Skip to content
-
May 11 in History
- 330 – Constantinople is consecrated.
- 868 – A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
- 912 – Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch–Hanoverian army.
- 1792 – Robert Gray commands the first expedition to sail into the Columbia River.
- 1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
- 1813 – William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement.
- 1833 – The Lady of the Lake strikes an iceberg off Newfoundland and sinks with the loss of up to 265 passengers and crew.
- 1846 – President James K. Polk asked for a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War.
- 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
- 1858 – Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd state of the United States.
- 1880 – Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
- 1889 – An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
- 1894 – Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike.
- 1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
- 1943 – World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
- 1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes.
- 1960 – Adolf Eichmann is captured by the Mossad in Argentina.
- 1963 – Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama, disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
- 1970 – The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage.
- 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg’s charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.
- 1985 – Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.
- 1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
- 1996 – After the aircraft’s departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
- 1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
- 1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.
- 2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
- 2010 – David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country’s first coalition government since the Second World War.
- 2011 – An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain.
- 2013 – Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
- 2014 – Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers.
- 2016 – One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.
Births on May 11
- 1571 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (d. 1637)
- 1715 – Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, German organist (d. 1739)
- 1752 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (d. 1840)
- 1797 – José Mariano Salas, Mexican general and politician (d. 1867)
- 1811 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (d. 1893)
- 1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918)
- 1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
- 1869 – Archibald Warden, English tennis player (d. 1943)
- 1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (d. 1943)
- 1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (d. 1912)
- 1881 – Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Paul Nash, British painter (d. 1946)
- 1890 – Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (d. 1958)
- 1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (d. 1984)
- 1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
- 1895 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (d. 1978)
- 1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (d. 1978)
- 1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer and academic (d. 1955)
- 1897 – Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
- 1901 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-English poet and author (d. 1988):7
- 1901 – Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (d. 1967)
- 1902 – Edna Ernestine Kramer, American mathematician (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
- 1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (d. 1989)
- 1905 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (d. 2004)
- 1905 – Catherine Bauer Wurster, American architect and public housing advocate (d. 1964)
- 1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989
- 1911 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian economist and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Indian-Pakistani author and screenwriter (d. 1955)
- 1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
- 1921 – Robin Barbour, Scottish minister and author (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 – Edward J. King, American football player and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Bernard Fox, British actor (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer
- 1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader
- 1934 – Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1937 – Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer
- 1938 – Narendra Patel, Baron Patel, Tanzanian-English obstetrician, academic, and politician
- 1941 – Eric Burdon, English musician
- 1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician
- 1944 – John Benaud, Australian cricketer
- 1948 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-English politician
- 1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author
- 1950 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta
- 1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager
- 1955 – John DeStefano, Jr., American politician, 49th Mayor of New Haven
- 1957 – Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician
- 1962 – Steve Bono, American football player
- 1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player
- 1964 – Floyd Youmans, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager
- 1969 – Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner
- 1970 – Harold Ford, Jr., American lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Jason Queally, English cyclist
- 1972 – Tomáš Dvořák, Czech decathlete and coach
- 1973 – Tsuyoshi Ogata, Japanese runner
- 1974 – Darren Ward, English-Welsh footballer and coach
- 1974 – Tony Warner, English born Trinidadian international footballer and coach
- 1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, American rapper and record producer/executive
- 1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer
- 1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1977 – Bobby Roode, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress
- 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2013)
- 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
- 1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (d. 2014)
- 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model
- 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
- 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
- 1987 – Lim Seul-ong, South Korean singer and actor
- 1987 – Monica Roșu, Romanian gymnast
- 1988 – Jeremy Maclin, American football player
- 1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Alyssa Brown, Canadian artistic gymnast
- 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican international footballer
- 1989 – Cam Newton, American football player
- 1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer
- 1992 – Pablo Sarabia, Spanish footballer
- 1993 – Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player
- 1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner
- 1995 – Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer
- 1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American singer and actress
- 1999 – Kaitlyn Dias, American actress and voice artist
Deaths on May 11
- 1610 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and mathematician (b. 1552)
- 1686 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (b. 1602)
- 1778 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
- 1779 – John Hart, American lawyer and politician (b. 1711)
- 1812 – Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
- 1848 – Tom Cribb, English boxer (b. 1781)
- 1849 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (b. 1777)
- 1882 – Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1816)
- 1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801)
- 1908 – Charles Kingston, Australian politician, 20th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
- 1916 – Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873):xix
- 1918 – George Elmslie, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Victoria (b. 1861)
- 1920 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1878)
- 1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (b. 1837)
- 1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
- 1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (b. 1864)
- 1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (b. 1858)
- 1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
- 1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1874)
- 1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888):169
- 1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (b. 1930)
- 1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
- 1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 1983 – Zenna Henderson, American writer (b. 1917)
- 1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (b. 1894)
- 1988 – Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
- 2001 – Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1912)
- 2002 – Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (b. 1945)
- 2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (b. 1935)
- 2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (b. 1913)
- 2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (b. 1953)
- 2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
- 2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (b. 1904)
- 2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (b. 1977)
Holidays and observances on May 11
- Christian feast day:
- Anthimus of Rome
- Gangulphus of Burgundy
- Majolus of Cluny
- Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints
- May 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- National Technology Day (India)
- Statehood Day (Minnesota)
- Vietnam Human Rights Day (Vietnam)
-
May 9 in History
- 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.
- 1271 – Ninth Crusade, Edward I of England disembarks at Acre.
- 1386 – England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.
- 1450 – ‘Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) is assassinated.
- 1540 – Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of California.
- 1662 – The figure who later became Mr. Punch makes his first recorded appearance in England.
- 1671 – Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England’s Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
- 1726 – Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap’s molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.
- 1763 – The Siege of Fort Detroit begins during Pontiac’s War against British forces.
- 1864 – Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest surrenders his forces at Gainesville, Alabama.
- 1865 – American Civil War: President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation ending belligerent rights of the rebels and enjoining foreign nations to intern or expel Confederate ships.
- 1873 – Der Krach: Vienna stock market crash heralds the Long Depression.
- 1874 – The first horsebus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, traveling two routes.
- 1877 – Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. This day became the Independence Day of Romania.
- 1877 – A magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Peru kills 2,541, including some as far away as Hawaii and Japan.
- 1887 – Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show opens in London.
- 1901 – Australia opens its first national parliament in Melbourne.
- 1904 – The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h).
- 1911 – The works of Gabriele D’Annunzio are placed in the Index of Forbidden Books by the Vatican.
- 1915 – World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.
- 1918 – World War I: Germany repels Britain’s second attempt to blockade the port of Ostend, Belgium.
- 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrates its capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreshchatyk.
- 1926 – Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd’s diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim.)
- 1927 – Old Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
- 1936 – Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.
- 1940 – World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks the French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder.
- 1941 – World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
- 1942 – Holocaust: The SS executes 588 Jewish residents of the Podolian town of Zinkiv (Khmelnytska oblast, Ukraine). The Zoludek Ghetto (in Belarus) is destroyed and all its inhabitants executed or deported.
- 1945 – World War II: The final German Instrument of Surrender is signed at the Soviet headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst.
- 1945 – World War II: The German occupation of the Channel Islands comes to an end.
- 1946 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II.
- 1948 – Czechoslovakia’s Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
- 1949 – Rainier III becomes Prince of Monaco.
- 1950 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, which according to him was indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the “Schuman Declaration”, is considered by some people to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
- 1955 – Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
- 1958 – Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo has world premiere in San Francisco.
- 1960 – The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle’s Enovid, making Enovid the world’s first approved oral contraceptive pill.
- 1961 – FCC Chairman Newton N. Minow gives his Wasteland Speech.
- 1964 – Ngô Đình Cẩn, de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his brother President Ngô Đình Diệm before the family’s toppling, is executed.
- 1969 – Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House.
- 1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.
- 1977 – Hotel Polen fire: A disastrous fire burns down the Hotel Polen in Amsterdam causing 33 deaths and 21 severe injuries.
- 1979 – Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran.
- 1980 – In Florida, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 1,400-ft. section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 150 ft. into the water and die.
- 1980 – In Norco, California, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase.
- 1987 – LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
- 1988 – New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
- 1992 – Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
- 1992 – Westray Mine disaster kills 26 workers in Nova Scotia, Canada.
- 1994 – Disappearance of Cleashindra Hall in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
- 2001 – In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee.
- 2002 – The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected terrorists among them deported to several different countries.
- 2012 – A Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft crashes into Mount Salak in West Java, Indonesia, killing 45 people.
- 2015 – An Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft crashes near the Spanish city of Seville with three people on board killed.
- 2015 – Russia stages its biggest ever military parade in Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day.
- 2018 – The historic defeat for Barisan Nasional, the governing coalition of Malaysia since the country’s independence in 1957 in 2018 Malaysian general election.
- 2018 – At the height of the 2018 East Africa floods, the Patel dam breaks in Solai, Kenya, killing 48 people and displacing another 2000.
Births on May 9
- 1147 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (d. 1199)
- 1170 – Valdemar II of Denmark (d. 1241)
- 1540 – Maharana Pratap, Indian ruler (d. 1597)
- 1555 – Jerónima de la Asunción, Spanish Catholic nun and founder of the first monastery in Manila (d. 1630)
- 1594 – Louis Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg, military leader in the Thirty Years’ War (d. 1662)
- 1617 – Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (d. 1655)
- 1740 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (probable; d. 1816)
- 1746 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1818)
- 1763 – János Batsányi, Hungarian-Austrian poet and author (d. 1845)
- 1800 – John Brown, American activist (d. 1859)
- 1801 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded the town of Fleetwood (d. 1866)
- 1814 – John Brougham, Irish-American actor and playwright (d. 1880)
- 1823 – Frederick Weld, English-New Zealand politician, 6th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
- 1824 – Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, Polish apologist and author (d. 1896)
- 1825 – James Collinson, Victorian painter (d. 1881)
- 1836 – Ferdinand Monoyer, French ophthalmologist, invented the Monoyer chart (d. 1912)
- 1837 – Adam Opel, German engineer, founded the Opel Company (d. 1895)
- 1845 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer and businessman (d. 1913)
- 1850 – Edward Weston, English-American chemist (d. 1936)
- 1855 – Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer (d. 1932)
- 1860 – J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (d. 1937)
- 1866 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian economist and politician (d. 1915)
- 1870 – Harry Vardon, British golfer (d. 1937)
- 1873 – Anton Cermak, Czech-American captain and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1933)
- 1874 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1939)
- 1882 – George Barker, American painter (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Henry J. Kaiser, American shipbuilder and businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards (d. 1967)
- 1883 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher, author, and critic (d. 1955)
- 1884 – Valdemar Psilander, Danish actor (d. 1917)
- 1885 – Gianni Vella, Maltese artist (d. 1977)
- 1888 – Francesco Baracca, Italian fighter pilot (d. 1918)
- 1888 – Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector (d. 1964)
- 1892 – Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1989)
- 1893 – William Moulton Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1947)
- 1895 – Richard Barthelmess, American actor (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (d. 1961)
- 1895 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (d. 1989)
- 1896 – Richard Day, Canadian-American art director and set decorator (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Maria Malicka, Polish stage and film actress (d. 1992)
- 1904 – Conrad Bernier, Canadian-American organist, composer, and educator (d. 1988)
- 1905 – Lilí Álvarez, Spanish tennis player, author, and feminist (d. 1998)
- 1906 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Jackie Grant, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1907 – Kathryn Kuhlman, American evangelist and author (d. 1976)
- 1907 – Baldur von Schirach, German politician (d. 1974)
- 1909 – Don Messer, Canadian violinist (d. 1973)
- 1909 – Gordon Bunshaft, American architect, designed the Solow Building (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Harry Simeone, American music arranger, conductor, and composer (d. 2005)
- 1912 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (d. 1963)
- 1912 – Per Imerslund, Norwegian-German soldier and author (d. 1943)
- 1912 – Géza Ottlik, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1990)
- 1914 – Patricia Swift Blalock, American librarian (d.2011)
- 1914 – Denham Fouts, American prostitute (d. 1948)
- 1914 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1914 – Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Hank Snow, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1916 – William Pène du Bois, American author and illustrator (d. 1993)
- 1917 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Moisis Michail Bourlas, Greek soldier and educator (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Orville Freeman, American soldier and politician, 16th United States Secretary of Agriculture (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Mike Wallace, American journalist, media personality and one-time game show host (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Clifford Chadderton, Canadian soldier and journalist (d. 2013)
- 1920 – William Tenn, English-American author and academic (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Richard Adams, English novelist (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest, poet, and activist (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (d. 1943)
- 1921 – Mona Van Duyn, American poet and academic (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Johnny Grant, American radio host and producer (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer, poet, and author (d. 1997)
- 1926 – John Middleton Murry, Jr., English soldier, pilot, and author (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Manfred Eigen, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Ralph Goings, American painter (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (d. 1995)
- 1928 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian figure skater (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Joan Sims, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Kalifa Tillisi, Libyan historian and linguist (d. 2010)
- 1931 – Vance D. Brand, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut
- 1932 – Conrad Hunte, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1999)
- 1934 – Alan Bennett, English screenwriter, playwright, and novelist
- 1935 – Nokie Edwards, American guitarist (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Roger Hargreaves, English author and illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1936 – Terry Downes, British boxer and former world middle-weight champion (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Albert Finney, English actor (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician
- 1937 – Sonny Curtis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1937 – Rafael Moneo, Spanish architect, designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and Valladolid Science Museum
- 1937 – Dave Prater, American singer (d. 1988)
- 1938 – Charles Simić, Serbian-American poet and editor
- 1939 – Ralph Boston, American long jumper
- 1939 – Ion Țiriac, Romanian tennis player and manager
- 1939 – Ken Warby, Australian motorboat racer
- 1939 – Giorgio Zancanaro, Italian baritone
- 1939 – John Ogbu, Nigerian-American anthropologist and professor (d. 2003)
- 1940 – James L. Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – Dorothy Hyman, English sprinter
- 1941 – Danny Rapp, American musician (d. 1983)
- 1942 – John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
- 1942 – Tommy Roe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Vince Cable, English economist and politician, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
- 1943 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish historian and journalist (d. 2009)
- 1943 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Richie Furay, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Gamal El-Ghitani, Egyptian journalist and author (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Jupp Heynckes, German footballer and manager
- 1945 – Steve Katz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1946 – Candice Bergen, American actress and producer
- 1946 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (d. 2002)
- 1947 – Yukiya Amano, Japanese diplomat (d. 2019)
- 1948 – Hans Georg Bock, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
- 1948 – John Mahaffey, American golfer
- 1948 – Steven W. Mosher, American social scientist and author
- 1948 – Calvin Murphy, American basketball player and radio host
- 1949 – Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1949 – Richard S. Williamson, American lawyer and diplomat, 17th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (d. 2013)
- 1951 – Alley Mills, American actress
- 1953 – Bruno Brokken, Belgian high jumper
- 1955 – Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (d. 2012)
- 1955 – Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish soprano and actress
- 1956 – Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress and producer
- 1956 – Jana Wendt, Australian television host
- 1958 – Graham Smith, Canadian swimmer
- 1959 – Andrew Jones, New Zealand cricketer
- 1960 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1961 – Sean Altman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – John Corbett, American actor
- 1962 – Dave Gahan, English singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Paul Heaton, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Joe Cirella, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Ken Nomura, Japanese race car driver and sportscaster
- 1965 – Steve Yzerman, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1966 – Mark Tinordi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Masahiko Harada, Japanese ski jumper
- 1968 – Graham Harman, American philosopher and academic
- 1968 – Ruth Kelly, British economist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
- 1968 – Marie-José Pérec, French sprinter
- 1968 – Neil Ruddock, English international footballer and television personality
- 1970 – Doug Christie, American basketball player
- 1970 – Hao Haidong, Chinese footballer & all time top scorer for Chinese national team
- 1970 – Ghostface Killah, American rapper and actor
- 1971 – Jason Lee, English footballer and manager
- 1971 – Dan Chiasson, American poet and critic
- 1972 – Megumi Odaka, Japanese actress and singer
- 1973 – Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan runner
- 1973 – Leonard Myles-Mills, Ghanaian sprinter
- 1975 – Tamia, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1975 – Brian Deegan, American motocross rider
- 1977 – Averno, Mexican wrestler
- 1977 – Marek Jankulovski, Czech footballer
- 1977 – Svein Tuft, Canadian cyclist
- 1978 – Leandro Cufré, Argentinian footballer
- 1978 – Santiago Dellapè, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1978 – Aaron Harang, American baseball player
- 1978 – Marwan al-Shehhi, Emirati terrorist (d. 2001)
- 1979 – Pierre Bouvier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
- 1979 – Andrew W.K., American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, motivational speaker, and music producer
- 1980 – Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
- 1980 – Angela Nikodinov, American figure skater
- 1980 – Tony Schmidt, German race car driver
- 1980 – Jo Hyun-jae, South Korean actor
- 1981 – Bill Murphy, American baseball player
- 1981 – Evangelos Tsiolis, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Giacomo Brichetto, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Alan Campbell, British sculler
- 1983 – Christos Marangos, Cypriot footballer
- 1983 – Ryuhei Matsuda, Japanese actor
- 1983 – Gilles Müller, Luxembourgian tennis player
- 1983 – Tyler Lumsden, American baseball player
- 1983 – Leandro Rinaudo, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Prince Fielder, American baseball player
- 1984 – Chase Headley, American baseball player
- 1985 – Jake Long, American football player
- 1985 – Henrique Andrade Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Scott Bolton, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Kevin Gameiro, French footballer
- 1987 – Vitaliy Pushkar, Ukrainian race car driver
- 1988 – J. R. Fitzpatrick, Canadian race car driver
- 1989 – Ellen White, English footballer
- 1991 – Majlinda Kelmendi, Kosovar judoka
- 1992 – Dan Burn, English footballer
- 1996 – Saron Läänmäe, Estonian footballer
- 1996 – Grace Reid, Scottish diver
Deaths on May 9
- 729 – Osric, king of Northumbria
- 893 – Shi Pu, warlord of the Tang Dynasty
- 909 – Adalgar, archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen
- 934 – Wang Sitong, Chinese general and governor (b. 892)
- 1280 – Magnus VI of Norway
- 1315 – Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1282)
- 1329 – John Drokensford, Bishop of Bath and Wells
- 1443 – Niccolò Albergati, Italian Cardinal and diplomat (b. 1373)
- 1446 – Mary of Enghien (b. 1368)
- 1590 – Charles de Bourbon French cardinal and pretender to the throne (b. 1523)
- 1657 – William Bradford, English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (b. 1590)
- 1707 – Dieterich Buxtehude, German-Danish organist and composer (b. 1637)
- 1736 – Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Portuguese judge and politician (b. 1658)
- 1745 – Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1663)
- 1747 – John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish field marshal and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (b. 1673)
- 1760 – Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German bishop and saint (b. 1700)
- 1789 – Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French general and engineer (b. 1715)
- 1790 – William Clingan, American politician (b. 1721)
- 1791 – Francis Hopkinson, American judge and politician (b. 1737)
- 1805 – Friedrich Schiller, German poet, playwright, and historian (b. 1759)
- 1850 – Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French chemist and physicist (b. 1778)
- 1850 – Garlieb Merkel, Estonian author and activist (b. 1769)
- 1861 – Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (b. 1805)
- 1864 – John Sedgwick, American general and educator (b. 1813)
- 1889 – William S. Harney, American general (b. 1800)
- 1906 – Oscar von Gebhardt, German theologian and academic (b. 1844)
- 1914 – C. W. Post, American businessman, founded Post Foods (b. 1854)
- 1915 – François Faber, Luxembourgian-French cyclist and soldier (b. 1887)
- 1915 – Anthony Wilding, New Zealand tennis player and cricketer (b. 1883)
- 1918 – George Coșbuc, Romanian journalist and poet (b. 1866)
- 1931 – Albert Abraham Michelson, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1933 – John Arthur Jarvis, English swimmer (b. 1872)
- 1935 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (b. 1877)
- 1938 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (b. 1866)
- 1942 – Józef Cebula, Polish priest and saint (b. 1902)
- 1944 – Han Yong-un, Korean poet and social reformer (b. 1879)
- 1949 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1870)
- 1950 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Spanish mathematician and engineer (b. 1883)
- 1957 – Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan banker and businessman (b. 1887)
- 1957 – Ezio Pinza, Italian actor and singer (b. 1892)
- 1959 – Bhaurao Patil, Indian activist and educator (b. 1887)
- 1965 – Leopold Figl, Austrian engineer and politician, 18th Chancellor of Austria (b. 1902)
- 1968 – Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (b. 1894)
- 1968 – Marion Lorne, American actress (b. 1883)
- 1968 – Finlay Currie, British actor (b. 1878)
- 1970 – Walter Reuther, American union leader (b. 1907)
- 1976 – Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
- 1976 – Ulrike Meinhof, German militant, co-founded the Red Army Faction (b. 1934)
- 1977 – James Jones, American novelist (b. 1921)
- 1978 – Giuseppe Impastato, Italian journalist and activist (b. 1948)
- 1978 – Aldo Moro, Italian lawyer and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1916)
- 1979 – Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American banker, businessman, and philanthropist (b. 1883)
- 1979 – Eddie Jefferson, American singer and lyricist (b. 1918)
- 1980 – Kate Molale, South African activist (b. 1928)
- 1981 – Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1909)
- 1983 – Henry Bachtold, Australian soldier and railway engineer (b. 1891)
- 1985 – Edmond O’Brien, American actor and director (b. 1915)
- 1986 – Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese mountaineer (b. 1914)
- 1987 – Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Penelope Gilliatt, English novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
- 1994 – Elias Motsoaledi, South African activist (b. 1924)
- 1997 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (b. 1926)
- 1997 – Marco Ferreri, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 1998 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (b. 1915)
- 1998 – Talat Mahmood, Indian singer and actor (b. 1924)
- 2003 – Russell B. Long, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (b. 1951)
- 2004 – Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Brenda Fassie, South African singer (b. 1964)
- 2007 – Dwight Wilson, Canadian soldier (b. 1901)
- 2008 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Nuala O’Faolain, Irish journalist and producer (b. 1942)
- 2008 – Pascal Sevran, French singer, television host, and author (b. 1945)
- 2009 – Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Lena Horne, American singer, actress, and activist (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Otakar Motejl, Czech lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (b. 1984)
- 2012 – Bertram Cohler, American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Geoffrey Henry, Cook Islander lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Ramón Blanco Rodríguez, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2013 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Humberto Lugo Gil, Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Mary Stewart, English-Scottish author and poet (b. 1916)
- 2015 – Edward W. Estlow, American football player and journalist (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Robert Miles, a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (b. 1969)
- 2018 – Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (b. 1938)
- 2019 – Freddie Starr, English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (1943)
- 2020 – Little Richard, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (b. 1932)
Holidays and observances on May 9
- Anniversary of Dianetics (Church of Scientology)
- Christian feast day:
- Beatus of Lungern
- Beatus of Vendome
- Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- George Preca
- Gerontius of Cervia
- Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar)
- Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran)
- Pachomius the Great
- Tudy of Landevennec
- May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances:
- Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Guernsey and Jersey)
- National Day (Alderney)
- Europe Day, commemorating the Schuman Declaration. (European Union)
- Victory Day observances, celebration of the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany (Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)
- Victory and Peace Day, marks the capture of Shusha (1992) in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the end of World War II. (Armenia)
- Victory Day over Nazism in World War II (Ukraine)
-
April 25 in History
- 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
- 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire.
- 799 – After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection.
- 1134 – The name Zagreb was mentioned for the first time in the Felician Charter relating to the establishment of the Zagreb Bishopric around 1094.
- 1607 – Eighty Years’ War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
- 1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming dynasty China, commits suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
- 1707 – A coalition of Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal is defeated by a Franco-Spanish army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.
- 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
- 1792 – “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
- 1804 – The western Georgian kingdom of Imereti accepts the suzerainty of the Russian Empire.
- 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
- 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War.
- 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
- 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Marks’ Mills.
- 1882 – French and Vietnamese troops clashed in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seized the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
- 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.
- 1915 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops, begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
- 1916 – Anzac Day is commemorated for the first time on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove.
- 1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class “A” League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East.
- 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.
- 1940 – Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands is approved by the British occupation government.
- 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.
- 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two.
- 1945 – Liberation Day (Italy): The Nazi occupation army surrenders and leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolves and Benito Mussolini is captured after trying to escape. This day was set as a public holiday to celebrate the Liberation of Italy.
- 1945 – United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
- 1945 – The last German troops retreat from Finland’s soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military acts of Second World War end in Finland.
- 1951 – Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.
- 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” describing the double helix structure of DNA.
- 1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
- 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.
- 1960 – The United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
- 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and establishes a democratic government.
- 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
- 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
- 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
- 1983 – Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
- 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto’s orbit.
- 1986 – Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.
- 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.
- 1990 – Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto is killed while testing an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring in Germany.
- 2004 – The March for Women’s Lives brings between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.
- 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.
- 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.
- 2007 – Boris Yeltsin’s funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.
- 2015 – Nearly 9,100 are killed after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.
Births on April 25
- 1214 – Louis IX of France (d. 1270)
- 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)
- 1284 – Edward II of England (d. 1327)
- 1287 – Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1330)
- 1502 – Georg Major, German theologian and academic (d. 1574)
- 1529 – Francesco Patrizi, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1597)
- 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1658)
- 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, English soldier and politician (d. 1679)
- 1666 – Johann Heinrich Buttstett, German organist and composer (d. 1727)
- 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect and politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (d. 1753)
- 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and author (d. 1776)
- 1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer (d. 1797)
- 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (d. 1786)
- 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French general (d. 1847)
- 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist and academic (d. 1850)
- 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)
- 1843 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
- 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1925)
- 1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer and educator (d. 1927)
- 1851 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish author, critic, and academic (d. 1901)
- 1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, American engineer and inventor (d. 1940)
- 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English ornithologist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1933)
- 1868 – John Moisant, American pilot and engineer (d. 1910)
- 1871 – Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (d. 1926)
- 1872 – C. B. Fry, English cricketer, footballer, educator, and politician (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Howard Garis, American author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children’s stories (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
- 1874 – Ernest Webb, English-Canadian race walker (d. 1937)
- 1876 – Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (d. 1958)
- 1878 – William Merz, American gymnast and triathlete (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (d. 1976)
- 1887 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and critic (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (d. 1980)
- 1896 – Fred Haney, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Mary Miles Minter, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1987)
- 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (d. 1986)
- 1906 – William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)
- 1909 – William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (d. 1985)
- 1910 – Arapeta Awatere, New Zealand interpreter, military leader, politician, and murderer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1912 – Earl Bostic, African-American saxophonist (d. 1965)
- 1913 – Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (d. 1944)
- 1914 – Ross Lockridge Jr., American author and academic (d. 1948)
- 1915 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1916 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Jean Lucas, French racing driver (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Graham Payn, South African-born English actor and singer (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French-American astronomer and academic (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano and actress (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Finn Helgesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, English astronomer and academic
- 1923 – Melissa Hayden, Canadian ballerina (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Albert King, African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, composer, director, and playwright (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, English trade union leader and businessman
- 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German comedian and journalist (d. 1986)
- 1925 – Louis O’Neil, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Johnny Craig, American author and illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Patricia Castell, Argentine actress (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper, shot putter, and discus thrower (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Godfrey Milton-Thompson, English admiral and surgeon (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Peter Schulz, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Hamburg (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1980)
- 1931 – David Shepherd, English painter and author (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, African-American basketball player and minister (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower and politician (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
- 1933 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1935 – Bob Gutowski, American pole vaulter (d. 1960)
- 1935 – Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (d. 2000)
- 1938 – Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch painter and graphic designer
- 1939 – Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer and manager
- 1939 – Michael Llewellyn-Smith, English academic and diplomat
- 1939 – Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, English historian and academic
- 1939 – Veronica Sutherland, English academic and British diplomat
- 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor and director
- 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Jon Kyl, American lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1944 – Len Goodman, English dancer
- 1944 – Mike Kogel, German singer-songwriter
- 1944 – Stephen Nickell, English economist and academic
- 1944 – Bruce Ponder, English geneticist and cancer researcher
- 1945 – Stu Cook, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1945 – Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author
- 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress
- 1946 – Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland
- 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1947 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
- 1948 – Mike Selvey, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwanese politician, 39th Premier of the Republic of China
- 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentinian footballer and race car driver
- 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance
- 1949 – James Fenton, English poet, journalist and literary critic
- 1950 – Donnell Deeny, Northern Irish lawyer and judge
- 1950 – Steve Ferrone, English drummer
- 1950 – Peter Hintze, German politician (d. 2016)
- 1950 – Valentyna Kozyr, Ukrainian high jumper
- 1951 – Ian McCartney, Scottish politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist and composer
- 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Jacques Santini, French footballer and coach
- 1953 – Ron Clements, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer
- 1953 – Anthony Venables, English economist, author, and academic
- 1954 – Melvin Burgess, English author
- 1954 – Randy Cross, American football player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Róisín Shortall, Irish educator and politician
- 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer
- 1955 – Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks
- 1956 – Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar
- 1957 – Theo de Rooij, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Misha Glenny, British journalist
- 1959 – Paul Madden, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia
- 1959 – Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director
- 1959 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Paul Baloff, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1960 – Robert Peston, English journalist
- 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian director, producer, and critic
- 1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American journalist and author
- 1961 – Miran Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1962 – Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1963 – Joy Covey, American businesswoman (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Dave Martin, English footballer
- 1963 – David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Bernd Müller, German footballer and manager
- 1963 – Paul Wassif, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor, voice artist, comedian and producer
- 1964 – Andy Bell, English singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Eric Avery, American bass player and songwriter
- 1965 – Mark Bryant, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – John Henson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Diego Domínguez, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1966 – Femke Halsema, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician
- 1966 – Darren Holmes, American baseball player and coach
- 1966 – Erik Pappas, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Angel Martino, American swimmer
- 1968 – Vitaliy Kyrylenko, Ukrainian long jumper
- 1968 – Thomas Strunz, German footballer
- 1969 – Joe Buck, American sportscaster
- 1969 – Martin Koolhoven, Dutch director and screenwriter
- 1969 – Jon Olsen, American swimmer
- 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer
- 1970 – Jason Lee, American skateboarder, actor, comedian and producer
- 1971 – Sara Baras, Spanish dancer
- 1971 – Brad Clontz, American baseball player
- 1973 – Carlota Castrejana, Spanish triple jumper
- 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer
- 1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis player
- 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player
- 1976 – Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player
- 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach
- 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress and producer
- 1977 – Matthew West, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1978 – Matt Walker, English swimmer
- 1980 – Ben Johnston, Scottish drummer and songwriter
- 1980 – James Johnston, Scottish bass player and songwriter
- 1980 – Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television host
- 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer
- 1980 – Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player
- 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
- 1981 – Dwone Hicks, American football player
- 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
- 1981 – John McFall, English sprinter
- 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier
- 1982 – Brian Barton, American baseball player
- 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer
- 1982 – Marco Russo, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Johnathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, American football player
- 1984 – Robert Andino, American baseball player
- 1984 – Isaac Kiprono Songok, Kenyan runner
- 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver
- 1986 – Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Thin Seng Hon, Cambodian Paralympic athlete
- 1986 – Gwen Jorgensen, American triathlete
- 1986 – Claudia Rath, German heptathlete
- 1987 – Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
- 1987 – Jay Park, American-South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player
- 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Canadian skier
- 1989 – Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player
- 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the highest-ranking spiritual leaders in Tibet
- 1990 – Jean-Éric Vergne, French racing driver
- 1990 – Taylor Walker, Australian footballer
- 1991 – Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer
- 1993 – Alex Bowman, American race car driver
- 1993 – Daniel Norris, American baseball player
- 1994 – Omar McLeod, Jamaican hurdler
- 1995 – Lewis Baker, English footballer
- 1996 – Mack Horton, Australian swimmer
- 1997 – Julius Ertlthaler, Austrian footballer
Deaths on April 25
- 501 – Rusticus, saint and archbishop of Lyon (b. 455)
- 775 – Smbat VII Bagratuni, Armenian prince
- 775 – Mushegh VI Mamikonian, Armenian prince
- 908 – Zhang Wenwei, Chinese chancellor
- 1074 – Herman I, Margrave of Baden
- 1077 – Géza I of Hungary (b. 1040)
- 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
- 1217 – Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
- 1228 – Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem (b. 1212)
- 1243 – Boniface of Valperga, Bishop of Aosta
- 1264 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, medieval English nobleman; Earl of Winchester (b. 1195)
- 1295 – Sancho IV of Castile (b. 1258)
- 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
- 1397 – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, English nobleman
- 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian author, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)
- 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
- 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet and author (b. 1520)
- 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)
- 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and songwriter (b. 1544)
- 1605 – Naresuan, Siamese King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (b. c. 1555)
- 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (b. 1611)
- 1660 – Henry Hammond, English cleric and theologian (b. 1605)
- 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter and educator (b. 1610)
- 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1701)
- 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French minister, physicist, and academic (b. 1700)
- 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
- 1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1781)
- 1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1783)
- 1875 – 12th Dalai Lama (b. 1857)
- 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)
- 1890 – Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1830)
- 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (b. 1811)
- 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)
- 1892 – Karl von Ditmar, Estonian-German geologist and explorer (b. 1822)
- 1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and educator (b. 1839)
- 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1862)
- 1913 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (b. 1859)
- 1915 – Frederick W. Seward, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
- 1919 – Augustus D. Juilliard, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1836)
- 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
- 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (b. 1878)
- 1941 – Salih Bozok, Turkish commander and politician (b. 1881)
- 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (b. 1858)
- 1944 – George Herriman, American cartoonist (b. 1880)
- 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player (b. 1859)
- 1944 – William Stephens, American engineer and politician, 24th Governor of California (b. 1859)
- 1945 – Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (b. 1903)
- 1961 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (b. 1875)
- 1970 – Anita Louise, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1972 – George Sanders, English actor (b. 1906)
- 1973 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-American actress (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Gustavo R. Vincenti, Maltese architect and developer (b. 1888)
- 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (b.1947)
- 1976 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (b. 1906)
- 1976 – Markus Reiner, Israeli engineer and educator (b. 1886)
- 1982 – John Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
- 1983 – William S. Bowdern, American priest and author (b. 1897)
- 1988 – Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Roger Troutman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1951)
- 2000 – Lucien Le Cam, French mathematician and statistician (b. 1924)
- 2000 – David Merrick, American director and producer (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (b. 1956)
- 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (b. 1971)
- 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan runner (b. 1966)
- 2004 – Thom Gunn, English-American poet and academic (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Jim Barker, American politician (b. 1935)
- 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent member of parliament (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Alan Ball Jr., English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Bobby Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player, composer, and radio host (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Dorothy Provine, American actress and singer (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Poly Styrene, British musician (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Gerry Bahen, Australian footballer (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Denny Jones, American rancher and politician (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina and educator (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Brian Adam, Scottish biochemist and politician (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
- 2013 – György Berencsi, Hungarian virologist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Rick Camp, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Dan Heap, Canadian priest and politician (b. 1925)
- 2014 – William Judson Holloway Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1968)
- 2014 – Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Jim Fanning, American-Canadian baseball player and manager (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and novelist (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Mike Phillips, American basketball player (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Madeeha Gauhar, Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women’s rights activist (b. 1956)
- 2019 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on April 25
- Anniversary of the First Cabinet of Kurdish Government (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
- Arbor Day (Germany)
- Christian feast day:
- Giovanni Battista Piamarta
- Major Rogation (Western Christianity)
- Mark the Evangelist
- Maughold
- Philo and Agathopodes
- Anianus of Alexandria
- April 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- DNA Day
- Flag Day (Faroe Islands)
- Freedom Day (Portugal)
- Liberation Day (Italy)
- Liberation Day (South Georgia)
- Military Foundation Day (North Korea)
- Parental Alienation Awareness Day
- Red Hat Society Day
- Sinai Liberation Day (Egypt)
- World Malaria Day
-
April 12 in History
- 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
- 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
- 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York.
- 1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír who flees to Poland.
- 1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
- 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships.
- 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
- 1807 – The Froberg mutiny ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli.
- 1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
- 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Sumter. The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw).
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
- 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
- 1910 – SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
- 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
- 1927 – Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
- 1927 – Rocksprings, Texas was hit by an F5 tornado that destroyed 235 of the 247 buildings in the town and killed 72 townspeople and injured 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history.
- 1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
- 1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed.
- 1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
- 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
- 1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt’s death.
- 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reached Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.
- 1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
- 1961 – Cold War: Space Race: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1.
- 1963 – The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.
- 1970 – Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.
- 1980 – The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed.
- 1980 – Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport, in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed.
- 1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.
- 1983 – Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
- 1990 – Jim Gary’s “Twentieth Century Dinosaurs” exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
- 1992 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland; the resort and its park’s name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
- 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.
- 2002 – A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104.
- 2007 – A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
- 2009 – Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.
- 2010 – Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28.
- 2013 – Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.
- 2014 – The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.
Births on April 12
- 811 – Muhammad al-Jawad, the ninth Imam of Shia Islam (d. 835)
- 959 – En’yū, emperor of Japan (d. 991)
- 1116 – Richeza of Poland, queen of Sweden and Grand Princess of Minsk (d. 1156)
- 1432 – Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)
- 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace and St. Peter’s Basilica (d. 1546)
- 1484 – Maharana Sangram Singh, Rana of Mewar (d. 1527)
- 1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (d. 1574)
- 1526 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (d. 1585)
- 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier and politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1604)
- 1577 – Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
- 1612 – Simone Cantarini, Italian painter and engraver (d. 1648)
- 1639 – Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician (d. 1712)
- 1656 – Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian (d. 1738)
- 1705 – William Cookworthy, English minister and pharmacist (d. 1780)
- 1710 – Caffarelli, Italian actor and singer (d. 1783)
- 1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (d. 1796)
- 1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)
- 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)
- 1724 – Lyman Hall, American physician, clergyman, and politician, 16th Governor of Georgia (d. 1790)
- 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (d. 1836)
- 1777 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
- 1792 – John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English soldier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1840)
- 1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (d. 1847)
- 1796 – George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
- 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1855)
- 1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)
- 1816 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (d. 1903)
- 1823 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian playwright and translator (d. 1886)
- 1839 – Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (d. 1888)
- 1845 – Gustaf Cederström, Swedish painter (d. 1933)
- 1851 – José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican soldier and poet (d. 1880)
- 1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer and author (d. 1928)
- 1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1939)
- 1856 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English mountaineer, cartographer, and politician (d. 1937)
- 1863 – Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (d. 1895)
- 1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d. 1918)
- 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
- 1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1941)
- 1874 – William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1940)
- 1880 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1911)
- 1883 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer and educator (d. 1976)
- 1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player, cricketer, and sailor (d. 1959)
- 1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
- 1884 – Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
- 1885 – Robert Delaunay, French painter (d. 1941)
- 1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor and director (d. 1918)
- 1888 – Dan Ahearn, Irish-American long jumper and police officer (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Cecil Kimber, English automobile engineer (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Henry Darger, American writer and artist (d. 1973)
- 1894 – Dorothy Cumming, Australian-American actress (d. 1983)
- 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)
- 1898 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
- 1901 – Lowell Stockman, American farmer and politician (d. 1962)
- 1902 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, 36th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
- 1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Zawgyi, Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic (d. 1990)
- 1907 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Ida Pollock, English author and painter (d. 2013)
- 1908 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot and general (d. 2006)
- 1910 – Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018)
- 1910 – Irma Rapuzzi, French politician (d. 2018)
- 1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Frank Dilio, Canadian businessman (d. 1997)
- 1912 – Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
- 1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1916 – Beverly Cleary, American author
- 1916 – Russell Garcia, American-New Zealander composer and conductor (d. 2011)
- 1916 – Benjamin Libet, American neuropsychologist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer and actress (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1917 – Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015)
- 1919 – István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian composer and educator (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Robert Cliche, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1978)
- 1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (d. 1980)
- 1923 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Raymond Barre, French economist and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician and academic (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Curtis Turner, American race car driver (d. 1970)
- 1925 – Evelyn Berezin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Ned Miller, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Jane Withers, American actress
- 1927 – Thomas Hemsley, English baritone (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Alvin Sargent, two-time Academy-Award-winning American screenwriter (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor
- 1928 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Mukhran Machavariani, Georgian poet and educator (d. 2010)
- 1930 – John Landy, Australian runner and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria
- 1930 – Bryan Magee, English philosopher and politician (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Manuel Neri, American sculptor and painter
- 1930 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 5th Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Tiny Tim, American singer and ukulele player (d. 1996)
- 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer and manager (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1936 – Kennedy Simmonds, Kittitian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- 1937 – Dennis Banks, American author and activist (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Igor Volk, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
- 1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English director and playwright
- 1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1940 – Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)
- 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American pianist, composer, and bandleader
- 1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Bill Bryden, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentinian race car driver and politician
- 1942 – Jacob Zuma, South African politician, 4th President of South Africa
- 1943 – Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician, 16th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- 1944 – Lisa Jardine, English historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1944 – John Kay, German-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1945 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (d. 2006)
- 1946 – Ed O’Neill, American actor and comedian
- 1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO
- 1947 – Roy M. Anderson, English epidemiologist, zoologist, and academic
- 1947 – Martin Brasier, English palaeontologist, biologist, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Alex Briley, American disco singer
- 1947 – Tom Clancy, American historian and author (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Woody Johnson, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1947 – Dan Lauria, American actor
- 1947 – David Letterman, American comedian and talk show host
- 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television host and producer (d. 2008)
- 1948 – Joschka Fischer, German academic and politician
- 1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian footballer, manager, and coach
- 1949 – Scott Turow, American lawyer and author
- 1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman
- 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
- 1950 – Joyce Banda, Malawian politician, 4th president of Malawi
- 1950 – Nick Sackman, English composer and educator
- 1951 – Tom Noonan, American actor
- 1952 – Reuben Gant, American football player
- 1952 – Leicester Rutledge, New Zealand rugby player
- 1952 – Gary Soto, American poet, novelist, and memoirist
- 1952 – Ralph Wiley, American journalist (d. 2004)
- 1953 – Tanino Liberatore, Italian author and illustrator
- 1954 – John Faulkner, Australian educator and politician, 52nd Australian Minister for Defence
- 1954 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician (d. 2015)
- 1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Fabian Hamilton, English graphic designer, engineer, and politician
- 1956 – Andy Garcia, Cuban-American actor, director, and producer
- 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer-songwriter and actor
- 1957 – Greg Child, Australian mountaineer and author
- 1957 – Vince Gill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Tama Janowitz, American novelist and short story writer
- 1958 – Will Sergeant, English guitarist
- 1958 – Klaus Tafelmeier, German javelin thrower
- 1958 – Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler
- 1959 – Howard Stableford, English radio and television host
- 1961 – Corrado Fabi, Italian racing driver
- 1961 – Charles Mann, American football player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Magda Szubanski, English-Australian actress, comedian and writer
- 1962 – Art Alexakis, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1962 – Carlos Sainz, Spanish racing driver
- 1962 – Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial artist and wrestler, founded Hustle
- 1963 – Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and author
- 1964 – Chris Fairclough, English footballer and coach
- 1965 – Amy Ray, American folk-rock singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer
- 1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor and director
- 1965 – Chi Onwurah, English politician
- 1965 – Gervais Rufyikiri, Burundian politician
- 1965 – Mihai Stoica, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1966 – Nils-Olav Johansen, Norwegian guitarist and singer
- 1966 – Lorenzo White, American football player
- 1967 – Sarah Cracknell, English singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
- 1968 – Toby Gad, German songwriter and producer
- 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 – Jörn Lenz, German footballer and manager
- 1969 – Lucas Radebe, South African footballer and sportscaster
- 1969 – Michael Jackson, American football player and politician (d. 2017)
- 1970 – Sylvain Bouchard, Canadian speed skater
- 1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor
- 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer
- 1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – J. Scott Campbell, American author and illustrator
- 1973 – Ryan Kisor, American trumpet player and composer
- 1973 – Antonio Osuna, Mexican-American baseball player
- 1973 – Christian Panucci, Italian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (d. 2006)
- 1974 – Bryan Fletcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Roman Hamrlík, Czech ice hockey player
- 1974 – Marley Shelton, American actress
- 1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner
- 1976 – Brad Miller, American basketball player
- 1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1977 – Sarah Monahan, Australian actress
- 1977 – Jason Price, Welsh footballer
- 1977 – Glenn Rogers, Australian-Scottish cricketer
- 1978 – Guy Berryman, Scottish bass player and producer
- 1978 – Scott Crary, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1978 – Svetlana Lapina, Russian high jumper
- 1978 – Robin Walker, English businessman and politician
- 1979 – Claire Danes, American actress
- 1979 – Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast
- 1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
- 1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress
- 1979 – Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Lee Soo-young, South Korean singer
- 1980 – Sara Head, Welsh Paralympic table tennis champion
- 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russian runner
- 1981 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer
- 1981 – Tulsi Gabbard, American politician
- 1981 – Grant Holt, English footballer and professional wrestler
- 1981 – Hisashi Iwakuma, Japanese baseball pitcher
- 1983 – Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player
- 1983 – Luke Kibet, Kenyan runner
- 1984 – Aleksey Dmitrik, Russian high jumper
- 1985 – Brennan Boesch, American baseball player
- 1985 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer
- 1986 – Brad Brach, American baseball pitcher
- 1986 – Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer
- 1986 – Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player
- 1986 – Jonathan Pitroipa, Burkinabé footballer
- 1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
- 1987 – Shawn Gore, Canadian football player
- 1987 – Josh McCrone, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Luiz Adriano, Brazilian professional footballer
- 1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist
- 1988 – Ricardo Gabriel Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
- 1988 – Stephen Brogan, English footballer
- 1988 – Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Jessie James Decker, American singer-songwriter
- 1989 – Bethan Dainton, Welsh rugby union player
- 1989 – Miguel Ángel Ponce, American-Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Ádám Hanga, Hungarian basketball player
- 1989 – Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian-American ice dancer
- 1989 – Valentin Stocker, Swiss footballer
- 1990 – Francesca Halsall, English swimmer
- 1990 – Hiroki Sakai, Japanese footballer
- 1991 – Torey Krug, American ice hockey player
- 1991 – Lionel Carole, French professional footballer
- 1991 – Oliver Norwood, English born Northern Irish international footballer
- 1991 – Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1991 – Jazz Richards, Welsh international footballer
- 1992 – Chad le Clos, South African swimmer
- 1993 – Jordan Archer, English-Scottish footballer
- 1993 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer
- 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress
- 1994 – Oh Sehun, South Korean musician
- 1994 – Eric Bailly, Ivorian professional footballer
- 1994 – Guido Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
- 1995 – Pedro Cachín, Argentine tennis player
- 1996 – Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player
Deaths on April 12
- 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general and politician (b. 75 BC)
- 352 – Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church
- 434 – Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople
- 901 – Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI
- 1125 – Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065)
- 1167 – Charles VII, king of Sweden (b. c. 1130)
- 1212 – Vsevolod the Big Nest, Grand Prince of Vladimir (b. 1154)
- 1256 – Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (b. c. 1217)
- 1443 – Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364)
- 1500 – Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (b. 1440)
- 1530 – Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (b. 1462)
- 1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)
- 1555 – Joanna of Castile (b. 1479)
- 1675 – Richard Bennett, English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
- 1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)
- 1687 – Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619)
- 1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627)
- 1748 – William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685)
- 1782 – Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698)
- 1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719)
- 1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
- 1814 – Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726)
- 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730)
- 1850 – Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788)
- 1866 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801)
- 1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795)
- 1878 – William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
- 1879 – Richard Taylor, American general (b. 1826)
- 1885 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1817)
- 1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)
- 1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842)
- 1906 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836)
- 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821)
- 1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)
- 1937 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852)
- 1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)
- 1943 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889)
- 1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
- 1953 – Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880)
- 1962 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1966 – Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (b. 1910)
- 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899)
- 1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886)
- 1973 – Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894)
- 1975 – Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (b. 1906)
- 1977 – Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894)
- 1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913)
- 1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
- 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (b. 1914)
- 1983 – Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (b. 1906)
- 1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
- 1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalyst (b. 1903)
- 1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897)
- 1988 – Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (b. 1927)
- 1988 – Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903)
- 1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (b. 1911)
- 1997 – George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1998 – Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915)
- 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921)
- 2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908)
- 2004 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925)
- 2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936)
- 2008 – Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)
- 2010 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 2011 – Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (b. 1962)
- 2012 – Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962)
- 2013 – Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961)
- 2013 – Ya’akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990)
- 2014 – Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953)
- 2015 – Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916)
- 2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)
- 2016 – Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (b. 1959)
- 2020 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (b. 1983)
Holidays and observances on April 12
- Children’s Day (Bolivia)
- Christian feast day:
- Adoniram Judson (Episcopal Church)
- Alferius
- Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso
- Erkembode
- Pope Julius I
- Teresa of the Andes
- Zeno of Verona
- April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
- Cosmonautics Day (Russia)
- International Day of Human Space Flight
- Yuri’s Night (International observance)
- Halifax Day (North Carolina)
- National Redemption Day (Liberia)
-
April 11 in History
- 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
- 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
- 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix win the Battle of Ravenna.
- 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
- 1689 – William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain.
- 1713 – War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.
- 1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
- 1809 – An incomplete British victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Basque Roads results in the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier.
- 1814 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
- 1856 – Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker’s filibusters are holed up.
- 1868 – Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
- 1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
- 1881 – Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
- 1908 – SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
- 1909 – The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
- 1921 – Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
- 1945 – World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
- 1951 – Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
- 1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
- 1955 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
- 1957 – United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
- 1961 – The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
- 1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
- 1964 – Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected President by the National Congress.
- 1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.
- 1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
- 1968 – Assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement.
- 1970 – Apollo 13 is launched.
- 1976 – The Apple I is created.
- 1977 – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
- 1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
- 1981 – A massive riot in Brixton, south London results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
- 1986 – FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
- 1987 – The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
- 1990 – Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
- 1993 – Four hundred fifty prisoners rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continued to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
- 2001 – The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
- 2002 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
- 2002 – Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the Presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
- 2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran’s claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
- 2007 – Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
- 2011 – An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
- 2012 – A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake was VII (Very strong). Ten were killed, twelve were injured, and a non-destructive tsunami was observed on the island of Nias.
- 2018 – An Ilyushin Il-76 which was owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.
Births on April 11
- 145 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 211)
- 1184 – William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
- 1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
- 1357 – John I of Portugal (d. 1433)
- 1370 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
- 1374 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (d. 1398)
- 1493 – George I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1531)
- 1591 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
- 1592 – John Eliot, English lawyer and politician (d. 1632)
- 1644 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1724)
- 1658 – James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish peer (d. 1712)
- 1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer and conductor (d. 1738)
- 1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
- 1721 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
- 1722 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1771)
- 1749 – Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (d. 1803)
- 1755 – James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (d. 1824)
- 1770 – George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
- 1794 – Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1865)
- 1798 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1854)
- 1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
- 1825 – Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1864)
- 1827 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (d. 1890)
- 1854 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
- 1856 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1903)
- 1859 – Stefanos Thomopoulos, Greek historian and author (d. 1939)
- 1862 – William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1938)
- 1862 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (d. 1948)
- 1864 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (d. 1943)
- 1866 – Bernard O’Dowd, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1953)
- 1867 – Mark Keppel, American educator (d. 1928)
- 1869 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (d. 1943)
- 1871 – Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (d. 1940)
- 1873 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
- 1876 – Paul Henry, Irish painter (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (d. 1940)
- 1879 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (d. 1935)
- 1887 – Jamini Roy, Indian painter (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (d. 1971)
- 1896 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1967)
- 1899 – Percy Lavon Julian, African-American chemist and academic (d. 1975)
- 1900 – Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet (d. 1930)
- 1904 – K. L. Saigal, Indian singer and actor (d. 1947)
- 1905 – Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (d. 1937)
- 1906 – Dale Messick, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
- 1907 – Paul Douglas, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1908 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
- 1908 – Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (d. 1997)
- 1910 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (d. 1996)
- 1912 – John Levy, American bassist and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, American mathematician (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian-Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1916 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (d. 2001)
- 1917 – David Westheimer, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Richard Wainwright, English soldier and politician (d. 2003)
- 1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
- 1920 – William Royer, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Jack Rayner, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Arved Viirlaid, Estonian-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2015)
- 1923 – George J. Maloof, Sr., American businessman (d. 1980)
- 1924 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist and politician (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Yuriy Lituyev, Russian hurdler and commander (d. 2000)
- 1925 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
- 1925 – Viktor Masing, Estonian botanist and ecologist (d. 2001)
- 1925 – Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman, founded Quebecor (d. 1997)
- 1926 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Karl Rebane, Estonian physicist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Lokesh Chandra, Indian historian
- 1928 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist
- 1928 – Edwin Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Nicholas F. Brady, American businessman and politician, 68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1930 – Walter Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (d. 1997)
- 1931 – Lewis Jones, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1932 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
- 1933 – Tony Brown, American journalist and academic
- 1934 – Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Ron Pember, English actor, director and playwright
- 1935 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1936 – Brian Noble, English bishop (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Jill Gascoine, English actress and author
- 1938 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Michael Deaver, American politician, Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Reatha King, American chemist and businesswoman
- 1939 – Luther Johnson, American singer and guitarist
- 1939 – Louise Lasser, American actress
- 1940 – Col Firmin, Australian politician (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Thomas Harris, American author and screenwriter
- 1940 – Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (d. 1998)
- 1941 – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and author
- 1941 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Hattie Gossett, American writer
- 1942 – James Underwood, English pathologist and academic
- 1943 – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, English businessman and politician
- 1943 – Harley Race, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2019)
- 1944 – Peter Barfuß, German footballer
- 1944 – John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1945 – John Krebs, Baron Krebs, English zoologist and academic
- 1946 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1946 – Bob Harris, English journalist and radio host
- 1947 – Lev Bulat, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Uli Edel, German director and screenwriter
- 1947 – Frank Mantooth, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
- 1947 – Michael T. Wright, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
- 1949 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
- 1951 – Paul Fox, English singer and guitarist (d. 2007)
- 1952 – Nancy Honeytree, American singer and guitarist
- 1952 – Indira Samarasekera, Sri Lankan engineer and academic
- 1952 – Peter Windsor, English-Australian journalist and sportscaster
- 1953 – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
- 1953 – Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
- 1954 – Abdullah Atalar, Turkish engineer and academic
- 1954 – Aleksandr Averin, Azerbaijani cyclist and coach
- 1954 – Francis Lickerish, English guitarist and composer
- 1954 – David Perrett, Scottish psychologist and academic
- 1954 – Ian Redmond, English biologist and conservationist
- 1954 – Willie Royster, American baseball player (d. 2015)
- 1955 – Kevin Brady, American lawyer and politician
- 1955 – Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
- 1955 – Micheal Ray Richardson, American basketball player and coach
- 1958 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1958 – Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Russian sprinter
- 1959 – Pierre Lacroix, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1959 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-American lawyer and judge
- 1959 – Zahid Maleque, Bangladeshi politician
- 1960 – Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
- 1961 – Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
- 1961 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1961 – Nobuaki Kakuda, Japanese martial artist
- 1962 – Franck Ducheix, French fencer
- 1962 – Mark Lawson, English journalist and author
- 1963 – Billy Bowden, New Zealand cricketer and umpire
- 1963 – Waldemar Fornalik, Polish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Elizabeth Smylie, Australian tennis player
- 1964 – Steve Azar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – John Cryer, English journalist and politician
- 1964 – Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist
- 1964 – Bret Saberhagen, American baseball player and coach
- 1964 – Patrick Sang, Kenyan runner
- 1966 – Steve Scarsone, American baseball player and manager
- 1966 – Shin Seung-hun, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1968 – Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
- 1969 – Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Michael von Grünigen, Swiss skier
- 1970 – Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1970 – Delroy Pearson, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1971 – John Leech, English politician
- 1971 – Oliver Riedel, German bass player
- 1972 – Balls Mahoney, American wrestler (d. 2016)
- 1972 – Allan Théo, French singer
- 1972 – Jason Varitek, American baseball player and manager
- 1973 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
- 1973 – Olivier Magne, French rugby player
- 1974 – Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
- 1974 – Ashot Danielyan, Armenian weightlifter
- 1974 – David Jassy, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Zöe Lucker, English actress
- 1974 – Tom Thacker, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1974 – Trot Nixon, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Olga Hostáková, Czech tennis player
- 1975 – Walid Soliman, Tunisian author and translator
- 1976 – Kelvim Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1977 – Ivonne Teichmann, German runner
- 1978 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1979 – Malcolm Christie, English footballer
- 1979 – Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
- 1979 – Josh Server, American actor
- 1980 – Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
- 1980 – Mark Teixeira, American baseball player
- 1981 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
- 1981 – Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Veronica Pyke, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Ian Bell, English cricketer
- 1982 – Peeter Kümmel, Estonian skier
- 1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian skier
- 1983 – Rubén Palazuelos, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch race car driver
- 1984 – Kelli Garner, American actress
- 1984 – Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
- 1985 – Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
- 1985 – Will Minson, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Sarodj Bertin, Haitian model and human rights lawyer
- 1986 – Dai Greene, Welsh hurdler
- 1986 – Lena Schöneborn, German pentathlete
- 1987 – Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Leland Irving, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Torrin Lawrence, American sprinter (d. 2014)
- 1989 – Zola Jesus, American singer
- 1990 – Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1990 – Thulani Serero, South African footballer
- 1991 – Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Brennan Poole, American racing driver
- 1996 – Dele Alli, English international footballer
- 1997 – Georgia Bohl, Australian swimmer
- 1997 – Miriam Kolodziejová, a Czech tennis player
Deaths on April 11
- 618 – Yang Guang, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 569)
- 678 – Donus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 610)
- 924 – Herman I, chancellor and archbishop of Cologne
- 1034 – Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine emperor (b. 968)
- 1077 – Anawrahta, king of Burma and founder of the Pagan Empire (b. 1014)
- 1079 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków (b. 1030)
- 1165 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia
- 1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172)
- 1447 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)
- 1512 – Gaston de Foix, French military commander (b. 1489)
- 1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel leader (b. 1521)
- 1587 – Thomas Bromley, English lord chancellor (b. 1530)
- 1609 – John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, English noble (b. 1533)
- 1612 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian and author (b. 1535)
- 1612 – Edward Wightman, English minister and martyr (b. 1566)
- 1626 – Marino Ghetaldi, Ragusan mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
- 1712 – Richard Simon, French priest and critic (b. 1638)
- 1723 – John Robinson, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1650)
- 1783 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Polish-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1718)
- 1798 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet and academic (b. 1725)
- 1856 – Juan Santamaría, Costa Rican soldier (b. 1831)
- 1861 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (b. 1824)
- 1873 – Edward Canby, American general (b. 1817)
- 1890 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (b. 1808)
- 1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (b. 1862)
- 1894 – Constantin Lipsius, German architect and theorist (b. 1832)
- 1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (b. 1830)
- 1902 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1818)
- 1903 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (b. 1878)
- 1906 – James Anthony Bailey, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1847)
- 1906 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
- 1908 – Henry Bird, English chess player and author (b. 1829)
- 1916 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
- 1918 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect and urban planner (b. 1841)
- 1926 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and academic (b. 1849)
- 1939 – Kurtdereli Mehmet, Turkish wrestler (b. 1864)
- 1953 – Kid Nichols, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1954 – Paul Specht, American violinist and bandleader (b. 1895)
- 1958 – Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter and educator (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Rosa Grünberg, Swedish actress (b. 1878)
- 1962 – Ukichiro Nakaya, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1900)
- 1962 – George Poage, American hurdler and educator (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Thomas Farrell, American general (b. 1891)
- 1967 – Donald Sangster, Jamaican lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1911)
- 1970 – Cathy O’Donnell, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1970 – John O’Hara, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1905)
- 1974 – Ernst Ziegler, German actor (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1977 – Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, Indian author and activist (b. 1921)
- 1980 – Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Turkish journalist and producer (b. 1935)
- 1981 – Caroline Gordon, American author and critic (b. 1895)
- 1983 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1910)
- 1985 – Bunny Ahearne, Irish-born English businessman (b. 1900)
- 1985 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (b. 1898)
- 1985 – Enver Hoxha, Albanian educator and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1903)
- 1987 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (b. 1919)
- 1990 – Harold Ballard, Canadian businessman (b. 1903)
- 1991 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
- 1991 – Bruno Hoffmann. German glass harp player (b. 1913)
- 1992 – James Brown, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
- 1992 – Eve Merriam, American author and poet (b. 1916)
- 1992 – Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter, sculptor, and engraver (b. 1920)
- 1996 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (b. 1988)
- 1997 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (b. 1899)
- 1997 – Wang Xiaobo, contemporary Chinese novelist and essayist (b. 1952)
- 1999 – William H. Armstrong, American author and educator (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945)
- 2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh-English actor (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Cecil Howard Green, English-American geophysicist and businessman, founded Texas Instruments (b. 1900)
- 2005 – André François, Romanian-French cartoonist, painter, and sculptor (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (b. 1907)
- 2006 – June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)
- 2006 – DeShaun Holton, American rapper and actor (b. 1973)
- 2007 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Loïc Leferme, French diver (b. 1970)
- 2007 – Janet McDonald, American lawyer and author (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Ronald Speirs, Scottish-American colonel (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Merlin German, American sergeant (b. 1985)
- 2009 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress and singer (b. 1914)
- 2009 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (b. 1927)
- 2010 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (b. 1981)
- 2012 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Roger Caron, Canadian criminal and author (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Tippy Dye, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Hal McKusick, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Agustin Roman, American bishop (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Don Blackman, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Grady Hatton, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Thomas Hemsley, English actor and singer (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Gilles Marchal, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Jonathan Winters, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Edna Doré, English actress (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Bill Henry, American baseball player (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Myer S. Kripke, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Sergey Nepobedimy, Russian engineer (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Jimmy Gunn, American football player (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1952)
- 2015 – François Maspero, French journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Hanut Singh, Indian general (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Tekena Tamuno, Nigerian historian and academic (b. 1932)
- 2017 – J. Geils, American singer and guitarist (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (b. 1945)
- 2020 – John Horton Conway, English mathematician (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances on April 11
- Christian feast day:
- Antipas of Pergamum (Greek Orthodox Church)
- Gemma Galgani
- Godeberta
- Guthlac of Crowland
- George Selwyn (Anglicanism)
- Stanislaus of Szczepanów
- April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Second Battle of Rivas. (Costa Rica)
- International Louie Louie Day
- World Parkinson’s Day
-
April 6 in History
- 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
- 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
- 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
- 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
- 1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
- 1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, an illegitimate son of Peter I of Portugal, is made king John I of Portugal.
- 1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
- 1580 – One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
- 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
- 1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
- 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty.
- 1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
- 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.
- 1812 – British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.
- 1814 – Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
- 1830 – Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
- 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison’s death.
- 1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.
- 1861 – First performance of Arthur Sullivan’s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor’s Creek: Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
- 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.
- 1869 – Celluloid is patented.
- 1888 – Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to the State of South Carolina to establish Clemson Agricultural College.
- 1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
- 1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
- 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
- 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary’s claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability.
- 1911 – During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).
- 1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress).
- 1926 – Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
- 1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
- 1930 – At the end of the Salt March, Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.”
- 1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
- 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
- 1945 – World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Slater’s Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
- 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
- 1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
- 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
- 1968 – In Richmond, Indiana’s downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
- 1968 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Leadership Election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon after.
- 1970 – Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
- 1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
- 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
- 1974 – The Swedish pop band ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo”, launching their international career.
- 1979 – Student protests break out in Nepal.
- 1984 – Members of Cameroon’s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
- 1992 – The Bosnian War begins.
- 1994 – The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
- 1997 – In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occurs when a group of young people abduct and kidnap a religious family before shooting them dead on a rural suburban road.
- 1998 – Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
- 1998 – Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.
- 2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
- 2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
- 2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
- 2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L’Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
- 2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
- 2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
- 2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.
- 2017 – U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an “aggression”, adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties.
- 2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Births on April 6
- 1135 – Maimonides, Jewish philosopher, Torah scholar, physician and astronomer (March 30 also proposed, d. 1204)
- 1342 – Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa
- 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
- 1573 – Margaret of Brunswick-Lüneburg, German noble (d. 1643)
- 1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria (d. 1649)
- 1651 – André Dacier, French scholar and academic (d. 1722)
- 1660 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (d. 1722)
- 1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician, Governor of Västerbotten County (d. 1742)
- 1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (d. 1741)
- 1672 – André Cardinal Destouches, French composer (d. 1749)
- 1706 – Louis de Cahusac, French playwright and composer (d. 1759)
- 1708 – Johann Georg Reutter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1772)
- 1725 – Pasquale Paoli, French soldier and politician (d. 1807)
- 1726 – Gerard Majella, Italian saint (d. 1755)
- 1741 – Nicolas Chamfort, French author and playwright (d. 1794)
- 1766 – Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and educator (d. 1853)
- 1773 – James Mill, Scottish historian, economist, and philosopher (d. 1836)
- 1787 – Celestina Cordero, Puerto Rican educator (d. 1862)
- 1810 – Philip Henry Gosse, English biologist and academic (d. 1888)
- 1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (d. 1870)
- 1815 – Robert Volkmann, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1883)
- 1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian journalist and poet (d. 1870)
- 1820 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (d. 1910)
- 1823 – Joseph Medill, Canadian-American publisher and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
- 1824 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
- 1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (d. 1898)
- 1844 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1913)
- 1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
- 1852 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (d. 1921)
- 1855 – Charles Huot, Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
- 1857 – Arthur Wesley Dow, American painter and photographer (d. 1922)
- 1860 – René Lalique, French sculptor and jewellery designer (d. 1945)
- 1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French poet and author (d. 1897)
- 1864 – William Bate Hardy, English biologist and academic (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (d. 1931)
- 1869 – Levon Shant, Armenian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1951)
- 1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1934)
- 1881 – Karl Staaf, Swedish pole vaulter and hammer thrower (d. 1953)
- 1884 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (d. 1927)
- 1886 – Athenagoras I of Constantinople (d. 1972)
- 1886 – Walter Dandy, American physician and neurosurgeon (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, Indian ruler (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Hans Richter, Swiss painter, illustrator, and director (d. 1976)
- 1888 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch engineer and businessman, founded Fokker Aircraft Manufacturer (d. 1939)
- 1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (d. 1981)
- 1892 – Lowell Thomas, American journalist and author (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Dudley Nichols, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1960)
- 1898 – Jeanne Hébuterne, French painter and author (d. 1920)
- 1900 – Leo Robin, American composer and songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist (d. 1925)
- 1902 – Julien Torma, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
- 1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (d. 1962)
- 1903 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
- 1904 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Erwin Komenda, Austrian car designer and engineer (d. 1966)
- 1908 – Marcel-Marie Desmarais, Canadian preacher, missionary, and author (d. 1994)
- 1909 – William M. Branham, American minister and theologian (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Barys Kit, Belarusian-American rocket scientist (d. 2018)
- 1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
- 1913 – Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune, American geographer and academic (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Tadeusz Kantor, Polish director, painter, and set designer (d. 1990)
- 1916 – Phil Leeds, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1916 – Vincent Ellis McKelvey, American geologist and author (d. 1987)
- 1917 – Leonora Carrington, English-Mexican painter and author (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (d. 1982)
- 1919 – Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician, 11th Greek Minister of Culture (d. 1998)
- 1920 – Jack Cover, American pilot and physicist, invented the Taser gun (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1921 – Wilbur Thompson, American shot putter (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Gordon Chater, English-Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Herb Thomas, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American singer and actor (d. 1990)
- 1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical minister and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1996)
- 1928 – James Watson, American biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 – Willis Hall, English playwright and author (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Joi Lansing, American model, actress and nightclub singer (d. 1972)
- 1929 – André Previn, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Ram Dass, American author and educator (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Connie Broden, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor and director (d. 2004)
- 1933 – Roy Goode, English lawyer and academic
- 1933 – Tom C. Korologos, American journalist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Belgium
- 1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Kauai (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)
- 1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist and wrestler (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian painter, illustrator, and photographer (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Douglas Hill, Canadian author and critic (d. 2007)
- 1936 – Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli painter and illustrator
- 1936 – Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist, biologist, and academic
- 1937 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Tom Veivers, Australian cricketer and politician
- 1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor, singer, and writer
- 1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician and television host (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Roy Thinnes, American television and film actor
- 1939 – André Ouellet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – John Sculley, American businessman, co-founded Zeta Interactive
- 1940 – Homero Aridjis, Mexican journalist, author, and poet
- 1940 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican-American actor and producer (d. 2011)
- 1941 – Christopher Allsopp, English economist and academic
- 1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Hans W. Geißendörfer, German director and producer
- 1941 – Don Prudhomme, American race car driver and manager
- 1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian flute player and composer
- 1942 – Barry Levinson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-English model, actress, and fashion designer (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Max Clifford, English journalist and publicist (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Roger Cook, New Zealand-English journalist and academic
- 1943 – Ian MacRae, New Zealand rugby player
- 1943 – Mitchell Melton, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Felicity Palmer, English operatic soprano
- 1945 – Rodney Bickerstaffe, English trade union leader (d. 2017)
- 1945 – Peter Hill, English journalist
- 1946 – Paul Beresford, New Zealand-English dentist and politician
- 1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and director
- 1947 – André Weinfeld, French-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Mike Worboys, English mathematician and computer scientist
- 1949 – Alyson Bailes, English academic and diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1949 – Patrick Hernandez, French singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Ng Ser Miang, Singaporean athlete, entrepreneur and diplomat
- 1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Claire Morissette, Canadian cycling activist (d. 2007)
- 1950 – Cleo Odzer, American anthropologist and author (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French skier, mountaineer, and pilot (d. 1990)
- 1951 – Pascal Rogé, French pianist
- 1951 – Phil Schaap, American jazz disc jockey and historian
- 1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress and author
- 1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 1992)
- 1953 – Patrick Doyle, Scottish actor and composer
- 1953 – Christopher Franke, German-American drummer and songwriter
- 1955 – Rob Epstein, American director and producer
- 1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor, director, and producer
- 1955 – Cathy Jones, Canadian actress, comedian, and writer
- 1956 – Michele Bachmann, American lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Normand Corbeil, Canadian composer (d. 2013)
- 1956 – Mudassar Nazar, Pakistani cricketer
- 1956 – Lee Scott, English politician
- 1956 – Sebastian Spreng, Argentinian-American painter and journalist
- 1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and coach
- 1957 – Giorgio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
- 1957 – Maurizio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
- 1957 – Jaroslava Maxová, Czech soprano and educator
- 1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian soldier, engineer, and astronaut
- 1958 – Graeme Base, Australian author and illustrator
- 1959 – Gail Shea, Canadian politician
- 1960 – Warren Haynes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Richard Loe, New Zealand rugby player
- 1960 – John Pizzarelli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – Rory Bremner, Scottish actor and screenwriter
- 1961 – Peter Jackson, English footballer and manager
- 1962 – Iris Häussler, German sculptor and academic
- 1962 – Marco Schällibaum, Swiss footballer, coach, and manager
- 1963 – Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian economist and politician, 54th President of Ecuador
- 1965 – Black Francis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Vince Flynn, American author (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean-American director and producer
- 1967 – Julian Anderson, English composer and educator
- 1967 – Kathleen Barr, Canadian voice actress and singer
- 1967 – Tanya Byron, English psychologist and academic
- 1967 – Jonathan Firth, English actor
- 1968 – Archon Fung, American political scientist, author, and academic
- 1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian race car driver
- 1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player and manager
- 1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (d. 2002)
- 1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian race car driver
- 1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor
- 1969 – Spencer Wells, American geneticist and anthropologist
- 1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-German ice hockey player and coach
- 1970 – Roy Mayorga, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
- 1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter
- 1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player
- 1973 – Randall Godfrey, American football player
- 1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese model and actress
- 1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
- 1975 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Hal Gill, American ice hockey player
- 1976 – Candace Cameron Bure, American actress and talk show panelist
- 1976 – James Fox, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1976 – Chris Hoke, American football player
- 1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic bass player
- 1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese author and educator
- 1977 – Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player and coach
- 1978 – Imani Coppola, American singer-songwriter and violinist
- 1978 – Robert Glasper, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Myleene Klass, Austrian/Filipino-English singer, pianist, and model
- 1978 – Martín Méndez, Uruguayan bass player and songwriter
- 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player
- 1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer
- 1979 – Lord Frederick Windsor, English journalist and financier
- 1979 – Clay Travis, American sports journalist, blogger, and broadcaster
- 1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper
- 1980 – Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish skier
- 1980 – Antonio Thomas, American wrestler
- 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
- 1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player
- 1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player
- 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Spanish actor
- 1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer
- 1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
- 1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1983 – James Wade, English darts player
- 1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer
- 1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer
- 1984 – Diana Matheson, Canadian soccer player
- 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer
- 1985 – Sinqua Walls, American basketball player and actor
- 1986 – Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer
- 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player
- 1986 – Goeido Gotaro, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1986 – Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer
- 1987 – Benjamin Corgnet, French footballer
- 1987 – Heidi Mount, American model
- 1987 – Juan Adriel Ochoa, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer
- 1987 – Hilary Rhoda, American model
- 1988 – Jucilei, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Carlton Mitchell, American football player
- 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Congolese-English footballer
- 1988 – Ivonne Orsini, Puerto Rican-American model and television host, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008
- 1990 – Lachlan Coote, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Charlie McDermott, American actor
- 1990 – Andrei Veis, Estonian footballer
- 1992 – Ken, South Korean singer
- 1992 – Julie Ertz, American soccer player
- 1994 – Adrián Alonso, Mexican actor
- 1995 – Darya Lebesheva, Belarusian tennis player
- 1998 – Peyton List, American actress and model
Deaths on April 6
- 861 – Prudentius, bishop of Troyes
- 885 – Saint Methodius, Byzantine missionary and saint (b. 815)
- 887 – Pei Che, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- 943 – Liu Churang, Chinese general and chief of staff (b. 881)
- 943 – Nasr II, ruler (amir) of the Samanid Empire (b. 906)
- 1147 – Frederick II, duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
- 1199 – Richard I, king of England (b. 1157)
- 1231 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
- 1250 – Guillaume de Sonnac, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- 1252 – Peter of Verona, Italian priest and saint (b. 1206)
- 1340 – Basil, emperor of Trebizond (Turkey)
- 1362 – James I, count of La Marche (b. 1319)
- 1376 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (b. 1310)
- 1490 – Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490 (b. 1443)
- 1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
- 1523 – Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1479)
- 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (b. 1471)
- 1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss scholar and politician (b. 1484)
- 1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish archbishop and academic (b. 1512)
- 1590 – Francis Walsingham, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1532)
- 1593 – Henry Barrowe, English Puritan and separatist (b. 1550)
- 1605 – John Stow, English historian and author (b. 1525)
- 1621 – Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (b. 1539)
- 1641 – Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino), Italian painter (b. 1581)
- 1655 – David Blondel, French minister, historian, and scholar (b. 1591)
- 1676 – John Winthrop the Younger, English politician, 1st Governor of Connecticut (b. 1606)
- 1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (b. 1614)
- 1707 – Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch-English painter (b. 1633)
- 1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (b. 1690)
- 1790 – Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
- 1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Ukrainian-Russian painter and educator (b. 1757)
- 1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (b. 1802)
- 1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek philosopher and scholar (b. 1748)
- 1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian poet, academic, and politician (b. 1763)
- 1860 – James Kirke Paulding, American author and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1778)
- 1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (b. 1803)
- 1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801)
- 1886 – William Edward Forster, English businessman, philanthropist, and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1818)
- 1899 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809)
- 1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician, 6th County Governor of Møre og Romsdal (b. 1849)
- 1913 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (b. 1835)
- 1923 – Kabalega, King of Bunyoro (b.1853)
- 1927 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (b. 1850)
- 1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (b. 1869)
- 1944 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (b. 1874)
- 1947 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (b. 1896)
- 1950 – Louis Wilkins, American pole vaulter (b. 1882)
- 1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet and author (b. 1905)
- 1959 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1895)
- 1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
- 1963 – Otto Struve, Ukrainian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1897)
- 1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
- 1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882)
- 1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
- 1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (b. 1895)
- 1977 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (b. 1889)
- 1979 – Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect, designed the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (b. 1893)
- 1983 – Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Indian General who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949. (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan banker and politician, 3rd President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
- 1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (b. 1955)
- 1995 – Ioannis Alevras, Greek banker and politician, President of Greece (b. 1912)
- 1996 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (b. 1904)
- 1998 – Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (b. 1958)
- 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician, 1st President of Tunisia (b. 1903)
- 2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer-songwriter (b. 1963)
- 2003 – David Bloom, American journalist (b. 1963)
- 2003 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and educator; founded Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (b. 1949)
- 2003 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
- 2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, and activist (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Lou Berberet, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Maggie Dixon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1977)
- 2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, American soldier and diplomat (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Stefanos Stratigos, Greek actor and director (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and producer (b. 1916)
- 2009 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Shawn Mackay, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1982)
- 2010 – Wilma Mankiller, American tribal leader (b. 1945)
- 2010 – Corin Redgrave, English actor (b. 1939)
- 2011 – Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Roland Guilbault, American admiral (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter and illustrator (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist and academic (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Sheila Scotter, Australian fashion designer and journalist (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Reed Whittemore, American poet and critic (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Hilda Bynoe, Grenadian physician and politician, 2nd Governor of Grenada (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Bill Guttridge, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Bigas Luna, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Ottmar Schreiner, German lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Mary Anderson, American actress (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Liv Dommersnes, Norwegian actress (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Mickey Rooney, American soldier, actor, and dancer (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Chuck Stone, American soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Massimo Tamburini, Italian motorcycle designer, co-founded Bimota (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Giovanni Berlinguer, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Don Rickles, American actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 2019 – Michael O’Donnell, British physician, journalist, author and broadcaster (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on April 6
- Chakri Day, commemorating the establishment of the Chakri dynasty. (Thailand)
- Christian feast day:
- Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach (Lutheran Church).
- Brychan
- Eutychius of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Marcellinus of Carthage
- Pope Celestine I (Catholic Church)
- Pope Sixtus I
- April 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
- National Fisherman Day (Indonesia)
- New Beer’s Eve (United States)
- Tartan Day (United States & Canada)
-
March 23 in History
- 1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.
- 1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
- 1568 – The Peace of Longjumeau is signed, ending the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
- 1708 – James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth as part of the planned French invasion of Britain.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.
- 1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.
- 1806 – After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their “Corps of Discovery” begin their arduous journey home.
- 1821 – Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
- 1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
- 1857 – Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. Although a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.
- 1868 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
- 1879 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.
- 1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam.
- 1888 – In England, The Football League, the world’s oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.
- 1889 – The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.
- 1901 – Emilio Aguinaldo, only President of the First Philippine Republic, was captured at Palanan, Isabela by the forces of General Frederick Funston.
- 1905 – Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete’s union with Greece, and begins what is to be known as the Theriso revolt.
- 1909 – Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
- 1918 – First World War: On the third day of the German Spring Offensive, the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is annihilated with many of the men becoming prisoners of war
- 1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
- 1931 – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian independence movement.
- 1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
- 1935 – Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
- 1939 – The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovak air force in Spišská Nová Ves, killing 13 people and beginning the Slovak–Hungarian War.
- 1940 – The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.
- 1956 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. This date is now celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan.
- 1965 – NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States’ first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
- 1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) is videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes.
- 1978 – The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
- 1980 – Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
- 1982 – Guatemala’s government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
- 1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
- 1991 – The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
- 1994 – At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
- 1994 – A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.
- 1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75.
- 1996 – Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
- 1999 – Gunmen assassinate Paraguay’s Vice President Luis María Argaña.
- 2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
- 2003 – Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.
- 2008 – Official opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India
- 2009 – FedEx Express Flight 80: A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flying from Guangzhou, China crashes at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, killing both the captain and the co-pilot.
- 2018 – President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns from the presidency amid a mass corruption scandal before certain impeachment by the opposition-majority Congress of Peru.
- 2019 – The Kazakh capital of Astana was renamed to Nur-Sultan.
- 2019 – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared military victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after four years of fighting, although the group maintains a scattered presence and sleeper cells across Syria and Iraq.
Births on March 23
- 1338 – Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (d. 1374)
- 1430 – Margaret of Anjou (d. 1482)
- 1514 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (d. 1548)
- 1599 – Thomas Selle, German composer (d. 1663)
- 1614 – Jahanara Begum, Mughal princess (d. 1681)
- 1643 – Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, Spanish Dominican lay sister and mystic (d. 1731)
- 1699 – John Bartram, American botanist and explorer (d. 1777)
- 1732 – Princess Marie Adélaïde of France (d. 1800)
- 1749 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
- 1750 – Johannes Matthias Sperger, Austrian bassist and composer (d. 1812)
- 1754 – Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
- 1769 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general and diplomat (d. 1832)
- 1769 – William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)
- 1823 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
- 1826 – Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1917)
- 1834 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (d. 1858)
- 1838 – Marie Adam-Doerrer, Swiss women’s rights activist and unionist (d. 1908)
- 1842 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian-German historian, businessman and composer (d. 1909)
- 1842 – Susan Jane Cunningham, American mathematician (d. 1921)
- 1858 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1862 – Nathaniel Reed, American criminal (d. 1950)
- 1868 – Dietrich Eckart, German journalist and politician (d. 1923)
- 1869 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (d. 1964)
- 1869 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Turkish-Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
- 1872 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand union leader and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1940)
- 1874 – Grantley Goulding, English hurdler (d. 1947)
- 1874 – J. C. Leyendecker, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1951)
- 1876 – Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist, poet and activist (d. 1924)
- 1876 – Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet, writer and political leader (d. 1964)
- 1878 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1934)
- 1880 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician, Finnish Minister of the Interior (d. 1922)
- 1881 – Lacey Hearn, American sprinter (d. 1969)
- 1881 – Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist and paleographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1881 – Hermann Staudinger, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Emmy Noether, Jewish German-American mathematician, physicist and academic (d. 1935)
- 1884 – Joseph Boxhall, English sailor (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Platt Adams, American jumper and politician (d. 1961)
- 1885 – Roque González Garza, Mexican general and acting president (1915) (d. 1962)
- 1886 – Frank Irons, American long jumper (d. 1942)
- 1887 – Josef Čapek, Czech painter and poet (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Rudolf Kinau, German author (d. 1975)
- 1887 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1927)
- 1887 – Sidney Hillman, Lithuanian-born American labor leader (d. 1946)
- 1891 – Po Kya, Burmese author and educationist (d. 1942)
- 1893 – Cedric Gibbons, Irish-American art director and production designer (d. 1960)
- 1893 – Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, Indian engineer and businessman (d. 1974)
- 1894 – Arthur Grimsdell, English international footballer wing half and cricketer (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (d. 2001)
- 1895 – Dane Rudhyar, French-American astrologer, author and composer (d. 1985)
- 1898 – Louis Adamic, Slovenian-American author, translator and politician (d. 1951)
- 1898 – Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, Duchess of Parma (d. 1984)
- 1899 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
- 1900 – Erich Fromm, German psychologist and sociologist (d. 1980)
- 1901 – Bon Maharaja, Indian guru and religious writer (d. 1982)
- 1903 – Frank Sargeson, New Zealand author (d. 1982)
- 1904 – Joan Crawford, American film actress (d. 1977)
- 1905 – Lale Andersen, German chanson singer-songwriter (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (d. 1997)
- 1910 – Jerry Cornes, English runner, colonial officer and educator (d. 2001)
- 1910 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Eleanor Cameron, Canadian-American author and critic (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Neil McCorkell, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 2013)
- 1912 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
- 1913 – Abidin Dino, Turko-French painter and illustrator (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Milbourne Christopher, American magician and author (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (d. 2014)
- 1915 – Vasily Zaytsev, Russian captain (d. 1991)
- 1917 – Harry Cranbrook Allen, English historian (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (d. 1992)
- 1918 – Helene Hale, American politician (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Naoki Kazu, Japanese football player (d.1940s)
- 1919 – Carl Graffunder, American architect and educator (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Neal Edward Smith, American pilot, lawyer and politician
- 1920 – Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Donald Campbell, English race car driver (d. 1967)
- 1921 – Peter Lawler, Australian public servant (d. 2017)
- 1922 – Marty Allen, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (d. 1990)
- 1923 – Angelo Ingrassia, American soldier and judge (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor, invented Liquid Paper (d. 1980)
- 1924 – Olga Kennard, English crystallographer and academic
- 1924 – John Madin, English architect (d. 2012)
- 1925 – David Watkin, English cinematographer (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Roger Bannister, English runner, neurologist and academic (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Michael Manser, English architect and engineer (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
- 1931 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player and author (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Russian skier (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Don Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1933 – Norman Bailey, English opera singer and educator
- 1933 – Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist and academic
- 1934 – Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Mark Rydell, American actor, director and producer
- 1935 – Barry Cryer, English comedian, actor and screenwriter
- 1936 – Jannis Kounellis, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Craig Breedlove, American race car driver
- 1937 – Tony Burton, American actor, comedian, boxer and football player (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Robert Gallo, American physician and academic
- 1938 – Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Michael Haneke, Austrian director, producer and screenwriter
- 1942 – Jimmy Miller, American record producer and musician (d. 1994)
- 1942 – Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian, scholar and activist (d. 1980)
- 1943 – Andrew Crockett, Scottish-English economist and banker (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Finnish singer, author and director (d. 2001)
- 1944 – B. P. Gavrilov, Russian rugby player (d. 2006)
- 1944 – Tony McPhee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 – Michael Nyman, English composer of minimalist music and pianist
- 1945 – Franco Battiato, Italian singer-songwriter and director
- 1945 – David Grisman, American mandolin player and composer
- 1946 – Alan Bleasdale, English screenwriter and producer
- 1947 – Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, American author
- 1948 – Wasim Bari, Pakistani cricketer
- 1948 – Marie Malavoy, German-Canadian educator and politician
- 1949 – Ric Ocasek, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2019)
- 1950 – Corinne Cléry, French actress
- 1950 – Phil Lanzon, English keyboard player and songwriter
- 1950 – Ahdaf Soueif, Egyptian author and translator
- 1951 – Ron Jaworski, American football player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Adrian Reynard, English businessman, founded Reynard Motorsport
- 1952 – Francesco Clemente, Italian painter and illustrator
- 1952 – Kent Lambert, New Zealand rugby player
- 1952 – Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
- 1952 – Rex Tillerson, American businessman, engineer and diplomat; 69th United States Secretary of State
- 1953 – Bo Díaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)
- 1953 – Chaka Khan, American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indian zoologist and businesswoman
- 1954 – Geno Auriemma, Italian-American basketball player and coach
- 1954 – Kenneth Cole, American fashion designer, founded Kenneth Cole Productions
- 1954 – Paul Price, English born, Welsh international footballer, defender and manager
- 1955 – Moses Malone, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1956 – José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese academic and politician, 115th Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1957 – Lucio Gutiérrez, Ecuadorian politician, 52nd President of Ecuador
- 1957 – Robbie James, Welsh footballer and manager (d. 1998)
- 1957 – Amanda Plummer, American actress
- 1958 – Etienne De Wilde, Belgian cyclist
- 1958 – Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 – Hugh Grant, Scottish business executive
- 1959 – Catherine Keener, American actress
- 1960 – Nicol Stephen, Baron Stephen, Scottish lawyer and politician, 2nd Deputy First Minister of Scotland
- 1961 – Roger Crisp, English philosopher and academic
- 1961 – Craig Green, New Zealand rugby player
- 1961 – Helmi Johannes, Indonesian journalist and producer
- 1962 – Steve Redgrave, English rower
- 1963 – Míchel, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Juan Ramón López Caro, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Ana Fidelia Quirot, Cuban runner
- 1964 – Hope Davis, American actress
- 1965 – Gary Whitehead, American poet and painter
- 1966 – Lorenzo Daniel, American sprinter
- 1966 – Vasilis Vouzas, Greek footballer and manager
- 1968 – Damon Albarn, English singer-songwriter, producer and actor
- 1968 – Mike Atherton, English cricketer and journalist
- 1968 – Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1968 – Pierre Palmade, French actor and screenwriter
- 1971 – Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian model
- 1971 – Gail Porter, Scottish model and television host
- 1971 – Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1971 – Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese wrestler
- 1972 – Jonas Björkman, Swedish-Monégasque tennis player and coach
- 1972 – Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
- 1972 – Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
- 1973 – Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
- 1973 – Wim Eyckmans, Belgian race car driver
- 1973 – Jason Kidd, American basketball player and coach
- 1974 – Randall Park, American actor, director and screenwriter
- 1975 – Burak Gürpınar, Turkish drummer
- 1975 – Andy Turner, English footballer, winger and manager
- 1976 – Chris Hoy, Scottish cyclist and race car driver
- 1976 – Smriti Irani, Indian actress, producer and politician, Indian Minister of Human Resource Development
- 1976 – Dougie Lampkin, English motorcycle racer
- 1976 – Michelle Monaghan, American actress
- 1976 – Joel Peralta, Dominican baseball player
- 1976 – Keri Russell, American actress
- 1976 – Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian race car driver
- 1976 – Sa Beining, Chinese host
- 1977 – Miklos Perlus, Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1978 – Simon Gärdenfors, Swedish illustrator
- 1978 – Walter Samuel, Argentinian footballer
- 1979 – Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
- 1979 – Donncha O’Callaghan, Irish rugby player
- 1981 – Erin Crocker, American race car driver
- 1981 – Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Shelley Rudman, English bobsledder
- 1981 – Giuseppe Sculli, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Brett Young, American country music singer
- 1982 – José Contreras Arrau, Chilean footballer
- 1982 – Andrea Musacco, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Evgeni Striganov, Estonian ice dancer
- 1983 – Hakan Balta, Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Mo Farah, Somali-English runner
- 1983 – Sascha Riether, German international footballer
- 1983 – Jerome Thomas, English footballer
- 1984 – Ryan Araña, Filipino basketball player
- 1984 – Brandon Marshall, American football player
- 1985 – Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
- 1985 – Bethanie Mattek-Sands, American tennis player
- 1986 – Patrick Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1986 – Brett Eldredge, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1986 – Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress
- 1987 – Alan Toovey, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Dellin Betances, American baseball player
- 1988 – Jason Kenny, English cyclist
- 1988 – Michal Neuvirth, Czech ice hockey player
- 1989 – Ayesha Curry, Canadian-American chef, author and television personality
- 1989 – Nikola Gulan, Serbian footballer
- 1989 – Sarah McKenna, English rugby player
- 1989 – Luis Fernando Silva, Mexican footballer
- 1990 – Jaime Alguersuari, Spanish race car driver
- 1990 – Robert Zickert, German footballer
- 1991 – Gregg Wylde, Scottish footballer
- 1992 – Tolga Ciğerci, German-Turkish footballer
- 1992 – Kyrie Irving, Australian-American basketball player
- 1993 – Kyle Lovett, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Aytaç Kara, Turkish footballer
- 1994 – Nick Powell, English footballer
- 1995 – Kevin Kauber, Estonian footballer
- 1995 – Jan Lisiecki, Canadian pianist
- 1995 – Ozan Tufan, Turkish footballer
- 1996 – Alexander Albon, Thai-British race car driver
Deaths on March 23
- 851 – Zhou Chi, Chinese historian and politician (b. 793)
- 1022 – Zhen Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 968)
- 1103 – Eudes I, duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
- 1361 – Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1310)
- 1369 – Peter, king of Castile and León (b. 1334)
- 1483 – Yolande, duchess of Lorraine (b. 1428)
- 1548 – Itagaki Nobukata, Japanese samurai (b. 1489)
- 1555 – Julius III, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1487)
- 1559 – Gelawdewos, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1521)
- 1596 – Henry Unton, English diplomat (b. 1557)
- 1606 – Justus Lipsius, Flemish philologist and scholar (b. 1547)
- 1618 – James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish police officer and politician (b. 1575)
- 1629 – Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland, English landowner and politician (b. 1580)
- 1675 – Anthoni van Noordt, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1619)
- 1680 – Nicolas Fouquet, French politician (b. 1615)
- 1742 – Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French historian and author (b. 1670)
- 1747 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (b. 1675)
- 1748 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German organist and composer (b. 1684)
- 1754 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and critic (b. 1693)
- 1783 – Charles Carroll, English barrister and politician (b. 1723)
- 1801 – Paul I, Russian emperor (b. 1754)
- 1842 – Stendhal, French novelist (b. 1783)
- 1862 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president, 1858–1859 (b. 1817)
- 1883 – Arthur Macalister, Scottish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Queensland (b. 1818)
- 1884 – Henry C. Lord, American businessman (b. 1824)
- 1910 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (b. 1820)
- 1914 – Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, Lebanese saint (b. 1832)
- 1923 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian poet and author (b. 1869)
- 1927 – Paul César Helleu, French painter and etcher (b. 1859)
- 1931 – Shivaram Rajguru, Indian activist (b. 1908)
- 1931 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (b. 1907)
- 1931 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (b. 1907)
- 1953 – Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
- 1953 – Oskar Luts, Estonian author and playwright (b. 1887)
- 1955 – Arthur Bernardes, Brazilian politician, 12th President of Brazil (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Franklin Pierce Adams, American journalist and author (b. 1881)
- 1960 – Said Nursî, Turkish theologian and scholar (b. 1878)
- 1961 – Albert Bloch, American painter and educator (b. 1882)
- 1961 – Jack Russell, English cricketer (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and logician (b. 1887)
- 1964 – Peter Lorre, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1965 – Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- 1968 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
- 1972 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (b. 1895)
- 1973 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1889)
- 1978 – Haim Ernst Wertheimer, Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1893)
- 1979 – Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
- 1980 – Arthur Melvin Okun, American economist and academic (b. 1928)
- 1981 – Beatrice Tinsley, English-New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (b. 1941)
- 1981 – Mike Hailwood, English motorcyclist (b. 1940)
- 1985 – Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching, English physicist and engineer (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Peter Charanis, Greek-American scholar and educator (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Olev Roomet, Estonian singer and violinist (b. 1901)
- 1990 – John Dexter, English director and producer (b. 1925)
- 1991 – Margaret Atwood Judson, American historian and author (b. 1899)
- 1991 – Parkash Singh, Indian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1913)
- 1992 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian-German economist, philosopher, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1992 – Ron Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1949)
- 1994 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican economist and politician (b. 1950)
- 1994 – Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (b. 1921)
- 1995 – Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1956)
- 1999 – Luis María Argaña, Paraguayan judge and politician, Vice President of Paraguay (b. 1932)
- 1999 – Osmond Borradaile, Canadian director and cinematographer (b. 1898)
- 2001 – Rowland Evans, American journalist (b. 1921)
- 2001 – Margaret Jones, British archaeologist (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Robert Laxalt, American author (b. 1923)
- 2001 – David McTaggart, Canadian badminton player and environmentalist (b. 1932)
- 2002 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Ben Hollioake, Australian-English cricketer (b. 1977)
- 2003 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-English flute player and journalist (b. 1926)
- 2004 – Rupert Hamer, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (b. 1916)
- 2006 – David B. Bleak, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)
- 2006 – Desmond Doss, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Cindy Walker, American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Eric Medlen, American race car driver (b. 1973)
- 2008 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (b. 1940)
- 2009 – Ghukas Chubaryan, Armenian sculptor (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Raúl Macías, Mexican boxer and trainer (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Rosario Morales, Puerto Rican poet and writer (b.1930)
- 2011 – Elizabeth Taylor, American-British actress, socialite and humanitarian (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Somalian politician, President of Somalia (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Jim Duffy, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Naji Talib, Iraqi politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Lonnie Wright, American basketball and football player (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-born Soviet-British mathematician and businessman (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Onofre Corpuz, Filipino economist, historian, and academic (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Joe Weider, Canadian-American bodybuilder and publisher, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Dave Brockie, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1963)
- 2014 – Jaroslav Šerých, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Adolfo Suárez, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Gian Vittorio Baldi, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Lee Kuan Yew, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Bobby Lowther, American basketball player and lieutenant (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Lil’ Chris, English singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality (b. 1990)
- 2016 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Ken Howard, American actor (b. 1944)
Holidays and observances on March 23
- Christian feast day:
- Gregory the Illuminator (Episcopal Church)
- Gwinear
- Joseph Oriol
- Ottone Frangipane
- Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès (Maronite Church)
- Turibius of Mogrovejo
- Victorian, Frumentius and Companions
- March 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship (Hungary and Poland)
- Day of the Sea (Bolivia)
- Earliest day on which Easter Monday can fall, while April 26 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after Easter. (Western Christianity)
- Family Day (South Africa)
- Śmigus-Dyngus (Poland, Ukraine), Polish diaspora communities)
- Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Day (Azerbaijan)
- Pakistan Day (Pakistan)
- Promised Messiah Day (Ahmadiyya)
- World Meteorological Day
-
January 30 in History
- 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
- 1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
- 1607 – An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths.
- 1648 – Eighty Years’ War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.
- 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.
- 1703 – The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka.
- 1789 – Tây Sơn forces emerge victorious against Qing armies and liberate the capital Thăng Long.
- 1806 – The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.
- 1820 – Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica.
- 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world’s first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales, is opened.
- 1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen as well as Jackson himself.
- 1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco, California.
- 1858 – The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of The Hallé orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.
- 1862 – The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
- 1889 – Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in the Mayerling.
- 1902 – The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.
- 1908 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.
- 1911 – The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of Douglas McCurdy ten miles from Havana, Cuba.
- 1925 – The Government of Turkey expels Patriarch Constantine VI from Istanbul.
- 1930 – The Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the extermination of the Kulaks.
- 1933 – Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.
- 1942 – World War II: Battle of Ambon. Japanese forces invade the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies. Some 300 captured Allied troops are massacred at Laha airfield. Three-fourths of remaining POWs will not have survived by the end of the war, including 250 men who will be shipped to Hainan Island in South China Sea and never returned.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna, part of Operation Shingle, begins in central Italy.
- 1945 – World War II: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with German refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing approximately 9,500 people.
- 1945 – World War II: Raid at Cabanatuan: One hundred twenty-six American Rangers and Filipino resistance fighters liberate over 500 Allied prisoners from the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan POW camp.
- 1948 – British South American Airways’ Tudor IV Star Tiger disappears over the Bermuda Triangle.
- 1956 – African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- 1959 – The forces of the Sultanate of Muscat occupy the last strongholds of the Imamate of Oman, Saiq and Shuraijah, marking the end of Jebel Akhdar War in Oman.
- 1959 – MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and “unsinkable” like the RMS Titanic, strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks, killing all 95 aboard.
- 1960 – The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties.
- 1964 – In a bloodless coup, General Nguyễn Khánh overthrows General Dương Văn Minh’s military junta in South Vietnam.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies.
- 1969 – The Beatles’ last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
- 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Sunday: British paratroopers open fire on anti-internment marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 people; another person later dies of injuries sustained.
- 1972 – Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth of Nations in protest of its recognition of breakaway Bangladesh.
- 1975 – The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.
- 1979 – A Varig Boeing 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
- 1982 – Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called “Elk Cloner”.
- 1989 – The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan is closed.
- 1995 – Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.
- 2000 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ivory Coast, killing 169.
- 2013 – Naro-1 becomes the first carrier rocket launched by South Korea.
Births on January 30
- 58 BC – Livia, Roman wife of Augustus (d. 29)
- 133 – Didius Julianus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 193)
- 1410 – William Calthorpe, English knight (d. 1494)
- 1520 – William More, English courtier (d. 1600)
- 1563 – Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1641)
- 1573 – Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (d. 1638)
- 1580 – Gundakar, Prince of Liechtenstein, court official in Vienna (d. 1658)
- 1590 – Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford (d. 1676)
- 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
- 1661 – Charles Rollin, French historian and educator (d. 1741)
- 1697 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flute player and composer (d. 1773)
- 1703 – François Bigot, French politician (d. 1778)
- 1720 – Charles De Geer, Swedish entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1778)
- 1754 – John Lansing, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1829)
- 1775 – Walter Savage Landor, English poet and author (d. 1864)
- 1781 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German botanist and poet (d. 1838)
- 1816 – Nathaniel P. Banks, American general and politician, 24th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1894)
- 1822 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and curator (d. 1899)
- 1841 – Félix Faure, French politician, 7th President of France (d. 1899)
- 1844 – Richard Theodore Greener, American lawyer, academic, and diplomat (d. 1922)
- 1846 – Angela of the Cross, Spanish nun and saint (d. 1932)
- 1859 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
- 1861 – Charles Martin Loeffler, German-American violinist and composer (d. 1935)
- 1862 – Walter Damrosch, German-American conductor and composer (d. 1950)
- 1866 – Gelett Burgess, American author, poet, and critic (d. 1951)
- 1878 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (d. 1940)
- 1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Jaishankar Prasad, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1937)
- 1899 – Max Theiler, South African-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Martita Hunt, Argentine-born British actress (d. 1969)
- 1901 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (d. 1959)
- 1902 – Nikolaus Pevsner, German-English historian and scholar (d. 1983)
- 1910 – Chidambaram Subramaniam, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Roy Eldridge, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor and theologian (d. 1984)
- 1912 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Luc-Marie Bayle, French commander and painter (d. 2000)
- 1914 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
- 1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (d. 1976)
- 1915 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (d. 2008)
- 1918 – David Opatoshu, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1919 – Fred Korematsu, American activist (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Michael Anderson, English director and producer (d. 2018)
- 1920 – Patrick Heron, British painter (d. 1999)
- 1920 – Delbert Mann, American director and producer (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian, actor, and director (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Marianne Ferber, Czech-American economist and author (d. 2013)
- 1924 – S. N. Goenka, Burmese-Indian author and educator (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Lloyd Alexander, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Olof Palme, Swedish statesman, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1986)
- 1928 – Harold Prince, American director and producer (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Lois Hole, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Hugh Tayfield, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian-Italian physician and humanitarian (d. 1996)
- 1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor and author
- 1930 – Magnus Malan, South African general and politician, South African Minister of Defence (d. 2011)
- 1931 – John Crosbie, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 2020)
- 1931 – Shirley Hazzard, Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Knock Yokoyama, Japanese comedian and politician (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Tammy Grimes, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Richard Brautigan, American novelist, poet, and short story writer (d. 1984)
- 1935 – Tubby Hayes, English saxophonist and composer (d. 1973)
- 1936 – Horst Jankowski, German pianist and composer (d. 1998)
- 1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
- 1937 – Boris Spassky, Russian chess player and theoretician
- 1938 – Islam Karimov, Uzbek politician, 1st President of Uzbekistan (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Gregory Benford, American astrophysicist and author
- 1941 – Dick Cheney, American businessman and politician, 46th Vice President of the United States, 17th US Secretary of Defense
- 1941 – Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer
- 1942 – Marty Balin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
- 1943 – Davey Johnson, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 – Lynn Harrell, American cellist and academic
- 1944 – Colin Rimer, English lawyer and judge
- 1945 – Meir Dagan, Israeli military officer and intelligence official, Director of Mossad (2002–11) (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Michael Dorris, American author and scholar (d. 1997)
- 1946 – John Bird, Baron Bird, English publisher, founded The Big Issue
- 1947 – Les Barker, English poet and author
- 1947 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
- 1948 – Nick Broomfield, English director and producer
- 1948 – Miles Reid, English mathematician and academic
- 1949 – Peter Agre, American physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Jack Newton, Australian golfer
- 1951 – Phil Collins, English drummer, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1951 – Charles S. Dutton, American actor and director
- 1951 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (d. 1995)
- 1952 – Doug Falconer, Canadian football player and producer
- 1953 – Fred Hembeck, American author and illustrator
- 1955 – John Baldacci, American politician, 73rd Governor of Maine
- 1955 – Tom Izzo, American basketball player and coach
- 1955 – Curtis Strange, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1957 – Payne Stewart, American golfer (d. 1999)
- 1958 – Derek White, Scottish rugby player
- 1959 – Cynthia Carter, Welsh journalist, author, and academic
- 1959 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2018)
- 1959 – Jody Watley, American entertainer
- 1962 – Abdullah II of Jordan
- 1964 – Otis Smith, American basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1965 – Kevin Moore, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1966 – Danielle Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Felipe VI of Spain
- 1969 – Justin Skinner, English footballer, midfielder and manager
- 1971 – Kimo von Oelhoffen, American football player
- 1972 – Jill McGill, American golfer
- 1972 – Chris Simon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Jalen Rose, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Christian Bale, Welsh actor
- 1974 – Olivia Colman, English actress
- 1975 – Juninho Pernambucano, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – Yumi Yoshimura, Japanese musician and singer
- 1976 – Andy Milonakis, American entertainer
- 1977 – Dan Hinote, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1978 – Carmen Küng, Swiss curler
- 1978 – John Patterson, American baseball player
- 1979 – Trevor Gillies, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – João Soares de Almeida Neto, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Georgios Vakouftsis, Greek footballer
- 1980 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor and producer
- 1981 – Jonathan Bender, American basketball player
- 1981 – Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1981 – Afonso Alves, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – Peter Crouch, English footballer
- 1981 – Mathias Lauda, Austrian race car driver
- 1982 – Jorge Cantú, Mexican baseball player
- 1984 – Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1984 – Arthur Chu, Asian-American columnist and former Jeopardy! contestant
- 1984 – Kid Cudi, American entertainer
- 1985 – Gisela Dulko, Argentinian tennis player
- 1985 – Torrey Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Trae Williams, American football player
- 1986 – Nick Evans, American baseball player
- 1987 – Ben Cutting, Australian cricketer
- 1987 – Lance Franklin, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Phil Lester, English Internet celebrity
- 1987 – Becky Lynch, Irish wrestler
- 1987 – Renato Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Arda Turan, Turkish footballer
- 1988 – Rob Pinkston, American actor and director
- 1989 – Tomás Mejías, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Girish Kumar, Indian film actor
- 1990 – Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer
- 1990 – Joe Colborne, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Andrew McCullough, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Nils Miatke, German footballer
- 1990 – Luca Sbisa, Swiss ice hockey player
- 1990 – Mitchell Starc, Australian cricketer
- 1990 – Phillip Supernaw, American football player
- 1991 – Stefan Elliott, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1993 – Katy Marchant, English track cyclist
- 1995 – Jack Laugher, English diver
- 1995 – Víctor Sánchez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2015)
Deaths on January 30
- 680 – Balthild, Frankish queen (b. 626)
- 970 – Peter I of Bulgaria
- 1030 – William V, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)
- 1181 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (b. 1161)
- 1240 – Pelagio Galvani, Leonese lawyer and cardinal (b. 1165)
- 1314 – Nicholas III of Saint Omer
- 1344 – William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury (b. 1301)
- 1384 – Louis II, Count of Flanders (b. 1330)
- 1497 – Lê Thánh Tông, King of Vietnam (b. 1442)
- 1574 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese historian and philosopher (b. 1502)
- 1606 – Everard Digby, English criminal (b. 1578)
- 1606 – John Grant, English conspirator (b. 1570)
- 1606 – Robert Wintour, English conspirator (b. 1565)
- 1649 – Charles I of England (b. 1600)
- 1664 – Cornelis de Graeff, Dutch mayor (b. 1599)
- 1730 – Peter II of Russia (b. 1715)
- 1770 – Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis, Maltese linguist, historian and cleric (b. 1712)
- 1836 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, said to have designed the American Flag (b. 1752)
- 1838 – Osceola, American tribal leader (b. 1804)
- 1858 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist and ornithologist (b. 1778)
- 1867 – Emperor Kōmei of Japan (b. 1831)
- 1869 – William Carleton, Irish author (b. 1794)
- 1881 – Arthur O’Shaughnessy, English poet and herpetologist (b. 1844)
- 1889 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary (b. 1858)
- 1926 – Barbara La Marr, American actress (b. 1896)
- 1928 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1929 – La Goulue, French model and dancer (b. 1866)
- 1934 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday Publishing Company (b. 1862)
- 1947 – Frederick Blackman, English botanist and physiologist (b. 1866)
- 1948 – Arthur Coningham, Australian air marshal (b. 1895)
- 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule (b. 1869)
- 1948 – Orville Wright, American pilot and engineer, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1871)
- 1951 – Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian-German engineer and businessman, founded Porsche (b. 1875)
- 1958 – Jean Crotti, Swiss painter (b. 1878)
- 1958 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman; founded the Heinkel Aircraft Company (b. 1888)
- 1962 – Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician and engineer (b. 1894)
- 1963 – Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (b. 1899)
- 1966 – Jaan Hargel, Estonian flute player, conductor, and educator (b. 1912)
- 1968 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1889)
- 1969 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 1973 – Elizabeth Baker, American economist and academic (b. 1885)
- 1974 – Olav Roots, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1977 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (b. 1883)
- 1980 – Professor Longhair, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1918)
- 1982 – Lightnin’ Hopkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1912)
- 1991 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Clifton C. Edom, American photographer and educator (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Huntz Hall, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1999 – Ed Herlihy, American journalist (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French soldier and actor (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (b. 1915)
- 2001 – Joseph Ransohoff, American surgeon and educator (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian-Scottish violinist (b. 1971)
- 2006 – Coretta Scott King, American author and activist (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright and academic (b. 1950)
- 2007 – Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Marcial Maciel, Mexican-American priest, founded the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi (b. 1920)
- 2009 – H. Guy Hunt, American soldier, pastor, and politician, 49th Governor of Alabama (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Fadil Ferati, Kosovar accountant and politician (b. 1960)
- 2011 – John Barry, English composer and conductor (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Frank Aschenbrenner, American football player and soldier (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Doeschka Meijsing, Dutch author (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Gamal al-Banna, Egyptian author and scholar (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Patty Andrews, American singer (b. 1918)
- 2013 – George Witt, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general and photographer (b. 1914)
- 2014 – The Mighty Hannibal, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
- 2014 – William Motzing, American composer and conductor (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Arthur Rankin, Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Carl Djerassi, Austrian-American chemist, author, and playwright (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Ülo Kaevats, Estonian academic, philosopher, and politician (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Geraldine McEwan, English actress (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Frank Finlay, English actor (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1959)
- 2016 – Georgia Davis Powers, American activist and politician (b. 1923)
- 2018 – Mark Salling, American actor and musician (b. 1982)
- 2019 – Dick Miller, American actor (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on January 30
- Christian Feast Day:
- Adelelmus of Burgos
- Aldegonde
- Anthony the Great (Coptic Church)
- Armentarius of Pavia
- Balthild
- Charles, King and Martyr (various provinces of the Anglican Communion)
- Hippolytus of Rome
- Hyacintha Mariscotti
- Martina
- Matthias of Jerusalem
- Mutien-Marie Wiaux
- Savina
- Three Holy Hierarchs (Eastern Orthodox), and its related observances:
- January 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Azerbaijani customs (Azerbaijan)
- Day of Saudade (Brazil)
- Fred Korematsu Day (California, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia)
- Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, and its related observances:
- Martyrs’ Day (India)
- School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)
- Start of the Season for Nonviolence January 30 – April 4
-
January 27 in History
- AD 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule, the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
- 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
- 1302 – Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
- 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
- 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
- 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox’s “noble train of artillery” arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
- 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
- 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.
- 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
- 1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
- 1880 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
- 1916 – World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
- 1918 – Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
- 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
- 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
- 1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
- 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
- 1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
- 1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
- 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- 1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
- 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
- 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
- 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
- 1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
- 1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
- 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
- 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
- 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
- 2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.
Births on January 27
- 1365 – Edward of Angoulême, English noble (d. 1370)
- 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
- 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
- 1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
- 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
- 1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1685)
- 1603 – Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge (d. 1654)
- 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist (d. 1675)
- 1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
- 1663 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1733)
- 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
- 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
- 1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
- 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
- 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1791)
- 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1854)
- 1790 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1867)
- 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
- 1803 – Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist (d. 1880)
- 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
- 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher (d. 1881)
- 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator (d. 1826)
- 1808 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
- 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
- 1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
- 1823 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (d. 1892)
- 1824 – Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure (d. 1917)
- 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
- 1826 – Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician (d. 1879)
- 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (d. 1898)
- 1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
- 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
- 1842 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1910)
- 1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
- 1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
- 1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
- 1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author (d. 1942)
- 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
- 1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
- 1878 – Dorothy Scarborough, American author (d. 1935)
- 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)
- 1885 – Seison Maeda, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
- 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1959)
- 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager (d. 1985)
- 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
- 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
- 1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
- 1903 – John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
- 1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1979)
- 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
- 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
- 1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Tom Addington, English captain (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (d. 1972)
- 1920 – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
- 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
- 1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
- 1928 – Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
- 1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
- 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
- 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
- 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
- 1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
- 1940 – Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
- 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
- 1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
- 1942 – Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
- 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- 1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
- 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
- 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
- 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer
- 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
- 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
- 1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian and author (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
- 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
- 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
- 1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
- 1952 – Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
- 1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
- 1952 – Tam O’Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
- 1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
- 1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018)
- 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
- 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
- 1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – James Grippando, American lawyer and author
- 1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
- 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
- 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
- 1960 – Fiona O’Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
- 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
- 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
- 1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
- 1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
- 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
- 1964 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer (d. 2020)
- 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
- 1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
- 1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
- 1965 – Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
- 1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
- 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
- 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
- 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
- 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
- 1969 – Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
- 1970 – Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
- 1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
- 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
- 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
- 1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
- 1976 – Danielle George MBE FIET, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
- 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
- 1976 – Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
- 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
- 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
- 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
- 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
- 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
- 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
- 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
- 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
- 1987 – Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
- 1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
- 1995 – Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder
Deaths on January 27
- AD 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
- 457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
- 555 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 508)
- 672 – Pope Vitalian
- 847 – Pope Sergius II (b. 790)
- 906 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- 931 – Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
- 947 – Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
- 1062 – Adelaide of Hungary, (b. c. 1040)
- 1311 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
- 1377 – Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
- 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1435)
- 1504 – Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1438)
- 1540 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula (b. 1474)
- 1592 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
- 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
- 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
- 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet (b. 1585)
- 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1566)
- 1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1619)
- 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
- 1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author (b. 1669)
- 1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
- 1770 – Philippe Macquer, French historian (b. 1720)
- 1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
- 1812 – John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
- 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1762)
- 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (b. 1724)
- 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
- 1860 – János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1802)
- 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
- 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
- 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
- 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1877)
- 1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
- 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
- 1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
- 1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
- 1940 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1894)
- 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
- 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
- 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1890)
- 1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
- 1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
- 1965 – Abraham Walkowitz, American painter (b. 1878)
- 1967 – crew of Apollo 1
- Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
- Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
- Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
- 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Rocco D’Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright (b. 1904)
- 1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
- 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
- 1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
- 1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general (b. 1898)
- 1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
- 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1914)
- 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
- 1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright (b. 1938)
- 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
- 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1903)
- 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
- 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
- 2006 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
- 2009 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
- 2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
- 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
- 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
- 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
- 2015 – David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
- 2017 – Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Mort Walker, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
- 2019 – Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (b. 1958)
Holidays and observances on January 27
- Christian feast day:
- Angela Merici
- Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
- Devota (Monaco)
- Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
- John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox)
- Sava (Serbia)
- January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
- Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
- Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Memorial Day (Italy)
- Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances
-
January 22 in History
- 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
- 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.
- 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican.
- 1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya.
- 1555 – The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar.
- 1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.
- 1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army’s invasion of Portugal two months earlier.
- 1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
- 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last Sikh defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.
- 1863 – The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation by Russia.
- 1879 – The Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War results in a British defeat.
- 1879 – The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, also during the Anglo-Zulu War and just some 15 km away from Isandlwana, results in a British victory.
- 1889 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
- 1890 – The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio.
- 1901 – Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
- 1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
- 1906 – SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.
- 1915 – Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when a train plunges off the tracks into a deep canyon.
- 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for “peace without victory” in Europe.
- 1919 – Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
- 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1927 – Teddy Wakelam gives the first live radio commentary of a football match, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
- 1941 – World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.
- 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces defeat Japanese army and navy units in the bitterly fought Battle of Buna–Gona.
- 1944 – World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle, an assault on Anzio and Nettuno, Italy.
- 1946 – In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people’s Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.
- 1946 – Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
- 1947 – KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood.
- 1957 – Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.
- 1957 – The New York City “Mad Bomber”, George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
- 1963 – The Élysée Treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
- 1968 – Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.
- 1968 – Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.
- 1970 – The Boeing 747, the world’s first “jumbo jet”, enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
- 1971 – The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued.
- 1973 – The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.
- 1973 – The crew of Apollo 17 addresses a joint session of Congress after the completion of the final Apollo moon landing mission.
- 1973 – A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.
- 1973 – In a bout for the world heavyweight boxing championship in Kingston, Jamaica, challenger George Foreman knocks down champion Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds before the fight is stopped by referee Arthur Mercante.
- 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial.
- 1987 – Philippine security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañang Palace, Manila, killing 13.
- 1992 – Rebel forces occupy Zaire’s national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government’s resignation.
- 1992 – Space Shuttle program: the space shuttle Discovery launches on STS-42 carrying Dr. Roberta Bondar, who becomes the first Canadian woman and the first neurologist in space.
- 1995 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Beit Lid massacre: In central Israel, near Netanya, two Gazans blow themselves up at a military transit point, killing 19 Israelis.
- 1998 – Space Shuttle program: space shuttle Endeavor launches on STS-89 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1999 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
- 2002 – Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- 2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country’s first indigenous president.
- 2007 – At least 88 people are killed when two car bombs explode in the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, Iraq.
- 2015 – An explosion near a civilian trolley-bus in Donetsk kills at least thirteen people.
Births on January 22
- 826 – Emperor Montoku of Japan (d. 858)
- 1263 – Ibn Taymiyyah, Syrian scholar and theologian (d. 1328)
- 1440 – Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
- 1522 – Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans, (d. 1545)
- 1552 – Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer (d. 1618)
- 1561 – Francis Bacon, English philosopher and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1626)
- 1570 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (d. 1631)
- 1573 – John Donne, English poet and cleric in the Church of England, wrote the Holy Sonnets (d. 1631)
- 1592 – Pierre Gassendi, French mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1655)
- 1645 – William Kidd, Scottish sailor and pirate hunter (probable; d. 1701)
- 1654 – Richard Blackmore, English physician and poet (d. 1729)
- 1690 – Nicolas Lancret, French painter (d. 1743)
- 1729 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher and author (d. 1781)
- 1733 – Philip Carteret, English admiral and explorer (d. 1796)
- 1740 – Noah Phelps, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 1809)
- 1781 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (d. 1849)
- 1788 – Lord Byron, English poet and playwright (d. 1824)
- 1792 – Lady Lucy Whitmore, English noblewoman, hymn writer (d. 1840)
- 1796 – Karl Ernst Claus, Estonian-Russian chemist, botanist, and academic (d. 1864)
- 1797 – Maria Leopoldina of Austria (d. 1826)
- 1799 – Ludger Duvernay, Canadian journalist, publisher, and politician (d. 1852)
- 1802 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect (d. 1878)
- 1828 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (d. 1914)
- 1831 – Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1917)
- 1840 – Ernest Wilberforce, English bishop (d. 1907)
- 1849 – August Strindberg, Swedish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
- 1861 – George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
- 1865 – Wilbur Scoville, American chemist and pharmacist (d. 1942)
- 1867 – Gisela Januszewska, Jewish-Austrian physician (d. 1943)
- 1869 – José Vicente de Freitas, Portuguese colonel and politician, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1952)
- 1874 – Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (d. 1940)
- 1874 – Jay Hughes, American baseball player and coach (d. 1924)
- 1875 – D. W. Griffith, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1877 – Tom Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1923)
- 1879 – Francis Picabia, French painter and poet (d. 1953)
- 1880 – Bill O’Neill, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1880 – Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1956)
- 1881 – Ira Thomas, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
- 1886 – John J. Becker, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1961)
- 1887 – Helen Hoyt, American poet and author (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (d. 1935)
- 1889 – Amos Strunk, American baseball player and manager (d. 1979)
- 1890 – Fred M. Vinson, American judge and politician, 13th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
- 1891 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1937)
- 1892 – Marcel Dassault, French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (d. 1986)
- 1893 – Conrad Veidt, German-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1943)
- 1897 – Rosa Ponselle, American operatic soprano (d. 1981)
- 1897 – Dilipkumar Roy, a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist. (d. 1980)
- 1898 – Ross Barnett, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Mississippi (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Denise Legeay, French actress (d. 1968)
- 1899 – Martti Haavio, Finnish poet and mythologist (d. 1973)
- 1900 – Ernst Busch, German actor and singer (d. 1980)
- 1902 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler, coach, and academic (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1966)
- 1904 – George Balanchine, Georgian-American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian journalist and author (d. 1941)
- 1905 – Willy Hartner, German physicist, historian, and academic (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (d. 1936)
- 1907 – Douglas Corrigan, American pilot and engineer (d. 1995)
- 1907 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (d. 1980)
- 1908 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1908 – Prince Oana, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Martha Norelius, Swedish-born American swimmer (d. 1955)
- 1909 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican racing driver, polo player, and diplomat (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
- 1909 – U Thant, Burmese educator and diplomat, 3rd United Nations Secretary-General (d. 1974)
- 1911 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Henry Bauchau, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (d. 2012)
- 1913 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
- 1913 – Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek violinist and composer (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Heinrich Albertz, German theologian and politician, Mayor of Berlin (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
- 1916 – Henri Dutilleux, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
- 1916 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (d. 1994)
- 1918 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1919 – Diomedes Olivo, Dominican baseball player and scout (d. 1977)
- 1920 – Irving Kristol, American journalist, author, and academic, founded The National Interest (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and coach (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Howard Moss, American poet, playwright and critic (d. 1987)
- 1923 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (d. 2015)
- 1924 – J. J. Johnson, American trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Ján Chryzostom Korec, Slovak cardinal (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and art director (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Johnny Bucha, American baseball player (d. 1996)
- 1925 – Bobby Young, American baseball player (d. 1985)
- 1927 – Lou Creekmur, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Joe Perry, American footballer (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian, author, and academic (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Petr Eben, Czech composer, organist and choirmaster (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Éamon de Buitléar, Irish accordion player and director (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1931 – Galina Zybina, Russian shot putter and javelin thrower
- 1932 – Berthold Grünfeld, Norwegian psychiatrist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Piper Laurie, American actress
- 1932 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives
- 1933 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Vijay Anand, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Bill Bixby, American actor and director (d. 1993)
- 1934 – Graham Kerr, English chef and author
- 1935 – Alexander Men, Russian priest and scholar (d. 1990)
- 1936 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Alan J. Heeger, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan politician
- 1937 – Joseph Wambaugh, American police officer and author
- 1938 – Peter Beard, Australian photographer and author (d. 2020)
- 1938 – Joe Esposito, American author (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian footballer
- 1939 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (d. 1996)
- 1939 – Alfredo Palacio, Ecuadoran physician and politician, President of Ecuador
- 1939 – Luigi Simoni, Italian footballer and manager
- 1939 – J. C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 1994)
- 1940 – John Hurt, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1940 – George Seifert, American football player and coach
- 1940 – Gillian Shephard, English educator and politician, Secretary of State for Education
- 1941 – Jaan Kaplinski, Estonian poet, philosopher, and critic
- 1942 – Mimis Domazos, Greek footballer
- 1943 – Michael Spicer, English journalist and politician (d. 2019)
- 1944 – Khosrow Golsorkhi, Iranian journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1974)
- 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist and conductor
- 1945 – Jophery Brown, American baseball player, actor, and stuntman (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Jean-Pierre Nicolas, French racing driver and manager
- 1945 – Christoph Schönborn, Austrian cardinal
- 1945 – Alojz Uran, Slovenian archbishop
- 1946 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter and manager (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Serge Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1947 – Vladimir Oravsky, Czech-Swedish author and director
- 1948 – Gilbert Levine, American conductor and academic
- 1949 – Mike Caldwell, American baseball player and coach
- 1949 – J.P. Pennington, American country-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1949 – Steve Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1950 – Paul Bew, Northern Irish historian and academic
- 1950 – Frank Schade, American basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (d. 1989)
- 1951 – Leon Roberts, American baseball player and manager
- 1952 – Ramón Avilés, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1953 – Winfried Berkemeier, German footballer and manager
- 1953 – Myung-whun Chung, South Korean pianist and conductor
- 1953 – Jim Jarmusch, American director and screenwriter
- 1955 – Thomas David Jones, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1955 – Timothy R. Ferguson, American politician
- 1956 – Steve Riley, American drummer
- 1957 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Brian Dayett, American baseball player and manager
- 1957 – Godfrey Thoma, Nauruan politician
- 1957 – Francis Wheen, English journalist and author
- 1958 – Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
- 1958 – Filiz Koçali, Turkish journalist and politician
- 1959 – Linda Blair, American actress
- 1960 – Michael Hutchence, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1961 – Quintin Dailey, American basketball player (d. 2010)
- 1961 – Daniel Johnston, American musician
- 1962 – Jimmy Herring, American guitarist
- 1962 – Huw Irranca-Davies, Welsh lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
- 1964 – Nigel Benn, English-Australian boxer
- 1964 – Stojko Vranković, Croatian basketball player
- 1965 – Steven Adler, American rock drummer
- 1965 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ and producer
- 1965 – Diane Lane, American actress
- 1965 – Andrew Roachford, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1966 – Craig Salvatori, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1967 – Nick Gillingham, English swimmer
- 1968 – Guy Fieri, American chef, author, and television host
- 1968 – Heath, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1968 – Frank Leboeuf, French footballer, sportscaster, and actor
- 1968 – Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer
- 1969 – Olivia d’Abo, English-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1969 – Keith Gordon, American baseball player and coach
- 1970 – Jason Lowrie, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
- 1970 – Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist
- 1971 – Stan Collymore, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1972 – Terry Hill, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Rogério Ceni, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 – Cameron McConville, Australian racing driver and sportscaster
- 1974 – Joseph Muscat, Maltese journalist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Malta
- 1976 – Jimmy Anderson, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – James Dearth, American football player
- 1977 – Mario Domm, Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1977 – Anna Linkova, Russian tennis player
- 1977 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
- 1977 – Luciano Andrade Rissutt, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – Chone Figgins, American baseball player
- 1979 – Aidan Burley, New Zealand-English politician
- 1979 – Carlos Ruiz, Panamanian baseball player
- 1979 – Chor Boogie, American artist
- 1980 – Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer
- 1981 – Willa Ford, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1981 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
- 1981 – Ben Moody, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1981 – Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer
- 1981 – Guy Wilks, English racing driver
- 1982 – Fabricio Coloccini, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Shaun Cody, American football player
- 1984 – Ben Eager, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Ubaldo Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Leon Powe, American basketball player
- 1984 – Maceo Rigters, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Fotios Papoulis, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Yan Xu, Singaporean table tennis player
- 1986 – Maher Magri, Tunisian footballer
- 1986 – Matt Simon, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian skier
- 1987 – Shane Long, Irish footballer
- 1988 – Asher Allen, American football player
- 1988 – Greg Oden, American basketball player
- 1988 – Marcel Schmelzer, German footballer
- 1989 – Theo Robinson, English-Jamaican footballer
- 1990 – Alizé Cornet, French tennis player
- 1990 – Dean Whare, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Logic, American rapper
- 1990 – Phil Wang, British-Malaysian comedian
- 1991 – Stefan Kolb, German footballer
- 1996 – Joshua Ho-Sang, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1998 – Silento, American rapper, singer and songwriter
Deaths on January 22
- 239 – Cao Rui, Chinese emperor (b. 205)
- 628 – Anastasius of Persia, monk
- 906 – He, empress of the Tang Dynasty
- 935 – Ma, empress of Southern Han
- 1051 – Ælfric Puttoc, archbishop of York
- 1170 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese Daoist and co-founder of the Quanzhen School (b. 1113)
- 1188 – Ferdinand II of León (b. 1137)
- 1341 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
- 1517 – Hadım Sinan Pasha, Ottoman politician, 32nd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. ?)
- 1536 – Bernhard Knipperdolling, German religious leader (b. 1495)
- 1536 – John of Leiden, Anabaptist leader from the Dutch city of Leiden (b. 1509)
- 1552 – Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, English general and politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1500)
- 1560 – Wang Zhi, Chinese pirate
- 1575 – James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault (b. 1516)
- 1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1547)
- 1666 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (b. 1592)
- 1750 – Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (b. 1675)
- 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1690)
- 1767 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German meteorologist and geologist (b. 1719)
- 1779 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (b. 1733)
- 1779 – Claudius Smith, American guerrilla leader (b. 1736)
- 1798 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (b. 1726)
- 1840 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (b. 1752)
- 1850 – Vincent Pallotti, Italian missionary and saint (b. 1795)
- 1879 – Anthony Durnford, Irish colonel (b. 1830)
- 1879 – Henry Pulleine, English colonel (b. 1838)
- 1892 – Joseph P. Bradley, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1813)
- 1900 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (b. 1831)
- 1901 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
- 1901 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist and academic (b. 1825)
- 1921 – George Streeter, American captain and businessman (b. 1837)
- 1922 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
- 1922 – Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
- 1922 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (b. 1838)
- 1925 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American geographer and mountain climber (b. 1859)
- 1927 – James Ford Rhodes, American historian and author (b. 1848)
- 1929 – R. C. Lehmann, English journalist, author, and politician (b. 1856)
- 1930 – Stephen Mather, American businessman and conservationist, co-founded the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company (b. 1867)
- 1931 – László Batthyány-Strattmann, Hungarian physician and ophthalmologist (b. 1870)
- 1945 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and playwright (b. 1869)
- 1949 – William Thomas Walsh, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1891)
- 1950 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor and director (b. 1892)
- 1951 – Lawson Robertson, Scottish-American sprinter and high jumper (b. 1883)
- 1955 – Jonni Myyrä, Finnish-American athlete (b. 1892)
- 1957 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (b. 1876)
- 1959 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
- 1964 – Marc Blitzstein, American pianist and composer (b. 1905)
- 1966 – Herbert Marshall, English actor (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1890)
- 1973 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American lieutenant and politician, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Andrew George Burry, Swiss-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1873)
- 1977 – Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Suwaiyel, Saudi Arabian diplomat (b. 1916)
- 1978 – Oliver Leese, English general (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Ali Hassan Salameh, Palestinian rebel leader (b. 1940)
- 1980 – Yitzhak Baer, German-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani historian and academic (b. 1903)
- 1982 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (b. 1911)
- 1985 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (b. 1899)
- 1987 – R. Budd Dwyer, American educator and politician, 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania (b. 1939)
- 1989 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Robert Choquette, Canadian author, poet and diplomat (b. 1905)
- 1993 – Kōbō Abe, Japanese playwright and photographer (b. 1924)
- 1994 – Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (b. 1910)
- 1994 – Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1996 – Israel Eldad, Polish-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1910)
- 1997 – Billy Mackenzie, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
- 1999 – Graham Staines, Australian-Indian missionary and translator (b. 1941)
- 2000 – Craig Claiborne, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Tommie Agee, American baseball player (b. 1942)
- 2001 – Roy Brown, American clown and puppeteer (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Bill Mauldin, American soldier and cartoonist (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Billy May, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1923)
- 2005 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1943)
- 2005 – Carlo Orelli, Italian soldier (b. 1894)
- 2005 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Aydın Güven Gürkan, Turkish academic and politician, Turkish Minister of Labor and Social Security (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Ngô Quang Trưởng, Vietnamese general (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and activist (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Liz Renay, American actress, author and performer (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor and director (b. 1979)
- 2008 – Miles Lerman, Polish Holocaust survivor and activist (b. 1920)
- 2009 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 2010 – Louis R. Harlan, American historian and author (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Simon Marsden, English photographer and author (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Clarence Tillenius, Canadian painter and environmentalist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Dick Tufeld, American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Robert Bonnaud, French historian and academic (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Hinton Mitchem, American businessman and politician (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Maziar Partow, Iranian cinematographer (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Fabrizio de Miranda, Italian engineer and academic, co-designed the Rande Bridge (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Wendell H. Ford, American lieutenant and politician, 53rd Governor of Kentucky (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Margaret Bloy Graham, Canadian author and illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2016 – Homayoun Behzadi, Iranian footballer and coach (b. 1942)
- 2016 – Cecil Parkinson, English politician (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Lois Ramsey, Australian actress (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Kamer Genç, Turkish politician (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Masaya Nakamura, Japanese businessman (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (b. 1991)
- 2018 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American sci-fi and fantasy novelist (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances on January 22
- Christian feast day:
- Anastasius of Persia
- Gaudentius of Novara
- László Batthyány-Strattmann
- Laura Vicuna
- Vincent Pallotti
- Vincent of Saragossa
- Vincent, Orontius, and Victor
- Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
- January 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Unity of Ukraine (Ukraine)
- Grandfather’s Day (Poland)