American screenwriter

  • June 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
    • 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army.
    • 1140 – The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
    • 1326 – The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
    • 1539 – Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
    • 1608 – Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec.
    • 1621 – The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
    • 1658 – Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
    • 1665 – James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
    • 1781 – Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton.
    • 1839 – In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor: Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
    • 1866 – The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario back into the United States.
    • 1885 – In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
    • 1889 – The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
    • 1916 – The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
    • 1935 – One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa.
    • 1937 – The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
    • 1940 – Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the “Jewish homeland”, an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
    • 1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots.
    • 1950 – Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
    • 1962 – At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
    • 1963 – Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
    • 1965 – The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.
    • 1969 – Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
    • 1973 – A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
    • 1979 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.
    • 1980 – An explosive device is detonated at the Statue of Liberty. The FBI suspects Croatian nationalists.
    • 1980 – The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $931 million in 2019) worth of damage.
    • 1982 – The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed.
    • 1984 – Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
    • 1989 – The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
    • 1991 – Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
    • 1992 – Aboriginal land rights are granted in Australia in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Eddie Mabo.
    • 1998 – After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
    • 2006 – The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro’s formal declaration of independence.
    • 2012 – A plane carrying 153 people on board crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board and 10 people on the ground.
    • 2012 – The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames.
    • 2013 – The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
    • 2013 – At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
    • 2015 – An explosion at a gasoline station in Accra, Ghana, killing more than 200 people.
    • 2017 – London Bridge attack: Eight people are murdered and dozens of civilians are wounded by Islamist terrorists. Three of the attackers are shot dead by the police.
    • 2019 – Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.

    Births on June 3

    • 20 BC – Sejanus, Roman soldier and bodyguard (d. 31 AD)
    • 1139 – Conon of Naso, Basilian abbot (d. 1236)
    • 1421 – Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1463)
    • 1454 – Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania (1474–1523) (d. 1523)
    • 1537 – João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (d. 1554)
    • 1540 – Charles II, Archduke of Austria (d. 1590)
    • 1554 – Pietro de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1604)
    • 1576 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1649)
    • 1594 – César, Duke of Vendôme, French nobleman (d. 1665)
    • 1603 – Pietro Paolini, Italian painter (d. 1681)
    • 1635 – Philippe Quinault, French playwright and composer (d. 1688)
    • 1636 – John Hale, American minister (d. 1700)
    • 1659 – David Gregory, Scottish-English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1708)
    • 1662 – Willem van Mieris, Dutch painter (d. 1747)
    • 1723 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician, geologist, and botanist (d. 1788)
    • 1726 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (d. 1797)
    • 1736 – Ignaz Fränzl, German violinist and composer (d. 1811)
    • 1770 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1820)
    • 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)
    • 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal (d. 1889)
    • 1819 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1892)
    • 1819 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (d. 1891)
    • 1832 – Charles Lecocq, French pianist and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1843 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (d. 1912)
    • 1844 – Garret Hobart, American lawyer and politician, 24th Vice President of the United States (d. 1899)
    • 1844 – Detlev von Liliencron, German poet and author (d. 1909)
    • 1852 – Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (d. 1896)
    • 1853 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1942)
    • 1864 – Otto Erich Hartleben, German poet and playwright (d. 1905)
    • 1864 – Ransom E. Olds, American businessman, founded Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company (d. 1950)
    • 1865 – George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1936)
    • 1866 – George Howells Broadhurst, English-American director and manager (d. 1952)
    • 1873 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and psychobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
    • 1877 – Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator (d. 1953)
    • 1879 – Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1945)
    • 1879 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist and botanist (d. 1940)
    • 1879 – Vivian Woodward, English footballer and soldier (d. 1954)
    • 1881 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1964)
    • 1890 – Baburao Painter, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1954)
    • 1897 – Memphis Minnie, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
    • 1899 – Georg von Békésy, Hungarian-American biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
    • 1900 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1901 – Maurice Evans, English actor (d. 1989)
    • 1901 – Zhang Xueliang, Chinese general and warlord (d. 2001)
    • 1903 – Eddie Acuff, American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1904 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (d. 1950)
    • 1904 – Jan Peerce, American tenor and actor (d. 1984)
    • 1905 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (d. 1946)
    • 1906 – R. G. D. Allen, English economist, mathematician, and statistician (d. 1983)
    • 1906 – Josephine Baker, French actress, singer, and dancer; French Resistance operative (d. 1975)
    • 1906 – Walter Robins, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1968)
    • 1907 – Paul Rotha, English director and producer (d. 1984)
    • 1910 – Paulette Goddard, American actress and model (d. 1990)
    • 1911 – Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1913 – Pedro Mir, Dominican poet and author (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Ignacio Ponseti, Spanish physician and orthopedist (d. 2009)
    • 1917 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (d. 1969)
    • 1918 – Patrick Cargill, English actor and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1918 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Forbes Carlile, Australian pentathlete and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Jean Dréjac, French singer and composer (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Igor Shafarevich, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 2017)
    • 1924 – Karunanidhi, Indian screenwriter and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress (d. 1991)
    • 1924 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Jimmy Rogers, American singer and guitarist (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Torsten Wiesel, Swedish neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1925 – Tony Curtis, American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d. 1997)
    • 1926 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Donald Judd, American sculptor and painter (d. 1994)
    • 1928 – John Richard Reid, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1929 – Werner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1929 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author and poet (d. 1999)
    • 1930 – George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Dakota Staton, American singer (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Abbas Zandi, Iranian wrestler (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Ben Wada, Japanese director and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1930 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (d. 2020)
    • 1931 – Françoise Arnoul, Algerian-French actress
    • 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba
    • 1931 – John Norman, American philosopher and author
    • 1931 – Lindy Remigino, American runner and coach (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahranian king (d. 1999)
    • 1936 – Larry McMurtry, American novelist and screenwriter
    • 1936 – Colin Meads, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, French race car driver
    • 1939 – Frank Blevins, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of South Australia (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Steve Dalkowski, American baseball player (d. 2020)
    • 1939 – Ian Hunter, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1943 – Billy Cunningham, American basketball player and coach
    • 1944 – Thomas Burns, British bishop
    • 1944 – Edith McGuire, American sprinter and educator
    • 1944 – Eddy Ottoz, Italian hurdler and coach
    • 1945 – Hale Irwin, American golfer and architect
    • 1945 – Ramon Jacinto, Filipino singer, guitarist, and businessman, founded the Rajah Broadcasting Network
    • 1945 – Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
    • 1946 – Michael Clarke, American drummer (d. 1993)
    • 1946 – Eddie Holman, American pop/R&B/gospel singer
    • 1946 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
    • 1947 – John Dykstra, American special effects artist and producer
    • 1947 – Mickey Finn, English drummer (d. 2003)
    • 1948 – Jan Reker, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1950 – Frédéric François, Belgian-Italian singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1950 – Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Larry Probst, American businessman
    • 1950 – Suzi Quatro, American-English singer-songwriter, bass player, producer, and actress
    • 1950 – Christos Verelis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of Transport and Communications
    • 1950 – Deniece Williams, American singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1952 – David Richards, Welsh entrepreneur and businessman
    • 1954 – Dan Hill, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Susan Landau, American mathematician and engineer
    • 1956 – George Burley, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Danny Wilde, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Horst-Ulrich Hänel, German field hockey player
    • 1959 – Imbi Paju, Estonian-Finnish journalist and author
    • 1960 – Catherine Davani, first female Papua New Guinean judge (d. 2016)
    • 1960 – Tracy Grimshaw, Australian television host
    • 1960 – Carl Rackemann, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer, academic, and author, founded the Creative Commons
    • 1961 – Peter Vidmar, American gymnast
    • 1961 – Ed Wynne, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1962 – Susannah Constantine, English fashion designer, journalist, and author
    • 1962 – Dagmar Neubauer, German sprinter
    • 1963 – Rudy Demotte, Belgian politician, 8th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
    • 1963 – Toshiaki Karasawa, Japanese actor
    • 1964 – André Bellavance, Canadian politician
    • 1964 – Kerry King, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1964 – James Purefoy, English actor
    • 1965 – Hans Kroes, Dutch swimmer
    • 1965 – Michael Moore, British accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1966 – Wasim Akram, Pakistani cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Anderson Cooper, American journalist and author
    • 1967 – Tamás Darnyi, Hungarian swimmer
    • 1969 – Takako Minekawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Dean Pay, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1971 – Luigi Di Biagio, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Mary Grigson, Australian cross-country mountain biker
    • 1972 – Julie Gayet, French actress
    • 1974 – Kelly Jones, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Serhiy Rebrov, Ukrainian international footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Jose Molina, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1976 – Nikos Chatzis, Greek basketball player
    • 1976 – Jamie McMurray, American race car driver
    • 1977 – Cris, Brazilian footballer
    • 1978 – Lyfe Jennings, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1979 – Luis Fernando López, Colombian race walker
    • 1979 – Christian Malcolm, Welsh sprinter
    • 1980 – Amauri, Brazilian-Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Sosene Anesi, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1982 – Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1982 – Manfred Mölgg, Italian skier
    • 1983 – Pasquale Foggia, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Todd Reid, Australian tennis player (d. 2018)
    • 1985 – Papiss Cissé, Senegalese footballer
    • 1985 – Łukasz Piszczek, Polish footballer
    • 1986 – Al Horford, Dominican basketball player
    • 1986 – Micah Kogo, Kenyan runner
    • 1986 – Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
    • 1986 – Adrián Vallés, Spanish race car driver
    • 1986 – Tomáš Verner, Czech ice skater
    • 1987 – Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
    • 1989 – Katie Hoff, American swimmer
    • 1991 – Lukasz Teodorczyk, Polish footballer
    • 1991 – Sami Vatanen, Finnish ice hockey defenceman
    • 1991 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
    • 1992 – Mario Götze, German footballer

    Deaths on June 3

    • 628 – Liang Shidu, Chinese rebel leader
    • 800 – Staurakios, Byzantine general
    • 1052 – Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno
    • 1395 – Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria (b. 1350)
    • 1397 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1328)
    • 1411 – Leopold IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1371)
    • 1453 – Loukas Notaras, last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire
    • 1511 – Ahmad ibn Abi Jum’ah, Islamic scholar, author of the Oran fatwa
    • 1548 – Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish-Mexican archbishop (b. 1468)
    • 1553 – Wolf Huber, Austrian painter, printmaker and architect (b. 1485)
    • 1594 – John Aylmer, English bishop and scholar (b. 1521)
    • 1605 – Jan Zamoyski, Polish nobleman (b. 1542)
    • 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
    • 1640 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1584)
    • 1649 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (b. 1590)
    • 1657 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (b. 1578)
    • 1659 – Morgan Llwyd, Welsh minister and poet (b. 1619)
    • 1665 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English noble (b. 1639)
    • 1780 – Thomas Hutchinson, American businessman and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1711)
    • 1826 – Nikolay Karamzin, Russian historian and poet (b. 1766)
    • 1858 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (b. 1834)
    • 1861 – Stephen A. Douglas, American lawyer and politician, 7th Secretary of State of Illinois (b. 1813)
    • 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838)
    • 1875 – Georges Bizet, French pianist and composer (b. 1838)
    • 1877 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian botanist, composer, and publisher (b. 1800)
    • 1882 – Christian Wilberg, German painter and illustrator (b. 1839)
    • 1894 – Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1812)
    • 1899 – Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1825)
    • 1900 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (b. 1862)
    • 1902 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1829)
    • 1906 – John Maxwell, American golfer (b. 1871)
    • 1921 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (b. 1879)
    • 1924 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian lawyer and author (b. 1883)
    • 1928 – Li Yuanhong, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1864)
    • 1933 – William Muldoon, American wrestler (b. 1852)
    • 1938 – John Flanagan, Irish-American hammer thrower and tug of war competitor (b. 1873)
    • 1946 – Mikhail Kalinin, Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1875)
    • 1963 – Edmond Decottignies, French weightlifter (b. 1893)
    • 1963 – Pope John XXIII (b. 1881)
    • 1963 – Nâzım Hikmet Ran, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1902)
    • 1964 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician, 9th Turkish Speaker of the Parliament (b. 1887)
    • 1964 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1969 – George Edwin Cooke, American soccer player (b. 1883)
    • 1970 – Hjalmar Schacht, Danish-German economist, banker, and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1971 – Heinz Hopf, German-Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1894)
    • 1973 – Jean Batmale, French footballer and manager (b. 1895)
    • 1975 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (b. 1906)
    • 1975 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1901)
    • 1977 – Archibald Hill, English physiologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
    • 1977 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1981 – Carleton S. Coon, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Anna Neagle, English actress and singer (b. 1904)
    • 1987 – Will Sampson, American actor and painter (b. 1933)
    • 1989 – Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian religious leader and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of Iran (b. 1902)
    • 1990 – Robert Noyce, American physicist and businessman, co-founded the Intel Corporation (b. 1927)
    • 1991 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (b. 1924)
    • 1991 – Katia Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1942)
    • 1991 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1946)
    • 1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Robert Morley, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1994 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby player and coach (b. 1925)
    • 1997 – Dennis James, American actor and game show host (b. 1917)
    • 2001 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor and producer (b. 1915)
    • 2002 – Lew Wasserman, American talent agent and manager (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (b. 1907)
    • 2005 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
    • 2009 – David Carradine, American actor (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Koko Taylor, American singer (b. 1928)
    • 2010 – John Hedgecoe, English photographer and author (b. 1932)
    • 2010 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (b. 1934)
    • 2011 – James Arness, American actor and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2011 – Andrew Gold, American singer, songwriter, musician and arranger (b. 1951)
    • 2011 – Bhajan Lal, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Haryana (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist, author, and activist (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Carol Ann Abrams, American producer, author, and academic (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Rajsoomer Lallah, Mauritian lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Brian Talboys, New Zealand journalist and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Atul Chitnis, German-Indian technologist and journalist (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Józef Czyrek, Polish economist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Gopinath Munde, Indian politician, 3rd Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Avi Beker, Israeli political scientist and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2016 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer (b. 1942)

    Holidays and observances on June 3

    • Christian feast day:
      • Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
        • Martyrs’ Day (Uganda)
      • Clotilde
      • Kevin of Glendalough
      • Ovidius
      • Vladimirskaya (Russian Orthodox)
      • June 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee, United States)
    • Economist day (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
    • Mabo Day (Australia)
    • Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
    • World Bicycle Day

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

    • 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
    • 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.
    • 1615 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
    • 1676 – Franco-Dutch War: France ensured the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.
    • 1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.
    • 1763 – Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
    • 1774 – Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
    • 1793 – French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror.
    • 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
    • 1835 – P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
    • 1848 – The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
    • 1866 – The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after.
    • 1896 – Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
    • 1909 – Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
    • 1910 – Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
    • 1919 – Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.
    • 1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
    • 1941 – World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos.
    • 1946 – Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
    • 1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
    • 1955 – The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.
    • 1962 – During the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
    • 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed.
    • 1966 – Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
    • 1967 – Luis Monge is executed in Colorado’s gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.
    • 1967 – Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.
    • 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
    • 1983 – After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane’s doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
    • 1990 – The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.
    • 1997 – In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
    • 2003 – Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
    • 2012 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
    • 2014 – Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh.

    Births on June 2 

    • 1305 – Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, ruler of Ilkhanate (d. 1335)
    • 1423 – Ferdinand I of Naples (d. 1494)
    • 1489 – Charles, Duke of Vendôme (d. 1537)
    • 1535 – Pope Leo XI (d. 1605)
    • 1602 – Rudolf Christian, Count of East Frisia, Ruler of East Frisia (d. 1628)
    • 1621 – Rutger von Ascheberg, Courland-born soldier in Swedish service (d. 1693)
    • 1621 – (baptized) Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter (d. 1649)
    • 1638 – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (d. 1709)
    • 1644 – William Salmon, English medical writer (d. 1713)
    • 1739 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1815)
    • 1740 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and politician (d. 1814)
    • 1743 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian occultist and explorer (d. 1795)
    • 1773 – John Randolph of Roanoke, American planter and politician, 8th United States Ambassador to Russia (d. 1833)
    • 1774 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (d. 1850)
    • 1813 – Daniel Pollen, Irish-New Zealand politician, 9th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1896)
    • 1823 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1905)
    • 1835 – Pope Pius X (d. 1914)
    • 1838 – Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (d. 1900)
    • 1840 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (d. 1928)
    • 1840 – Émile Munier, French artist (d. 1895)
    • 1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer and educator (d. 1934)
    • 1857 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
    • 1861 – Concordia Selander, Swedish actress and manager (d. 1935)
    • 1863 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian-Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
    • 1865 – George Lohmann, English cricketer (d. 1901)
    • 1865 – Adelaide Casely-Hayford, Sierra Leone Creole advocate and activist for cultural nationalism (d. 1960)
    • 1869 – Jack O’Connor, American baseball player and manager (d. 1937)
    • 1875 – Charles Stewart Mott, American businessman and politician, 50th Mayor of Flint, Michigan (d. 1973)
    • 1878 – Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (d. 1912)
    • 1881 – Walter Egan, American golfer (d. 1971)
    • 1891 – Thurman Arnold, American lawyer and judge (d. 1969)
    • 1891 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral and pilot (d. 1945)
    • 1899 – Lotte Reiniger, German animator and director (d. 1981)
    • 1899 – Edwin Way Teale, American environmentalist and photographer (d. 1980)
    • 1904 – Frank Runacres, English painter and educator (d. 1974)
    • 1904 – Johnny Weissmuller, Hungarian-American swimmer and actor (d. 1984)
    • 1907 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
    • 1907 – John Lehmann, English poet and publisher (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – Hector Dyer, American sprinter (d. 1990)
    • 1911 – Joe McCluskey, American runner (d. 2002)
    • 1913 – Barbara Pym, English author (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – Elsie Tu, English-Hong Kong educator and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1914 – Johnny Bulla, American golfer (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy (d. 1992)
    • 1917 – Heinz Sielmann, German photographer and director (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Ruth Atkinson, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1997)
    • 1918 – Kathryn Tucker Windham, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Frank G. Clement, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Tennessee (d. 1969)
    • 1920 – Yolande Donlan, American-English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Tex Schramm, American businessman (d. 2003)
    • 1920 – Johnny Speight, English screenwriter and producer (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Betty Freeman, American photographer and philanthropist (d. 2009)
    • 1921 – Ernie Royal, American trumpet player (d. 1983)
    • 1921 – Sigmund Sternberg, Hungarian-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – András Szennay, Hungarian priest (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1922 – Carmen Silvera, Canadian-English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1923 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Chiyonoyama Masanobu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 41st Yokozuna (d. 1977)
    • 1926 – Milo O’Shea, Irish-American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Colin Brittan, English footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Christopher Slade, English lawyer and judge
    • 1928 – Erzsi Kovács, Hungarian singer (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Rafael A. Lecuona, Cuban-American gymnast and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Ron Reynolds, English footballer (d. 1999)
    • 1929 – Norton Juster, American architect, author, and academic
    • 1929 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1999)
    • 1933 – Jerry Lumpe, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (d. 1971)
    • 1934 – Johnny Carter, American singer (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2003)
    • 1935 – Dimitri Kitsikis, Greek poet and educator
    • 1936 – Volodymyr Holubnychy, Ukrainian race walker
    • 1937 – Rosalyn Higgins, English lawyer and judge
    • 1937 – Sally Kellerman, American actress
    • 1937 – Jimmy Jones, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Robert Paul, Canadian figure skater and choreographer
    • 1937 – Deric Washburn, American screenwriter and playwright
    • 1938 – Kevin Brownlow, English historian and author
    • 1938 – George William Penrose, Lord Penrose, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1939 – Charles Miller, American musician (d. 1980)
    • 1939 – John Schlee, American golfer (d. 2000)
    • 1940 – Constantine II of Greece
    • 1941 – Ünal Aysal, Turkish businessman
    • 1941 – Stacy Keach, American actor
    • 1941 – Lou Nanne, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
    • 1941 – Charlie Watts, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1942 – Mike Ahern, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Queensland
    • 1943 – Charles Haid, American actor and director
    • 1943 – Crescenzio Sepe, Italian cardinal
    • 1944 – Robert Elliott, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Richard Long, English painter, sculptor, and photographer
    • 1945 – Bonnie Newman, American businesswoman and politician
    • 1946 – Lasse Hallström, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Peter Sutcliffe, UK serial killer
    • 1948 – Jerry Mathers, American actor
    • 1949 – Heather Couper, English astronomer and physicist (d. 2020)
    • 1949 – Frank Rich, American journalist and critic
    • 1950 – Jonathan Evans, Welsh lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Joanna Gleason, Canadian actress and singer
    • 1950 – Anne Phillips, English theorist and academic
    • 1950 – Momčilo Vukotić, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1951 – Gilbert Baker, American artist, gay rights activist, and designer of the rainbow flag (d. 2017)
    • 1951 – Arnold Mühren, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1951 – Larry Robinson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1951 – Alexander Wylie, Lord Kinclaven, Scottish lawyer, judge, and educator
    • 1952 – Gary Bettman, American commissioner of the National Hockey League
    • 1953 – Vidar Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist
    • 1953 – Craig Stadler, American golfer
    • 1953 – Cornel West, American philosopher, author, and academic
    • 1954 – Dennis Haysbert, American actor and producer
    • 1955 – Dana Carvey, American comedian and actor
    • 1955 – Nandan Nilekani, Indian businessman, co-founded Infosys
    • 1955 – Mani Ratnam, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Michael Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1956 – Jan Lammers, Dutch race car driver
    • 1957 – Mark Lawrenson, English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Lex Luger, American wrestler and football player
    • 1959 – Rineke Dijkstra, Dutch photographer
    • 1959 – Lydia Lunch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1959 – Erwin Olaf, Dutch photographer
    • 1960 – Olga Bondarenko, Russian runner
    • 1960 – Tony Hadley, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1960 – Kyle Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Dez Cadena, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Mark Plaatjes, South African-American runner and coach
    • 1963 – Anand Abhyankar, Indian actor (d. 2012)
    • 1964 – Caroline Link, German director and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Russ Courtnall, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Mark Waugh, Australian cricketer and journalist
    • 1965 – Steve Waugh, Australian cricketer
    • 1966 – Dayana Cadeau, Haitian born Canadian-American professional bodybuilder
    • 1966 – Candace Gingrich, American activist
    • 1966 – Pedro Guerra, Spanish singer-songwriter
    • 1966 – Petra van Staveren, Dutch swimmer
    • 1967 – Remigija Nazarovienė, Lithuanian heptathlete and coach
    • 1967 – Mike Stanton, American baseball player
    • 1968 – Merril Bainbridge, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1968 – Andy Cohen, American television host
    • 1969 – Kurt Abbott, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Paulo Sérgio, Brazilian footballer
    • 1969 – David Wheaton, American tennis player, radio host, and author
    • 1970 – B Real, American rapper and actor
    • 1971 – Kateřina Jacques, Czech translator and politician
    • 1972 – Wayne Brady, American actor, comedian, game show host, and singer
    • 1972 – Raúl Ibañez, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Wentworth Miller, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Marko Kristal, Estonian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Neifi Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1974 – Gata Kamsky, Russian-American chess player
    • 1974 – Matt Serra, American mixed martial artist
    • 1975 – Salvatore Scibona, American author
    • 1976 – Earl Boykins, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Martin Čech, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2007)
    • 1976 – Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer
    • 1976 – Tim Rice-Oxley, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1977 – Teet Allas, Estonian footballer
    • 1977 – A.J. Styles, American wrestler
    • 1977 – Zachary Quinto, American actor and producer
    • 1978 – Dominic Cooper, English actor
    • 1978 – Nikki Cox, American actress
    • 1978 – Justin Long, American actor
    • 1978 – Yi So-yeon, biotechnologist and astronaut, the first Korean in space
    • 1978 – Luke Williamson, Australian rugby league player
    • 1979 – Morena Baccarin, Brazilian-American actress
    • 1979 – Butterfly Boucher, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1979 – Natalia Rodríguez, Spanish runner
    • 1980 – Fabrizio Moretti, Brazilian-American drummer
    • 1980 – Bobby Simmons, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Richard Skuse, English rugby player
    • 1980 – Abby Wambach, American soccer player and coach
    • 1980 – Tomasz Wróblewski, Polish bass player and songwriter
    • 1981 – Nikolay Davydenko, Russian tennis player
    • 1981 – Chin-hui Tsao, Taiwanese baseball player
    • 1982 – Jewel Staite, Canadian actress
    • 1983 – Chris Higgins, American ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Leela James, American singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Toni Livers, Swiss skier
    • 1983 – Brooke White, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1984 – Jack Afamasaga, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1984 – Max Boyer, Canadian wrestler
    • 1984 – Feleti Mateo, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
    • 1985 – Miyuki Sawashiro, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1985 – Maggie Thrash, American graphic novelist and writer
    • 1986 – Todd Carney, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Maryka Holtzhausen, South African netball player
    • 1987 – Yoann Huget, French rugby player
    • 1987 – Matthew Koma, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1987 – Angelo Mathews, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1987 – Darin Zanyar, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Sonakshi Sinha, Indian actress
    • 1988 – Sergio Agüero, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Patrik Berglund, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Staniliya Stamenova, Bulgarian canoeist
    • 1989 – Freddy Adu, Ghanaian-American footballer
    • 1989 – Steve Smith, Australian cricketer
    • 1990 – Jack Lowden, Scottish actor
    • 1992 – Pajtim Kasami, Swiss footballer
    • 1993 – Adam Taggart, Australian footballer
    • 1994 – Mike Grzesiek, Esports player and streamer
    • 1999 – Campbell Graham, Australian rugby league player
    • 2000 – Lilimar Hernandez, Venezuelan actress

    Deaths on June 2 

    • 657 – Pope Eugene I
    • 891 – Al-Muwaffaq, Abbasid general (b. 842)
    • 910 – Richilde of Provence (b. 845)
    • 1200 – Bishop John of Oxford
    • 1258 – Peter I, Count of Urgell
    • 1292 – Rhys ap Maredudd, Welsh nobleman and rebel leader
    • 1418 – Katherine of Lancaster, queen of Henry III of Castile
    • 1453 – Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo, Constable of Castile
    • 1567 – Shane O’Neill, head of the O’Neill dynasty in Ireland (b. 1530)
    • 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1536)
    • 1581 – James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, Scottish soldier and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1525)
    • 1603 – Bernard of Wąbrzeźno, Roman Catholic priest (b. 1575)
    • 1693 – John Wildman, English soldier and politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1621)
    • 1701 – Madeleine de Scudéry, French author (b. 1607)
    • 1716 – Ogata Kōrin, Japanese painter and educator (b. 1658)
    • 1754 – Ebenezer Erskine, Scottish minister and theologian (b. 1680)
    • 1761 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish businessman (b. 1685)
    • 1785 – Jean Paul de Gua de Malves, French mathematician and academic (b. 1713)
    • 1806 – William Tate, English painter (b. 1747)
    • 1853 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (b. 1777)
    • 1865 – Ner Middleswarth, American judge and politician (b. 1783)
    • 1875 – Józef Kremer, Polish psychologist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1806)
    • 1881 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1801)
    • 1882 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (b. 1807)
    • 1901 – George Leslie Mackay, Canadian missionary and author (b. 1844)
    • 1927 – Hüseyin Avni Lifij, Turkish painter (b. 1886)
    • 1929 – Enrique Gorostieta, Mexican general (b. 1889)
    • 1933 – Frank Jarvis, American runner and triple jumper (b. 1878)
    • 1937 – Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (b. 1870)
    • 1941 – Lou Gehrig, American baseball player (b. 1903)
    • 1942 – Bunny Berigan, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
    • 1947 – John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, English sailor and politician (b. 1867)
    • 1948 – Viktor Brack, German physician (b. 1904)
    • 1948 – Karl Brandt, German SS officer (b. 1904)
    • 1948 – Karl Gebhardt, German physician (b. 1897)
    • 1948 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (b. 1903)
    • 1948 – Wolfram Sievers, German SS officer (b. 1905)
    • 1952 – Naum Torbov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Central Sofia Market Hall (b. 1880)
    • 1956 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (b. 1886)
    • 1959 – Lyda Borelli, Italian actress (b. 1884)
    • 1961 – George S. Kaufman, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1889)
    • 1962 – Vita Sackville-West, English author and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1967 – Benno Ohnesorg, German student and activist (b. 1940)
    • 1968 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
    • 1969 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 1970 – Orhan Kemal, Turkish author (b. 1914)
    • 1970 – Albert Lamorisse, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 1970 – Bruce McLaren, New Zealand race car driver and engineer, founded the McLaren racing team (b. 1937)
    • 1970 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1888)
    • 1974 – Hiroshi Kazato, Japanese race car driver (b. 1949)
    • 1976 – Kenneth Mason, English soldier and geographer (b. 1887)
    • 1976 – Juan José Torres, Bolivian general and politician, 61st President of Bolivia (b. 1920)
    • 1977 – Albert Bittlmayer, German footballer (b. 1952)
    • 1977 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Irish-born American actor (b. 1931)
    • 1978 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1895)
    • 1979 – Jim Hutton, American actor (b. 1934)
    • 1982 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (b. 1904)
    • 1983 – Stan Rogers, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
    • 1983 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1913)
    • 1986 – Aurèle Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Anthony de Mello, Indian-American priest and psychotherapist (b. 1931)
    • 1987 – Sammy Kaye, American bandleader and songwriter (b. 1910)
    • 1987 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
    • 1988 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Ted a’Beckett, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1907)
    • 1990 – Jack Gilford, American actor and comedian (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Rex Harrison, English actor (b. 1908)
    • 1991 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (b. 1927)
    • 1992 – Philip Dunne, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1993 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1913)
    • 1993 – Tahar Djaout, Algerian journalist, writer and poet (b. 1954)
    • 1994 – David Stove, Australian philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1927)
    • 1996 – John Alton, Hungarian-American cinematographer and director (b. 1901)
    • 1996 – Leon Garfield, English author (b. 1921)
    • 1996 – Ray Combs, American game show host (b. 1956)
    • 1997 – Doc Cheatham, American trumpet player, singer, and bandleader (b. 1905)
    • 1999 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican singer (b. 1949)
    • 2000 – Svyatoslav Fyodorov, Russian ophthalmologist, academic, and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2000 – John Schlee, American golfer (b. 1939)
    • 2000 – Gerald James Whitrow, English mathematician, cosmologist, and historian (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – Imogene Coca, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Joey Maxim, American boxer (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Hugo van Lawick, Dutch director and photographer (b. 1937)
    • 2003 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (b. 1918)
    • 2003 – Alma Ricard, Canadian broadcaster and philanthropist (b. 1906)
    • 2005 – Lucien Cliche, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
    • 2005 – Gunder Gundersen, Norwegian skier (b. 1930)
    • 2005 – Samir Kassir, Lebanese journalist and educator (b. 1950)
    • 2005 – Melita Norwood, English civil servant and spy (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Keith Smith, English rugby player and coach (b. 1952)
    • 2007 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (b. 1949)
    • 2007 – Huang Ju, Chinese engineer and politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1938)
    • 2008 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Mel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 2008 – Cevher Özden, Turkish banker and businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2009 – David Eddings, American author (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Avraham Botzer, Polish-Israeli commander (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Adolfo Calero, Nicaraguan businessman and political activist (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Richard Dawson, English-American soldier, actor, television personality, and game show host (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – LeRoy Ellis, American basketball player (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Kathryn Joosten, American actress (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Jan Gmelich Meijling, Dutch commander and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Mandawuy Yunupingu, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
    • 2014 – Ivica Brzić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Anjan Das, Indian director and producer (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Gennadi Gusarov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Nikolay Khrenkov, Russian bobsledder (b. 1984)
    • 2014 – Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Indian cardinal (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Kuaima Riruako, Namibian politician (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Fernando de Araújo, East Timorese politician, President of East Timor (b. 1963)
    • 2015 – Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Peter Sallis, English actor (b. 1921)

    Holidays and observances on June 2 

    • Children’s Day (North Korea)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander (martyr)
      • Elmo
      • Felix of Nicosia
      • Marcellinus and Peter
      • Martyrs of Lyon, including Blandina
      • Pope Eugene I
      • Pothinus
      • June 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)
    • Coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, also Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)
    • Day of Hristo Botev (Bulgaria)
    • Decoration Day (Canada)
    • Festa della Repubblica (Italy)
    • International Sex Workers Day
    • Telangana Day (Telangana, India)

  • May 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometers.
    • 1381 – Beginning of the Peasants’ Revolt in England.
    • 1416 – The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
    • 1431 – Hundred Years’ War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. The Roman Catholic Church remembers this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.
    • 1434 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: Effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeat and almost annihilate Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
    • 1510 – During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
    • 1536 – King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
    • 1539 – In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
    • 1574 – Henry III becomes King of France.
    • 1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
    • 1631 – Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
    • 1635 – Thirty Years’ War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
    • 1642 – From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
    • 1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
    • 1814 – The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
    • 1815 – The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
    • 1834 – Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing “all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses” from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of “The Friar-Killer”.
    • 1842 – John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
    • 1845 – The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
    • 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
    • 1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
    • 1876 – Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
    • 1883 – In New York City, a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge killed twelve people.
    • 1899 – Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
    • 1911 – At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
    • 1913 – The Treaty of London is signed, ending the First Balkan War; Albania becomes an independent nation.
    • 1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
    • 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
    • 1925 – May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
    • 1937 – Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
    • 1941 – World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
    • 1942 – World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
    • 1943 – The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
    • 1948 – A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
    • 1958 – Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
    • 1959 – The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
    • 1961 – The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
    • 1963 – A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam’s National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
    • 1966 – Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
    • 1967 – The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
    • 1968 – Charles de Gaulle reappears publicly after his flight to Baden-Baden, Germany, and dissolves the French National Assembly by a radio appeal. Immediately after, less than one million of his supporters march on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is the turning point of May 1968 events in France.
    • 1971 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
    • 1972 – The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
    • 1972 – In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
    • 1974 – The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
    • 1979 – Downeast Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
    • 1975 – European Space Agency is established.
    • 1982 – Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
    • 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
    • 1990 – Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
    • 1998 – The 6.5 Mw  Afghanistan earthquake shook the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
    • 1998 – Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
    • 2003 – Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
    • 2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
    • 2008 – TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport, killing five people.
    • 2012 – Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
    • 2013 – Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
    • 2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed rocket to launch from the United States since 2011.

    Births on May 30

    • 1010 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1063)
    • 1201 – Theobald IV, count of Champagne (d. 1253)
    • 1423 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1461)
    • 1464 – Barbara of Brandenburg, Bohemian queen (d. 1515)
    • 1580 – Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza (d. 1634)
    • 1599 – Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (d. 1667)
    • 1623 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (d. 1686)
    • 1686 – Antonina Houbraken, Dutch illustrator (d. 1736)
    • 1718 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1793)
    • 1719 – Roger Newdigate, English politician (d. 1806)
    • 1757 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1844)
    • 1768 – Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty, French general (d. 1815)
    • 1797 – Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, German mineralogist and geologist (d. 1873)
    • 1800 – Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, French cardinal (d. 1883)
    • 1814 – Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (d. 1876)
    • 1814 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894)
    • 1819 – William McMurdo, English general (d. 1894)
    • 1820 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (d. 1890)
    • 1835 – Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1913)
    • 1844 – Félix Arnaudin, French poet and photographer (d. 1921)
    • 1845 – Amadeo I, Spanish king (d. 1890)
    • 1846 – Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (d. 1920)
    • 1862 – Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Azerbaijani philosopher and poet (d. 1911)
    • 1869 – Grace Andrews, American mathematician (d. 1951)
    • 1874 – Ernest Duchesne, French physician (d. 1912)
    • 1875 – Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (d. 1944)
    • 1879 – Colin Blythe, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1917)
    • 1879 – Konstantin Ramul, Estonian psychologist and academic (d. 1975)
    • 1881 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (d. 1968)
    • 1882 – Wyndham Halswelle, English runner and soldier (d. 1915)
    • 1883 – Sandy Pearce, Australian rugby league player (d. 1930)
    • 1884 – Siegmund Glücksmann, German soldier and politician (d. 1942)
    • 1885 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1942)
    • 1886 – Laurent Barré, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1964)
    • 1886 – Randolph Bourne, American theorist and author (d. 1918)
    • 1887 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 1964)
    • 1887 – Emil Reesen, Danish pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1964)
    • 1890 – Roger Salengro, French soldier and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1936)
    • 1892 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (d. 1972)
    • 1894 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
    • 1895 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (d. 1956)
    • 1896 – Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1897 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1936)
    • 1901 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (d. 1969)
    • 1901 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – Stepin Fetchit, American actor and dancer (d. 1985)
    • 1903 – Countee Cullen, American poet and author (d. 1946)
    • 1906 – Bruno Gröning, German mystic and author (d. 1959)
    • 1907 – Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and academic (d. 2008)
    • 1908 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
    • 1908 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (d. 1988)
    • 1909 – Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1986)
    • 1910 – Harry Bernstein, English-American journalist and author (d. 2011)
    • 1912 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Erich Bagge, German physicist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 1980)
    • 1912 – Millicent Selsam, American author and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Joseph Stein, American playwright and author (d. 2010)
    • 1914 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (d. 1979)
    • 1915 – Len Carney, English footballer and soldier (d. 1996)
    • 1916 – Justin Catayée, French soldier and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1916 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (d. 1995)
    • 1918 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (d. 1969)
    • 1920 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1922 – Hal Clement, American author and educator (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – Anthony Dryden Marshall, American CIA officer and diplomat (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – John Henry Marks, English physician and author
    • 1926 – Johnny Gimble, American country/western swing musician (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Joan Birman, American mathematician
    • 1927 – Clint Walker, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Billy Wilson, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1993)
    • 1928 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (d. 2006)
    • 1928 – Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Georges Gilson, French archbishop
    • 1930 – Mark Birley, English businessman, founded Annabel’s (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Robert Ryman, American painter (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Larry Silverstein, American real estate magnate
    • 1932 – Ray Cooney, English actor and playwright
    • 1932 – Pauline Oliveros, American accordion player and composer (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Ivor Richard, Baron Richard, Welsh politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Ruta Lee, Canadian-American actress and dancer
    • 1935 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1936 – Keir Dullea, American actor
    • 1937 – Christopher Haskins, Anglo-Irish businessman, life peer, and British politician
    • 1937 – Rick Mather, American-English architect (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Billie Letts, American author and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1939 – Dieter Quester, Austrian race car driver
    • 1939 – Tim Waterstone, Scottish businessman, founded Waterstones
    • 1940 – Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Gilles Villemure, Canadian-American ice hockey player
    • 1942 – John Gladwin, English bishop
    • 1942 – Carole Stone, English journalist and author
    • 1943 – Anders Michanek, Swedish motorcycle racer
    • 1943 – Gale Sayers, American football player and philanthropist
    • 1944 – Lenny Davidson, English guitarist and songwriter (The Dave Clark Five)
    • 1944 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (d. 2000)
    • 1944 – Stav Prodromou, Greek-American engineer and businessman
    • 1945 – Gladys Horton, American singer (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Allan Chapman, English historian and author
    • 1946 – Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
    • 1947 – Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer
    • 1948 – Johan De Muynck, Belgian former professional road racing cyclist
    • 1948 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1948 – David Thorpe, Australian rules footballer
    • 1949 – P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball player and coach
    • 1949 – Paul Coleridge, English lawyer and judge
    • 1949 – Bob Willis, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2019)
    • 1950 – Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
    • 1950 – Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
    • 1950 – Joshua Rozenberg, English lawyer, journalist, and author
    • 1951 – Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
    • 1951 – Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
    • 1951 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
    • 1952 – Daniel Grodnik, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1952 – Kerry Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and sportscaster
    • 1953 – Jim Hunter, Canadian skier
    • 1953 – Colm Meaney, Irish actor
    • 1955 – Topper Headon, English drummer and songwriter (The Clash)
    • 1955 – Jacqueline McGlade, English-Canadian biologist, ecologist, and academic
    • 1955 – Caroline Swift, English lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
    • 1956 – Tim Lucas, American author, screenwriter, and critic
    • 1957 – Michael Clayton, Australian golfer
    • 1958 – Eugene Belliveau, Canadian football player
    • 1958 – Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2019)
    • 1958 – Steve Israel, American lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1958 – Ted McGinley, American actor
    • 1959 – Phil Brown, English footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Randy Ferbey, Canadian curler
    • 1959 – Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician
    • 1961 – Harry Enfield, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Bob Yari, Iranian-American director and producer
    • 1962 – Kevin Eastman, American author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    • 1962 – Richard Fuller, English lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Tim Loughton, English businessman and politician
    • 1962 – Tonya Pinkins, American actress and singer
    • 1963 – Michel Langevin, Canadian drummer and songwriter
    • 1963 – Élise Lucet, French journalist
    • 1963 – Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
    • 1964 – Wynonna Judd, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1964 – Andrea Montermini, Italian race car driver
    • 1964 – Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1965 – Troy Coker, Australian rugby player
    • 1965 – Billy Donovan, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – Iginio Straffi, Italian animator and producer, founded Rainbow S.r.l.
    • 1966 – Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Stephen Malkmus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Tim Burgess, English singer-songwriter
    • 1967 – Rechelle Hawkes, Australian hockey player
    • 1967 – Sven Pipien, German-American bass player
    • 1968 – Jason Kenney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 40th Canadian Minister of National Defence
    • 1968 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen, sentenced to life in prison related to September 11 attacks
    • 1969 – Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Paul Grayson, English rugby player and coach
    • 1971 – Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1971 – Jiří Šlégr, Czech ice hockey player and politician
    • 1971 – Adrian Vowles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Big L, American rapper (d. 1999)
    • 1974 – Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
    • 1974 – CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
    • 1974 – David Wilkie, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
    • 1975 – Brian Fair, American singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Andy Farrell, English rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
    • 1976 – Radoslav Nesterović, Slovenian-Greek basketball player
    • 1976 – Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player and coach
    • 1976 – Margaret Okayo, Kenyan runner
    • 1977 – Rachael Stirling, English actress
    • 1977 – Federico Vilar, Argentinian-Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Clint Bowyer, American race car driver
    • 1979 – Francis Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Steven Gerrard, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1980 – Ilona Korstin, Russian basketball player
    • 1980 – Ryōgo Narita, Japanese author
    • 1981 – Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
    • 1981 – Ahmad Elrich, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Remy Ma, American rapper
    • 1981 – Lars Møller Madsen, Danish handball player
    • 1981 – Hisanori Takada, Japanese footballer
    • 1982 – Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (d. 2007)
    • 1982 – James Simpson-Daniel, English rugby player
    • 1984 – Sham Kwok Fai, Hong Kong footballer
    • 1984 – Matt Maguire, Australian footballer
    • 1984 – Alexander Sulzer, German ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (d. 2013)
    • 1985 – Igor Lewczuk, Polish footballer
    • 1985 – Aaron Volpatti, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Nikolay Bodurov, Bulgarian international footballer, centre-back
    • 1989 – Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
    • 1989 – Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
    • 1990 – Andrei Loktionov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Jonathan Fox, English swimmer
    • 1992 – Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
    • 1992 – Danielle Harold, English actress
    • 1994 – Scott Laughton, Canadian ice hockey player

    Deaths on May 30

    • 531 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)
    • 727 – Hubertus, bishop Liège
    • 947 – Ma Xifan, king of Chu (b. 899)
    • 1035 – Baldwin IV, count of Flanders (b. 980)
    • 1159 – Władysław II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia (b. 1105)
    • 1252 – Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (b. 1199)
    • 1347 – John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, English peer (b. 1290)
    • 1376 – Joan of Ponthieu, Dame of Epernon, French noblewoman
    • 1416 – Jerome of Prague, Czech martyr and theologian (b. 1379)
    • 1431 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (b. 1412)
    • 1434 – Prokop the Great, Czech general (b. 1380)
    • 1469 – Lope de Barrientos, Castilian bishop (b. 1389)
    • 1472 – Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg (b. 1416)
    • 1574 – Charles IX of France (b. 1550)
    • 1593 – Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1564)
    • 1606 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (executed) (b. 1563)
    • 1640 – Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (b. 1577)
    • 1696 – Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1638)
    • 1670 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (b. 1597)
    • 1712 – Andrea Lanzani, Italian painter (b. 1645)
    • 1718 – Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch-English general (b. 1670)
    • 1744 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (b. 1688)
    • 1770 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (b. 1703)
    • 1778 – Voltaire, French philosopher and author (b. 1694)
    • 1778 – José de la Borda, French/Spanish mining magnate in colonial Mexico (b. ca. 1700)
    • 1829 – Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial, French general (b. 1774)
    • 1832 – James Mackintosh, Scottish historian, jurist, and politician (b. 1765)
    • 1855 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman, (b. 1777)
    • 1892 – Mary Hannah Gray Clarke, American author, correspondent, and poet (b. 1835)
    • 1865 – John Catron, American lawyer and judge (b. 1786)
    • 1901 – Victor D’Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1841)
    • 1911 – Milton Bradley, American businessman, founded the Milton Bradley Company (b. 1836)
    • 1912 – Wilbur Wright, American pilot and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1867)
    • 1918 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher and theorist (b. 1856)
    • 1925 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (b. 1876)
    • 1926 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1864)
    • 1934 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)
    • 1939 – Floyd Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1904)
    • 1941 – Prajadhipok, Thai king (b. 1893)
    • 1946 – Louis Slotin, Canadian physicist and chemist (b. 1910)
    • 1947 – Georg von Trapp, Austrian captain (b. 1880)
    • 1948 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (b. 1874)
    • 1949 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French cardinal (b. 1874)
    • 1951 – Hermann Broch, Austrian-American author (b. 1886)
    • 1953 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (b. 1886)
    • 1955 – Bill Vukovich, American race car driver (b. 1918)
    • 1957 – Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (b. 1921)
    • 1960 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
    • 1961 – Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
    • 1964 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian king (b. 1882)
    • 1964 – Eddie Sachs, American race car driver (b. 1927)
    • 1964 – Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1898)
    • 1965 – Louis Hjelmslev, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1967 – Claude Rains, English-American actor (b. 1889)
    • 1967 – Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1971 – Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (b. 1886)
    • 1975 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (b. 1951)
    • 1975 – Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (b. 1908)
    • 1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss-born French actor (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – Max Carey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
    • 1976 – Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain (b. 1902)
    • 1978 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1909)
    • 1980 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (b. 1942)
    • 1981 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
    • 1981 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
    • 1982 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded his own eponymous fashion brand (b. 1940)
    • 1993 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1914)
    • 1994 – Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
    • 1994 – Marcel Bich, Italian-French businessman, co-founded Société Bic (b. 1914)
    • 1994 – Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (b. 1955)
    • 1995 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (b. 1912)
    • 1995 – Lofty England, English-Austrian engineer (b. 1911)
    • 1995 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (b. 1951)
    • 1996 – Léon-Étienne Duval, French cardinal (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (b. 1961)
    • 1999 – Kalju Lepik, Estonian poet and author (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Tex Beneke, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general and historian (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Gérald Leblanc, Acadian poet (b. 1945)
    • 2005 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1958)
    • 2005 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and stenographer (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Shohei Imamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2006 – David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2006 – Robert Sterling, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian-French actor and director (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (b. 1907)
    • 2007 – Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (b. 1927)
    • 2009 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Susanna Haapoja, Finnish politician (b. 1966)
    • 2009 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (b. 1916)
    • 2010 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian commander and politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Isikia Savua, Fijian police officer and diplomat (b. 1952)
    • 2011 – Saleem Shahzad, Pakistani journalist (b. 1970)
    • 2011 – Marek Siemek, Polish philosopher and historian (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – John Fox, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Andrew Huxley, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Gerhard Pohl, German economist and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Jayalath Jayawardena, Sri Lankan physician and politician (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – Larry Jones, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Hienadz Buraukin, Belarusian poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Joan Lorring, British actress (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (b. 1969)
    • 2015 – Joël Champetier, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2015 – L. Tom Perry, American religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1953)
    • 2016 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1950)
    • 2019 – Jason Marcano, Trinidadian footballer (b. 1983)

    Holidays and observances on May 30

    • Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
    • Canary Islands Day (Spain)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Earliest day on which Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary can fall, while July 3 is the latest; celebrated 20 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
      • Ferdinand III of Castile
      • Isaac of Dalmatia
      • Joan of Arc
      • Joseph Marello
      • May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
    • Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)
    • Mother’s Day (Nicaragua)
    • Statehood Day (Croatia)

  • May 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
    • 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I.
    • 1096 – First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany.
    • 1152 – The future Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed King Stephen of England.
    • 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch.
    • 1291 – Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
    • 1302 – Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
    • 1388 – During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu leads a Chinese army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Tögüs Temür, the Khan of Northern Yuan.
    • 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
    • 1565 – The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.
    • 1593 – Playwright Thomas Kyd’s accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
    • 1631 – In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
    • 1652 – Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced.
    • 1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
    • 1783 – First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
    • 1794 – Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
    • 1803 – Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
    • 1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
    • 1811 – Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas.
    • 1812 – John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
    • 1843 – The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
    • 1848 – Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
    • 1860 – Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.
    • 1896 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the “separate but equal” doctrine is constitutional.
    • 1896 – Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
    • 1900 – The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
    • 1912 – The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai.
    • 1917 – World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
    • 1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California.
    • 1927 – The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
    • 1927 – After being founded for 20 years, the Government of the Republic of China approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.
    • 1933 – New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
    • 1944 – World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
    • 1944 – Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
    • 1948 – The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
    • 1953 – Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
    • 1955 – Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
    • 1965 – Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.
    • 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
    • 1973 – Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker’s bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board.
    • 1974 – Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
    • 1977 – Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.
    • 1980 – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
    • 1980 – Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
    • 1990 – In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
    • 1991 – Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.
    • 1993 – Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators.
    • 1994 – Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern.
    • 2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
    • 2006 – The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
    • 2009 – The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
    • 2015 – At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.
    • 2018 – A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills 10 people.

    Births on May 18

    • 1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (d. 1131)
    • 1186 – Konstantin of Rostov (d. 1218)
    • 1450 – Piero Soderini, Italian politician and diplomat (d. 1513)
    • 1537 – Guido Luca Ferrero, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1585)
    • 1631 – Stanislaus Papczyński, Polish priest (d. 1701)
    • 1662 – George Smalridge, English bishop (d. 1719)
    • 1692 – Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (d. 1752)
    • 1711 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1787)
    • 1777 – John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (d. 1852)
    • 1778 – Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Austria (d. 1854)
    • 1785 – John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (d. 1854)
    • 1797 – Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
    • 1822 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (d. 1896)
    • 1835 – Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (d. 1908)
    • 1850 – Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1925)
    • 1851 – James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (d. 1908)
    • 1852 – Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (d. 1934)
    • 1854 – Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (d. 1924)
    • 1855 – Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (d. 1931)
    • 1862 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1948)
    • 1867 – Minakata Kumagusu, Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist (d. 1941)
    • 1868 – Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)
    • 1869 – Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (d. 1937)
    • 1871 – Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (d. 1922)
    • 1872 – Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
    • 1876 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
    • 1878 – Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (d. 1977)
    • 1882 – Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (d. 1968)
    • 1883 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (d. 1974)
    • 1883 – Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (d. 1969)
    • 1886 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
    • 1889 – Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist and engineer (d. 1944)
    • 1891 – Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1957)
    • 1895 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (d. 1934)
    • 1896 – Eric Backman, Swedish runner (d. 1965)
    • 1897 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
    • 1898 – Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Henri Sauguet, French composer (d. 1989)
    • 1901 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
    • 1902 – Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (d. 1971)
    • 1904 – Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Ruth Alexander, pioneering American pilot (d. 1930)
    • 1905 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1943)
    • 1907 – Irene Hunt, American author and educator (d. 2001)
    • 1909 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1910 – Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (d. 1999)
    • 1911 – Big Joe Turner, American blues/R&B singer (d. 1985)
    • 1912 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (d. 2001)
    • 1912 – Walter Sisulu, South African politician (d. 2003)
    • 1913 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (d. 1982)
    • 1914 – Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (d. 1993)
    • 1917 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (d. 1973)
    • 1919 – Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic
    • 1922 – Bill Macy, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (d. 1983)
    • 1923 – Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Priscilla Pointer, American actress
    • 1924 – Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
    • 1927 – Richard Body, English politician (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (d. 2000)
    • 1929 – Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
    • 1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
    • 1931 – Robert Morse, American actor
    • 1931 – Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (d. 1995)
    • 1931 – Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France
    • 1933 – H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
    • 1933 – Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (d. 1985)
    • 1934 – Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director
    • 1936 – Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic
    • 1937 – Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1937 – Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
    • 1938 – Janet Fish, American painter and academic
    • 1939 – Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician
    • 1939 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
    • 1939 – Gordon O’Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence
    • 1940 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1941 – Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter
    • 1941 – Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic
    • 1941 – Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer
    • 1942 – Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1944 – Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1944 – W. G. Sebald, German novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2001)
    • 1946 – Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China
    • 1946 – Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland
    • 1947 – Gail Strickland, American actress
    • 1948 – Joe Bonsall, American country/gospel singer
    • 1948 – Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic
    • 1948 – Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic
    • 1948 – Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico
    • 1949 – Rick Wakeman, English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter (Yes)
    • 1949 – Walter Hawkins, American gospel music singer and pastor (d. 2010)
    • 1950 – Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (d. 1997)
    • 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter
    • 1951 – Richard Clapton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1951 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (d. 2013)
    • 1952 – Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter
    • 1952 – David Leakey, English general and politician
    • 1952 – George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer
    • 1952 – Jeana Yeager, American pilot
    • 1953 – Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1954 – Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Eric Gerets, Belgian footballer and manager
    • 1955 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter
    • 1956 – John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer
    • 1957 – Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic
    • 1958 – Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach
    • 1958 – Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1959 – Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1959 – Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1960 – Yannick Noah, French tennis player
    • 1961 – Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1963 – Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician
    • 1966 – Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach
    • 1966 – Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1967 – Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author
    • 1967 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver
    • 1967 – Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films
    • 1967 – Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity
    • 1968 – Philippe Benetton, French rugby player
    • 1968 – Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver
    • 1969 – Troy Cassar-Daley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1969 – Antônio Carlos Zago, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1970 – Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1970 – Javier Cárdenas, Spanish singer, television and radio presenter
    • 1970 – Vicky Sunohara, Canadian former ice hockey player
    • 1971 – Brad Friedel, American international soccer player, goalkeeper, manager and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Mark Menzies, Scottish politician
    • 1971 – Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver
    • 1972 – Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1973 – Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (d. 2011)
    • 1974 – Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Jem, Welsh singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1975 – John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
    • 1975 – Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Ron Mercer, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer
    • 1976 – Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Lee Hendrie, English footballer
    • 1977 – Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
    • 1978 – Marcus Giles, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner
    • 1979 – Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft
    • 1979 – Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
    • 1979 – Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist
    • 1979 – Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer
    • 1979 – Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer
    • 1980 – Reggie Evans, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Michaël Llodra, French tennis player
    • 1980 – Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1981 – Mahamadou Diarra, Malian international footballer
    • 1981 – Ashley Harrison, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Jason Brown, English footballer
    • 1982 – Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player
    • 1983 – Gary O’Neil, English footballer
    • 1983 – Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
    • 1983 – Vince Young, American football player
    • 1984 – Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter
    • 1984 – Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver
    • 1984 – Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1984 – Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
    • 1984 – Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
    • 1985 – Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter
    • 1985 – Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer
    • 1986 – Ahmed Hamada, Egyptian race car driver
    • 1986 – Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player
    • 1988 – Taeyang, South Korean singer
    • 1990 – Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer
    • 1990 – Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer
    • 1990 – Josh Starling, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model
    • 1993 – Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Jessica Watson, Australian sailor
    • 1998 – Polina Edmunds, American figure skater
    • 1999 – Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter
    • 2000 – Ryan Sessegnon, English footballer
    • 2000 – Steven Sessegnon, English footballer
    • 2002 – Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater

    Deaths on May 18

    • 526 – Pope John I (b. 470)
    • 893 – Stephen I of Constantinople (b. 867)
    • 932 – Ma Shaohong, general of Later Tang
    • 947 – Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty
    • 978 – Frederick I, duke of Upper Lorraine
    • 1065 – Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine (b. c. 1003)
    • 1096 – Minna of Worms, Jewish martyr killed during the Worms massacre (1096)
    • 1160 – Eric Jedvardsson (King Eric IX) of Sweden (since 1156); (b. circa 1120)
    • 1297 – Nicholas Longespee, Bishop of Salisbury
    • 1401 – Vladislaus II of Opole (b. 1332)
    • 1410 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (b. 1352)
    • 1550 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (b. 1498)
    • 1551 – Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (b. 1486)
    • 1675 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, historian, and theologian (b. 1623)
    • 1675 – Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
    • 1692 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (b. 1617)
    • 1721 – Maria Barbara Carillo, victim of the Spanish Inquisition (b.1625)
    • 1733 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (b. 1761)
    • 1780 – Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1714)
    • 1781 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian rebel leader (b. 1742)
    • 1792 – Levy Solomons, Canadian merchant and fur trader (b. 1730)
    • 1795 – Robert Rogers, English colonel (b. 1731)
    • 1799 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and publisher (b. 1732)
    • 1800 – Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
    • 1807 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (b. 1721)
    • 1808 – Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (b. 1738)
    • 1844 – Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (b. 1780)
    • 1853 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (b. 1806)
    • 1867 – Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (b. 1793)
    • 1889 – Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (b. 1823)
    • 1900 – Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (b. 1813)
    • 1908 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1823)
    • 1909 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
    • 1909 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
    • 1910 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (b. 1841)
    • 1910 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (b. 1821)
    • 1911 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1860)
    • 1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
    • 1941 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
    • 1943 – Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (b. 1883)
    • 1947 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
    • 1955 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
    • 1956 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
    • 1958 – Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (b. 1881)
    • 1963 – Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1939)
    • 1968 – Frank Walsh, Australian politician, 34th Premier of South Australia (b. 1897)
    • 1971 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1908)
    • 1973 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (b. 1880)
    • 1974 – Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (b. 1885)
    • 1975 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
    • 1980 – Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
      • Reid Blackburn, American photographer and journalist (b. 1952)
      • David A. Johnston, American volcanologist and geologist (b. 1949)
    • 1980 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
    • 1981 – Arthur O’Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1981 – William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (b. 1908)
    • 1987 – Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (b. 1936)
    • 1989 – Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (b. 1921)
    • 1990 – Jill Ireland, English actress (b. 1936)
    • 1995 – Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1995 – Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
    • 1995 – Brinsley Le Poer Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (b. 1911)
    • 1995 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
    • 1998 – Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1939)
    • 1999 – Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1954)
    • 1999 – Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (b. 1946)
    • 2001 – Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
    • 2004 – Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (b. 1942)
    • 2009 – Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1954)
    • 2012 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (b. 1967)
    • 2012 – Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
    • 2013 – Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – David McMillan, American football player (b. 1981)
    • 2013 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (b. 1946)
    • 2015 – Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – T. J. Moran, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (b. 1946)
    • 2017 – Roger Ailes, American businessman (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (b. 1916)
    • 2017 – Chris Cornell, American singer (b. 1964)
    • 2020 – Ken Osmond, American actor and the police officer (b. 1943)

    Holidays and observances on May 18

    • Christian feast day:
      • Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
      • Eric IX of Sweden
      • Felix of Cantalice
      • Pope John I
      • Venantius of Camerino
      • May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Victoria Day (Canada) (Earliest possible date of the last Monday preceding May 25)
    • Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)
    • Battle of Las Piedras Day (Uruguay)
    • Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar genocide (Ukraine)
    • Flag and Universities Day (Haiti)
    • Independence Day (Somaliland) (unrecognized)
    • International Museum Day
    • Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (Sri Lankan Tamils)
    • Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan)
    • Teacher’s Day (Syria)
    • Victory Day (Sri Lanka)
    • World AIDS Vaccine Day

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

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

    Births on May 13

    1401 – Emperor Shōkō of Japan (d. 1428)

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

    Deaths on May 12

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

    Holidays and observances on May 12

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

  • May 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    This day marks the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the March equinox).

    May 5 in History

    • 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins
    • 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
    • 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
    • 1494 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
    • 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament.
    • 1654 – Cromwell’s Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh.
    • 1672 – In preparation for the Franco-Dutch War, Louis XIV of France personally inspects his troops at Charleroi in one of the most magnificent displays of military power in the seventeenth century.
    • 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
    • 1789 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614.
    • 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
    • 1809 – The Swiss canton of Aargau allows citizenship to Jews.
    • 1811 – Peninsular War: In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, the British-Portuguese Army repels an attempt by the French Army of Portugal to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.
    • 1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
    • 1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
    • 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi sets sail from Genoa, leading the expedition of the Thousand to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and giving birth to the Kingdom of Italy.
    • 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate District of the Gulf surrenders about 4,000 men at Citronelle, Alabama.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia.
    • 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.
    • 1877 – American Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
    • 1886 – The Bay View massacre: A militia fires into a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, killing seven.
    • 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
    • 1904 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
    • 1905 – The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
    • 1912 – Pravda, the “voice” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
    • 1920 – Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder.
    • 1925 – Scopes Trial: Serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
    • 1927 – To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is first published.
    • 1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
    • 1940 – World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London.
    • 1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
    • 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots’ Victory Day.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath becomes effective, encompassing all German armed forces opposing the 21st Army Group in northwestern Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
    • 1945 – World War II: Dönitz gives Löhr permission to seek an armistice with the Western Allies to preserve a communist free Austria and recognising first, from a German standpoint, the separation of Austria from Germany undoing the Anschluss.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation.
    • 1945 – World War II: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon.
    • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, the only battle in which American and German troops fought cooperatively.
    • 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
    • 1950 – Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned as King of Thailand.
    • 1955 – The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect.
    • 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.
    • 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day.
    • 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
    • 1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59​2⁄5, an as-yet unbeaten record.
    • 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.
    • 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27.
    • 1985 – Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he makes a speech.
    • 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America
    • 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
    • 1992 – Armand Césari Stadium disaster in Bastia (Corsica): Eighteen people are killed and 2,300 are injured when one of the terraces collapses before a football match between SC Bastia and Olympique de Marseille.
    • 1993 – Three eight-year-old boys are murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, Ultimately leading to the conviction of the West Memphis Three.
    • 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
    • 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism.
    • 1998 – A Peruvian Air Force Boeing 737 operating for Occidental Petroleum crashes on approach to Alférez FAP Alfredo Vladimir Sara Bauer Airport in Andoas, Peru, killing 75 people.
    • 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
    • 2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing all 114 aboard, making it the deadliest aircraft disaster in Cameroon.
    • 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis.
    • 2014 – Eleven people are missing after a Chinese cargo ship collides with a Marshall Islands registered container ship off the coast of Hong Kong.
    • 2014 – Twenty-two people die after two boats carrying refugees collide in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece.
    • 2019 – A Russian jet plane burst into flames while attempting an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow killing at least 41 people.
    • 2020 – The National Telecommunications Commission issued a Cease and desist order to ABS-CBN Corporation to stop the operation of it’s free TV and radio stations.

    Births on May 5

    • 1210 – Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
    • 1282 – Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena (d. 1322)
    • 1310 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (d. 1376)
    • 1352 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1410)
    • 1479 – Guru Amar Das, Indian 3rd Sikh Guru (d. 1574)
    • 1504 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (d. 1579)
    • 1530 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, French nobleman (d. 1574)
    • 1542 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (d. 1623)
    • 1582 – John Frederick, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1628)
    • 1684 – Françoise Charlotte d’Aubigné, French wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles (d. 1739)
    • 1747 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
    • 1749 – Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French pianist and composer (d. 1794)
    • 1764 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (d. 1812)
    • 1800 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)
    • 1813 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and author (d. 1855)
    • 1818 – Karl Marx, German philosopher, sociologist, and journalist (d. 1883)
    • 1826 – Eugénie de Montijo, French wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
    • 1830 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (d. 1906)
    • 1832 – Hubert Howe Bancroft, American ethnologist and historian (d. 1918)
    • 1833 – Ferdinand von Richthofen, German geographer and academic (d. 1905)
    • 1834 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian painter and architect (d. 1873)
    • 1843 – William George Beers, Canadian dentist and patriot (d. 1900)
    • 1846 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
    • 1858 – John L. Leal, American physician (d. 1914)
    • 1859 – Charles B. Hanford, American Shakespearean actor (d. 1926)
    • 1864 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (d. 1922)
    • 1865 – Helen Maud Merrill, American litterateur and poet (d. 1943)
    • 1866 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter and educator (d. 1937)
    • 1869 – Hans Pfitzner, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
    • 1874 – Thomas Bavin, New Zealand-Australian politician, 24th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1941)
    • 1882 – Sylvia Pankhurst, English women’s suffrage movement leader and socialist activist (d. 1960)
    • 1883 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (d. 1950)
    • 1883 – Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler, American mathematician (d. 1966)
    • 1884 – Chief Bender, American baseball player and coach (d. 1954)
    • 1885 – Kingsley Fairbridge, South African-Australian scholar and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1887 – Mervyn S. Bennion, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1941)
    • 1889 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1973)
    • 1890 – Christopher Morley, American journalist and author (d. 1957)
    • 1892 – Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist (d. 1968)
    • 1898 – Elsie Eaves, American engineer (d. 1983)
    • 1898 – Blind Willie McTell, American Piedmont blues singer and guitar player (d. 1959)
    • 1899 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1900 – Helen Redfield, American geneticist (d. 1988)
    • 1903 – James Beard, American chef and author (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Floyd Gottfredson, American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Charles Exbrayat, French author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1907 – Daryna Dmytrivna Polotniuk, Bukovinian (Ukrainian) journalist and author (d. 1982)
    • 1908 – Kurt Böhme, German opera singer (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Miklós Radnóti, Hungarian poet and author (d. 1944)
    • 1910 – Leo Lionni, American author and illustrator (d. 1999)
    • 1911 – Gilles Grangier, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1911 – Andor Lilienthal, Russian-Hungarian chess player (d. 2010)
    • 1911 – Pritilata Waddedar, Indian educator and activist (d. 1932)
    • 1913 – Duane Carter, American race car driver (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Tyrone Power, American actor (d. 1958)
    • 1915 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (d. 1998)
    • 1916 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (d. 1994)
    • 1917 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Irene Gut Opdyke, Polish nurse and humanitarian (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – William C. Campbell, American golfer (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – James Gilbert, Scottish television producer and director (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Cathleen Synge Morawetz, Canadian mathematician (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Richard Wollheim, English philosopher and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Leo Ryan, American soldier, educator, and politician (d. 1978)
    • 1927 – Pat Carroll, American actress
    • 1929 – Ilene Woods, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – Hans Abramson, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Greg, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1999)
    • 1932 – Stan Goldberg, American illustrator (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsled racer (d. 2002)
    • 1933 – Igor Kashkarov, Russian high jumper
    • 1933 – Collie Smith, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1959)
    • 1934 – Henri Konan Bédié, Ivorian politician, 2nd President of Côte d’Ivoire
    • 1934 – Victor Garland, Australian accountant and politician, 26th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
    • 1935 – Eddie Linden, Scottish poet and magazine editor
    • 1935 – Bernard Pivot, French journalist, talk show host, and producer
    • 1935 – Robert Rehme, American film producer
    • 1936 – Sandy Baron, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
    • 1936 – Patrick Gowers, English composer and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Ervin Lázár, Hungarian author (d. 2006)
    • 1937 – Delia Derbyshire, English musician, arranger and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1938 – Michael Murphy, American actor
    • 1938 – Barbara Wagner, Canadian figure skater and coach
    • 1939 – Ray Gosling, English journalist, author, and activist (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
    • 1940 – Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American director and producer
    • 1941 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
    • 1942 – István Bujtor, Hungarian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1942 – Jean Corston, Baroness Corston, English lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon, English politician (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
    • 1943 – Michael Palin, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Ignacio Ramonet, Spanish journalist and author
    • 1944 – Bo Larsson, Swedish footballer
    • 1944 – John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Kurt Loder, American journalist, author, and critic
    • 1945 – Dianne Willcocks, English sociologist and academic
    • 1946 – Jim Kelly, American actor, athlete, and martial artist
    • 1946 – Aydın Menderes, Turkish politician (d. 2011)
    • 1948 – Bella van der Spiegel-Hage, Dutch cyclist
    • 1948 – Bill Ward, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1949 – Eppie Bleeker, Dutch speed skater
    • 1950 – Rex Caldwell, American golfer
    • 1950 – Maggie MacNeal, Dutch singer
    • 1951 – Rudolf Finsterer, German rugby player and coach
    • 1951 – Toomas Vilosius, Estonian physician and politician, 2nd Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
    • 1952 – Ed Lee, American politician and attorney, 43rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 2017)
    • 1952 – Jorge Llopart, Spanish race walker
    • 1952 – Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1955 – Jon Butcher, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and freelance multimedia producer
    • 1956 – Steve Scott, American runner and coach
    • 1957 – Richard E. Grant, Swazi-English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Peter Howitt, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Aad van Mil, Dutch water polo player
    • 1958 – Ron Arad, Israeli colonel and pilot (d. 1986)
    • 1958 – Robert DiPierdomenico, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Vanessa Downing, Australian actress
    • 1958 – Jack Wishna, American businessman, co-founded Rockcityclub (d. 2012)
    • 1959 – Bobby Ellsworth, American singer and bass player
    • 1959 – Ian McCulloch, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Steve Stevens, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1959 – Brian Williams, American journalist
    • 1960 – Doug Hawkins, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Marg Downey, Australian actress
    • 1961 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese wrestler and politician
    • 1961 – Rob Williams, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1962 – Kaoru Wada, Japanese composer and conductor
    • 1963 – James LaBrie, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Simon Rimmer, English chef and author
    • 1963 – Scott Westerfeld, American author and composer
    • 1964 – Jean-François Copé, French politician, French Minister of Budget
    • 1964 – Heike Henkel, German high jumper
    • 1964 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Minami Takayama, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1964 – Efrat Mishori, Israeli poet and filmmaker
    • 1965 – Glenn Seton, Australian race car driver
    • 1966 – Shawn Drover, Canadian drummer
    • 1966 – Sergei Stanishev, Bulgarian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
    • 1966 – Josh Weinstein, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1967 – Adam Hughes, American author and illustrator
    • 1967 – Alexis Sinduhije, Burundian journalist and politician
    • 1969 – Pieter Muller, South African rugby player
    • 1970 – Kyan Douglas, American television host and author
    • 1970 – Todd Newton, American game show host
    • 1971 – Harold Miner, American basketball player
    • 1971 – Mike Redmond, American baseball player and manager
    • 1972 – James Cracknell, English rower
    • 1972 – Žigmund Pálffy, Slovakian ice hockey player
    • 1972 – Mikael Renberg, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Meb Keflezighi, American runner
    • 1976 – Dieter Brummer, Australian actor
    • 1976 – Jean-François Dumoulin, Canadian race car driver
    • 1976 – Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer
    • 1976 – Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Morgan Pehme, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
    • 1980 – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer
    • 1980 – Hank Green, American entrepreneur, educator, and vlogger
    • 1980 – DerMarr Johnson, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer
    • 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
    • 1982 – Ferrie Bodde, Dutch footballer
    • 1982 – Wouter D’Haene, Belgian sprinter
    • 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
    • 1982 – Corey Parker, Australian rugby league footballer
    • 1983 – James Anyon, English cricketer
    • 1983 – Henry Cavill, English actor
    • 1983 – Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
    • 1983 – Annie Villeneuve, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Scott Ware, American football player
    • 1984 – Johanna Hedva, Korean-American artist and genderqueer activist
    • 1984 – Wade MacNeil, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Christian Valdez, Mexican footballer
    • 1985 – Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1985 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
    • 1985 – Marcos Rogério Oliveira Duarte, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Terrence Wheatley, American football player
    • 1987 – Graham Dorrans, Scottish footballer
    • 1988 – Adele, English singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Mervyn Westfield, English cricketer
    • 1989 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1991 – Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
    • 1991 – Raúl Jiménez, Mexican footballer
    • 1992 – Loïck Landre, French footballer
    • 1994 – Celeste, English singer
    • 1998 – Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian tennis player
    • 1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater
    • 1999 – Justin Kluivert, Dutch footballer

    Deaths on May 5

    • 465 – Gerontius, Archbishop of Milan
    • 1194 – Casimir II the Just, Polish son of Bolesław III Wrymouth (b. 1138)
    • 1243 – Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, English justiciar (b. c. 1160)
    • 1306 – Constantine Palaiologos, Byzantine general (b. 1261)
    • 1309 – Charles II of Naples (b. 1254)
    • 1316 – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I of England (b. 1282)
    • 1338 – Prince Tsunenaga, son of the Japanese Emperor (b. 1324)
    • 1380 – Saint Philotheos, Coptic martyr
    • 1432 – Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, Italian adventurer
    • 1525 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1463)
    • 1582 – Charlotte of Bourbon, Princess consort of Orange, married to William I of Orange (b. 1547)
    • 1586 – Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1529)
    • 1671 – Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English general and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1602)
    • 1672 – Samuel Cooper, English painter and linguist (b. 1609)
    • 1700 – Angelo Italia, Italian architect (b. 1628)
    • 1705 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640)
    • 1760 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician (b. 1720)
    • 1766 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (b. 1684)
    • 1808 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist and philosopher (b. 1757)
    • 1821 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (b. 1769)
    • 1827 – Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750)
    • 1833 – Sophia Campbell, English-Australian painter (b. 1777)
    • 1855 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1786)
    • 1859 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (b. 1805)
    • 1860 – Jean-Charles Prince, Canadian bishop (b. 1804)
    • 1883 – John O’Shanassy, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1818)
    • 1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (b. 1818)
    • 1896 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)
    • 1902 – Bret Harte, American short story writer and poet (b. 1836)
    • 1907 – Şeker Ahmed Pasha, Turkish soldier and painter (b. 1841)
    • 1913 – Henry Moret, French painter (b. 1856)
    • 1916 – John MacBride, Irish soldier and rebel (b. 1865)
    • 1916 – Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (b. 1866)
    • 1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian journalist and publicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
    • 1924 – A. Sabapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and politician (b. 1853)
    • 1931 – Glen Kidston, English pilot and race car driver (b. 1899)
    • 1942 – Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)
    • 1947 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (b. 1917)
    • 1957 – Leopold Löwenheim, German mathematician and logician (b. 1878)
    • 1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
    • 1962 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
    • 1965 – Nikos Gounaris, Greek tenor and composer (b. 1915)
    • 1965 – John Waters, American director and screenwriter (b. 1893)
    • 1971 – Violet Jessop, Argentinean-English nurse (b. 1887)
    • 1973 – Zekai Özger, Turkish poet and academic (b. 1948)
    • 1977 – Ludwig Erhard, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer and hunger striker (b. 1954)
    • 1983 – Horst Schumann, German physician (b. 1901)
    • 1983 – John Williams, English-American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1985 – Donald Bailey, English engineer, designed the Bailey bridge (b. 1901)
    • 1988 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (b. 1928)
    • 1993 – Irving Howe, American literary and social critic (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Mário Quintana, Brazilian poet and translator (b. 1906)
    • 1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player and coach (b. 1911)
    • 1999 – Vasilis Diamantopoulos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (b. 1914)
    • 2000 – Bill Musselman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2001 – Morris Graves, American painter and educator (b. 1910)
    • 2001 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, created CliffsNotes (b. 1918)
    • 2002 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, 62nd President of Bolivia (b. 1926)
    • 2002 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (b. 1904)
    • 2002 – George Sidney, American director and producer (b. 1916)
    • 2003 – Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (b. 1964)
    • 2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Atıf Yılmaz, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Theodore Harold Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer, created the laser (b. 1927)
    • 2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (b. 1917)
    • 2008 – Jerry Wallace, American singer and guitarist (b. 1928)
    • 2010 – Giulietta Simionato, Italian soprano (b. 1910)
    • 2010 – Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Nigerian academic and politician, 13th President of Nigeria (b. 1951)
    • 2011 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (b. 1901)
    • 2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Dana Wynter, British actress (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Surendranath, Indian cricketer (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Aatos Erkko, Finnish journalist and publisher (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – George Knobel, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Roy Padayachie, South African lawyer and politician, South African Minister of Communications (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Robert Ressler, American FBI agent and author (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Michael Otedola, Nigerian journalist and politician, 9th Governor of Lagos State (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Jobst Brandt, American cyclist, engineer, and author (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Hans Jansen, Dutch linguist, academic, and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Binyamin Elon, Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician (b. 1954)
    • 2017 – Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Mauritanian politician (b. 1953)

    Holidays and observances on May 5

    • Children’s Day (Japan, South Korea)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Angelus of Jerusalem
      • Aventinus of Tours
      • Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
      • Frederick the Wise (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
      • Hilary of Arles
      • Jutta of Kulmsee
      • Stanisław Kazimierczyk
      • May 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, United States)
    • Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
    • Europe Day (Council of Europe)
    • Feast of al-Khadr or Saint George (Palestinian)
    • Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
    • International Midwives’ Day (International)
    • Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands)
    • Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
    • World Portuguese language day (International)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Albania)
    • Patriots’ Victory Day (Ethiopia)
    • Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
    • Tango no sekku (Japan)

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

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

    Births on April 29

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

    Deaths on April 29

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

    Holidays and observances on April 29

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

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

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

    Births on April 24

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

    Deaths on April 24

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

    Holidays and observances on April 24

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

  • April 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome (traditional date).
    • 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
    • 900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations.
    • 1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II
    • 1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics.
    • 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
    • 1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
    • 1615 – The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta.
    • 1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
    • 1789 – George Washington’s reception at Trenton is hosted by the Ladies of Trenton as he journeys to New York City for his first inauguration.
    • 1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
    • 1802 – Twelve thousand Wahhabis under Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, invaded city of Karbala, killed over three thousand inhabitants, and sacked the city.
    • 1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
    • 1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl.
    • 1821 – Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile.
    • 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
    • 1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.
    • 1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
    • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
    • 1914 – Ypiranga incident: A German arms shipment to Mexico is intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Veracruz.
    • 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
    • 1926 – Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi’a Imams, is leveled to the ground by Wahhabis.
    • 1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
    • 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
    • 1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 relating to Kashmir conflict is adopted.
    • 1952 – Secretary’s Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) is first celebrated.
    • 1958 – United Airlines Flight 736 collides into a United States Air Force fighter jet near Arden, Nevada in what is now Enterprise, Nevada.
    • 1960 – Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
    • 1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II.
    • 1963 – The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Bahá’í Faith.
    • 1964 – A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed.
    • 1965 – The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
    • 1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
    • 1967 – A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d’état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
    • 1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
    • 1977 – Annie opens on Broadway.
    • 1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
    • 1985 – The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in Arkansas after a two-day government siege.
    • 1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
    • 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
    • 1993 – The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution.
    • 2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.
    • 2010 – The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; it was unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014.
    • 2012 – Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, injuring 116 people.
    • 2014 – The American city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source to the Flint River, beginning the ongoing Flint water crisis which has caused lead poisoning in up to 12,000 people, and 15 deaths from Legionnaires disease, ultimately leading to criminal indictments against 15 people, five of whom have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
    • 2019 – Eight bombs explode at churches, hotels, and other locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday; more than 200 people are killed.

    Births on April 21

    • 1132 – Sancho VI, king of Navarre (d. 1194)
    • 1488 – Ulrich von Hutten, German religious reformer (d. 1523)
    • 1523 – Marco Antonio Bragadin, Venetian lawyer and military officer (d. 1571)
    • 1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1619)
    • 1619 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Town (d. 1677)
    • 1630 – Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten, Dutch-English painter (d. 1700)
    • 1631 – Francesco Maidalchini, Catholic cardinal (d. 1700)
    • 1642 – Simon de la Loubère, French mathematician, poet, and diplomat (d. 1729)
    • 1651 – Joseph Vaz, Sri Lankan priest, missionary, and saint (d. 1711)
    • 1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (d. 1719)
    • 1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
    • 1673 – Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1742)
    • 1713 – Louis de Noailles, French general (d. 1793)
    • 1730 – Antonín Kammel, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1788)
    • 1752 – Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait, French engineer, hydrographer, and politician, French Minister of Marine and the Colonies (d. 1807)
    • 1752 – Humphry Repton, English gardener and author (d. 1818)
    • 1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1862)
    • 1775 – Alexander Anderson, Scottish-American illustrator and engraver (d. 1870)
    • 1790 – Manuel Blanco Encalada, Spanish-Chilean admiral and politician, 1st President of Chile (d. 1876)
    • 1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician, 10th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
    • 1811 – Alson Sherman, American merchant and politician, 8th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
    • 1814 – Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, English art collector and philanthropist (d. 1906)
    • 1816 – Charlotte Brontë, Cornish-English novelist and poet (d. 1855)
    • 1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish lieutenant and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
    • 1838 – John Muir, Scottish-American environmentalist and author (d. 1914)
    • 1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1939)
    • 1854 – William Stang, German-American bishop (d. 1907)
    • 1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
    • 1868 – Alfred Henry Maurer, American painter (d. 1932)
    • 1870 – Edwin Stanton Porter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1941)
    • 1874 – Vincent Scotto, French actor and composer (d. 1952)
    • 1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
    • 1885 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)
    • 1889 – Marcel Boussac, French businessman (d. 1980)
    • 1889 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
    • 1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
    • 1892 – Freddie Dixon, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1956)
    • 1893 – Romeo Bertini, Italian runner (d. 1973)
    • 1898 – Maurice Wilson, English soldier, pilot, and mountaineer (d. 1934)
    • 1899 – Randall Thompson, American composer and academic (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Luis Saslavsky, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1904 – Jean Hélion, French painter (d. 1987)
    • 1904 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (d. 1945)
    • 1905 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (d. 1996)
    • 1911 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Kemal Satır, Turkish physician and politician (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Eve Arnold, Russian-American photojournalist (d. 2012)
    • 1912 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1913 – Norman Parkinson, English photographer (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Angelo Savoldi, Italian-American wrestler and promoter, co-founded International World Class Championship Wrestling (d. 2013)
    • 1915 – Garrett Hardin, American ecologist, author, and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Estella B. Diggs, American businesswoman and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Eddy Christiani, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
    • 1919 – Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (d. 1981)
    • 1919 – Licio Gelli, Italian financer (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
    • 1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1922 – Allan Watkins, Welsh-English cricketer (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Ira Louvin, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player (d. 1965)
    • 1925 – Anthony Mason, Australian soldier and judge, 9th Chief Justice of Australia
    • 1925 – John Swinton of Kimmerghame, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms
    • 1926 – Arthur Rowley, English footballer, manager and cricketer (d. 2002)
    • 1927 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (d. 1991)
    • 1928 – Jack Evans, Welsh-Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
    • 1930 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2004)
    • 1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
    • 1930 – Dieter Roth, German-Swiss illustrator and sculptor (d. 1998)
    • 1930 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (d. 2020)
    • 1932 – Slide Hampton, African-American trombonist and composer
    • 1932 – Elaine May, American actress, comedian, director, and screenwriter
    • 1932 – Angela Mortimer, English tennis player
    • 1933 – Edelmiro Amante, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Easley Blackwood, Jr., American pianist, composer, and educator
    • 1933 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host
    • 1935 – Thomas Kean, American academic and politician, 48th Governor of New Jersey
    • 1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist, psychologist, and author, founded Focus on the Family
    • 1936 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2009)
    • 1937 – Gary Peters, American baseball player
    • 1937 – Ben Zinn, Israeli-born American academic and former international soccer player
    • 1939 – John McCabe, English pianist and composer (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, activist, and author
    • 1939 – Reni Santoni, American actor
    • 1940 – Jacques Caron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1940 – Souleymane Cissé, Malian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1941 – David L. Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma
    • 1942 – Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand politician, 33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1945 – Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Indian cricketer and umpire
    • 1945 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (d. 2017)
    • 1945 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)
    • 1947 – Al Bumbry, American baseball player
    • 1947 – Iggy Pop, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1947 – John Weider, English bass player
    • 1948 – Gary Condit, American businessman and politician
    • 1948 – Paul Davis, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Josef Flammer, Swiss ophthalmologist
    • 1948 – Dieter Fromm, German runner
    • 1949 – Patti LuPone, American actress and singer
    • 1950 – Shivaji Satam, Indian actor
    • 1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and producer
    • 1951 – Michael Freedman, American mathematician and academic
    • 1951 – Bob Varsha, American sportscaster
    • 1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1952 – Gerald Early, American author and academic
    • 1952 – Cheryl Gillan, British businesswoman and politician, Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1953 – John Brumby, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Victoria
    • 1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – James Morrison, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Murathan Mungan, Turkish author, poet, and playwright
    • 1955 – Doug Soetaert, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1956 – Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist
    • 1957 – Hervé Le Tellier, French linguist and author
    • 1957 – Jesse Orosco, American baseball player
    • 1957 – Herbert Wetterauer, German painter, sculptor, and author
    • 1958 – Andie MacDowell, American model, actress, and producer
    • 1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese illustrator (d. 2009)
    • 1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author
    • 1959 – Tim Jacobus, American illustrator and painter
    • 1959 – Olga Kuragina, Russian pentathlete
    • 1959 – Arno Pijpers, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
    • 1960 – Julius Korir, Kenyan runner
    • 1961 – Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress
    • 1961 – Carey Hayes, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1961 – Chad Hayes, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Neale Marmon, English-German footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1961 – David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (d. 2011)
    • 1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player and coach
    • 1962 – Craig Robinson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Aavo Sarap, Estonian footballer and coach
    • 1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
    • 1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
    • 1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Alex Baumann, Czech-Canadian swimmer
    • 1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-Swedish hurdler
    • 1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Karen Foster, American model and actress
    • 1965 – Gary Grant, American basketball player
    • 1965 – Thomas Helmer, German footballer
    • 1965 – Fiona Kelleghan, American academic, critic and librarian
    • 1967 – Emilio Valle, Cuban hurdler
    • 1968 – Peter van Vossen, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1969 – John Kibowen, Kenyan runner
    • 1969 – Toby Stephens, English actor
    • 1970 – Jeff Anderson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1970 – Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian
    • 1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Axl Rotten, American wrestler (d. 2016)
    • 1971 – Michael Turner, American author and illustrator (d. 2008)
    • 1972 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (d. 2001)
    • 1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
    • 1973 – Steve Backshall, English naturalist, writer, and television presenter
    • 1973 – Jonathan Nsenga, Belgian hurdler and coach
    • 1974 – Maksim Gruznov, Estonian footballer
    • 1974 – Orlando Jordan, American wrestler
    • 1974 – David Peachey, Australian rugby league player
    • 1975 – Danyon Loader, New Zealand swimmer
    • 1976 – Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
    • 1976 – Petero Civoniceva, Fijian-Australian rugby league player
    • 1977 – Gyula Koi, Hungarian scholar and educator
    • 1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
    • 1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
    • 1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer
    • 1978 – Yuliya Pechonkina, Russian hurdler
    • 1979 – Virginie Basselot, French chef
    • 1979 – Tobias Linderoth, French-Swedish footballer and coach
    • 1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
    • 1980 – Jeff Keppinger, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
    • 1981 – Mads Junker, Danish footballer
    • 1982 – Khalif Barnes, American football player
    • 1982 – Micheal Luck, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Carnell Williams, American football player
    • 1983 – Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
    • 1983 – Marco Donadel, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (d. 2020)
    • 1984 – Shayna Fox, American voice actress
    • 1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
    • 1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Rodney Stuckey, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Mirko Valdifiori, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
    • 1987 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Leroy George, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian singer
    • 1988 – Ricky Berens, American swimmer
    • 1988 – Jencarlos Canela, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Adam Rooney, Irish footballer
    • 1989 – Tatyana McFadden, Russian-American sprinter and skier
    • 1989 – Carlos Muñoz, Chilean footballer
    • 1990 – Aleksandar Prijović, Swiss-born Serbian footballer
    • 1992 – Isco, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Rene Santos, Brazilian footballer
    • 1992 – Joc Pederson, American baseball player
    • 1994 – Mitchell Weiser, German footballer

    Deaths on April 21

    • 234 – Emperor Xian of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 181)
    • 586 – Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths
    • 847 – Odgar, Frankish archbishop of Mainz
    • 866 – Bardas, de facto regent of the Byzantine Empire
    • 941 – Bajkam, de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate
    • 1073 – Pope Alexander II
    • 1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Italian-English archbishop and saint (b. 1033)
    • 1136 – Stephen, Count of Tréguier Breton noblemen (b. c. 1058/62)
    • 1142 – Peter Abelard, French philosopher and theologian (b. 1079)
    • 1213 – Maria of Montpellier, Lady of Montpellier, Queen of Aragon (b. 1182)
    • 1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
    • 1400 – John Wittlebury, English politician (b. 1333)
    • 1509 – Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
    • 1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1495)
    • 1574 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
    • 1591 – Sen no Rikyū, Japanese exponent of the tea ceremony (b. 1522)
    • 1650 – Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, Japanese samurai (b. 1607)
    • 1668 – Jan Boeckhorst, Flemish painter (b. c. 1604)
    • 1699 – Jean Racine, French playwright and poet (b. 1639)
    • 1719 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1640)
    • 1720 – Antoine Hamilton, Irish-French soldier and author (b. 1646)
    • 1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., English historian and author (b. 1673)
    • 1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy (b. 1663)
    • 1740 – Thomas Tickell, English poet and author (b. 1685)
    • 1758 – Francesco Zerafa, Maltese architect (b. 1679)
    • 1815 – Joseph Winston, American soldier and politician (b. 1746)
    • 1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
    • 1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
    • 1863 – Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, Irish politician (b. 1782)
    • 1900 – Vikramatji Khimojiraj, Indian ruler (b. 1819)
    • 1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835)
    • 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (b. 1892)
    • 1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
    • 1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet and author (b. 1844)
    • 1932 – Friedrich Gustav Piffl, Bohemian cardinal (b. 1864)
    • 1938 – Muhammad Iqbal, Indian-Pakistani philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
    • 1941 – Fritz Manteuffel, German gymnast (b. 1875)
    • 1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
    • 1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher (b. 1883)
    • 1948 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (b. 1887)
    • 1952 – Leslie Banks, American actor, director and producer (b. 1890)
    • 1954 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (b. 1897)
    • 1956 – Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
    • 1971 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (b. 1907)
    • 1973 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
    • 1973 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1910)
    • 1974 – Chic Harley, American football player (b. 1894)
    • 1977 – Gummo Marx, American vaudevillian and talent agent (b. 1893)
    • 1978 – Sandy Denny, English singer-songwriter (b.1947)
    • 1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American biologist and academic (b. 1877)
    • 1980 – Alexander Oparin, Russian biochemist and academic (b. 1894)
    • 1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet and painter (b. 1928)
    • 1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian-American actor and singer (b. 1902)
    • 1984 – Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist (b. 1895)
    • 1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian engineer and mountaineer (b. 1943)
    • 1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the monokini (b. 1922)
    • 1985 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian banker and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (b. 1910)
    • 1986 – Marjorie Eaton, American painter and actress (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1930)
    • 1987 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1906)
    • 1989 – James Kirkwood, Jr., American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1924)
    • 1990 – Erté, Russian-French illustrator (b. 1892)
    • 1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-born American engineer and race car driver (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen general and politician, 1st President of Ichkeria (b. 1944)
    • 1996 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – Jimmy Snyder, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
    • 1998 – Jean-François Lyotard, French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – Buddy Rogers, American actor (b. 1904)
    • 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933)
    • 2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
    • 2005 – Gerry Marshall, English race car driver and journalist (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand commander and pilot (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – T. K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
    • 2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
    • 2009 – Vivian Maier, American photographer (b. 1926)
    • 2010 – Gustav Lorentzen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, seventh President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1920)
    • 2010 – Kanagaratnam Sriskandan, Sri Lankan-English engineer and civil servant (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Catharina Halkes, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Doris Betts, American author and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Charles Colson, American lawyer and activist, founded Prison Fellowship (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Albert Falco, French captain and diver (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Charles Higham, English-American author and poet (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Jerry Toppazzini, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1959)
    • 2013 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian mathematician and astrologer (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, author, and educator (b. 1905)
    • 2013 – Gordon D. Gayle, American general and historian (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Janet Gray Hayes, American politician, 60th Mayor of San Jose (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (b. 1912)
    • 2015 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – John Moshoeu, South African footballer and manager (b. 1965)
    • 2015 – Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Indian politician, Governor of Assam (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters, Canadian general (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Betsy von Furstenberg, German-American actress (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1958)
    • 2017 – Ugo Ehiogu, English footballer (b. 1972)
    • 2018 – Verne Troyer, American actor (b. 1969)
    • 2018 – Nabi Tajima, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest Japanese and Asian person ever, last verified person born in the 19th century (b. 1900)
    • 2019 – Polly Higgins, Scottish barrister, author and environmental lobbyist, (b. 1968)

    Holidays and observances April 21

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abdecalas
      • Anastasius Sinaita
      • Anselm of Canterbury
      • Beuno
      • Conrad of Parzham
      • Holy Infant of Good Health
      • Shemon Bar Sabbae
      • Wolbodo
      • April 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Civil Service Day (India)
    • Grounation Day (Rastafari movement)
    • Heroic Defense of Veracruz (Mexico)
    • Kang Pan-sok’s Birthday (North Korea)
    • Kartini Day (Indonesia)
    • Local Self Government Day (Russia)
    • National Tea Day (United Kingdom)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Kenya)
    • San Jacinto Day (Texas)
    • Queen’s Official Birthday (Falkland Islands)
    • Tiradentes’ Day (Brazil)
    • Vietnam Book Day (Vietnam)

  • March 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
    • 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
    • 1226 – Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
    • 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa.
    • 1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
    • 1701 – Safavid troops retreat from Basra, ending a three year occupation.
    • 1765 – After a campaign by the writer Voltaire, judges in Paris posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually committed suicide.
    • 1776 – The Wealth of Nations by Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith is published.
    • 1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.
    • 1811 – Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.
    • 1815 – Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine
    • 1841 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.
    • 1842 – Giuseppe Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, receives its première performance in Milan; its success establishes Verdi as one of Italy’s foremost opera composers.
    • 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.
    • 1908 – Inter Milan was founded on Football Club Internazionale, following a schism from A.C. Milan.
    • 1916 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.
    • 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies
    • 1942 – World War II: Dutch East Indies unconditionally surrendered to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese completed their Dutch East Indies campaign
    • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia.
    • 1945 – World War II: A coup d’état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.
    • 1946 – Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more.
    • 1954 – McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, “A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy”, produced by Fred Friendly.
    • 1956 – Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization policy.
    • 1957 – The 8.6 Mw  Andreanof Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, causing over $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.
    • 1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
    • 1960 – Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis.
    • 1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.
    • 1967 – Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people.
    • 1974 – The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.
    • 1976 – Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the worst cable-car accident to date.
    • 1977 – The Hanafi Siege: In a thirty-nine-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C., buildings.
    • 1978 – President Soeharto inaugurated Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java.
    • 1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

    Births on March 9

    • 1454 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (d. 1512)
    • 1564 – David Fabricius, German theologian, cartographer and astronomer (d. 1617)
    • 1568 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (d. 1591)
    • 1662 – Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (d. 1738)
    • 1697 – Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (d. 1760)
    • 1737 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1781)
    • 1749 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (d. 1791)
    • 1753 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (d. 1800)
    • 1758 – Franz Joseph Gall, German neuroanatomist and physiologist (d. 1828)
    • 1763 – William Cobbett, English journalist and author (d. 1835)
    • 1806 – Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (d. 1872)
    • 1814 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (d. 1861)
    • 1815 – David Davis, American jurist and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1820 – Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1893)
    • 1824 – Amasa Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (d. 1893)
    • 1847 – Martin Pierre Marsick, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (d. 1925)
    • 1856 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (d. 1928)
    • 1863 – Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (d. 1915)
    • 1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1986)
    • 1891 – José P. Laurel, Filipino lawyer, politician and President of the Philippines (d. 1959)
    • 1892 – Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (d. 1971)
    • 1892 – Vita Sackville-West, English author, poet, and gardener (d. 1962)
    • 1902 – Will Geer, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1904 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (d. 2002)
    • 1910 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – Clara Rockmore, American classical violin prodigy and theremin player, (d. 1998)
    • 1915 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – George Lincoln Rockwell, American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Carl Betz, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Ian Turbott, New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – James L. Buckley, American lawyer, judge, and politician
    • 1923 – André Courrèges, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Walter Kohn, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Joe Franklin, American radio and television host (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Gerald Bull, Canadian-American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
    • 1928 – Keely Smith, American singer and actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican-American astrologer and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – Lloyd Price, American R&B singer-songwriter
    • 1933 – David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1968)
    • 1934 – Joyce Van Patten, American actress
    • 1935 – Andrew Viterbi, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Qualcomm Inc.
    • 1936 – Mickey Gilley, American singer-songwriter and pianist[
    • 1936 – Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Bernard Landry, Canadian lawyer, politician and Premier of Quebec (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Harry Neale, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1937 – Brian Redman, English race car driver
    • 1940 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican-American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1941 – Jim Colbert, American golfer
    • 1941 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (d. 1976)
    • 1942 – Ion Caramitru, Romanian actor and artistic director
    • 1942 – Mark Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer
    • 1943 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (d. 2008)
    • 1944 – Lee Irvine, South African cricketer
    • 1945 – Robert Calvert, English singer-songwriter and playwright (d. 1988)
    • 1945 – Robin Trower, English rock guitarist and vocalist
    • 1946 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1946 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1990)
    • 1946 – Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout
    • 1947 – Keri Hulme, New Zealand author and poet
    • 1948 – Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor
    • 1948 – Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer
    • 1949 – Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Andy North, American golfer
    • 1950 – Howard Shelley, English pianist and conductor
    • 1951 – Helen Zille, South African journalist, politician and Premier of the Western Cape1952 – Bill Beaumont, English rugby player and manager
    • 1954 – Carlos Ghosn, Brazilian-Lebanese-French business executive
    • 1954 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer; Irish republican politician (d. 1981)
    • 1954 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1982)
    • 1955 – Teo Fabi, Italian race car driver
    • 1955 – Józef Pinior, Polish academic and politician
    • 1956 – Mark Dantonio, American football player and coach
    • 1956 – Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
    • 1956 – David Willetts, English academic and politician
    • 1958 – Paul MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Takaaki Kajita, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1959 – Lonny Price, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Linda Fiorentino, American actress
    • 1961 – Rick Steiner, American wrestler
    • 1961 – Darrell Walker, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Terry Mulholland, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Jean-Marc Vallée, Canadian director and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Juliette Binoche, French actress
    • 1964 – Phil Housley, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Brian Bosworth, American football player and actor
    • 1965 – Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1966 – Brendan Canty, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1966 – Tony Lockett, Australian footballer
    • 1968 – Youri Djorkaeff, French footballer
    • 1969 – Kimberly Guilfoyle, American lawyer and journalist
    • 1970 – Naveen Jindal, Indian businessman and politician
    • 1970 – Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach
    • 1971 – Emmanuel Lewis, American actor
    • 1972 – Jodey Arrington, United States politician
    • 1973 – Liam Griffin, English race car driver
    • 1975 – Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentinian footballer
    • 1977 – Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
    • 1981 – Antonio Bryant, American football player
    • 1981 – Clay Rapada, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Ryan Bayley, Australian cyclist
    • 1982 – Matt Bowen, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Croatian tennis player
    • 1983 – Wayne Simien, American basketball player[
    • 1983 – Clint Dempsey, American international soccer player, forward
    • 1984 – Abdoulay Konko, French footballer
    • 1984 – Julia Mancuso, American skier
    • 1985 – Brent Burns, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Jesse Litsch, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Pastor Maldonado, Venezuelan race car driver
    • 1985 – Parthiv Patel, Indian cricketer
    • 1986 – Colin Greening, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Brittany Snow, American actress and producer
    • 1989 – Taeyeon, South Korean artist, member of Girls’ Generation
    • 1990 – Daley Blind, Dutch footballer
    • 1990 – Matt Robinson, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – YG (rapper), American rapper
    • 1991 – Jooyoung, Korean singer-songwriter
    • 1993 – Suga, South Korean artist (BTS)
    • 1994 – Morgan Rielly, Canadian ice hockey player

    Deaths on March 9

    • 886 – Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer (b. 787)
    • 1202 – Sverre of Norway
    • 1440 – Frances of Rome, Italian nun and saint (b. 1384)
    • 1444 – Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (b. c.1370)
    • 1463 – Catherine of Bologna, Italian nun and saint (d. 1463)
    • 1566 – David Rizzio, Italian-Scottish courtier and politician (b. 1533).
    • 1649 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier and politician, (b. 1606)
    • 1649 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier and politician (b. 1590)
    • 1661 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1602)
    • 1709 – Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, English courtier and politician (b. 1638)
    • 1808 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (b. 1739)
    • 1810 – Ozias Humphry, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
    • 1825 – Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet, author, and critic (b. 1743)
    • 1847 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (b. 1799)
    • 1851 – Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist (b. 1777)1888 – William I, German Emperor (b. 1797)
    • 1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (b. 1836)
    • 1897 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (b. 1825)
    • 1918 – Frank Wedekind, German author and playwright (b. 1864)
    • 1925 – Willard Metcalf, American painter and academic (b. 1858)
    • 1926 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (b. 1865)
    • 1937 – Paul Elmer More, American journalist and critic (b. 1864)
    • 1943 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (b. 1878)
    • 1954 – Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer and academic (b. 1874)
    • 1955 – Miroslava, Czech-Mexican actress (b. 1925)
    • 1964 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (b. 1870)
    • 1969 – Abdul Munim Riad, Egyptian general (b. 1919)
    • 1971 – Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr., American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 1974 – Harry Womack, American singer (b. 1945)
    • 1983 – Faye Emerson, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 1983 – Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1988 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (b. 1946)
    • 1991 – Jim Hardin, American baseball player (b. 1943)
    • 1992 – Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli soldier, politician and Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 1993 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Charles Bukowski, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Eddie Creatchman, Canadian wrestler, referee, and manager (b. 1928)
    • 1994 – Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (b. 1917)
    • 1997 – Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (b. 1952)
    • 1997 – Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 1997 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper, songwriter, and actor (b. 1972)
    • 1999 – Harry Somers, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1925)
    • 2000 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (b. 1908)
    • 2003 – Stan Brakhage, American director and cinematographer (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician, President of Nauru (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Tom Fox, American activist (b. 1951)
    • 2006 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Brad Delp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
    • 2010 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1940)
    • 2010 – Doris Haddock, American activist and politician (b. 1910)
    • 2011 – David S. Broder, American journalist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Max Jakobson, Finnish journalist and diplomat
    • 2013 – Merton Simpson, American painter and art collector (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Robert Horton, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Howard Hodgkin, British painter (b. 1932)
    • 2018 – Jo Min-ki, Korean actor (b. 1965)
    • 2020 – John Bathersby, Australian Catholic bishop (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on March 9

    • Christian feast day:
      • Catherine of Bologna
      • Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
      • Frances of Rome
      • Pacian
      • Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Church)
      • Gregory of Nyssa (Episcopal Church (United States))
      • March 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Teachers’ Day or Eid Al Moalim (Lebanon)