 – Laura Kenny, English cyclist
  • 1993 – Ben Davies, Welsh international footballer
  • 1994 – Jordan Fisher, American singer, dancer, and actor
  • 1994 – Caspar Lee, British-South African Youtuber
  • 1996 – Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player
  • 1997 – Lydia Ko, New Zealand golfer
  • 1997 – Veronika Kudermetova, Russian tennis player
  • 1998 – Ryan Newman, American actress
  • 1999 – Jerry Jeudy, American football player

Deaths on April 24

  • 624 – Mellitus, saint, and archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1149 – Petronille de Chemillé, abbess of Fontevrault
  • 1288 – Gertrude of Austria (b. 1226)
  • 1338 – Theodore I, Marquess of Montferrat (b. 1291)
  • 1479 – Jorge Manrique, Spanish poet (b. 1440)
  • 1513 – Şehzade Ahmet, Ottoman prince (b. 1465)
  • 1617 – Concino Concini, Italian-French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1575)
  • 1622 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, German friar and saint (b. 1577)
  • 1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
  • 1731 – Daniel Defoe, English journalist, novelist, and spy (b. 1660)
  • 1748 – Anton thor Helle, German-Estonian clergyman and translator (b. 1683)
  • 1779 – Eleazar Wheelock, American minister and academic, founded Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
  • 1794 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1719)
  • 1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1783)
  • 1889 – Zulma Carraud, French author (b. 1796)
  • 1891 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, German field marshal (b. 1800)
  • 1924 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (b. 1844)
  • 1931 – David Kldiashvili, Georgian author and playwright (b. 1862)
  • 1935 – Anastasios Papoulas, Greek general (b. 1857)
  • 1938 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
  • 1939 – Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
  • 1941 – Karin Boye, Swedish author and poet (b. 1900)
  • 1942 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
  • 1944 – Charles Jordan, American magician (b. 1888)
  • 1945 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
  • 1947 – Hans Biebow, German SS officer (b. 1902)
  • 1947 – Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1873)
  • 1948 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (b. 1863)
  • 1954 – Guy Mairesse, French race car driver (b. 1910)
  • 1960 – Max von Laue, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Lee Moran, American actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Milt Franklyn, American composer (b. 1897)
  • 1964 – Gerhard Domagk, German pathologist and bacteriologist (b. 1895)
  • 1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
  • 1966 – Simon Chikovani, Georgian poet and author (b. 1902)
  • 1967 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
  • 1967 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1885)
  • 1968 – Walter Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)
  • 1970 – Otis Spann, American singer and pianist (b. 1930)
  • 1972 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (b. 1892)
  • 1974 – Bud Abbott, American comedian and producer (b. 1895)
  • 1975 – Pete Ham, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
  • 1976 – Mark Tobey, American-Swiss painter and educator (b. 1890)
  • 1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (b. 1904)
  • 1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish runner (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – Erol Güngör, Turkish sociologist, psychologist, and academic (b. 1938)
  • 1983 – Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
  • 1984 – Rafael Pérez y Pérez, Spanish author (b. 1891)
  • 1993 – Oliver Tambo, South African lawyer and activist (b. 1917)
  • 1993 – Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese philosopher and theorist (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Lodewijk Bruckman, Dutch painter (b. 1903)
  • 1997 – Allan Francovich, American director and producer (b. 1941)
  • 1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and activist (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – Josef Peters, German race car driver (b. 1914)
  • 2001 – Johnny Valentine, American wrestler (b. 1928)
  • 2002 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourgian sculptor (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2004 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (b. 1906)
  • 2005 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2006 – Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)
  • 2006 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Romanian-American rabbi and author (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect, designed Haas House (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (b. 1968)
  • 2014 – Tadeusz Różewicz, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Tommy Kono, American weightlifter and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Robert Pirsig, American author and philosopher (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on April 24

  • Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (Armenia, France)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedict Menni
    • Dermot of Armagh
    • Dyfnan of Anglesey
    • Ecgberht of Ripon
    • Fidelis of Sigmaringen
    • Gregory of Elvira
    • Ivo of Ramsey
    • Johann Walter (Lutheran)
    • Mary of Clopas
    • Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
    • Mellitus
    • Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur
    • Salome (disciple)
    • Wilfrid (Church of England)
    • William Firmatus
    • April 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Concord Day (Niger)
  • Democracy Day (Nepal)
  • Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, while April 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Friday in April. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Turkmen Racing Horse Festival can fall, while April 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in April. (Turkmenistan)
  • Fashion Revolution Day, and its related observances:
    • Labour Safety Day (Bangladesh, proposed)
  • Kapyong Day (Australia, Canada)
  • National Panchayati Raj Day (India)
  • St Mark’s Eve
  • Republic Day (The Gambia)
  • World Day for Laboratory Animals

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