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July 19 in history
- AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
- 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.
- 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic.
- 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas.
- 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea.
- 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.
- 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
- 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
- 1553 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after only nine days on the throne.
- 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
- 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England.
- 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
- 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai.
- 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom.
- 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.
- 1843 – Brunel’s steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
- 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed four firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
- 1848 – Women’s rights: A two-day Women’s Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.
- 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
- 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
- 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.
- 1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
- 1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.
- 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers’ militias against the Nationalist forces.
- 1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
- 1940 – Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II, that Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements.
- 1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
- 1942 – World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler’s submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic.
- 1943 – World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.
- 1947 – Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated.
- 1947 – Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated.
- 1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
- 1961 – Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later.
- 1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
- 1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
- 1969 – Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
- 1972 – Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.
- 1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
- 1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
- 1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
- 1979 – The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.
- 1980 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
- 1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
- 1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
- 1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
- 1985 – The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
- 1989 – United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 111.
- 1992 – A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
- 1997 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
- 2014 – Gunmen in Egypt’s western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.
Births on July 19
- 810 – Muhammad al-Bukhari, Persian scholar (d. 870)
- 1223 – Baibars, sultan of Egypt (d. 1277)
- 1420 – William VIII, Marquess of Montferrat (d. 1483)
- 1569 – Conrad Vorstius, Dutch theologian (d. 1622)
- 1670 – Richard Leveridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 1758)
- 1688 – Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary and painter (d. 1766)
- 1744 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author and poet (d. 1806)
- 1759 – Marianna Auenbrugger, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1782)
- 1759 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian monk and saint (d. 1833)
- 1771 – Thomas Talbot, Irish-Canadian colonel and politician (d. 1853)
- 1794 – José Justo Corro, Mexican politician and president, (1836-1837) (d. 1864)
- 1789 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (d. 1854)
- 1800 – Juan José Flores, Venezuelan general and politician, 1st President of Ecuador (d. 1864)
- 1814 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862)
- 1819 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (d. 1890)
- 1822 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge (d. 1916)
- 1827 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (d. 1857)
- 1834 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
- 1835 – Justo Rufino Barrios, Guatemalan president (d. 1885)
- 1842 – Frederic T. Greenhalge, English-American lawyer and politician, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1846 – Edward Charles Pickering, American astronomer and physicist (d. 1919)
- 1849 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French scholar and critic (d. 1906)
- 1865 – Georges Friedel, French mineralogist and crystallographer (d. 1933)
- 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon, founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
- 1860 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, tried and acquitted for the murders of her parents in 1892 (d. 1927)
- 1868 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American soprano and educator (d. 1944)
- 1869 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (d. 1927)
- 1875 – Alice Dunbar Nelson, African-American poet and activist (d. 1935)
- 1876 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)
- 1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949)
- 1881 – Friedrich Dessauer, German physicist and philosopher (d. 1963)
- 1883 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator and producer (d. 1972)
- 1886 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1957)
- 1888 – Enno Lolling, German physician (d. 1945)
- 1890 – George II of Greece (d. 1947)
- 1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1957)
- 1893 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1930)
- 1894 – Aleksandr Khinchin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Khawaja Nazimuddin, Bangladeshi-Pakistani politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965)
- 1894 – Percy Spencer, American physicist and inventor of the microwave oven (d. 1969)
- 1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter and academic (d. 1953)
- 1896 – Reginald Baker, English film producer (d. 1985)
- 1896 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and novelist (d. 1981)
- 1896 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player and sailor (d. 1977)
- 1898 – Herbert Marcuse, German-American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay, Indian physician, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Samudrala Raghavacharya, Indian singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
- 1904 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer and farmer (d. 1985)
- 1907 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (d. 1972)
- 1908 – Daniel Fry, American contactee (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Balamani Amma, Indian poet and author (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Peter Leo Gerety, American prelate (d. 2016)
- 1914 – Marius Russo, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Åke Hellman, Finnish painter (d. 2017)
- 1916 – Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
- 1917 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Patricia Medina, English-American actress (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Ron Searle, English-Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician, 4th Mayor of Mississauga (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Robert Mann, American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
- 1920 – Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (d. 2015)
- 1921 – Harold Camping, American evangelist, author, radio host (d. 2013)
- 1921 – André Moynet, French soldier, race car driver, and politician (d. 1993)
- 1921 – Elizabeth Spencer, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 2019)
- 1921 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
- 1922 – George McGovern, American lieutenant, historian, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Rachel Robinson, American professor, registered nurse, and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson
- 1923 – Theo Barker, English historian (d. 2001)
- 1923 – Alex Hannum, American basketball player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Joseph Hansen, American author and poet (d. 2004)
- 1923 – William A. Rusher, American lawyer and journalist (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Lon Simmons, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Pat Hingle, American actor and producer (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Arthur Rankin Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Sue Thompson, American singer
- 1926 – Helen Gallagher, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1928 – Samuel John Hazo, American author
- 1928 – Choi Yun-chil, South Korean long-distance runner and a two-time national champion in the marathon.
- 1929 – Gaston Glock, Austrian engineer and businessman, co-founded Glock Ges.m.b.H.
- 1929 – Orville Turnquest, Bahamian politician
- 1932 – Buster Benton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1932 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish biologist and photographer (d. 1987)
- 1934 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980)
- 1935 – Nick Koback, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2015)
- 1936 – David Colquhoun, English pharmacologist and academic
- 1937 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
- 1938 – Tom Raworth, English poet and academic (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Vikki Carr, American singer and actress
- 1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and diplomat, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
- 1943 – Han Sai Por, Singaporean sculptor and academic
- 1944 – Tim McIntire, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
- 1944 – Andres Vooremaa, Estonian chess player
- 1945 – Paule Baillargeon, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Alan Gorrie, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (Average White Band)
- 1946 – Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player and politician
- 1947 – André Forcier, Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1947 – Hans-Jürgen Kreische, German footballer and manager
- 1947 – Bernie Leadon, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1947 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and astrophysicist
- 1948 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 1980)
- 1949 – Kgalema Motlanthe, South African politician, 3rd President of South Africa
- 1950 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Finance
- 1950 – Freddy Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Adrian Noble, English director and screenwriter
- 1951 – Abel Ferrara, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1990)
- 1952 – Jayne Anne Phillips American novelist and short story writer
- 1954 – Mark O’Donnell, American playwright (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Steve O’Donnell, American screenwriter and producer
- 1954 – Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist and historian
- 1955 – Roger Binny, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1955 – Dalton McGuinty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Premier of Ontario
- 1956 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist, designed the IMAP (d. 2012)
- 1958 – Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1958 – Robert Gibson, American wrestler
- 1958 – David Robertson, American conductor
- 1959 – Juan J. Campanella, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Atom Egoyan, Egyptian-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Kevin Haskins, English drummer and songwriter
- 1961 – Harsha Bhogle, Indian journalist and author
- 1961 – Maria Filatova, Russian gymnast
- 1961 – Lisa Lampanelli, American comedian, actress, and author
- 1961 – Benoît Mariage, Belgian director and screenwriter
- 1961 – Hideo Nakata, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Campbell Scott, American actor, director, and producer
- 1962 – Anthony Edwards, American actor and director
- 1963 – Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Swiss musician
- 1963 – Garth Nix, Australian author
- 1964 – Teresa Edwards, American basketball player
- 1964 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer-songwriter and race car driver
- 1965 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish musician
- 1965 – Claus-Dieter Wollitz, German footballer and manager
- 1967 – Yael Abecassis, Israeli model and actress
- 1967 – Jean-François Mercier, Canadian comedian, screenwriter, and television host
- 1968 – Robb Flynn, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1968 – Pavel Kuka, Czech footballer and manager
- 1968 – Jim Norton, American comedian, actor, and author
- 1969 – Matthew Libatique, American cinematographer
- 1970 – Bill Chen, American poker player and software designer
- 1970 – Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish lawyer and politician, First Minister of Scotland
- 1971 – Rene Busch, Estonian tennis player and coach
- 1971 – Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer and politician, Mayor of Kiev
- 1971 – Michael Modest, American wrestler
- 1971 – Catriona Rowntree, Australian television host
- 1971 – Lesroy Weekes, Montserratian cricketer
- 1972 – Ebbe Sand, Danish footballer and manager
- 1973 – Martin Powell, English keyboard player and songwriter
- 1973 – Scott Walker, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1974 – Rey Bucanero, Mexican wrestler
- 1974 – Francisco Copado, German footballer and manager
- 1974 – Josée Piché, Canadian ice dancer
- 1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
- 1974 – Preston Wilson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Luca Castellazzi, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
- 1976 – Gonzalo de los Santos, Uruguayan footballer and manager
- 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Tony Mamaluke, American wrestler and manager
- 1977 – Ed Smith, English cricketer and journalist
- 1979 – Rick Ankiel, American baseball player
- 1979 – Josué Anunciado de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1979 – Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1979 – Luke Young, English footballer
- 1980 – Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player
- 1980 – Giorgio Mondini, Italian race car driver
- 1981 – Nenê, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – David Bernard, Jamaican cricketer
- 1981 – Mark Gasnier, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1981 – Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player
- 1981 – Grégory Vignal, French footballer
- 1982 – Christopher Bear, American drummer
- 1982 – Phil Coke, American baseball player
- 1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
- 1982 – Jess Vanstrattan, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Helen Skelton, English television host and actress
- 1983 – Fedor Tyutin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Andrea Libman, Canadian voice actress
- 1984 – Adam Morrison, American basketball player
- 1984 – Ryan O’Byrne, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Lewis Price, Welsh footballer
- 1985 – LaMarcus Aldridge, American basketball player
- 1985 – Zhou Haibin, Chinese footballer
- 1985 – Marina Kuzina, Russian basketball player
- 1985 – Hadi Norouzi, Iranian footballer (d. 2015)
- 1986 – Leandro Greco, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Jon Jones, American mixed martial artist
- 1987 – Marc Murphy, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Shane Dawson, American comedian and actor
- 1988 – Kevin Großkreutz, German footballer
- 1988 – Jakub Kovář, Czech ice hockey player
- 1989 – Sam McKendry, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Eray İşcan, Turkish footballer
- 1992 – Jake Nicholson, English footballer
- 1994 – Christian Welch, Australian rugby league player
- 1998 – Erin Cuthbert, footballer
- 1998 – Ronaldo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean footballer
Deaths on July 19
- 514 – Symmachus, pope of the Catholic Church
- 806 – Li Shigu, Chinese general (b. 778)
- 973 – Kyunyeo, Korean monk and poet (b. 917)
- 998 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine general (b. 940)
- 1030 – Adalberon, French bishop
- 1234 – Floris IV, Dutch nobleman (b. 1210)
- 1249 – Jacopo Tiepolo, doge of Venice
- 1333 – John Campbell, Scottish nobleman
- 1333 – Alexander Bruce, Scottish nobleman
- 1333 – Sir Archibald Douglas, Scottish nobleman
- 1333 – Maol Choluim II, Scottish nobleman
- 1333 – Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
- 1374 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1304)
- 1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, Portuguese queen (b. 1360)
- 1543 – Mary Boleyn, English daughter of Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1499)
- 1631 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1550)
- 1742 – William Somervile, English poet and author (b. 1675)
- 1810 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prussian queen (b. 1776)
- 1814 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (b. 1774)
- 1824 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican general and emperor (b. 1783)
- 1838 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (b. 1785)
- 1850 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (b. 1810)
- 1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet and translator (b. 1787)
- 1857 – Stefano Franscini, Swiss statistician and politician (b. 1796)
- 1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1847)
- 1896 – Abraham H. Cannon, American publisher and religious leader (b. 1859)
- 1913 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1852)
- 1925 – John Indermaur, British lawyer (b. 1851)
- 1930 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1844)
- 1933 – Kaarle Krohn, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1863)
- 1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet and author (b. 1850)
- 1943 – Yekaterina Budanova, Russian captain and pilot (b. 1916)
- 1947 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (b. 1898)
- 1947 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician (b. 1915)
- 1947 – Lyuh Woon-hyung, South Korean politician (b. 1886)
- 1963 – William Andrew, English priest (b. 1884)
- 1965 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (b. 1875)
- 1967 – Odell Shepard, American poet and politician, 66th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1884)
- 1969 – Stratis Myrivilis, Greek soldier and author (b. 1890)
- 1974 – Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer player and coach (b. 1904)
- 1975 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
- 1977 – Karl Ristikivi, Estonian geographer, author, and poet (b. 1912)
- 1980 – Margaret Craven, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
- 1980 – Nihat Erim, Turkish jurist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1912)
- 1980 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1904)
- 1981 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (b. 1919)
- 1982 – Hugh Everett III, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1930)
- 1984 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896)
- 1984 – Aziz Sami, Iraqi writer and translator (b. 1895)
- 1985 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish author (b. 1938)
- 1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish businessman and politician, President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1913)
- 1990 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
- 1994 – Victor Barbeau, Canadian author and academic (b. 1896)
- 1998 – Elmer Valo, Polish-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Dave Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Alan Lomax, American historian, scholar, and activist (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Bill Bright, American evangelist and author, founded the Campus Crusade for Christ (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1908)
- 2004 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (b. 1902)
- 2004 – J. Gordon Edwards, American entomologist, mountaineer, and DDT advocate (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Francis A. Marzen, American priest, and journalist (b. 1924)
- 2004 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Edward Bunker, American author and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)
- 2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentinian cartoonist (b. 1944)
- 2008 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedian and actress (b. 1907)
- 2009 – Frank McCourt, American author and educator (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (b. 1991)
- 2010 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, author, television screenwriter and director (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Jon Cleary, Australian author and playwright (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Humayun Ahmed, Bangladeshi director and playwright (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Tom Davis, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (b. 1912)
- 2012 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Sylvia Woods, American businesswoman, co-founded Sylvia’s Restaurant of Harlem (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Valiulla Yakupov, Islamic cleric (b. 1963)
- 2013 – Mikhail Gorsheniov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1973)
- 2013 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Mel Smith, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Bert Trautmann, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Phil Woosnam, Welsh-American soccer player and manager (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Peter Ziegler, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Leyla Erbil, Turkish author (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Rubem Alves, Brazilian theologian (b. 1933)
- 2014 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician and author (b. 1933)
- 2014 – James Garner, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Jerzy Jurka, Polish biologist (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Ray King, English footballer and manager (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Harry Pougher, English cricketer (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Leen Vleggeert, Dutch politician (b. 1931)
- 2014 – John Winkin, American baseball player, coach, and journalist (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Van Alexander, American composer and conductor (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Carmino Ravosa, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Gennadiy Seleznyov, Russian journalist and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Duma (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1934)
- 2018 – Jon Schnepp, American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer (b. 1967)
- 2018 – Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (b. 1993)
- 2019 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (b. 1944)
Holidays and observances on July 19
- Christian feast day:
- Arsenius (Catholic Church)
- Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht
- Justa and Rufina
- Kirdjun (or Abakerazum)
- Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great
- Symmachus
- July 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Martyrs’ Day (Myanmar)
- Sandinista Day or Liberation Day (Nicaragua)
-
June 25 in History
- 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
- 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
- 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
- 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
- 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
- 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
- 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
- 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
- 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
- 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
- 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
- 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
- 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
- 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
- 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
- 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
- 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
- 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
- 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
- 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
- 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
- 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
- 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
- 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
- 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
- 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
- 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
- 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
- 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
- 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
- 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
- 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.
Births on June 25
- 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
- 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
- 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
- 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
- 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
- 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
- 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
- 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
- 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
- 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
- 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
- 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
- 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
- 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
- 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
- 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
- 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
- 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
- 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
- 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
- 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
- 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
- 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
- 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
- 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
- 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
- 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
- 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
- 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
- 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
- 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
- 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
- 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
- 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
- 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
- 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
- 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
- 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
- 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
- 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
- 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
- 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
- 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
- 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
- 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
- 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
- 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
- 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
- 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
- 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
- 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
- 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
- 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
- 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
- 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
- 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
- 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
- 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
- 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
- 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
- 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
- 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
- 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
- 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
- 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
- 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
- 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
- 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
- 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
- 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
- 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
- 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
- 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
- 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
- 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
- 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
- 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
- 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
- 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
- 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
- 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
- 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
- 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
- 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
- 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
- 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
- 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
- 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
- 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
- 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
- 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
- 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
- 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
- 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
- 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
- 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
- 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
- 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
- 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
- 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
- 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
- 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
- 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
- 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
- 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
- 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
- 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
- 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
- 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
- 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
- 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
- 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
- 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
- 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
- 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
- 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
- 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
- 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
- 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
- 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
- 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
- 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
- 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
- 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
- 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
- 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
- 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
- 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
- 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
- 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress
Deaths on June 25
- 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
- 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
- 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
- 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
- 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
- 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
- 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
- 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
- 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
- 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
- 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
- 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
- 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
- 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
- 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
- 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
- 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
- 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
- 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
- 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
- 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
- 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
- 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
- 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
- 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
- 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
- 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
- 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
- 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
- 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
- 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
- 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
- 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
- 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
- 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
- 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
- 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
- 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
- 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
- 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
- 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
- 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
- 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
- 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
- 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
- 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
- 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
- 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
- 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
- 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
- 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
- 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
- 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
- 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
- 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
- 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
- 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
- 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
- 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
- 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
- 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
- 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
- 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
- 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
- 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
- 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
- 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
- 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
- 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
- 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
- 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
- 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
- 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
- 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
- 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
- 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
- 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
- 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
- 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
- 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on June 25
- Arbor Day (Philippines)
- Christian feast day:
- David of Munktorp
- Eurosia
- Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
- Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
- Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
- Prosper of Aquitaine
- Prosper of Reggio
- William of Montevergine
- June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
- National Catfish Day (United States)
- Statehood Day (Slovenia)
- Statehood Day (Virginia)
- Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
- World Vitiligo Day
-
June 24 in History
- 1312 BC – Mursili II launches a campaign against the Kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa.
- 217 BC – The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.
- 109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Rome.
- 474 – Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
- 637 – The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.
- 972 – Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.
- 1128 – Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: Forces led by Afonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba.
- 1230 – The Siege of Jaén begins, in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.
- 1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.
- 1340 – Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
- 1374 – A sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
- 1497 – John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
- 1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.
- 1535 – The Dominion of Münster, a radical communal Anabaptist state in the independent German city of Münster, is conquered by Franz von Waldeck, the Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Münster in a night attack.
- 1571 – Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
- 1604 – Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present-day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
- 1622 – Battle of Macau: The Dutch make a failed attempt to capture Macau.
- 1663 – The Spanish garrison of Évora capitulates, following the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial.
- 1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England is founded in London, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England).
- 1762 – Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.
- 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
- 1793 – The French Constitution of 1793 is formally adopted, although it is effectively suspended by the Committee of Public Safety.
- 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon’s Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.
- 1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
- 1821 – The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
- 1859 – Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
- 1866 – Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
- 1880 – First performance of O Canada at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français. The song would later become the national anthem of Canada.
- 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.
- 1902 – King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
- 1913 – Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.
- 1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.
- 1918 – First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.
- 1922 – The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.
- 1932 – A bloodless revolution instigated by the People’s Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
- 1938 – Pieces of a meteorite land near Chicora, Pennsylvania. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded.
- 1939 – Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country’s third prime minister.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.
- 1943 – US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.
- 1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington, leading to the coining of the phrase “flying saucer”.
- 1948 – Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
- 1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC.
- 1950 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating races.
- 1954 – First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.
- 1957 – In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
- 1963 – The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
- 1973 – The UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, is attacked by an arsonist during a church service, and 32 people die from smoke inhalation or fire.
- 1975 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York’s JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.
- 1981 – The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It remained the world’s longest bridge span for 17 years.
- 1982 – British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
- 1989 – Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
- 1995 – Rugby World Cup: South Africa defeats New Zealand and Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup in an iconic post-apartheid moment.
- 2002 – The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
- 2004 – In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.
- 2010 – At Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
- 2010 – Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
- 2012 – Death of Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.
- 2013 – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and engaging in sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.
Births on June 24
- 1210 – Count Floris IV of Holland (d. 1234)
- 1244 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1308)
- 1254 – Floris V, Count of Holland (d. 1296)
- 1257 – Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford, English nobleman (probable; d. 1331)
- 1314 – Philippa of Hainault Queen of England (d. 1369)
- 1322 – Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (d. 1406)
- 1343 – Joan of Valois, Queen of Navarre (d. 1373)
- 1360 – Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portuguese general
- 1386 – John of Capistrano, Italian priest and saint (d. 1456)
- 1465 – Isabella del Balzo, Queen Consort of Naples (d. 1533)
- 1485 – Johannes Bugenhagen, Polish-German priest and reformer (d. 1558)
- 1485 – Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1555)
- 1499 – Johannes Brenz, German theologian and the Protestant Reformer (d. 1570)
- 1519 – Theodore Beza, French theologian and scholar (d. 1605)
- 1532 – Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (d. 1588)
- 1532 – William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1573)
- 1535 – Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal (d. 1573)
- 1546 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (d. 1610)
- 1587 – William Arnold, English-American settler (d. 1675)
- 1591 – Mustafa I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1639)
- 1614 – John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse
- 1616 – Ferdinand Bol, Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman, student of Rembrandt (d. 1680)
- 1661 – Hachisuka Tsunanori, Japanese daimyō (d. 1730)
- 1663 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (d. 1742)
- 1687 – Johann Albrecht Bengel, German-Lutheran clergyman and scholar (d. 1757)
- 1694 – Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, Swiss author and theorist (d. 1748)
- 1704 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens, French philosopher and author (d. 1771)
- 1753 – William Hull, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Michigan Territory (d. 1825)
- 1755 – Anacharsis Cloots, Prussian-French activist (d. 1794)
- 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès, French geographer and author (d. 1846)
- 1771 – Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, French chemist and businessman, founded DuPont (d. 1834)
- 1774 – Antonio González de Balcarce, Argentinian commander and politician, 5th Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1819)
- 1774 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (d. 1838)
- 1777 – John Ross, Scottish commander and explorer (d. 1856)
- 1782 – Juan Larrea, Argentinian captain and politician (d. 1847)
- 1783 – Johann Heinrich von Thünen, German economist and geographer (d. 1850)
- 1784 – Juan Antonio Lavalleja, Uruguayan general and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 1853)
- 1788 – Thomas Blanchard, American inventor (d. 1864)
- 1795 – Ernst Heinrich Weber, German physician and psychologist (d. 1878)
- 1797 – John Hughes, Irish-American archbishop (d. 1864)
- 1797 – Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, Polish geologist and explorer (d. 1873)
- 1804 – Stephan Endlicher, Austrian botanist, numismatist, and sinologist (d. 1849)
- 1804 – Willard Richards, American religious leader (d. 1854)
- 1811 – John Archibald Campbell, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1889)
- 1813 – Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and reformer (d. 1887)
- 1813 – Francis Boott, American composer (d. 1904)
- 1821 – Guillermo Rawson, Argentinian physician and politician (d. 1890)
- 1826 – George Goyder, English-Australian surveyor (d. 1898)
- 1835 – Johannes Wislicenus, German chemist and academic (d. 1902)
- 1838 – Jan Matejko, Polish painter (d. 1893)
- 1839 – Gustavus Franklin Swift, American businessman (d. 1903)
- 1842 – Ambrose Bierce, American short story writer, essayist, and journalist (d. 1914)
- 1846 – Samuel Johnson, Nigerian priest and historian (d. 1901)
- 1850 – Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Irish field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Sudan (d. 1916)
- 1852 – Friedrich Loeffler, German bacteriologist and academic (d. 1915)
- 1854 – Eleanor Norcross, American painter (d. 1923)
- 1856 – Henry Chapman Mercer, American archaeologist and author (d. 1930)
- 1858 – Hastings Rashdall, English historian, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1924)
- 1865 – Robert Henri, American painter and educator (d. 1929)
- 1867 – Ruth Randall Edström, American educator and activist (d. 1944)
- 1869 – Prince George of Greece and Denmark (d. 1957)
- 1872 – Frank Crowninshield, American journalist and art and theatre critic (d. 1947)
- 1875 – Forrest Reid, Irish novelist, literary critic and translator (d. 1947)
- 1880 – Oswald Veblen, American mathematician and academic (g. 1960)
- 1880 – João Cândido Felisberto, Brazilian revolutionary and sailor (d. 1969)
- 1881 – George Shiels, Irish-Canadian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1949)
- 1882 – Athanase David, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1953)
- 1882 – Carl Diem, German businessman (d. 1962)
- 1883 – Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- 1883 – Fritz Löhner-Beda, Jewish Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer (d.1942)
- 1883 – Jean Metzinger, French artist (d. 1956)
- 1883 – Arthur L. Newton, American runner (d. 1956)
- 1883 – Frank Verner, American runner (d. 1966)
- 1884 – Frank Waller, American runner (d. 1941)
- 1885 – Olaf Holtedahl, Norwegian geologist (d. 1975)
- 1888 – Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect, designed the Rietveld Schröder House (d. 1964)
- 1893 – Roy O. Disney, American businessman, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1971)
- 1895 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and soldier (d. 1983)
- 1898 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (d. 1983)
- 1898 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1958)
- 1900 – Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
- 1901 – Marcel Mule, French saxophonist (d. 2001)
- 1901 – Harry Partch, American composer and theorist (d. 1974)
- 1901 – Chuck Taylor, American basketball player and salesman (d. 1969)
- 1904 – Phil Harris, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1995)
- 1905 – Fred Alderman, American sprinter (d. 1998)
- 1906 – Pierre Fournier, French cellist and educator (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Willard Maas, American poet and educator (d. 1971)
- 1907 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1989)
- 1908 – Hugo Distler, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
- 1908 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1978)
- 1909 – William Penney, Baron Penney, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1991)
- 1909 – Betty Cavanna, American author (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1995)
- 1911 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist and academic (d. 2011)
- 1911 – Portia White, Canadian opera singer (d. 1968)
- 1912 – Brian Johnston, English sportscaster and author (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Mary Wesley, English author (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Jan Karski, Polish-American activist and academic (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Pearl Witherington, French secret agent (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Fred Hoyle, English astronomer and author (d. 2001)
- 1916 – William B. Saxbe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 70th United States Attorney General (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Saloua Raouda Choucair, Lebanese painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
- 1917 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1917 – Lucy Jarvis, American television producer (d. 2020)
- 1917 – Ramblin’ Tommy Scott, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Joan Clarke, English cryptanalyst and numismatist (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Yong Nyuk Lin, Singaporean businessman and politician, Singaporean Minister for Education (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Al Molinaro, American actor (d. 2015)
- 1921 – Gerhard Sommer, German soldier
- 1922 – Jack Carter, American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
- 1922 – John Postgate, English microbiologist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Richard Timberlake, American economist
- 1923 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss politician, 70th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Yoshito Takamine, American politician (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Ogden Reid, American politician (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (d. 1997)
- 1927 – James B. Edwards, American dentist, soldier, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Energy (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Carolyn S. Shoemaker, American astronomer
- 1930 – Claude Chabrol, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Donald Gordon, South African businessman and philanthropist (d. 2019)
- 1930 – William Bernard Ziff, Jr., American publisher (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Billy Casper, American golfer and architect (d. 2015)
- 1932 – David McTaggart, Canadian-Italian environmentalist (d. 2001)
- 1933 – Sam Jones, American basketball player and coach
- 1933 – Ngina Kenyatta, 1st First Lady of Kenya
- 1934 – Ferdinand Biwersi, German footballer and referee (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Jean-Pierre Ferland, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1934 – Gloria Christian, Italian singer
- 1935 – Terry Riley, American composer and educator
- 1935 – Jean Milesi, French racing cyclist
- 1935 – Charlie Dees, American baseball player
- 1937 – Anita Desai, Indian-American author and academic
- 1938 – Lawrence Block, American author
- 1938 – Abulfaz Elchibey, 1st democratically elected Azerbaijani president (d. 2000)
- 1938 – Ken Gray, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1992)
- 1939 – Brigitte Fontaine, French singer
- 1940 – Ian Ross, Australian newsreader (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Vittorio Storaro, Italian cinematographer
- 1941 – Erkin Koray, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1941 – Julia Kristeva, Bulgarian-French psychoanalyst and author
- 1941 – Graham McKenzie, Australian cricketer
- 1942 – Arthur Brown, English rock singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Michele Lee, American actress and singer
- 1942 – Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Chilean engineer and politician, 32nd President of Chile
- 1942 – Colin Groves, Australian academician and educator
- 1943 – Birgit Grodal, Danish economist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Jeff Beck, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1944 – Kathryn Lasky, American author
- 1944 – Chris Wood, English saxophonist (d. 1983)
- 1945 – Colin Blunstone, English singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Wayne Cashman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – George Pataki, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Governor of New York
- 1945 – Betty Stöve, Dutch tennis player
- 1946 – David Collenette, Canadian civil servant and politician, 32nd Canadian Minister of National Defence
- 1946 – Ellison Onizuka, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1946 – Robert Reich, American economist and politician, 22nd United States Secretary of Labor
- 1947 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Peter Weller, American actor and director
- 1948 – Patrick Moraz, Swiss keyboard player and songwriter
- 1949 – John Illsley, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1949 – Betty Jackson, English fashion designer
- 1950 – Nancy Allen, American actress
- 1950 – Bob Carlos Clarke, Irish-born English photographer (d. 2006)
- 1950 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Mercedes Lackey, American author
- 1951 – Raelene Boyle, Australian sprinter
- 1951 – Charles Sturridge, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Dianna Melrose, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Tanzania
- 1952 – Bob Neill, English lawyer and politician
- 1953 – William E. Moerner, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1953 – Michael Tuck, Australian footballer and coach
- 1955 – Chris Higgins, English geneticist and academic
- 1955 – Edmund Malura, German footballer and manager
- 1955 – Loren Roberts, American golfer
- 1956 – Owen Paterson, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- 1957 – Mark Parkinson, American lawyer and politician, 45th Governor of Kansas
- 1958 – Jean Charest, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
- 1958 – Silvio Mondinelli, Italian mountaineer
- 1958 – John Tortorella, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1959 – Andy McCluskey, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1960 – Elish Angiolini, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland
- 1960 – Siedah Garrett, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1960 – Karin Pilsäter, Swedish accountant and politician
- 1960 – Erik Poppe, Norwegian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Dennis Danell, American singer and guitarist (d. 2000)
- 1961 – Iain Glen, Scottish actor
- 1961 – Bernie Nicholls, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Ralph E. Reed, Jr., American journalist and activist
- 1961 – Curt Smith, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1963 – Yuri Kasparyan, Russian guitarist
- 1963 – Preki, Serbian-American soccer player and coach
- 1963 – Mike Wieringo, American author and illustrator (d. 2007)
- 1964 – Jean-Luc Delarue, French television host and producer (d. 2012)
- 1964 – Kathryn Parminter, Baroness Parminter, English politician
- 1964 – Gary Suter, American ice hockey player and scout
- 1965 – Claude Bourbonnais, Canadian race car driver
- 1965 – Uwe Krupp, German ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Richard Lumsden, English actor, writer, composer and musician
- 1966 – Hope Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1966 – Adrienne Shelly, American actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1967 – Janez Lapajne, Slovenian director and producer
- 1967 – John Limniatis, Greek-Canadian footballer and manager
- 1968 – Alaa Abdelnaby, Egyptian-American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Glenn Medeiros, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Bernardo Sassetti, Portuguese pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2012)
- 1972 – Robbie McEwen, Australian cyclist
- 1972 – Denis Žvegelj, Slovenian rower
- 1973 – Alexis Gauthier, French chef
- 1973 – Jere Lehtinen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1974 – Dan Byles, English sailor, rower, and politician
- 1974 – Chris Guccione, American baseball player and umpire
- 1975 – Marek Malík, Czech ice hockey player
- 1975 – Federico Pucciariello, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Brock Olivo, American football player and coach
- 1977 – Dimos Dikoudis, Greek basketball player and manager
- 1977 – Jeff Farmer, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Luis García, Spanish footballer
- 1978 – Pantelis Kafes, Greek footballer
- 1978 – Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
- 1978 – Ariel Pink, American singer-songwriter
- 1978 – Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian footballer
- 1978 – Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish guitarist and songwriter
- 1979 – Mindy Kaling, American actress and producer
- 1979 – Petra Němcová, Czech model and philanthropist
- 1980 – Cicinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Nina Dübbers, German tennis player
- 1980 – Andrew Jones, Australian race car driver
- 1980 – Minka Kelly, American actress
- 1982 – Kevin Nolan, English footballer
- 1982 – Jarret Stoll, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Rebecca Cooke, English swimmer
- 1983 – Gianni Munari, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Gard Nilssen, Norwegian drummer
- 1983 – David Shillington, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Andrea Raggi, Italian footballer
- 1984 – J.J. Redick, American basketball player
- 1984 – Johanna Welin, Swedish-born German wheelchair basketball player
- 1985 – Diego Alves Carreira, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Tom Kennedy, English footballer
- 1985 – Ethan Klein, American YouTuber
- 1985 – Nate Myles, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Vernon Philander, South African cricketer
- 1985 – Yukina Shirakawa, Japanese model
- 1986 – Stuart Broad, English cricketer
- 1986 – Phil Hughes, American baseball player
- 1986 – Solange Knowles, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Simona Dobrá, Czech tennis player
- 1987 – Lionel Messi, Argentinian footballer
- 1987 – Pierre Vaultier, French snowboarder
- 1988 – Micah Richards, English footballer
- 1989 – Teklemariam Medhin, Eritrean runner
- 1990 – Michael Del Zotto, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Richard Sukuta-Pasu, German footballer
- 1991 – Yasmin Paige, English actress
- 1991 – Aidan Sezer, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – David Alaba, Austrian footballer
- 1996 – Duki, Argentinian rapper
Deaths on June 24
- 994 – Abu Isa al-Warraq, Arab scholar (b. 889)
- 1046 – Jeongjong II, Korean ruler (b. 1018)
- 1088 – William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Norman nobleman
- 1314 – Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, English commander (b. 1291)
- 1314 – Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford, English soldier and politician, Lord Warden of the Marches (b. 1274)
- 1398 – Hongwu, Chinese emperor (b. 1328)
- 1439 – Frederick IV, duke of Austria (b. 1382)
- 1503 – Reginald Bray, English architect and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1440)
- 1519 – Lucrezia Borgia, Italian wife of Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (b. 1480)
- 1520 – Hosokawa Sumimoto, Japanese commander (b. 1489)
- 1604 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier, Lord Great Chamberlain (b. 1550)
- 1637 – Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer and historian (b. 1580)
- 1643 – John Hampden, English politician (b. 1595)
- 1766 – Adrien Maurice de Noailles, French soldier and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1678)
- 1778 – Pieter Burman the Younger, Dutch philologist and academic (b. 1714)
- 1803 – Matthew Thornton, Irish-American judge and politician (b. 1714)
- 1817 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1734)
- 1835 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (b. 1769)
- 1902 – George Leake, Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (b. 1856)
- 1908 – Grover Cleveland, American lawyer and politician, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (b. 1837)
- 1909 – Sarah Orne Jewett, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1849)
- 1922 – Walther Rathenau, German businessman and politician, 7th German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1867)
- 1931 – Otto Mears, Russian-American businessman (b. 1840)
- 1931 – Xiang Zhongfa, Chinese politician, 2nd General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1880)
- 1932 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (b. 1879)
- 1943 – Camille Roy, Canadian priest and critic (b. 1870)
- 1946 – Louise Whitfield Carnegie, American philanthropist (b. 1857)
- 1947 – Emil Seidel, American politician, Mayor of Milwaukee (b. 1864)
- 1962 – Volfgangs Dārziņš, Latvian composer, pianist and music critic (b. 1906)
- 1964 – Stuart Davis, American painter and academic (b. 1892)
- 1968 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 1969 – Frank King, American cartoonist (b. 1883)
- 1969 – Willy Ley, German-American historian and author (b. 1906)
- 1976 – Minor White, American photographer, critic, and academic (b. 1908)
- 1978 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (b. 1909)
- 1980 – V. V. Giri, Indian lawyer and politician, 4th President of India (b. 1894)
- 1984 – Clarence Campbell, Canadian businessman (b. 1905)
- 1987 – Jackie Gleason, American actor, comedian, and producer (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Csaba Kesjár, Hungarian race car driver (b. 1962)
- 1991 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (b. 1917)
- 1991 – Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1899)
- 1994 – Jean Vallerand, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1915)
- 1995 – Andrew J. Transue, American politician and attorney Morissette v. United States (b. 1903)
- 1997 – Brian Keith, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Vera Atkins, British intelligence officer (b. 1908)
- 2000 – David Tomlinson, English actor and comedian (b. 1917)
- 2000 – Rodrigo Bueno, Argentine cuarteto singer (b. 1973)
- 2002 – Pierre Werner, Luxembourgian banker and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913)
- 2004 – Ifigeneia Giannopoulou, Greek songwriter and author (b. 1957)
- 2005 – Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Natasja Saad, Danish rapper and reggae singer (b. 1974)
- 2007 – Chris Benoit, Canadian wrestler (b. 1967)
- 2007 – Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer and manager (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Gerhard Ringel, Austrian mathematician and academic (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian journalist and politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (b. 1927)
- 2010 – Fred Anderson, American jazz tenor saxophonist (b. 1929)
- 2011 – Tomislav Ivić, Croatian football coach and manager (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Darrel Akerfelds, American baseball player and coach (b. 1962)
- 2012 – Gad Beck, German author and educator (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Gu Chaohao, Chinese mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (b. 1988)
- 2012 – Ann C. Scales, American lawyer, educator, and activist (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Emilio Colombo, Italian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Joannes Gijsen, Dutch bishop (b. 1932)
- 2013 – William Hathaway, American lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2013 – James Martin, English-Bermudian computer scientist and author (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Alan Myers, American drummer (b. 1955)
- 2014 – John Clement, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Olga Kotelko, Canadian runner and softball player (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Ramón José Velásquez, Venezuelan journalist, lawyer, and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Eli Wallach, American actor (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1986)
- 2015 – Mario Biaggi, American police officer, politician and criminal (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Marva Collins, American author and educator (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Susan Ahn Cuddy, American lieutenant (b. 1915)
- 2019 – Billy Drago, American actor (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances on June 24
- Army Day or Battle of Carabobo Day (Venezuela)
- Bannockburn Day (Scotland)
- Christian feast day:
- María Guadalupe García Zavala
- Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
- June 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the Caboclo (Amazonas, Brazil)
- Discovery Day, observed on the nearest Monday to June 24 (Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Earliest day on which Armed Forces Day can fall, while June 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday in June. (United Kingdom)
- Earliest day on which Inventors’ and Rationalizers’ Day can fall, while June 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday in June. (Russia)
- Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while June 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in June. (Kenya)
- Earliest day on which Youth Day can fall, while Jun 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in June. (Ukraine, Belarus)
- Inti Raymi, a winter solstice festival and a New Year in the Andes of the Southern Hemisphere (Sacsayhuamán)
- St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
- Enyovden (Bulgaria)
- Jaanipäev (Estonia)
- Jāņi (Latvia)
- Jónsmessa (Iceland)
- Midsummer Day (England)
- Saint Jonas’ Festival or Joninės (Lithuania)
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec)
- Sânziene (western Carpathian Mountains of Romania)
- Wattah Wattah Festival (Philippines)
- Fors Fortuna, ancient Roman festival to Fortuna
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June 11 in History
- 1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
- 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
- 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang.
- 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
- 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus’.
- 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
- 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
- 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave.
- 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
- 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau.
- 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king.
- 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
- 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
- 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
- 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
- 1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
- 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
- 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
- 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
- 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
- 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
- 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
- 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
- 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”, takes place.
- 1898 – The Hundred Days’ Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
- 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
- 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga.
- 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
- 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
- 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
- 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
- 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
- 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
- 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
- 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.
- 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
- 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.
- 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
- 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
- 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
- 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
- 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
- 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
- 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
- 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
- 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.
- 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first women to do so.
- 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
- 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
- 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
- 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
- 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
- 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
- 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
- 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
- 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
- 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
- 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
- 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
- 2013 – Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It reopened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
- 2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.
Births on June 11
- 1403 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
- 1431 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456)
- 1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)
- 1540 – Barnabe Googe, English poet and translator (d. 1594)
- 1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1627)
- 1572 – Ben Jonson, English poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1637)
- 1585 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)
- 1588 – George Wither, English poet (d. 1667)
- 1620 – John Moore, English businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1702)
- 1655 – Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (d. 1730)
- 1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1712)
- 1672 – Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
- 1690 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
- 1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
- 1697 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1780)
- 1704 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese harpsichord player and composer (d. 1742)
- 1709 – Joachim Martin Falbe, German painter (d. 1782)
- 1712 – Benjamin Ingham, American missionary (d. 1772)
- 1723 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
- 1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
- 1741 – Joseph Warren, American physician and general (d. 1775)
- 1776 – John Constable, English painter and academic (d. 1837)
- 1797 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran philosopher and theorist (d. 1855)
- 1807 – James F. Schenck, American admiral (d. 1882)
- 1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, Indian-Sri Lankan photographer (d. 1879)
- 1818 – Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1903)
- 1829 – Edward Braddon, English-Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
- 1832 – Lucy Pickens, American wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (d. 1899)
- 1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and academic (d. 1934)
- 1846 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English academic and activist (d. 1929)
- 1861 – Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
- 1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
- 1867 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (d. 1945)
- 1871 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian lawyer and politician (d. 1928)
- 1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American-French anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 1960)
- 1877 – Renée Vivien, English-French poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1879 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
- 1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (d. 1973)
- 1881 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (d. 1963)
- 1881 – Mordecai Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (d. 1983)
- 1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-American anarchist and convicted criminal (d. 1927)
- 1889 – Hugo Wieslander, Swedish decathlete (d. 1976)
- 1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (d. 1952)
- 1895 – Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
- 1897 – Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian activist, founded the Hindustan Republican Association (d. 1927)
- 1897 – Reg Latta, Australian rugby league player (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1901 – Cap Fear, Canadian football player and rower (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Benny Wearing, Australian rugby league player (d. 1968)
- 1902 – Eric Fraser, British illustrator and graphic designer (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Ernie Nevers, American football player and coach (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (d. 1919)
- 1909 – Natascha Artin Brunswick, German-American mathematician and photographer (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Carmine Coppola, American flute player and composer (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
- 1912 – James Algar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1912 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (d. 1963)
- 1912 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 1970)
- 1913 – Risë Stevens, American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Dutch psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1915 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, American mathematician and physicist (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (d. 1980)
- 1919 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Richard Todd, Irish-English actor (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Shelly Manne, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
- 1920 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Keith Seaman, Australian lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jean Sutherland Boggs, Peruvian-Canadian historian, academic, and civil servant (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Johnny Esaw, Canadian sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer and educator
- 1927 – Beryl Grey, English ballerina
- 1927 – John W. O’Malley, American Catholic historian, academic and Jesuit priest
- 1927 – Kit Pedler, English parapsychologist and author (d. 1981)
- 1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Ayhan Şahenk, Turkish businessman (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Charles Rangel, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
- 1932 – Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director, and playwright
- 1932 – Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1939 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1939 – Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
- 1942 – Parris Glendening, American politician, 59th Governor of Maryland
- 1943 – Henry Hill, American mobster (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
- 1947 – Richard Palmer-James, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Dave Cash, American baseball player and coach
- 1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
- 1949 – Frank Beard, American drummer and songwriter
- 1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, cartoonist and actress (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Graham Russell, English-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Matthew Engel, English journalist and author
- 1951 – Yasumasa Morimura, Japanese painter and photographer
- 1952 – Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian runner
- 1952 – Donnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, English politician
- 1953 – José Bové, French farmer and politician
- 1953 – Barbara Minty, American model
- 1954 – John Dyson, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Johnny Neel, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1955 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower
- 1955 – Duncan Steel, English-Australian astronomer and author
- 1956 – Joe Montana, American football player and sportscaster
- 1956 – Simon Plouffe, Canadian mathematician and academic
- 1956 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2015)
- 1956 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bass player and bandleader
- 1958 – Barry Adamson, English singer and bass player
- 1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and screenwriter
- 1960 – Mehmet Oz, American surgeon, author, and television host
- 1962 – Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1963 – Gioia Bruno, American singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler and sportscaster (d. 2000)
- 1964 – Jean Alesi, French race car driver
- 1964 – Kim Gallagher, American runner (d. 2002)
- 1965 – Georgios Bartzokas, Greek former professional basketball player
- 1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
- 1966 – Bruce Robison, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Graeme Bachop, New Zealand rugby player
- 1967 – João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
- 1968 – Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
- 1968 – Manoa Thompson, Fijian rugby player
- 1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
- 1969 – Olaf Kapagiannidis, German footballer
- 1971 – Vladimir Gaidamașciuc, Moldovan footballer
- 1971 – Liz Kendall, British politician
- 1971 – Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer
- 1971 – Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese voice actor
- 1972 – Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – José Manuel Abundis, Mexican footballer and coach
- 1974 – Fragiskos Alvertis, Greek basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1976 – Reiko Tosa, Japanese runner
- 1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
- 1978 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian-American actor
- 1978 – Daryl Tuffey, New Zealand cricketer
- 1979 – Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1980 – Yhency Brazoban, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Emiliano Moretti, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Kristo Tohver, Estonian footballer and referee
- 1982 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
- 1982 – Jacques Freitag, South African high jumper
- 1982 – Joey Graham, American basketball player
- 1982 – Stephen Graham, American basketball player
- 1982 – Reni Maitua, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Eldar Rønning, Norwegian skier
- 1982 – Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
- 1983 – Chuck Hayes, American basketball player
- 1983 – José Reyes, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Andy Lee, Irish boxer
- 1984 – Vágner Love, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Tim Hoogland, German footballer
- 1986 – Sebastian Bayer, German long jumper
- 1986 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
- 1987 – Marsel İlhan, Turkish tennis player
- 1987 – Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
- 1988 – Jesús Fernández Collado, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Yui Aragaki, Japanese actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, model, radio host
- 1989 – Maya Moore, American basketball player
- 1990 – Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
- 1991 – Daniel Howell, English internet celebrity
- 1993 – Brittany Boyd, American basketball player
- 1994 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
- 1996 – Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
- 1998 – Charlie Tahan, American actor
- 1999 – Eartha Cumings, Scottish footballer
Deaths on June 11
- 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
- 573 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)
- 840 – Junna, emperor of Japan (b. 785)
- 884 – Shi Jingsi, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 888 – Rimbert, archbishop of Bremen (b. 830)
- 1183 – Henry the Young King of England (b. 1155)
- 1216 – Henry of Flanders, emperor of the Latin Empire (b. c. 1174)
- 1248 – Adachi Kagemori, Japanese samurai
- 1253 – Amadeus IV, count of Savoy (b. 1197)
- 1298 – Yolanda of Poland (b. 1235)
- 1323 – Bérenger Fredoli, French lawyer and bishop (b. 1250)
- 1345 – Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire
- 1347 – Bartholomew of San Concordio, Italian Dominican canonist and man of letters (b. 1260)
- 1446 – Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (b. 1425)
- 1479 – John of Sahagun, hermit and saint (b. 1419)
- 1488 – James III of Scotland (b. 1451)
- 1557 – John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
- 1560 – Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1515)
- 1683 – Nikita Pustosvyat, a leader of the Russian Old Believers, beheaded (b. unknown)
- 1695 – André Félibien, French historian and author (b. 1619)
- 1712 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (b. 1654)
- 1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
- 1748 – Felice Torelli, Italian painter (b. 1667)
- 1796 – Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded the Whitbread Company (b. 1720)
- 1847 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician (b. 1786)
- 1852 – Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
- 1859 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (b. 1773)
- 1879 – William, Prince of Orange (b. 1840)
- 1882 – Louis Désiré Maigret, French bishop (b. 1804)
- 1885 – Matías Ramos Mejía, Argentinian colonel (b. 1810)
- 1897 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (b. 1821)
- 1903 – Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1837)
- 1903 – Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1876)
- 1903 – Draga Mašin, Serbian wife of Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1864)
- 1911 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician and missionary (b. 1815)
- 1913 – Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 279th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1856)
- 1914 – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1848)
- 1920 – William F. Halsey, Sr., American captain (b. 1853)
- 1924 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (b. 1837)
- 1927 – William Attewell, English cricketer (b. 1861)
- 1934 – Lev Vygotsky, Belarusian-Russian psychologist and theorist (b. 1896)
- 1936 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (b. 1906)
- 1937 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire (b. 1895)
- 1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
- 1955 – Pierre Levegh, French race car driver (b. 1905)
- 1962 – Chhabi Biswas, Indian actor and director (b. 1900)
- 1963 – Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese monk and martyr (b. 1897)
- 1965 – Paul B. Coremans, Belgian chemist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1965 – José Mendes Cabeçadas, Portuguese admiral and politician, 9th President of Portugal (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Frank Laubach, American missionary and mystic (b. 1884)
- 1974 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian general and politician, 16th President of Brazil (b. 1883)
- 1974 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1979 – Alice Dalgliesh, Trinidadian-American author and publisher (b. 1893)
- 1979 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1983 – Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian businessman and politician (b. 1894)
- 1984 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (b. 1922)
- 1986 – Chesley Bonestell, American painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
- 1991 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (b. 1925)
- 1993 – Ray Sharkey, American actor (b. 1952)
- 1994 – A. Thurairajah, Sri Lankan engineer and academic (b. 1934)
- 1995 – Rodel Naval, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1953)
- 1996 – George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
- 1996 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Catherine Cookson, English author (b. 1906)
- 1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2001 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (b. 1968)
- 2001 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1923)
- 2003 – David Brinkley, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Vasco Gonçalves, Portuguese general and politician, 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Anne-Marie Alonzo, Canadian playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher (b. 1951)
- 2006 – Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Bruce Shand, English soldier (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Imre Friedmann, American biologist and academic (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Mala Powers, American actress (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Ove Andersson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Võ Văn Kiệt, Vietnamese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Seth Putnam, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Miller Barber, American golfer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Carl W. Bauer, American lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2013 – James Grimsley, Jr., American general (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Kristiāns Pelšs, Latvian ice hockey player (b. 1992)
- 2013 – Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Ruby Dee, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Susan B. Horwitz, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1955)
- 2014 – Mipham Chokyi Lodro, Tibetan lama and educator (b. 1952)
- 2014 – Benjamin Mophatlane, South African businessman (b. 1973)
- 2014 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Jim Ed Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Ian McKechnie, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (b. 1937)
- 2020 – Stella Pevsner, children’s author (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on June 11
- American Evacuation Day (Libya)
- Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
- Christian feast day:
- Barnabas the Apostle
- Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity)
- Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church)
- Paula Frassinetti
- Riagail of Bangor
- June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- Kamehameha Day (Hawaii, United States)
- Student Day (Honduras)
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June 10 in History
- 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu.
- 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the river Saleph while leading an army to Jerusalem.
- 1329 – The Battle of Pelekanon results in a Byzantine defeat by the Ottoman Empire.
- 1523 – Copenhagen is surrounded by the army of Frederick I of Denmark, as the city will not recognise him as the successor of Christian II of Denmark.
- 1539 – Council of Trent: Pope Paul III sends out letters to his bishops, delaying the Council due to war and the difficulty bishops had traveling to Venice.
- 1596 – Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerk discover Bear Island.
- 1619 – Thirty Years’ War: Battle of Záblatí, a turning point in the Bohemian Revolt.
- 1624 – Signing of the Treaty of Compiègne between France and the Netherlands.
- 1692 – Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for “certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries”.
- 1719 – Jacobite risings: Battle of Glen Shiel
- 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) is crowned.
- 1786 – A landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake ten days earlier collapses, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China.
- 1793 – The Jardin des Plantes museum opens in Paris. A year later, it becomes the first public zoo.
- 1793 – French Revolution: Following the arrests of Girondin leaders, the Jacobins gain control of the Committee of Public Safety installing the revolutionary dictatorship.
- 1805 – First Barbary War: Yusuf Karamanli signs a treaty ending the hostilities between Tripolitania and the United States.
- 1829 – The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place on the Thames in London.
- 1838 – Myall Creek massacre: Twenty-eight Aboriginal Australians are murdered.
- 1854 – The United States Naval Academy graduates its first class of students.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Big Bethel: Confederate troops under John B. Magruder defeat a much larger Union force led by General Ebenezer W. Pierce in Virginia.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Brice’s Crossroads: Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest defeat a much larger Union force led by General Samuel D. Sturgis in Mississippi.
- 1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia is assassinated.
- 1871 – Sinmiyangyo: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 US Marines in a naval attack on Han River forts on Kanghwa Island, Korea.
- 1878 – League of Prizren is established, to oppose the decisions of the Congress of Berlin and the Treaty of San Stefano, as a consequence of which the Albanian lands in the Balkans were being partitioned and given to the neighbor states of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece.
- 1886 – Mount Tarawera in New Zealand erupts, killing 153 people and burying the famous Pink and White Terraces. Eruptions continue for three months creating a large, 17 km long fissure across the mountain peak.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: In the Battle of Guantánamo Bay, U.S. Marines begin the American invasion of Spanish-held Cuba.
- 1916 – The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was declared by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.
- 1918 – The Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István sinks off the Croatian coast after being torpedoed by an Italian MAS motorboat; the event is recorded by camera from a nearby vessel.
- 1924 – Fascists kidnap and kill Italian Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti in Rome.
- 1935 – Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson.
- 1935 – Chaco War ends: A truce is called between Bolivia and Paraguay who had been fighting since 1932.
- 1940 – World War II: The Kingdom of Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
- 1940 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy’s actions in his “Stab in the Back” speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.
- 1940 – World War II: Military resistance to the German occupation of Norway ends.
- 1942 – World War II: The Lidice massacre is perpetrated as a reprisal for the assassination of Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.
- 1944 – World War II: Six hundred forty-two men, women and children massacred at Oradour-sur-Glane, France.
- 1944 – World War II: In Distomo, Boeotia, Greece, 218 men, women and children are massacred by German troops.
- 1944 – In baseball, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the youngest player ever in a major-league game.
- 1945 – Australian Imperial Forces land in Brunei Bay to liberate Brunei.
- 1947 – Saab produces its first automobile.
- 1957 – John Diefenbaker leads the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to a stunning upset in the 1957 Canadian federal election, ending 22 years of Liberal Party government.
- 1963 – The Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex, was signed into law by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program.
- 1964 – United States Senate breaks a 75-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill’s passage.
- 1967 – The Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire.
- 1977 – James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee. He is recaptured three days later.
- 1980 – The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.
- 1982 – Lebanon War: The Syrian Arab Army defeats the Israeli Defense Forces in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub.
- 1990 – British Airways Flight 5390 lands safely at Southampton Airport after a blowout in the cockpit causes the captain to be partially sucked from the cockpit. There are no fatalities.
- 1991 – Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009.
- 1994 – China conducts a nuclear test for DF-31 warhead at Area C (Beishan), Lop Nur, its prominence being due to the Cox Report.
- 1996 – Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without the participation of Sinn Féin.
- 1997 – Before fleeing his northern stronghold, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen’s family members.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: NATO suspends its airstrikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
- 2001 – Pope John Paul II canonizes Lebanon’s first female saint, Saint Rafqa.
- 2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.
- 2003 – The Spirit rover is launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.
- 2009 – James Wenneker von Brunn, who was 88-years-old, opened fire inside the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and fatally shot Museum Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns. Other security guards returned fire, wounding von Brunn, who was apprehended.
- 2019 – An Agusta A109E Power crashed onto the AXA Equitable Center on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, which sparked a fire on the top of the building. The pilot of the helicopter was killed.
Births on June 10
- 867 – Emperor Uda of Japan (d. 931)
- 940 – Abu al-Wafa’ Buzjani, Persian mathematician and astronomer (d. 998)
- 1213 – Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi, Persian poet and philosopher (d. 1289)
- 1465 – Mercurino Gattinara, Italian statesman and jurist (d. 1530)
- 1513 – Louis, Duke of Montpensier (1561–1582) (d. 1582)
- 1557 – Leandro Bassano, Italian painter (d. 1622)
- 1632 – Esprit Fléchier, French bishop and author (d. 1710)
- 1688 – James Francis Edward Stuart, claimant to the English and Scottish throne (d. 1766)
- 1713 – Princess Caroline of Great Britain (d. 1757)
- 1716 – Carl Gustaf Ekeberg, Swedish physician and explorer (d. 1784)
- 1753 – William Eustis, American physician and politician, 12th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
- 1804 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
- 1819 – Gustave Courbet, French-Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1877)
- 1825 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (d. 1897)
- 1832 – Edwin Arnold, English poet and journalist (d. 1904)
- 1832 – Nicolaus Otto, German engineer (d. 1891)
- 1832 – Stephen Mosher Wood, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1920)
- 1835 – Rebecca Latimer Felton, American educator and politician (d. 1930)
- 1839 – Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg, Danish lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1912)
- 1840 – Theodor Philipsen, Danish painter (d. 1920)
- 1843 – Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1900)
- 1854 – Sarah Grand, Irish feminist writer (d. 1943)
- 1859 – Emanuel Nobel, Swedish-Russian businessman (d. 1932)
- 1862 – Mrs. Leslie Carter, American actress (d. 1937)
- 1863 – Louis Couperus, Dutch author and poet (d. 1923)
- 1864 – Ninian Comper, Scottish architect (d. 1960)
- 1865 – Frederick Cook, American physician and explorer (d. 1940)
- 1880 – André Derain, French painter and sculptor (d. 1954)
- 1882 – Nils Økland, Norwegian Esperantist and teacher (d. 1969)
- 1884 – Leone Sextus Tollemache, English captain (d. 1917)
- 1886 – Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese actor and producer (d. 1973)
- 1891 – Al Dubin, Swiss-American songwriter (d. 1945)
- 1895 – Hattie McDaniel, American actress (d. 1952)
- 1897 – Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1898 – Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Stanisław Czaykowski, Polish race car driver (d. 1933)
- 1901 – Frederick Loewe, Austrian-American composer (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Lin Huiyin, Chinese architect and poet (d. 1955)
- 1907 – Fairfield Porter, American painter and critic (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Dicky Wells, American jazz trombonist (d. 1985)[n 1]
- 1909 – Lang Hancock, Australian soldier and businessman (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Frank Demaree, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
- 1910 – Howlin’ Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harpsichord player and musicologist (d. 1984)
- 1911 – Terence Rattigan, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1977)
- 1912 – Jean Lesage, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Premier of Quebec (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Benjamin Shapira, German-Israeli biochemist and academic (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Oktay Rıfat Horozcu, Turkish poet and playwright (d. 1988)
- 1915 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
- 1916 – Peride Celal, Turkish author (d. 2013)
- 1916 – William Rosenberg, American entrepreneur, founded Dunkin’ Donuts (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Patachou, French singer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Barry Morse, English-Canadian actor and director (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Palestinian physician and politician (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Kevin O’Flanagan, Irish footballer, rugby player, and physician (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- 1921 – Jean Robic, French cyclist (d. 1980)
- 1922 – Judy Garland, American singer, actress, and vaudevillian (d. 1969)
- 1922 – Bill Kerr, South African-Australian actor (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Paul Brunelle, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Robert Maxwell, Czech-English captain, publisher, and politician (d. 1991)
- 1924 – Friedrich L. Bauer, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Leo Gravelle, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Nat Hentoff, American historian, author, and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1925 – James Salter, American novelist and short-story writer (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Bruno Bartoletti, Italian conductor (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Lionel Jeffries, English actor, screenwriter and film director (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Claudio Gilberto Froehlich, Brazilian zoologist
- 1927 – László Kubala, Hungarian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Lin Yang-kang, Chinese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Johnny Orr, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Eugene Parker, American astrophysicist and academic
- 1928 – Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
- 1929 – James McDivitt, American general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1929 – Ian Sinclair, Australian farmer and politician, 42nd Australian Minister for Defence
- 1929 – Thomas Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn, British Labour Party politician (d. 2016)
- 1929 – E. O. Wilson, American biologist, author, and academic
- 1930 – Aranka Siegal, Czech-American author and Holocaust survivor
- 1930 – Carmen Cozza, American baseball and football player (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Bryan Cartledge, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
- 1931 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Pierre Cartier, French mathematician and academic
- 1933 – Chuck Fairbanks, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Peter Gibson, English lawyer and judge
- 1934 – Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry, English politician
- 1935 – Vic Elford, English race car driver
- 1935 – Lu Jiaxi, Chinese self-taught mathematician (d. 1983)
- 1935 – Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Rahul Bajaj, Indian businessman and politician
- 1938 – Violetta Villas, Belgian-Polish singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2011)
- 1938 – Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak, Indian mathematician and academic (d. 2009)
- 1940 – Augie Auer, American-New Zealand meteorologist (d. 2007)
- 1940 – John Stevens, English drummer (d. 1994)
- 1941 – Mickey Jones, American drummer (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Shirley Owens, American singer
- 1941 – Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
- 1941 – David Walker, Australian race car driver
- 1942 – Gordon Burns, Northern Irish journalist
- 1942 – Chantal Goya, French singer and actress
- 1942 – Arthur Hamilton, Lord Hamilton, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1942 – Preston Manning, Canadian politician
- 1943 – Simon Jenkins, English journalist and author
- 1944 – Ze’ev Friedman, Polish-Israeli weightlifter (d. 1972)
- 1944 – Rick Price, English rock bass player
- 1947 – Michel Bastarache, Canadian businessman, lawyer, and jurist
- 1947 – Ken Singleton, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1947 – Robert Wright, English air marshal
- 1950 – Elías Sosa, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1951 – Dan Fouts, American football player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Tony Mundine, Australian boxer
- 1951 – Burglinde Pollak, German pentathlete
- 1952 – Kage Baker, American author (d. 2010)
- 1953 – Eileen Cooper, English painter and academic
- 1953 – John Edwards, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Garry Hynes, Irish director and producer
- 1953 – Christine St-Pierre, Canadian journalist and politician
- 1954 – Moya Greene, Canadian businesswoman
- 1954 – Rich Hall, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Annette Schavan, German theologian and politician
- 1955 – Andrew Stevens, American actor and producer
- 1958 – Yu Suzuki, Japanese game designer and producer
- 1959 – Carlo Ancelotti, Italian footballer and manager
- 1959 – Ernie C, American heavy metal guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1959 – Eliot Spitzer, American lawyer and politician, 54th Governor of New York
- 1960 – Nandamuri Balakrishna, Indian film actor and politician
- 1961 – Kim Deal, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1961 – Maxi Priest, English singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Gina Gershon, American actress, singer and author
- 1962 – Anderson Bigode Herzer, Brazilian poet and author (d. 1982)
- 1962 – Wong Ka Kui, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1993)
- 1962 – Tzi Ma, Hong Kong American character actor
- 1962 – Brent Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Brad Henry, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Oklahoma
- 1963 – Jeanne Tripplehorn, American actress
- 1965 – Susanne Albers, German computer scientist and academic
- 1965 – Elizabeth Hurley, English model, actress, and producer
- 1965 – Joey Santiago, American alternative rock musician
- 1966 – David Platt, English footballer and manager
- 1967 – Emma Anderson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Darren Robinson, American rapper (d. 1995)
- 1968 – Bill Burr, American comedian and actor
- 1968 – Derek Dooley, American football player and coach
- 1969 – Craig Hancock, Australian rugby league player
- 1969 – Ronny Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
- 1969 – Kate Snow, American journalist
- 1970 – Mike Doughty, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Katsuhiro Harada, Japanese game designer, director, and producer
- 1970 – Alex Santos, Filipino journalist
- 1970 – Shane Whereat, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Sarah Wixey, Welsh sport shooter
- 1971 – JoJo Hailey, American singer
- 1971 – Bobby Jindal, American journalist and politician, 55th Governor of Louisiana
- 1971 – Bruno N’Gotty, French footballer
- 1971 – Erik Rutan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1972 – Steven Fischer, American director and producer
- 1972 – Radmila Šekerinska, Macedonian politician, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
- 1972 – Eric Upashantha, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1973 – Faith Evans, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1973 – Flesh-n-Bone, American rapper and actor
- 1973 – Pokey Reese, American baseball player
- 1975 – Henrik Pedersen, Danish footballer
- 1976 – Alari Lell, Estonian footballer
- 1976 – Esther Ouwehand, Dutch politician
- 1976 – Stefan Postma, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1976 – Hadi Saei, Iranian martial artist
- 1977 – Adam Darski, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Mike Rosenthal, American football player and coach
- 1978 – Raheem Brock, American football player
- 1979 – Evgeni Borounov, Russian ice dancer and coach
- 1979 – Kostas Louboutis, Greek footballer
- 1980 – Matuzalém, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Ovie Mughelli, American football player
- 1980 – Dmitri Uchaykin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Daniele Seccarecci, Italian bodybuilder (d. 2013)
- 1980 – James Walsh, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist
- 1981 – Mat Jackson, English race car driver
- 1981 – Albie Morkel, South African cricketer
- 1981 – Andrey Yepishin, Russian sprinter
- 1982 – Tara Lipinski, American figure skater
- 1982 – Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
- 1982 – Ana Lúcia Souza, Brazilian ballerina and journalist
- 1983 – Jade Bailey, Barbadian athlete
- 1983 – Marion Barber III, American football player
- 1983 – Aaron Davey, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Leelee Sobieski, American actress and producer
- 1983 – Steve von Bergen, Swiss footballer
- 1984 – Johanna Kedzierski, German sprinter
- 1984 – Dirk Van Tichelt, Belgian martial artist
- 1985 – Richard Chambers, Irish rower
- 1985 – Kaia Kanepi, Estonian tennis player
- 1985 – Kristina Lundberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1985 – Dane Nielsen, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Andy Schleck, Luxembourger cyclist
- 1985 – Vasilis Torosidis, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Kreesha Turner, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1986 – Al Alburquerque, Dominican baseball player
- 1986 – Marco Andreolli, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Martin Harnik, German-Austrian footballer
- 1987 – Amobi Okoye, Nigerian-American football player
- 1988 – Jeff Teague, American basketball player
- 1989 – DeAndre Kane, American basketball player
- 1989 – David Miller, South African cricketer
- 1989 – Mustapha Carayol, Gambian footballer
- 1989 – Alexandra Stan, Romanian singer-songwriter, dancer, and model
- 1991 – Alexa Scimeca Knierim, American figure skater
- 1992 – Kate Upton, American model and actress
Deaths on June 10
- 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
- AD 38 – Julia Drusilla, Roman sister of Caligula (b. 16 AD)
- 223 – Liu Bei, Chinese emperor (b. 161)
- 779 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (b. 727)
- 754 – Abul Abbas al-Saffah, Muslim caliph (b. 721)
- 871 – Odo I, Frankish nobleman
- 903 – Cheng Rui, Chinese warlord
- 932 – Dong Zhang, Chinese general
- 942 – Liu Yan, emperor of Southern Han (b. 889)
- 1075 – Ernest, Margrave of Austria (b. 1027)
- 1141 – Richenza of Northeim (b. 1087)
- 1190 – Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1122)
- 1261 – Matilda of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1210)
- 1338 – Kitabatake Akiie, Japanese governor (b. 1318)
- 1364 – Agnes of Austria (b. 1281)
- 1424 – Ernest, Duke of Austria (b. 1377)
- 1437 – Joan of Navarre, Queen of England (b. 1370)
- 1468 – Idris Imad al-Din, supreme leader of Tayyibi Isma’ilism, scholar and historian (b. 1392)
- 1552 – Alexander Barclay, English poet and author (b. 1476)
- 1556 – Martin Agricola, German composer and theorist (b. 1486)
- 1580 – Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet (b. 1524–25)
- 1604 – Isabella Andreini, Italian actress (b. 1562)
- 1607 – John Popham, English politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1531)
- 1654 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (b. 1598)
- 1680 – Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna, Swedish lawyer and politician (b. 1635)
- 1692 – Bridget Bishop, Colonial Massachusetts woman hanged as a witch during the Salem witch trials (b. 1632)
- 1735 – Thomas Hearne, English historian and author (b. 1678)
- 1753 – Joachim Ludwig Schultheiss von Unfriedt, German architect (b. 1678)
- 1776 – Hsinbyushin, Burmese king (b. 1736)
- 1776 – Leopold Widhalm, Austrian instrument maker (b. 1722)
- 1791 – Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (b. 1720)
- 1799 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1745)
- 1811 – Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1728)
- 1831 – Hans Karl von Diebitsch, German-Russian field marshal (b. 1785)
- 1836 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1775)
- 1849 – Thomas Robert Bugeaud, French general and politician (b. 1784)
- 1849 – Robert Brown, Scottish botanist (b. 1773)
- 1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia (b. 1823)
- 1899 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (b. 1855)
- 1901 – Robert Williams Buchanan, Scottish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1841)
- 1902 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (b. 1845)
- 1906 – Richard Seddon, English-New Zealand politician, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1845)
- 1909 – Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author (b. 1822)
- 1914 – Ödön Lechner, Hungarian architect (b. 1845)
- 1918 – Arrigo Boito, Italian author, poet, and composer (b. 1842)
- 1923 – Pierre Loti, French soldier and author (b. 1850)
- 1924 – Giacomo Matteotti, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
- 1926 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (b. 1852)
- 1930 – Adolf von Harnack, German historian and theologian (b. 1851)
- 1934 – Frederick Delius, English composer and educator (b. 1862)
- 1936 – John Bowser, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of Victoria (b. 1856)
- 1937 – Robert Borden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
- 1939 – Albert Ogilvie, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1890)
- 1940 – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican journalist and activist, founded the Black Star Line (b. 1887)
- 1944 – Willem Jacob van Stockum, Dutch mathematician and academic (b. 1910)
- 1946 – Jack Johnson, American boxer (b. 1878)
- 1947 – Alexander Bethune, Canadian businessman and politician, 12th Mayor of Vancouver (b. 1852)
- 1949 – Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
- 1955 – Margaret Abbott, Indian-American golfer (b. 1876)
- 1958 – Angelina Weld Grimké, American journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian politician (b. 1883)
- 1963 – Timothy Birdsall, English cartoonist (b. 1936)
- 1965 – Vahap Özaltay, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1908)
- 1967 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (b. 1900)
- 1971 – Michael Rennie, English actor (b. 1909)
- 1973 – William Inge, American playwright and novelist (b. 1913)
- 1974 – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1900)
- 1976 – Adolph Zukor, American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (b. 1873)
- 1982 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 1984 – Halide Nusret Zorlutuna, Turkish author and poet (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Merle Miller, American author and playwright (b. 1919)
- 1987 – Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (b. 1943)
- 1988 – Louis L’Amour, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (b. 1902)
- 1992 – Hachidai Nakamura, Chinese-Japanese pianist and composer (b. 1931)
- 1993 – Les Dawson, English comedian, actor, writer and presenter (b. 1931)
- 1996 – George Hees, Canadian soldier, football player, and politician (b. 1910)
- 1996 – Jo Van Fleet, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1998 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 1998 – Hammond Innes, English soldier and author (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Hafez al-Assad, Syrian general and politician, 18th President of Syria (b. 1930)
- 2000 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (b. 1930)
- 2001 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (b. 1970)
- 2002 – John Gotti, American mobster (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher and academic (b. 1929)
- 2003 – Phil Williams, Welsh academic and politician (b. 1939)
- 2004 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1930)
- 2004 – Odette Laure, French actress and singer (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1904)
- 2005 – Curtis Pitts, American aircraft designer, designed the Pitts Special (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Augie Auer, American-New Zealand meteorologist (b. 1940)
- 2008 – Chinghiz Aitmatov, Kyrgyzstani author and diplomat (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Stelios Skevofilakas, Greek footballer (b. 1940)
- 2010 – Basil Schott, American archbishop (b. 1939)
- 2010 – Sigmar Polke, German painter and photographer (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Brian Lenihan Jnr, Irish lawyer and politician, 25th Irish Minister for Finance (b. 1959)
- 2012 – Piero Bellugi, Italian conductor (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Will Hoebee, Dutch songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Georges Mathieu, French painter and academic (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Joshua Orwa Ojode, Kenyan politician (b. 1958)
- 2012 – George Saitoti, Kenyan economist and politician, 6th Vice-President of Kenya (b. 1945)
- 2012 – Sudono Salim, Chinese-Indonesian businessman, founded Bank Central Asia (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Gordon West, English footballer (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Doug Bailey, American political consultant (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Enrique Orizaola, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Barbara Vucanovich, American lawyer and politician (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Marcello Alencar, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 57th Governor of Rio de Janeiro (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer and manager (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Robert M. Grant, American theologian and academic (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Jack Lee, American radio host and politician (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Robert Chartoff, American film producer and philanthropist (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Wolfgang Jeschke, German author and publisher (b. 1936)
- 2016 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1994)
- 2016 – Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Julia Perez, Indonesian singer and actress (b. 1980)
- 2018 – Neal E. Boyd, American singer, winner of the 2008 season of America’s Got Talent (b. 1975)
- 2020 – Claudell Washington, American baseball player (b. 1954)
Holidays and observances on June 10
- Abolition Day (French Guiana)
- Army Day (Jordan)
- World Art Nouveau Day (Worldwide)
- Christian feast day:
- Bardo
- Getulius, Amancius and Cerealus
- Guardian Angel of Portugal
- John of Tobolsk (Russian Orthodox Church)
- Landry of Paris
- Maurinus of Cologne
- Maximus of Aveia (or of Aquila)
- Maximus of Naples
- Olivia
- June 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Navy Day (Italy)
- Portugal Day, also Day of Camões (Portugal and the Portuguese communities)
- Reconciliation Day (Republic of the Congo)
-
June 1 in History
- 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.
- 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
- 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.
- 1495 – A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky
- 1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.
- 1535 – Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.
- 1648 – The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.
- 1649 – Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.
- 1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1676 – Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).
- 1679 – The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
- 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.
- 1779 – The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.
- 1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
- 1794 – The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
- 1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
- 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
- 1813 – Capture of USS Chesapeake.
- 1815 – Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.
- 1831 – James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.
- 1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
- 1855 – The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.
- 1857 – Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal is published.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
- 1868 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.
- 1879 – Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
- 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns.
- 1913 – The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.
- 1916 – Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
- 1918 – World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
- 1922 – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.
- 1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
- 1930 – The Deccan Queen is introduced as first intercity train between Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST) and Poona (Pune) to run on electric locomotives.
- 1939 – First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.
- 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
- 1941 – The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.
- 1943 – BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
- 1946 – Ion Antonescu, “Conducator” (“Leader”) of Romania during World War II, is executed.
- 1950 – The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.
- 1958 – Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
- 1961 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.
- 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
- 1964 – Kenya becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta (1897 – 22 August 1978) as its first President (1964 to 1978).
- 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
- 1975 – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
- 1978 – The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
- 1979 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.
- 1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
- 1988 – European Central Bank is founded in Brussels.
- 1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.
- 1990 – Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
- 1993 – Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.
- 1994 – Republic of South Africa becomes a Commonwealth republic.
- 1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.
- 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.
- 2001 – Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.
- 2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole, breaking a Guinness World Record.
- 2008 – A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.
- 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
- 2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
- 2011 – A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
- 2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
- 2015 – A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China’s Hubei province, killing 400 people.
Births on June 1
- 1134 – Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (d. 1158)
- 1300 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, English politician, Lord Marshal of England (d. 1338)
- 1451 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (d. 1508)
- 1460 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1491)
- 1480 – Tiedemann Giese, Polish bishop (d. 1550)
- 1498 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (d. 1574)
- 1522 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1590)
- 1563 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Secretary of State for England (d. 1612)
- 1612 – Frans Post, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
- 1633 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1687)
- 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
- 1653 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (d. 1704)
- 1675 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist and playwright (d. 1755)
- 1762 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish priest and missionary, founded the Irish Christian Brothers (d. 1844)
- 1765 – Christiane Vulpius, mistress and wife of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (d. 1816)
- 1770 – Friedrich Laun, German author (d. 1849)
- 1790 – Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian actor and playwright (d. 1836)
- 1796 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (d. 1832)
- 1800 – Edward Deas Thomson, Australian educator and politician, Chief Secretary of New South Wales (d. 1879)
- 1801 – Brigham Young, American religious leader, 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1877)
- 1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
- 1808 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1881)
- 1815 – Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
- 1819 – Francis V, Duke of Modena (d. 1875)
- 1822 – Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, English portrait photographer (d. 1865)
- 1825 – John Hunt Morgan, American general (d. 1864)
- 1831 – John Bell Hood, American general (d. 1879)
- 1833 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General of Kentucky (d. 1911)
- 1843 – Henry Faulds, Scottish physician and missionary, developed fingerprinting (d. 1930)
- 1844 – John J. Toffey, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1911)
- 1869 – Richard Wünsch, German philologist (d. 1915)
- 1873 – Elena Alistar, Bessarabian politician (d. 1955)
- 1874 – Yury Nikolaevich Voronov, Russian botanist (d. 1931)
- 1878 – John Masefield, English author and poet (d. 1967)
- 1879 – Max Emmerich, American triathlete and gymnast (d. 1956)
- 1882 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (d. 1940)
- 1887 – Clive Brook, English actor (d. 1974)
- 1889 – James Daugherty, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1974)
- 1889 – Charles Kay Ogden, English linguist and philosopher (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1892 – Amanullah Khan, sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, (d. 1960)
- 1899 – Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
- 1901 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager (d. 1990)
- 1901 – Tom Gorman, Australian rugby league player (d. 1978)
- 1901 – John Van Druten, English-American playwright and director (d. 1957)
- 1903 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (d. 1973)
- 1903 – Hans Vogt, Norwegian linguist and academic (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Robert Newton, English-American actor (d. 1956)
- 1907 – Jan Patočka, Czech philosopher (d. 1977)
- 1907 – Frank Whittle, English airman and engineer, developed the jet engine (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (d. 1999)
- 1909 – Yechezkel Kutscher, Slovakian-Israeli philologist and linguist (d. 1971)
- 1910 – Gyula Kállai, Hungarian communist leader, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Hungary (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, author, and mountaineer (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Bill Deedes, English journalist and politician (d. 2007)
- 1915 – John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Jean Jérôme Hamer, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1996)
- 1917 – William Standish Knowles, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Robert Clarke, American actor and producer (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Nelson Riddle, American composer and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1922 – Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
- 1924 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Dilia Díaz Cisneros, Venezuelan teacher (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Johnny Berry, English footballer (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (d. 1962)
- 1926 – George Robb, English international footballer and teacher (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (d. 1971)
- 1928 – Steve Dodd, Australian actor and composer (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Bob Monkhouse, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Nargis, Indian actress (d. 1981)<ref”>Dilip Kumar (28 July 2014). Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. Hay House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 978-93-81398-96-8.</ref>
- 1929 – James H. Billington, American academic and Thirteenth Librarian of Congress (d. 2018)
- 1930 – John Lemmon, English logician and philosopher (d. 1966)
- 1930 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Matt Poore, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
- 1930 – Edward Woodward, English actor (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Walter Horak, Austrian footballer (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Frank Cameron, New Zealand cricketer
- 1932 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
- 1933 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Pat Boone, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1934 – Peter Masterson, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Doris Buchanan Smith, American author (d. 2002)
- 1935 – Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, English architect, founded Foster and Partners
- 1935 – Reverend Ike, American minister and television host (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Jack Kralick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Percy Adlon, German director, screenwriter and producer
- 1935 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Anatoly Albul, Soviet and Russian wrestler (d. 2013)
- 1936 – André Bourbeau, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Bekim Fehmiu, Bosnian actor (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Gerald Scarfe, English illustrator and animator
- 1937 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and producer
- 1937 – Rosaleen Linehan, Irish actress
- 1937 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist and author (d. 2015)
- 1939 – Cleavon Little, American actor and comedian (d. 1992)
- 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1940 – Katerina Gogou, Greek writer and actress (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Kip Thorne, American physicist, astronomer, and academic
- 1941 – Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
- 1941 – Alexander V. Zakharov, Russian physicist and astronomer
- 1942 – Parveen Kumar, Pakistani-English physician and academic
- 1943 – Orietta Berti, Italian singer and actress
- 1943 – Richard Goode, American pianist
- 1943 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Colin Blakemore, British neurobiologist
- 1944 – Robert Powell, English actor
- 1945 – Jim McCarty, American blues rock guitarist
- 1945 – Linda Scott, American singer
- 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
- 1945 – Kerry Vincent, Australian chef and author
- 1945 – Frederica von Stade, American soprano and actress
- 1946 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
- 1947 – Ron Dennis, English businessman, founded the McLaren Group
- 1947 – Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor and singer
- 1947 – Ronnie Wood, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1948 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Tomáš Halík, Czech Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, theologian and scholar
- 1948 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
- 1948 – Juhan Viiding, Estonian poet and actor (d. 1995)
- 1950 – Perrin Beatty, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1950 – Charlene, American singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Jean Lambert, English educator and politician
- 1950 – Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1952 – David Lan, South African-English director and playwright
- 1952 – Mihaela Loghin, Romanian shot putter
- 1953 – Ronnie Dunn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Ted Field, American entrepreneur and race car driver
- 1954 – Jill Black, English lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2016)
- 1955 – Lorraine Moller, New Zealand runner
- 1955 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (d. 2008)
- 1956 – Patrick Besson, French writer and journalist
- 1956 – Lisa Hartman Black, American actress
- 1956 – Petra Morsbach, German author
- 1958 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
- 1958 – Gennadiy Valyukevich, Belarusian triple jumper (d. 2019)
- 1959 – Martin Brundle, English racing driver and sportscaster
- 1959 – Alan Wilder, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1960 – Simon Gallup, English musician (The Cure)
- 1960 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1960 – Sergey Kuznetsov, Russian footballer and manager
- 1960 – Giorgos Lillikas, Cypriot politician, 8th Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1960 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
- 1961 – Paul Coffey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Mark Curry, American actor
- 1961 – Werner Günthör, Swiss shot putter and bobsledder
- 1961 – John Huston, American golfer
- 1961 – Peter Machajdík, Slovakian-German pianist and composer
- 1963 – Vital Borkelmans, Belgian footballer
- 1963 – Miles J. Padgett, Scottish physicist and academic
- 1963 – David Westhead, English actor and producer
- 1965 – Larisa Lazutina, Russian skier
- 1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian sprinter
- 1965 – Nigel Short, English chess player and journalist
- 1966 – Greg Schiano, American football player and coach
- 1968 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
- 1968 – Jeff Hackett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Mathias Rust, German aviator
- 1969 – Luis García Postigo, former Mexican footballer
- 1969 – Teri Polo, American actress
- 1970 – Georgie Gardner, Australian journalist and television host
- 1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1971 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban-American actor and singer
- 1973 – Frédérik Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
- 1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor
- 1973 – Derek Lowe, American baseball player
- 1973 – Heidi Klum, German-American model, fashion designer, and producer
- 1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
- 1974 – Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
- 1974 – Sarah Teather, English politician
- 1974 – Akis Zikos, Greek footballer and coach
- 1975 – Michal Grošek, Czech-Swiss ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Frauke Petry, German politician
- 1975 – Ēriks Rags, Latvian javelin thrower
- 1976 – Marlon Devonish, English sprinter and coach
- 1976 – Kōhei Murakami, Japanese actor
- 1977 – Andrea Bogart, American actress
- 1977 – Arsen Gitinov, Russian and Kyrgyzstani freestyle wrestler
- 1977 – Danielle Harris, American actress
- 1977 – Brad Wilkerson, American baseball player and coach
- 1977 – Sarah Wayne Callies, American actress
- 1978 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high jumper
- 1978 – Matthew Hittinger, American poet and author
- 1979 – Santana Moss, American football player
- 1979 – Markus Persson, Swedish game designer, founded Mojang
- 1981 – Brandi Carlile, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Amy Schumer, American actress
- 1981 – Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1981 – Aleksei Mikhailovich Uvarov, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
- 1983 – Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko, Ukrainian runner
- 1983 – Tõnis Sahk, Estonian long jumper
- 1984 – Jean Beausejour, Chilean footballer
- 1984 – Olivier Tielemans, Dutch racing driver
- 1985 – Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
- 1985 – Mário Hipólito, Angolan footballer
- 1985 – Dinesh Karthik, Indian cricketer
- 1985 – Nick Young, American basketball player
- 1985 – Sam Young, American basketball player
- 1986 – Moses Ndiema Masai, Kenyan runner
- 1986 – Chinedu Obasi, Nigerian footballer
- 1986 – Ben Smith, New Zealand rugby player
- 1987 – Zoltán Harsányi, Slovakian footballer
- 1987 – Jerel McNeal, American basketball player
- 1987 – Yarisley Silva, Cuban pole vaulter
- 1988 – Javier Hernández, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Nataliya Goncharova, Ukrainian/Russian volleyball player
- 1989 – Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan runner
- 1990 – Miller Bolaños, Ecuadoran footballer
- 1990 – Kennie Chopart, Danish footballer
- 1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer
- 1990 – Martin Pembleton, English footballer
- 1990 – Bianca Perie, Romanian hammer thrower
- 1991 – Tyrone Roberts, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Sam Anas, American ice hockey player
- 1994 – Kagayaki Taishi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1996 – Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1996 – Tom Holland, English actor
- 1999 – Dmitri Aliev, Russian figure skater
Deaths on June 1
- 195 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han (b. 256 BC)
- 193 – Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b. 133)
- 352 – Ran Min, “Heavenly Prince” (Tian Wang) during the Sixteen Kingdoms
- 654 – Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople
- 829 – Li Tongjie, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 847 – Xiao, empress of the Tang Dynasty
- 896 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
- 932 – Thietmar, duke of Saxony
- 1146 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess regent of Brittany (b. 1068)
- 1186 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
- 1220 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)
- 1310 – Marguerite Porete, French mystic
- 1354 – Kitabatake Chikafusa (b. 1293)
- 1434 – King Wladislaus II of Poland
- 1571 – John Story, English martyr (b. 1504)
- 1616 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1543)
- 1625 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and poet (b. 1568)
- 1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
- 1660 – Mary Dyer, English-American martyr (b. 1611)
- 1662 – Zhu Youlang, Chinese emperor (b. 1623)
- 1681 – Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (b. 1607)
- 1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)
- 1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
- 1769 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (b. 1689)
- 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade, South African folk hero (b. 1708)
- 1795 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
- 1815 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1753)
- 1823 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1770)
- 1826 – J. F. Oberlin, French pastor and philanthropist (b. 1740)
- 1830 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (b. 1781)
- 1833 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1760)
- 1841 – David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1785)
- 1846 – Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
- 1861 – John Quincy Marr, American captain (b. 1825)
- 1864 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel, led the Taiping Rebellion (b. 1812)
- 1868 – James Buchanan, American lawyer and politician, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
- 1872 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American publisher, founded the New York Herald (b. 1795)
- 1873 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1804)
- 1876 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (b. 1848)
- 1879 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (b. 1856)
- 1908 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter (b. 1867)
- 1927 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (b. 1860)
- 1927 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian, philologist, and scholar (b. 1861)
- 1934 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel and polo player (b. 1867)
- 1935 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Romanian-Hungarian general (d. 1857)
- 1938 – Ödön von Horváth, Croatian-French author and playwright (b. 1901)
- 1941 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author (b. 1884)
- 1943 – Leslie Howard, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
- 1943 – Wilfrid Israel, English-German businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899)
- 1946 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian marshal and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
- 1948 – Alex Gard, Russian-American cartoonist (b. 1900)
- 1952 – John Dewey, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1859)
- 1953 – Emanuel Vidović, Croatian painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
- 1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish-German journalist and author (b. 1869)
- 1960 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler (b. 1896)
- 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (b. 1906)
- 1963 – Walter Lee, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1874)
- 1965 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach, founded the Green Bay Packers (b. 1898)
- 1966 – Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1873)
- 1968 – Helen Keller, American author and activist (b. 1880)
- 1968 – André Laurendeau, Canadian playwright, journalist, and politician (b. 1912)
- 1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
- 1971 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (b. 1892)
- 1979 – Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1980 – Arthur Nielsen, American businessman, founded the ACNielsen company (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Carl Vinson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1883)
- 1983 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Richard Greene, English actor and soldier (b. 1918)
- 1986 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (b. 1958)
- 1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian engineer, designed the Ferrari Lampredi engine (b. 1917)
- 1991 – David Ruffin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 1996 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, 6th President of India (b. 1913)
- 1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Tito Puente, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1923)
- 2001 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (b. 1920)
- 2001 – notable victims of the Nepalese royal massacre
- Aishwarya of Nepal (b. 1949)
- Birendra of Nepal (b. 1945)
- Dhirendra of Nepal (b. 1950)
- Prince Nirajan of Nepal (b. 1978)
- Princess Shruti of Nepal (b. 1976)
- 2002 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
- 2004 – William Manchester, American historian and author (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Hilda Crosby Standish, American physician (b. 1902)
- 2005 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (Hi-Five) (b. 1975)
- 2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, founded Saint Laurent Paris (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Vincent O’Brien, Irish horse trainer (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (b. 1906)
- 2010 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Haleh Sahabi, Iranian humanitarian and activist (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Faruq Z. Bey, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish educator and politician, 19th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Milan Gaľa, Slovak politician (b. 1953)
- 2013 – James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian sailor (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Nicholas Liverpool, Dominican lawyer and politician, 6th President of Dominica (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Sinan Sakić, Serbian pop-folk singer (b. 1956)
- 2019 – Ani Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician, 6th First Lady of Indonesia. (b. 1952)
Holidays and observances on June 1
- Children’s Day (International), and its related observances:
- The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia)
- Mothers’ and Children’s Day (Mongolia)
- Christian feast day:
- Annibale Maria di Francia
- Crescentinus
- Fortunatus of Spoleto
- Herculanus of Piegaro
- Íñigo of Oña
- Justin Martyr (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran)
- Ronan of Locronan
- June 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Canadian Forces Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Canada)
- Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Lithuania)
- Earliest day on which June Holiday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (Ireland)
- Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in June. (The Bahamas)
- Earliest day on which Teacher’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Hungary)
- Earliest day on which the Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji)
- Earliest day on which Seamen’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Iceland)
- Earliest day on which Western Australia Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Western Australia)
- Global Day of Parents (International)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Samoa from New Zealand in 1962.
- Madaraka Day (Kenya)
- National Maritime Day (Mexico)
- National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia)
- Pancasila Day (Indonesia)
- President’s Day (Palau)
- The beginning of Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday of August. (Barbados)
- Victory Day (Tunisia)
- World Milk Day (International)
-
May 19 in History
- 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.
- 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.
- 1051 – Henry I of France marries the Russian princess, Anne of Kiev.
- 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.
- 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
- 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
- 1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar.
- 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the duc d’Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
- 1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
- 1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.
- 1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
- 1780 – New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky, was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
- 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
- 1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
- 1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
- 1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
- 1911 – Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
- 1917 – The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.
- 1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
- 1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
- 1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.
- 1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d’état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
- 1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.
- 1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
- 1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.
- 1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
- 1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
- 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.
- 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
- 1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
- 1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
- 1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
- 1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
- 1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
- 2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
- 2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
- 2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and injuring five others.
- 2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people.
- 2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.
- 2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
- 2018 – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
Births on May 19
- 1400 – John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton, English soldier and politician (d. 1462)
- 1462 – Baccio D’Agnolo, Italian woodcarver, sculptor and architect (d. 1543)
- 1476 (or 1474) – Helena of Moscow, Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania and Queen consort of Poland (d. 1513)
- 1593 – Claude Vignon, French painter (d. 1670)
- 1616 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (d. 1667)
- 1639 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English soldier and noble (d. 1665)
- 1700 – José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda, Spanish sergeant and politician (d. 1770)
- 1724 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1779)
- 1744 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German-born Queen to George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1818)
- 1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1814)
- 1773 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (d. 1854)
- 1795 – Johns Hopkins, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1873)
- 1827 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French academic and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1896)
- 1832 – James Watney, Jr., English politician, brewer and cricketer (d. 1886)
- 1857 – John Jacob Abel, American biochemist and pharmacologist (d. 1938)
- 1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (d. 1931)
- 1871 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 1963)
- 1874 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1955)
- 1878 – Alfred Laliberté, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 1953)
- 1879 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (d. 1964)
- 1880 – Albert Richardson, English architect and educator, designed the Manchester Opera House (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (official birthday), Turkish field marshal and statesman, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
- 1884 – David Munson, American runner (d. 1953)
- 1886 – Francis Biddle, American lawyer and judge, 58th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Ion Jalea, Romanian soldier and sculptor (d. 1983)
- 1889 – Tản Đà, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1939)
- 1889 – Henry B. Richardson, American archer (d. 1963)
- 1890 – Eveline Adelheid von Maydell, German-American illustrator (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Oswald Boelcke, German captain and pilot (d. 1916)
- 1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1950)
- 1897 – Frank Luke, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
- 1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Lothar Rădăceanu, Romanian journalist, linguist, and politician (d. 1955)
- 1902 – Lubka Kolessa, Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and educator (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Ruth Ella Moore, American scientist (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (d. 2007)
- 1908 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
- 1908 – Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
- 1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian (d. 2015)
- 1910 – Alan Melville, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1914 – John Vachon, American photographer and journalist (d. 1975)
- 1915 – Renée Asherson, English actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist, historian, and academic (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Georgie Auld, Canadian-American saxophonist, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Mitja Ribičič, Italian-Slovenian soldier and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Tina Strobos, Dutch psychiatrist known for rescuing Jews during World War II (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Leslie Broderick, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Harry W. Brown, American colonel and pilot (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Daniel Gélin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Yuri Kochiyama, American activist (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch historian and author (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Arthur Gorrie, Australian hobby shop proprietor (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Sandy Wilson, English composer and songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (d. 1965)
- 1926 – Edward Parkes, English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Thomas Kennedy, English air marshal (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Gil McDougald, American baseball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Richard Larter, Australian painter (d. 2014)
- 1929 – John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright and director (d. 1965)
- 1931 – Bob Anderson, English race car driver (d. 1967)
- 1931 – Trevor Peacock, English actor, screenwriter and songwriter
- 1932 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
- 1932 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Bill Fitch, American basketball player and coach
- 1932 – Elena Poniatowska, Mexican intellectual and journalist
- 1933 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, author, and academic
- 1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author and poet
- 1934 – Jim Lehrer, American journalist and author (d. 2020)
- 1935 – David Hartman, American journalist and television personality
- 1937 – Pat Roach, English wrestler (d. 2004)
- 1938 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
- 1938 – Herbie Flowers, English musician
- 1938 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Ukrainian long jumper and coach
- 1939 – Livio Berruti, Italian sprinter
- 1939 – James Fox, English actor
- 1939 – Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-American actress and makeup artist
- 1939 – Jānis Lūsis, Latvian javelin thrower and coach (d. 2020)
- 1939 – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1940 – Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
- 1940 – Mickey Newbury, American country/pop singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Maltese-English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1942 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research Inc. (d. 1994)
- 1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk, English television host and politician
- 1943 – Eddie May, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Shirrel Rhoades, American author, publisher, and academic
- 1944 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Claude Lelièvre, Belgian activist
- 1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
- 1946 – André the Giant, French-American wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Paul Brady, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1947 – Christopher Chope, English lawyer and politician
- 1947 – David Helfgott, Australian pianist
- 1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1949 – Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1949 – Philip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, English politician
- 1949 – Archie Manning, American football player
- 1950 – Tadeusz Ślusarski, Polish pole vaulter (d. 1998)
- 1951 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Dick Slater, American wrestler
- 1952 – Charlie Spedding, English runner
- 1952 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
- 1953 – Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Armenian finswimmer
- 1953 – Florin Marin, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1953 – Victoria Wood, English actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1954 – Rick Cerone, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
- 1954 – Phil Rudd, Australian-New Zealand drummer
- 1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java
- 1956 – Oliver Letwin, English philosopher and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 1956 – Martyn Ware, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
- 1957 – Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 – James Reyne, Nigerian-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Vadim Cojocaru, Moldovan politician
- 1961 – Gregory Poirier, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Wayne Van Dorp, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Filippo Galli, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Peter Jackson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
- 1964 – John Lee, South Korean-American football player
- 1964 – Miloslav Mečíř, Slovak tennis player
- 1965 – Maile Flanagan, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Jodi Picoult, American author and educator
- 1966 – Polly Walker, English actress
- 1967 – Alexia, Italian singer
- 1967 – Geraldine Somerville, Irish-born English actress
- 1968 – Kyle Eastwood, American actor and bass player
- 1970 – Stuart Cable, Welsh drummer (d. 2010)
- 1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
- 1970 – Regina Narva, Estonian chess player
- 1970 – Nia Zulkarnaen, Indonesian actress, singer and producer
- 1971 – Ross Katz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Andres Salumets, Estonian biologist, biochemist, and educator
- 1972 – Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1972 – Claudia Karvan, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
- 1974 – Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1974 – Emma Shapplin, French soprano
- 1974 – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indian actor
- 1975 – Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – London Fletcher, American football player
- 1975 – Josh Paul, American baseball player and manager
- 1975 – Jonas Renkse, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1976 – Ed Cota, American basketball player
- 1976 – Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
- 1977 – Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Wouter Hamel, Dutch singer and guitarist
- 1977 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player
- 1977 – Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actress
- 1978 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
- 1978 – Dave Bus, Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Diego Forlan, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980 – Tony Hackworth, English footballer
- 1981 – Luciano Figueroa, Argentinian footballer
- 1981 – Yo Gotti, American rapper
- 1981 – Michael Leighton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Sina Schielke, German sprinter
- 1981 – Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
- 1982 – Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
- 1982 – Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
- 1982 – Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
- 1983 – Michael Che, American comedian
- 1983 – Jessica Fox, English actress
- 1984 – Marcedes Lewis, American football player
- 1985 – Aleister Black, Dutch professional wrestler
- 1986 – Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
- 1987 – Michael Angelakos, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – David Edgar, Canadian soccer player
- 1987 – Mariano Torres, Argentinian footballer
- 1987 – Jayne Wisener, Northern Irish actress
- 1991 – Jordan Pruitt, American singer-songwriter
- 1992 – Marshmello, American electronic music producer and DJ
- 1992 – Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Ola John, Dutch footballer
- 1992 – Felise Kaufusi, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
- 1992 – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter
- 1994 – Carlos Guzmán, Mexican footballer
- 1995 – Taane Milne, New Zealand rugby league player
Deaths on May 19
- 804 – Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. 735)
- 956 – Robert, archbishop of Trier
- 988 – Dunstan, English archbishop and saint (b. 909)
- 1102 – Stephen, Count of Blois (b. 1045)
- 1125 – Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kiev
- 1164 – Saint Bashnouna, Egyptian saint and martyr
- 1218 – Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1296 – Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
- 1303 – Saint Ivo of Kermartin, French canon lawyer (b. 1253)
- 1319 – Louis, Count of Évreux (b. 1276)
- 1389 – Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
- 1396 – John I of Aragon (b. 1350)
- 1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
- 1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish archbishop and diplomat (b. 1456)
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1533–1536); second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1501)
- 1601 – Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528)
- 1609 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete (b. 1535)
- 1610 – Thomas Sanchez, Spanish priest and theologian (b. 1550)
- 1623 – Mariam-uz-Zamani, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1542)
- 1637 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
- 1715 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
- 1786 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (b. 1712)
- 1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and politician, 4th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1729)
- 1795 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer (b. 1740)
- 1798 – William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1722)
- 1821 – Camille Jordan, French lawyer and politician (b. 1771)
- 1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French philosopher and theorist (b. 1760)
- 1831 – Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, Estonian-German physician, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1793)
- 1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1804)
- 1865 – Sengge Rinchen, Mongolian general (b. 1811)
- 1872 – John Baker, English-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1813)
- 1876 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (b. 1801)
- 1885 – Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
- 1895 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1853)
- 1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
- 1901 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
- 1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
- 1904 – Auguste Molinier, French librarian and historian (b. 1851)
- 1904 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (b. 1839)
- 1906 – Gabriel Dumont, Canadian Métis leader (b. 1837)
- 1907 – Benjamin Baker, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (b. 1840)
- 1912 – Bolesław Prus, Polish journalist and author (b. 1847)
- 1915 – John Simpson Kirkpatrick, English-Australian soldier (b. 1892)
- 1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (b. 1885)
- 1935 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
- 1936 – Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, British Islamic scholar (b. 1875)
- 1939 – Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Azerbaijani-Turkish journalist and publicist (b. 1869)
- 1943 – Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and illustrator (b. 1865)
- 1945 – Philipp Bouhler, German soldier and politician (b. 1889)
- 1946 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (b. 1869)
- 1950 – Daniel Ciugureanu, Romanian physician and politician, Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1884)
- 1954 – Charles Ives, American composer and educator (b. 1874)
- 1958 – Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (b. 1870)
- 1958 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1958 – Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1871)
- 1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1901)
- 1971 – Ogden Nash, American poet (b. 1902)
- 1978 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (b. 1906)
- 1983 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
- 1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (b. 1931)
- 1987 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (b. 1910)
- 1994 – Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
- 1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
- 1996 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917)
- 1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese soldier and politician, 75th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
- 2002 – John Gorton, Australian lieutenant and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (b. 1907)
- 2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2009 – Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (b. 1935)
- 2009 – Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (b.1944)
- 2012 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (b. 1982)
- 2014 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Terry W. Gee, American businessman and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, socialite; 31st Second Lady of the United States (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Robert S. Wistrich, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (b. 1919)
- 2016 – Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Nawshirwan Mustafa, General coordinator of the Movement for Change (Gorran) (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Zhengzhang Shangfang, Chinese linguist (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on May 19
- Christian feast day:
- Calocerus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Crispin of Viterbo
- Dunstan (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church; commemoration, Anglicanism)
- Ivo of Kermartin
- Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
- Maria Bernarda Bütler
- Peter Celestine
- Pudentiana (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church)
- May 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)
- Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)
- Hồ Chí Minh’s Birthday (Vietnam)
- Malcolm X Day (United States of America)
- National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
- Hepatitis Testing Day (United States)
- Mother’s Day (Kyrgyzstan)
-
May 15 in History
- 495 BC – A newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.
- 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
- 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
- 589 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.
- 908 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople.
- 1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
- 1525 – Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants’ War in the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
- 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.
- 1618 – Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
- 1648 – The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.
- 1718 – James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world’s first machine gun.
- 1776 – American Revolution: The Fifth Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 1791 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
- 1792 – War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia.
- 1793 – Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for “about 360 meters”, at a height of 5–6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights.
- 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.
- 1800 – King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.
- 1817 – Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
- 1836 – Francis Baily observes “Baily’s beads” during an annular eclipse.
- 1849 – The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.
- 1850 – The Bloody Island massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry.
- 1850 – The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending “the existing differences” between Great Britain and Argentina.
- 1851 – The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
- 1858 – Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
- 1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.
- 1867 – Canadian Bank of Commerce opens for business in Toronto, Ontario. The bank would later merge with Imperial Bank of Canada to become what is CIBC in 1961.
- 1869 – Women’s suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
- 1891 – Pope Leo XIII defends workers’ rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.
- 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sinks Japan’s battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and Yashima.
- 1905 – Las Vegas is founded when 110 acres (0.45 km2), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
- 1911 – In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an “unreasonable” monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.
- 1911 – More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.
- 1914 – During a poker game at the Gaiety Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois, comedian Art Fisher nicknames Chicko, Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo Marx.
- 1919 – The Winnipeg general strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
- 1919 – Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.
- 1925 – Al-Insaniyyah, the first Arabic communist newspaper, is founded.
- 1928 – Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, “Plane Crazy”.
- 1929 – A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
- 1932 – In an attempted coup d’état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated.
- 1933 – All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military’s air arm, the Luftwaffe.
- 1934 – Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.
- 1940 – USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.
- 1940 – World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
- 1940 – Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald’s restaurant.
- 1941 – First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
- 1941 – Joe DiMaggio begins a 56-game hitting streak.
- 1942 – World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
- 1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
- 1948 – Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
- 1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
- 1958 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
- 1960 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
- 1963 – Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
- 1966 – After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ of South Vietnam’s ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Tôn Thất Đính, forcing him to abandon his command.
- 1969 – People’s Park: California Governor Ronald Reagan has an impromptu student park owned by the University of California at Berkeley fenced off from student anti-war protestors, sparking a riot.
- 1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals.
- 1970 – Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green are killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.
- 1972 – The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
- 1972 – In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to become president.
- 1974 – Ma’alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
- 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes in Viktorovka, Chernihiv Raion, killing all 52 people on board.
- 1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.
- 1988 – Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
- 1991 – Édith Cresson becomes France’s first female Prime Minister.
- 1997 – The United States government acknowledges the existence of the “Secret War” in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other “Secret War” veterans.
- 1997 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
- 2004 – Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C with the right to claim the title “The Invincibles”.
- 2008 – California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state’s own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
- 2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
- 2013 – An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.
Births on May 15
- 1397 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (d. 1450)
- 1531 – Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (d. 1581)
- 1565 – Hendrick de Keyser, Dutch sculptor and architect (d. 1621)
- 1567 – Claudio Monteverdi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1643)
- 1655 – Pope Innocent XIII (d. 1724)
- 1608 – René Goupil, French-American missionary and saint (d. 1642)
- 1633 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French noble (d. 1707)
- 1645 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, British judge (d. 1689)
- 1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
- 1720 – Maximilian Hell, Hungarian priest and astronomer (d. 1792)
- 1749 – Levi Lincoln Sr., American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Attorney General (d. 1820)
- 1759 – Maria Theresia von Paradis, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1824)
- 1770 – Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1843)
- 1773 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (d. 1859)
- 1786 – Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek general and politician (d. 1864)
- 1803 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (d. 1869)
- 1805 – Samuel Carter, Early English railway solicitor and MP (d. 1878)
- 1808 – Michael William Balfe, Irish composer and conductor (d. 1870)
- 1817 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1905)
- 1841 – Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (d. 1912)
- 1845 – Élie Metchnikoff, Russian zoologist (d. 1916)
- 1848 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1926)
- 1854 – Ioannis Psycharis, Ukrainian-French philologist and author (d. 1929)
- 1856 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (d. 1919)
- 1856 – Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1917)
- 1857 – Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer and academic (d. 1911)
- 1859 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
- 1862 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (d. 1931)
- 1863 – Frank Hornby, English businessman and politician, invented Meccano (d. 1936)
- 1869 – Paul Probst, Swiss target shooter (d. 1945)
- 1869 – John Storey, Australian politician, 20th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1921)
- 1882 – Walter White, Scottish international footballer (d. 1950)
- 1890 – Katherine Anne Porter, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist (d. 1980)
- 1891 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (d. 1940)
- 1891 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (d. 1971)
- 1892 – Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral (d. 1977)
- 1892 – Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (d. 1969)
- 1893 – José Nepomuceno, Filipino filmmaker, founder of Philippine cinema (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Feg Murray, American hurdler and cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1895 – Prescott Bush, American captain, banker, and politician (d. 1972)
- 1895 – William D. Byron, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1941)
- 1898 – Arletty, French model, actress, and singer (d. 1992)
- 1899 – Jean Étienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)
- 1900 – Ida Rhodes, American mathematician, pioneer in computer programming (d. 1986)
- 1901 – Xavier Herbert, Australian author (d. 1984)
- 1901 – Luis Monti, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
- 1902 – Richard J. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)
- 1902 – Sigizmund Levanevsky, Soviet aircraft pilot of Polish origin (d. 1937)
- 1903 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (d. 1998)
- 1904 – Clifton Fadiman, American game show host and author (d. 1999)
- 1905 – Joseph Cotten, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Albert Dubout, French cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor (d. 1976)
- 1905 – Abraham Zapruder, American businessman and amateur photographer, filmed the Zapruder film (d. 1970)
- 1907 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (d. 1931)
- 1909 – James Mason, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1909 – Clara Solovera, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Constance Cummings, British-based American actress (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (d. 1991)
- 1911 – Herta Oberheuser, German physician (d. 1978)
- 1912 – Arthur Berger, American composer and educator (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
- 1914 – Angus MacLean, Canadian farmer and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Norrie Paramor, English composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1979)
- 1915 – Hilda Bernstein, English-South African author and activist (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Paul Samuelson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Henrik Sandberg, Danish production manager and producer (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Vera Gebuhr, Danish actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Joseph Wiseman, Canadian-American actor (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Michel Audiard, French director and screenwriter (d. 1985)
- 1922 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese nun and author
- 1923 – Richard Avedon, American sailor and photographer (d. 2004)
- 1923 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Maria Koepcke, German-Peruvian ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1971)
- 1925 – Andrei Eshpai, Russian pianist and composer (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Mary F. Lyon, English geneticist and biologist (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Carl Sanders, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 74th Governor of Georgia (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Roy Stewart, Jamaican-English actor and stuntman (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Anthony Shaffer, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Jasper Johns, American painter and sculptor
- 1931 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Don Bragg, American pole vaulter
- 1935 – Ted Dexter, Italian-English cricketer
- 1935 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Akihiro Miwa, Japanese singer, actor, director, composer, author and drag queen
- 1936 – Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-American actress and singer
- 1936 – Mart Laga, Estonian basketball player (d. 1977)
- 1936 – Ralph Steadman, English painter and illustrator
- 1936 – Paul Zindel, American playwright and novelist (d. 2003)
- 1937 – Madeleine Albright, Czech-American politician and diplomat, 64th United States Secretary of State
- 1937 – Karin Krog, Norwegian singer
- 1937 – Trini Lopez, American singer, guitarist, and actor
- 1938 – Mireille Darc, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Nancy Garden, American author (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Dorothy Shirley, English high jumper and educator
- 1940 – Roger Ailes, American businessman (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
- 1940 – Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach
- 1941 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded the Rip Off Press (d. 2006)
- 1942 – Lois Johnson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian businessman and politician, 10th Vice President of Indonesia
- 1942 – Doug Lowe, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Tasmania
- 1942 – K. T. Oslin, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1943 – Paul Bégin, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Freddie Perren, American songwriter, producer, and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Bill Alter, American police officer and politician
- 1944 – Ulrich Beck, German sociologist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Michael Dexter, English hematologist and academic
- 1945 – Jerry Quarry, American boxer (d. 1999)
- 1946 – Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Vietnamese priest and activist
- 1947 – Graeham Goble, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
- 1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist
- 1948 – Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese baseball player
- 1948 – Brian Eno, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1948 – Kathleen Sebelius, American politician, 44th Governor of Kansas
- 1949 – Frank L. Culbertson Jr., American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1949 – Robert S.J. Sparks, English geologist and academic
- 1950 – Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (d. 2004)
- 1950 – Jim Simons, American golfer (d. 2005)
- 1951 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Chris Ham, English political scientist and academic
- 1951 – Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – George Brett, American baseball player and coach
- 1953 – Athene Donald, English physicist and academic
- 1953 – Mike Oldfield, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1954 – Diana Liverman, English-American geographer and academic
- 1954 – Caroline Thomson, English journalist and broadcaster
- 1955 – Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (d. 2013)
- 1955 – Lia Vissi, Cypriot singer-songwriter and politician
- 1956 – Andreas Loverdos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Labour
- 1956 – Dan Patrick, American television anchor and sportscaster
- 1956 – Kevin Greenaugh, American nuclear engineer
- 1957 – Meg Gardiner, American-English author and academic
- 1957 – Juan José Ibarretxe, Spanish politician
- 1957 – Kevin Von Erich, American football player and wrestler
- 1958 – Jason Graae, American musical theater actor
- 1958 – Ruth Marcus, American journalist
- 1958 – Ron Simmons, American football player and wrestler
- 1959 – Khaosai Galaxy, Thai boxer and politician
- 1959 – Luis Pérez-Sala, Spanish race car driver
- 1959 – Beverly Jo Scott, American-Belgian singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Rhonda Burchmore, Australian actress, singer, and dancer
- 1960 – Rob Bowman, American director and producer
- 1960 – R. Kuhaneswaran, Sri Lankan politician
- 1960 – Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1961 – Giselle Fernández, Mexican-American television journalist.
- 1962 – Lisa Curry, Australian swimmer
- 1963 – Gavin Nebbeling, South African footballer
- 1964 – Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1965 – André Abujamra, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Scott Tronc, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Jiří Němec, Czech footballer
- 1967 – Simen Agdestein, Norwegian chess grandmaster and football player
- 1967 – Laura Hillenbrand, American journalist and author
- 1967 – John Smoltz, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress
- 1968 – Cecilia Malmström, Swedish academic and politician, 15th European Commissioner for Trade
- 1968 – Sophie Raworth, English journalist and broadcaster
- 1969 – Hideki Irabu, Japanese-American baseball player (d. 2011)
- 1969 – Emmitt Smith, American football player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Frank de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1970 – Ronald de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1970 – Desmond Howard, American football player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Alison Jackson, English photographer, director, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Rod Smith, American football player
- 1970 – Ben Wallace, English captain and politician
- 1971 – Karin Lušnic, Slovenian tennis player
- 1972 – Danny Alexander, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1972 – David Charvet, French actor and singer
- 1974 – Vasilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player and politician
- 1974 – Matthew Sadler, English chess player and author
- 1974 – Marko Tredup, German footballer and manager
- 1974 – Ahmet Zappa, American musician and writer
- 1975 – Ray Lewis, American football player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Ales Michalevic, Belarusian lawyer and politician
- 1976 – Torraye Braggs, American basketball player
- 1976 – Mark Kennedy, Irish footballer
- 1976 – Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
- 1976 – Ryan Leaf, American football player and coach
- 1976 – Anže Logar, Slovenian politician
- 1976 – Tyler Walker, American baseball player
- 1978 – Amy Chow, American gymnast and pediatrician
- 1978 – Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian soccer player
- 1978 – Edu, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – David Krumholtz, American actor
- 1979 – Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
- 1979 – Daniel Caines, English sprinter
- 1979 – Chris Masoe, New Zealand rugby player
- 1979 – Ryan Max Riley, American skier
- 1979 – Robert Royal, American football player
- 1979 – Dominic Scott, Irish guitarist
- 1980 – Josh Beckett, American baseball player
- 1981 – Patrice Evra, French footballer
- 1981 – Paul Konchesky, English international footballer
- 1981 – Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
- 1981 – Zara Phillips, English equestrian
- 1981 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress and singer
- 1982 – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican sprinter
- 1982 – Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1982 – Rafael Pérez, Dominican baseball player
- 1982 – Layal Abboud, Lebanese singer
- 1984 – Jeff Deslauriers, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian race car driver
- 1984 – Samantha Noble, Australian actress
- 1984 – Beau Scott, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Mr Probz, Dutch singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer
- 1985 – Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver
- 1985 – Laura Harvey, English football coach
- 1985 – Tathagata Mukherjee, Indian actor
- 1985 – Denis Onyango, Ugandan goalkeeper
- 1985 – Justine Robbeson, South African javelin thrower
- 1986 – Thomas Brown, American football player
- 1986 – Matías Fernández, Chilean footballer
- 1986 – Adam Moffat, Scottish footballer
- 1987 – David Adams, American baseball player
- 1987 – Michael Brantley, American baseball player
- 1987 – Brian Dozier, American baseball player
- 1987 – Mark Fayne, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Ersan İlyasova, Turkish basketball player
- 1987 – Leonardo Mayer, Argentinian tennis player
- 1987 – Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
- 1988 – Indrek Kajupank, Estonian basketball player
- 1988 – Scott Laird, English footballer
- 1989 – Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, French footballer
- 1990 – Jordan Eberle, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Lee Jong-hyun, Korean guitarist
- 1990 – Stella Maxwell, New Zealand model
- 1993 – Jeremy Hawkins, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993 – Tomáš Kalas, Czech international footballer
- 1996 – Birdy, English singer-songwriter
- 1997 – Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer
Deaths on May 15
- 392 – Valentinian II, Roman emperor (b. 371)
- 558 – Hilary of Galeata, Christian monk (b. 476)
- 884 – Narinus I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 830)
- 913 – Hatto I, German archbishop (b. 850)
- 926 – Zhuang Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 885)
- 973 – Byrhthelm, bishop of Wells
- 1036 – Go-Ichijō, emperor of Japan (b. 1008)
- 1157 – Yuri Dolgorukiy, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1099)
- 1175 – Mleh, prince of Armenia
- 1174 – Nur ad-Din, Seljuk emir of Syria (b. 1118)
- 1268 – Peter II, count of Savoy (b. 1203)
- 1461 – Domenico Veneziano, Italian painter (b. c. 1410)
- 1464 – Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (b. 1436)
- 1470 – Charles VIII, king of Sweden (b. 1409)
- 1585 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (b. 1535)
- 1609 – Giovanni Croce, Italian composer and educator (b. 1557)
- 1615 – Henry Bromley, English politician (b. 1560)
- 1634 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)
- 1698 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (b. 1642)
- 1699 – Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1631)
- 1700 – John Hale, American minister (b. 1636)
- 1740 – Ephraim Chambers, English publisher (b. 1680)
- 1773 – Alban Butler, English priest and hagiographer (b. 1710)
- 1845 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, Head of State of Costa Rica (b. 1800)
- 1879 – Gottfried Semper, German architect and educator, designed the Semper Opera House (b. 1803)
- 1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (b. 1830)
- 1914 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (b. 1863)
- 1919 – Hasan Tahsin, Turkish journalist (b. 1888)
- 1924 – Paul-Henri-Benjamin d’Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1926 – Joseph James Fletcher, Australian biologist (b. 1850)
- 1928 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (b. 1845)
- 1935 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter and theoretician (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1864)
- 1945 – Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (b. 1881)
- 1945 – Charles Williams, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Edward J. Flanagan, Irish-American priest, founded Boys Town (b. 1886)
- 1954 – William March, American soldier and author (b. 1893)
- 1956 – Austin Osman Spare, English painter and magician (b. 1886)
- 1957 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (b. 1920)
- 1957 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1892)
- 1963 – John Aglionby, English-born Bishop of Accra and soldier (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Vladko Maček, Croatian lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
- 1965 – Pio Pion, Italian businessman (b. 1887)
- 1967 – Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)
- 1967 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (b. 1892)
- 1969 – Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Tyrone Guthrie, English director, producer, and playwright (b. 1900)
- 1978 – Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Gordon Prange, American historian and author (b. 1910)
- 1982 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- 1984 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1912)
- 1985 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and writer (b. 1947)
- 1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
- 1986 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Johnny Green, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1989 – Luc Lacourcière, Canadian ethnographer and author (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1956)
- 1991 – Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Malian ethnologist and author (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Fritz Riess, German race car driver (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese poet and diplomat (b. 1933)
- 1994 – Gilbert Roland, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1995 – Eric Porter, English actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 – Charles B. Fulton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1910)
- 1998 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
- 1998 – Naim Talu, Turkish economist, banker, politician, 15th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1919)
- 2003 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (b. 1929)
- 2006 – Nizar Abdul Zahra, Iraqi footballer (b. 1961)
- 2007 – Jerry Falwell, American pastor, founded Liberty University (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1956)
- 2008 – Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Will Elder, American illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bud Tingwell, Australian actor, director, and producer (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (b. 1964)
- 2010 – Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (b. 1987)
- 2010 – Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Arno Lustiger, German historian and author (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Noribumi Suzuki, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (b. 1914)
- 2015 – Jackie Brookner, American sculptor and educator (b. 1945)
- 2015 – Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-American football player (b. 1944)
- 2020 – Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (b. 1933)[19]
Holidays and observances on May 15
- Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)
- Army Day (Slovenia)
- Christian feast day:
- Achillius of Larissa
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church)
- Dymphna
- Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church)
- Hesychius of Cazorla
- Hilary of Galeata
- Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid.
- Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church)
- Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church)
- Reticius (Roman Catholic Church)
- Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church)
- May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)
- Earliest date on which Armed Forces Day (United States) can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Saturday of May.
- Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14.
- International Conscientious Objectors Day
- International Day of Families (International)
- La Corsa dei Ceri begins on the eve of the feast day of Saint Ubaldo. (Gubbio)
- Mother’s Day (Paraguay)
- Nakba Day (Palestinian communities)
- Peace Officers Memorial Day (United States)
- Republic Day (Lithuania)
- Teachers’ Day (Colombia, Mexico and South Korea)
-
May 2 in History
- 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter
- 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
- 1335 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
- 1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
- 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
- 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
- 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
- 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
- 1672 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
- 1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
- 1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory after Mexican rebels under José María Morelos y Pavón abandon the city after 72 days under siege by royalist Spanish troops under Félix María Calleja.
- 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
- 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
- 1866 – Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
- 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
- 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
- 1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
- 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
- 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
- 1918 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
- 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
- 1933 – Germany’s independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
- 1941 – Following the coup d’état against Iraq Crown Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
- 1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
- 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
- 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
- 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
- 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
- 1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
- 1963 – Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
- 1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship’s hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
- 1964 – First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
- 1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
- 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
- 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
- 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
- 1989 – Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
- 1994 – A bus crashes in Gdańsk, Poland killing 32 people.
- 1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven and wounding over 175 civilians.
- 1998 – The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
- 1999 – Panamanian general election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
- 2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
- 2004 – The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2nd.
- 2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
- 2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man, is killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
- 2011 – An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others sick from the bacteria outbreak.
- 2012 – A pastel version of The Scream, by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
- 2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.
Births on May 2
- 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
- 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
- 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
- 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
- 1476 – Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
- 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
- 1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
- 1567 – Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
- 1579 – Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)
- 1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
- 1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
- 1695 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
- 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
- 1707 – Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
- 1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
- 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
- 1740 – Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
- 1750 – John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
- 1752 – Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
- 1754 – Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
- 1772 – Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
- 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
- 1797 – Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
- 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
- 1806 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
- 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
- 1813 – Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
- 1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
- 1822 – Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
- 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
- 1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
- 1843 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
- 1859 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
- 1860 – John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
- 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
- 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
- 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
- 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
- 1879 – James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
- 1880 – Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans’ American citizenship (d. 1971)
- 1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
- 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
- 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
- 1889 – Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
- 1890 – E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
- 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
- 1894 – Norma Talmadge, leading US actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
- 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
- 1897 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
- 1898 – Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1901 – Edouard Zeckendorf, Belgian doctor, army officer and mathematician (d. 1983)
- 1901 – Willi Bredel, German writer (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Werner Finck, German Kabarett comedian, actor and author (d. 1978)
- 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
- 1904 – Bill Brandt, German-English photographer and journalist (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Alan Rawsthorne, British composer (d. 1971)
- 1905 – Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
- 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
- 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Frank Rowlett, American cryptologist (d. 1998)
- 1909 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader, musician, and actor (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
- 1910 – Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
- 1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Karl Adam, German rowing coaches (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
- 1912 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
- 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilder and car designer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Aydın Sayılı, Turkish historian and academic (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
- 1917 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian singer and sitar player (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter, soldier, and pilot (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer (d. 2007)
- 1921 – B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist
- 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1922 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
- 1922 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Albert Nordengen, Norwegian banker and politician (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Arthur Clues, Australian rugby league player (d. 1998)
- 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (d. 2018)
- 1925 – John Neville, English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright and novelist (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, French writer and translator of German origin
- 1928 – Horst Stein, German conductor (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
- 1929 – James Dillion, American discus thrower (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (d. 1972)
- 1930 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Martha Grimes, American author and poet
- 1932 – Maury Allen, American journalist, actor, and author (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Bunk Gardner, American musician
- 1933 – Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1934 – Manfred Durniok, German film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1935 – Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (d.1958)
- 1936 – Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
- 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
- 1937 – Klaus Enders, German motorcycle sidecar racer (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1937 – Gisela Elsner, German writer (d. 1992)
- 1938 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
- 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist and engineer
- 1939 – Ernesto Castano, Italian football player
- 1940 – Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, Surinamese politician
- 1941 – Tony Adamowicz, American race car driver (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Bruce Cameron, Scottish bishop
- 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
- 1941 – Eddy Louiss, French jazz musician (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman
- 1942 – Wojciech Pszoniak, Polish film and theater actor
- 1944 – Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
- 1945 – Randy Cain, American soul singer (d. 2009)
- 1945 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
- 1945 – Goldy McJohn, Canadian keyboard player (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
- 1947 – James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company
- 1947 – Lynda Myles, English screenwriter and producer
- 1947 – Philippe Herreweghe, Belgian conductor
- 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
- 1949 – Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman
- 1950 – Simon Gaskell, English chemist and academic
- 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
- 1950 – Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Richard Ground, English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Fausto Silva, Brazilian television presenter
- 1951 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
- 1952 – Chris Anderson, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
- 1952 – Isla St Clair, Scottish singer and actress
- 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
- 1953 – Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player
- 1954 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
- 1954 – Dawn Primarolo, English politician
- 1954 – Stephen Venables, English mountaineer and author
- 1955 – Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
- 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
- 1956 – Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City
- 1958 – Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
- 1958 – Stanislav Levý, Czech footballer and manager
- 1958 – David O’Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
- 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animator, director, and producer
- 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
- 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
- 1961 – Sophie Thibault, Canadian journalist
- 1961 – Phil Vickery, English chef and author
- 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
- 1962 – Michael Grandage, English director and producer
- 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
- 1965 – Félix José, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1966 – Uwe Freiler, German footballer
- 1966 – Margus Kolga, Estonian diplomat
- 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
- 1967 – Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
- 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
- 1967 – David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1968 – Julia Hartley-Brewer, English broadcaster and columnist
- 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1970 – Marco Walker, Swiss footballer and coach
- 1971 – Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
- 1971 – Fatima Yusuf, Nigerian sprinter
- 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
- 1972 – Ahti Heinla, Estonian programmer and businessman, co-developed Skype
- 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, American-Canadian wrestler, actor, and producer
- 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
- 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Andy Johnson, English-Welsh footballer
- 1974 – Janek Meet, Estonian footballer
- 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
- 1975 – Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer
- 1976 – Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
- 1977 – Jan Fitschen, German runner
- 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
- 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish journalist and politician
- 1977 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress and singer
- 1977 – Kalle Palander, Finnish skier
- 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
- 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
- 1979 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish-American actress, presenter and VJ (d. 2011)
- 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
- 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
- 1980 – Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
- 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
- 1980 – Artūras Masiulis, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
- 1980 – Lassaâd Ouertani, Tunisian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Vincent Tong, Canadian actor, singer, voice actor and director
- 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
- 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
- 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
- 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
- 1981 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1982 – Timothy Benjamin, Welsh sprinter
- 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
- 1983 – Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
- 1983 – Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
- 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
- 1983 – Ove Vanebo, Norwegian politician
- 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
- 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1985 – Kyle Busch, American race car driver
- 1985 – Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
- 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
- 1987 – Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress
- 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Pat McAfee, American football player
- 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Justin Young, English singer and songwriter
- 1988 – Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
- 1988 – Stephen Henderson, Irish footballer
- 1989 – Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player
- 1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actress
- 1990 – Paul George, American basketball player
- 1991 – Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
- 1992 – Sunmi, South Korean singer
- 1992 – María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
- 1993 – Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
- 1993 – Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer
- 1993 – Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper
- 1996 – Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer
- 1996 – Julian Brandt, German footballer
- 1996 – Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer
- 2015 – Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, British royal, and fourth in line to the British throne
Deaths on May 2
- 373 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
- 649 – Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian of the Syriac Orthodox Church (b. 565)
- 821 – Liu Zong, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
- 1219 – Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
- 1230 – William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
- 1293 – Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (b. c.1215)
- 1300 – Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
- 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
- 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
- 1564 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
- 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
- 1667 – George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
- 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
- 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
- 1799 – Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
- 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
- 1810 – Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
- 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
- 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
- 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
- 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
- 1880 – Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
- 1885 – Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
- 1915 – Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
- 1918 – Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
- 1925 – Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
- 1927 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
- 1929 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
- 1945 – Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
- 1945 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1947 – Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
- 1953 – Wallace Bryant, American archer (b. 1863)
- 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
- 1963 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
- 1969 – Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
- 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
- 1974 – James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
- 1977 – Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1922)
- 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
- 1980 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
- 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
- 1984 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
- 1984 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
- 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
- 1986 – Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
- 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
- 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
- 1990 – David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
- 1991 – Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician(b.1924)
- 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
- 1993 – André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
- 1995 – John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
- 1997 – John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
- 1998 – hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
- 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
- 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Lord Voldemort, English wizard and terrorist (b. 1926)
- 1999 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1903)
- 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
- 2000 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
- 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
- 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
- 2008 – Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
- 2009 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (b. 1955)
- 2012 – Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
- 2013 – Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 2015 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (b. 1947)
- 2020 – Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (b. 1982)
Holidays and observances on May 2
- Christian feast day:
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
- Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
- Germanus of Normandy
- May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Harry Potter Day
- The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá’í Faith) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
- Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
- Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
- Flag Day (Poland)
- Indonesia National Education Day
- Teachers’ Day (Iran) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar)
-
February 14 in History
- 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
- 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
- 1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1130 – Pope Innocent II is elected.
- 1349 – Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg.
- 1400 – Richard II of England dies, most probably from starvation, in Pontefract Castle, on the orders of Henry Bolingbroke.
- 1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.
- 1556 – Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic.
- 1556 – Coronation of Akbar.
- 1655 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
- 1778 – The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.
- 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia.
- 1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
- 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.
- 1804 – Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
- 1831 – Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay.
- 1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio.
- 1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
- 1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London.
- 1855 – Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.
- 1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
- 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
- 1879 – The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.
- 1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
- 1900 – British forces begin the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.
- 1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
- 1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state.
- 1912 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines.
- 1919 – The Polish–Soviet War begins.
- 1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
- 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
- 1929 – Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone’s gang, are murdered in Chicago.
- 1942 – Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
- 1943 – World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated.
- 1943 – World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim’s Fifth Panzer Army launches a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
- 1944 – World War II: In the Action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian submarine in the Strait of Malacca.
- 1945 – World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.
- 1945 – World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by an American squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet’s Vistula–Oder Offensive.
- 1945 – World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans
- 1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.
- 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalized.
- 1949 – The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time.
- 1949 – The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec.
- 1961 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.
- 1966 – Australian currency is decimalized.
- 1979 – In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
- 1983 – United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud.
- 1989 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
- 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
- 1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
- 1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.
- 1998 – An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120.
- 2000 – The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
- 2004 – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 25 people, and wounding more than 100 others.
- 2005 – In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri’s motorcade drives through the city.
- 2005 – Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos City, all in the Philippines.
- 2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.
- 2008 – Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries.
- 2011 – As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a ‘Day of Rage’.
- 2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
- 2018 – A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 15 injuries.
- 2019 – Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured.
Births on February 14
- 1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (d. 1472)
- 1408 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (d. 1435)
- 1452 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (d. 1512)
- 1468 – Johannes Werner, German priest and mathematician (d. 1522)
- 1483 – Babur, Moghul emperor (d. 1530)
- 1490 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educationist of the Reformation (d. 1556)
- 1513 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (d. 1573)
- 1545 – Lucrezia de’ Medici, Duchess of Ferrara (d. 1561)
- 1602 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (d. 1676)
- 1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (d. 1672)
- 1625 – Countess Palatine Maria Eufrosyne of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess (d. 1687)
- 1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, Irish faith healer (d. 1683)
- 1640 – Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (d. 1693)
- 1670 – Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1700)
- 1679 – Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (d. 1735)
- 1692 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French author and playwright (d. 1754)
- 1701 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian and author (d. 1773)
- 1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (d. 1813)
- 1782 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (d. 1870)
- 1784 – Heinrich Baermann, German clarinetist (d. 1847)
- 1799 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Polish painter and illustrator (d. 1842)
- 1800 – Emory Washburn, American historian, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1877)
- 1808 – Michael Costa, Italian-English conductor and composer (d. 1884)
- 1813 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (d. 1884)
- 1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (d. 1890)
- 1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American general and politician (d. 1886)
- 1828 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (d. 1885)
- 1835 – Piet Paaltjens, Dutch minister and poet (d. 1894)
- 1838 – Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (d. 1914)
- 1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1901)
- 1847 – Anna Howard Shaw, American physician, minister, and activist (d. 1919)
- 1848 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (d. 1934)
- 1855 – Frank Harris, Irish author and journalist (d. 1931)
- 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel (d. 1896)
- 1860 – Eugen Schiffer, German lawyer and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 1954)
- 1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
- 1878 – Julius Nieuwland, Belgian priest, chemist and academic (d. 1936)
- 1882 – John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)
- 1884 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish actor and director (d. 1947)
- 1884 – Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1974)
- 1890 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh-English painter and author (d. 1956)
- 1890 – Dick Richards Welsh international footballer, forward
- 1891 – Katherine Stinson, American aviator (d. 1977)
- 1892 – Radola Gajda, Czech commander and politician (d. 1948)
- 1894 – Jack Benny, American actor and producer (d. 1974)
- 1895 – Wilhelm Burgdorf, German general (d. 1945)
- 1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (d. 1973)
- 1898 – Bill Tilman, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
- 1898 – Fritz Zwicky, Swiss-American physicist and astronomer (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Jessica Dragonette, American singer (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (d. 1967)
- 1905 – Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (d. 1969)
- 1907 – Johnny Longden, English-American jockey and trainer (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch physician and inventor (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian lawyer, explorer, and author (d. 1988)
- 1913 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, American trade union leader (d. 1975)
- 1913 – James Pike, American bishop (d. 1969)
- 1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Sally Gray, English actress and singer (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese director and producer (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Edward Platt, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Hugh Downs, American journalist, game show host, and producer
- 1921 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga
- 1923 – Jay Hebert, American golfer (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian-Australian model and actress (d. 2007)
- 1928 – William Allain, American soldier and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (d. 1982)
- 1931 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
- 1934 – Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
- 1935 – David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, Scottish academic and diplomat, 27th Governor of Hong Kong
- 1936 – Anna German, Polish singer (d. 1982)
- 1937 – John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, English politician, Secretary of State for Transport
- 1937 – Magic Sam, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969)
- 1939 – Razzy Bailey, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
- 1939 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – James Maynard, American businessman, co-founded Golden Corral
- 1941 – Donna Shalala, American academic and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
- 1941 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
- 1942 – Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City
- 1942 – Andrew Robinson, American actor and director
- 1942 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1962)
- 1943 – Eric Andersen, American singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Maceo Parker, American saxophonist
- 1943 – Aaron Russo, American director and producer (d. 2007)
- 1944 – Carl Bernstein, American journalist and author
- 1944 – Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1944 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (d. 1978)
- 1945 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
- 1945 – Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauru politician, President of Nauru (d. 2003)
- 1946 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003)
- 1947 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
- 1947 – Judd Gregg, American lawyer and politician, 76th Governor of New Hampshire
- 1948 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer
- 1948 – Pat O’Brien, American journalist and author
- 1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1948 – Teller, American magician and actor
- 1950 – Roger Fisher, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1951 – Terry Gross, American radio host and producer
- 1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager
- 1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2019)
- 1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (d. 2013)
- 1955 – Carol Kalish, American publisher (d. 1991)
- 1956 – Howard Davis Jr., American boxer and trainer (d. 2015)
- 1956 – Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
- 1956 – Katharina Fritsch, German sculptor and academic
- 1957 – Alan Hunter, American television host and actor
- 1957 – Soile Isokoski, Finnish soprano and actress
- 1957 – Alan Smith, English bishop
- 1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian footballer and coach
- 1959 – Renée Fleming, American soprano and actress
- 1960 – Philip Jones, English admiral
- 1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman
- 1960 – Meg Tilly, American actress and author
- 1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 1963 – John Marzano, American baseball player (d. 2008)
- 1964 – Gianni Bugno, Italian cyclist and sportscaster
- 1966 – Petr Svoboda, Czech ice hockey player and agent
- 1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet
- 1967 – Manuela Maleeva, Bulgarian-Swiss tennis player
- 1967 – Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- 1968 – Jules Asner, American model and television host
- 1968 – Chris Lewis, Guyanese-English cricketer
- 1968 – Scott McClellan, American civil servant and author, 25th White House Press Secretary
- 1969 – Meg Hillier, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
- 1970 – Giuseppe Guerini, Italian cyclist
- 1970 – Sean Hill, American ice hockey player
- 1970 – Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer
- 1971 – Kris Aquino, Filipino talk show host, actress, and producer
- 1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player
- 1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach
- 1972 – Musōyama Masashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1972 – Najwa Nimri, Spanish actress and singer
- 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype
- 1972 – Rob Thomas, American singer-songwriter
- 1973 – H. D. Ackerman, South African cricketer
- 1973 – Tyus Edney, American basketball player and coach
- 1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009)
- 1973 – Annalisa Buffa, Italian mathematician
- 1974 – Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer and politician
- 1976 – Liv Kristine, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1976 – Rie Rasmussen, Danish model, film director, writer, photographer, and actress
- 1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian cyclist
- 1977 – Jim Jefferies, Australian comedian and actor
- 1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer
- 1977 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (d. 2007)
- 1977 – Anna Erschler, Russian mathematician
- 1977 – Robert J. Jackson Jr., American law professor
- 1978 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
- 1978 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1980 – Josh Senter, American screenwriter and producer
- 1980 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer
- 1981 – Matteo Brighi, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Randy de Puniet, French motorcycle racer
- 1981 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1982 – Marián Gáborík, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model
- 1982 – Lenka Tvarošková, Slovak tennis player
- 1983 – Callix Crabbe, Virgin Islander baseball player
- 1983 – Rocky Elsom, Australian rugby player
- 1983 – Bacary Sagna, French footballer
- 1985 – Karima Adebibe, English model and actress
- 1985 – Tyler Clippard, American baseball player
- 1985 – Heart Evangelista, Filipino singer and actress
- 1985 – Philippe Senderos, Swiss international footballer, centre back
- 1985 – Miki Yeung, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 1986 – Michael Ammermüller, German race car driver
- 1986 – Oliver Lee, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1986 – Gao Lin, Chinese footballer
- 1987 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Tom Pyatt, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – David Wheater, English footballer
- 1988 – Katie Boland, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1988 – Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer
- 1988 – Siim Liivik, Estonian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Asia Nitollano, American singer and dancer
- 1989 – Néstor Calderón, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Adam Matuszczyk, Polish footballer
- 1989 – Emma Miskew, Canadian curler
- 1989 – Brandon Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Jurij Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1989 – Kristian Thomas, English gymnast
- 1990 – Sefa Yılmaz, German-Turkish footballer
- 1991 – Daniela Mona Lambin, Estonian footballer
- 1991 – Chris Rowney, English footballer
- 1992 – Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer
- 1992 – Freddie Highmore, English actor
- 1996 – Lucas Hernandez, French footballer
Deaths on February 14
- 869 – Cyril, Greek missionary bishop (b. 827)
- 945 – Lian Chongyu, Chinese general
- 945 – Zhu Wenjin, Chinese emperor
- 1009 – Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishop
- 1010 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (b. 974)
- 1140 – Leo I, Armenian prince
- 1140 – Sobĕslav I, duke of Bohemia
- 1164 – Sviatoslav Olgovich, Kievan prince
- 1229 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, king of the Isles
- 1317 – Margaret of France, queen of England
- 1400 – Richard II, king of England (b. 1367)
- 1440 – Dietrich of Oldenburg, German nobleman
- 1489 – Nicolaus von Tüngen, prince-bishop of Warmia
- 1528 – Edzard I, German nobleman (b. 1462)
- 1549 – Il Sodoma, Italian painter (b. 1477)
- 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (b. 1517)
- 1676 – Abraham Bosse, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1602)
- 1714 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, queen of Spain (b. 1688)
- 1737 – Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, English lawyer and politician Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1685)
- 1744 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (b. 1682)
- 1779 – James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1728)
- 1780 – William Blackstone, English jurist and politician (b. 1723)
- 1782 – Singu Min, Burmese king (b. 1756)
- 1808 – John Dickinson, American lawyer and politician 5th Governor of Delaware (b. 1732)
- 1831 – Vicente Guerrero, Mexican general and politician, 2nd President of Mexico (b. 1782)
- 1831 – Henry Maudslay, English engineer (b. 1771)
- 1870 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American general (b. 1815)
- 1881 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (b. 1812)
- 1884 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (b. 1813)
- 1885 – Jules Vallès, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
- 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (b. 1820)
- 1894 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
- 1901 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1819)
- 1910 – Giovanni Passannante, Italian anarchist (b. 1849)
- 1922 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician (b. 1880)
- 1929 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and lawyer (b. 1875)
- 1930 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1853)
- 1933 – Carl Correns, German botanist and geneticist (b. 1864)
- 1942 – Adnan Saidi, Malayan lieutenant (b. 1915)
- 1943 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (b. 1899)
- 1943 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1862)
- 1948 – Mordecai Brown, American baseball player and manager (b. 1876)
- 1949 – Yusuf Salman Yusuf, Iraqi politician (b. 1901)
- 1950 – Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and engineer (b. 1905)
- 1952 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (b. 1896)
- 1958 – Abdur Rab Nishtar, Pakistani politician, 2nd Governor of Punjab (b. 1899)
- 1959 – Baby Dodds, American drummer (b. 1898)
- 1967 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (b. 1884)
- 1969 – Vito Genovese, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)
- 1970 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (b. 1880)
- 1974 – Stewie Dempster, New Zealand cricketer and coach (b. 1903)
- 1975 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1887)
- 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (b. 1881)
- 1979 – Adolph Dubs, American lieutenant and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (b. 1920)
- 1983 – Lina Radke, German runner and coach (b. 1903)
- 1986 – Edmund Rubbra, English composer and conductor (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Frederick Loewe, German-American composer (b. 1901)
- 1989 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (b. 1900)
- 1989 – Vincent Crane, English pianist (b. 1943)
- 1994 – Andrei Chikatilo, Soviet serial killer (b. 1936)
- 1994 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (b. 1932)
- 1995 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor and playwright (b. 1923)
- 1995 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1907)
- 1996 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (b. 1919)
- 1999 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer and politician, 12th White House Counsel (b. 1925)
- 1999 – Buddy Knox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1933)
- 2002 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Mick Tucker, English drummer (b. 1947)
- 2003 – Johnny Longden, English jockey and trainer (b. 1907)
- 2004 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (b. 1970)
- 2005 – Rafic Hariri, Lebanese businessman and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1944; assassinated)
- 2006 – Lynden David Hall, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1974)
- 2007 – Ryan Larkin, Canadian animator and director (b. 1943)
- 2007 – Gareth Morris, English flute player and educator (b. 1920)
- 2009 – Bernard Ashley, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Laura Ashley plc (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Louie Bellson, American drummer and composer (b. 1924)
- 2010 – Doug Fieger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
- 2010 – Dick Francis, Welsh jockey and author (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Linnart Mäll, Estonian historian, orientalist, and translator (b. 1938)
- 2011 – George Shearing, English-American pianist and composer (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Mike Bernardo, South African boxer and martial artist (b. 1969)
- 2012 – Tonmi Lillman, Finnish drummer and producer (b. 1973)
- 2012 – Dory Previn, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Péter Rusorán, Hungarian swimmer, water polo player, and coach (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Glenn Boyer, American historian and author (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and scholar (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Tom Finney, English footballer (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Chris Pearson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Mike Stepovich, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Alaska Territory (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Louis Jourdan, French-American actor and singer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (b. 1920)
- 2016 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Steven Stucky, American composer and academic (b. 1949)
- 2018 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1939)
- 2018 – Morgan Tsvangirai, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952).
Holidays and observances on February 14
- Christian feast day:
- Cyril and Methodius, patron saints of Europe (Roman Catholic Church)
- Manchan
- Valentine (Valentine’s Day)
- February 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Statehood Day (Arizona, United States)
- Statehood Day (Oregon, United States)
- Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church)
- Parents’ Worship Day (parts of India)