April 23

May 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

by
  • 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
  • 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish.
  • 1536 – King Henry VIII orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church. In 1539 the Great Bible would be provided for this purpose.
  • 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
  • 1659 – English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removes Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalls the Rump Parliament.
  • 1682 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.
  • 1757 – Battle of Prague: A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years’ War.
  • 1757 – The end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757).
  • 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.
  • 1782 – Construction begins on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
  • 1801 – Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedy captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
  • 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
  • 1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • 1857 – The East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British in the lead up to the War of Indian Independence.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by the Army of Northern Virginia.
  • 1877 – Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
  • 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed to death by Fenian assassins in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
  • 1882 – The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.
  • 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
  • 1906 – The Russian Constitution of 1906 is adopted (on April 23 by the Julian calendar).
  • 1910 – George V becomes King of Great Britain, Ireland, and many overseas territories, on the death of his father, Edward VII.
  • 1915 – Babe Ruth, then a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, hits his first major league home run.
  • 1916 – Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists are executed in Martyrs’ Square, Beirut by Djemal Pasha.
  • 1916 – Vietnamese Emperor Duy Tân is captured while calling upon the people to rise up against the French, and is later deposed and exiled to Réunion island.
  • 1933 – The Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books.
  • 1935 – New Deal: Under the authority of the newly-enacted Federal Emergency Relief Administration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 7034 to create the Works Progress Administration.
  • 1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
  • 1940 – John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
  • 1941 – At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.
  • 1941 – The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
  • 1942 – World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
  • 1945 – World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.
  • 1949 – EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, runs its first operation.
  • 1954 – Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
  • 1960 – More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
  • 1966 – Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England.
  • 1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.
  • 1975 – During a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gather in Beirut for the 60th anniversary commemorations of the Armenian Genocide.
  • 1976 – The 6.5 Mw  Friuli earthquake affected Northern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 900–978 dead and 1,700–2,400 injured.
  • 1983 – The Hitler Diaries are revealed as a hoax after being examined by new experts.
  • 1984 – One hundred three Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul.
  • 1988 – All thirty-six passengers and crew were killed when Widerøe Flight 710 crashed into Mt. Torghatten in Brønnøy.
  • 1994 – Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
  • 1996 – The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
  • 1997 – The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank’s 300-year history.
  • 1998 – Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
  • 1998 – Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. unveils the first iMac.
  • 1999 – The first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are held.
  • 2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
  • 2002 – Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated following a radio-interview at the Mediapark in Hilversum.
  • 2010 – In just 36 minutes, the Dow-Jones average plunged nearly 1000 points in what is known as the 2010 Flash Crash.
  • 2013 – Three women, kidnapped and missing for more than a decade, are found alive in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Births on May 6

  • 973 – Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1024)
  • 1464 – Sophia Jagiellon, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Polish princess (d. 1512)
  • 1493 – Girolamo Seripando, Italian theologian and cardinal (d. 1563)
  • 1501 – Marcellus II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1555)
  • 1574 – Innocent X, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1655)
  • 1580 – Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, French noble (d. 1637)
  • 1635 – Johann Joachim Becher, German physician and alchemist (d. 1682)
  • 1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (d. 1747)
  • 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (d. 1755)
  • 1713 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (d. 1780)
  • 1714 – Anton Raaff, German tenor (d. 1797)
  • 1742 – Jean Senebier, Swiss pastor and physiologist (d. 1809)
  • 1758 – André Masséna, French general (d. 1817)
  • 1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1769 – Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
  • 1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
  • 1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher and author (d. 1832)
  • 1797 – Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)
  • 1800 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general (d. 1881)
  • 1827 – Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (d. 1891)
  • 1836 – Max Eyth, German engineer and author (d. 1906)
  • 1843 – Grove Karl Gilbert, American geologist and academic (d. 1918)
  • 1848 – Henry Edward Armstrong, English chemist and academic (d. 1937)
  • 1851 – Aristide Bruant, French singer and actor (d. 1925)
  • 1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1939)
  • 1856 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (d. 1920)
  • 1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1931)
  • 1868 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (d. 1927)
  • 1869 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and central banker, 8th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (d. 1932)
  • 1870 – Walter Rutherford, Scottish golfer (d. 1936)
  • 1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
  • 1871 – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet (d. 1914)
  • 1872 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1934)
  • 1872 – Djemal Pasha, Ottoman general (d. 1922)
  • 1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (d. 1952)
  • 1879 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (d. 1929)
  • 1880 – Winifred Brunton, English-South African painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
  • 1880 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German-Swiss painter (d. 1938)
  • 1883 – Alberto Collo, Italian actor (d. 1955)
  • 1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and author (d. 1974)
  • 1895 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian soldier and politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1946)
  • 1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (d. 1926)
  • 1896 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Paul Alverdes, German author and poet (d. 1979)
  • 1898 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1945)
  • 1902 – Harry Golden, Ukrainian-American journalist and author (d. 1981)
  • 1902 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1957)
  • 1903 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (d. 1977)
  • 1904 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Catherine Lacey, English actress (d. 1979)
  • 1904 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
  • 1905 – Philip N. Krasne, American lawyer and producer (d. 1999)
  • 1906 – André Weil, French mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1907 – Weeb Ewbank, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
  • 1911 – Guy des Cars, French journalist and author (d. 1993)
  • 1913 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)
  • 1913 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1915 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (d. 1986)
  • 1916 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Kal Mann, American songwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and first president of the United Arab Emirates (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – André Guelfi, French race car driver (d. 2016)
  • 1920 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Fiji (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – Marguerite Piazza, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Erich Fried, Austrian-German author, poet, and translator (d. 1988)
  • 1922 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1999)
  • 1923 – Harry Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1924 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Patricia Helen Kennedy, American socialite, activist, and author (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Denny Wright, English guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1992)
  • 1926 – Gilles Grégoire, Canadian politician, co-founded the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Rosemary Cramp, English archaeologist and academic
  • 1929 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – John Taylor, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player and coach
  • 1931 – Louis Gambaccini, American government official (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (d. 1994)
  • 1932 – Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1934 – Richard Shelby, American lawyer and politician
  • 1937 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Eddie C. Campbell, American singer and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Chet Allen, American child actor (d. 1984)
  • 1942 – Ariel Dorfman, Argentinian author, playwright, and academic
  • 1943 – Andreas Baader, German terrorist, co-founded the Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
  • 1943 – Milton William Cooper, American theorist and author (d. 2001)
  • 1943 – Wolfgang Reinhardt, German pole vaulter (d. 2011)
  • 1943 – James Turrell, American sculptor and illustrator
  • 1944 – Anton Furst, English-American production designer and art director (d. 1991)
  • 1944 – Masanori Murakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
  • 1945 – Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American country singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
  • 1945 – Bob Seger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Alan Dale, New Zealand actor
  • 1947 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher and author
  • 1947 – Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist, founded Real Aikido (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2013)
  • 1950 – Jeffery Deaver, American journalist and author
  • 1951 – Samuel Doe, Liberian sergeant and politician, 21st President of Liberia (d. 1990)
  • 1952 – Gerrit Zalm, Dutch economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
  • 1953 – Alexander Akimov, Ukrainian Chernobyl worker (d. 1986)
  • 1953 – Tony Blair, British politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Canadian urban planner and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
  • 1953 – Ülle Rajasalu, Estonian politician
  • 1953 – Graeme Souness, Scottish international footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress and producer
  • 1954 – Tom Abernethy, American basketball player
  • 1954 – Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician, 120th Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1954 – Angela Hernández Nuñez, Dominican author and poet
  • 1954 – Ain Lutsepp, Estonian actor and politician
  • 1955 – Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh
  • 1955 – Tom Bergeron, American television host
  • 1955 – John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
  • 1956 – Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek actor and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Cindy Lovell, American educator and writer
  • 1956 – Roland Wieser, German race walker and coach
  • 1958 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (d. 2014)
  • 1959 – Andreas Busse, German runner
  • 1959 – Charles Hendry, English politician
  • 1960 – Lyudmila Andonova, Bulgarian high jumper
  • 1960 – Keith Dowding, English political scientist, philosopher, and academic
  • 1960 – Roma Downey, Irish-American actress and producer
  • 1960 – John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Aleksei Lotman, Estonian biologist and politician
  • 1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress
  • 1961 – Oleksandr Apaychev, Ukrainian decathlete and coach
  • 1961 – George Clooney, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Tom Hunter, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
  • 1961 – Gina Riley, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Frans Timmermans, Dutch politician and diplomat, First Vice President of the European Commission
  • 1962 – Tom Brake, English politician
  • 1962 – Brad Izzard, Australian rugby league player
  • 1963 – Alessandra Ferri, Italian ballerina
  • 1965 – Leslie Hope, Canadian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Worku Bikila, Ethiopian runner
  • 1968 – Lætitia Sadier, French singer and keyboard player
  • 1969 – Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
  • 1970 – Kavan Smith, Canadian actor
  • 1971 – Chris Shiflett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese runner
  • 1974 – Bernard Barmasai, Kenyan runner
  • 1974 – Daniela Bártová, Czech pole vaulter and gymnast
  • 1975 – Alan Richardson, English cricketer and coach
  • 1976 – Dean Chandler, English footballer
  • 1976 – Iván de la Peña, Spanish footballer
  • 1977 – Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
  • 1977 – Marc Chouinard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1977 – Chantelle Newbery, Australian diver
  • 1978 – John Abraham, American football player
  • 1978 – Tony Estanguet, French slalom canoeist
  • 1978 – Fredrick Federley, Swedish journalist and politician
  • 1978 – Alexandr Fedorov, Russian bodybuilder
  • 1979 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
  • 1979 – Jan Erik Mikalsen, Norwegian composer
  • 1979 – Jon Montgomery, Canadian skeleton racer and television host
  • 1980 – Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
  • 1980 – Dimitris Diamantidis, Greek professional basketball player
  • 1980 – Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Matthew Whiley, English cricketer
  • 1982 – Jason Witten, American football player
  • 1983 – Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Ingrid Jonach, Australian author
  • 1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, American actress
  • 1983 – Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Karmapa Lama
  • 1983 – Fredrik Sjöström, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Juan Pablo Carrizo, Argentinian footballer
  • 1985 – Chris Paul, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Goran Dragic, Slovenian basketball player
  • 1987 – Dries Mertens, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Meek Mill, American rapper
  • 1987 – Adrienne Warren, American actress
  • 1988 – Ryan Anderson, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Dakota Kai, New Zealander profesional wrestler
  • 1989 – Dominika Cibulková, Slovak tennis player
  • 1989 – Jesse Hughes, Canadian DJ and producer
  • 1990 – José Altuve, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1992 – Brendan Gallagher, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Byun Baekhyun, South Korean musician and actor
  • 1992 – Jonas Valančiūnas, Lithuanian professional basketball player
  • 1993 – Gustavo Gómez, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1994 – Mateo Kovačić, Austrian-Croatian footballer
  • 1997 – Duncan Scott, Scottish swimmer
  • 2019 – Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, British royal

Deaths on May 6

  • 698 – Eadberht, bishop of Lindisfarne
  • 850 – Ninmyō, Japanese emperor (b. 808)
  • 932 – Qian Liu, Chinese warlord and king (b. 852)
  • 988 – Dirk II, count of Frisia and Holland
  • 1002 – Ealdwulf, Archbishop of York, Abbot of Peterborough and Bishop of Worcester
  • 1187 – Ruben III, Prince of Armenia (b. 1145)
  • 1236 – Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler
  • 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, English commander (b. 1438)
  • 1471 – Thomas Tresham, Speaker of the House of Commons
  • 1475 – Dieric Bouts, Flemish painter (b. 1415)
  • 1483 – Queen Jeonghui, Korean regent (b. 1418)
  • 1502 – James Tyrrell, English knight (b. 1450)
  • 1527 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne (b.1490)
  • 1540 – Juan Luís Vives, Spanish scholar (b. 1492)
  • 1596 – Giaches de Wert, Flemish-Italian composer (b. 1535)
  • 1631 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (b. 1570)
  • 1638 – Cornelius Jansen, Dutch-French bishop and theologian (b. 1585)
  • 1708 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop (b. 1623)
  • 1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1683)
  • 1757 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (b. 1684)
  • 1782 – Christine Kirch, German astronomer and academic (b. 1696)
  • 1840 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (b. 1792)
  • 1859 – Alexander von Humboldt, German geographer and explorer (b. 1769)
  • 1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1817)
  • 1877 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Swedish-Finnish poet and hymn-writer (b. 1804)
  • 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke, Irish civil servant (b. 1829)
  • 1882 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, British politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1836)
  • 1902 – Bret Harte, American author and poet (b. 1836)
  • 1905 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (b. 1831)
  • 1907 – Emanuele Luigi Galizia, Maltese architect and civil engineer (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1841)
  • 1919 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (b. 1856)
  • 1939 – Konstantin Somov, Russian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1869)
  • 1949 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian-French poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
  • 1951 – Élie Cartan, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1869)
  • 1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian-Dutch physician and educator (b. 1870)
  • 1959 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (b. 1881)
  • 1959 – Ragnar Nurkse, Estonian-American economist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (b. 1895)
  • 1963 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1881)
  • 1963 – Ted Weems, American violinist, trombonist, and bandleader (b. 1901)
  • 1963 – Monty Woolley, American raconteur, actor, and director (b. 1888)
  • 1967 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (b. 1885)
  • 1970 – Alexander Rodzyanko, Russian general (b. 1879)
  • 1973 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
  • 1975 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1892)
  • 1980 – María Luisa Bombal, Chilean writer (b. 1910)
  • 1983 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
  • 1983 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (b. 1922)
  • 1984 – Mary Cain, American journalist and politician (b. 1904)
  • 1984 – Bonner Pink, English politician (b. 1912)
  • 1987 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1913)
  • 1989 – Earl Blaik, American football player and coach (b. 1897)
  • 1990 – Charles Farrell, American actor (b. 1901)
  • 1991 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (b. 1903)
  • 1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (b. 1901)
  • 1993 – Ann Todd, English actress and producer (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1956)
  • 2000 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1906)
  • 2002 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1932)
  • 2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (b. 1948)
  • 2002 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (b. 1940)
  • 2003 – Art Houtteman, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Virginia Capers, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
  • 2004 – Philip Kapleau, American monk and educator (b. 1912)
  • 2004 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
  • 2006 – Lorne Saxberg, Canadian journalist (b. 1958)
  • 2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian physician and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Curtis Harrington, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2009 – Kevin Grubb, American race car driver (b. 1978)
  • 2010 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – James R. Browning, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – James Isaac, American director and producer (b. 1960)
  • 2012 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and author (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian journalist and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Severo Aparicio Quispe, Peruvian bishop (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Michelangelo Spensieri, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – Wil Albeda, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – William H. Dana, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Billy Harrell, American baseball player and scout (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Maria Lassnig, Austrian painter and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Novera Ahmed, Bangladeshi sculptor (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Denise McCluggage, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1990)
  • 2016 – Reg Grundy, Australian businessman (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on May 6

  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Dominic Savio
    • Evodius of Antioch (Roman Catholic Church)
    • François de Laval
    • Gerard of Lunel
    • Lucius of Cyrene
    • Petronax of Monte Cassino
    • St George’s Day related observances (Eastern Orthodox Church):
      • Day of Bravery, also known as Gergyovden (Bulgaria)
      • Đurđevdan (Gorani, Roma)
      • Police Day (Georgia)
      • Yuri’s Day in the Spring (Russian Orthodox Church)
    • St John before the Latin Gate
    • May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Military Spouse Day can fall, while May 12 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Mother’s Day (United States)
  • International No Diet Day
  • Martyrs’ Day (Gabon)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Lebanon and Syria)
  • Teachers’ Day (Jamaica)
  • The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey)

April 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

by
  • 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
  • 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik’nal and sacking the city.
  • 711 – Dagobert III succeeds his father King Childebert III as King of the Franks.
  • 1014 – Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
  • 1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England.
  • 1343 – St. George’s Night Uprising commences in the Duchy of Estonia.
  • 1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St. George’s Day.
  • 1516 – The Munich Reinheitsgebot (regarding the ingredients of beer) takes effect in all of Bavaria.
  • 1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
  • 1635 – The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston.
  • 1655 – The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later.
  • 1660 – Treaty of Oliva is established between Sweden and Poland.
  • 1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
  • 1815 – The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1879 – Fire burns down the second main building and dome of the University of Notre Dame, which prompts the construction of the third, and current, Main Building with its golden dome.
  • 1914 – First baseball game at Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park, in Chicago.
  • 1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
  • 1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara. The assembly denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution.
  • 1927 – Cardiff City defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, the only time it has been won by a team not based in England.
  • 1935 – The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
  • 1940 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
  • 1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz: German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
  • 1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler’s designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich. Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels advise Hitler that the telegram is treasonous.
  • 1946 – Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
  • 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
  • 1951 – Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
  • 1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
  • 1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) a manned spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
  • 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
  • 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
  • 1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
  • 1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
  • 1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
  • 1999 – NATO bombs the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia, as part of their aerial campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
  • 2005 – The first ever YouTube video, titled “Me at the zoo”, was published by co-founder Jawed Karim.
  • 2013 – At least 28 people are killed and more than 70 are injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq.
  • 2018 – A vehicle-ramming attack kills 10 people and injures 16 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.
  • 2019 – The 2019 Hpakant jade mine collapse in Myanmar kills four miners and two rescuers.

Births on April 23

  • 1141 (probable) – Malcolm IV of Scotland (d. 1165)
  • 1185 – Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
  • 1408 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (d. 1462)
  • 1420 – George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia (d. 1471)
  • 1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1505)
  • 1464 – Robert Fayrfax, English Renaissance composer (d. 1521)
  • 1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (d. 1558)
  • 1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1565)
  • 1500 – Johann Stumpf, Swiss writer (d. 1576)
  • 1512 – Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, Chancellor of the University of Oxford (d. 1580)
  • 1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
  • 1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
  • 1621 – William Penn, English admiral and politician (d. 1670)
  • 1628 – Johannes Hudde, Dutch mathematician and politician (d. 1704)
  • 1661 – Issachar Berend Lehmann, German-Jewish banker, merchant and diplomat (d. 1730)
  • 1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer and conductor (d. 1797)
  • 1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi and author (d. 1797)
  • 1744 – Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (d. 1770)
  • 1748 – Félix Vicq-d’Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
  • 1791 – James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
  • 1792 – Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
  • 1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and author (d. 1856)
  • 1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
  • 1812 – Frederick Whitaker, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
  • 1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, 7th Illinois Secretary of State (d. 1861)
  • 1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, Italian-French historian and scholar (d. 1853)
  • 1818 – James Anthony Froude, English historian, novelist, biographer and editor (d. 1894)
  • 1819 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1901)
  • 1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
  • 1856 – Granville Woods, American inventor and engineer (d. 1910)
  • 1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
  • 1858 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
  • 1860 – Justinian Oxenham, Australian public servant (d. 1932)
  • 1861 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (d. 1936)
  • 1861 – John Peltz, American baseball player and manager (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
  • 1867 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (d. 1925)
  • 1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1942)
  • 1882 – Albert Coates, English composer and conductor (d. 1953)
  • 1888 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
  • 1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
  • 1893 – Frank Borzage, American actor and director (d. 1952)
  • 1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author and director (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Folke Jansson, American general (d. 1965)
  • 1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
  • 1898 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
  • 1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (d. 1982)
  • 1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1959)
  • 1900 – Joseph Green, Polish-American actor and director (d. 1996)
  • 1901 – E. B. Ford, English biologist and geneticist (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – Guy Simonds, English-Canadian general (d. 1974)
  • 1904 – Clifford Bricker, Canadian long-distance runner (d. 1980)
  • 1904 – Louis Muhlstock, Polish-Canadian painter (d. 2001)
  • 1904 – Duncan Renaldo, American actor (d. 1985)
  • 1907 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (d. 1977)
  • 1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor, designed the Wotruba Church (d. 1975)
  • 1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator and director (d. 2006)
  • 1910 – Sheila Scott Macintyre, Scottish mathematician (d. 1960)
  • 1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
  • 1911 – Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1913 – Diosa Costello, Puerto Rican-American entertainer, producer and club owner (d. 2013)
  • 1915 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer, academic, and businessman (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Yiannis Moralis, Greek painter and educator (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Sinah Estelle Kelley, American chemist (d. 1982)
  • 1917 – Dorian Leigh, American model (d. 2008)
  • 1917 – Tony Lupien, American baseball player and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1918 – Maurice Druon, French author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Oleg Penkovsky, Russian colonel (d. 1963)
  • 1920 – Eric Grant Yarrow, 3rd Baronet, English businessman (d. 2018)
  • 1921 – Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Cleto Bellucci, Italian archbishop (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – Dolph Briscoe, American lieutenant and politician, 41st Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
  • 1923 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
  • 1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player and scout (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer and bandleader (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – J.P. Donleavy, American-Irish novelist and playwright (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (d. 1990)
  • 1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
  • 1932 – Jim Fixx, American runner and author (d. 1984)
  • 1933 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 2011)
  • 1934 – George Canseco, Filipino composer and producer (d. 2004)
  • 1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1937 – Victoria Glendinning, English author and critic
  • 1937 – David Mills, English cricketer (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Barry Shepherd, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
  • 1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican director and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Bill Hagerty, English journalist
  • 1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
  • 1939 – Ray Peterson, American pop singer (d. 2005)
  • 1940 – Michael Copps, American academic and politician
  • 1940 – Dale Houston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1940 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer and actress
  • 1941 – Arie den Hartog, Dutch road bicycle racer (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Finnish journalist and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Finland
  • 1941 – Michael Lynne, American film producer, co-founded New Line Cinema
  • 1941 – Ed Stewart, English radio and television host (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (d. 2016)
  • 1942 – Sandra Dee, American model and actress (d. 2005)
  • 1943 – Gail Goodrich, American basketball player and coach
  • 1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
  • 1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
  • 1944 – Jean-François Stévenin, French actor and director
  • 1946 – Blair Brown, American actress
  • 1946 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Robert Burgess, English sociologist and academic
  • 1947 – Glenn Cornick, English bass player (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Irish civil rights leader and politician
  • 1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author and screenwriter
  • 1948 – Serge Thériault, Canadian actor
  • 1949 – Paul Collier, English economist and academic
  • 1949 – David Cross, English violinist
  • 1949 – John Miles, British rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
  • 1950 – Rowley Leigh, English chef and journalist
  • 1950 – Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Sac and Fox Nation Native American politician
  • 1951 – Martin Bayerle, American treasure hunter
  • 1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
  • 1953 – James Russo, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Stephen Dalton, English air marshal
  • 1954 – Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist
  • 1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
  • 1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
  • 1955 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2008)
  • 1957 – Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer, and art director
  • 1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress and comedian (d. 2014)
  • 1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic composer and producer
  • 1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1959 – Unity Dow, Botswanan judge, author, and rights activist
  • 1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
  • 1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 1991)
  • 1960 – Barry Douglas, Irish pianist and conductor
  • 1960 – Léo Jaime, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1960 – Claude Julien, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
  • 1961 – Pierluigi Martini, Italian race car driver
  • 1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor and producer
  • 1962 – Shaun Spiers, English businessman and politician
  • 1963 – Paul Belmondo, French race car driver
  • 1963 – Robby Naish, American windsurfer
  • 1964 – Gianandrea Noseda, Italian pianist and conductor
  • 1965 – Leni Robredo, Filipina human rights lawyer, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
  • 1966 – Jörg Deisinger, German bass player
  • 1966 – Matt Freeman, American bass player
  • 1966 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (d. 1999)
  • 1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
  • 1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
  • 1968 – Bas Haring, Dutch philosopher, writer, television presenter and professor.
  • 1968 – Ken McRae, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, Oklahoma City bombing co-perpetrator (d. 2001)
  • 1969 – Martín López-Zubero, American-Spanish swimmer and coach
  • 1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
  • 1970 – Egemen Bağış, Turkish politician, 1st Minister of European Union Affairs
  • 1970 – Dennis Culp, American singer-songwriter and trombonist
  • 1970 – Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league player and manager
  • 1970 – Hans Välimäki, Finnish chef and author
  • 1970 – Tayfur Havutçu, Turkish international footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Uli Herzner, German-American fashion designer
  • 1972 – Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet and playwright
  • 1972 – Peter Dench, English photographer and journalist
  • 1972 – Amira Medunjanin, singer from Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 1973 – Patrick Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Carlos Dengler, American bass player
  • 1974 – Michael Kerr, New Zealand-German rugby player
  • 1975 – Bobby Shaw, American football player
  • 1976 – Aaron Dessner, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1977 – John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor
  • 1977 – David Kidwell, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
  • 1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – John Oliver, English comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Kal Penn, Indian-American actor
  • 1977 – Bram Schmitz, Dutch cyclist
  • 1977 – Lee Young-pyo, South Korean international footballer
  • 1978 – Gezahegne Abera, Ethiopian runner
  • 1979 – Barry Hawkins, English snooker player
  • 1979 – Jaime King, American actress and model
  • 1979 – Joanna Krupa, Polish-American model and television personality
  • 1979 – Samppa Lajunen, Finnish skier
  • 1982 – Tony Sunshine, American singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Leon Andreasen, Danish international footballer
  • 1983 – Daniela Hantuchová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1983 – Ian Henderson, English rugby league player
  • 1984 – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player
  • 1984 – Jesse Lee Soffer, American actor
  • 1985 – Angel Locsin, Filipino actress, producer, and fashion designer
  • 1986 – Sven Kramer, Dutch speed skater
  • 1986 – Alysia Montaño, American runner
  • 1986 – Rafael Fernandes, Brazilian baseball player
  • 1987 – Michael Arroyo, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1987 – John Boye, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1987 – Emily Fox, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
  • 1988 – Alistair Brownlee, English triathlete
  • 1988 – Signe Ronka, Canadian figure skater
  • 1988 – Lenka Wienerová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1989 – Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
  • 1990 – Rui Fonte, Portuguese footballer, winger
  • 1990 – Dev Patel, English actor
  • 1991 – Nathan Baker, English footballer
  • 1991 – Caleb Johnson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1991 – Paul Vaughan, Australian-Italian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Patrick Olsen, Danish footballer
  • 1994 – Song Kang, South Korean actor
  • 1995 – Gigi Hadid, American fashion model and television personality
  • 1997 – Zach Apple, American swimmer

Deaths on April 23

  • 303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and martyr (b. 275)
  • 711 – Childebert III, Frankish king (b. 670)
  • 725 – Wihtred of Kent (b. 670)
  • 871 – Æthelred of Wessex (b. 837)
  • 915 – Yang Shihou, Chinese general
  • 944 – Wichmann the Elder, Saxon nobleman
  • 990 – Ekkehard II, Swiss monk and abbot
  • 997 – Adalbert of Prague, Czech bishop, missionary, and saint (b. 956)
  • 1014 – Brian Boru, Irish king (b. 941)
  • 1014 – Domnall mac Eimín, Mormaer of Mar
  • 1016 – Æthelred the Unready, English son of Edgar the Peaceful (b. 968)
  • 1124 – Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
  • 1151 – Adeliza of Louvain (b. 1103)
  • 1170 – Minamoto no Tametomo, Japanese samurai (b. 1139)
  • 1196 – Béla III of Hungary (b. c.1148)
  • 1200 – Zhu Xi, Chinese philosopher (b. 1130)
  • 1217 – Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
  • 1262 – Aegidius of Assisi, companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
  • 1307 – Joan of Acre (b. 1272)
  • 1400 – Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford, English politician and nobleman (b. c. 1338)
  • 1407 – Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
  • 1501 – Domenico della Rovere, Catholic cardinal (b. 1442)
  • 1554 – Gaspara Stampa, Italian poet (b. 1523)
  • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Russian ruler (b. 1551)
  • 1616 – William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (b. 1564)
  • 1625 – Maurice, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
  • 1695 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet and author (b. 1621)
  • 1702 – Margaret Fell, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1614)
  • 1781 – James Abercrombie, Scottish general and politician (b. 1706)
  • 1784 – Solomon I of Imereti (b. 1735)
  • 1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and author (b. 1741)
  • 1794 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
  • 1827 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (b. 1780)
  • 1839 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (b. 1768)
  • 1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet and author (b. 1770)
  • 1889 – Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly, French author and critic (b. 1808)
  • 1895 – Carl Ludwig, German physician and physiologist (b. 1815)
  • 1905 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (b. 1823)
  • 1907 – Alferd Packer, American prospector (b. 1842)
  • 1915 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887)
  • 1936 – Teresa de la Parra, French-Venezuelan author (b. 1889)
  • 1951 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (b. 1883)
  • 1951 – Charles G. Dawes, American banker and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1959 – Bak Jungyang, Korean politician
  • 1965 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (b. 1891)
  • 1966 – George Ohsawa, Japanese founder of the Macrobiotic diet (b. 1893)
  • 1981 – Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and author (b. 1897)
  • 1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
  • 1984 – Red Garland, American pianist (b. 1923)
  • 1985 – Sam Ervin, American lawyer and politician (b. 1896)
  • 1985 – Frank Farrell, Australian rugby league player and policeman (b. 1916)
  • 1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
  • 1986 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1922)
  • 1986 – Otto Preminger, Ukrainian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1906)
  • 1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 1991 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1992 – Tanka Prasad Acharya, Nepalese politician, 27th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1912)
  • 1993 – Cesar Chavez, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers (b. 1927)
  • 1995 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1895)
  • 1995 – Howard Cosell, American lawyer and journalist (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – Riho Lahi, Estonian journalist (b. 1904)
  • 1995 – John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (b. 1904)
  • 1996 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (b. 1913)
  • 1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian-English author and actress (b. 1899)
  • 1997 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1918)
  • 1998 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 172nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1907)
  • 1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928)
  • 1998 – Thanassis Skordalos, Greek singer-songwriter and lyra player (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – Herman Veenstra, Dutch water polo player (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Robert Farnon, Canadian-English trumpet player, composer and conductor (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Al Grassby, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
  • 2005 – Romano Scarpa, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1927)
  • 2005 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player, coach and educator (b. 1934)
  • 2006 – Phil Walden, American record producer and manager, co-founder of Capricorn Records (b. 1940)
  • 2007 – Paul Erdman, Canadian-American economist and author (b. 1932)
  • 2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – Peter Randall, English sergeant (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (b. 1931)
  • 2010 – Peter Porter, Australian-born British poet (b. 1929)
  • 2011 – James Casey, English comedian, radio scriptwriter and producer (b. 1922)
  • 2011 – Tom King, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill, English businessman and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of State (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – John Sullivan, English screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2012 – Lillemor Arvidsson, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 34th Governor of Gotland (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Billy Bryans, Canadian drummer, songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
  • 2012 – Chris Ethridge, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2012 – Raymond Thorsteinsson, Canadian geologist and paleontologist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – LeRoy T. Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Bob Brozman, American guitarist (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Tony Grealish, English footballer (b. 1956)
  • 2013 – Antonio Maccanico, Italian banker and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Frank W. J. Olver, English-American mathematician and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist and scholar (b. 1907)
  • 2014 – Benjamín Brea, Spanish-Venezuelan saxophonist, clarinet player, and conductor (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Michael Glawogger, Austrian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Jaap Havekotte, Dutch speed skater and producer of ice skates (b. 1912)
  • 2014 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
  • 2014 – F. Michael Rogers, American general (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Patric Standford, English composer and educator (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Ray Jackson, Australian activist (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Pierre Claude Nolin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Canadian Senate (b. 1950)
  • 2015 – Jim Steffen, American football player (b. 1936)
  • 2015 – Francis Tsai, American author and illustrator (b. 1967)
  • 2016 – Inge King, German-born Australian sculptor (b. 1915)
  • 2016 – Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai politician, Prime Minister from 1995–1996 (b. 1932)
  • 2019 – Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, American soprano singer and presenter (b.1983)

Holidays and observances on April 23

  • Castile and León Day (Castile and León)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Adalbert of Prague
    • Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus
    • George
    • Blessed Giles of Assisi
    • Gerard of Toul
    • Ibar of Beggerin (Meath)
    • Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church)
    • April 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which the first day of Children’s Day can fall, while April 29 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday of April. (Colombia)
  • Independence Day (Conch Republic, Key West, Florida)
  • International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
  • Khongjom Day (Manipur)
  • National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Turkey and Northern Cyprus)
  • Navy Day (China)
  • St George’s Day (England) and its related observances:
    • Canada Book Day (Canada)
    • La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia, Spain)
    • World Book Day
  • UN English Language Day (United Nations)

March 20- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

by

Typically the March equinox falls on March 20, marking the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere.

  • 235 – Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor.
  • 673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka.
  • 1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish noblemen are publicly beheaded in the aftermath of the War against Sigismund (1598–1599).
  • 1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established.
  • 1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
  • 1760 – The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroys 349 buildings.
  • 1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
  • 1848 – German revolutions of 1848–49: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
  • 1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
  • 1854 – The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin, US.
  • 1861 – An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
  • 1883 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
  • 1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
  • 1890 – Prime Minister of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck is dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II.
  • 1896 – With the approval of Emperor Guangxu, the Qing dynasty post office is opened, marking the beginning of a postal service in China.
  • 1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
  • 1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
  • 1921 – The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland.
  • 1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
  • 1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.
  • 1933 – Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich and appointed Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant.
  • 1942 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
  • 1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
  • 1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
  • 1952 – The US Senate ratifies the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan.
  • 1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
  • 1964 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: The first Provisional IRA car bombing in Belfast kills seven people and injures 148 others in Northern Ireland.
  • 1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
  • 1985 – Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
  • 1987 – The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
  • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
  • 1990 – Ferdinand Marcos’s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
  • 1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb kills two children in Warrington, England. It leads to mass protests in both Britain and Ireland.
  • 1995 – The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 and wounding over 6,200 people.
  • 1999 – Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California, US.
  • 2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
  • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq.
  • 2006 – Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby.
  • 2012 – At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq.
  • 2014 – Four suspected Taliban members attack the Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least nine people.
  • 2015 – A Solar eclipse, equinox, and a supermoon all occur on the same day.

Births on March 20

  • 43 BC – Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
  • 1253 – Magadu, renamed Wareru, founder of Ramanya Kingdom, renamed Hanthawady Kingdom of Pegu (b. a commoner; d. on a Saturday in January 1307)
  • 1319 – Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d. 1348)
  • 1469 – Cecily of York (d. 1507)
  • 1477 – Jerome Emser, German theologian and scholar (d. 1527)
  • 1479 – Ippolito d’Este, Italian cardinal (d. 1520)
  • 1502 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
  • 1532 – Juan de Ribera, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1611)
  • 1612 – Anne Bradstreet, Puritan American poet (d. 1672)
  • 1615 – Dara Shikoh, Indian prince (d. 1659)
  • 1639 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1709)
  • 1725 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1789)
  • 1737 – Rama I, Thai king (d. 1809)
  • 1771 – Heinrich Clauren, German author (d. 1854)
  • 1796 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (d. 1862)
  • 1799 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet and author (d. 1839)
  • 1800 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, President of Costa Rica (d. 1845)
  • 1805 – Thomas Cooper, British poet (d. 1892)
  • 1811 – Napoleon II, French emperor (d. 1832)
  • 1811 – George Caleb Bingham, American painter and politician, State Treasurer of Missouri (d. 1879)
  • 1821 – Ned Buntline, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 1886)
  • 1824 – Theodor von Heuglin, German explorer and ornithologist (d. 1876)
  • 1828 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, and director (d. 1906)
  • 1831 – Patrick Jennings, Northern Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1897)
  • 1831 – Solomon L. Spink, American lawyer and politician (d. 1881)
  • 1834 – Charles William Eliot, American mathematician and academic (d. 1926)
  • 1836 – Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1836 – Edward Poynter, English painter, illustrator, and curator (d. 1919)
  • 1840 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
  • 1851 – Ismail Gasprinski, Ukrainian educator, publisher, and politician (d. 1914)
  • 1856 – John Lavery, Irish painter (d. 1941)
  • 1856 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American tennis player and engineer (d. 1915)
  • 1870 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
  • 1874 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet and activist (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1927)
  • 1879 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (d. 1960)
  • 1882 – René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (d. 1962)
  • 1882 – Harold Weber, American golfer (d. 1933)
  • 1884 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – John Jensen, Australian public servant (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Vernon Ransford, Australian cricketer (d. 1958)
  • 1888 – Amanda Clement, American baseball player, umpire, and educator (d. 1971)
  • 1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American tenor and actor (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (d. 1974)
  • 1895 – Fredric Wertham, German-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
  • 1898 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian artist (d. 1954)
  • 1900 – Amelia Chopitea Villa, Bolivia’s first female physician (d. 1942)
  • 1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and author (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Jean Galia, French rugby player and boxer (d. 1949)
  • 1906 – Abraham Beame, American accountant and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (d. 2001)
  • 1906 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – Hugh MacLennan, Canadian author and educator (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor and director (d. 1985)
  • 1910 – Erwin Blask, German hammer thrower (d. 1999)
  • 1911 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
  • 1912 – Ralph Hauenstein, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
  • 1913 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (d. 1968)
  • 1914 – Wendell Corey, American actor and politician (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1973)
  • 1916 – Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Vera Lynn, English singer, songwriter and actress (d. 2020)
  • 1917 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Donald Featherstone, English soldier and author (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Bernd Alois Zimmermann, German composer (d. 1970)
  • 1919 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter ace (d. 1983)
  • 1920 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Rosemary Timperley, English author and screenwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1921 – Usmar Ismail, Indonesian filmmaker (d. 1971)
  • 1921 – Dušan Pirjevec, Slovenian historian and philosopher (d. 1977)
  • 1921 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1970)
  • 1922 – Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – Ray Goulding, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1922 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1923 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer, 12th White House Counsel (d. 1999)
  • 1927 – John Joubert, South African-English composer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Jerome Biffle, American long jumper and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and engineer (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Fred Rogers, American television host and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – William Andrew MacKay, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Germán Robles, Spanish-Mexican actor and director (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Hal Linden, American actor, singer, and director
  • 1931 – Rein Raamat, Estonian director and screenwriter
  • 1933 – Lateef Adegbite, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – George Altman, American baseball player
  • 1933 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Willie Brown, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Mayor of San Francisco
  • 1934 – David Malouf, Australian author and playwright
  • 1935 – Ted Bessell, American actor and director (d. 1996)
  • 1935 – Bettye Washington Greene, American chemist (d. 1995)
  • 1936 – Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaican singer, songwriter, music producer, and inventor
  • 1936 – Mark Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
  • 1937 – Lois Lowry, American author
  • 1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Sergei Novikov, Russian mathematician and academic
  • 1939 – Gerald Curran, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Don Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1940 – Stathis Chaitas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1940 – Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer and journalist (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Giampiero Moretti, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded the Momo company (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – Pat Corrales, American baseball player and manager
  • 1941 – Kenji Kimihara, Japanese runner
  • 1943 – Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
  • 1943 – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Paul Junger Witt, American director and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – John Cameron, English composer and conductor
  • 1944 – Camille Cosby, American author, producer, and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Alan Harper, English-Irish archbishop
  • 1945 – Henry Bartholomay, American soldier and pilot (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
  • 1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1945 – Tim Yeo, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
  • 1946 – Douglas B. Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – John Boswell, American historian, philologist, and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1948 – John de Lancie, American actor
  • 1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1948 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Marcia Ball, American blues singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1949 – Richard Dowden, English journalist and educator
  • 1950 – William Hurt, American actor
  • 1950 – Carl Palmer, English drummer, percussionist, and songwriter
  • 1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American blues-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Geoff Brabham, Australian race car driver
  • 1952 – David Greenaway, English economist and academic
  • 1953 – Phil Judd, New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist and painter
  • 1954 – Mike Francesa, American radio talk show host and television commentator
  • 1954 – Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
  • 1954 – Paul Mirabella, American baseball player
  • 1955 – Nina Kiriki Hoffman, American author
  • 1955 – Ian Moss, Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter
  • 1955 – Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1956 – Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
  • 1956 – Anne Donahue, American lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Naoto Takenaka, Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director
  • 1957 – Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
  • 1957 – David Foster, Australian woodchopper
  • 1957 – Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Theresa Russell, American actress
  • 1957 – Chris Wedge, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
  • 1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress and producer
  • 1958 – Rickey Jackson, American football player
  • 1958 – Joe Reaiche, Australian rugby player
  • 1959 – Dave Beasant, English footballer and coach
  • 1959 – Mary Roach, American author
  • 1959 – Sting, American wrestler
  • 1959 – Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott, British Labour Party politician and peer
  • 1960 – Norm Magnusson, American painter and sculptor
  • 1960 – Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist and academic
  • 1960 – Yuri Shargin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
  • 1961 – Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, German politician
  • 1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Sara Wheeler, English author and journalist
  • 1962 – Stephen Sommers, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Paul Annacone, American tennis player and coach
  • 1963 – Kathy Ireland, American model, actress, and furniture designer
  • 1963 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (d. 2007)
  • 1963 – David Thewlis, English-French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer-songwriter
  • 1965 – William Dalrymple, Scottish historian and author
  • 1967 – Xavier Beauvois, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean runner
  • 1968 – A. J. Jacobs, American journalist and author
  • 1968 – Paul Merson, English footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Ultra Naté, American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter
  • 1969 – Yvette Cooper, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1969 – Fabien Galthie, French rugby player
  • 1970 – Edoardo Ballerini, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Josephine Medina, Filipino Paralympic table tennis player
  • 1970 – sj Miller, American academic, public speaker, and social justice activist
  • 1970 – Michael Rapaport, American actor, podcast host, and director
  • 1971 – Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
  • 1971 – Touré, American journalist and author
  • 1972 – Chilly Gonzales, Canadian-German singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1972 – Alex Kapranos, English-Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Greg Searle, English rower
  • 1972 – Marco Sejna, German footballer
  • 1972 – Cristel Vahtra, Estonian skier
  • 1973 – Nicky Boje, South African cricketer
  • 1973 – Natalya Khrushcheleva, Russian runner
  • 1973 – Talal Khalifa Aljeri, Kuwaiti businessman
  • 1974 – Carsten Ramelow, German footballer
  • 1975 – Ramin Bahrani, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Isolde Kostner, Italian skier
  • 1976 – Chester Bennington, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1978 – Kevin Betsy, English born Seychelles international footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1978 – Brent Sherwin, Australian rugby league player
  • 1979 – Shinnosuke Abe, Japanese baseball player
  • 1979 – Freema Agyeman, English actress
  • 1979 – Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1980 – Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Robertas Javtokas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1981 – Ian Murray, Scottish footballer
  • 1981 – Carl Webb, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
  • 1982 – José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
  • 1983 – Carolina Padrón, Venezuelan journalist
  • 1983 – Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish singer
  • 1984 – Vikram Banerjee, English cricketer
  • 1984 – Christy Carlson Romano, American actress and singer
  • 1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
  • 1985 – Ronnie Brewer, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Nicolas Lombaerts, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Dean Geyer, South African-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1986 – Julián Magallanes, Argentinian footballer
  • 1986 – Ruby Rose, Australian actress and model
  • 1986 – Román Torres, Panamanian footballer
  • 1987 – Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1987 – Jô, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director
  • 1989 – Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi Cricketer
  • 1990 – Blake Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer
  • 1991 – Mattia Destro, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Michał Kucharczyk, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Ethan Lowe, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Sloane Stephens, American tennis player
  • 1995 – Jack Bird, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on March 20

  • 687 – Cuthbert, Northumbrian (English) monk, bishop, and saint (b. 634)
  • 703 – Wulfram, archbishop of Sens
  • 842 – Alfonso II, king of Asturias (Spain) (b. 759)
  • 851 – Ebbo, archbishop of Reims
  • 1181 – Taira no Kiyomori, Japanese general (b. 1118)
  • 1191 – Pope Clement III (b. 1130)
  • 1239 – Hermann von Salza, German knight and diplomat (b. 1179)
  • 1302 – Ralph Walpole, Bishop of Norwich
  • 1336 – Maurice Csák, Hungarian Dominican friar (b. 1270)
  • 1351 – Muhammad bin Tughluq, Sultan of Delhi
  • 1390 – Alexios III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
  • 1413 – Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
  • 1440 – Sigismund I of Lithuania
  • 1475 – Georges Chastellain, Burgundian chronicler and poet
  • 1549 – Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, English general and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1508)
  • 1568 – Albert, Duke of Prussia (b. 1490)
  • 1619 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
  • 1673 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish monk (b. 1603)
  • 1688 – Maria of Orange-Nassau, Dutch princess (b. 1642)
  • 1730 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
  • 1746 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter and academic (b. 1656)
  • 1780 – Benjamin Truman, English brewer and businessman (b. 1699)
  • 1793 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1705)
  • 1835 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
  • 1849 – James Justinian Morier, Turkish-English author and diplomat (b. 1780)
  • 1855 – Joseph Aspdin, English businessman (b. 1788)
  • 1865 – Yamanami Keisuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
  • 1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (b. 1810)
  • 1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
  • 1894 – Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer, journalist and politician (b. 1802)
  • 1897 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1821)
  • 1899 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and author (b. 1822)
  • 1909 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian historian and businessman (b. 1842)
  • 1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American general and lawyer (b. 1828)
  • 1925 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (b. 1859)
  • 1929 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Arthur F. Andrews, American cyclist (b. 1876)
  • 1931 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
  • 1933 – Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin of Anton Cermak (b. 1900; executed)
  • 1940 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
  • 1945 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (b. 1883)
  • 1946 – Amadeus William Grabau, American-Chinese geologist, paleontologist, and academic (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and director (b. 1884)
  • 1952 – Hjalmar Väre, Finnish cyclist (b. 1892)
  • 1958 – Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian merchant, journalist, and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish republican and playwright (b. 1923)
  • 1965 – Daniel Frank, American long jumper (b. 1882)
  • 1966 – Johnny Morrison, American baseball player (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (b. 1889)
  • 1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
  • 1971 – Falih Rıfkı Atay, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1972 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1974 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (b. 1911)
  • 1977 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1909)
  • 1977 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (b. 1919)
  • 1978 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
  • 1981 – Gerry Bertier, American football player (b. 1953)
  • 1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1891)
  • 1990 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (b. 1929)
  • 1992 – Georges Delerue, French composer (b. 1925)
  • 1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist (b. 1946)
  • 1997 – V. S. Pritchett, English short story writer, essayist, and critic (b. 1900)
  • 1999 – Patrick Heron, British painter (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Gene Eugene, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
  • 2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1949)
  • 2004 – Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
  • 2004 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
  • 2010 – Ai, American poet and academic (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Girija Prasad Koirala, Indian-Nepalese politician, 30th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Johnny Pearson, English pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Lincoln Hall, Australian mountaineer and author (b. 1955)
  • 2012 – Noboru Ishiguro, Japanese animator and director (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Polish-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (b. 1966)
  • 2013 – James Herbert, English author (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Tonie Nathan, American politician (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Eva Burrows, Australian 13th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
  • 2017 – David Rockefeller, American billionaire and philanthropist (b. 1915)
  • 2018 – C. K. Mann, a Ghanaian Highlife musician and producer (b. 1936)
  • 2019 – Mary Warnock, English philosopher & writer (b. 1924)
  • 2020 – Kenny Rogers, American singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 20

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexandra
    • Blessed John of Parma
    • Clement of Ireland
    • Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
    • Herbert of Derwentwater
    • John of Nepomuk
    • Józef Bilczewski
    • María Josefa Sancho de Guerra
    • Martin of Braga
    • Michele Carcano
    • Wulfram
    • March 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest date for the vernal equinox in the Northern hemisphere:
    • Bahá’í Naw-Rúz, started at sunset on March 20. The end of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast. (Bahá’í Faith)
    • Chunfen (China)
    • Earth Equinox Day
    • International Astrology Day
    • New Year (Thelema)
    • Nowruz (Persian, Gilaki, Kurdish, Zoroastrians, and other Iranian people and countries with an Iranian influence)
    • Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Mabon in the southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
    • Shunbun no Hi (Japan)
    • Sun-Earth Day (United States)
    • Vernal Equinox Day/Kōreisai (Japan)
    • World Storytelling Day
  • Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Easter. (Christianity)
  • Great American Meatout (United States)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956.
  • International Day of Happiness (United Nations)
  • International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its related observances:
    • UN French Language Day (United Nations)
  • National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
  • World Sparrow Day