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May 13 in History
- 1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love.
- 1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, are officially married at Greenwich.
- 1568 – Battle of Langside: The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
- 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
- 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
- 1780 – The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in the Cumberland River area of what would become the U.S. state of Tennessee, providing for democratic government and a formal system of justice.
- 1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the “First Fleet”) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
- 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
- 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
- 1846 – Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a “proclamation of neutrality” which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
- 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
- 1861 – Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
- 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca: The battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
- 1880 – In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
- 1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea (“Golden Law”), Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.
- 1909 – The first Giro d’Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
- 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
- 1917 – Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
- 1940 – World War II: Germany’s conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech to the House of Commons.
- 1940 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the German invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
- 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting against German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
- 1943 – World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
- 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
- 1950 – The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
- 1951 – The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
- 1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
- 1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
- 1954 – The original Broadway production of The Pajama Game opens and runs for another 1,063 performances. Later received three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
- 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon’s car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
- 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
- 1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
- 1960 – Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
- 1967 – Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
- 1969 – May 13 Incident involving sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- 1971 – Over 900 unarmed Bengali Hindus are murdered in the Demra massacre.
- 1972 – Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
- 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
- 1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
- 1981 – Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
- 1985 – Police bombed MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
- 1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
- 1990 – The Dinamo–Red Star riot took place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
- 1992 – Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People’s Republic of China.
- 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
- 1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
- 1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
- 1998 – India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
- 2005 – Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan; Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
- 2006 – São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
- 2011 – Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
- 2012 – Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
- 2013 – American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.
- 2014 – An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.
Births on May 13
- 1024 – Hugh of Cluny, French abbot and saint (d. 1109)
- 1179 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (d. 1201)
- 1221 – Alexander Nevsky, Russian prince and saint (d. 1263)
- 1254 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (d. 1321)
- 1453 – Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, Scottish princess (d. 1488)
- 1588 – Ole Worm, Danish physician and historian (d. 1654)
- 1597 – Cornelis Schut, Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver (d. 1655)
- 1638 – Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (d. 1712)
- 1699 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
- 1712 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (d. 1772)
- 1713 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1765)
- 1717 – Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1780)
- 1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
- 1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (d. 1821)
- 1742 – Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
- 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823)
- 1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
- 1794 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
- 1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (d. 1875)
- 1811 – Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (b. 1859)
- 1822 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (d. 1902)
- 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
- 1832 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (d. 1864)
- 1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1897)
- 1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
- 1853 – Vaiben Louis Solomon, Australian politician, 21st Premier of South Australia (d. 1908)
- 1856 – Tom O’Rourke, American boxer and manager (d. 1938)
- 1857 – Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
- 1868 – Sumner Paine, American target shooter (d. 1904)
- 1869 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (d. 1944)
- 1877 – Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (d. 1948)
- 1881 – Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (d. 1922)
- 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964)
- 1882 – Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
- 1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
- 1884 – Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (d.1944)
- 1885 – Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
- 1887 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (d. 1951)
- 1888 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
- 1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964)
- 1901 – Murilo Mendes, Brazilian poet and telegrapher (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Louis Duffus, Australian-South African cricketer and journalist (d. 1984)
- 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (d. 1977)
- 1907 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (d. 1989)
- 1908 – Eugen Kapp, Estonian composer and educator (d. 1996)
- 1909 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Robert Middleton, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1911 – Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
- 1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Judah Nadich, American colonel and rabbi (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Theo Helfrich, German racing driver (d. 1978)
- 1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (d. 1980)
- 1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
- 1914 – Antonia Ferrín Moreiras, Spanish mathematician, academic, and astronomer (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Balasaraswati, Indian dancer and instructor (d. 1984)
- 1918 – Gwyn Howells, Australian public servant (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Gareth Morris, English flute player (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Michael Ainsworth, English cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1922 – Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
- 1923 – Ruth Adler Schnee, German-American textile designer and interior designer
- 1924 – Theodore Mann, American director and producer (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (d. 1958)
- 1927 – Fred Hellerman, American folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Herbert Ross, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
- 1928 – Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua
- 1928 – Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1929 – John Galvin, American general (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Mike Gravel, American lieutenant and politician
- 1930 – José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish journalist and author
- 1930 – Vernon Shaw, Dominican politician, 5th President of Dominica (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)
- 1931 – Sydney Lipworth, South African-English lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
- 1933 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1934 – Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Leon Wagner, American baseball player and actor (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Dominic Cossa, American opera singer
- 1935 – Jan Saudek, Czech photographer and painter
- 1935 – Kája Saudek, Czech author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1936 – Bill Rompkey, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Trevor Baylis, English inventor, invented the wind-up radio (d. 2018)
- 1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian librarian and author
- 1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
- 1937 – Beverley Owen, American actress (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1938 – Laurent Beaudoin, Canadian businessman
- 1938 – Anna Cropper, British actress (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Francine Pascal, American author and playwright
- 1938 – Buck Taylor, American actor
- 1939 – Hildrun Claus, German long jumper
- 1939 – Peter Frenkel, German race walker and coach
- 1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
- 1940 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (d. 1989)
- 1940 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese runner (d. 1968)
- 1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
- 1941 – Joe Brown, English singer and musician
- 1941 – Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach
- 1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
- 1942 – Leighton Gage, American author (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Roger Young, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Anthony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, English lawyer and judge
- 1943 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
- 1944 – Sir Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet, Scottish explorer, lawyer, and judge
- 1944 – Robert L. Crawford Jr., American actor
- 1944 – Carolyn Franklin, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
- 1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor
- 1945 – Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1945 – Magic Dick, American blues-rock harmonica, trumpet, and saxophone player
- 1945 – Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer
- 1946 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Jean Rondeau, French race car driver and constructor (d. 1985)
- 1946 – Marv Wolfman, American author
- 1947 – Charles Baxter, American novelist, essayist, and poet
- 1947 – Edgar Burcksen, Dutch-American film editor
- 1948 – Sheila Jeffreys, English-Australian political scientist, author, and academic
- 1948 – Dean Meminger, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Jane Glover, English conductor and scholar
- 1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress
- 1949 – Philip Kruse, Norwegian trumpeter and orchestra leader
- 1950 – Andy Cunningham, English actor (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
- 1950 – Joe Johnston, American film director and effects artist
- 1950 – Manning Marable, American author and academic (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
- 1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1951 – Rosie Boycott, English journalist and author
- 1951 – Sharon Sayles Belton, American politician, 45th Mayor of Minneapolis
- 1951 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Herman Philipse, Dutch philosopher and academic
- 1951 – Selina Scott, English journalist, producer, and author
- 1951 – Paul Thompson, English drummer
- 1952 – John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio
- 1952 – Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author
- 1953 – Zlatko Burić, Croat-Danish actor
- 1953 – Gerry Sutcliffe, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
- 1953 – David Voelker, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Harm Wiersma, Dutch draughts player and politician
- 1953 – Ruth A. David, American electrical engineer
- 1954 – Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Richard Madeley, English journalist and author
- 1956 – Fred Melamed, American actor
- 1956 – Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of Bhartiya Janta Party
- 1957 – Alan Ball, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Frances Barber, English actress
- 1957 – Mark Heap, English actor
- 1957 – David Hill, English organist and conductor
- 1957 – Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Filipino Secretary of the Interior
- 1957 – Koji Suzuki, Japanese author and screenwriter
- 1958 – Anthony Ray Parker, American actor
- 1961 – Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress
- 1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor
- 1962 – Paul Burstow, English politician
- 1962 – Nick Hurd, English businessman and politician, Minister for Civil Society
- 1963 – Andrea Leadsom, English politician
- 1963 – Wally Masur, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host
- 1964 – Chris Maitland, English drummer
- 1964 – Tom Verica, American actor, television director, and producer
- 1965 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (d. 2006)
- 1965 – Tasmin Little, English violinist and educator
- 1965 – János Marozsán, Hungarian footballer
- 1965 – Hikari Ōta, Japanese comedian and actor
- 1965 – José Rijo, Dominican baseball player
- 1965 – Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2018)
- 1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Tish Cyrus, American actress and film producer
- 1967 – Shon Greenblatt, American actor
- 1967 – Tommy Gunn, pornographic actor
- 1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1967 – Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
- 1968 – Susan Floyd, American actress
- 1968 – Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1968 – PMD, American rapper
- 1968 – Dmitriy Shevchenko, Russian discus thrower and coach
- 1969 – Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1969 – Nikos Aliagas, French-Greek journalist and television host
- 1970 – Doug Evans, American football player
- 1970 – Robert Maćkowiak, Polish sprinter
- 1971 – Imogen Boorman, English actress and martial artist
- 1971 – Rob Fredrickson, American football player
- 1971 – Espen Lind, Norwegian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1971 – Tom Nalen, American football player and sportscaster
- 1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
- 1972 – Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Pieta van Dishoeck, Dutch rower
- 1973 – Eric Lewis, American pianist
- 1973 – Bridgett Riley, American boxer and stuntwoman
- 1975 – Jamie Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Cristian Bezzi, Italian rugby player and coach
- 1975 – Brian Geraghty, American actor
- 1976 – Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer and manager
- 1976 – Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and scout
- 1976 – Ana Popović, Serbian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Magdalena Walach, Polish actress
- 1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Anthony Q. Farrell, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter
- 1977 – Robby Hammock, American baseball player and coach
- 1977 – Neil Hopkins, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1977 – James Middlebrook, English cricketer
- 1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress and director
- 1977 – Brian Thomas Smith, American actor and producer
- 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper
- 1978 – Brooke Anderson, American journalist
- 1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach
- 1978 – Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
- 1978 – Germán Magariños, Argentinian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1978 – Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
- 1978 – Nuwan Zoysa, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1979 – Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
- 1979 – Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
- 1979 – Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ukrainian footballer
- 1980 – L. J. Smith, American football player
- 1981 – Luciana Berger, English politician
- 1981 – Nicolas Jeanjean, French rugby player
- 1981 – Sunny Leone, Canadian American actress, model, and pornstar
- 1981 – Michael Mantenuto, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1981 – Shaun Phillips, American football player
- 1981 – Ryan Piers Williams, American actor and film director
- 1982 – Albert Crusat, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player
- 1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American soccer player
- 1983 – Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer
- 1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
- 1983 – Johnny Hoogerland, Dutch cyclist
- 1983 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
- 1983 – Jacob Reynolds, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
- 1984 – J. B. Cox, American baseball player
- 1984 – Benny Dayal, Indian singer
- 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler
- 1984 – Caroline Rotich, Kenyan runner
- 1985 – Javier Balboa, Spanish-Equatoguinean footballer
- 1985 – Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1985 – David Hernandez, American baseball player
- 1985 – Carolina Luján, Argentine chess player
- 1985 – Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer
- 1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1986 – Eun-Hee Ji, South Korean golfer
- 1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor
- 1986 – Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor
- 1986 – Scott Sutter, English footballer
- 1986 – Nino Schurter, Swiss cyclist
- 1986 – Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Antonio Adán, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Hugo Becker, French actor
- 1987 – Matt Doyle, American actor and singer
- 1987 – Laura Izibor, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1987 – Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Sandro Mareco, Argentine chess player
- 1987 – Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
- 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist
- 1987 – Charlotte Wessels, Dutch singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Bobby Shuttleworth, American soccer player
- 1988 – Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer
- 1988 – Didier Cohen, Australian DJ, producer and media personality
- 1988 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1989 – P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Mychal Givens, American baseball player
- 1991 – Jennifer Beattie, Scottish footballer
- 1991 – Anders Fannemel, Norwegian ski jumper
- 1992 – Bill Arnold, American ice hockey player
- 1992 – Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1992 – Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Georgina García Pérez, Spanish tennis player
- 1993 – Stefan Kraft, Austrian ski jumper
- 1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer
- 1993 – Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
- 1993 – Siim-Tanel Sammelselg, Estonian ski jumper
- 1993 – Tones and I, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1994 – Łukasz Moneta, Polish footballer
- 1997 – Reimis Smith, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on May 13
- 189 – Emperor Ling of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 156)
- 1112 – Ulric II, Margrave of Carniola
- 1176 – Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
- 1285 – Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros
- 1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
- 1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (b. 1521)
- 1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician (b. 1547)
- 1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher and author (b. 1632)
- 1726 – Francesco Antonio Pistocchi, Italian singer (b. 1659)
- 1782 – Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist (b. 1736)
- 1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1721)
- 1809 – Beilby Porteus, English bishop (b. 1731)
- 1832 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (b. 1769)
- 1835 – John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (b. 1752)
- 1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
- 1878 – Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (b. 1797)
- 1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (b. 1809)
- 1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (b. 1809)
- 1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (b. 1864)
- 1916 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (b. 1859)
- 1921 – Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
- 1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (b. 1857)
- 1929 – Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (b. 1878)
- 1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 1938 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 1941 – Frederick Christian, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (b. 1891)
- 1945 – Tubby Hall, American drummer (b. 1895)
- 1946 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (b. 1869)
- 1947 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1926)
- 1948 – Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (b. 1920)
- 1957 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (b. 1886)
- 1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (b. 1893)
- 1962 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (b. 1910)
- 1963 – Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (b. 1885)
- 1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (b. 1902)
- 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898)
- 1975 – Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1905)
- 1977 – Mickey Spillane, American mobster (b. 1934)
- 1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1985 – Richard Ellmann, American literary critic and biographer (b. 1918)
- 1988 – Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1929)
- 1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
- 1994 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (b. 1920)
- 1994 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1999 – Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (b. 1902)
- 2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (b. 1951)
- 2001 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (b. 1939)
- 2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress and author (b. 1925)
- 2002 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
- 2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (b. 1921)
- 2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Ron Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Frank Aletter, American actor (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (b. 1934)
- 2009 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
- 2011 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Donald “Duck” Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (b. 1979)
- 2012 – Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (b. 1906)
- 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (b. 1973)
- 2013 – Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
- 2014 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (b. 1977)
- 2014 – J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928)
- 2015 – David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (b. 1937)
- 2018 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (b. 1948)
- 2019 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (b. 1922)
- 2019 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist, and politician (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on May 13
- Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
- Christian feast day:
- Our Lady of Fátima
- Gerard of Villamagna
- Glyceria
- John the Silent (Roman Catholic)
- Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)
- Frances Perkins (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Servatius
- May 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Rotuma Day (Rotuma)
-
May 11 in History
- 330 – Constantinople is consecrated.
- 868 – A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
- 912 – Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch–Hanoverian army.
- 1792 – Robert Gray commands the first expedition to sail into the Columbia River.
- 1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
- 1813 – William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement.
- 1833 – The Lady of the Lake strikes an iceberg off Newfoundland and sinks with the loss of up to 265 passengers and crew.
- 1846 – President James K. Polk asked for a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War.
- 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
- 1858 – Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd state of the United States.
- 1880 – Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
- 1889 – An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
- 1894 – Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike.
- 1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
- 1943 – World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
- 1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes.
- 1960 – Adolf Eichmann is captured by the Mossad in Argentina.
- 1963 – Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama, disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
- 1970 – The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage.
- 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg’s charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.
- 1985 – Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.
- 1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
- 1996 – After the aircraft’s departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
- 1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
- 1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.
- 2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
- 2010 – David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country’s first coalition government since the Second World War.
- 2011 – An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain.
- 2013 – Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
- 2014 – Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers.
- 2016 – One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.
Births on May 11
- 1571 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (d. 1637)
- 1715 – Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, German organist (d. 1739)
- 1752 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (d. 1840)
- 1797 – José Mariano Salas, Mexican general and politician (d. 1867)
- 1811 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (d. 1893)
- 1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918)
- 1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
- 1869 – Archibald Warden, English tennis player (d. 1943)
- 1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (d. 1943)
- 1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (d. 1912)
- 1881 – Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Paul Nash, British painter (d. 1946)
- 1890 – Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (d. 1958)
- 1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (d. 1984)
- 1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
- 1895 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (d. 1978)
- 1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (d. 1978)
- 1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer and academic (d. 1955)
- 1897 – Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
- 1901 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-English poet and author (d. 1988):7
- 1901 – Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (d. 1967)
- 1902 – Edna Ernestine Kramer, American mathematician (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
- 1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (d. 1989)
- 1905 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (d. 2004)
- 1905 – Catherine Bauer Wurster, American architect and public housing advocate (d. 1964)
- 1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989
- 1911 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian economist and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Indian-Pakistani author and screenwriter (d. 1955)
- 1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
- 1921 – Robin Barbour, Scottish minister and author (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 – Edward J. King, American football player and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Bernard Fox, British actor (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer
- 1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader
- 1934 – Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1937 – Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer
- 1938 – Narendra Patel, Baron Patel, Tanzanian-English obstetrician, academic, and politician
- 1941 – Eric Burdon, English musician
- 1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician
- 1944 – John Benaud, Australian cricketer
- 1948 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-English politician
- 1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author
- 1950 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta
- 1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager
- 1955 – John DeStefano, Jr., American politician, 49th Mayor of New Haven
- 1957 – Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician
- 1962 – Steve Bono, American football player
- 1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player
- 1964 – Floyd Youmans, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager
- 1969 – Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner
- 1970 – Harold Ford, Jr., American lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Jason Queally, English cyclist
- 1972 – Tomáš Dvořák, Czech decathlete and coach
- 1973 – Tsuyoshi Ogata, Japanese runner
- 1974 – Darren Ward, English-Welsh footballer and coach
- 1974 – Tony Warner, English born Trinidadian international footballer and coach
- 1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, American rapper and record producer/executive
- 1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer
- 1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1977 – Bobby Roode, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress
- 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2013)
- 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
- 1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (d. 2014)
- 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model
- 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
- 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
- 1987 – Lim Seul-ong, South Korean singer and actor
- 1987 – Monica Roșu, Romanian gymnast
- 1988 – Jeremy Maclin, American football player
- 1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Alyssa Brown, Canadian artistic gymnast
- 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican international footballer
- 1989 – Cam Newton, American football player
- 1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer
- 1992 – Pablo Sarabia, Spanish footballer
- 1993 – Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player
- 1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner
- 1995 – Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer
- 1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American singer and actress
- 1999 – Kaitlyn Dias, American actress and voice artist
Deaths on May 11
- 1610 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and mathematician (b. 1552)
- 1686 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (b. 1602)
- 1778 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
- 1779 – John Hart, American lawyer and politician (b. 1711)
- 1812 – Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
- 1848 – Tom Cribb, English boxer (b. 1781)
- 1849 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (b. 1777)
- 1882 – Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1816)
- 1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801)
- 1908 – Charles Kingston, Australian politician, 20th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
- 1916 – Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873):xix
- 1918 – George Elmslie, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Victoria (b. 1861)
- 1920 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1878)
- 1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (b. 1837)
- 1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
- 1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (b. 1864)
- 1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (b. 1858)
- 1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
- 1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1874)
- 1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888):169
- 1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (b. 1930)
- 1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
- 1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 1983 – Zenna Henderson, American writer (b. 1917)
- 1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (b. 1894)
- 1988 – Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
- 2001 – Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1912)
- 2002 – Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (b. 1945)
- 2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (b. 1935)
- 2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (b. 1913)
- 2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (b. 1953)
- 2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
- 2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (b. 1904)
- 2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (b. 1977)
Holidays and observances on May 11
- Christian feast day:
- Anthimus of Rome
- Gangulphus of Burgundy
- Majolus of Cluny
- Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints
- May 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- National Technology Day (India)
- Statehood Day (Minnesota)
- Vietnam Human Rights Day (Vietnam)