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June 18 in History
- 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
- 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
- 860 – Byzantine–Rus’ War: A fleet of about 200 Rus’ vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
- 1053 – Battle of Civitate: Three thousand horsemen of Norman Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX.
- 1178 – Five Canterbury monks see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the Moon’s distance from the Earth (on the order of meters) are a result of this collision.
- 1264 – The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.
- 1265 – A draft Byzantine–Venetian treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, but is not ratified by Doge Reniero Zeno.
- 1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
- 1633 – Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.
- 1684 – The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
- 1757 – Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years’ War.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia.
- 1799 – Action of 18 June 1799: A frigate squadron under Rear-admiral Perrée is captured by the British fleet under Lord Keith.
- 1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812.
- 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
- 1822 – Constantine Kanaris blows up the Ottoman navy’s flagship at Chios, killing the Kapudan Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.
- 1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
- 1859 – First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.
- 1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
- 1887 – The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia is signed.
- 1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families.
- 1908 – Japanese immigration to Brazil begins when 781 people arrive in Santos aboard the ship Kasato-Maru.
- 1908 – The University of the Philippines is established.
- 1923 – Checker Taxi puts its first taxi on the streets.
- 1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
- 1935 – Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, clash with striking longshoremen, resulting in a total of 60 injuries and 24 arrests.
- 1940 – Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle.
- 1940 – The “Finest Hour” speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.
- 1945 – William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”) is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II.
- 1946 – Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a Socialist, calls for a Direct Action Day against the Portuguese in Goa.
- 1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
- 1953 – The Egyptian revolution of 1952 ends with the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the declaration of the Republic of Egypt.
- 1953 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns near Tachikawa, Japan, killing 129.
- 1954 – Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: The United States uses B-52 bombers to attack National Liberation Front guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
- 1972 – Staines air disaster: One hundred eighteen people are killed when a BEA H.S. Trident crashes two minutes after take off from London’s Heathrow Airport.
- 1979 – SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight.
- 1982 – Italian banker Roberto Calvi’s body is discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
- 1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
- 1983 – Mona Mahmudnizhad, together with nine other Bahá’í women, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran over her religious beliefs.
- 1984 – A major clash between about 5,000 police and a similar number of miners takes place at Orgreave, South Yorkshire, during the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike.
- 1994 – The Troubles: Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) attack a crowded pub with assault rifles in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians are killed and five wounded. It was crowded with people watching the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
- 2006 – The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat-1 is launched.
- 2007 – The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire happened in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine firefighters.
- 2009 – The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched.
- 2018 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes northern Osaka.
Births on June 18
- 1269 – Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar (d. 1298)
- 1318 – Eleanor of Woodstock (d. 1355)
- 1332 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1391)
- 1466 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (d. 1539)
- 1511 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor, designed the Ponte Santa Trinita (d. 1592)
- 1517 – Emperor Ōgimachi of Japan (d. 1593)
- 1521 – Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu (d. 1577)
- 1667 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal (d. 1750)
- 1673 – Antonio de Literes, Spanish composer (d. 1747)
- 1677 – Antonio Maria Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1726)
- 1716 – Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter and educator (d. 1809)
- 1717 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1757)
- 1757 – Ignaz Pleyel, Austrian-French pianist and composer (d. 1831)
- 1757 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1833)
- 1769 – Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1822)
- 1799 – William Lassell, English astronomer and merchant (d. 1880)
- 1812 – Ivan Goncharov, Russian journalist and author (d. 1891)
- 1815 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (d. 1881)
- 1816 – Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte, French daughter of Napoleon (d. 1907)
- 1816 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepali ruler (d. 1877)
- 1833 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and President (1880-1884) (d. 1893)
- 1834 – Auguste-Théodore-Paul de Broglie, French philosopher and academic (d. 1895)
- 1839 – William H. Seward Jr., American general and banker (d. 1920)
- 1845 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
- 1850 – Richard Heuberger, Austrian composer and critic (d. 1914)
- 1854 – E. W. Scripps, American publisher, founded the E. W. Scripps Company (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Henry Clay Folger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library (d. 1930)
- 1858 – Andrew Forsyth, Scottish-English mathematician and academic (d. 1942)
- 1858 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1927)
- 1862 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (d. 1942)
- 1863 – George Essex Evans, English-Australian poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1868 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (d. 1957)
- 1870 – Édouard Le Roy, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1954)
- 1877 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
- 1881 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1956)
- 1882 – Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian compositor and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria (d. 1949)
- 1884 – Édouard Daladier, French captain and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1970)
- 1886 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (d. 1924)
- 1886 – Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist and paleontologist (d. 1978)
- 1887 – Tancrède Labbé, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1956)
- 1896 – Blanche Sweet, American actress (d. 1986)
- 1897 – Martti Marttelin, Finnish runner (d. 1940)
- 1900 – Vlasta Vraz, Czech-American relief worker, editor, and fundraiser (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1901 – Llewellyn Rees, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1902 – Louis Alter, American musician (d. 1980)
- 1902 – Paavo Yrjölä, Finnish decathlete (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Raymond Radiguet, French author and poet (d. 1923)
- 1904 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (d. 1991)
- 1904 – Manuel Rosenthal, French conductor and composer (d. 2003)
- 1905 – Eduard Tubin, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1982)
- 1907 – Frithjof Schuon, Swiss-American metaphysicist, philosopher, and author (d. 1998)
- 1908 – Bud Collyer, American actor and game show host (d. 1969)
- 1908 – Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Nedra Volz, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Dick Foran, American actor and singer (d. 1979)
- 1910 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Ray McKinley, American singer, drummer, and bandleader (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Glenn Morris, American decathlete (d. 1974)
- 1913 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Sammy Cahn, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Sylvia Porter, American economist and journalist (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Françoise Loranger, Canadian playwright and producer (d. 1995)
- 1913 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker and philanthropist (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Oswald Teichmüller, German mathematician (d. 1943)
- 1914 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Efraín Huerta, Mexican poet (d.1982)
- 1915 – Red Adair, American firefighter (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Robert Kanigher, American author (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Alice T. Schafer, American mathematician (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Colombia (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Richard Boone, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1981)
- 1917 – Jack Karnehm, English snooker player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Alf Francis, West Prussia-born, English motor racing mechanic and race car constructor (d. 1983)
- 1918 – Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Franco Modigliani, Italian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1919 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Ian Carmichael, English actor and singer (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Lode Van Den Bergh, Belgian author and academic
- 1922 – Claude Helffer, French pianist and educator (d. 2004)
- 1924 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Robert Beadell, American composer and educator (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Philip B. Crosby, American businessman and author (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Allan Sandage, American astronomer and cosmologist (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Tom Wicker, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-English actress (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Paul Eddington, English actor (d. 1995)
- 1928 – Michael Blakemore, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1928 – David T. Lykken, American geneticist and academic (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher
- 1929 – Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian sociologist, academic, and politician, 34th President of Brazil
- 1932 – Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Geoffrey Hill, English poet and academic (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Tommy Hunt, American singer
- 1934 – Brian Kenny, English general (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1936 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver (d. 1992)
- 1936 – Barack Obama Sr., Kenyan economist (d. 1982)
- 1936 – Ronald Venetiaan, Surinamese politician, 6th President of Suriname
- 1937 – Del Harris, American basketball player and coach
- 1937 – Jay Rockefeller, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of West Virginia
- 1937 – Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist and historian (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Vitaly Zholobov, Ukrainian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
- 1938 – Kevin Murray, Australian footballer and coach
- 1939 – Lou Brock, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1939 – Jean-Claude Germain, Canadian historian, author, and journalist
- 1939 – Brooks Firestone, American businessman and politician
- 1941 – Roger Lemerre, French footballer and manager
- 1941 – Paul Mayersberg, English director and screenwriter
- 1941 – Delia Smith, English chef and author
- 1942 – John Bellany, Scottish painter and academic (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Pat Hutchins, English author and illustrator
- 1942 – Thabo Mbeki, South African politician, 23rd President of South Africa
- 1942 – Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Richard Perry, American record producer
- 1942 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (d. 1980)
- 1942 – Nick Tate, Australian actor and director
- 1942 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (d. 2004)
- 1943 – Barry Evans, English actor (d. 1997)
- 1943 – Raffaella Carrà, Italian singer, dancer, and actress
- 1944 – Bruce DuMont, American broadcaster and political analyst
- 1944 – Sandy Posey, American pop/country singer
- 1946 – Russell Ash, English journalist and author (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Bruiser Brody, American wrestler (d. 1988)
- 1946 – Fabio Capello, Italian footballer and manager
- 1946 – Maria Bethânia, Brazilian singer
- 1947 – Ivonne Coll, Puerto Rican-American model and actress, Miss Puerto Rico 1967
- 1947 – Bernard Giraudeau, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1947 – Linda Thorson, Canadian actress
- 1948 – Philip Jackson, English actor
- 1948 – Éva Marton, Hungarian soprano and actress
- 1948 – Sherry Turkle, American academic, psychologist, and sociologist
- 1949 – Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator
- 1949 – Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1949 – Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (d. 2010)
- 1949 – Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
- 1950 – Rod de’Ath, Welsh drummer and producer (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Annelie Ehrhardt, German hurdler
- 1950 – Mike Johanns, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1950 – Jackie Leven, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
- 1951 – Mohammed Al-Sager, Kuwaiti journalist and politician
- 1951 – Miriam Flynn, American actress and comedian
- 1951 – Ian Hargreaves, English-Welsh journalist and academic
- 1951 – Stephen Hopper, Australian botanist and academic
- 1951 – Gyula Sax, Hungarian chess player (d. 2014)
- 1952 – Tiiu Aro, Estonian physician and politician, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
- 1952 – Denis Herron, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1952 – Carol Kane, American actress
- 1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Lee Soo-man, South Korean singer and businessman, founded S.M. Entertainment
- 1953 – Peter Donohoe, English pianist and educator
- 1955 – Ed Fast, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Brian Benben, American actor and producer
- 1956 – John Scott, English organist and conductor (d. 2015)
- 1957 – Miguel Ángel Lotina, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1957 – Richard Powers, American novelist
- 1958 – Peter Altmaier, German jurist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany
- 1958 – Gary Martin, British voice actor and actor
- 1959 – Joe Ansolabehere, American animation screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Barbara Broccoli, American director and producer
- 1960 – Steve Murphy, Canadian journalist
- 1961 – Oz Fox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 – Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1961 – Angela Johnson, American novelist and poet
- 1961 – Alison Moyet, English singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Lisa Randall, American physicist and academic
- 1963 – Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1963 – Bruce Smith, American football player
- 1964 – Uday Hussein, Iraqi commander (d. 2003)
- 1964 – Patti Webster, American publicist and author (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Kurt Browning, Canadian figure skater, choreographer, and sportscaster
- 1966 – Troy Kemp, Bahamian high jumper
- 1968 – Frank Müller, German decathlete
- 1969 – Haki Doku, Albanian cyclist
- 1969 – Christopher Largen, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
- 1970 – Katie Derham, English journalist
- 1970 – Ivan Kozák, Slovak footballer
- 1970 – Greg Yaitanes, American director and producer
- 1971 – Kerry Butler, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Jason McAteer, English-Irish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Nathan Morris, American soul singer
- 1972 – Anu Tali, Estonian pianist and conductor
- 1972 – Wikus du Toit, South African actor, director, and composer
- 1973 – Julie Depardieu, French actress
- 1973 – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, American author and music critic
- 1973 – Ray LaMontagne, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austrian skier
- 1973 – Matt Parsons, Australian rugby league player
- 1973 – Gavin Wanganeen Australian footballer and coach
- 1974 – Vincenzo Montella, Italian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Sergey Sharikov, Russian fencer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1975 – Marie Gillain, Belgian actress
- 1975 – Aleksandrs Koļinko, Latvian footballer
- 1975 – Martin St. Louis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Blake Shelton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Wang Liqin, Chinese table tennis player
- 1979 – Yumiko Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1979 – Ivana Wong, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
- 1980 – Antonio Gates, American football player
- 1980 – Sergey Kirdyapkin, Russian race walker
- 1980 – Craig Mottram, Australian runner
- 1980 – Antero Niittymäki, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1980 – Tara Platt, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1981 – Clint Newton, American-Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Marco Streller, Swiss footballer
- 1982 – Nadir Belhadj, French-Algerian footballer
- 1982 – Marco Borriello, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Nathan Cavaleri, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1983 – Billy Slater, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Cameron Smith, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Nanyak Dala, Canadian rugby player
- 1985 – Chris Coghlan, American baseball player
- 1985 – Alex Hirsch, American animator and television producer
- 1986 – Edgars Eriņš, Latvian decathlete
- 1986 – Richard Gasquet, French tennis player
- 1987 – Omar Arellano, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Moeen Ali, English cricketer
- 1988 – Elini Dimoutsos, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Josh Dun, American musician
- 1989 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, French-born Gabonese footballer
- 1989 – Chris Harris Jr., American football player
- 1990 – Luke Adam, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Sandra Izbașa, Romanian gymnast
- 1990 – Derek Stepan, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Christian Taylor, American triple jumper
- 1993 – Dennis Lloyd, Israeli musician, producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
- 1994 – Sean McMahon, Australian rugby player
- 1994 – Takeoff, American rapper
- 1995 – Maxim Kovtun, Russian figure skater
- 1996 – Alen Halilović, Croatian footballer
- 1996 – Niki Wories, Dutch figure skater
- 1997 – Katharina Hobgarski, German tennis player
- 1997 – Latrell Mitchell, Australian rugby league player
- 1999 – Trippie Redd, American rapper
Deaths on June 18
- 741 – Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine emperor (b. 685)
- 908 – Zhang Hao, general of Yang Wu
- 1095 – Sophia of Hungary (b. c. 1050)
- 1164 – Elisabeth of Schönau, German Benedictine visionary (b. c. 1129)
- 1234 – Emperor Chūkyō of Japan (b. 1218)
- 1250 – Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León
- 1291 – Alfonso III of Aragon (b. 1265)
- 1333 – Henry XV, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1312)
- 1464 – Rogier van der Weyden, Flemish painter (b. 1400)
- 1588 – Robert Crowley, English minister and poet (b. 1517)
- 1629 – Piet Pieterszoon Hein, Dutch admiral (b. 1577)
- 1650 – Christoph Scheiner, German priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1575)
- 1673 – Jeanne Mance, French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (b. 1606)
- 1704 – Tom Brown, English author and translator (b. 1662)
- 1726 – Michel Richard Delalande, French organist and composer (b. 1657)
- 1742 – John Aislabie, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1670)
- 1749 – Ambrose Philips, English poet and politician (b. 1674)
- 1772 – Johann Ulrich von Cramer, German jurist and scholar (b. 1706)
- 1772 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician and reformer (b. 1700)
- 1788 – Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (b. 1714)
- 1794 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (b. 1760)
- 1794 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, 20th Governor of the Province of Quebec (b. 1721)
- 1815 – Thomas Picton, Welsh-English general and politician (b. 1758)
- 1833 – Robert Hett Chapman, American minister, missionary, and academic (b. 1771)
- 1835 – William Cobbett, English farmer and journalist (b. 1763)
- 1860 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (b. 1783)
- 1866 – Prince Sigismund of Prussia (b. 1864)
- 1902 – Samuel Butler, English novelist, satirist, and critic (b. 1835)
- 1905 – Carmine Crocco, Italian soldier (b. 1830)
- 1916 – Max Immelmann, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1890)
- 1917 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian critic and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1840)
- 1922 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
- 1928 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (b. 1872)
- 1936 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1868)
- 1937 – Gaston Doumergue, French politician, 13th President of France (b. 1863)
- 1942 – Arthur Pryor, American trombonist, bandleader, and politician (b. 1870)
- 1943 – Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (b. 1912)
- 1945 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (b. 1862)[10]
- 1945 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (b. 1886)
- 1947 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (b. 1898)
- 1948 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1891)
- 1959 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (b. 1879)
- 1963 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (b. 1912)
- 1964 – Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (b. 1890)
- 1967 – Geki, Italian race car driver (b. 1937)
- 1967 – Beat Fehr, Swiss race car driver (b. 1942)
- 1971 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1971 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and academic (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Georgy Zhukov, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1896)
- 1975 – Hugo Bergmann, German-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1883)
- 1978 – Walter C. Alvarez, American physician and author (b. 1884)
- 1980 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
- 1980 – André Leducq, French cyclist (b. 1904)
- 1982 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (b. 1892)
- 1982 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Curd Jürgens, German-Austrian actor and director (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (b. 1934)
- 1985 – Paul Colin, French illustrator (b. 1892)
- 1986 – Frances Scott Fitzgerald, American journalist (b. 1921)
- 1989 – I. F. Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Kofoworola Abeni Pratt, the first black Chief Nursing Officer of Nigeria (b. 1910)
- 1992 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1944)
- 1992 – Mordecai Ardon, Polish-Israeli painter and educator (b. 1896)
- 1993 – Craig Rodwell, American activist, founded the Oscar Wilde Bookshop (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (b. 1912)
- 1998 – Felix Knight, American actor and tenor (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Nancy Marchand, American actress (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Larry Doby, American baseball player and manager (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Manuel Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 2006 – Joseph Zobel, Martinique-French author (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Bernard Manning, English comedian and actor (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Hank Medress, American singer and producer (b. 1938)
- 2007 – Georges Thurston, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
- 2008 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 2008 – Tasha Tudor, American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Hans Steinbrenner, German sculptor (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Trent Acid, American wrestler (b. 1980)
- 2010 – José Saramago, Portuguese novelist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Okan Demiriş, Turkish composer (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Yelena Bonner, Russian activist (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Horacio Coppola, Argentinian photographer and director (b. 1906)
- 2012 – Lina Haag, German author and activist (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Tom Maynard, Welsh cricketer (b. 1989)
- 2012 – Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín, Peruvian general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Peru (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 2012 – William Van Regenmorter, American businessman and politician (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Brent F. Anderson, American engineer and politician (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Alastair Donaldson, Scottish bass player (b. 1955)
- 2013 – Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (b. 1980)
- 2013 – David Wall, English ballet dancer (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Johnny Mann, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Vladimir Popovkin, Russian general (b. 1957)
- 2014 – Horace Silver, American pianist and composer (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Danny Villanueva, American football player and broadcaster, co-founded Univision (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Allen Weinstein, American historian and academic (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Jeppiaar, Indian educationist, founder and chancellor of Sathyabama University (b. 1931)
- 2018 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (b. 1998)
- 2018 – Big Van Vader (also known as Vader) American professional wrestler (b. 1955)
- 2018 – Jimmy Wopo, American rapper (b. 1997)
- 2020 – Vera Lynn, English singer who was the “Forces’ Sweetheart” in World War II (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances on June 18
- Autistic Pride Day (International)
- Christian feast day:
- Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)
- Elisabeth of Schönau
- Gregorio Barbarigo
- Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus
- Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)
- Mark and Marcellian
- June 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Foundation Day (Benguet)
- Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)
- National Day (Seychelles)
- Queen Mother’s Birthday (Cambodia)
- Waterloo Day (United Kingdom)
-
June 16 in History
- 363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians.
- 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran).
- 1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son King Hồ Hán Thương of Hồ dynasty are captured by the Ming armies.
- 1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII of England defeats the leaders of a Yorkist rebellion in the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses.
- 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor.
- 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date).
- 1746 – War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza.
- 1755 – French and Indian War: The French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians.
- 1779 – Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
- 1795 – French Revolutionary Wars: In what became known as Cornwallis’s Retreat, a British Royal Navy squadron led by Vice Admiral William Cornwallis strongly resists a much larger French Navy force and withdraws largely intact, setting up the French Navy defeat at the Battle of Groix six days later.
- 1811 – Survivors of an attack the previous day by Tla-o-qui-aht on board the Pacific Fur Company’s ship Tonquin, intentionally detonate a powder magazine on the ship, destroying it and killing about 100 attackers.
- 1815 – Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo.
- 1819 – A major earthquake strikes the Kutch district of western India, killing over 1,543 people and raising a 6 m high, 6 km wide, ridge, extending for at least 80 km, that was known as the Allah Bund (“Dam of God”).
- 1836 – The formation of the London Working Men’s Association gives rise to the Chartist Movement.
- 1846 – The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy.
- 1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois.
- 1871 – The Universities Tests Act 1871 allows students to enter the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests (except for those intending to study theology).
- 1883 – The Victoria Hall theatre panic in Sunderland, England, kills 183 children.
- 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson’s “Switchback Railway”, opens in New York’s Coney Island amusement park.
- 1897 – A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.
- 1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
- 1903 – Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage.
- 1904 – Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolay Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland.
- 1904 – Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called “Bloomsday”.
- 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York.
- 1922 – General election in the Irish Free State: The pro-Treaty Sinn Féin party wins a large majority.
- 1925 – The most famous Young Pioneer camp of the Soviet Union, Artek, is established.
- 1930 – Sovnarkom establishes decree time in the USSR.
- 1933 – The National Industrial Recovery Act is passed in the United States, allowing businesses to avoid antitrust prosecution if they establish voluntary wage, price, and working condition regulations on an industry-wide basis.
- 1940 – World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l’État Français).
- 1940 – A Communist government is installed in Lithuania.
- 1944 – In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls.
- 1948 – Members of the Malayan Communist Party kill three British plantation managers in Sungai Siput; in response, British Malaya declares a state of emergency.
- 1955 – In a futile effort to topple Argentine President Juan Perón, rogue aircraft pilots of the Argentine Navy drop several bombs upon an unarmed crowd demonstrating in favor of Perón in Buenos Aires, killing 364 and injuring at least 800. At the same time on the ground, some soldiers attempt to stage a coup but are suppressed by loyal forces.
- 1958 – Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed.
- 1961 – While on tour with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union.
- 1963 – Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 mission: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
- 1972 – The largest single-site hydroelectric power project in Canada is inaugurated at Churchill Falls Generating Station.
- 1976 – Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd.
- 1977 – Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL), by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
- 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada’s former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor.
- 1989 – Revolutions of 1989: Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian prime minister, is reburied in Budapest following the collapse of Communism in Hungary.
- 1997 – Fifty people are killed in the Daïat Labguer (M’sila) massacre in Algeria.
- 2000 – The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrew from Lebanon. The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
- 2010 – Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.
- 2012 – China successfully launches its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module.
- 2012 – The United States Air Force’s robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission
- 2013 – A multi-day cloudburst, centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, causes devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
- 2016 – Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public.
- 2019 – Upwards of 2,000,000 people participate in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the largest in Hong Kong’s history.
Births on June 16
- 1139 – Emperor Konoe of Japan (d. 1155)
- 1332 – Isabella de Coucy, English daughter of Edward III of England (d. 1379)
- 1454 – Joanna of Aragon, Queen of Naples (d. 1517)
- 1514 – John Cheke, English academic and politician, English Secretary of State (d. 1557)
- 1516 – Yang Jisheng, Ming dynasty official and Confucian martyr (d. 1555)
- 1583 – Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish politician, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (d. 1654)
- 1591 – Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Greek-Italian physician, mathematician, and theorist (d. 1655)
- 1606 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1675)
- 1613 – John Cleveland, English poet and educator (d. 1658)
- 1625 – Samuel Chappuzeau, French scholar (d. 1701)
- 1633 – Jean de Thévenot, French linguist and botanist (d. 1667)
- 1644 – Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland (d. 1670)
- 1653 – James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, English nobleman (d. 1699)
- 1713 – Meshech Weare, American farmer, lawyer, and politician, 1st Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1786)
- 1723 – Adam Smith, Scottish philosopher and economist (d. 1790)
- 1738 – Mary Katherine Goddard, American publisher (d. 1816)
- 1754 – Salawat Yulayev, Russian poet (d. 1800)
- 1792 – John Linnell, English painter and engraver (d. 1882)
- 1801 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1868)
- 1806 – Edward Davy, English physician and chemist (d. 1885)
- 1813 – Otto Jahn, German archaeologist and philologist (d. 1869)
- 1820 – Athanase Josué Coquerel, Dutch-French preacher and theologian (d. 1875)
- 1821 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (d. 1908)
- 1826 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (d. 1897)
- 1829 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (d. 1909)
- 1836 – Wesley Merritt, American general and politician, Military Governor of the Philippines (d. 1910)
- 1837 – Ernst Laas, German philosopher and academic (d. 1885)
- 1838 – Frederic Archer, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1901)
- 1838 – Cushman Kellogg Davis, American lieutenant and politician, 7th Governor of Minnesota (d. 1900)
- 1840 – Ernst Otto Schlick, German engineer and author (d. 1913)
- 1850 – Max Delbrück, German chemist and academic (d. 1919)
- 1857 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Austrian-Hungarian general (d. 1935)
- 1858 – Gustaf V of Sweden (d. 1950)
- 1863 – Francisco León de la Barra, Mexican politician and diplomat (d. 1939)
- 1866 – Germanos Karavangelis, Greek-Austrian metropolitan (d. 1935)
- 1874 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Otto Eisenschiml, Austrian-American chemist and author (d. 1963)
- 1882 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian educator and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Erich Jacoby, Estonian-Polish architect (d. 1941)
- 1888 – Alexander Friedmann, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1925)
- 1888 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (d. 1980)
- 1890 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (d. 1965)
- 1896 – Murray Leinster, American author and screenwriter (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Georg Wittig, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1899 – Helen Traubel, American operatic soprano (d. 1972)
- 1902 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
- 1902 – George Gaylord Simpson, American paleontologist and author (d. 1984)
- 1906 – Alan Fairfax, Australian cricketer (d. 1955)
- 1907 – Jack Albertson, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1909 – Archie Carr, American ecologist and zoologist (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1977)
- 1912 – Albert Chartier, Canadian illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Eleanor Sokoloff, American pianist and teacher
- 1915 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Marga Faulstich, German glass chemist (d. 1998)
- 1917 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer (d. 1989)
- 1917 – Irving Penn, American photographer (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Raymond Lemieux, Canadian chemist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1920 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 31st President of Mexico (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Hemanta Mukharjee, Indian singer and music director
- 1922 – Ilmar Kullam, Estonian basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish race car driver (d. 1962)
- 1924 – Faith Domergue, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Jean d’Ormesson, French journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Otto Muehl, Austrian-Portuguese painter and director (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Efraín Ríos Montt, Guatemalan general and politician, 26th President of Guatemala (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Tom Graveney, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Herbert Lichtenfeld, German author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
- 1930 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Eileen Atkins, English actress and screenwriter
- 1934 – Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Jim Dine, American painter and illustrator
- 1937 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Bulgarian politician, 48th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- 1937 – Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, English general
- 1938 – Torgny Lindgren, Swedish author and poet (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Joyce Carol Oates, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet
- 1939 – Billy “Crash” Craddock, American singer-songwriter
- 1940 – Māris Čaklais, Latvian poet, writer, and journalist (d. 2003)
- 1940 – Neil Goldschmidt, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Governor of Oregon
- 1941 – Rosalind Baker, Australian author
- 1941 – Lamont Dozier, American songwriter and producer
- 1941 – Tommy Horton, English golfer (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Mumtaz Hamid Rao, Pakistani journalist (d. 2011)
- 1942 – Giacomo Agostini, Italian motorcycle racer and manager
- 1942 – Eddie Levert, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
- 1944 – Henri Richelet, French painter and etcher
- 1945 – Claire Alexander, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – Lucienne Robillard, Canadian social worker and politician, 59th Secretary of State for Canada
- 1946 – Rick Adelman, American basketball player and coach
- 1946 – John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever, English businessman and politician
- 1946 – Karen Dunnell, English statistician and academic
- 1946 – Tom Harrell, American trumpet player and composer
- 1946 – Neil MacGregor, Scottish historian and curator
- 1946 – Iain Matthews, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Jodi Rell, American politician, 87th Governor of Connecticut
- 1946 – Mark Ritts, American actor, puppeteer, and producer (d. 2009)
- 1946 – Derek Sanderson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Simon Williams, English actor and playwright
- 1947 – Tom Malone, American trombonist, composer, and producer
- 1947 – Buddy Roberts, American wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Al Cowlings, American ex-NFL player and close friend of O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson
- 1947 – Tom Wyner, English-American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Ron LeFlore, American baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Paulo Cézar Caju, Brazilian footballer
- 1949 – Ralph Mann, American hurdler and author
- 1950 – Mithun Chakraborty, Indian actor and politician
- 1950 – Michel Clair, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Jerry Petrowski, American politician and farmer
- 1951 – Charlie Dominici, American singer and guitarist
- 1951 – Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer
- 1952 – George Papandreou, Greek sociologist and politician, 182nd Prime Minister of Greece
- 1952 – Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Valerie Mahaffey, American actress
- 1953 – Ian Mosley, English drummer
- 1954 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (d. 2014)
- 1954 – Garry Roberts, Irish guitarist
- 1955 – Grete Faremo, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Defence
- 1955 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
- 1955 – Artemy Troitsky, Russian journalist and critic
- 1957 – Ian Buchanan, Scottish-American actor
- 1957 – Leeona Dorrian, Lady Dorrian, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1958 – Darrell Griffith, American basketball player
- 1958 – Ulrike Tauber, German swimmer
- 1958 – Warren Rodwell, Australian soldier, educator and musician
- 1959 – The Ultimate Warrior, American wrestler (d. 2014)
- 1960 – Peter Sterling, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Can Dündar, Turkish journalist and author
- 1961 – Robbie Kerr, Australian cricketer
- 1961 – Steve Larmer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Margus Metstak, Estonian basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Wally Joyner, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Arnold Vosloo, South African-American actor
- 1962 – Anthony Wong, Hong Kong singer
- 1963 – The Sandman, American wrestler
- 1964 – Danny Burstein, American actor and singer
- 1965 – Michael Richard Lynch, Irish computer scientist and entrepreneur; co-founded HP Autonomy
- 1965 – Richard Madaleno, American politician
- 1966 – Mark Occhilupo, Australian surfer
- 1966 – Olivier Roumat, French rugby player
- 1966 – Phil Vischer, American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-created VeggieTales
- 1966 – Jan Železný, Czech javelin thrower and coach
- 1967 – Charalambos Andreou, Cypriot footballer
- 1967 – Jürgen Klopp, German footballer and manager
- 1968 – Adam Schmitt, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1969 – Shami Chakrabarti, English lawyer and academic
- 1969 – Mark Crossley, English-Welsh footballer and manager
- 1970 – Younus AlGohar, Pakistani poet and academic, co-founded Messiah Foundation International
- 1970 – Clifton Collins Jr., American actor
- 1970 – Cobi Jones, American soccer player and manager
- 1970 – Phil Mickelson, American golfer
- 1971 – Tupac Shakur, American rapper and producer (d. 1996)
- 1972 – Kiko Loureiro, Brazilian guitarist
- 1973 – Eddie Cibrian, American actor
- 1974 – Glenicia James, Saint Lucian cricketer
- 1975 – Anthony Carter, American basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Craig Fitzgibbon, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1977 – Duncan Hames, English accountant and politician
- 1977 – Kerry Wood, American baseball player
- 1978 – Daniel Brühl, Spanish-German actor
- 1978 – Dainius Zubrus, Lithuanian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Fish Leong, Malaysian singer
- 1980 – Brandon Armstrong, American basketball player
- 1980 – Phil Christophers, German-English rugby player
- 1980 – Henry Perenara, New Zealand rugby league player and referee
- 1980 – Martin Stranzl, Austrian footballer
- 1980 – Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- 1981 – Benjamin Becker, German tennis player
- 1981 – Kevin Bieksa, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Alexandre Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Ola Kvernberg, Norwegian violinist
- 1981 – Miguel Villalta, Peruvian footballer
- 1982 – May Andersen, Danish model and actress
- 1982 – Missy Peregrym, Canadian model and actress
- 1983 – Armend Dallku, Albanian footballer
- 1984 – Rick Nash, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Dan Ryckert, American writer and entertainer
- 1984 – Steven Whittaker, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – Rodrigo Defendi, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Urby Emanuelson, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Fernando Muslera, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Diana DeGarmo, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Norwegian footballer
- 1987 – Christian Tshimanga Kabeya, Belgian footballer
- 1988 – Keshia Chante, Canadian singer
- 1988 – Jermaine Gresham, American football player
- 1990 – John Newman, English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer
- 1991 – Joe McElderry, English singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Siya Kolisi, South African rugby player
- 1991 – Matt Moylan, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Vladimir Morozov, Russian swimmer
- 1993 – Park Bo-gum, South Korean actor
- 1993 – Gnash, American singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and record producer
- 1994 – Grete-Lilijane Küppas, Estonian footballer
- 1994 – Rezar, Albanian professional wrestler
- 1995 – Euan Aitken, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Joseph Schooling, Singaporean swimmer
- 1995 – Akira Ioane, New Zealand rugby Union player
- 2000 – Bianca Andreescu, Canadian tennis player
Deaths on June 16
- 840 – Rorgon I, Frankish nobleman (or 839)
- 924 – Li Cunshen, general of Later Tang (b. 862)
- 956 – Hugh the Great, Frankish nobleman (b. 898)
- 1185 – Richeza of Poland, queen of León (b. c. 1140)
- 1286 – Hugh de Balsham, English bishop
- 1332 – Adam de Brome, founder of Oriel College, Oxford
- 1361 – Johannes Tauler, German mystic theologian
- 1397 – Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
- 1424 – Johannes Ambundii, archbishop of Riga
- 1468 – Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, Burgundian historian and author (b. 1395)
- 1487 – John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln (b. c. 1463)
- 1540 – Konrad von Thüngen, German nobleman (b. c. 1466)
- 1622 – Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1555)
- 1626 – Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (b. 1599)
- 1666 – Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, English poet and diplomat, English Ambassador to Spain (b. 1608)
- 1722 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (b. 1650)
- 1743 – Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, eldest daughter of King Louis XIV of France (b. 1673)
- 1752 – Joseph Butler, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1692)
- 1762 – Anne Russell, Countess of Jersey (formerly Duchess of Bedford) (b. c.1705)
- 1777 – Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and playwright (b. 1709)
- 1779 – Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1712)
- 1804 – Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (b. 1728)
- 1824 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, French lawyer and politician (b. 1739)
- 1849 – Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian and scholar (b. 1780)
- 1850 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (b. 1774)
- 1858 – John Snow, English epidemiologist and physician (b. 1813)
- 1862 – Hidenoyama Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 9th Yokozuna (b. 1808)
- 1869 – Charles Sturt, Indian-English botanist and explorer (b. 1795)
- 1872 – Norman MacLeod, Scottish minister and author (b. 1812)
- 1878 – Crawford Long, American surgeon and pharmacist (b. 1815)
- 1878 – Kikuchi Yōsai, Japanese painter (b. 1781)
- 1881 – Josiah Mason, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1795)
- 1885 – Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter and academic (b. 1818)
- 1886 – Alexander Stuart, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1824)
- 1902 – Ernst Schröder, German mathematician and academic (b. 1841)
- 1918 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (b. 1860)
- 1925 – Chittaranjan Das, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1929 – Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army (b. 1856)
- 1929 – Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar (b. 1871)
- 1930 – Ezra Fitch, American lawyer and businessman, co-founded Abercrombie & Fitch (b. 1866)
- 1930 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor, co-invented the gyrocompass (b. 1860)
- 1939 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1905)
- 1940 – DuBose Heyward, American author (b. 1885)
- 1944 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (b. 1886)
- 1945 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek general (b. 1905)
- 1946 – Gordon Brewster, Irish cartoonist (b 1889)
- 1952 – Andrew Lawson, Scottish-American geologist and academic (b. 1861)
- 1953 – Margaret Bondfield, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (b. 1873)
- 1955 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter (b. 1864)
- 1958 – Pál Maléter, Hungarian general and politician, Minister of Defence of Hungary (b. 1917)
- 1958 – Imre Nagy, Hungarian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1895)
- 1959 – George Reeves, American actor and director (b. 1914)
- 1961 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (b. 1904)
- 1967 – Reginald Denny, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1969 – Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, English field marshal and politician, 17th Governor General of Canada (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (b. 1943)
- 1971 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, Scottish broadcaster, co-founded BBC (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1912)
- 1979 – Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Ghanaian general and politician, 6th Head of state of Ghana (b. 1931)
- 1979 – Nicholas Ray, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 1981 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1896)
- 1982 – James Honeyman-Scott, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1956)
- 1984 – Lew Andreas, American football player and coach (b. 1895)
- 1984 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (b. 1902)
- 1987 – Marguerite de Angeli, American author and illustrator (b. 1889)
- 1988 – Miguel Piñero, Puerto Rican-American actor and playwright (b. 1946)
- 1993 – Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Kristen Pfaff, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1967)
- 1996 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster and game show host (b. 1913)
- 1997 – Dal Stivens, Australian soldier and author (b. 1911)
- 1998 – Fred Wacker, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Screaming Lord Sutch, English singer and activist (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish–Swedish philosopher and author (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai field marshal and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Jacques Miquelon, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican-American author and critic (b. 1906)
- 2008 – Mario Rigoni Stern, Italian soldier and author (b. 1921)
- 2010 – Marc Bazin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 49th President of Haiti (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian singer and academic (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Ronald Neame, English director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 2011 – Östen Mäkitalo, Swedish engineer and academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Jorge Lankenau, Mexican banker and businessman (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Sławomir Petelicki, Polish general (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Susan Tyrrell, American actress (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Sam Farber, American businessman, co-founded OXO (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Norman Ian MacKenzie, English journalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Ottmar Walter, German footballer (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas (b. 1960), Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
- 2015 – Charles Correa, Indian architect and urban planner (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean Vautrin, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Jo Cox, English political activist and MP (b. 1974)
- 2017 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, 6th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. (b. 1935), Filipino businessman and politician
Holidays and observances on June 16
- Juneteenth (United States)
- Birthday of Leonard P. Howell (Rastafari)
- Bloomsday (Dublin, Ireland)
- Christian feast days:
- Aurelianus of Arles
- Aureus of Mainz (and his sister Justina)
- Benno
- Cettin of Oran
- Curig of Llanbadarn
- Ferreolus and Ferrutio
- George Berkeley and Joseph Butler (Episcopal Church)
- Lutgardis
- Quriaqos and Julietta
- June 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer’s Day (Argentina)
- Father’s Day (Seychelles)
- International Day of the African Child (Organisation of African Unity)
- Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikhism)
- Sussex Day (Sussex)
- Youth Day (South Africa)
-
June 15 in History
- 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
- 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II.
- 923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
- 1184 – The naval Battle of Fimreite is won by the Birkebeiner pretender Sverre Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson takes the Norwegian throne and King Magnus V of Norway is killed.
- 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta.
- 1219 – Northern Crusades: Danish victory at the Battle of Lindanise (modern-day Tallinn) establishes the Danish Duchy of Estonia.
- 1246 – With the death of Frederick II, Duke of Austria, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
- 1300 – The city of Bilbao is founded.
- 1312 – At the Battle of Rozgony, King Charles I of Hungary wins a decisive victory over the family of Palatine Amade Aba.
- 1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
- 1410 – In a decisive battle at Onon River, the Mongol forces of Oljei Temur were decimated by the Chinese armies of the Yongle Emperor.
- 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Martinique on his fourth voyage.
- 1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in Exsurge Domine.
- 1648 – Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
- 1670 – The first stone of Fort Ricasoli is laid down in Malta.
- 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown).
- 1776 – Delaware Separation Day: Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
- 1800 – The Provisional Army of the United States is dissolved.
- 1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
- 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
- 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
- 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
- 1846 – The Oregon Treaty extends the border between the United States and British North America, established by the Treaty of 1818, westward to the Pacific Ocean.
- 1859 – Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the “Northwestern Boundary Dispute” between American and British/Canadian settlers.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Second Battle of Petersburg begins.
- 1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.81 km2) of the Arlington estate (formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee) are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
- 1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
- 1878 – Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures.
- 1888 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II; he will be the last Emperor of the German Empire. Due to the death of his predecessors Wilhelm I and Frederick III, 1888 is the Year of the Three Emperors.
- 1896 – The deadliest tsunami in Japan’s history kills more than 22,000 people.
- 1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City’s East River kills 1,000.
- 1916 – United States President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
- 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight when they reach Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
- 1920 – Following the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, Northern Schleswig is transferred from Germany to Denmark.
- 1921 – Bessie Coleman earns her pilot’s license, becoming the first female pilot of African-American descent.
- 1934 – The United States Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
- 1936 – First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
- 1937 – A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. It is the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Ariel begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany’s takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
- 1944 – World War II: The United States invades Saipan, capital of Japan’s South Seas Mandate.
- 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government in North America.
- 1970 – Charles Manson goes on trial for the Sharon Tate murders.
- 1972 – Red Army Faction co-founder Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
- 1977 – After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the first democratic elections took place in Spain.
- 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
- 1985 – Rembrandt’s painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
- 1991 – In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, killing over 800 people.
- 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the United States to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the United States for trial, without approval from those other countries.
- 1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonates a powerful truck bomb in the middle of Manchester, England, devastating the city centre and injuring 200 people.
- 2001 – Leaders of the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
- 2012 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls.
- 2013 – A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 25 people and wounding 22 others.
Births on June 15
- 1330 – Edward, the Black Prince of England (d. 1376)
- 1479 – Lisa del Giocondo, Italian model, subject of the Mona Lisa (d. 1542)
- 1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1536)
- 1542 – Richard Grenville, English captain and explorer (d. 1591)
- 1549 – Elizabeth Knollys, English noblewoman (d. 1605)
- 1553 – Archduke Ernest of Austria (d. 1595)
- 1605 – Thomas Randolph, English poet and playwright (d. 1635)
- 1618 – François Blondel, French architect (d. 1686)
- 1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
- 1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (d. 1704)
- 1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician and theologian (d. 1715)
- 1645 – Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, English politician (d. 1712)
- 1749 – Georg Joseph Vogler, German organist, composer, and theorist (d. 1814)
- 1754 – Juan José Elhuyar, Spanish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1796)
- 1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist and entomologist (d. 1809)
- 1763 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1826)
- 1763 – Kobayashi Issa, Japanese priest and poet (d. 1827)
- 1765 – Martin Baum, American businessman and politician, Mayor of Cincinnati (d. 1831)
- 1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1767 – Rachel Jackson, American wife of Andrew Jackson (d. 1828)
- 1777 – David Daniel Davis, Welsh physician and academic (d. 1841)
- 1789 – Josiah Henson, American minister, author, and activist (d. 1883)
- 1792 – Thomas Mitchell, Scottish-Australian colonel and explorer (d. 1855)
- 1801 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
- 1805 – William B. Ogden, American businessman and politician, 1st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
- 1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
- 1835 – Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress, painter, and poet (d. 1868)
- 1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1907)
- 1848 – Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Indian bishop and saint (d. 1902)
- 1872 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (d. 1987)
- 1878 – Margaret Abbott, Indian-American golfer (d. 1955)
- 1881 – Kesago Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
- 1886 – Frank Clement, British racing driver (d. 1970)
- 1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet and author (d. 1921)
- 1890 – Georg Wüst, German oceanographer and academic (d. 1977)
- 1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and conductor (d. 1981)
- 1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1947)
- 1898 – Hubertus Strughold, German-American physiologist and academic (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher and academic (d. 1984)
- 1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer and conductor (d. 1996)
- 1901 – Elmar Lohk, Russian-Estonian architect (d. 1963)
- 1902 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Gordon Welchman, English-American mathematician and author (d. 1985)
- 1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1907 – James Robertson Justice, English actor and educator (d. 1975)
- 1909 – Elena Nikolaidi, Greek-American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
- 1910 – David Rose, English-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Wilbert Awdry, English author, co-created Thomas the Tank Engine (d. 1997)
- 1913 – Tom Adair, American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
- 1914 – Yuri Andropov, Russian politician (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Hilda Terry, American cartoonist (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Nini Theilade, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, and educator (d. 2018)
- 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American biologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Olga Erteszek, Polish-American fashion designer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Horacio Salgán, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
- 1916 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 – John Fenn, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
- 1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Lash LaRue, American actor and producer (d. 1996)
- 1918 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian politician, 1st President of Chad (d. 1975)
- 1920 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (d. 1957)
- 1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian actress (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Sam Sniderman, Canadian businessman, founded Sam the Record Man (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
- 1922 – Jaki Byard, American pianist and composer (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Erland Josephson, Swedish actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Ninian Stephen, English-Australian lieutenant, judge, and politician, 20th Governor-General of Australia (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Hédi Fried, Swedish author and psychologist
- 1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Richard Baker, English journalist and author (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Attilâ İlhan, Turkish poet, author, and critic (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1975)
- 1927 – Ross Andru, American illustrator (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian author and illustrator (d. 1995)
- 1930 – Miguel Méndez, American author and academic (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Joseph Gilbert, English air marshal
- 1931 – Brian Sewell, English art dealer and critic (d. 2015)
- 1932 – David Alliance, Baron Alliance, Iranian-English businessman and politician
- 1932 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Indian singer (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian football player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Iranian politician, 2nd President of Iran (d. 1981)
- 1933 – Predrag Koraksić Corax, Serbian political caricaturist
- 1934 – Ruby Nash Garnett, American R&B singer
- 1936 – William Levada, American cardinal
- 1937 – Pierre Billon, Swiss-Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
- 1938 – Billy Williams, American baseball player and coach
- 1939 – Ward Connerly, American activist and businessman, founded the American Civil Rights Institute
- 1941 – Neal Adams, American illustrator
- 1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1942 – Ian Greenberg, Canadian broadcaster, founded Astral Media
- 1942 – John E. McLaughlin, American diplomat
- 1942 – Peter Norman, Australian sprinter (d. 2006)
- 1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Danish politician, 38th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1944 – Robert D. Keppel, American police officer and academic
- 1945 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipino judge and politician (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Robert Sarah, Guinean cardinal
- 1945 – Lawrence Wilkerson, American colonel
- 1946 – Noddy Holder, English rock singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
- 1946 – John Horner, American paleontologist and academic
- 1946 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
- 1947 – John Hoagland, American photographer and journalist (d. 1984)
- 1948 – Mike Holmgren, American football player and coach
- 1948 – Alan Huckle, English politician and diplomat, Governor of Anguilla
- 1948 – Henry McLeish, Scottish footballer, academic, and politician, 2nd First Minister of Scotland
- 1949 – Dusty Baker, American baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Simon Callow, English actor and director
- 1949 – Russell Hitchcock, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1950 – Uğur Erdener, Turkish ophthalmologist and professor
- 1950 – Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Ghanaian nurse and politician
- 1950 – Deney Terrio, American choreographer and host of the television musical variety series Dance Fever
- 1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian-English businessman
- 1951 – Jane Amsterdam, American magazine and newspaper editor (Manhattan, inc., New York Post)
- 1951 – Vance A. Larson, American painter (d. 2000)
- 1951 – John Redwood, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
- 1951 – Steve Walsh, American rock singer-songwriter and musician
- 1952 – Satya Pal Jain, Indian lawyer and politician, Additional Solicitor General of India
- 1953 – Vilma Bardauskienė, Lithuanian long jumper
- 1953 – Marc Brickman, American lighting and production designer
- 1953 – Eje Elgh, Swedish racing driver and sportscaster
- 1953 – Xi Jinping, Chinese engineer and politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
- 1953 – Raphael Wallfisch, English cellist and educator
- 1954 – Jim Belushi, American actor
- 1954 – Terri Gibbs, American country music singer and keyboard player
- 1954 – Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan humanitarian
- 1954 – Zdeňka Šilhavá, Czech discus thrower and shot putter
- 1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
- 1955 – Polly Draper, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Julie Hagerty, American model and actress
- 1956 – Yevgeny Kiselyov, Russian-Ukrainian journalist
- 1956 – Lance Parrish, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
- 1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
- 1959 – Alan Brazil, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
- 1959 – Eileen Davidson, American model and actress
- 1960 – Michèle Laroque, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Dave McAuley, Irish boxer and sportscaster
- 1961 – Scott Norton, American wrestler
- 1962 – Brad Armstrong, American wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1962 – Chris Morris, English actor, satirist, director, and producer
- 1962 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
- 1963 – Marina Azyabina, Russian hurdler
- 1963 – Mario Gosselin, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress, director, and producer
- 1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress and producer
- 1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Annelies Bredael, Belgian rower
- 1965 – Karim Massimov, Kazakhstani politician, 7th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
- 1965 – Adam Smith, American lawyer and politician
- 1966 – Raimonds Vējonis, Latvian politician, 9th President of Latvia
- 1968 – Károly Güttler, Hungarian swimmer
- 1969 – Jesse Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1969 – Idalis DeLeón, American singer and actress
- 1969 – Nasos Galakteros, Greek basketball player
- 1969 – Oliver Kahn, German footballer and sportscaster
- 1969 – Maurice Odumbe, Kenyan cricketer
- 1969 – Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
- 1970 – Christian Bauman, American soldier and author
- 1970 – David Bayssari, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano
- 1970 – Leah Remini, American actress and producer
- 1970 – Žan Tabak, Croatian basketball player and coach
- 1971 – Christos Myriounis, Greek basketball player
- 1971 – Jake Busey, American actor, musician, and film producer
- 1972 – Justin Leonard, American golfer
- 1972 – Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
- 1973 – Tore Andre Flo, Norwegian footballer and coach
- 1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor and singer
- 1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress
- 1976 – Jiří Ryba, Czech decathlete
- 1977 – Michael Doleac, American basketball player and manager
- 1978 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
- 1978 – Zach Day, American baseball player
- 1979 – Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian sprinter
- 1979 – Christian Rahn, German footballer
- 1979 – Charles Zwolsman, Jr., Dutch racing driver
- 1980 – David Lyons, Australian rugby player
- 1981 – John Paintsil, Ghanaian footballer
- 1982 – Mike Delany, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1983 – Julia Fischer, German violinist and pianist[citation needed]
- 1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist[citation needed]
- 1983 – Josh McGuire, Canadian fencer
- 1984 – Luke Hodge, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Eva Hrdinová, Czech tennis player
- 1984 – Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
- 1984 – Edison Toloza, Colombian footballer
- 1985 – Ashley Nicole Black, American comedian, actress, and writer
- 1986 – James Maloney, Australian rugby league player
- 1986 – Trevor Plouffe, American baseball player
- 1989 – Víctor Cabedo, Spanish cyclist (d. 2012)
- 1989 – Bryan Clauson, American race car driver (d. 2016)
- 1992 – Michał Kopczyński, Polish footballer
- 1992 – Mohamed Salah, Egyptian footballer
- 1992 – Dafne Schippers, Dutch heptathlete and sprinter
- 1993 – Irfan Hadžić, Bosnian footballer
- 1994 – Inaki Williams, Basque footballer
- 1997 – Madison Kocian, American gymnast
Deaths on June 15
- 923 – Robert I of France (b. 866)
- 948 – Romanos I Lekapenos, Byzantine Emperor (b. c. 870)
- 952 – Murong Yanchao, Chinese general
- 960 – Eadburh of Winchester, English princess and saint
- 970 – Adalbert, bishop of Passau
- 991 – Theophanu, Byzantine wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 960)
- 1073 – Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
- 1184 – Magnus Erlingsson, King of Norway (b. 1156)
- 1189 – Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (b. 1159)
- 1246 – Frederick II, Duke of Austria (b. 1219)
- 1337 – Angelo da Clareno, Italian Franciscan and leader of a group of Fraticelli (b. 1247)
- 1341 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1297)
- 1381 – John Cavendish, English lawyer and judge (b. 1346)
- 1381 – Wat Tyler, English rebel leader (b. 1341)
- 1383 – John VI Kantakouzenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1292)
- 1383 – Matthew Kantakouzenos, Byzantine emperor
- 1389 – Lazar of Serbia (b. 1329)
- 1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1319)
- 1389 – Miloš Obilić, Serbian knight.
- 1416 – John, Duke of Berry (b. 1340)
- 1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
- 1521 – Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1442)
- 1614 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English courtier and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1540)
- 1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English minister and politician (b. 1674)
- 1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
- 1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (b. 1694)
- 1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1777)
- 1849 – James K. Polk, American lawyer and politician, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
- 1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (b. 1795)
- 1888 – Frederick III, German Emperor (b. 1831)
- 1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1850)
- 1890 – Unryū Kyūkichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 10th Yokozuna (b. 1822)
- 1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist and academic (b. 1867)
- 1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French cellist and composer (b. 1857)
- 1938 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter and illustrator (b. 1880)
- 1941 – Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist and physician (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Evelyn Underhill, English mystic and author (b. 1875)
- 1945 – Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, Austrian diplomat
- 1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1961 – Peyami Safa, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1899)
- 1962 – Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1877)
- 1967 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (b. 1885)
- 1968 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1880)
- 1968 – Wes Montgomery, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1976 – Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896)
- 1984 – Meredith Willson, American playwright, composer, and conductor (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (b. 1927)
- 1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Ray McAnally, Irish actor (b. 1926)
- 1991 – Happy Chandler, American businessman and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1898)
- 1991 – Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 1992 – Chuck Menville, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (b. 1939)
- 1993 – John Connally, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1917)
- 1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver and sportscaster (b. 1947)
- 1994 – Manos Hatzidakis, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1925)
- 1995 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American physicist and inventor, invented the Atanasoff–Berry computer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer and actress (b. 1917)
- 1996 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Scottish general and politician (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Dick Murdoch, American wrestler (b. 1946)
- 1999 – Omer Côté, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1906)
- 2000 – Jules Roy, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Choi Hong Hi, South Korean general and martial artist, founded Taekwondo (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician and mayor of İzmir (b. 1952)
- 2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Raymond Devos, Belgian-French comedian and clown (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Bill Haast, American herpetologist and academic (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Phillip D. Cagan, American economist and author (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Capitola Dickerson, American pianist and educator (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Barry MacKay, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Israel Nogueda Otero, Mexican economist and politician, 10th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Jerry Tubbs, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Heinz Flohe, German footballer and manager (b. 1948)
- 2013 – José Froilán González, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Dennis O’Rourke, Australian director and producer (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Jacques Bergerac, French actor and businessman (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio host, producer, and voice actor, co-created American Top 40 (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Daniel Keyes, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman, founded the Tracinda Corporation (b. 1917)
- 2016 – Lois Duncan, American author (b. 1934)
- 2018 – Matt “Guitar” Murphy, American Blues guitarist (The Blues Brothers) (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film director (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on June 15
- Arbor Day (Costa Rica)
- Christian feast day:
- Abraham of Clermont (or of St Cyriacus)
- Alice (or Adelaide) of Schaerbeek
- Augustine of Hippo (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock
- Blessed Clement Vismara
- Edburga of Winchester
- Evelyn Underhill (Church of England and The Episcopal Church)
- Germaine Cousin
- Landelin (of Crespin or of Lobbes)
- Trillo
- Vitus (Guy), Modestus and Crescentia
- June 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Valdemar and Reunion Day (Flag Day) (Denmark)
- Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in June. (United States, and most other countries.)
- Engineer’s Day (Italy)
- Global Wind Day (international)
- National Beer Day (United Kingdom)
- National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan)
-
June 13 in History
- 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia.
- 1381 – In England, the Peasants’ Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, comes to a head, as rebels set fire to the Savoy Palace.
- 1514 – Henry Grace à Dieu, at over 1,000 tons the largest warship in the world at this time, built at the new Woolwich Dockyard in England, is dedicated.
- 1525 – Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests and nuns.
- 1625 – King Charles I of England marries Catholic princess Henrietta Maria of France and Navarre, at Canterbury.
- 1740 – Georgia provincial governor James Oglethorpe begins an unsuccessful attempt to take Spanish Florida during the Siege of St. Augustine.
- 1774 – Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain’s North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves.
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette lands near Charleston, South Carolina, in order to help the Continental Congress to train its army.
- 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: Scouting ahead of the expedition, Meriwether Lewis and four companions sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River.
- 1881 – The USS Jeannette is crushed in an Arctic Ocean ice pack.
- 1886 – A fire devastates much of Vancouver, British Columbia.
- 1893 – Grover Cleveland notices a rough spot in his mouth and on July 1 undergoes secret, successful surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw; the operation was not revealed to the public until 1917, nine years after the president’s death.
- 1898 – Yukon Territory is formed, with Dawson chosen as its capital.
- 1917 – World War I: The deadliest German air raid on London of the war is carried out by Gotha G.IV bombers and results in 162 deaths, including 46 children, and 432 injuries.
- 1927 – Aviator Charles Lindbergh receives a ticker tape parade down 5th Avenue in New York City.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Villers-Bocage: German tank ace Michael Wittmann ambushes elements of the British 7th Armoured Division, destroying up to fourteen tanks, fifteen personnel carriers and two anti-tank guns in a Tiger I tank.
- 1944 – World War II: German combat elements, reinforced by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, launch a counterattack on American forces near Carentan.
- 1944 – World War II: Germany launches the first V1 Flying Bomb attack on England. Only four of the eleven bombs strike their targets.
- 1952 – Catalina affair: A Swedish Douglas DC-3 is shot down by a Soviet MiG-15 fighter.
- 1966 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.
- 1967 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominates Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
- 1971 – Vietnam War: The New York Times begins publication of the Pentagon Papers.
- 1977 – Convicted Martin Luther King Jr. assassin James Earl Ray is recaptured after escaping from prison three days before.
- 1981 – At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, a teenager, Marcus Sarjeant, fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II.
- 1982 – Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia upon the death of his brother, Khalid.
- 1982 – Battles of Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge, during the Falklands War.
- 1983 – Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passes beyond the orbit of Neptune.
- 1990 – First day of the June 1990 Mineriad in Romania. At least 240 strikers and students are arrested or killed in the chaos ensuing from the first post-Ceaușescu elections.
- 1994 – A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages.
- 1996 – The Montana Freemen surrender after an 81-day standoff with FBI agents.
- 1997 – A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2000 – President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea meets Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, for the beginning of the first ever inter-Korea summit, in the northern capital of Pyongyang.
- 2000 – Italy pardons Mehmet Ali Ağca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981.
- 2002 – The United States withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 2007 – The Al Askari Mosque is bombed for a second time.
- 2010 – A capsule of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa, containing particles of the asteroid 25143 Itokawa, returns to Earth.
- 2012 – A series of bombings across Iraq, including Baghdad, Hillah and Kirkuk, kills at least 93 people and wounds over 300 others.
- 2015 – A man opens fire at policemen outside the police headquarters in Dallas, Texas, while a bag containing a pipe bomb is also found. He was later shot dead by police.
Births on June 13
- AD 40 – Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general (d. 93)
- 823 – Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 877)
- 839 – Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 888)
- 1367 – Taejong of Joseon (d. 1422)
- 1500 – Ernest of Bavaria, pledge lord of the County of Glatz (d. 1560)
- 1508 – Alessandro Piccolomini, Italian astronomer and philosopher (d. 1579)
- 1539 – Jost Amman, Swiss printmaker (d. 1591)
- 1555 – Giovanni Antonio Magini, Italian mathematician, cartographer and astronomer (d. 1617)
- 1580 – Willebrord Snell, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (d. 1626)
- 1595 – Jan Marek Marci, Czech physician and scientist (d. 1667)
- 1617 – Sir Vincent Corbet, 1st Baronet, English politician (d. 1656)
- 1649 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (d. 1706)
- 1711 – Sir Richard Glyn, 1st Baronet, of Ewell, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1773)
- 1752 – Frances Burney, English novelist and playwright (d. 1840)
- 1761 – Antonín Vranický, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1820)
- 1763 – José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian poet, academic, and politician (d. 1838)
- 1773 – Thomas Young, English physicist and physiologist (d. 1829)
- 1775 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Polish-Lithuanian composer and politician (d. 1833)
- 1786 – Winfield Scott, American general (d. 1866)
- 1790 – José Antonio Páez, Venezuelan general and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 1873)
- 1809 – Heinrich Hoffmann, German psychiatrist and author (d. 1894)
- 1822 – Carl Schmidt, Latvian-German chemist and academic (d. 1894)
- 1827 – Alberto Henschel, German-Brazilian photographer and businessman (d. 1882)
- 1831 – James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist and mathematician (d. 1879)
- 1840 – Augusta Lundin, the first international Swedish fashion designer (d. 1919)
- 1854 – Charles Algernon Parsons, English engineer, founded C. A. Parsons and Company (d. 1931)
- 1863 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (d. 1935)
- 1864 – Rudolf Kjellén, Swedish political scientist and academic (d. 1922)
- 1864 – Dwight B. Waldo, American historian and academic (d. 1939)
- 1865 – Karl Blossfeldt, German photographer (d. 1932)
- 1865 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1939)
- 1868 – Wallace Clement Sabine, American physicist and academic (d. 1919)
- 1870 – Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1872 – Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1951)
- 1873 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (d. 1942)
- 1875 – Paul Neumann, Austrian swimmer and physician (d. 1932)
- 1876 – William Sealy Gosset, English chemist and statistician (d. 1937)
- 1879 – Heinrich Gutkin, Estonian businessman and politician (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (d. 1929)
- 1884 – Leon Chwistek, Polish painter, philosopher, and mathematician (d. 1944)
- 1884 – Étienne Gilson, French philosopher and academic (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Henry George Lamond, Australian farmer and author (d. 1969)
- 1887 – André François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat (d. 1978)
- 1887 – Bruno Frank, German-American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1945)
- 1888 – Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet and critic (d. 1935)
- 1892 – Basil Rathbone, South African-born British-American actor (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Alan Arnold Griffith, English engineer (d. 1963)
- 1893 – Dorothy L. Sayers, English author and poet (d. 1957)
- 1894 – Leo Kanner, Ukrainian-American psychiatrist and physician (d. 1981)
- 1894 – Jacques Henri Lartigue, French photographer and painter (d. 1986)
- 1897 – Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner and coach (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer, conductor, and journalist, founded the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Tage Erlander, Swedish lieutenant and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1985)
- 1902 – Carolyn Eisele, American mathematician and historian (d. 2000)
- 1903 – Willard Harrison Bennett, American physicist and chemist (d. 1987)
- 1905 – James T. Rutnam, Sri Lankan historian and author (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Bruno de Finetti, Austrian-Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1985)
- 1909 – E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Indian theorist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 1998)
- 1910 – Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, Spanish journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1999)
- 1910 – Mary Wickes, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1910 – Mary Whitehouse, English activist, founded the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Luis Walter Alvarez, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
- 1911 – Maurice Copeland, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1911 – Erwin Wilhelm Müller, German physicist and academic (d. 1977)
- 1912 – Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, Canadian poet and painter (d. 1943)
- 1913 – Ralph Edwards, American radio and television host (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Yitzhak Pundak, Israeli general, diplomat and politician (d. 2017)
- 1914 – Frederic Franklin, English-American ballet dancer and director (d. 2013)
- 1915 – Don Budge, American tennis player and coach (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Wu Zhengyi, Chinese botanist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Teddy Turner, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1917 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan novelist (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Helmut Lent, German soldier and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1918 – Percy Rodriguez, Canadian-American actor (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Rolf Huisgen, German chemist and academic (d. 2020)
- 1920 – Iosif Vorovich, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Lennart Strand, Swedish runner (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Etienne Leroux, South African author (d. 1989)
- 1923 – Lloyd Conover, American chemist and inventor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Kristine Miller, American actress (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Jérôme Lejeune, French pediatrician and geneticist (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Paul Lynde, American actor and comedian (d. 1982)
- 1927 – Slim Dusty, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Renée Morisset, Canadian pianist (d. 2009)
- 1928 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Ralph McQuarrie, American illustrator (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Gotthard Graubner, German painter and educator (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Ryszard Kukliński, Polish colonel and spy (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Paul Veyne, French archaeologist, historian, and academic
- 1931 – Nora Kovach, Hungarian-American ballerina (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Reed Scowen, Canadian politician
- 1931 – Irvin D. Yalom, American psychotherapist and academic
- 1932 – Raymond Jolliffe, 5th Baron Hylton, English politician
- 1932 – Bob McGrath, American singer and actor
- 1932 – Billy Williams, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
- 1933 – Norman Lloyd-Edwards, Welsh lawyer and politician, Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan
- 1934 – Bill Blakeley, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Lucjan Brychczy, Polish footballer and coach
- 1934 – Manuel Clouthier, Mexican businessman and politician (d. 1989)
- 1934 – James Anthony Griffin, American bishop
- 1934 – Uriel Jones, American drummer (d. 2009)
- 1934 – Leonard Kleinrock, American computer scientist and engineer
- 1935 – Christo, Bulgarian-French sculptor and painter
- 1935 – Jeanne-Claude, Moroccan sculptor and painter (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Samak Sundaravej, Thai politician, 25th Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2009)
- 1937 – Eleanor Holmes Norton, American lawyer and politician
- 1937 – Erich Ribbeck, German footballer and manager
- 1937 – Andreas Whittam Smith, English journalist and publisher, co-founded The Independent
- 1940 – Bobby Freeman, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Dallas Long, American shot putter and physician
- 1941 – Marcel Lachemann, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1941 – Serge Lemoyne, Canadian painter (d. 1998)
- 1941 – Marv Tarplin, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1942 – Yiannis Boutaris, Greek businessman and politician, Mayor of Thessaloniki
- 1943 – Harry Collins, English sociologist, author, and academic
- 1943 – Malcolm McDowell, English actor and producer
- 1943 – Jim Guy Tucker, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Arkansas
- 1944 – Christine Beasley, English nursing administrator
- 1944 – David Curry, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
- 1944 – Ban Ki-moon, South Korean politician and diplomat, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
- 1945 – Whitley Strieber, American author
- 1946 – Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nepalese politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Nepal
- 1946 – Paul L. Modrich, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Gabriel of Komana, Belgian-Dutch archbishop (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Garnet Bailey, Canadian-American ice hockey player and scout (d. 2001)
- 1948 – Joe Roth, American director and producer, co-founded Morgan Creek Productions
- 1949 – Ann Druyan, American popular science writer
- 1949 – Dennis Locorriere, American singer and musician
- 1949 – Ulla Schmidt, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Health
- 1949 – Red Symons, English-Australian musician, television, and radio personality
- 1950 – Nick Brown, English politician, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
- 1950 – Gerd Zewe, German footballer and manager
- 1951 – Howard Leese, American guitarist and producer
- 1951 – Richard Thomas, American actor, director, and producer
- 1951 – Stellan Skarsgård, Swedish actor
- 1952 – Jean-Marie Dedecker, Belgian martial artist and politician
- 1953 – Tim Allen, American actor, comedian, and producer
- 1954 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (d. 2011)
- 1954 – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian economist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Nigeria
- 1955 – Alan Hansen, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
- 1955 – Leah Ward Sears, German-American lawyer and jurist
- 1956 – Blair Chapman, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956 – Sal Paolantonio, American lieutenant and journalist
- 1957 – Ron Areshenkoff, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1957 – Roy Cooper, American lawyer and politician, 75th Governor of North Carolina
- 1957 – Bruce Flowers, American basketball player
- 1957 – Andrzej Morozowski, Polish journalist and author
- 1957 – Dicky Thompson, American golfer
- 1959 – Boyko Borissov, Bulgarian footballer and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- 1959 – Maurice G. Dantec, French-born Canadian science fiction writer (d. 2016)
- 1959 – Steve Georganas, Australian politician
- 1959 – Klaus Iohannis, Romanian educator and politician, 5th President of Romania
- 1960 – Jacques Rougeau, Canadian wrestler
- 1961 – Anders Järryd, Swedish tennis player
- 1962 – Davey Hamilton, American race car driver
- 1962 – Glenn Michibata, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
- 1962 – Ally Sheedy, American actress and author
- 1962 – Hannah Storm, American journalist and author
- 1963 – Bettina Bunge, Swiss-German tennis player
- 1963 – Sarah Connolly, English soprano and actress
- 1963 – Audrey Niffenegger, American author and academic
- 1964 – Christian Wilhelm Berger, Romanian organist, composer, and educator
- 1964 – Kathy Burke, English actress, director, and playwright
- 1964 – Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Government of India, Politician
- 1964 – Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1965 – Infanta Cristina Federica of Spain
- 1965 – Vassilis Karapialis, Greek footballer
- 1965 – Lukas Ligeti, Austrian-American drummer and composer
- 1965 – Maninder Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1966 – Henry Bond, English photographer and curator
- 1966 – Grigori Perelman, Russian mathematician
- 1966 – Naoki Hattori, Japanese race car driver
- 1967 – Taşkın Aksoy, German-Turkish footballer and manager
- 1968 – Fabio Baldato, Italian cyclist
- 1968 – Peter DeBoer, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Darren Dreger, Canadian sportscaster
- 1968 – David Gray, English-Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1968 – Tim Leveque, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Denise Pearson, English singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Marcel Theroux, Ugandan-English journalist and author
- 1969 – Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Spanish actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Virginie Despentes, French author, screenwriter, and director
- 1969 – Laura Kightlinger, American actress, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Svetlana Krivelyova, Russian shot putter
- 1969 – Søren Rasted, Danish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1970 – Rivers Cuomo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Chris Cairns, New Zealand cricketer
- 1971 – Nóra Köves, Hungarian tennis player
- 1972 – Natalie MacMaster, Canadian fiddler
- 1972 – Marek Jerzy Minakowski, Polish philosopher, historian, genealogist
- 1973 – Sam Adams, American football player
- 1973 – Tanner Foust, American race car driver and television host
- 1973 – Mattias Hellberg, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Stuart Karppinen, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1973 – Ville Laihiala, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Valeri Bure, Russian-American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Ante Covic, Australian footballer
- 1975 – Jeff Davis, American screenwriter and producer
- 1975 – Jennifer Nicole Lee, American model, actress, and author
- 1975 – Jaan Pehk, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1975 – Riccardo Scimeca, English footballer
- 1976 – Kym Marsh, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1977 – Romain Mesnil, French pole vaulter
- 1977 – Earthwind Moreland, American football player
- 1978 – Ethan Embry, American actor
- 1979 – Esther Anderson, Australian actress
- 1979 – Nila Håkedal, Norwegian volleyball player
- 1979 – Miguel Pate, American long jumper
- 1979 – Ryan Pickett, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1980 – Florent Malouda, French footballer
- 1980 – Diego Mendieta, Paraguayan footballer (d. 2012)
- 1980 – Jamario Moon, American basketball player
- 1980 – Juan Carlos Navarro, Spanish basketball player
- 1980 – Darius Vassell, English footballer
- 1980 – Markus Winkelhock, German racing driver
- 1981 – Chris Evans, American actor and producer
- 1981 – Blake Judd, American actor, director, and producer
- 1981 – David Madden, founder and executive director of the National History Bee and the National History Bowl
- 1981 – Radim Vrbata, Czech ice hockey player
- 1982 – Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopian runner
- 1982 – Krzysztof Bosak, Polish politician
- 1982 – Nate Jones, American football player
- 1983 – Steve Novak, American basketball player
- 1983 – Jason Spezza, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Rachel Taylor, Welsh rugby union player
- 1984 – Nery Castillo, Mexican-Uruguayan footballer
- 1984 – Kaori Icho, Japanese wrestler
- 1984 – Antje Möldner-Schmidt, German runner
- 1985 – Filipe Albuquerque, Portuguese racing driver
- 1985 – Silvio Bankert, German footballer
- 1985 – Pedro Strop, Dominican baseball player
- 1985 – Danny Syvret, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Kat Dennings, American actress and comedian
- 1986 – Keisuke Honda, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Jonathan Lucroy, American baseball catcher
- 1986 – Ashley Olsen, American child actress, fashion designer, and businesswoman
- 1986 – Mary-Kate Olsen, American child actress, fashion designer, and businesswoman
- 1986 – DJ Snake, French DJ and record producer
- 1986 – Lea Verou, Greek computer scientist and author
- 1986 – Måns Zelmerlöw, Swedish singer
- 1987 – Marko Grgić, Croatian footballer
- 1988 – Gabe Carimi, American football player
- 1988 – Reece Noi, British actor
- 1988 – Cody Walker, American actor
- 1989 – Ben Barba, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – James Calado, English racing driver
- 1989 – Ryan McDonagh, American ice hockey defenseman
- 1989 – Daniel Mortimer, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Andreas Samaris, Greek footballer
- 1989 – Tommy Searle, English motocross racer
- 1989 – Hassan Whiteside, American basketball player
- 1989 – Erica Wiebe, Canadian wrestler
- 1990 – James McCann, American baseball player
- 1990 – Nicole Riner, Swiss tennis player
- 1990 – Aaron Taylor-Johnson, English actor
- 1991 – Will Claye, American jumper
- 1991 – Ryan Mason, English footballer
- 1992 – Semi Radradra, Fijian rugby league player
- 1993 – Simona Senoner, Italian ski jumper (d. 2011)
- 1993 – Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (d. 2018)
- 1994 – Deepika Kumari, Indian archer
- 1995 – Emily Fanning, New Zealand tennis player
- 1995 – Laura Ucrós, Colombian tennis player
- 2000 – Penny Oleksiak, Canadian swimmer
Deaths on June 13
- 220 – Xiahou Dun, Chinese general
- 976 – Mansur I, Samanid emir
- 995 – Fujiwara no Michikane, Japanese nobleman (b. 961)
- 1036 – Ali az-Zahir, Fatimid caliph (b. 1005)
- 1231 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese priest and saint (b. 1195)
- 1256 – Tankei, Japanese sculptor (b. 1173)
- 1348 – Juan Manuel, Spanish prince (b. 1282)
- 1432 – Uko Fockena, Frisian chieftain (b. c. 1408)
- 1550 – Veronica Gambara, Italian poet (b. 1485)
- 1636 – George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, Scottish politician (b. 1562)
- 1645 – Miyamoto Musashi, Japanese samurai (b. 1584)
- 1661 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (b. 1595)
- 1665 – Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer, Dutch admiral (b. 1604)
- 1784 – Henry Middleton, American farmer and politician, 2nd President of the Continental Congress (b. 1717)
- 1846 – Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès, French geographer and author (b. 1767)
- 1861 – Henry Gray, English anatomist and surgeon (b. 1827)
- 1881 – Joseph Škoda, Czech physician and dermatologist (b. 1805)
- 1886 – Ludwig II, king of Bavaria (b. 1845)
- 1894 – John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (b. 1842)
- 1898 – Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
- 1904 – Nikiforos Lytras, Greek painter and educator (b. 1832)
- 1917 – Louis-Philippe Hébert, Canadian sculptor (b. 1850)
- 1918 – Michael Alexandrovich, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1878)
- 1930 – Henry Segrave, American-English racing driver (b. 1896)
- 1931 – Kitasato Shibasaburō, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1851)
- 1939 – Arthur Coningham, Australian cricketer (b. 1863)
- 1943 – Kočo Racin, Macedonian author and activist (b. 1908)
- 1948 – Osamu Dazai, Japanese author (b. 1909)
- 1951 – Ben Chifley, Australian engineer and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
- 1957 – Irving Baxter, American high jumper and pole vaulter (b. 1876)
- 1958 – Edwin Keppel Bennett, English poet and academic (b. 1887
- 1965 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and theologian (b. 1878)
- 1965 – David Drummond, Australian farmer and politician (b. 1890)
- 1969 – Pralhad Keshav Atre, Indian journalist, director, and producer (b. 1898)
- 1972 – Georg von Békésy, Hungarian biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1972 – Stephanie von Hohenlohe, Austrian-German spy (b. 1891)
- 1979 – Demetrio Stratos, Egyptian-Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1945)
- 1980 – Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and activist (b. 1942)
- 1981 – Olivério Pinto, Brazilian zoologist and physician (b. 1896)
- 1984 – António Variações, Portuguese singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 1986 – Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (b. 1909)
- 1987 – Geraldine Page, American actress (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Fran Allison, American television personality and puppeteer (b. 1907)
- 1993 – Gérard Côté, Canadian runner (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Deke Slayton, American soldier, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1924)
- 1994 – Nadia Gray, Romanian-French actress (b. 1923)
- 1997 – Nguyen Manh Tuong, Vietnamese lawyer and academic (b. 1909)
- 1998 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (b. 1899)
- 1998 – Birger Ruud, Norwegian ski jumper (b. 1911)
- 1998 – Reg Smythe, English cartoonist (b. 1917)
- 2002 – John Hope, American navigator and meteorologist (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Maia Wojciechowska, Polish-American author (b. 1927)
- 2003 – Malik Meraj Khalid, Pakistani lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Ralph Wiley, American journalist and author (b. 1952)
- 2005 – Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese academic and politician (b. 1913)
- 2005 – David Diamond, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Charles Haughey, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Walid Eido, Lebanese judge and politician (b. 1942)
- 2008 – Tim Russert, American journalist and lawyer (b. 1950)
- 2009 – Fathi Yakan, Lebanese scholar and politician (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Jimmy Dean, American singer and businessman, founded Jimmy Dean Foods (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Sam Beddingfield, American pilot and engineer (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Graeme Bell, Australian pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Roger Garaudy, French philosopher and author (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Jože Humer, Slovenian composer and translator (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Mehdi Hassan, Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood (b. 1927)
- 2013 – David Deutsch, American businessman, founded Deutsch Inc. (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Sam Most, American flute player and saxophonist (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Albert White Hat, American educator and activist (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Mahdi Elmandjra, Moroccan economist and sociologist (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Jim Keays, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Robert Peters, American poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Buddy Boudreaux, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Sergio Renán, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Mike Shrimpton, New Zealand cricketer and coach (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on June 13
- Christian feast day:
- Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church
- Aquilina
- Cetteus (Peregrinus)
- Felicula
- G. K. Chesterton (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Gerard of Clairvaux
- Psalmodius
- Ragnebert (Rambert)
- Blessed Thomas Woodhouse
- Triphyllius
- June 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Inventors’ Day (Hungary)
- Suleimaniah City Fallen and Martyrs Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
-
June 11 in History
- 1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
- 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
- 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang.
- 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
- 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus’.
- 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
- 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
- 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave.
- 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
- 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau.
- 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king.
- 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
- 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
- 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
- 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
- 1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
- 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
- 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
- 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
- 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
- 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
- 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
- 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
- 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”, takes place.
- 1898 – The Hundred Days’ Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
- 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
- 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga.
- 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
- 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
- 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
- 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
- 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
- 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
- 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
- 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.
- 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
- 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.
- 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
- 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
- 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
- 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
- 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
- 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
- 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
- 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
- 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.
- 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first women to do so.
- 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
- 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
- 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
- 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
- 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
- 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
- 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
- 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
- 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
- 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
- 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
- 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
- 2013 – Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It reopened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
- 2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.
Births on June 11
- 1403 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
- 1431 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456)
- 1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)
- 1540 – Barnabe Googe, English poet and translator (d. 1594)
- 1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1627)
- 1572 – Ben Jonson, English poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1637)
- 1585 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)
- 1588 – George Wither, English poet (d. 1667)
- 1620 – John Moore, English businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1702)
- 1655 – Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (d. 1730)
- 1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1712)
- 1672 – Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
- 1690 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
- 1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
- 1697 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1780)
- 1704 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese harpsichord player and composer (d. 1742)
- 1709 – Joachim Martin Falbe, German painter (d. 1782)
- 1712 – Benjamin Ingham, American missionary (d. 1772)
- 1723 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
- 1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
- 1741 – Joseph Warren, American physician and general (d. 1775)
- 1776 – John Constable, English painter and academic (d. 1837)
- 1797 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran philosopher and theorist (d. 1855)
- 1807 – James F. Schenck, American admiral (d. 1882)
- 1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, Indian-Sri Lankan photographer (d. 1879)
- 1818 – Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1903)
- 1829 – Edward Braddon, English-Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
- 1832 – Lucy Pickens, American wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (d. 1899)
- 1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and academic (d. 1934)
- 1846 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English academic and activist (d. 1929)
- 1861 – Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
- 1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
- 1867 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (d. 1945)
- 1871 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian lawyer and politician (d. 1928)
- 1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American-French anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 1960)
- 1877 – Renée Vivien, English-French poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1879 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
- 1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (d. 1973)
- 1881 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (d. 1963)
- 1881 – Mordecai Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (d. 1983)
- 1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-American anarchist and convicted criminal (d. 1927)
- 1889 – Hugo Wieslander, Swedish decathlete (d. 1976)
- 1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (d. 1952)
- 1895 – Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
- 1897 – Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian activist, founded the Hindustan Republican Association (d. 1927)
- 1897 – Reg Latta, Australian rugby league player (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1901 – Cap Fear, Canadian football player and rower (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Benny Wearing, Australian rugby league player (d. 1968)
- 1902 – Eric Fraser, British illustrator and graphic designer (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Ernie Nevers, American football player and coach (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (d. 1919)
- 1909 – Natascha Artin Brunswick, German-American mathematician and photographer (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Carmine Coppola, American flute player and composer (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
- 1912 – James Algar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1912 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (d. 1963)
- 1912 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 1970)
- 1913 – Risë Stevens, American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Dutch psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1915 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, American mathematician and physicist (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (d. 1980)
- 1919 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Richard Todd, Irish-English actor (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Shelly Manne, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
- 1920 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Keith Seaman, Australian lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jean Sutherland Boggs, Peruvian-Canadian historian, academic, and civil servant (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Johnny Esaw, Canadian sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer and educator
- 1927 – Beryl Grey, English ballerina
- 1927 – John W. O’Malley, American Catholic historian, academic and Jesuit priest
- 1927 – Kit Pedler, English parapsychologist and author (d. 1981)
- 1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Ayhan Şahenk, Turkish businessman (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Charles Rangel, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
- 1932 – Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director, and playwright
- 1932 – Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1939 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1939 – Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
- 1942 – Parris Glendening, American politician, 59th Governor of Maryland
- 1943 – Henry Hill, American mobster (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
- 1947 – Richard Palmer-James, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Dave Cash, American baseball player and coach
- 1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
- 1949 – Frank Beard, American drummer and songwriter
- 1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, cartoonist and actress (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Graham Russell, English-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Matthew Engel, English journalist and author
- 1951 – Yasumasa Morimura, Japanese painter and photographer
- 1952 – Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian runner
- 1952 – Donnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, English politician
- 1953 – José Bové, French farmer and politician
- 1953 – Barbara Minty, American model
- 1954 – John Dyson, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Johnny Neel, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1955 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower
- 1955 – Duncan Steel, English-Australian astronomer and author
- 1956 – Joe Montana, American football player and sportscaster
- 1956 – Simon Plouffe, Canadian mathematician and academic
- 1956 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2015)
- 1956 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bass player and bandleader
- 1958 – Barry Adamson, English singer and bass player
- 1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and screenwriter
- 1960 – Mehmet Oz, American surgeon, author, and television host
- 1962 – Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1963 – Gioia Bruno, American singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler and sportscaster (d. 2000)
- 1964 – Jean Alesi, French race car driver
- 1964 – Kim Gallagher, American runner (d. 2002)
- 1965 – Georgios Bartzokas, Greek former professional basketball player
- 1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
- 1966 – Bruce Robison, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Graeme Bachop, New Zealand rugby player
- 1967 – João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
- 1968 – Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
- 1968 – Manoa Thompson, Fijian rugby player
- 1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
- 1969 – Olaf Kapagiannidis, German footballer
- 1971 – Vladimir Gaidamașciuc, Moldovan footballer
- 1971 – Liz Kendall, British politician
- 1971 – Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer
- 1971 – Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese voice actor
- 1972 – Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – José Manuel Abundis, Mexican footballer and coach
- 1974 – Fragiskos Alvertis, Greek basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1976 – Reiko Tosa, Japanese runner
- 1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
- 1978 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian-American actor
- 1978 – Daryl Tuffey, New Zealand cricketer
- 1979 – Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1980 – Yhency Brazoban, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Emiliano Moretti, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Kristo Tohver, Estonian footballer and referee
- 1982 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
- 1982 – Jacques Freitag, South African high jumper
- 1982 – Joey Graham, American basketball player
- 1982 – Stephen Graham, American basketball player
- 1982 – Reni Maitua, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Eldar Rønning, Norwegian skier
- 1982 – Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
- 1983 – Chuck Hayes, American basketball player
- 1983 – José Reyes, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Andy Lee, Irish boxer
- 1984 – Vágner Love, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Tim Hoogland, German footballer
- 1986 – Sebastian Bayer, German long jumper
- 1986 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
- 1987 – Marsel İlhan, Turkish tennis player
- 1987 – Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
- 1988 – Jesús Fernández Collado, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Yui Aragaki, Japanese actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, model, radio host
- 1989 – Maya Moore, American basketball player
- 1990 – Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
- 1991 – Daniel Howell, English internet celebrity
- 1993 – Brittany Boyd, American basketball player
- 1994 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
- 1996 – Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
- 1998 – Charlie Tahan, American actor
- 1999 – Eartha Cumings, Scottish footballer
Deaths on June 11
- 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
- 573 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)
- 840 – Junna, emperor of Japan (b. 785)
- 884 – Shi Jingsi, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 888 – Rimbert, archbishop of Bremen (b. 830)
- 1183 – Henry the Young King of England (b. 1155)
- 1216 – Henry of Flanders, emperor of the Latin Empire (b. c. 1174)
- 1248 – Adachi Kagemori, Japanese samurai
- 1253 – Amadeus IV, count of Savoy (b. 1197)
- 1298 – Yolanda of Poland (b. 1235)
- 1323 – Bérenger Fredoli, French lawyer and bishop (b. 1250)
- 1345 – Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire
- 1347 – Bartholomew of San Concordio, Italian Dominican canonist and man of letters (b. 1260)
- 1446 – Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (b. 1425)
- 1479 – John of Sahagun, hermit and saint (b. 1419)
- 1488 – James III of Scotland (b. 1451)
- 1557 – John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
- 1560 – Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1515)
- 1683 – Nikita Pustosvyat, a leader of the Russian Old Believers, beheaded (b. unknown)
- 1695 – André Félibien, French historian and author (b. 1619)
- 1712 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (b. 1654)
- 1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
- 1748 – Felice Torelli, Italian painter (b. 1667)
- 1796 – Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded the Whitbread Company (b. 1720)
- 1847 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician (b. 1786)
- 1852 – Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
- 1859 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (b. 1773)
- 1879 – William, Prince of Orange (b. 1840)
- 1882 – Louis Désiré Maigret, French bishop (b. 1804)
- 1885 – Matías Ramos Mejía, Argentinian colonel (b. 1810)
- 1897 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (b. 1821)
- 1903 – Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1837)
- 1903 – Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1876)
- 1903 – Draga Mašin, Serbian wife of Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1864)
- 1911 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician and missionary (b. 1815)
- 1913 – Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 279th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1856)
- 1914 – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1848)
- 1920 – William F. Halsey, Sr., American captain (b. 1853)
- 1924 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (b. 1837)
- 1927 – William Attewell, English cricketer (b. 1861)
- 1934 – Lev Vygotsky, Belarusian-Russian psychologist and theorist (b. 1896)
- 1936 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (b. 1906)
- 1937 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire (b. 1895)
- 1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
- 1955 – Pierre Levegh, French race car driver (b. 1905)
- 1962 – Chhabi Biswas, Indian actor and director (b. 1900)
- 1963 – Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese monk and martyr (b. 1897)
- 1965 – Paul B. Coremans, Belgian chemist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1965 – José Mendes Cabeçadas, Portuguese admiral and politician, 9th President of Portugal (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Frank Laubach, American missionary and mystic (b. 1884)
- 1974 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian general and politician, 16th President of Brazil (b. 1883)
- 1974 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1979 – Alice Dalgliesh, Trinidadian-American author and publisher (b. 1893)
- 1979 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1983 – Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian businessman and politician (b. 1894)
- 1984 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (b. 1922)
- 1986 – Chesley Bonestell, American painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
- 1991 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (b. 1925)
- 1993 – Ray Sharkey, American actor (b. 1952)
- 1994 – A. Thurairajah, Sri Lankan engineer and academic (b. 1934)
- 1995 – Rodel Naval, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1953)
- 1996 – George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
- 1996 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Catherine Cookson, English author (b. 1906)
- 1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2001 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (b. 1968)
- 2001 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1923)
- 2003 – David Brinkley, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Vasco Gonçalves, Portuguese general and politician, 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Anne-Marie Alonzo, Canadian playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher (b. 1951)
- 2006 – Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Bruce Shand, English soldier (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Imre Friedmann, American biologist and academic (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Mala Powers, American actress (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Ove Andersson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Võ Văn Kiệt, Vietnamese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Seth Putnam, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Miller Barber, American golfer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Carl W. Bauer, American lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2013 – James Grimsley, Jr., American general (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Kristiāns Pelšs, Latvian ice hockey player (b. 1992)
- 2013 – Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Ruby Dee, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Susan B. Horwitz, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1955)
- 2014 – Mipham Chokyi Lodro, Tibetan lama and educator (b. 1952)
- 2014 – Benjamin Mophatlane, South African businessman (b. 1973)
- 2014 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Jim Ed Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Ian McKechnie, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (b. 1937)
- 2020 – Stella Pevsner, children’s author (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on June 11
- American Evacuation Day (Libya)
- Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
- Christian feast day:
- Barnabas the Apostle
- Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity)
- Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church)
- Paula Frassinetti
- Riagail of Bangor
- June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- Kamehameha Day (Hawaii, United States)
- Student Day (Honduras)
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June 8 in History
- 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. He flees but is captured near Chalcedon and later executed in Cappadocia.
- 793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles.
- 1042 – Edward the Confessor becomes King of England – the country’s penultimate Anglo-Saxon king.
- 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre, beginning his crusade.
- 1663 – Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial ensures Portugal’s independence from Spain.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières.
- 1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine.
- 1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress.
- 1794 – Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution’s new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France.
- 1856 – A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys: Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George B. McClellan.
- 1867 – Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich).
- 1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the ‘Art of Compiling Statistics’, which was his punched card calculator.
- 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value.
- 1912 – Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures.
- 1918 – A solar eclipse is observed at Baker City, Oregon by scientists and an artist hired by the United States Navy.
- 1928 – Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Peking, whose name is changed to Beijing (“Northern Capital”).
- 1929 – Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
- 1940 – World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign.
- 1941 – World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese imperial submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle.
- 1949 – Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members.
- 1949 – George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is published.
- 1953 – An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes.
- 1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.
- 1959 – USS Barbero and the United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail.
- 1966 – An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed.
- 1966 – Topeka, Kansas, is devastated by a tornado that registers as an “F5” on the Fujita scale: The first to exceed US$100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
- 1966 – The National Football League and American Football League announced a merger effective in 1970.
- 1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.
- 1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram.
- 1984 – Homosexuality is declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales.
- 1987 – New Zealand’s Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987.
- 1992 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O’Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.
- 2001 – Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan.
- 2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882.
- 2007 – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State’s worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker.
- 2008 – At least 37 miners go missing after an explosion in a Ukrainian coal mine causes it to collapse.
- 2008 – At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan.
- 2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour.
- 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan.
Births on June 8
- 862 – Emperor Xizong of Tang (d. 888)
- 1508 – Primož Trubar, Slovenian Protestant reformer (d. 1586)
- 1552 – Gabriello Chiabrera, Italian poet and author (d. 1638)
- 1593 – George I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania (d. 1648)
- 1625 – Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1712)
- 1671 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1751)
- 1717 – John Collins, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1795)
- 1724 – John Smeaton, English engineer, designed the Coldstream Bridge and Perth Bridge (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Caspar Wessel, Norwegian-Danish mathematician and cartographer (d. 1818)
- 1757 – Ercole Consalvi, Italian cardinal (d. 1824)
- 1788 – Charles A. Wickliffe, American politician, 14th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1869)
- 1810 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (d. 1856)
- 1829 – John Everett Millais, English painter and illustrator (d. 1896)
- 1831 – Thomas J. Higgins, Canadian-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1917)
- 1842 – John Q. A. Brackett, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1918)
- 1851 – Jacques-Arsène d’Arsonval, French physician and physicist (d. 1940)
- 1852 – Guido Banti, Italian physician and pathologist (d. 1925)
- 1854 – Douglas Cameron, Canadian politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 1921)
- 1855 – George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (d. 1924)
- 1858 – Charlotte Scott, English mathematician (d. 1931)
- 1859 – Smith Wigglesworth, English evangelist (d. 1947)
- 1860 – Alicia Boole Stott, Irish-English mathematician and theorist (d. 1940)
- 1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (d. 1959)
- 1868 – Robert Robinson Taylor, American architect (d. 1942)
- 1872 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1949)
- 1875 – Ernst Enno, Estonian poet and author (d. 1934)
- 1876 – Alexandre Tuffère, Greek-French triple jumper (d. 1958)
- 1885 – Karl Genzken, German physician (d. 1957)
- 1891 – William Funnell, Australian public servant (d. 1962)
- 1893 – Ernst Marcus, German zoologist (d. 1968)
- 1893 – Gaby Morlay, French actress (d. 1964)
- 1894 – Erwin Schulhoff, Czech composer and pianist (d. 1942)
- 1895 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
- 1897 – John G. Bennett, English mathematician and technologist (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Eugène Lapierre, Canadian organist, composer and arts administrator (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (d. 1945)
- 1900 – Lena Baker, African-American maid executed for capital murder, later pardoned posthumously (d. 1945)
- 1903 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel and politician (d. 1996)
- 1903 – Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-French author and poet (d. 1987)
- 1910 – C. C. Beck, American illustrator (d. 1989)
- 1910 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (d. 1971)
- 1910 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer, sculptor, and painter (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Edmundo Rivero, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1912 – Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, British abstract painter (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Harry Holtzman, American painter (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian journalist, author, and poet (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Francis Crick, English biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Richard Pousette-Dart, American painter and educator (d. 1992)
- 1917 – Byron White, American football player and judge (d. 2002)
- 1918 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-New Zealand philosopher and logician (d. 1994)
- 1918 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (d. 1987)
- 1918 – John D. Roberts, American chemist and academic (d. 2016)
- 1918 – John H. Ross, American captain and pilot (d. 2013)
- 1919 – John R. Deane, Jr., American general (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (d. 1995)
- 1921 – Gordon McLendon, American broadcaster and businessman (d. 1986)
- 1921 – Olga Nardone, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1921 – LeRoy Neiman, American soldier and painter (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress and singer (d. 1993)
- 1921 – Suharto, Indonesian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Kenneth Waltz, American political scientist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Barbara Bush, American wife of George H. W. Bush, 41st First Lady of the United States (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Jerry Stiller, American actor, comedian and producer (d. 2020)
- 1929 – Nada Inada, Japanese psychiatrist and author (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Robert Aumann, German-American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Marcel Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1993)
- 1931 – James Goldstone, American director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1931 – Dana Wynter, British actress (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Ray Illingworth, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1932 – Ian Kirkwood, Lord Kirkwood, Scottish lawyer and judge (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Rommie Loudd, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, and television host (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Robert Stevens, English lawyer and academic
- 1934 – Millicent Martin, English actress and singer
- 1935 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2015)
- 1936 – James Darren, American actor
- 1936 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet and playwright
- 1938 – Angelo Amato, Italian cardinal
- 1939 – Herb Adderley, American football player
- 1940 – Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress
- 1941 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish politician and activist (d. 1981)
- 1941 – George Pell, Australian cardinal
- 1942 – Nikos Konstantopoulos, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior
- 1942 – Doug Mountjoy, Welsh snooker player
- 1943 – Colin Baker, English actor
- 1943 – William Calley, American lieutenant
- 1943 – Willie Davenport, American colonel and hurdler (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Peter Eggert, German footballer and manager
- 1943 – Pierre-André Fournier, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 2015)
- 1944 – Mark Belanger, American baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1944 – Marc Ouellet, Canadian cardinal
- 1944 – Boz Scaggs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Steven Fromholz, American singer-songwriter, producer, and poet (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Derek Underwood, English cricketer
- 1946 – Graham Henry, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1947 – Annie Haslam, English singer-songwriter and painter
- 1947 – Sara Paretsky, American author
- 1947 – Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, geneticist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate
- 1949 – Emanuel Ax, Polish-American pianist and educator
- 1949 – Hildegard Falck, German runner
- 1950 – Kathy Baker, American actress
- 1950 – Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress and producer
- 1951 – Tony Rice, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1951 – Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Billy Hayes, English union leader
- 1953 – Sandy Nairne, English historian and curator
- 1953 – Ivo Sanader, Croatian historian and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Croatia
- 1953 – Olav Stedje, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Greg Ginn, American punk rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Black Flag)
- 1954 – Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Sergei Storchak, Ukrainian-Russian politician
- 1955 – Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web
- 1955 – José Antonio Camacho, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1955 – Griffin Dunne, American actor, director, and producer
- 1956 – Udo Bullmann, German politician
- 1956 – Jonathan Potter, English psychologist, sociolinguist, and academic
- 1957 – Scott Adams, American author and illustrator
- 1957 – Don Robinson, American baseball player and politician
- 1957 – Sonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish sculptor
- 1958 – Louise Richardson, Irish political scientist and academic
- 1958 – Keenen Ivory Wayans, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1959 – Mohsen Kadivar, Iranian philosopher
- 1960 – Mick Hucknall, English singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Terje Gewelt, Norwegian bassist
- 1960 – Thomas Steen, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Mary Bonauto, American lawyer and gay rights activist
- 1962 – John Gibbons, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 – Andreas Keim, German footballer
- 1962 – Nick Rhodes, English keyboard player and producer
- 1963 – Karen Kingsbury, American journalist and author
- 1963 – Antoaneta Todorova, Bulgarian javelin thrower
- 1964 – Butch Reynolds, American runner and coach
- 1965 – Kevin Farley, American screenwriter
- 1965 – Rob Pilatus, German model, dancer and singer (Milli Vanilli) (d. 1998)
- 1966 – Julianna Margulies, American actress
- 1966 – Doris Pearson, English singer-songwriter and choreographer
- 1967 – Dan Futterman, American actor, screenwriter and producer
- 1967 – Russell E. Morris, Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of St Andrews
- 1968 – Rob Ray, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1969 – David Barnhill, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 – J. P. Manoux, American actor
- 1969 – Marcos Siega, American director and producer
- 1970 – Gabrielle Giffords, American businesswoman, politician and activist
- 1970 – Kwame Kilpatrick, American educator and politician, 68th Mayor of Detroit
- 1970 – Steve Renouf, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Troy Vincent, American football player
- 1971 – Mark Feuerstein, American actor, director, and producer
- 1972 – Christian Mayrleb, Austrian footballer
- 1973 – Lexa Doig, Canadian model and actress
- 1973 – Bryant Reeves, American basketball player
- 1974 – Pål Arne Fagernes, Norwegian javelin thrower (d. 2003)
- 1974 – Lauren Burns, Australian taekwondo practitioner
- 1974 – Alma Lepina, Latvian figure skater
- 1975 – Emm Gryner, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Bryan McCabe, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Mark Ricciuto, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1975 – Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress and producer
- 1976 – Eion Bailey, American actor
- 1976 – Kenji Johjima, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 – Catherine McKinnell, English lawyer and politician
- 1977 – Kanye West, American rapper, producer, director, and fashion designer
- 1978 – Eun Ji-won, South Korean rapper, dancer, and producer
- 1978 – Maria Menounos, American television journalist
- 1979 – Alexei Kozlov, Estonian figure skater
- 1979 – Pete Orr, Canadian-American baseball player
- 1979 – Adine Wilson, New Zealand netball player
- 1979 – İpek Şenoğlu, Turkish tennis player
- 1980 – Gustavo Manduca, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Jamie Spencer, Irish jockey
- 1981 – Alex Band, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1981 – Rachel Held Evans, American Christian author
- 1981 – Matteo Meneghello, Italian race car driver
- 1981 – Sara Watkins, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
- 1982 – Matteo Barbini, Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Michael Cammalleri, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Dickson Etuhu, Nigerian footballer
- 1982 – Irina Lăzăreanu, Romanian-Canadian model and singer
- 1982 – Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Gaines Adams, American football player (d. 2010)
- 1983 – Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
- 1983 – Pantelis Kapetanos, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Coby Karl, American basketball player
- 1984 – Javier Mascherano, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Alexandre Despatie, Canadian diver
- 1985 – Rosanna Pansino, American actress, writer and TV personality
- 1986 – Patrick Kaleta, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Andrej Sekera, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1987 – Coralie Balmy, French swimmer
- 1987 – Issiar Dia, Senegalese footballer
- 1989 – Timea Bacsinszky, Swiss tennis player
- 1989 – Mitchell Schwartz, American football player
- 1990 – Todd Barclay, New Zealand politician
- 1990 – Mickey Bushell, English wheelchair racer
- 1992 – Sebá, Brazilian footballer
- 1996 – Doğanay Kılıç, Turkish footballer
- 1997 – Jeļena Ostapenko, Latvian tennis player
Deaths on June 8
- 632 – Muhammad, the central figure of Islam, widely regarded as its founder (b. 570/571)
- 696 – Chlodulf, bishop of Metz (or 697)
- 951 – Zhao Ying, Chinese chancellor (b. 885)
- 1042 – Harthacnut, English-Danish king (b. 1018)
- 1154 – William of York, English archbishop and saint
- 1290 – Beatrice Portinari, object of Dante Alighieri’s adoration (b. 1266)
- 1376 – Edward, the Black Prince, English son of Edward III of England (b. 1330)
- 1383 – Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1338)
- 1384 – Kan’ami, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1333)
- 1405 – Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York (b. c.1350)
- 1405 – Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk (b. 1385)
- 1476 – George Neville, English archbishop and academic (b. 1432)
- 1492 – Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England (b. 1437)
- 1501 – George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, Earl of Huntly and Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1440)
- 1505 – Hongzhi Emperor of China (b. 1470)
- 1600 – Edward Fortunatus, German nobleman (b. 1565)
- 1611 – Jean Bertaut, French bishop and poet (b. 1552)
- 1612 – Hans Leo Hassler, German organist and composer (b. 1562)
- 1621 – Anne de Xainctonge, French saint, founded the Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin (b. 1567)
- 1628 – Rudolph Goclenius, German lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1547)
- 1651 – Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1604)
- 1714 – Sophia of Hanover (b. 1630)
- 1716 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German son of Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1658)
- 1727 – August Hermann Francke, German-Lutheran pietist, philanthropist, and scholar (b. 1663)
- 1768 – Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German archaeologist and scholar (b. 1717)
- 1771 – George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1716)
- 1795 – Louis XVII of France (b. 1785)
- 1809 – Thomas Paine, English-American theorist and author (b. 1737)
- 1831 – Sarah Siddons, Welsh actress (b. 1755)
- 1835 – Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian economist and jurist (b. 1761)
- 1845 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (b. 1767)
- 1846 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (b. 1799)
- 1857 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (b. 1803)
- 1874 – Cochise, American tribal chief (b. 1805)
- 1876 – George Sand, French author and playwright (b. 1804)
- 1885 – Ignace Bourget, Canadian bishop (b. 1799)
- 1889 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (b. 1844)
- 1899 – Mary of the Divine Heart, German nun and saint (b. 1863)
- 1924 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1902)
- 1924 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (b. 1886)
- 1929 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-American poet and playwright (b. 1861)
- 1945 – Karl Hanke, Polish-German soldier and politician (b. 1903)
- 1951 – Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1874)
- 1951 – Oswald Pohl, German SS officer (b. 1892)
- 1956 – Marie Laurencin, French painter and sculptor (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Leslie Johnson, English race car driver (b. 1912)
- 1965 – Edmondo Rossoni, Italian politician (b. 1884)
- 1966 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Elizabeth Enright, American author and illustrator (b. 1909)
- 1968 – Ludovico Scarfiotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1933)
- 1969 – Arunachalam Mahadeva, Sri Lankan politician and diplomat (b. 1885)
- 1969 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (b. 1911)
- 1970 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1971 – J.I. Rodale, American author and playwright (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe, Norwegian zoologist and psychologist (b. 1894)
- 1982 – Satchel Paige, American baseball player and coach (b. 1906)
- 1984 – Gordon Jacob, English composer and academic (b. 1895)
- 1987 – Alexander Iolas, Egyptian-American art collector (b. 1907)
- 1997 – George Turner, Australian author and critic (b. 1916)
- 1997 – Karen Wetterhahn, American chemist and academic (b. 1948)
- 1998 – Sani Abacha, Nigerian general and politician, 10th President of Nigeria (b. 1943)
- 1998 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (b. 1903)
- 2000 – Jeff MacNelly, American cartoonist (b. 1948)
- 2001 – Alex de Renzy, American director and producer (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Charles Hyder, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1930)
- 2004 – Mack Jones, American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded Rip Off Press (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Matta El Meskeen, Egyptian monk, theologian, and author (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Šaban Bajramović, Serbian singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Omar Bongo, Gabonese captain and politician, President of Gabon (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Pete Brennan, American basketball player (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Charles E. M. Pearce, New Zealand-Australian mathematician and academic (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Ghassan Tueni, Lebanese journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter, journalist, and critic (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Taufiq Kiemas, Indonesian politician, 5th First Spouse of Indonesia (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (b. 1903)
- 2014 – Yoshihito, Prince Katsura of Japan (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Chea Sim, Cambodian commander and politician (b. 1932)
- 2017 – Sam Panopoulos, Greek cook (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances on June 8
- Christian feast day:
- Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan
- Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart (Droste zu Vischering)
- Chlodulf of Metz
- Jacques Berthieu, S.J.
- Jadwiga (Hedwig) of Poland
- Medard
- Melania the Elder
- Roland Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Thomas Ken (Church of England)
- William of York
- June 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in June. (Australia, except Western Australia and Queensland)
- Bounty Day (Norfolk Island)
- Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
- Engineer’s Day (Peru)
- Pranav Sivakumar Day (Illinois, United States)
- Primož Trubar Day (Slovenia)
- World Brain Tumor Day
- World Oceans Day
-
June 3 in History
- 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
- 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army.
- 1140 – The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
- 1326 – The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
- 1539 – Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
- 1608 – Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec.
- 1621 – The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
- 1658 – Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
- 1665 – James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
- 1781 – Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton.
- 1839 – In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor: Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
- 1866 – The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario back into the United States.
- 1885 – In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
- 1889 – The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
- 1916 – The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
- 1935 – One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa.
- 1937 – The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.
- 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
- 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
- 1940 – Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the “Jewish homeland”, an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
- 1941 – World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
- 1942 – World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
- 1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots.
- 1950 – Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
- 1962 – At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
- 1963 – Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
- 1965 – The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.
- 1969 – Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
- 1973 – A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
- 1979 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.
- 1980 – An explosive device is detonated at the Statue of Liberty. The FBI suspects Croatian nationalists.
- 1980 – The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $931 million in 2019) worth of damage.
- 1982 – The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed.
- 1984 – Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
- 1989 – The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
- 1991 – Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
- 1992 – Aboriginal land rights are granted in Australia in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Eddie Mabo.
- 1998 – After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
- 2006 – The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro’s formal declaration of independence.
- 2012 – A plane carrying 153 people on board crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board and 10 people on the ground.
- 2012 – The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames.
- 2013 – The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
- 2013 – At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
- 2015 – An explosion at a gasoline station in Accra, Ghana, killing more than 200 people.
- 2017 – London Bridge attack: Eight people are murdered and dozens of civilians are wounded by Islamist terrorists. Three of the attackers are shot dead by the police.
- 2019 – Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.
Births on June 3
- 20 BC – Sejanus, Roman soldier and bodyguard (d. 31 AD)
- 1139 – Conon of Naso, Basilian abbot (d. 1236)
- 1421 – Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1463)
- 1454 – Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania (1474–1523) (d. 1523)
- 1537 – João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (d. 1554)
- 1540 – Charles II, Archduke of Austria (d. 1590)
- 1554 – Pietro de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1604)
- 1576 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1649)
- 1594 – César, Duke of Vendôme, French nobleman (d. 1665)
- 1603 – Pietro Paolini, Italian painter (d. 1681)
- 1635 – Philippe Quinault, French playwright and composer (d. 1688)
- 1636 – John Hale, American minister (d. 1700)
- 1659 – David Gregory, Scottish-English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1708)
- 1662 – Willem van Mieris, Dutch painter (d. 1747)
- 1723 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician, geologist, and botanist (d. 1788)
- 1726 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (d. 1797)
- 1736 – Ignaz Fränzl, German violinist and composer (d. 1811)
- 1770 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1820)
- 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)
- 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal (d. 1889)
- 1819 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1892)
- 1819 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (d. 1891)
- 1832 – Charles Lecocq, French pianist and composer (d. 1918)
- 1843 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (d. 1912)
- 1844 – Garret Hobart, American lawyer and politician, 24th Vice President of the United States (d. 1899)
- 1844 – Detlev von Liliencron, German poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1852 – Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (d. 1896)
- 1853 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1942)
- 1864 – Otto Erich Hartleben, German poet and playwright (d. 1905)
- 1864 – Ransom E. Olds, American businessman, founded Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company (d. 1950)
- 1865 – George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1936)
- 1866 – George Howells Broadhurst, English-American director and manager (d. 1952)
- 1873 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and psychobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1877 – Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator (d. 1953)
- 1879 – Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist and botanist (d. 1940)
- 1879 – Vivian Woodward, English footballer and soldier (d. 1954)
- 1881 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1964)
- 1890 – Baburao Painter, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1954)
- 1897 – Memphis Minnie, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Georg von Békésy, Hungarian-American biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
- 1900 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (d. 1997)
- 1901 – Maurice Evans, English actor (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Zhang Xueliang, Chinese general and warlord (d. 2001)
- 1903 – Eddie Acuff, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1904 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (d. 1950)
- 1904 – Jan Peerce, American tenor and actor (d. 1984)
- 1905 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (d. 1946)
- 1906 – R. G. D. Allen, English economist, mathematician, and statistician (d. 1983)
- 1906 – Josephine Baker, French actress, singer, and dancer; French Resistance operative (d. 1975)
- 1906 – Walter Robins, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Paul Rotha, English director and producer (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Paulette Goddard, American actress and model (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1913 – Pedro Mir, Dominican poet and author (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Ignacio Ponseti, Spanish physician and orthopedist (d. 2009)
- 1917 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1918 – Patrick Cargill, English actor and producer (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Forbes Carlile, Australian pentathlete and coach (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Jean Dréjac, French singer and composer (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Igor Shafarevich, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Karunanidhi, Indian screenwriter and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress (d. 1991)
- 1924 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Jimmy Rogers, American singer and guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Torsten Wiesel, Swedish neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 – Tony Curtis, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Donald Judd, American sculptor and painter (d. 1994)
- 1928 – John Richard Reid, New Zealand cricketer
- 1929 – Werner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author and poet (d. 1999)
- 1930 – George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Dakota Staton, American singer (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Abbas Zandi, Iranian wrestler (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Ben Wada, Japanese director and producer (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (d. 2020)
- 1931 – Françoise Arnoul, Algerian-French actress
- 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba
- 1931 – John Norman, American philosopher and author
- 1931 – Lindy Remigino, American runner and coach (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahranian king (d. 1999)
- 1936 – Larry McMurtry, American novelist and screenwriter
- 1936 – Colin Meads, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, French race car driver
- 1939 – Frank Blevins, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of South Australia (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Steve Dalkowski, American baseball player (d. 2020)
- 1939 – Ian Hunter, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1999)
- 1943 – Billy Cunningham, American basketball player and coach
- 1944 – Thomas Burns, British bishop
- 1944 – Edith McGuire, American sprinter and educator
- 1944 – Eddy Ottoz, Italian hurdler and coach
- 1945 – Hale Irwin, American golfer and architect
- 1945 – Ramon Jacinto, Filipino singer, guitarist, and businessman, founded the Rajah Broadcasting Network
- 1945 – Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
- 1946 – Michael Clarke, American drummer (d. 1993)
- 1946 – Eddie Holman, American pop/R&B/gospel singer
- 1946 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
- 1947 – John Dykstra, American special effects artist and producer
- 1947 – Mickey Finn, English drummer (d. 2003)
- 1948 – Jan Reker, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1950 – Frédéric François, Belgian-Italian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (d. 2013)
- 1950 – Larry Probst, American businessman
- 1950 – Suzi Quatro, American-English singer-songwriter, bass player, producer, and actress
- 1950 – Christos Verelis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of Transport and Communications
- 1950 – Deniece Williams, American singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1952 – David Richards, Welsh entrepreneur and businessman
- 1954 – Dan Hill, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Susan Landau, American mathematician and engineer
- 1956 – George Burley, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1956 – Danny Wilde, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Horst-Ulrich Hänel, German field hockey player
- 1959 – Imbi Paju, Estonian-Finnish journalist and author
- 1960 – Catherine Davani, first female Papua New Guinean judge (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Tracy Grimshaw, Australian television host
- 1960 – Carl Rackemann, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1961 – Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer, academic, and author, founded the Creative Commons
- 1961 – Peter Vidmar, American gymnast
- 1961 – Ed Wynne, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1962 – Susannah Constantine, English fashion designer, journalist, and author
- 1962 – Dagmar Neubauer, German sprinter
- 1963 – Rudy Demotte, Belgian politician, 8th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
- 1963 – Toshiaki Karasawa, Japanese actor
- 1964 – André Bellavance, Canadian politician
- 1964 – Kerry King, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1964 – James Purefoy, English actor
- 1965 – Hans Kroes, Dutch swimmer
- 1965 – Michael Moore, British accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1966 – Wasim Akram, Pakistani cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
- 1967 – Anderson Cooper, American journalist and author
- 1967 – Tamás Darnyi, Hungarian swimmer
- 1969 – Takako Minekawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Dean Pay, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1971 – Luigi Di Biagio, Italian footballer and manager
- 1971 – Mary Grigson, Australian cross-country mountain biker
- 1972 – Julie Gayet, French actress
- 1974 – Kelly Jones, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Serhiy Rebrov, Ukrainian international footballer and manager
- 1975 – Jose Molina, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1976 – Nikos Chatzis, Greek basketball player
- 1976 – Jamie McMurray, American race car driver
- 1977 – Cris, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – Lyfe Jennings, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1979 – Luis Fernando López, Colombian race walker
- 1979 – Christian Malcolm, Welsh sprinter
- 1980 – Amauri, Brazilian-Italian footballer
- 1981 – Sosene Anesi, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
- 1982 – Manfred Mölgg, Italian skier
- 1983 – Pasquale Foggia, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Todd Reid, Australian tennis player (d. 2018)
- 1985 – Papiss Cissé, Senegalese footballer
- 1985 – Łukasz Piszczek, Polish footballer
- 1986 – Al Horford, Dominican basketball player
- 1986 – Micah Kogo, Kenyan runner
- 1986 – Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
- 1986 – Adrián Vallés, Spanish race car driver
- 1986 – Tomáš Verner, Czech ice skater
- 1987 – Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- 1989 – Katie Hoff, American swimmer
- 1991 – Lukasz Teodorczyk, Polish footballer
- 1991 – Sami Vatanen, Finnish ice hockey defenceman
- 1991 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1992 – Mario Götze, German footballer
Deaths on June 3
- 628 – Liang Shidu, Chinese rebel leader
- 800 – Staurakios, Byzantine general
- 1052 – Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno
- 1395 – Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria (b. 1350)
- 1397 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1328)
- 1411 – Leopold IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1371)
- 1453 – Loukas Notaras, last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire
- 1511 – Ahmad ibn Abi Jum’ah, Islamic scholar, author of the Oran fatwa
- 1548 – Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish-Mexican archbishop (b. 1468)
- 1553 – Wolf Huber, Austrian painter, printmaker and architect (b. 1485)
- 1594 – John Aylmer, English bishop and scholar (b. 1521)
- 1605 – Jan Zamoyski, Polish nobleman (b. 1542)
- 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
- 1640 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1584)
- 1649 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (b. 1590)
- 1657 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (b. 1578)
- 1659 – Morgan Llwyd, Welsh minister and poet (b. 1619)
- 1665 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English noble (b. 1639)
- 1780 – Thomas Hutchinson, American businessman and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1711)
- 1826 – Nikolay Karamzin, Russian historian and poet (b. 1766)
- 1858 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (b. 1834)
- 1861 – Stephen A. Douglas, American lawyer and politician, 7th Secretary of State of Illinois (b. 1813)
- 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838)
- 1875 – Georges Bizet, French pianist and composer (b. 1838)
- 1877 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian botanist, composer, and publisher (b. 1800)
- 1882 – Christian Wilberg, German painter and illustrator (b. 1839)
- 1894 – Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1812)
- 1899 – Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1825)
- 1900 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (b. 1862)
- 1902 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1829)
- 1906 – John Maxwell, American golfer (b. 1871)
- 1921 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (b. 1879)
- 1924 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian lawyer and author (b. 1883)
- 1928 – Li Yuanhong, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1864)
- 1933 – William Muldoon, American wrestler (b. 1852)
- 1938 – John Flanagan, Irish-American hammer thrower and tug of war competitor (b. 1873)
- 1946 – Mikhail Kalinin, Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Edmond Decottignies, French weightlifter (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Pope John XXIII (b. 1881)
- 1963 – Nâzım Hikmet Ran, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1902)
- 1964 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician, 9th Turkish Speaker of the Parliament (b. 1887)
- 1964 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
- 1969 – George Edwin Cooke, American soccer player (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Hjalmar Schacht, Danish-German economist, banker, and politician (b. 1877)
- 1971 – Heinz Hopf, German-Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1894)
- 1973 – Jean Batmale, French footballer and manager (b. 1895)
- 1975 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (b. 1906)
- 1975 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1901)
- 1977 – Archibald Hill, English physiologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Carleton S. Coon, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Anna Neagle, English actress and singer (b. 1904)
- 1987 – Will Sampson, American actor and painter (b. 1933)
- 1989 – Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian religious leader and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of Iran (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Robert Noyce, American physicist and businessman, co-founded the Intel Corporation (b. 1927)
- 1991 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Katia Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1942)
- 1991 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1946)
- 1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (b. 1918)
- 1992 – Robert Morley, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1994 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby player and coach (b. 1925)
- 1997 – Dennis James, American actor and game show host (b. 1917)
- 2001 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor and producer (b. 1915)
- 2002 – Lew Wasserman, American talent agent and manager (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
- 2009 – David Carradine, American actor (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Koko Taylor, American singer (b. 1928)
- 2010 – John Hedgecoe, English photographer and author (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2011 – James Arness, American actor and producer (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Andrew Gold, American singer, songwriter, musician and arranger (b. 1951)
- 2011 – Bhajan Lal, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Haryana (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist, author, and activist (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Carol Ann Abrams, American producer, author, and academic (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Rajsoomer Lallah, Mauritian lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Brian Talboys, New Zealand journalist and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Atul Chitnis, German-Indian technologist and journalist (b. 1962)
- 2013 – Józef Czyrek, Polish economist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Gopinath Munde, Indian politician, 3rd Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Avi Beker, Israeli political scientist and academic (b. 1951)
- 2016 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer (b. 1942)
Holidays and observances on June 3
- Christian feast day:
- Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
- Clotilde
- Kevin of Glendalough
- Ovidius
- Vladimirskaya (Russian Orthodox)
- June 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee, United States)
- Economist day (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Mabo Day (Australia)
- Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
- World Bicycle Day
-
June 2 in History
- 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
- 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.
- 1615 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
- 1676 – Franco-Dutch War: France ensured the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.
- 1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.
- 1763 – Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
- 1774 – Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
- 1793 – French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror.
- 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
- 1835 – P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
- 1848 – The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
- 1866 – The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after.
- 1896 – Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
- 1909 – Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
- 1910 – Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
- 1919 – Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.
- 1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
- 1941 – World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos.
- 1946 – Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
- 1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
- 1955 – The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.
- 1962 – During the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
- 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed.
- 1966 – Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
- 1967 – Luis Monge is executed in Colorado’s gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.
- 1967 – Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.
- 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
- 1983 – After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane’s doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
- 1990 – The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.
- 1997 – In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
- 2003 – Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
- 2012 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
- 2014 – Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh.
Births on June 2
- 1305 – Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, ruler of Ilkhanate (d. 1335)
- 1423 – Ferdinand I of Naples (d. 1494)
- 1489 – Charles, Duke of Vendôme (d. 1537)
- 1535 – Pope Leo XI (d. 1605)
- 1602 – Rudolf Christian, Count of East Frisia, Ruler of East Frisia (d. 1628)
- 1621 – Rutger von Ascheberg, Courland-born soldier in Swedish service (d. 1693)
- 1621 – (baptized) Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter (d. 1649)
- 1638 – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (d. 1709)
- 1644 – William Salmon, English medical writer (d. 1713)
- 1739 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1815)
- 1740 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and politician (d. 1814)
- 1743 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian occultist and explorer (d. 1795)
- 1773 – John Randolph of Roanoke, American planter and politician, 8th United States Ambassador to Russia (d. 1833)
- 1774 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (d. 1850)
- 1813 – Daniel Pollen, Irish-New Zealand politician, 9th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1896)
- 1823 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1905)
- 1835 – Pope Pius X (d. 1914)
- 1838 – Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (d. 1900)
- 1840 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (d. 1928)
- 1840 – Émile Munier, French artist (d. 1895)
- 1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer and educator (d. 1934)
- 1857 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1861 – Concordia Selander, Swedish actress and manager (d. 1935)
- 1863 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian-Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
- 1865 – George Lohmann, English cricketer (d. 1901)
- 1865 – Adelaide Casely-Hayford, Sierra Leone Creole advocate and activist for cultural nationalism (d. 1960)
- 1869 – Jack O’Connor, American baseball player and manager (d. 1937)
- 1875 – Charles Stewart Mott, American businessman and politician, 50th Mayor of Flint, Michigan (d. 1973)
- 1878 – Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (d. 1912)
- 1881 – Walter Egan, American golfer (d. 1971)
- 1891 – Thurman Arnold, American lawyer and judge (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral and pilot (d. 1945)
- 1899 – Lotte Reiniger, German animator and director (d. 1981)
- 1899 – Edwin Way Teale, American environmentalist and photographer (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Frank Runacres, English painter and educator (d. 1974)
- 1904 – Johnny Weissmuller, Hungarian-American swimmer and actor (d. 1984)
- 1907 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1907 – John Lehmann, English poet and publisher (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Hector Dyer, American sprinter (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Joe McCluskey, American runner (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Barbara Pym, English author (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Elsie Tu, English-Hong Kong educator and politician (d. 2015)
- 1914 – Johnny Bulla, American golfer (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy (d. 1992)
- 1917 – Heinz Sielmann, German photographer and director (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Ruth Atkinson, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1997)
- 1918 – Kathryn Tucker Windham, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Frank G. Clement, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Tennessee (d. 1969)
- 1920 – Yolande Donlan, American-English actress (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Tex Schramm, American businessman (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Johnny Speight, English screenwriter and producer (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Betty Freeman, American photographer and philanthropist (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Ernie Royal, American trumpet player (d. 1983)
- 1921 – Sigmund Sternberg, Hungarian-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
- 1921 – András Szennay, Hungarian priest (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Carmen Silvera, Canadian-English actress (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
- 1924 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Chiyonoyama Masanobu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 41st Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1926 – Milo O’Shea, Irish-American actor (d. 2013)
- 1927 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Colin Brittan, English footballer (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Christopher Slade, English lawyer and judge
- 1928 – Erzsi Kovács, Hungarian singer (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Rafael A. Lecuona, Cuban-American gymnast and academic (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Ron Reynolds, English footballer (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Norton Juster, American architect, author, and academic
- 1929 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Jerry Lumpe, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (d. 1971)
- 1934 – Johnny Carter, American singer (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Dimitri Kitsikis, Greek poet and educator
- 1936 – Volodymyr Holubnychy, Ukrainian race walker
- 1937 – Rosalyn Higgins, English lawyer and judge
- 1937 – Sally Kellerman, American actress
- 1937 – Jimmy Jones, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Robert Paul, Canadian figure skater and choreographer
- 1937 – Deric Washburn, American screenwriter and playwright
- 1938 – Kevin Brownlow, English historian and author
- 1938 – George William Penrose, Lord Penrose, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1939 – Charles Miller, American musician (d. 1980)
- 1939 – John Schlee, American golfer (d. 2000)
- 1940 – Constantine II of Greece
- 1941 – Ünal Aysal, Turkish businessman
- 1941 – Stacy Keach, American actor
- 1941 – Lou Nanne, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
- 1941 – Charlie Watts, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1942 – Mike Ahern, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Queensland
- 1943 – Charles Haid, American actor and director
- 1943 – Crescenzio Sepe, Italian cardinal
- 1944 – Robert Elliott, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Richard Long, English painter, sculptor, and photographer
- 1945 – Bonnie Newman, American businesswoman and politician
- 1946 – Lasse Hallström, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Peter Sutcliffe, UK serial killer
- 1948 – Jerry Mathers, American actor
- 1949 – Heather Couper, English astronomer and physicist (d. 2020)
- 1949 – Frank Rich, American journalist and critic
- 1950 – Jonathan Evans, Welsh lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Joanna Gleason, Canadian actress and singer
- 1950 – Anne Phillips, English theorist and academic
- 1950 – Momčilo Vukotić, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1951 – Gilbert Baker, American artist, gay rights activist, and designer of the rainbow flag (d. 2017)
- 1951 – Arnold Mühren, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1951 – Larry Robinson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1951 – Alexander Wylie, Lord Kinclaven, Scottish lawyer, judge, and educator
- 1952 – Gary Bettman, American commissioner of the National Hockey League
- 1953 – Vidar Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist
- 1953 – Craig Stadler, American golfer
- 1953 – Cornel West, American philosopher, author, and academic
- 1954 – Dennis Haysbert, American actor and producer
- 1955 – Dana Carvey, American comedian and actor
- 1955 – Nandan Nilekani, Indian businessman, co-founded Infosys
- 1955 – Mani Ratnam, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Michael Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1956 – Jan Lammers, Dutch race car driver
- 1957 – Mark Lawrenson, English footballer and manager
- 1958 – Lex Luger, American wrestler and football player
- 1959 – Rineke Dijkstra, Dutch photographer
- 1959 – Lydia Lunch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1959 – Erwin Olaf, Dutch photographer
- 1960 – Olga Bondarenko, Russian runner
- 1960 – Tony Hadley, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1960 – Kyle Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1961 – Dez Cadena, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Mark Plaatjes, South African-American runner and coach
- 1963 – Anand Abhyankar, Indian actor (d. 2012)
- 1964 – Caroline Link, German director and screenwriter
- 1965 – Russ Courtnall, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Mark Waugh, Australian cricketer and journalist
- 1965 – Steve Waugh, Australian cricketer
- 1966 – Dayana Cadeau, Haitian born Canadian-American professional bodybuilder
- 1966 – Candace Gingrich, American activist
- 1966 – Pedro Guerra, Spanish singer-songwriter
- 1966 – Petra van Staveren, Dutch swimmer
- 1967 – Remigija Nazarovienė, Lithuanian heptathlete and coach
- 1967 – Mike Stanton, American baseball player
- 1968 – Merril Bainbridge, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Andy Cohen, American television host
- 1969 – Kurt Abbott, American baseball player
- 1969 – Paulo Sérgio, Brazilian footballer
- 1969 – David Wheaton, American tennis player, radio host, and author
- 1970 – B Real, American rapper and actor
- 1971 – Kateřina Jacques, Czech translator and politician
- 1972 – Wayne Brady, American actor, comedian, game show host, and singer
- 1972 – Raúl Ibañez, American baseball player
- 1972 – Wentworth Miller, American actor and screenwriter
- 1973 – Marko Kristal, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1973 – Neifi Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1974 – Gata Kamsky, Russian-American chess player
- 1974 – Matt Serra, American mixed martial artist
- 1975 – Salvatore Scibona, American author
- 1976 – Earl Boykins, American basketball player
- 1976 – Martin Čech, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1976 – Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer
- 1976 – Tim Rice-Oxley, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1977 – Teet Allas, Estonian footballer
- 1977 – A.J. Styles, American wrestler
- 1977 – Zachary Quinto, American actor and producer
- 1978 – Dominic Cooper, English actor
- 1978 – Nikki Cox, American actress
- 1978 – Justin Long, American actor
- 1978 – Yi So-yeon, biotechnologist and astronaut, the first Korean in space
- 1978 – Luke Williamson, Australian rugby league player
- 1979 – Morena Baccarin, Brazilian-American actress
- 1979 – Butterfly Boucher, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1979 – Natalia Rodríguez, Spanish runner
- 1980 – Fabrizio Moretti, Brazilian-American drummer
- 1980 – Bobby Simmons, American basketball player
- 1980 – Richard Skuse, English rugby player
- 1980 – Abby Wambach, American soccer player and coach
- 1980 – Tomasz Wróblewski, Polish bass player and songwriter
- 1981 – Nikolay Davydenko, Russian tennis player
- 1981 – Chin-hui Tsao, Taiwanese baseball player
- 1982 – Jewel Staite, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Chris Higgins, American ice hockey player
- 1983 – Leela James, American singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Toni Livers, Swiss skier
- 1983 – Brooke White, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Jack Afamasaga, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1984 – Max Boyer, Canadian wrestler
- 1984 – Feleti Mateo, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 1985 – Miyuki Sawashiro, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Maggie Thrash, American graphic novelist and writer
- 1986 – Todd Carney, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Maryka Holtzhausen, South African netball player
- 1987 – Yoann Huget, French rugby player
- 1987 – Matthew Koma, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1987 – Angelo Mathews, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1987 – Darin Zanyar, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Sonakshi Sinha, Indian actress
- 1988 – Sergio Agüero, Argentinian footballer
- 1988 – Patrik Berglund, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Staniliya Stamenova, Bulgarian canoeist
- 1989 – Freddy Adu, Ghanaian-American footballer
- 1989 – Steve Smith, Australian cricketer
- 1990 – Jack Lowden, Scottish actor
- 1992 – Pajtim Kasami, Swiss footballer
- 1993 – Adam Taggart, Australian footballer
- 1994 – Mike Grzesiek, Esports player and streamer
- 1999 – Campbell Graham, Australian rugby league player
- 2000 – Lilimar Hernandez, Venezuelan actress
Deaths on June 2
- 657 – Pope Eugene I
- 891 – Al-Muwaffaq, Abbasid general (b. 842)
- 910 – Richilde of Provence (b. 845)
- 1200 – Bishop John of Oxford
- 1258 – Peter I, Count of Urgell
- 1292 – Rhys ap Maredudd, Welsh nobleman and rebel leader
- 1418 – Katherine of Lancaster, queen of Henry III of Castile
- 1453 – Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo, Constable of Castile
- 1567 – Shane O’Neill, head of the O’Neill dynasty in Ireland (b. 1530)
- 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1536)
- 1581 – James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, Scottish soldier and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1525)
- 1603 – Bernard of Wąbrzeźno, Roman Catholic priest (b. 1575)
- 1693 – John Wildman, English soldier and politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1621)
- 1701 – Madeleine de Scudéry, French author (b. 1607)
- 1716 – Ogata Kōrin, Japanese painter and educator (b. 1658)
- 1754 – Ebenezer Erskine, Scottish minister and theologian (b. 1680)
- 1761 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish businessman (b. 1685)
- 1785 – Jean Paul de Gua de Malves, French mathematician and academic (b. 1713)
- 1806 – William Tate, English painter (b. 1747)
- 1853 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (b. 1777)
- 1865 – Ner Middleswarth, American judge and politician (b. 1783)
- 1875 – Józef Kremer, Polish psychologist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1881 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1801)
- 1882 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (b. 1807)
- 1901 – George Leslie Mackay, Canadian missionary and author (b. 1844)
- 1927 – Hüseyin Avni Lifij, Turkish painter (b. 1886)
- 1929 – Enrique Gorostieta, Mexican general (b. 1889)
- 1933 – Frank Jarvis, American runner and triple jumper (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (b. 1870)
- 1941 – Lou Gehrig, American baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1942 – Bunny Berigan, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
- 1947 – John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, English sailor and politician (b. 1867)
- 1948 – Viktor Brack, German physician (b. 1904)
- 1948 – Karl Brandt, German SS officer (b. 1904)
- 1948 – Karl Gebhardt, German physician (b. 1897)
- 1948 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (b. 1903)
- 1948 – Wolfram Sievers, German SS officer (b. 1905)
- 1952 – Naum Torbov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Central Sofia Market Hall (b. 1880)
- 1956 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (b. 1886)
- 1959 – Lyda Borelli, Italian actress (b. 1884)
- 1961 – George S. Kaufman, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1889)
- 1962 – Vita Sackville-West, English author and poet (b. 1892)
- 1967 – Benno Ohnesorg, German student and activist (b. 1940)
- 1968 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
- 1969 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1970 – Orhan Kemal, Turkish author (b. 1914)
- 1970 – Albert Lamorisse, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 1970 – Bruce McLaren, New Zealand race car driver and engineer, founded the McLaren racing team (b. 1937)
- 1970 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1888)
- 1974 – Hiroshi Kazato, Japanese race car driver (b. 1949)
- 1976 – Kenneth Mason, English soldier and geographer (b. 1887)
- 1976 – Juan José Torres, Bolivian general and politician, 61st President of Bolivia (b. 1920)
- 1977 – Albert Bittlmayer, German footballer (b. 1952)
- 1977 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Irish-born American actor (b. 1931)
- 1978 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1895)
- 1979 – Jim Hutton, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1982 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (b. 1904)
- 1983 – Stan Rogers, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
- 1983 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1913)
- 1986 – Aurèle Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Anthony de Mello, Indian-American priest and psychotherapist (b. 1931)
- 1987 – Sammy Kaye, American bandleader and songwriter (b. 1910)
- 1987 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
- 1988 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Ted a’Beckett, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Jack Gilford, American actor and comedian (b. 1908)
- 1990 – Rex Harrison, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (b. 1927)
- 1992 – Philip Dunne, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Tahar Djaout, Algerian journalist, writer and poet (b. 1954)
- 1994 – David Stove, Australian philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1927)
- 1996 – John Alton, Hungarian-American cinematographer and director (b. 1901)
- 1996 – Leon Garfield, English author (b. 1921)
- 1996 – Ray Combs, American game show host (b. 1956)
- 1997 – Doc Cheatham, American trumpet player, singer, and bandleader (b. 1905)
- 1999 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican singer (b. 1949)
- 2000 – Svyatoslav Fyodorov, Russian ophthalmologist, academic, and politician (b. 1927)
- 2000 – John Schlee, American golfer (b. 1939)
- 2000 – Gerald James Whitrow, English mathematician, cosmologist, and historian (b. 1912)
- 2001 – Imogene Coca, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
- 2001 – Joey Maxim, American boxer (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Hugo van Lawick, Dutch director and photographer (b. 1937)
- 2003 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Alma Ricard, Canadian broadcaster and philanthropist (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Lucien Cliche, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Gunder Gundersen, Norwegian skier (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Samir Kassir, Lebanese journalist and educator (b. 1950)
- 2005 – Melita Norwood, English civil servant and spy (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Keith Smith, English rugby player and coach (b. 1952)
- 2007 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (b. 1949)
- 2007 – Huang Ju, Chinese engineer and politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Mel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Cevher Özden, Turkish banker and businessman (b. 1933)
- 2009 – David Eddings, American author (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Avraham Botzer, Polish-Israeli commander (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Adolfo Calero, Nicaraguan businessman and political activist (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Richard Dawson, English-American soldier, actor, television personality, and game show host (b. 1932)
- 2012 – LeRoy Ellis, American basketball player (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Kathryn Joosten, American actress (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Jan Gmelich Meijling, Dutch commander and politician (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Mandawuy Yunupingu, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
- 2014 – Ivica Brzić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Anjan Das, Indian director and producer (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Gennadi Gusarov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Nikolay Khrenkov, Russian bobsledder (b. 1984)
- 2014 – Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Indian cardinal (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Kuaima Riruako, Namibian politician (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Fernando de Araújo, East Timorese politician, President of East Timor (b. 1963)
- 2015 – Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Peter Sallis, English actor (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on June 2
- Children’s Day (North Korea)
- Christian feast day:
- Alexander (martyr)
- Elmo
- Felix of Nicosia
- Marcellinus and Peter
- Martyrs of Lyon, including Blandina
- Pope Eugene I
- Pothinus
- June 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)
- Coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, also Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)
- Day of Hristo Botev (Bulgaria)
- Decoration Day (Canada)
- Festa della Repubblica (Italy)
- International Sex Workers Day
- Telangana Day (Telangana, India)
-
May 30 in History
- AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometers.
- 1381 – Beginning of the Peasants’ Revolt in England.
- 1416 – The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
- 1431 – Hundred Years’ War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. The Roman Catholic Church remembers this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.
- 1434 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: Effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeat and almost annihilate Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
- 1510 – During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
- 1536 – King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
- 1539 – In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
- 1574 – Henry III becomes King of France.
- 1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
- 1631 – Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
- 1635 – Thirty Years’ War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
- 1642 – From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
- 1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
- 1814 – The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
- 1815 – The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
- 1834 – Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing “all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses” from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of “The Friar-Killer”.
- 1842 – John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
- 1845 – The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
- 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
- 1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
- 1876 – Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
- 1883 – In New York City, a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge killed twelve people.
- 1899 – Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
- 1911 – At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
- 1913 – The Treaty of London is signed, ending the First Balkan War; Albania becomes an independent nation.
- 1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
- 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
- 1925 – May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
- 1937 – Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
- 1941 – World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
- 1942 – World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
- 1948 – A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
- 1958 – Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
- 1959 – The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
- 1961 – The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
- 1963 – A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam’s National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
- 1966 – Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
- 1967 – The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
- 1968 – Charles de Gaulle reappears publicly after his flight to Baden-Baden, Germany, and dissolves the French National Assembly by a radio appeal. Immediately after, less than one million of his supporters march on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is the turning point of May 1968 events in France.
- 1971 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
- 1972 – The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
- 1972 – In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
- 1974 – The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
- 1979 – Downeast Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
- 1975 – European Space Agency is established.
- 1982 – Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
- 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
- 1990 – Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
- 1998 – The 6.5 Mw Afghanistan earthquake shook the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
- 1998 – Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
- 2003 – Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
- 2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
- 2008 – TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport, killing five people.
- 2012 – Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
- 2013 – Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
- 2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed rocket to launch from the United States since 2011.
Births on May 30
- 1010 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1063)
- 1201 – Theobald IV, count of Champagne (d. 1253)
- 1423 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1461)
- 1464 – Barbara of Brandenburg, Bohemian queen (d. 1515)
- 1580 – Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza (d. 1634)
- 1599 – Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (d. 1667)
- 1623 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (d. 1686)
- 1686 – Antonina Houbraken, Dutch illustrator (d. 1736)
- 1718 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1793)
- 1719 – Roger Newdigate, English politician (d. 1806)
- 1757 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1844)
- 1768 – Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty, French general (d. 1815)
- 1797 – Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, German mineralogist and geologist (d. 1873)
- 1800 – Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, French cardinal (d. 1883)
- 1814 – Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (d. 1876)
- 1814 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894)
- 1819 – William McMurdo, English general (d. 1894)
- 1820 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (d. 1890)
- 1835 – Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1913)
- 1844 – Félix Arnaudin, French poet and photographer (d. 1921)
- 1845 – Amadeo I, Spanish king (d. 1890)
- 1846 – Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (d. 1920)
- 1862 – Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Azerbaijani philosopher and poet (d. 1911)
- 1869 – Grace Andrews, American mathematician (d. 1951)
- 1874 – Ernest Duchesne, French physician (d. 1912)
- 1875 – Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (d. 1944)
- 1879 – Colin Blythe, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1917)
- 1879 – Konstantin Ramul, Estonian psychologist and academic (d. 1975)
- 1881 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Wyndham Halswelle, English runner and soldier (d. 1915)
- 1883 – Sandy Pearce, Australian rugby league player (d. 1930)
- 1884 – Siegmund Glücksmann, German soldier and politician (d. 1942)
- 1885 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1942)
- 1886 – Laurent Barré, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1964)
- 1886 – Randolph Bourne, American theorist and author (d. 1918)
- 1887 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 1964)
- 1887 – Emil Reesen, Danish pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1964)
- 1890 – Roger Salengro, French soldier and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (d. 1972)
- 1894 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (d. 1956)
- 1896 – Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1986)
- 1898 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1899 – Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1936)
- 1901 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (d. 1969)
- 1901 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Stepin Fetchit, American actor and dancer (d. 1985)
- 1903 – Countee Cullen, American poet and author (d. 1946)
- 1906 – Bruno Gröning, German mystic and author (d. 1959)
- 1907 – Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and academic (d. 2008)
- 1908 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1908 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (d. 1997)
- 1909 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (d. 1988)
- 1909 – Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Harry Bernstein, English-American journalist and author (d. 2011)
- 1912 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Erich Bagge, German physicist and academic (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Millicent Selsam, American author and academic (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Joseph Stein, American playwright and author (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (d. 1979)
- 1915 – Len Carney, English footballer and soldier (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Justin Catayée, French soldier and politician (d. 1962)
- 1916 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (d. 2000)
- 1918 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (d. 2007)
- 1919 – René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (d. 1969)
- 1920 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (d. 1989)
- 1922 – Hal Clement, American author and educator (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Anthony Dryden Marshall, American CIA officer and diplomat (d. 2014)
- 1925 – John Henry Marks, English physician and author
- 1926 – Johnny Gimble, American country/western swing musician (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Joan Birman, American mathematician
- 1927 – Clint Walker, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Billy Wilson, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1993)
- 1928 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Georges Gilson, French archbishop
- 1930 – Mark Birley, English businessman, founded Annabel’s (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Robert Ryman, American painter (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Larry Silverstein, American real estate magnate
- 1932 – Ray Cooney, English actor and playwright
- 1932 – Pauline Oliveros, American accordion player and composer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Ivor Richard, Baron Richard, Welsh politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (d. 2019)
- 1934 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Ruta Lee, Canadian-American actress and dancer
- 1935 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Keir Dullea, American actor
- 1937 – Christopher Haskins, Anglo-Irish businessman, life peer, and British politician
- 1937 – Rick Mather, American-English architect (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Billie Letts, American author and educator (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1939 – Dieter Quester, Austrian race car driver
- 1939 – Tim Waterstone, Scottish businessman, founded Waterstones
- 1940 – Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Gilles Villemure, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1942 – John Gladwin, English bishop
- 1942 – Carole Stone, English journalist and author
- 1943 – Anders Michanek, Swedish motorcycle racer
- 1943 – Gale Sayers, American football player and philanthropist
- 1944 – Lenny Davidson, English guitarist and songwriter (The Dave Clark Five)
- 1944 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (d. 2000)
- 1944 – Stav Prodromou, Greek-American engineer and businessman
- 1945 – Gladys Horton, American singer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Allan Chapman, English historian and author
- 1946 – Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
- 1947 – Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer
- 1948 – Johan De Muynck, Belgian former professional road racing cyclist
- 1948 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
- 1948 – David Thorpe, Australian rules footballer
- 1949 – P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball player and coach
- 1949 – Paul Coleridge, English lawyer and judge
- 1949 – Bob Willis, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2019)
- 1950 – Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
- 1950 – Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
- 1950 – Joshua Rozenberg, English lawyer, journalist, and author
- 1951 – Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
- 1951 – Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
- 1951 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
- 1952 – Daniel Grodnik, American screenwriter and producer
- 1952 – Kerry Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and sportscaster
- 1953 – Jim Hunter, Canadian skier
- 1953 – Colm Meaney, Irish actor
- 1955 – Topper Headon, English drummer and songwriter (The Clash)
- 1955 – Jacqueline McGlade, English-Canadian biologist, ecologist, and academic
- 1955 – Caroline Swift, English lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
- 1956 – Tim Lucas, American author, screenwriter, and critic
- 1957 – Michael Clayton, Australian golfer
- 1958 – Eugene Belliveau, Canadian football player
- 1958 – Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2019)
- 1958 – Steve Israel, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1958 – Ted McGinley, American actor
- 1959 – Phil Brown, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1959 – Randy Ferbey, Canadian curler
- 1959 – Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician
- 1961 – Harry Enfield, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Bob Yari, Iranian-American director and producer
- 1962 – Kevin Eastman, American author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- 1962 – Richard Fuller, English lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Tim Loughton, English businessman and politician
- 1962 – Tonya Pinkins, American actress and singer
- 1963 – Michel Langevin, Canadian drummer and songwriter
- 1963 – Élise Lucet, French journalist
- 1963 – Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
- 1964 – Wynonna Judd, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1964 – Andrea Montermini, Italian race car driver
- 1964 – Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1965 – Troy Coker, Australian rugby player
- 1965 – Billy Donovan, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Iginio Straffi, Italian animator and producer, founded Rainbow S.r.l.
- 1966 – Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
- 1966 – Stephen Malkmus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Tim Burgess, English singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Rechelle Hawkes, Australian hockey player
- 1967 – Sven Pipien, German-American bass player
- 1968 – Jason Kenney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 40th Canadian Minister of National Defence
- 1968 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen, sentenced to life in prison related to September 11 attacks
- 1969 – Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Paul Grayson, English rugby player and coach
- 1971 – Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Jiří Šlégr, Czech ice hockey player and politician
- 1971 – Adrian Vowles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1972 – Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Big L, American rapper (d. 1999)
- 1974 – Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
- 1974 – CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
- 1974 – David Wilkie, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
- 1975 – Brian Fair, American singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Andy Farrell, English rugby player and coach
- 1975 – Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
- 1976 – Radoslav Nesterović, Slovenian-Greek basketball player
- 1976 – Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player and coach
- 1976 – Margaret Okayo, Kenyan runner
- 1977 – Rachael Stirling, English actress
- 1977 – Federico Vilar, Argentinian-Italian footballer
- 1979 – Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Clint Bowyer, American race car driver
- 1979 – Francis Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Steven Gerrard, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
- 1980 – Ilona Korstin, Russian basketball player
- 1980 – Ryōgo Narita, Japanese author
- 1981 – Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
- 1981 – Ahmad Elrich, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Remy Ma, American rapper
- 1981 – Lars Møller Madsen, Danish handball player
- 1981 – Hisanori Takada, Japanese footballer
- 1982 – Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (d. 2007)
- 1982 – James Simpson-Daniel, English rugby player
- 1984 – Sham Kwok Fai, Hong Kong footballer
- 1984 – Matt Maguire, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Alexander Sulzer, German ice hockey player
- 1985 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (d. 2013)
- 1985 – Igor Lewczuk, Polish footballer
- 1985 – Aaron Volpatti, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Nikolay Bodurov, Bulgarian international footballer, centre-back
- 1989 – Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
- 1989 – Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1990 – Andrei Loktionov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Jonathan Fox, English swimmer
- 1992 – Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
- 1992 – Danielle Harold, English actress
- 1994 – Scott Laughton, Canadian ice hockey player
Deaths on May 30
- 531 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)
- 727 – Hubertus, bishop Liège
- 947 – Ma Xifan, king of Chu (b. 899)
- 1035 – Baldwin IV, count of Flanders (b. 980)
- 1159 – Władysław II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia (b. 1105)
- 1252 – Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (b. 1199)
- 1347 – John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, English peer (b. 1290)
- 1376 – Joan of Ponthieu, Dame of Epernon, French noblewoman
- 1416 – Jerome of Prague, Czech martyr and theologian (b. 1379)
- 1431 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (b. 1412)
- 1434 – Prokop the Great, Czech general (b. 1380)
- 1469 – Lope de Barrientos, Castilian bishop (b. 1389)
- 1472 – Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg (b. 1416)
- 1574 – Charles IX of France (b. 1550)
- 1593 – Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1564)
- 1606 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (executed) (b. 1563)
- 1640 – Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (b. 1577)
- 1696 – Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1638)
- 1670 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (b. 1597)
- 1712 – Andrea Lanzani, Italian painter (b. 1645)
- 1718 – Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch-English general (b. 1670)
- 1744 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (b. 1688)
- 1770 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (b. 1703)
- 1778 – Voltaire, French philosopher and author (b. 1694)
- 1778 – José de la Borda, French/Spanish mining magnate in colonial Mexico (b. ca. 1700)
- 1829 – Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial, French general (b. 1774)
- 1832 – James Mackintosh, Scottish historian, jurist, and politician (b. 1765)
- 1855 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman, (b. 1777)
- 1892 – Mary Hannah Gray Clarke, American author, correspondent, and poet (b. 1835)
- 1865 – John Catron, American lawyer and judge (b. 1786)
- 1901 – Victor D’Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1841)
- 1911 – Milton Bradley, American businessman, founded the Milton Bradley Company (b. 1836)
- 1912 – Wilbur Wright, American pilot and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1867)
- 1918 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher and theorist (b. 1856)
- 1925 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (b. 1876)
- 1926 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1864)
- 1934 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)
- 1939 – Floyd Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Prajadhipok, Thai king (b. 1893)
- 1946 – Louis Slotin, Canadian physicist and chemist (b. 1910)
- 1947 – Georg von Trapp, Austrian captain (b. 1880)
- 1948 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (b. 1874)
- 1949 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French cardinal (b. 1874)
- 1951 – Hermann Broch, Austrian-American author (b. 1886)
- 1953 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (b. 1886)
- 1955 – Bill Vukovich, American race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1957 – Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (b. 1921)
- 1960 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
- 1961 – Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
- 1964 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian king (b. 1882)
- 1964 – Eddie Sachs, American race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1964 – Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1898)
- 1965 – Louis Hjelmslev, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1899)
- 1967 – Claude Rains, English-American actor (b. 1889)
- 1967 – Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- 1971 – Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (b. 1886)
- 1975 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (b. 1951)
- 1975 – Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss-born French actor (b. 1895)
- 1976 – Max Carey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
- 1976 – Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain (b. 1902)
- 1978 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1909)
- 1980 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (b. 1942)
- 1981 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
- 1981 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
- 1982 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded his own eponymous fashion brand (b. 1940)
- 1993 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1914)
- 1994 – Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
- 1994 – Marcel Bich, Italian-French businessman, co-founded Société Bic (b. 1914)
- 1994 – Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (b. 1955)
- 1995 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (b. 1912)
- 1995 – Lofty England, English-Austrian engineer (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (b. 1951)
- 1996 – Léon-Étienne Duval, French cardinal (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (b. 1961)
- 1999 – Kalju Lepik, Estonian poet and author (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Tex Beneke, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general and historian (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Gérald Leblanc, Acadian poet (b. 1945)
- 2005 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1958)
- 2005 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and stenographer (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Shohei Imamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2006 – David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist and academic (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Robert Sterling, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian-French actor and director (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (b. 1907)
- 2007 – Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (b. 1927)
- 2009 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Susanna Haapoja, Finnish politician (b. 1966)
- 2009 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian commander and politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Isikia Savua, Fijian police officer and diplomat (b. 1952)
- 2011 – Saleem Shahzad, Pakistani journalist (b. 1970)
- 2011 – Marek Siemek, Polish philosopher and historian (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
- 2012 – John Fox, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Andrew Huxley, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Gerhard Pohl, German economist and politician (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Jayalath Jayawardena, Sri Lankan physician and politician (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Larry Jones, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Hienadz Buraukin, Belarusian poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Joan Lorring, British actress (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (b. 1969)
- 2015 – Joël Champetier, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1957)
- 2015 – L. Tom Perry, American religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1953)
- 2016 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1950)
- 2019 – Jason Marcano, Trinidadian footballer (b. 1983)
Holidays and observances on May 30
- Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
- Canary Islands Day (Spain)
- Christian feast day:
- Earliest day on which Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary can fall, while July 3 is the latest; celebrated 20 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
- Ferdinand III of Castile
- Isaac of Dalmatia
- Joan of Arc
- Joseph Marello
- May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)
- Mother’s Day (Nicaragua)
- Statehood Day (Croatia)
-
May 25 in History
- 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
- 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
- 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.
- 1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
- 1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
- 1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
- 1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.
- 1660 – Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy.
- 1738 – A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
- 1787 – After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.
- 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place.
- 1809 – Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence.
- 1810 – May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the “May Week”, starting the Argentine War of Independence.
- 1819 – The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
- 1833 – The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.
- 1865 – In Mobile, Alabama, around 300 people are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
- 1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
- 1895 – Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
- 1895 – The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Jingsong as its president.
- 1914 – The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.
- 1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.
- 1926 – Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.
- 1935 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- 1938 – Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.
- 1940 – World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.
- 1946 – The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their Emir.
- 1953 – Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
- 1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.
- 1955 – In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.
- 1955 – First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: A British expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reaches the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day.
- 1961 – Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, his goal to initiate a project to put a “man on the Moon” before the end of the decade.
- 1963 – The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- 1966 – Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
- 1968 – The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated.
- 1973 – In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy.
- 1977 – Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in theaters.
- 1977 – The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare’s work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
- 1978 – The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.
- 1979 – John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1976.
- 1979 – American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.
- 1981 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- 1982 – Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.
- 1985 – Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
- 1986 – The Hands Across America event takes place.
- 1997 – A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
- 1999 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People’s Republic of China’s nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.
- 2000 – Liberation Day of Lebanon: Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (with the exception of the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 18 years after the invasion of 1982.
- 2001 – Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with Dr. Sherman Bull.
- 2002 – China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait, with the loss of all 225 people on board.
- 2008 – NASA’s Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
- 2009 – North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device, after which Pyongyang also conducts several missile tests, building tensions in the international community.
- 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
- 2012 – The SpaceX Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.
- 2013 – Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India.
- 2013 – A gas cylinder explodes on a school bus in the Pakistani city of Gujrat, killing at least 18 people.
- 2018 – The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union.
- 2018 – Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
- 2020 – George Floyd, a black man, is killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest when he is restrained in a prone position face-down on the ground for several minutes, provoking protests across the United States and elsewhere around the world.
Births on May 25
- 1048 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. 1085)
- 1320 – Toghon Temür, Mongolian emperor (d. 1370)
- 1334 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (d. 1398)
- 1416 – Jakobus (“James”), Count of Lichtenburg (d. 1480)
- 1417 – Catherine of Cleves, Duchess consort regent of Guelders (d. 1479)
- 1550 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint and nurse (d. 1614)
- 1606 – Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
- 1661 – Claude Buffier, Polish-French historian and philosopher (d. 1737)
- 1713 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
- 1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1776)
- 1783 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American farmer and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1841)
- 1791 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1841)
- 1803 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1873)
- 1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)
- 1818 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (d. 1897)
- 1818 – Louise de Broglie, Countess d’Haussonville, French essayist and biographer (d. 1882)
- 1830 – Trebor Mai (né Robert Williams), Welsh poet (d. 1877)
- 1846 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian-Turkish poet and translator (d. 1900)
- 1848 – Johann Baptist Singenberger, Swiss composer, educator, and publisher (d. 1924)
- 1852 – William Muldoon, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1933)
- 1856 – Louis Franchet d’Espèrey, Algerian-French general (d. 1942)
- 1860 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (d. 1944)
- 1865 – John Mott, American evangelist and saint, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
- 1865 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
- 1867 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (d. 1950)
- 1869 – Robbie Ross, Canadian journalist and art critic (d. 1918)
- 1869 – Mathilde Verne, English pianist and educator (d. 1936)
- 1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)
- 1879 – Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian-English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1964)
- 1879 – William Stickney, American golfer (d. 1944)
- 1880 – Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist and academic (d. 1967)
- 1882 – Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
- 1883 – Carl Johan Lind, Swedish hammer thrower (d. 1965)
- 1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and activist (d. 1945)
- 1886 – Philip Murray, Scottish-American miner and labor leader (d. 1952)
- 1887 – Padre Pio, Italian priest and saint (d. 1968)
- 1888 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1969)
- 1889 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)
- 1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, American country musician (d. 1968)
- 1897 – Alan Kippax, Australian cricketer (d. 1972)
- 1897 – Gene Tunney, American boxer and soldier (d. 1978)
- 1898 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher and television game show panelist; co-founded Random House (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, author, and flute player (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Alain Grandbois, Canadian poet and author (d. 1975)
- 1907 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1995)
- 1908 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (d. 1963)
- 1909 – Alfred Kubel, German politician, 5th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 1999)
- 1912 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (d. 1957)
- 1913 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and producer (d. 1965)
- 1916 – Brian Dickson, Canadian captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1998)
- 1916 – Giuseppe Tosi, Italian discus thrower (d. 1981)
- 1917 – Steve Cochran, American film, television and stage actor (d. 1965)
- 1917 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Arthur Wint, Jamaican runner and diplomat (d. 1992)
- 1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Jack Steinberger, German-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1922 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
- 1924 – István Nyers, French-Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet and author (d. 1974)
- 1925 – Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Eldon Griffiths, English journalist and politician (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (d. 2000)
- 1925 – Claude Pinoteau, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1926 – William Bowyer, English painter and academic (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author and poet (d. 2009)
- 1926 – Bill Sharman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1926 – David Wynne, English sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Robert Ludlum, American soldier and author (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Norman Petty, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1984)
- 1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Georgy Grechko, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Irwin Winkler, American director and producer
- 1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2003)
- 1932 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach
- 1933 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Basdeo Panday, Trinidadian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- 1933 – Ray Spencer, English footballer (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Jógvan Sundstein, Faroese accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
- 1935 – John Ffowcs Williams, Welsh engineer and academic
- 1935 – Cookie Gilchrist, American football player (d. 2011)
- 1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (d. 1988)
- 1936 – Tom T. Hall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1936 – Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Tom Phillips, English painter and academic
- 1938 – Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet (d. 1988)
- 1938 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Geoffrey Robinson, English businessman and politician
- 1939 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2010)
- 1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor
- 1940 – Nobuyoshi Araki, Japanese photographer
- 1941 – Rudolf Adler, Czech filmmaker:88
- 1941 – Uta Frith, German developmental psychologist
- 1941 – Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova
- 1943 – Jessi Colter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1943 – John Palmer, English keyboard player
- 1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
- 1944 – Digby Anderson, English journalist and philosopher
- 1944 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1944 – Charlie Harper, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1944 – Robert MacPherson, American mathematician and academic
- 1944 – Frank Oz, English-born American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor
- 1944 – Chris Ralston, English rugby player
- 1946 – Bill Adam, Scottish-Canadian racing driver
- 1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer, created Arduin (d. 1988)
- 1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress
- 1947 – Catherine G. Wolf, American psychologist and computer scientist
- 1948 – Bülent Arınç, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1948 – Marianne Elliott, Northern Irish historian, author, and academic
- 1948 – Klaus Meine, German rock singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
- 1949 – Barry Windsor-Smith, English painter and illustrator
- 1950 – Robby Steinhardt, American rock violinist and singer
- 1951 – Bob Gale, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Jeffrey Bewkes, American businessman
- 1952 – Nick Fotiu, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – David Jenkins, Trinidadian-Scottish runner
- 1952 – Al Sarrantonio, American author and publisher
- 1952 – Gordon H. Smith, American businessman and politician
- 1953 – Eve Ensler, American playwright and producer
- 1953 – Daniel Passarella, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1953 – Stan Sakai, Japanese-American author and illustrator
- 1953 – Gaetano Scirea, Italian footballer (d. 1989)
- 1954 – John Beck, English footballer, midfielder and manager
- 1954 – Murali, Indian actor, producer, and politician (d. 2009)
- 1955 – Alistair Burt, English lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Stavros Arnaoutakis, Greek politician
- 1956 – Larry Hogan, American politician, 62nd Governor of Maryland
- 1956 – David P. Sartor, American composer and conductor
- 1957 – Alastair Campbell, English journalist and author
- 1957 – Edward Lee, American author
- 1957 – Robert Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1958 – Dorothy Straight, American children’s author
- 1958 – Paul Weller, English singer, songwriter and musician
- 1959 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor, and author
- 1959 – Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician
- 1959 – Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1960 – Amy Klobuchar, American lawyer and politician
- 1960 – Anthea Turner, English journalist and television host
- 1962 – Ric Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1963 – George Hickenlooper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
- 1963 – Mike Myers, Canadian-American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Ludovic Orban, Romanian engineer, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Romania
- 1964 – David Shaw, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1965 – Yahya Jammeh, Gambian colonel and politician, President of the Gambia
- 1967 – Luc Nilis, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1967 – Mark Rosewater, Head designer of Magic: the Gathering
- 1968 – Kendall Gill, American basketball player, boxer, and sportscaster
- 1969 – Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
- 1969 – Anne Heche, American actress
- 1969 – Karen Bernstein, Canadian voice actress
- 1969 – Stacy London, American journalist and author
- 1970 – Robert Croft, Welsh-English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1970 – Jamie Kennedy, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Stefano Baldini, Italian runner
- 1971 – Marco Cappato, Italian politician
- 1972 – Karan Johar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1972 – Octavia Spencer, American actress and author
- 1973 – Daz Dillinger, American rapper and producer
- 1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress
- 1974 – Dougie Freedman, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1974 – Frank Klepacki, American drummer and composer
- 1974 – Miguel Tejada, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1975 – Blaise Nkufo, Congolese-Swiss footballer
- 1976 – Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper
- 1976 – Erki Pütsep, Estonian cyclist
- 1976 – Ethan Suplee, American actor
- 1976 – Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
- 1976 – Miguel Zepeda, Mexican footballer
- 1977 – Andre Anis, Estonian footballer
- 1977 – Alberto Del Rio, Mexican-American mixed martial artist and wrestler
- 1978 – Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Brian Urlacher, American football player
- 1979 – Carlos Bocanegra, American international soccer player, defender and Sports Executive
- 1979 – Sayed Moawad, Egyptian footballer
- 1979 – Caroline Ouellette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1979 – Sam Sodje, English-Nigerian footballer
- 1979 – Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
- 1979 – Chris Young, American baseball pitcher
- 1980 – David Navarro, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball player
- 1981 – Matt Utai, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1982 – Adam Boyd, English footballer
- 1982 – Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer
- 1982 – Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder
- 1982 – Roger Guerreiro, Polish footballer
- 1982 – Justin Hodges, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan runner
- 1982 – Jason Kubel, American baseball player
- 1982 – Stacey Pensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist
- 1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Luke Ball, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – A. J. Foyt IV, American race car driver
- 1984 – Shawne Merriman, American football player
- 1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress
- 1985 – Demba Ba, French footballer
- 1985 – Gert Kams, Estonian footballer
- 1985 – Roman Reigns, American football player and wrestler
- 1986 – Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Yoan Gouffran, French footballer
- 1986 – Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician
- 1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist
- 1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer
- 1987 – Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper
- 1988 – Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer
- 1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer
- 1990 – Bo Dallas, American wrestler
- 1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1993 – James Porter, English cricketer
- 1994 – Matt Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast
- 1995 – Kagiso Rabada, South African cricketer
- 1996 – David Pastrňák, Czech ice hockey player
Deaths on May 25
- 675 – Li Hong, Chinese prince (b. 652)
- 709 – Aldhelm, English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (b. 639)
- 803 – Higbald of Lindisfarne, English bishop
- 912 – Xue Yiju, chancellor of Later Liang
- 916 – Flann Sinna, king of Meath
- 939 – Yao Yanzhang, general of Chu
- 986 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Muslim astronomer (b. 903)
- 992 – Mieszko I of Poland (b. 935)
- 1085 – Pope Gregory VII (b. 1020)
- 1261 – Pope Alexander IV (b. 1185)
- 1452 – John Stafford, English archbishop and politician
- 1555 – Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (b. 1508)
- 1555 – Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
- 1595 – Valens Acidalius, German poet and critic (b. 1567)
- 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian priest and saint (b. 1515)
- 1607 – Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Italian Carmelite nun and mystic (b. 1566)
- 1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
- 1667 – Gustaf Bonde, Finnish-Swedish politician, 5th Lord High Treasurer of Sweden (b. 1620)
- 1681 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1600)
- 1741 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German bishop and theologian (b. 1660)
- 1786 – Peter III of Portugal (b. 1717)
- 1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1751)
- 1797 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1719)
- 1805 – William Paley, English priest and philosopher (b. 1743)
- 1849 – Benjamin D’Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (b. 1777)
- 1895 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, and jurist (b. 1822)
- 1899 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (b. 1822)
- 1912 – Austin Lane Crothers, American educator and politician, 46th Governor of Maryland (b. 1860)
- 1917 – Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet and critic (b. 1891)
- 1919 – Eliza Pollock, American archer (b. 1840)
- 1919 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company (b. 1867)
- 1924 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1889)
- 1926 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (b. 1879)
- 1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1876)
- 1930 – Randall Davidson, Scottish-English archbishop (b. 1848)
- 1934 – Gustav Holst, English trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1874)
- 1937 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (b. 1859)
- 1939 – Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
- 1942 – Emanuel Feuermann, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (b. 1902)
- 1943 – Nils von Dardel, Swedish painter (b. 1888)
- 1948 – Witold Pilecki, Polish officer and Resistance leader (b. 1901)
- 1951 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian poet and author (b. 1887)
- 1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian photographer and journalist (b. 1913)
- 1957 – Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (b. 1883)
- 1968 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881)
- 1970 – Tom Patey, Scottish mountaineer and author (b. 1932)
- 1977 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (b. 1904)
- 1979 – Itzhak Bentov, Czech-Israeli engineer, mystic, and author (b. 1923)
- 1979 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French racing driver and sports car manufacturer (b. 1899)
- 1981 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (b. 1912)
- 1981 – Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1904)
- 1983 – Idris of Libya (b. 1889)
- 1983 – Jack Stewart, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1917)
- 1986 – Chester Bowles, American journalist and politician, 22nd Under Secretary of State (b. 1901)
- 1990 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)
- 1995 – Élie Bayol, French racing driver (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player and coach, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 1996 (b. 1948)
- 1995 – Dany Robin, French actress (b. 1927)
- 1996 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (b. 1929)
- 2003 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing Company (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (b. 1938)
- 2005 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer and director (b. 1936)
- 2005 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (b. 1909)
- 2007 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1931)
- 2008 – J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded Simplot (b. 1909)
- 2009 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (b. 1905)
- 2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)
- 2010 – Michael H. Jordan, American businessman (b. 1936)
- 2010 – Alan Hickinbotham, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Gabriel Vargas, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1915)
- 2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player and coach (b. 1965)
- 2011 – Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1944)
- 2012 – William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (b. 1953)
- 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Marcel Côté, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (b. 1913)
- 2014 – Toaripi Lauti, Tuvaluan educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Tuvalu (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (b. 1954)
- 2015 – George Braden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of the Northwest Territories (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Robert Lebel, Canadian bishop (b. 1924)
- 2019 – Claus von Bülow, Danish-British socialite (b.1926)
Holidays and observances on May 25
- Africa Day (African Union)
- African Liberation Day (African Union, Rastafari)
- Christian feast day:
- Aldhelm
- Bede
- Canius
- Dionysius of Milan
- Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad
- Gerard of Lunel
- Madeleine Sophie Barat
- Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
- Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux
- Pope Boniface IV
- Pope Gregory VII
- Pope Urban I
- Zenobius of Florence
- May 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Venezuela)
- Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Hungary)
- Earliest day on which Holiday of Saint Etchmiadzin can fall, while July 27 is the latest; celebrated on the 64th day after Easter. (Armenia)
- Earliest day on which Memorial Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Monday in May. (United States)
- Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia)
- Earliest day on which Turkmen Carpet Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Turkmenistan)
- First National Government / National Day (Argentina)
- Geek Pride Day (geek culture)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Jordan from the United Kingdom in 1946.
- Last bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries)
- Liberation Day (Lebanon)
- International Missing Children’s Day and its related observances:
- National Missing Children’s Day (United States),
- National Tap Dance Day (United States)
- Towel Day in honour of the work of the writer Douglas Adams