American television host

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

    • 48 BC – Pompey is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy upon arriving in Egypt.
    • 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus of Rome.
    • 351 – Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.
    • 365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself emperor.
    • 935 – Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia is murdered by a group of nobles led by his brother Boleslaus I, who succeeds him.
    • 995 – Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, kills most members of the rival Slavník dynasty.
    • 1066 – William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman conquest.
    • 1106 – King Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.
    • 1238 – King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors. Shortly thereafter, he proclaims himself king of Valencia.
    • 1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.
    • 1538 – Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.
    • 1542 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California.
    • 1779 – American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.
    • 1781 – American Revolution: American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.
    • 1787 – The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly-written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval.
    • 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted. It will be made public on 13 October.
    • 1844 – Oscar I of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
    • 1867 – Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, having also been the capital of Ontario’s predecessors since 1796.
    • 1868 – The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.
    • 1871 – The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves.
    • 1889 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter.
    • 1892 – The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.
    • 1893 – Foundation of the Portuguese football club FC Porto.
    • 1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas kill more than forty American soldiers while losing 28 of their own.
    • 1912 – The Ulster Covenant is signed by some 500,000 Ulster Protestant Unionists in opposition to the Third Irish Home Rule Bill.
    • 1912 – Corporal Frank S. Scott of the United States Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash.
    • 1918 – World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.
    • 1919 – Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska.
    • 1924 – The first aerial circumnavigation is completed by a team from the US Army.
    • 1928 – Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
    • 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland.
    • 1939 – World War II: The siege of Warsaw comes to an end.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Drama uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins.
    • 1941 – Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.
    • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Estonia.
    • 1951 – CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.
    • 1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.
    • 1970 – Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack in Cairo.
    • 1971 – The Parliament of the UK passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, banning the medicinal use of cannabis.
    • 1973 – The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT’s alleged involvement in the coup d’état in Chile.
    • 1975 – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.
    • 1986 – The Democratic Progressive Party becomes the first opposition party in Taiwan.
    • 1991 – The Strategic Air Command stands down from alert all ICBMs scheduled for deactivation under START I, as well as its strategic bomber force.
    • 1992 – A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashes into a hill in Nepal, killing all 167 passengers and crew.
    • 1994 – The cruise ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
    • 1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.
    • 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
    • 2000 – Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
    • 2008 – Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit.
    • 2009 – The military junta leading Guinea attacks a protest rally, killing or wounding 1400 people.
    • 2012 – Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port of Kismayo to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.
    • 2014 – The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.
    • 2016 – The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
    • 2018 – The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.
    • 2018 – On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the international project Tree of Peace was established (September, 28). One of the trees was planted personally by Zuzana Čaputová, President of the Slovak Republic.

    Births on September 28

    • 551 BC – Confucius, Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. (d. 479 BC)
    • 616 – Javanshir, King of Caucasian Albania (d. 680)
    • 1494 – Agnolo Firenzuola, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1545)
    • 1555 – Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Marshal of France (d. 1623)
    • 1573 – Théodore de Mayerne, Swiss physician (d. 1654)
    • 1605 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1694)
    • 1681 – Johann Mattheson, German composer, lexicographer, and diplomat (d. 1764)
    • 1705 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1774)
    • 1705 – Johann Peter Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1772)
    • 1735 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1811)
    • 1746 – William Jones, English-Welsh philologist and scholar (d. 1794)
    • 1765 – Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (d. 1814)
    • 1803 – Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist, historian, and author (d. 1870)
    • 1809 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (d. 1899)
    • 1819 – Narcís Monturiol, Spanish engineer and publisher (d. 1885)
    • 1821 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American minister and politician (d. 1874)
    • 1823 – Alexandre Cabanel, French painter and educator (d. 1889)
    • 1824 – Francis Turner Palgrave, English poet and critic (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber, invented the ballcock (d. 1910)
    • 1838 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian national saint (d. 1918)
    • 1841 – Georges Clemenceau, French journalist, physician, and politician, 85th Prime Minister of France (d. 1929)
    • 1844 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
    • 1852 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
    • 1852 – Isis Pogson, British astronomer and meteorologist (d. 1945)
    • 1856 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (d. 1923)
    • 1860 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French chemist and physicist (d. 1934)
    • 1861 – Amélie of Orléans, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1951)
    • 1867 – Hiranuma Kiichirō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1952)
    • 1867 – James Edwin Campbell, American poet, editor, short story writer and educator (d. 1896)
    • 1868 – Evelyn Beatrice Hall, English writer best known for her biography of Voltaire, and wrote under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (d. 1940)
    • 1878 – Joseph Ruddy, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1962)
    • 1870 – Florent Schmitt, French composer and critic (d. 1958)
    • 1881 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (d. 1950)
    • 1882 – Mart Saar, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1963)
    • 1885 – Emil Väre, Finnish wrestler, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
    • 1887 – Avery Brundage, American businessman, 5th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Jack Fournier, American baseball player and coach (d. 1973)
    • 1890 – Florence Violet McKenzie, Australian electrical engineer (d. 1982)
    • 1892 – Elmer Rice, American playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Hilda Geiringer, Austrian mathematician (d. 1973)
    • 1893 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 1984)
    • 1898 – Carl Clauberg, German Nazi physician (d. 1957)
    • 1900 – Isabel Pell, American socialite, fought as part of the French Resistance during WWII (d. 1951)
    • 1901 – William S. Paley, American broadcaster, founded CBS (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – Ed Sullivan, American television host (d. 1974)
    • 1903 – Haywood S. Hansell, American general (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (d. 2005)
    • 1907 – Heikki Savolainen, Finnish gymnast and physician (d. 1997)
    • 1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Al Capp, American author and illustrator (d. 1979)
    • 1910 – Diosdado Macapagal, Filipino lawyer and politician, 9th President of the Philippines (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1942)
    • 1913 – Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Alice Marble, American tennis player (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American refugee and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1915 – Ethel Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
    • 1916 – Peter Finch, English-Australian actor (d. 1977)
    • 1916 – Olga Lepeshinskaya, Ukrainian-Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Ángel Labruna, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
    • 1918 – Arnold Stang, American actor (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Doris Singleton, American actress (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Larry Munson, American sportscaster (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Tuli Kupferberg, American singer, poet, and writer (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Selkirkshire (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – William Windom, American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Rudolf Barshai, Russian-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian-French actor and singer (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Seymour Cray, American computer scientist, founded the CRAY Computer Company (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)
    • 1925 – Martin David Kruskal, American physicist and mathematician (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Jerry Clower, American soldier, comedian, and author (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – Koko Taylor, American singer (d. 2009)
    • 1929 – Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer
    • 1930 – Tommy Collins, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1930 – Immanuel Wallerstein, American sociologist, author, and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Jeremy Isaacs, Scottish screenwriter and producer
    • 1932 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer-songwriter, poet, and director (d. 1973)
    • 1933 – Joe Benton, English soldier and politician
    • 1933 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor and educator (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Johnny “Country” Mathis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Brigitte Bardot, French actress
    • 1935 – Bruce Crampton, Australian golfer
    • 1935 – David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, English diplomat, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    • 1935 – Ronald Lacey, English actor (d. 1991)
    • 1936 – Emmett Chapman, American guitarist, invented the Chapman Stick
    • 1936 – Eddie Lumsden, Australian rugby league player (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Robert Wolders, Dutch television actor (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Alice Mahon, English trade union leader and politician
    • 1937 – Glenn Sutton, American country music songwriter and record producer (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Stuart Kauffman, American biologist and academic
    • 1941 – David Lewis, American philosopher and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1941 – Edmund Stoiber, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Bavaria
    • 1942 – Pierre Clémenti, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1942 – Edward “Little Buster” Forehand, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Warren Lieberfarb, American businessman
    • 1943 – George W. S. Trow, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Nick St. Nicholas, German-Canadian bass player
    • 1944 – Richie Karl, American golfer
    • 1944 – Marcia Muller, American journalist and author
    • 1945 – Marielle Goitschel, French skier
    • 1945 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 2011)
    • 1945 – Fusako Shigenobu, Japanese activist, founded the Japanese Red Army
    • 1946 – Tom Bower, English journalist and author
    • 1946 – Majid Khan, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
    • 1947 – Bob Carr, Australian journalist and politician, 37th Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1947 – Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
    • 1947 – Jon Snow, English journalist and academic
    • 1947 – Rhonda Hughes, American mathematician and academic
    • 1949 – Jim Henshaw, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Paul Burgess, English drummer
    • 1950 – Christina Hoff Sommers, American author and philosopher
    • 1950 – John Sayles, American novelist, director, and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Christopher Buckley, American satirical novelist
    • 1952 – Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1952 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1952 – Andy Ward, English drummer
    • 1953 – Otmar Hasler, Liechtensteiner educator and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
    • 1954 – Steve Largent, American football player and politician
    • 1954 – George Lynch, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – John Scott, English rugby player
    • 1954 – Margot Wallström, Swedish politician and diplomat, 42nd Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1955 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian sociologist and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of the Environment
    • 1955 – Mercy Manci, Xhosa sangoma and HIV activist from South Africa
    • 1955 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist (d. 1998)
    • 1956 – Martha Isabel Fandiño Pinilla, Colombian-Italian mathematician and author
    • 1957 – Bill Cassidy, American politician and physician
    • 1959 – Ron Fellows, Canadian race car driver
    • 1959 – Laura Bruce, American artist
    • 1960 – Gary Ayres, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1960 – Tom Byrum, American golfer
    • 1960 – Frank Hammerschlag, German footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Gus Logie, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1960 – Kamlesh Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, English politician
    • 1960 – Jennifer Rush, American singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Socrates Villegas, Filipino archbishop
    • 1961 – Helen Grant, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
    • 1961 – Gregory Jbara, American actor and singer
    • 1961 – Quentin Kawānanakoa, American lawyer and politician
    • 1961 – Anne White, American tennis player
    • 1962 – Grant Fuhr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Laurie Rinker, American golfer
    • 1962 – Dietmar Schacht, German footballer and manager
    • 1962 – Chuck Taylor, American journalist
    • 1963 – Steve Blackman, American wrestler and martial artist
    • 1963 – Érik Comas, French race car driver
    • 1963 – Greg Weisman, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Claudio Borghi, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Gregor Fisken, Scottish race car driver
    • 1964 – Janeane Garofalo, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Paul Jewell, English footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Mārtiņš Roze, Latvian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1966 – Scott Adams, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1966 – Maria Canals-Barrera, Cuban-American actress
    • 1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Mira Sorvino, American actress
    • 1967 – Moon Zappa, American actress and author
    • 1968 – Francois Botha, South African boxer and mixed martial artist
    • 1968 – Mika Häkkinen, Finnish race car driver
    • 1968 – Trish Keenan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1968 – Sean Levert, American R&B singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1968 – Rob Moroso, American race car driver (d. 1990)
    • 1968 – Naomi Watts, English-Australian actress and producer
    • 1969 – Kerri Chandler, electronic music producer and DJ
    • 1969 – Marcel Dost, Dutch decathlete
    • 1969 – Ben Greenman, American journalist and author
    • 1969 – Piper Kerman, American author and memoirist
    • 1969 – Éric Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1969 – Sascha Maassen, German race car driver
    • 1969 – Angus Robertson, Scottish politician
    • 1969 – Nico Vaesen, Belgian footballer
    • 1970 – Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japanese tennis player
    • 1970 – Mike DeJean, American baseball player
    • 1970 – Gualter Salles, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1971 – Joseph Arthur, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – George Eustice, English lawyer and politician
    • 1971 – Braam van Straaten, South African rugby player
    • 1971 – Alan Wright, English footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Dita Von Teese, American model and dancer
    • 1973 – Brian Rafalski, American ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Marco Di Loreto, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Mariya Kiselyova, Russian swimmer
    • 1974 – Joonas Kolkka, Finnish footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Shane Webcke, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1975 – Stuart Clark, Australian cricketer and manager
    • 1975 – Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1975 – Lenny Krayzelburg, Russian-American swimmer
    • 1976 – Fedor Emelianenko, Russian mixed martial artist and politician
    • 1977 – Ireneusz Marcinkowski, Polish footballer
    • 1977 – Pak Se-ri, South Korean golfer
    • 1977 – Young Jeezy, American rapper
    • 1978 – Ben Edmondson, Australian cricketer
    • 1979 – Bam Margera, American skateboarder, actor, and stuntman
    • 1979 – Taki Tsan, American-Greek rapper and producer
    • 1980 – Marlon Parmer, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Greg Anderson, American pianist and composer
    • 1981 – Willy Caballero, Argentine footballer
    • 1981 – José Calderón, Spanish basketball player
    • 1981 – Jorge Guagua, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1981 – Iracema Trevisan, Brazilian bass player
    • 1982 – Aleksandr Anyukov, Russian footballer
    • 1982 – Abhinav Bindra, Indian target shooter
    • 1982 – Ray Emery, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2018)
    • 1982 – Ranbir Kapoor, Indian actor and director
    • 1982 – Nolwenn Leroy, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1982 – Emeka Okafor, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Dustin Penner, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Aivar Rehemaa, Estonian skier
    • 1982 – Anderson Varejão, Brazilian basketball player
    • 1982 – St. Vincent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Stefan Moore, English footballer
    • 1983 – John Schwalger, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1984 – Jenny Omnichord, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Luke Pomersbach, Australian cricketer
    • 1984 – Naim Terbunja, Kosovan-Swedish boxer
    • 1984 – Melody Thornton, American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1984 – Mathieu Valbuena, French footballer
    • 1984 – Ryan Zimmerman, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Shindong, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1985 – Alina Ibragimova, Russian-English violinist
    • 1986 – Andrés Guardado, Mexican footballer
    • 1986 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (d. 2013)
    • 1986 – Dominic Waters, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Pierre Becken, German footballer
    • 1987 – Gary Deegan, Irish footballer
    • 1987 – Hilary Duff, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Chloë Hanslip, English violinist
    • 1987 – Viktoria Leks, Estonian high jumper
    • 1988 – Marin Čilić, Croatian tennis player
    • 1988 – Esmée Denters, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Aleks Vrteski, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Worakls, French DJ and electronic musician
    • 1989 – Çağla Büyükakçay, Turkish tennis player
    • 1989 – Darius Johnson-Odom, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Mark Randall, English footballer
    • 1990 – Phoenix Battye, Australian rugby player
    • 1992 – Khem Birch, Canadian professional basketball player
    • 1992 – Adam Thompson, English-Northern Irish footballer
    • 1992 – Kōko Tsurumi, Japanese gymnast
    • 1993 – Jodie Williams, English sprinter
    • 1995 – Jason Williams, English footballer

    Deaths on September 28

    • 48 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (b. 106 BC)
    • 782 – Leoba, Anglo-Saxon nun
    • 935 – Wenceslaus I, duke of Bohemia
    • 980 – Minamoto no Hiromasa, Japanese nobleman (b. 918)
    • 1197 – Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1165)
    • 1213 – Gertrude of Merania, queen consort of Hungaria (b. 1185)
    • 1330 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (b. 1292)
    • 1429 – Cymburgis of Masovia, duchess consort of Austria (b. 1394)
    • 1582 – George Buchanan, Scottish historian and scholar (b. 1506)
    • 1596 – Margaret Clifford, countess of Derby (b. 1540)
    • 1618 – Josuah Sylvester, English poet and translator (b. 1563)
    • 1687 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian theologian and academic (b. 1623)
    • 1694 – Gabriel Mouton, French mathematician and theologian (b. 1618)
    • 1702 – Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, French-English lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1640)
    • 1742 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (b. 1663)
    • 1829 – Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and politician (b. 1771)
    • 1844 – Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy, Russian general and politician (b. 1769)
    • 1859 – Carl Ritter, German geographer and academic (b. 1779)
    • 1873 – Émile Gaboriau, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
    • 1891 – Herman Melville, American author and poet (b. 1819)
    • 1895 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (b. 1822)
    • 1899 – Giovanni Segantini, Austrian painter (b. 1858)
    • 1914 – Richard Warren Sears, American businessman, co-founded Sears (b. 1863)
    • 1915 – Saitō Hajime, Japanese samurai (b. 1844)
    • 1918 – Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1858)
    • 1918 – Freddie Stowers, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1896)
    • 1925 – Paul Vermoyal, French actor (b. 1888)
    • 1935 – William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer, invented the Kinetoscope (b. 1860)
    • 1938 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (b. 1861)
    • 1943 – Sam Ruben, American chemist and academic (b. 1913)
    • 1943 – Filippo Illuminato, Italian partisan, Gold Medal of Military Valour (b. 1930)
    • 1949 – Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens (b. 1881)
    • 1953 – Edwin Hubble, American astronomer and scholar (b. 1889)
    • 1956 – William Boeing, American businessman, founded the Boeing Company (b. 1881)
    • 1957 – Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Uruguayan violinist and composer (b. 1888)
    • 1959 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (b. 1901)
    • 1962 – Roger Nimier, French soldier and author (b. 1925)
    • 1964 – Harpo Marx, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1888)
    • 1966 – André Breton, French author and poet (b. 1896)
    • 1970 – John Dos Passos, American novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright (b. 1896)
    • 1970 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (b. 1918)
    • 1978 – Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
    • 1979 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
    • 1981 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan journalist and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
    • 1982 – Mabel Albertson, American actress (b. 1901)
    • 1984 – Cihad Baban, Turkish journalist, author, and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1989 – Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Philippines (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Larry O’Brien, American businessman and politician, 57th United States Postmaster General (b. 1917)
    • 1991 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1926)
    • 1993 – Peter De Vries, American editor and novelist (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Alexander A. Drabik, American sergeant (b. 1910)
    • 1994 – Urmas Alender, Estonian singer (b. 1953)
    • 1994 – José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Mexican lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1946)
    • 1994 – Harry Saltzman, Canadian production manager and producer (b. 1915)
    • 1994 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Escott Reid, Canadian academic and diplomat (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Pierre Trudeau, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1919)
    • 2002 – Patsy Mink, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (b. 1907)
    • 2003 – Althea Gibson, American tennis player and golfer (b. 1927)
    • 2003 – Elia Kazan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
    • 2003 – George Odlum, Saint Lucian politician and diplomat (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Constance Baker Motley, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – René Desmaison, French mountaineer (b. 1930)
    • 2007 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (b. 1913)
    • 2009 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Ulf Larsson, Swedish actor and director (b. 1956)
    • 2010 – Kurt Albert, German mountaineer and photographer (b. 1954)
    • 2010 – Arthur Penn, American director and producer (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Dolores Wilson, American soprano and actress (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Avraham Adan, Israeli general (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Chris Economaki, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – James Emanuel, American-French poet and scholar (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricketer and rugby player (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – George Amon Webster, American singer and pianist (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Dannie Abse, Welsh physician, poet, and author (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Joseph H. Alexander, American colonel and historian (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Sheila Faith, English dentist and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Tim Rawlings, English footballer and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Petr Skoumal, Czech pianist and composer (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Alexander Faris, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Walter Dale Miller, American rancher and politician, 29th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Ignacio Zoco, Spanish footballer (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Gary Glasberg, American television writer and producer (b. 1966)
    • 2016 – Shimon Peres, Polish-Israeli statesman and politician, 9th President of Israel (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (b. 1950)
    • 2017 – Daniel Pe’er, Israeli television host and newsreader (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Predrag Ejdus, Serbian actor (b. 1947)
    • 2019 – José José, 71, Mexican singer (El Principe de la Canción or The Prince of Song), pancreas cancer (b. 1948)

    Holidays and observances on September 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aaron of Auxerre
      • Annemund
      • Conval
      • Eustochium
      • Exuperius
      • Faustus of Riez
      • John of Dukla
      • Leoba
      • Lorenzo Ruiz
      • Paternus of Auch
      • Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton and Margery Kempe (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Simón de Rojas
      • Wenceslas
      • September 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
    • Czech Statehood Day (Czech Republic)
    • Freedom from Hunger Day
    • International Day for Universal Access to Information
    • National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography (Philippines)
    • Teachers’ Day (Taiwan and Chinese-Filipino schools in the Philippines), ceremonies dedicated to Confucius are also observed.
    • World Rabies Day (International)

  • May 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens.At least 600 Jews are killed.
    • 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.
    • 1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
    • 1199 – John is crowned King of England.
    • 1257 – Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen of the Germans at Aachen Cathedral.
    • 1644 – Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing.
    • 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
    • 1798 – The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland; Irish rebel leaders defeat and kill a detachment of militia.
    • 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland.
    • 1813 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
    • 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian unification.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: First Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson.
    • 1874 – The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria.
    • 1883 – Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
    • 1896 – The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10–million in damage.
    • 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
    • 1917 – Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church.
    • 1919 – The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
    • 1927 – The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.
    • 1930 – The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
    • 1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
    • 1933 – The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
    • 1935 – New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
    • 1937 – In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
    • 1940 – World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.
    • 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an “unlimited national emergency”.
    • 1941 – World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.
    • 1942 – World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later.
    • 1958 – First flight of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
    • 1960 – In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.
    • 1962 – The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town’s landfill above a coal mine.
    • 1965 – Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
    • 1967 – Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census.
    • 1967 – The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is launched by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline.
    • 1971 – The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
    • 1971 – Pakistani forces massacre over 200 civilians, mostly Bengali Hindus, in the Bagbati massacre.
    • 1975 – Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
    • 1980 – The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
    • 1984 – The Danube-Black Sea canal is opened, in a ceremony attended by the Ceaușescus. It had been under construction since the 1950s.
    • 1996 – First Chechen War: the Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
    • 1997 – The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak occurs, spawning multiple tornadoes in Central Texas, including the F5 that killed 27 in Jarrell.
    • 1998 – Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
    • 2001 – Members of the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
    • 2006 – The 6.4 Mw  Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of VIII (Damaging), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
    • 2016 – Barack Obama is the first president of United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
    • 2017 – Andrew Scheer takes over after Rona Ambrose as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
    • 2018 – Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley causing one death and destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City and causing cars to overturn.

    Births on May 27

    • 742 – Emperor Dezong of Tang (d. 805)
    • 1332 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian and theologian (d. 1406)
    • 1378 – Zhu Quan, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (d. 1448)
    • 1519 – Girolamo Mei, Italian historian and theorist (d. 1594)
    • 1537 – Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (d. 1604)
    • 1576 – Caspar Schoppe, German author and scholar (d. 1649)
    • 1584 – Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (d. 1640)
    • 1601 – Antoine Daniel, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1648)
    • 1626 – William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
    • 1627 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1693)
    • 1651 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (d. 1729)
    • 1652 – Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine of Germany (d. 1722)
    • 1738 – Nathaniel Gorham, American merchant and politician, 14th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1796)
    • 1756 – Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (d. 1825)
    • 1774 – Francis Beaufort, Irish hydrographer and officer in the Royal Navy (d. 1857)
    • 1794 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1877)
    • 1814 – John Rudolph Niernsee, Viennese-born American architect (d.1885)
    • 1815 – Henry Parkes, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1896)
    • 1818 – Amelia Bloomer, American journalist and activist (d. 1894)
    • 1819 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (d. 1910)
    • 1827 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
    • 1832 – Zenas Ferry Moody, American surveyor and politician, 7th Governor of Oregon (d. 1917)
    • 1836 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (d. 1892)
    • 1837 – Wild Bill Hickok, American police officer (d. 1876)
    • 1852 – Billy Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1899)
    • 1857 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (d. 1928)
    • 1860 – Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese politician, 7th President of Portugal (d. 1941)
    • 1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (d. 1921)
    • 1867 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (d. 1931)
    • 1868 – Aleksa Šantić, Bosnian poet and author (d. 1924)
    • 1871 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (d. 1942)
    • 1876 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 1945)
    • 1876 – William Stanier, English engineer (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Anna Cervin, Swedish artist (d. 1972)
    • 1879 – Karl Bühler, German-American linguist and psychologist (d. 1963)
    • 1879 – Hans Lammers, German judge and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1883 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (d. 1971)
    • 1884 – Max Brod, Czech journalist, author, and composer (d. 1968)
    • 1887 – Frank Woolley, English cricketer (d. 1978)
    • 1888 – Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
    • 1891 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (d. 1965)
    • 1891 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (d. 1958)
    • 1894 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (d. 1961)
    • 1894 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (d. 1961)
    • 1895 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (d. 1995)
    • 1897 – John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
    • 1897 – Dink Templeton, American rugby player and coach (d. 1962)
    • 1898 – David Crosthwait, American engineer, inventor and writer (d. 1976)
    • 1899 – Johannes Türn, Estonian chess and draughts player (d. 1993)
    • 1900 – Lotte Toberentz, German overseer of the Nazi Uckermark concentration camp (d. 1964)
    • 1900 – Uładzimir Žyłka, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1933)
    • 1904 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (d. 1997)
    • 1906 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (d. 1993)
    • 1906 – Harry Hibbs, English footballer (d. 1984)
    • 1906 – Antonio Rosario Mennonna, Italian bishop (d. 2009)
    • 1907 – Nicolas Calas, Greek-American poet and critic (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author (d. 1964)
    • 1909 – Dolores Hope, American singer and philanthropist (d. 2011)
    • 1911 – Hubert Humphrey, American journalist and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (d. 2007)
    • 1911 – Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1982)
    • 1912 – Sam Snead, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1912 – Terry Moore, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1995)
    • 1915 – Ester Soré, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1915 – Herman Wouk, American novelist (d. 2019)
    • 1917 – Harry Webster, English engineer (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japanese commander and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2019)
    • 1921 – Bob Godfrey, Australian-English animator, director, and voice actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Christopher Lee, English actor (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – John D. Vanderhoof, American banker and politician, 37th Governor of Colorado (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Henry Kissinger, German-American political scientist and politician, 56th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1923 – Sumner Redstone, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1924 – Jaime Lusinchi, Venezuelan physician and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – John Sumner, English-Australian director, founded the Melbourne Theatre Company (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Tony Hillerman, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (d. 1996)
    • 1928 – Thea Musgrave, Scottish-American composer and educator
    • 1930 – John Barth, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1930 – William S. Sessions, American civil servant and judge, 8th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • 1930 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – André Barbeau, French-Canadian neurologist (d. 1986)
    • 1931 – John Chapple, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Gibraltar
    • 1931 – Bernard Fresson, French actor (d. 2002)
    • 1931 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Philip Kotler, American author and professor
    • 1933 – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Manfred Sommer, Spanish author and illustrator (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Ray Daviault, Canadian-American baseball player
    • 1934 – Harlan Ellison, American author and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Mal Evans, British road manager of The Beatles (d. 1976)
    • 1935 – Jerry Kindall, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1935 – Ramsey Lewis, American jazz pianist and composer
    • 1935 – Lee Meriwether, American model and actress, Miss America 1955
    • 1936 – Benjamin Bathurst, English admiral
    • 1936 – Louis Gossett, Jr., American actor and producer
    • 1936 – Marcel Masse, Canadian educator and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Allan Carr, American playwright and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1939 – Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, English courtier and businessman
    • 1939 – Yves Duhaime, Canadian captain and politician
    • 1939 – Sokratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman
    • 1939 – Gerald Ronson, English businessman and philanthropist
    • 1939 – Lionel Sosa, Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive
    • 1939 – Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1940 – Mike Gibson, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Lee Baca, American police officer
    • 1942 – Piers Courage, English racing driver (d. 1970)
    • 1942 – Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1942 – Robin Widdows, English racing driver
    • 1943 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Bruce Weitz, American actor
    • 1944 – Chris Dodd, American lawyer and politician
    • 1944 – Ingrid Roscoe, English historian and politician, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
    • 1944 – Alain Souchon, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1945 – Bruce Cockburn, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – John Williams, English motorcycle racer (d. 1978)
    • 1947 – Peter DeFazio, American politician
    • 1947 – Marty Kristian, German-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1947 – Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer and coach
    • 1947 – Riivo Sinijärv, Estonian politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Pete Sears, English bass player
    • 1948 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1949 – Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, English politician
    • 1949 – Christa Vahlensieck, German runner
    • 1950 – Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1950 – Makis Dendrinos, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1951 – John Conteh, English boxer
    • 1954 – Pauline Hanson, Australian businesswoman, activist, and politician
    • 1954 – Jackie Slater, American football player and coach
    • 1955 – Eric Bischoff, American wrestler, manager, and producer
    • 1955 – Richard Schiff, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1955 – Ian Tracey, English organist and conductor
    • 1956 – Cynthia McFadden, American journalist
    • 1956 – Rosemary Squire, English producer and manager, co-founded Ambassador Theatre Group
    • 1956 – Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian director and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Dag Terje Andersen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Labour
    • 1957 – Nitin Gadkari, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Transport
    • 1957 – Eddie Harsch, Canadian-American keyboard player and bass player (d. 2016)
    • 1957 – Siouxsie Sioux, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
    • 1958 – Nick Anstee, English accountant and politician, 682nd Lord Mayor of London
    • 1958 – Neil Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1958 – Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior (d. 2012)
    • 1960 – Gaston Therrien, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – José Luíz Barbosa, Brazilian runner and coach
    • 1961 – Peri Gilpin, American actress
    • 1962 – Marcelino Bernal, Mexican footballer
    • 1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball player
    • 1962 – Steven Brill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Anthony A. Hyman, Israeli-English biologist and academic
    • 1962 – David Mundell, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1962 – Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban pianist and composer
    • 1963 – Maria Walliser, Swiss skier
    • 1964 – Adam Carolla, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Pat Cash, Australian-English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Heston Blumenthal, English chef and author
    • 1967 – Paul Gascoigne, English international footballer, midfielder, coach, and manager
    • 1967 – Eddie McClintock, American actor
    • 1968 – Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player and coach
    • 1968 – Rebekah Brooks, English journalist
    • 1968 – Harun Erdenay, Turkish basketball player and coach
    • 1968 – Frank Thomas, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Todd Hundley, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Jeremy Mayfield, American race car driver
    • 1969 – Craig Federighi, American computer scientist and engineer
    • 1970 – Michele Bartoli, Italian cyclist
    • 1970 – Tim Farron, English educator and politician
    • 1970 – Joseph Fiennes, English actor
    • 1970 – Alex Archer, American-born Australian musician
    • 1971 – Mathew Batsiua, Nauruan politician
    • 1971 – Paul Bettany, English actor
    • 1971 – Wayne Carey, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1971 – Kaur Kender, Estonian author
    • 1971 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (d. 2002)
    • 1971 – Lee Sharpe, English footballer
    • 1971 – Grant Stafford, South African tennis player
    • 1971 – Sophie Walker, British politician, leader of the Women’s Equality Party
    • 1971 – Petroc Trelawny, British radio and television broadcaster
    • 1972 – Todd Demsey, American golfer
    • 1972 – Antonio Freeman, American football player
    • 1972 – Maxim Sokolov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Jack McBrayer, American actor and comedian
    • 1973 – Tana Umaga, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1973 – Yorgos Lanthimos, Greek film video, and theatre director, producer and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Skye Edwards, British singer-songwriter
    • 1974 – Denise van Outen, English actress, singer, and television host
    • 1974 – Derek Webb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Danny Wuerffel, American football player
    • 1975 – André 3000, American rapper
    • 1975 – Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer
    • 1975 – Jamie Oliver, English chef and author
    • 1975 – Feryal Özel, Turkish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1976 – Marcel Fässler, Swiss racing driver
    • 1977 – Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian high jumper
    • 1977 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1978 – Adin Brown, American soccer player
    • 1979 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1979 – Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
    • 1980 – Craig Buntin, Canadian figure skater
    • 1981 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
    • 1981 – Johan Elmander, Swedish footballer
    • 1984 – Blake Ahearn, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Miguel González, Mexican baseball pitcher
    • 1985 – Chiang Chien-ming, Taiwanese baseball player
    • 1985 – Roberto Soldado, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Conor Cummins, Manx motorcycle racer
    • 1986 – Bamba Fall, Senegalese basketball player
    • 1986 – Lasse Schöne, Danish footballer
    • 1987 – Gervinho, Ivorian footballer
    • 1987 – Bella Heathcote, Australian actress
    • 1987 – Eric Kolelas, French-English actor and director
    • 1987 – Bora Paçun, Turkish basketball player
    • 1987 – Matt Prior, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Martina Sablikova, Czech speed skater and cyclist
    • 1988 – Vontae Davis, American football player
    • 1988 – Irina Davydova, Russian hurdler
    • 1988 – Garrett Richards, American baseball pitcher
    • 1988 – Tyler Sash, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1989 – Igor Morozov, Estonian footballer
    • 1990 – Yenew Alamirew, Ethiopian runner
    • 1990 – Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
    • 1990 – Marcus Kruger, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Sebastien Dewaest, Belgian footballer
    • 1991 – Tim Lafai, Samoan rugby league player
    • 1991 – Ksenia Pervak, Russian tennis player
    • 1991 – Eneli Vals, Estonian footballer
    • 1992 – Aaron Brown, Canadian sprinter
    • 1992 – Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, Canadian canoer

    Deaths on May 27

    • 366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 325)
    • 398 – Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 355)
    • 475 – Eutropius, bishop of Orange
    • 866 – Ordoño I of Asturias (b. 831)
    • 927 – Simeon I of Bulgaria first Bulgarian Emperor (b. 864)
    • 1039 – Dirk III, Count of Holland (b. 981)
    • 1045 – Bruno of Würzburg, imperial chancellor of Italy (b. c. 1005)
    • 1178 – Godfrey van Rhenen, bishop of Utrecht
    • 1240 – William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (b. 1166)
    • 1444 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1404)
    • 1508 – Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1452)
    • 1508 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (b. 1452)
    • 1525 – Thomas Müntzer, German mystic and theologian (b. 1488)
    • 1541 – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (b. 1473)
    • 1564 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (b. 1509)
    • 1610 – François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578)
    • 1624 – Diego Ramírez de Arellano, Spanish sailor and cosmographer (b. c. 1580)
    • 1637 – John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield, English politician (b. c. 1566)
    • 1661 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish general and politician (b. 1607)
    • 1675 – Gaspard Dughet, Italian-French painter (b. 1613)
    • 1690 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1626)
    • 1702 – Dominique Bouhours, French priest and critic (b. 1628)
    • 1707 – Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1640)
    • 1781 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1716)
    • 1797 – François-Noël Babeuf, French journalist (b. 1760)
    • 1831 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (b. 1799)
    • 1840 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
    • 1867 – Thomas Bulfinch American mythologist (b. 1796)
    • 1896 – Aleksandr Stoletov, Russian physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1839)
    • 1910 – Robert Koch, German physician and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
    • 1918 – Ōzutsu Man’emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (b. 1869)
    • 1919 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (b. 1848)
    • 1933 – Achille Paroche, French target shooter (b. 1868)
    • 1939 – Joseph Roth, Austrian-French journalist and author (b. 1894)
    • 1941 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (b. 1894)
    • 1941 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (b. 1889)
    • 1942 – Muhammed Hamdi Yazır, Turkish theologian, logician, and translator (b. 1878)
    • 1943 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1878)
    • 1945 – Enno Lolling, German physician (b. 1888)
    • 1947 – Ed Konetchy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1885)
    • 1949 – Robert Ripley, American cartoonist, publisher, and businessman, founded Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (b. 1890)
    • 1953 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player and manager (b. 1868)
    • 1960 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
    • 1963 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (b. 1912)
    • 1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (b. 1889)
    • 1967 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (b. 1880)
    • 1967 – Ernst Niekisch, German academic and politician (b. 1889)
    • 1969 – Jeffrey Hunter, American actor and producer (b. 1926)
    • 1971 – Béla Juhos, Hungarian-Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1935)
    • 1980 – Gün Sazak, Turkish agronomist and politician (b. 1932)
    • 1984 – Vasilije Mokranjac, Serbian composer (b. 1923)
    • 1986 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Giorgos Tzifos, Greek actor and cinematographer (b. 1918)
    • 1987 – John Howard Northrop, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1988 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (b. 1908)
    • 1988 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 1989 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1907)
    • 1990 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1908)
    • 1991 – Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist and theorist (b. 1904)
    • 1992 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890)
    • 1998 – Minoo Masani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish engineer and pilot (b. 1912)
    • 2000 – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Scottish politician and diplomat, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1917)
    • 2000 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2003 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer and educator (b. 1925)
    • 2006 – Rob Borsellino, American journalist (b. 1949)
    • 2006 – Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 2006 – Craig Heyward, American football player (b. 1966)
    • 2007 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor, created the hot air balloon (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Franz Künstler, Hungarian soldier (b. 1900)
    • 2009 – Thomas M. Franck, American lawyer and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Clive Granger, Welsh-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
    • 2009 – Mona Grey, British nursing administrator; Northern Ireland’s first Chief Nursing Officer
    • 2009 – Abram Hoffer, Canadian biochemist, physician, and psychiatrist (b. 1917)
    • 2009 – Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian-American priest and theologian (b. 1946)
    • 2009 – Carol Anne O’Marie, American nun and author (b. 1933)
    • 2009 – William Refshauge, Australian soldier and physician (b. 1913)
    • 2009 – Paul Sharratt, English-American television host (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (b. 1929)
    • 2011 – Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (b. 1950)
    • 2011 – Margo Dydek, Polish-American basketball player (b. 1974)
    • 2011 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1949)
    • 2012 – Simeon Daniel, Nevisian educator and politician, 1st Premier of Nevis (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Friedrich Hirzebruch, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – David Rimoin, Canadian-American geneticist and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Abdoulaye Sékou Sow, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish rally driver (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Nils Christie, Norwegian sociologist, criminologist, and author (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Andy King, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – Michael Martin, American philosopher and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2017 – Gregg Allman, American musician, singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist (b. 1935)

    Holidays and observances on May 27

    • Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
    • Children’s Day (Nigeria)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Augustine of Canterbury
      • Blessed Lojze Grozde
      • Bede (commemoration, Anglican Communion)
      • Bruno of Würzburg
      • Eutropius of Orange
      • Hildebert
      • Julius the Veteran
      • May 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Mother’s Day (Bolivia)
    • Navy Day (Japan)
    • Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
    • Start of National Reconciliation Week (Australia)

  • May 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
    • 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed Augusta is able to choose her successor for the Byzantine throne, after Zeno (late emperor) dies of dysentery.
    • 685 – The Battle of Dun Nechtain is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
    • 794 – While visiting the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls with a view to marrying princess Ælfthryth, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia is taken captive and beheaded.
    • 1217 – The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
    • 1293 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Estudio de Escuelas de Generales in Alcalá de Henares.
    • 1449 – The Battle of Alfarrobeira is fought, establishing the House of Braganza as a principal royal family of Portugal.
    • 1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
    • 1498 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
    • 1521 – Ignatius of Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.
    • 1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
    • 1609 – Shakespeare’s sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
    • 1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years’ War.
    • 1645 – Yangzhou massacre: The ten day massacre of 800,000 residents of the city of Yangzhou, part of the Transition from Ming to Qing.
    • 1741 – The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ends in a Spanish victory and the British begin withdrawal towards Jamaica with substantial losses.
    • 1775 – The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
    • 1802 – By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.
    • 1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
    • 1840 – York Minster is badly damaged by fire.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
    • 1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law, opening 84 million acres of public land to settlers.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
    • 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
    • 1875 – Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations leading to the establishment of the International System of Units.
    • 1882 – The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
    • 1883 – Krakatoa begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
    • 1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope.
    • 1902 – Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country’s first President.
    • 1927 – Treaty of Jeddah: The United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
    • 1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
    • 1940 – The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
    • 1941 – World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
    • 1948 – Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
    • 1949 – In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
    • 1956 – In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1964 – Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
    • 1967 – The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
    • 1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
    • 1971 – In the Chuknagar massacre, Pakistani forces massacre thousands, mostly Bengali Hindus.
    • 1980 – In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, by 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
    • 1983 – First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.
    • 1983 – Church Street bombing: A car bomb planted by Umkhonto we Sizwe explodes on Church Street in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
    • 1985 – Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
    • 1989 – The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
    • 1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
    • 1996 – Civil rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
    • 2002 – The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).
    • 2012 – At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy.
    • 2013 – An EF5 tornado strikes the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.
    • 2019 – The International System of Units (SI): The base units are redefined, making the international prototype of the kilogram obsolete.

    Births on May 20

    • 1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
    • 1470 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (d. 1547)
    • 1505 – Levinus Lemnius, Dutch writer (d. 1568)
    • 1531 – Thado Minsaw of Ava, Viceroy of Ava (d. 1584)
    • 1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (d. 1619)
    • 1575 – Robert Heath, English judge and politician (d. 1649)
    • 1664 – Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor and architect (d. 1714)
    • 1726 – Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (d. 1770)
    • 1743 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian revolutionary, general, and president (d. 1803)
    • 1759 – William Thornton, Virgin Islander-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1828)
    • 1769 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
    • 1772 – Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, English inventor and politician, developed Congreve rockets (d. 1828)
    • 1776 – Simon Fraser, American-Canadian fur trader and explorer (d. 1862)
    • 1795 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (d. 1854)
    • 1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (d. 1850)
    • 1806 – John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (d. 1873)
    • 1811 – Alfred Domett, English-New Zealand poet and politician, 4th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1887)
    • 1818 – William Fargo, American businessman and politician, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (d. 1881)
    • 1822 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
    • 1824 – Cadmus M. Wilcox, Confederate States Army general (d. 1890)
    • 1825 – Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the U.S. (d. 1921)
    • 1830 – Hector Malot, French author (d. 1907)
    • 1838 – Jules Méline, French lawyer and politician, 65th Prime Minister of France (d. 1925)
    • 1851 – Emile Berliner, German-American inventor, invented the Gramophone record (d. 1929)
    • 1854 – George Prendergast, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Victoria (d. 1937)
    • 1856 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (d. 1910)
    • 1860 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, zymologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
    • 1875 – Hendrik Offerhaus, Dutch rower (d. 1953)
    • 1877 – Pat Leahy, Irish-American jumper (d. 1927)
    • 1879 – Hans Meerwein, German chemist (d. 1965)
    • 1882 – Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
    • 1883 – Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
    • 1886 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded the Galatasaray Sports Club (d. 1951)
    • 1894 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian guru and scholar (d. 1994)
    • 1895 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S.6B (d. 1937)
    • 1897 – Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (d. 1983)
    • 1897 – Malcolm Nokes, English hammer and discus thrower (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Eduard Ole, Estonian painter (d. 1995)
    • 1899 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – John Marshall Harlan II, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1971)
    • 1900 – Sumitranandan Pant, Indian poet and author (d. 1977)
    • 1901 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (d. 1970)
    • 1904 – Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (d. 1966)
    • 1906 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (d. 1989)
    • 1907 – Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
    • 1908 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (d. 1990)
    • 1908 – Louis Daquin, French actor and director (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Francis Raymond Fosberg, American botanist and author (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Gardner Fox, American author (d. 1986)
    • 1911 – Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch author and playwright (d. 1995)
    • 1913 – Teodoro Fernández, Peruvian footballer (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Peter Copley, English actor (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 5th Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1981)
    • 1915 – Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
    • 1916 – Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1916 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Ondina Valla, Italian sprinter and hurdler (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Tony Cliff, Israeli-English author and activist (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Alexandra Boyko, Russian tank commander (d. 1996)
    • 1918 – Edward B. Lewis, American biologist, geneticist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – John Cruickshank, Scottish lieutenant and banker, Victoria Cross recipient
    • 1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German author and playwright (d. 1947)
    • 1921 – Hal Newhouser, American baseball player and scout (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (d. 1995)
    • 1922 – Ted Hinton, Northern Irish international footballer (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Edith Fellows, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Sam Selvon, Trinidad-born writer (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – David Chavchavadze, English-American CIA officer and author (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (d. 1976)
    • 1925 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
    • 1927 – Bud Grant, American football player and coach
    • 1927 – David Hedison, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Gilles Loiselle, Canadian politician and diplomat, 33rd Canadian Minister of Finance
    • 1930 – Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Ken Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1982)
    • 1931 – Louis Smith, American trumpeter (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Constance Towers, American actress and singer
    • 1935 – José Mujica, Uruguayan guerrilla leader and politician, 40th President of Uruguay
    • 1936 – Anthony Zerbe, American actor
    • 1937 – Dave Hill, American golfer (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Derek Lampe, English footballer
    • 1939 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Shorty Long, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1969)
    • 1940 – Stan Mikita, Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Sadaharu Oh, Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager
    • 1941 – Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
    • 1941 – John Strasberg, American actor and teacher
    • 1942 – Raymond Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
    • 1942 – Lynn Davies, Welsh sprinter and long jumper
    • 1942 – Carlos Hathcock, American sergeant and sniper (d. 1999)
    • 1942 – Frew McMillan, South African tennis player
    • 1943 – Albano Carrisi, Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
    • 1943 – Deryck Murray, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1944 – Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Boudewijn de Groot, Indonesian-Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Keith Fletcher, English cricketer and manager
    • 1944 – Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, co-founded Red Bull GmbH
    • 1945 – Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian intelligence officer
    • 1946 – Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1946 – Bobby Murcer, American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1947 – Steve Currie, English bass player (d. 1981)
    • 1947 – Greg Dyke, English journalist and academic
    • 1949 – Robert Morin, Canadian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Michèle Roberts, English author and poet
    • 1949 – Dave Thomas, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Andy Johns, English-American engineer and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Reinaldo Merlo, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1951 – Thomas Akers, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1951 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (d. 2020)
    • 1951 – Mike Crapo, American lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer and manager
    • 1952 – Michael Wills, English politician, British Minister of Justice
    • 1953 – Robert Doyle, Australian educator and politician, 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne
    • 1954 – David Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of New York
    • 1954 – Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Steve George, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1955 – Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer and producer
    • 1956 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian-German author and critic
    • 1956 – Gerry Peyton, English born Irish international footballer and coach
    • 1956 – Douglas Preston, American journalist and author
    • 1957 – Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese lawyer and politician, 62nd Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1958 – Ron Reagan, American journalist and radio host
    • 1958 – Jane Wiedlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1959 – Susan Cowsill, American singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Tony Goldwyn, American actor and director
    • 1961 – Clive Allen, English international footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Nick Heyward, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – David Wells, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Kōichirō Genba, Japanese politician, 80th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1964 – Edin Osmanović, Slovenian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1964 – Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author
    • 1965 – Ted Allen, American television host and author
    • 1965 – Stu Grimson, Canadian ice hockey player, sportscaster, and lawyer
    • 1966 – Dan Abrams, American journalist and author
    • 1967 – Graham Brady, English politician
    • 1967 – Gabriele Muccino, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Road Dogg, American wrestler, producer, and soldier
    • 1970 – Terrell Brandon, American basketball player
    • 1970 – Louis Theroux, Singaporean-English journalist and producer
    • 1971 – Šárka Kašpárková, Czech triple jumper and coach
    • 1971 – Tony Stewart, American race car driver
    • 1972 – Michael Diamond, Australian shooter
    • 1972 – Christophe Dominici, French rugby player
    • 1972 – Busta Rhymes, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1973 – Nathan Long, Australian rugby league player
    • 1974 – Allison Amend, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1974 – Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Indian film director, writer and actor
    • 1975 – Juan Minujín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1976 – Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
    • 1977 – Matt Czuchry, American actor
    • 1977 – Leo Franco, Argentinian footballer
    • 1977 – Angela Goethals, American actress
    • 1977 – Stirling Mortlock, Australian rugby player
    • 1977 – Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Hristos Banikas, Greek chess player
    • 1978 – Pavla Hamáčková-Rybová, Czech pole vaulter
    • 1978 – Nils Schumann, German runner
    • 1979 – Andrew Scheer, Canadian politician, 28th Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
    • 1979 – Jayson Werth, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Austin Kearns, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Kassim Osgood, American football player
    • 1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
    • 1981 – Rachel Platten, American singer and songwriter
    • 1981 – Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Mark Winterbottom, Australian race car driver
    • 1982 – Petr Čech, Czech footballer
    • 1982 – Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1982 – Jessica Raine, English actress
    • 1982 – Daniel Ribeiro, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Óscar Cardozo, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1983 – Matt Langridge, English rower
    • 1984 – Mauro Rafael da Silva, Brazilian footballer
    • 1984 – Patrick Ewing, Jr., American basketball player
    • 1984 – Keith Grennan, American football player
    • 1985 – Chris Froome, Kenyan-English cyclist
    • 1985 – Brendon Goddard, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Dexter Blackstock, English footballer
    • 1986 – Stéphane Mbia, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1986 – Jiřina Svobodová, Czech pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Mike Havenaar, Japanese footballer
    • 1987 – Julian Wright, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Joel Moon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – Siosia Vave, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
    • 1991 – Bastian Baker, Swiss singer, songwriter, and performer
    • 1991 – Emre Colak, Turkish footballer
    • 1992 – Cate Campbell, Malawian-Australian swimmer
    • 1992 – Jack Gleeson, Irish actor
    • 1992 – Enes Kanter, Turkish basketball player
    • 1993 – Caroline Zhang, American figure skater
    • 1996 – Brian Kelly, Australian rugby league player
    • 1998 – Jamie Chadwick, English race car driver
    • 1998 – Nam Nguyen, Canadian figure skater

    Deaths on May 20

    • 685 – Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
    • 794 – Æthelberht II, king of East Anglia
    • 965 – Gero the Great, Saxon ruler (b.c. 900)
    • 1062 – Bao Zheng, Chinese magistrate and mayor of Kaifeng (b. 999)
    • 1277 – Pope John XXI (b. 1215)
    • 1285 – John II of Jerusalem (b. 1259)
    • 1291 – Sufi Saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari
    • 1366 – Maria of Calabria, Empress of Constantinople (b. 1329)
    • 1444 – Bernardino of Siena, Italian-Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1380)
    • 1449 – Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches
    • 1449 – Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra (b. 1392)
    • 1501 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican tertiary Religious Sister (b. 1467)
    • 1503 – Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, Italian banker and politician (b. 1463)
    • 1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer, discovered the Americas (b. 1451)
    • 1550 – Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1510)
    • 1579 – Isabella Markham, English courtier (b. 1527)
    • 1622 – Osman II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1604)
    • 1645 – Shi Kefa, Chinese general and calligrapher (b. 1601)
    • 1648 – Władysław IV Vasa, Polish son of Sigismund III Vasa (b. 1595)
    • 1677 – George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, Spanish-English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1612)
    • 1713 – Thomas Sprat, English bishop (b. 1635)
    • 1717 – John Trevor, Welsh lawyer and politician, 102nd Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1637)
    • 1722 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist and mycologist (b. 1669)
    • 1732 – Thomas Boston, Scottish author and educator (b. 1676)
    • 1782 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1701)
    • 1793 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss botanist and biologist (b. 1720)
    • 1812 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (b. 1732)
    • 1834 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French general (b. 1757)
    • 1841 – Joseph Blanco White, Spanish poet and theologian (b. 1775)
    • 1864 – John Clare, English poet (b. 1793)
    • 1873 – George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9th Premier of East Canada (b. 1814)
    • 1880 – Ana Néri, Brazilian nurse and philanthropist (b. 1814)
    • 1896 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b. 1819)
    • 1909 – Ernest Hogan, American actor and composer (b. 1859)
    • 1917 – Valentine Fleming, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1887)
    • 1917 – Philipp von Ferrary, Italian stamp collector (b. 1850)
    • 1924 – Bogd Khan, Mongolian ruler (c. 1869)
    • 1925 – Joseph Howard, Maltese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1862)
    • 1931 – Ernest Noel, Scottish businessman and politician (b. 1831)
    • 1940 – Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1942 – Hector Guimard, French Architect (b. 1867)
    • 1946 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish pilot and engineer (b. 1871)
    • 1947 – Philipp Lenard, Slovak-German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1947 – Georgios Siantos, Greek sergeant and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1949 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop and politician, 137th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1891)
    • 1956 – Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (b. 1872)
    • 1956 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer and trainer (b. 1881)
    • 1961 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (b. 1915)
    • 1964 – Rudy Lewis, American singer (b. 1936)
    • 1971 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1973 – Renzo Pasolini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1938)
    • 1973 – Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
    • 1975 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor and lithographer (b. 1903)
    • 1976 – Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
    • 1976 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (b. 1924)
    • 1976 – Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, Uruguayan politician (b. 1934)
    • 1989 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (b. 1946)
    • 1995 – Les Cowie, Australian rugby league player (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – Jon Pertwee, English actor, portrayed the Third Doctor (b. 1919)
    • 1998 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (b. 1916)
    • 2000 – Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player (b. 1922)
    • 2000 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (b. 1970)
    • 2000 – Yevgeny Khrunov, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
    • 2001 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist, biologist, and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – William Seawell, American general (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (b. 1914)
    • 2008 – Hamilton Jordan, American politician, 8th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1944)
    • 2009 – Arthur Erickson, Canadian architect and urban planner, designed Roy Thomson Hall (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Lucy Gordon, American actress and model (b. 1980)
    • 2009 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Randy Savage, American wrestler and actor (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Leela Dube, Indian anthropologist and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2012 – David Littman, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Ken Lyons, American bass guitarist (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Eugene Polley, American engineer, invented the remote control (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Andrew B. Steinberg, American lawyer (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Flavio Costantini, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Denys Roberts, English judge and politician (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Zach Sobiech, American singer-songwriter (b. 1995)
    • 2014 – Sandra Bem, American psychologist and academic (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Ross Brown, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Robyn Denny, English-French painter (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Arthur Gelb, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Prince Rupert Loewenstein, Spanish-English businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Barbara Murray, English actress (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Bob Belden, American saxophonist, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – Femi Robinson, Nigerian actor and playwright (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on May 20

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abercius and Helena
      • Alcuin of York
      • Aurea of Ostia
      • Austregisilus
      • Baudilus
      • Bernardino of Siena
      • Ivo of Chartres
      • Lucifer of Cagliari
      • Sanctan
      • May 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Remembrance (Cambodia)
    • Emancipation Day (Florida)
    • European Maritime Day (European Council)
    • Independence Restoration Day, celebrates the independence of East Timor from Indonesia in 2002.
    • Josephine Baker Day (NAACP)
    • National Awakening Day (Indonesia), and its related observances:
      • Indonesian Doctor Day (Indonesia)
    • National Day (Cameroon)
    • World Bee Day
    • World Metrology Day