587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.
238 – The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.
615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.
904 – Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire’s second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
923 – Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).
1014 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
1018 – Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.
1030 – Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
1148 – The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.
1565 – The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.
1567 – James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
1693 – War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
1848 – Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
1851 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
1858 – United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
1864 – American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
1871 – The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.
1899 – The First Hague Convention is signed.
1900 – In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
1907 – Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
1914 – The Cape Cod Canal opened.
1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
1932 – Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.
1937 – Tōngzhōu Incident: In Tōngzhōu, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
1948 – Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.
1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
1959 – First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
1967 – Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.
1973 – During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
1976 – In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
1980 – Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.
1981 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
1981 – After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
1987 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.
1993 – The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
1996 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
2010 – An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
2013 – Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
2019 – Prison riot between rival gangs broke out in Brazil, at least 57 people have been killed.
Births on July 29
869 – Muhammad al-Mahdi, Iraqi 12th Imam (d. 941)
996 – Fujiwara no Norimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1075)
1166 – Henry II, French nobleman and king of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
1356 – Martin the Elder, king of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca (d. 1410)
1537 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, Spanish nobleman (d. 1590)
1573 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania-Stettin (d. 1618)
1580 – Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
1605 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymn-writer (d. 1659)
1646 – Johann Theile, German organist and composer (d. 1724)
1744 – Giulio Maria della Somaglia, Italian cardinal (d. 1830)
1763 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1845)
1797 – Daniel Drew, American businessman and financier (d. 1879)
1801 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer and publisher (d. 1853)
1805 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher (d. 1859)
1806 – Horace Abbott, American businessman and banker (d. 1887)
1817 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian-Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1900)
1817 – Martin Körber, Baltic German pastor, composer, and conductor (d. 1893)
1841 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (d. 1912)
1843 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (d. 1901)
1846 – Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
1846 – Isabel, Brazilian princess (d. 1921)
1849 – Max Nordau, Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (d. 1923)
1860 – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
1867 – Berthold Oppenheim, Moravian rabbi (d. 1942)
1869 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (d. 1946)
1871 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian writer and journalist (d. 1930)
1872 – Eric Alfred Knudsen, American author, lawyer, and politician (d. 1957)
1874 – J. S. Woodsworth, Canadian minister and politician (d. 1942)
1876 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-American actress and acting teacher (d. 1949)
1878 – Don Marquis, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
1883 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and author (d. 1942)
1883 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)
1884 – Ralph Austin Bard, American financier and politician, 2nd Under Secretary of the Navy (d. 1975)
1885 – Theda Bara, American actress (d. 1955)
1887 – Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-American pianist and composer (d. 1951)
1888 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (d. 1982)
1891 – Bernhard Zondek, German-Israeli gynecologist and academic (d. 1966)
1892 – William Powell, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
1896 – Maria L. de Hernández, Mexican-American rights activist (d. 1986)
1897 – Neil Ritchie, Guyanese-English general (d. 1983)
1898 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
1899 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (d. 1959)
1900 – Mary V. Austin, Australian community worker and political activist (d. 1986)
1900 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976)
1900 – Teresa Noce, Italian labor leader, activist, and journalist (d. 1980)
1900 – Don Redman, American composer, and bandleader (d. 1964)
1904 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1982)
1904 – J. R. D. Tata, French-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (d. 1993)
1905 – Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
1905 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961)
1905 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (d. 2006)
1906 – Thelma Todd, American actress and singer (d. 1935)
1907 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (d. 1996)
1909 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American author (d. 1997)
1909 – Chester Himes, American-Spanish author (d. 1984)
1910 – Gale Page, American actress (d. 1983)
1911 – Foster Furcolo, American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
1911 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (d. 2005)
1913 – Erich Priebke, German war criminal, leader of the 1944 Ardeatine massacre (d. 2013)
1914 – Irwin Corey, American actor and activist (d. 2017)
1915 – Bruce R. McConkie, American colonel and religious leader (d. 1985)
1915 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
1916 – Budd Boetticher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1916 – Charlie Christian, American guitarist (d. 1942)
1916 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
1917 – Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
1918 – Don Ingalls, American writer and producer (d. 2014)
1918 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
1918 – Mary Lee Settle, American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (d. 2005)
1920 – Neville Jeffress, Australian businessman (d. 2007)
1921 – Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
1921 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (d. 2012)
1923 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1923 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
1923 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
1923 – Gordon Mitchell, American bodybuilder and actor (d. 2003)
1924 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
1924 – Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
1925 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
1925 – Ted Lindsay, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2019)
1925 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
1926 – Robert Kilpatrick, Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig, Scottish physician, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
1927 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (d. 2010)
1930 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
1931 – Kjell Karlsen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2020)
1932 – Leslie Fielding, English diplomat
1932 – Nancy Kassebaum, American businesswoman and politician
1933 – Lou Albano, Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (d. 2009)
1933 – Colin Davis, English race car driver (d. 2012)
1933 – Robert Fuller, American actor and rancher
1933 – Randy Sparks, American folk singer-songwriter and musician (The New Christy Minstrels)
1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (d. 2019)
1936 – Elizabeth Dole, American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
1938 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 2005)
1938 – Jean Rochon, Canadian physician and politician
1940 – Betty Harris, American chemist
1940 – Winnie Monsod, Filipina economist and political commentator
1941 – Jennifer Dunn, American engineer and politician (d. 2007)
1941 – Goenawan Mohamad, Indonesian poet and playwright
1941 – David Warner, English actor
1942 – Doug Ashdown, Australian singer-songwriter
1943 – David Taylor, English snooker player and sportscaster
1944 – Jim Bridwell, American rock climber and mountaineer
1945 – Sharon Creech, American author and educator
1945 – Mircea Lucescu, Romanian footballer, coach, and manager
1946 – Ximena Armas, Chilean painter
1946 – Stig Blomqvist, Swedish race car driver
1946 – Neal Doughty, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1946 – Alessandro Gogna, Italian mountaineer and adventurer
1946 – Diane Keen, English actress
1946 – Aleksei Tammiste, Estonian basketball player
1947 – Dick Harmon, American golfer and coach (d. 2006)
1948 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
1949 – Leslie Easterbrook, American actress
1949 – Jamil Mahuad, Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
1950 – Jenny Holzer, American painter, author, and dancer
1951 – Susan Blackmore, English psychologist and theorist
1951 – Dan Driessen, American baseball player and coach
1951 – Dean Pitchford, American actor, director, screenwriter, and composer
1952 – Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
1952 – Joe Johnson, English snooker player and sportscaster
1952 – Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Greek politician
1953 – Ken Burns, American director and producer
1953 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician
1953 – Frank McGuinness, Irish poet and playwright
1953 – Tim Gunn, American television host and actor
1954 – Patti Scialfa, American musician
1955 – Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1955 – Dave Stevens, American illustrator (d. 2008)
1955 – Stephen Timms, English politician, Minister of State for Competitiveness
1956 – Teddy Atlas, American boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, American lawyer and politician, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
1956 – Faustino Rupérez, Spanish cyclist
1957 – Liam Davison, Australian author and educator (d. 2014)
1957 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian-Swiss chess player (d. 2016)
1957 – Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast and coach
1958 – Gail Dines, English-American author, activist, and academic
1958 – Simon Nye, English screenwriter and producer
1958 – Cynthia Rowley, American fashion designer
1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor, singer, and producer
1959 – Ruud Janssen, Dutch blogger and illustrator
1959 – Dave LaPoint, American baseball player and manager
1959 – John Sykes, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Didier Van Cauwelaert, French author
1962 – Carl Cox, English DJ and producer
1962 – Frank Neubarth, German footballer and manager
293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege.
879 – Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state.
996 – Sixteen-year-old Otto III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1349 – Dušan’s Code, the constitution of the Serbian Empire, is enacted by Dušan the Mighty.
1403 – Henry III of Castile sends Ruy González de Clavijo as ambassador to Timur to discuss the possibility of an alliance between Timur and Castile against the Ottoman Empire.
1554 – Queen Mary I grants a royal charter to Derby School, as a grammar school for boys in Derby, England.
1659 – In the Concert of The Hague, the Dutch Republic, the Commonwealth of England and the Kingdom of France set out their views on how the Second Northern War should end.
1660 – The Battle of Long Sault concludes after five days in which French colonial militia, with their Huron and Algonquin allies, are defeated by the Iroquois Confederacy.
1674 – The nobility elect John Sobieski King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.
1703 – Daniel Defoe is imprisoned on charges of seditious libel.
1725 – The Order of St. Alexander Nevsky is instituted in Russia by Empress Catherine I. It would later be discontinued and then reinstated by the Soviet government in 1942 as the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
1758 – Ten-year-old Mary Campbell is abducted in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War. She is returned six and a half years later.
1792 – A lava dome collapses on Mount Unzen, near the city of Shimbara on the Japanese island of Kyūshū, creating a deadly tsunami that kills nearly 15,000 people.
1809 – The first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling between the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles and the French army led by Napoleon I of France sees the French attack across the Danube held.
1851 – Slavery in Colombia is abolished.
1856 – Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces.
1863 – American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege.
1864 – Russia declares an end to the Russo-Circassian War and many Circassians are forced into exile. The day is designated the Circassian Day of Mourning.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
1864 – The Ionian Islands reunite with Greece.
1871 – French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of “Bloody Week”, some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested.
1871 – Opening of the first rack railway in Europe, the Rigi Bahnen on Mount Rigi.
1879 – War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.
1881 – The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.
1894 – The Manchester Ship Canal in the United Kingdom is officially opened by Queen Victoria, who later knights its designer Sir Edward Leader Williams.
1904 – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.
1911 – President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz and the revolutionary Francisco Madero sign the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez to put an end to the fighting between the forces of both men, concluding the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution.
1917 – The Imperial War Graves Commission is established through royal charter to mark, record, and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of the British Empire’s military forces.
1917 – The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 causes $5.5 million in damages, destroying some 300 acres including 2,000 homes, businesses and churches, displacing about 10,000 people but leading to only one fatality (due to heart attack).
1924 – University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks in a “thrill killing”.
1927 – Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
1932 – Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
1934 – Oskaloosa, Iowa, becomes the first municipality in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens.
1936 – Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover’s severed genitals in her handbag. Her story soon becomes one of Japan’s most notorious scandals.
1937 – A Soviet station, North Pole-1, becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.
1939 – The Canadian National War Memorial is unveiled by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
1946 – Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
1951 – The opening of the Ninth Street Show, otherwise known as the 9th Street Art Exhibition: A gathering of a number of notable artists, and the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively known as the New York School.
1961 – American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.
1966 – The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.
1969 – Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, known as Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student.
1972 – Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is damaged by a vandal, the mentally disturbed Hungarian geologist Laszlo Toth.
1976 – Twenty-nine people are killed in the Yuba City bus disaster in Martinez, California.
1979 – White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk.
1981 – The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
1981 – Transamerica Corporation agrees to sell United Artists to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $380 million after the box office failure of the 1980 film Heaven’s Gate.
1982 – Falklands War: A British amphibious assault during Operation Sutton leads to the Battle of San Carlos.
1991 – Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras.
1991 – Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
1992 – After 30 seasons Johnny Carson hosted his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show.
1994 – The Democratic Republic of Yemen unsuccessfully attempts to secede from the Republic of Yemen; a war breaks out.
1996 – The ferry MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters on Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000.
1998 – In Miami, five abortion clinics are attacked by a butyric acid attacker.
1998 – President Suharto of Indonesia resigns following the killing of students from Trisakti University earlier that week by security forces and growing mass protests in Jakarta against his ongoing corrupt rule.
2001 – French Taubira law is enacted, officially recognizing the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.
2003 – The 6.8 Mw Boumerdès earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). More than 2,200 people were killed and a moderate tsunami sank boats at the Balearic Islands.
2005 – The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey.
2006 – The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; 55% of Montenegrins vote for independence.
2010 – JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, launches the solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS aboard an H-IIA rocket. The vessel would make a Venus flyby late in the year.
2011 – Radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted that the world would end on this date.
2012 – A bus accident near Himara, Albania kills 13 people and injures 21 others.
2012 – A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana’a, Yemen.
2017 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed their final show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Births on May 21
1471 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (d. 1528)
1497 – Al-Hattab, Muslim jurist (d. 1547)
1527 – Philip II of Spain (d. 1598)
1653 – Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1697)
1688 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (d. 1744)
1755 – Alfred Moore, American lawyer and judge (d. 1810)
1756 – William Babington, Irish-born, English physician and mineralogist (d. 1833)
1763 – Joseph Fouché, French lawyer and politician (d. 1820)
1775 – Lucien Bonaparte, French soldier and politician (d. 1840)
1780 – Elizabeth Fry, English prison reformer, philanthropist and Quaker (d. 1845)
1790 – William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Lord Chamberlain of the Household (d. 1858)
1792 – Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1843)
1799 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (d. 1847)
1801 – Princess Sophie of Sweden, Swedish princess (d. 1865)
1806 – Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, English duchess (d. 1868)
1808 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (d. 1890)
1827 – William P. Sprague, American banker and politician (d. 1899)
1828 – Rudolf Koller, Swiss painter (d. 1905)
1835 – František Chvostek, Czech-Austrian physician and academic (d. 1884)
1837 – Itagaki Taisuke, Japanese soldier and politician (d. 1919)
1843 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
1843 – Louis Renault, French jurist, educator, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1918)
1844 – Henri Rousseau, French painter (d. 1910)
1850 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian priest and volcanologist (d. 1914)
1851 – Léon Bourgeois, French police officer and politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1853 – Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac, French politician (d. 1905)
1856 – José Batlle y Ordóñez, Uruguayan journalist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 1929)
1860 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physician, physiologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
1861 – Abel Ayerza, Argentinian physician and academic (d. 1918)
1863 – Archduke Eugen of Austria (d. 1954)
1864 – Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (d. 1945)
1873 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (d. 1941)
1878 – Glenn Curtiss, American cyclist and engineer (d. 1930)
1880 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1967)
1884 – Manuel Pérez y Curis, Uruguayan poet and publisher (d. 1920)
1885 – Princess Sophie of Albania, (Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg) (d. 1936)
1893 – Arthur Carr, English cricketer (d. 1963)
1893 – Giles Chippindall, Australian public servant (d. 1969)
1895 – Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexican general, president (1934–1940) and father of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (d. 1970)
1898 – Armand Hammer, American physician and businessman, founded Occidental Petroleum (d. 1990)
1898 – Charles Léon Hammes, Luxembourgian lawyer and judge (d. 1967)
1898 – Carl Johnson, American long jumper (d. 1932)
1898 – John McLaughlin, American painter and translator (d. 1976)
1901 – Regina M. Anderson, Multiracial playwright and librarian (d. 1993)
1901 – Horace Heidt, American pianist, bandleader, and radio host (d. 1986)
1901 – Sam Jaffe, American film producer and agent (d. 2000)
1901 – Suzanne Lilar, Belgian author and playwright (d. 1992)
1902 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1902 – Marcel Breuer, Hungarian-American architect and academic, designed the Ameritrust Tower (d. 1981)
1902 – Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1974)
1903 – Manly Wade Wellman, American author (d. 1986)
1904 – Robert Montgomery, American actor and director (d. 1981)
1904 – Fats Waller, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1943)
1907 – John C. Allen, American roller coaster designer (d. 1979)
1912 – Chen Dayu, Chinese painter and calligrapher (d. 2001)
1912 – John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist and academic (d. 1986)
1912 – Monty Stratton, American baseball player and coach (d. 1982)
1913 – Gina Bachauer, Greek pianist and composer (d. 1976)
1915 – Cathleen Cordell, American actress (d. 1997)
1915 – Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, Indian Civil Service Officer and former Under Secretary-General of the UN (d. 2003)
1916 – Dennis Day, American singer and actor (d. 1988)
1916 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch sprinter and police officer (d. 2002)
1916 – Harold Robbins, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1917 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1993)
1918 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (d. 2001)
1919 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1920 – Bill Barber, American tuba player and educator (d. 2007)
1920 – Forrest White, American businessman, co-founded the Music Man Company (d. 1994)
1921 – Sandy Douglas, English computer scientist and academic, designed OXO (d. 2010)
1921 – Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1923 – Vernon Biever, American photographer (d. 2010)
1923 – Armand Borel, Swiss-American mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
1923 – Ara Parseghian, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
1923 – Dorothy Hewett, Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright (d. 2002)
1923 – Evelyn Ward, American actress (d. 2012)
1924 – Peggy Cass, American actress, comedian, and game show panelist (d. 1999)
1926 – Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2005)
1927 – Kay Kendall, English actress and comedian (d. 1959)
1927 – Péter Zwack, Hungarian businessman and diplomat (d. 2012)
1928 – Tom Donahue, American radio host and producer (d. 1975)
1928 – Alice Drummond, American actress (d. 2016)
1929 – Larance Marable, American drummer (d. 2012)
1929 – Robert Welch, English silversmith and industrial designer (d. 2000)
1930 – Tommy Bryant, American bassist (d. 1982)
1930 – Keith Davis, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
1930 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2015)
1932 – Inese Jaunzeme, Latvian javelin thrower and surgeon (d. 2011)
1932 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral and intelligence chief (d. 2014)
1933 – Maurice André, French trumpet player (d. 2012)
1933 – Yevgeny Minayev, Russian weightlifter (d. 1993)
1934 – Jocasta Innes, Chinese-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
1934 – Bob Northern, American horn player and bandleader
1934 – Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
1936 – Günter Blobel, Polish-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1938 – Lee “Shot” Williams, American singer (d. 2011)
1939 – Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist, composer, and conductor
1940 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1941 – Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1941 – Bobby Cox, American baseball player and manager
1941 – Ambrose Greenway, 4th Baron Greenway, English photographer and politician
1941 – Ronald Isley, American singer-songwriter and producer
1942 – David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
1942 – John Konrads, Australian swimmer
1942 – Danny Ongais, American race car driver
1943 – Vincent Crane, English pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1943 – John Dalton, English bass player
1943 – Hilton Valentine, English guitarist and songwriter
1944 – Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar, Iranian-English academic and politician
1944 – Marcie Blane, American singer
1944 – Janet Dailey, American author and entrepreneur (d. 2013)
1944 – Mary Robinson, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th President of Ireland
1945 – Ernst Messerschmid, German physicist and astronaut
1945 – Richard Hatch, American actor, writer, and producer (d. 2017)
1946 – Allan McKeown, English-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1946 – Wayne Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider and coach
1947 – Bill Champlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (d. 1992)
1947 – İlber Ortaylı, Turkish historian and academic
1948 – Elizabeth Buchan, English author and critic
1948 – Joe Camilleri, Maltese-Australian singer-songwriter and saxophonist
1948 – Jonathan Hyde, Australian-English actor
1948 – Denis MacShane, Scottish journalist and politician, UK Minister of State for Europe
1948 – Leo Sayer, English-Australian singer-songwriter and musician
1949 – Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and academic
1949 – Denis O’Connor, British police officer
1949 – Rosalind Plowright, English soprano
1950 – Will Hutton, English economist and journalist
1951 – Al Franken, American actor, screenwriter, and politician
1951 – Adrian Hardiman, Irish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
1952 – Mr. T, American actor and wrestler
1953 – Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist
1954 – D. B. S. Jeyaraj, Sri Lankan-Canadian journalist and blogger
1954 – Janice Karman, American film producer, record producer, singer, and voice actress
1954 – Marc Ribot, American guitarist and composer
1955 – Paul Barber, English field hockey player
1955 – Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1957 – James Bailey, American basketball player
1957 – Nadine Dorries, English nurse and politician
1957 – Judge Reinhold, American actor and producer
1957 – Renée Soutendijk, Dutch actress
1958 – Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (d. 2015)
1958 – Muffy Calder, Canadian-Scottish computer scientist and academic
1958 – Michael Crick, English journalist and author
1958 – Naeem Khan, Indian-American fashion designer
1958 – Jefery Levy, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1959 – Nick Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1959 – Abdulla Yameen, Maldivian politician, 6th President of the Maldives
1960 – Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (d. 1994)
1960 – Kent Hrbek, American baseball player and sportscaster
1960 – Mohanlal, Indian actor
1960 – Mark Ridgway, Australian cricketer
1960 – Vladimir Salnikov, Russian swimmer
1962 – David Crumb, American composer and educator
1963 – Richard Appel, American screenwriter and producer
1963 – Patrick Grant, American musician and producer
1963 – David Lonsdale, English actor
1964 – Pete Sandoval, Salvadoran-American drummer
1963 – Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1963 – Dave Specter, American guitarist
1963 – Laurie Spina, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1964 – Danny Bailey, English footballer and coach
1965 – Josh Richman, American actor and producer
1966 – Lisa Edelstein, American actress and playwright
1966 – Tatyana Ledovskaya, Belarusian hurdler
1967 – Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2007)
1968 – Ilmar Raag, Estonian director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Matthias Ungemach, German-Australian rower
1968 – Julie Vega, Filipino actress and singer (d. 1985)
1969 – Pierluigi Brivio, Italian footballer
1969 – Georgiy Gongadze, Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and director (d. 2000)
1969 – Masayo Kurata, Japanese voice actress and singer
1969 – George LeMieux, American lawyer and politician
1969 – Brian Statham, Rhodesian born English footballer, defender and manager
1970 – Brigita Bukovec, Slovenian hurdler
1970 – Dorsey Levens, American football player and sportscaster
1970 – Pauline Menczer, Australian surfer
1970 – Carl Veart, Australian footballer and coach
1972 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (d. 1997)
1973 – Stewart Cink, American golfer
1973 – Noel Fielding, English comedian, musician and television presenter
1974 – Brad Arthur, Australian rugby league coach
1974 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
1974 – Aditi Gowitrikar, Indian model, actress, and physician, Mrs. World 2001
1974 – Havoc, American rapper and producer
1975 – Anthony Mundine, Australian rugby league player and boxer
1976 – Stuart Bingham, English snooker player
1976 – Abderrahim Goumri, Moroccan runner (d. 2013)
1976 – Deron Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Quinton Fortune, South African international footballer midfielder and coach
1977 – Michael Fuß, German footballer
1977 – Ricky Williams, American football player and coach
1978 – Max B, American rapper and songwriter
1978 – Briana Banks, German-American porn actress and model
1978 – Jamaal Magloire, Canadian basketball player and coach
2020 – Alan Merten, fifth President of George Mason University (b. 1941)
Holidays and observances on May 21
Afro-Colombian Day (Colombia)
Christian feast day:
Arcangelo Tadini
Blessed Adílio Daronch and Manuel Gómez González
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
Earliest day on which Corpus Christi can fall, while June 24 is the latest; held on Thursday after Trinity Sunday (often locally moved to Sunday). (Roman Catholic Church)
Emperor Constantine I
Eugène de Mazenod
Helena of Constantinople, also known as “Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the-Apostles.” (Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion)
John Elliot (Episcopal Church)
Saints of the Cristero War, including Christopher Magallanes
May 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Circassian Day of Mourning (Circassians)
Day of Patriots and Military (Hungary)
Independence Day, celebrates the Montenegrin independence referendum in 2006, celebrated until the next day. (Montenegro)
Navy Day (Chile)
Saint Helena Day, celebrates the discovery of Saint Helena in 1502. (Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha)
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (International)
1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.
1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
1568 – The Peace of Longjumeau is signed, ending the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
1708 – James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth as part of the planned French invasion of Britain.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.
1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.
1806 – After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their “Corps of Discovery” begin their arduous journey home.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
1857 – Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
1862 – American Civil War: The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. Although a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.
1868 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
1879 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.
1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam.
1888 – In England, The Football League, the world’s oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.
1889 – The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.
1901 – Emilio Aguinaldo, only President of the First Philippine Republic, was captured at Palanan, Isabela by the forces of General Frederick Funston.
1905 – Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete’s union with Greece, and begins what is to be known as the Theriso revolt.
1909 – Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
1918 – First World War: On the third day of the German Spring Offensive, the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is annihilated with many of the men becoming prisoners of war
1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
1931 – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian independence movement.
1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
1935 – Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1939 – The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovak air force in Spišská Nová Ves, killing 13 people and beginning the Slovak–Hungarian War.
1940 – The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.
1956 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. This date is now celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan.
1965 – NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States’ first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) is videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes.
1978 – The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
1980 – Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
1982 – Guatemala’s government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
1991 – The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
1994 – At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
1994 – A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.
1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75.
1996 – Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
1999 – Gunmen assassinate Paraguay’s Vice President Luis María Argaña.
2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
2003 – Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.
2008 – Official opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India
2009 – FedEx Express Flight 80: A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flying from Guangzhou, China crashes at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, killing both the captain and the co-pilot.
2018 – President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns from the presidency amid a mass corruption scandal before certain impeachment by the opposition-majority Congress of Peru.
2019 – The Kazakh capital of Astana was renamed to Nur-Sultan.
2019 – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared military victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after four years of fighting, although the group maintains a scattered presence and sleeper cells across Syria and Iraq.
Births on March 23
1338 – Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (d. 1374)
1430 – Margaret of Anjou (d. 1482)
1514 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (d. 1548)
1599 – Thomas Selle, German composer (d. 1663)
1614 – Jahanara Begum, Mughal princess (d. 1681)
1643 – Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, Spanish Dominican lay sister and mystic (d. 1731)
1699 – John Bartram, American botanist and explorer (d. 1777)
1732 – Princess Marie Adélaïde of France (d. 1800)
1749 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
1750 – Johannes Matthias Sperger, Austrian bassist and composer (d. 1812)
1754 – Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
1769 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general and diplomat (d. 1832)
1769 – William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)
1823 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
1826 – Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1917)
1834 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (d. 1858)
1838 – Marie Adam-Doerrer, Swiss women’s rights activist and unionist (d. 1908)
1842 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian-German historian, businessman and composer (d. 1909)
1842 – Susan Jane Cunningham, American mathematician (d. 1921)
1858 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1862 – Nathaniel Reed, American criminal (d. 1950)
1868 – Dietrich Eckart, German journalist and politician (d. 1923)
1869 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (d. 1964)
1869 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Turkish-Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
1872 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand union leader and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1940)
1874 – Grantley Goulding, English hurdler (d. 1947)
1874 – J. C. Leyendecker, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1951)
1876 – Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist, poet and activist (d. 1924)
1876 – Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet, writer and political leader (d. 1964)
1878 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1934)
1880 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician, Finnish Minister of the Interior (d. 1922)
1881 – Lacey Hearn, American sprinter (d. 1969)
1881 – Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist and paleographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
1881 – Hermann Staudinger, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
1882 – Emmy Noether, Jewish German-American mathematician, physicist and academic (d. 1935)
1884 – Joseph Boxhall, English sailor (d. 1967)
1885 – Platt Adams, American jumper and politician (d. 1961)
1885 – Roque González Garza, Mexican general and acting president (1915) (d. 1962)
1886 – Frank Irons, American long jumper (d. 1942)
1887 – Josef Čapek, Czech painter and poet (d. 1945)
1887 – Rudolf Kinau, German author (d. 1975)
1887 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1927)
1887 – Sidney Hillman, Lithuanian-born American labor leader (d. 1946)
1891 – Po Kya, Burmese author and educationist (d. 1942)
1893 – Cedric Gibbons, Irish-American art director and production designer (d. 1960)
1893 – Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, Indian engineer and businessman (d. 1974)
1894 – Arthur Grimsdell, English international footballer wing half and cricketer (d. 1963)
1895 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (d. 2001)
1895 – Dane Rudhyar, French-American astrologer, author and composer (d. 1985)
1898 – Louis Adamic, Slovenian-American author, translator and politician (d. 1951)
1898 – Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, Duchess of Parma (d. 1984)
1899 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
1900 – Erich Fromm, German psychologist and sociologist (d. 1980)
1901 – Bon Maharaja, Indian guru and religious writer (d. 1982)
1903 – Frank Sargeson, New Zealand author (d. 1982)
1904 – Joan Crawford, American film actress (d. 1977)
1905 – Lale Andersen, German chanson singer-songwriter (d. 1972)
1907 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
1909 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (d. 1997)
1910 – Jerry Cornes, English runner, colonial officer and educator (d. 2001)
1910 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1998)
1912 – Eleanor Cameron, Canadian-American author and critic (d. 1996)
1912 – Neil McCorkell, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 2013)
1912 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
1913 – Abidin Dino, Turko-French painter and illustrator (d. 1993)
1914 – Milbourne Christopher, American magician and author (d. 1984)
1915 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (d. 2014)
1915 – Vasily Zaytsev, Russian captain (d. 1991)
1917 – Harry Cranbrook Allen, English historian (d. 1998)
1918 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (d. 1992)
1918 – Helene Hale, American politician (d. 2013)
1918 – Naoki Kazu, Japanese football player (d.1940s)
1919 – Carl Graffunder, American architect and educator (d. 2013)
1920 – Neal Edward Smith, American pilot, lawyer and politician
1920 – Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
1921 – Donald Campbell, English race car driver (d. 1967)
1921 – Peter Lawler, Australian public servant (d. 2017)
1922 – Marty Allen, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
1922 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (d. 1990)
1923 – Angelo Ingrassia, American soldier and judge (d. 2013)
1924 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2013)
1924 – Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor, invented Liquid Paper (d. 1980)
1924 – Olga Kennard, English crystallographer and academic
1924 – John Madin, English architect (d. 2012)
1925 – David Watkin, English cinematographer (d. 2008)
1929 – Roger Bannister, English runner, neurologist and academic (d. 2018)
1929 – Michael Manser, English architect and engineer (d. 2016)
1931 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
1931 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player and author (d. 2016)
1931 – Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Russian skier (d. 2013)
1932 – Don Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
1933 – Norman Bailey, English opera singer and educator
1933 – Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist and academic
1934 – Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 2017)
1934 – Mark Rydell, American actor, director and producer
1935 – Barry Cryer, English comedian, actor and screenwriter
1936 – Jannis Kounellis, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
1937 – Craig Breedlove, American race car driver
1937 – Tony Burton, American actor, comedian, boxer and football player (d. 2016)
1937 – Robert Gallo, American physician and academic
1938 – Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1942 – Michael Haneke, Austrian director, producer and screenwriter
1942 – Jimmy Miller, American record producer and musician (d. 1994)
1942 – Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian, scholar and activist (d. 1980)
1943 – Andrew Crockett, Scottish-English economist and banker (d. 2012)
1943 – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Finnish singer, author and director (d. 2001)
1944 – B. P. Gavrilov, Russian rugby player (d. 2006)
1944 – Tony McPhee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Michael Nyman, English composer of minimalist music and pianist
1945 – Franco Battiato, Italian singer-songwriter and director
1945 – David Grisman, American mandolin player and composer
1946 – Alan Bleasdale, English screenwriter and producer
1947 – Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, American author
1948 – Wasim Bari, Pakistani cricketer
1948 – Marie Malavoy, German-Canadian educator and politician
1949 – Ric Ocasek, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2019)
1950 – Corinne Cléry, French actress
1950 – Phil Lanzon, English keyboard player and songwriter
1950 – Ahdaf Soueif, Egyptian author and translator
1951 – Ron Jaworski, American football player and sportscaster
1951 – Adrian Reynard, English businessman, founded Reynard Motorsport
1952 – Francesco Clemente, Italian painter and illustrator
1952 – Kent Lambert, New Zealand rugby player
1952 – Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
1952 – Rex Tillerson, American businessman, engineer and diplomat; 69th United States Secretary of State
1953 – Bo Díaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)
1953 – Chaka Khan, American singer-songwriter
1953 – Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indian zoologist and businesswoman
1954 – Geno Auriemma, Italian-American basketball player and coach
1954 – Kenneth Cole, American fashion designer, founded Kenneth Cole Productions
1954 – Paul Price, English born, Welsh international footballer, defender and manager
1955 – Moses Malone, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
1956 – José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese academic and politician, 115th Prime Minister of Portugal
1957 – Lucio Gutiérrez, Ecuadorian politician, 52nd President of Ecuador
1957 – Robbie James, Welsh footballer and manager (d. 1998)
1957 – Amanda Plummer, American actress
1958 – Etienne De Wilde, Belgian cyclist
1958 – Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Hugh Grant, Scottish business executive
1959 – Catherine Keener, American actress
1960 – Nicol Stephen, Baron Stephen, Scottish lawyer and politician, 2nd Deputy First Minister of Scotland
1961 – Roger Crisp, English philosopher and academic
1961 – Craig Green, New Zealand rugby player
1961 – Helmi Johannes, Indonesian journalist and producer
1962 – Steve Redgrave, English rower
1963 – Míchel, Spanish footballer and manager
1963 – Juan Ramón López Caro, Spanish footballer and manager
1963 – Ana Fidelia Quirot, Cuban runner
1964 – Hope Davis, American actress
1965 – Gary Whitehead, American poet and painter
1966 – Lorenzo Daniel, American sprinter
1966 – Vasilis Vouzas, Greek footballer and manager
1968 – Damon Albarn, English singer-songwriter, producer and actor
1968 – Mike Atherton, English cricketer and journalist
1968 – Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer and manager
1968 – Pierre Palmade, French actor and screenwriter
1971 – Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian model
1971 – Gail Porter, Scottish model and television host
1971 – Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 – Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese wrestler
1972 – Jonas Björkman, Swedish-Monégasque tennis player and coach
1972 – Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
1972 – Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
1973 – Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
1973 – Wim Eyckmans, Belgian race car driver
1973 – Jason Kidd, American basketball player and coach
1974 – Randall Park, American actor, director and screenwriter
1975 – Burak Gürpınar, Turkish drummer
1975 – Andy Turner, English footballer, winger and manager
1976 – Chris Hoy, Scottish cyclist and race car driver
1976 – Smriti Irani, Indian actress, producer and politician, Indian Minister of Human Resource Development
1976 – Dougie Lampkin, English motorcycle racer
1976 – Michelle Monaghan, American actress
1976 – Joel Peralta, Dominican baseball player
1976 – Keri Russell, American actress
1976 – Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian race car driver
1976 – Sa Beining, Chinese host
1977 – Miklos Perlus, Canadian actor and screenwriter
1978 – Simon Gärdenfors, Swedish illustrator
1978 – Walter Samuel, Argentinian footballer
1979 – Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
1979 – Donncha O’Callaghan, Irish rugby player
1981 – Erin Crocker, American race car driver
1981 – Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
1981 – Shelley Rudman, English bobsledder
1981 – Giuseppe Sculli, Italian footballer
1981 – Brett Young, American country music singer
1982 – José Contreras Arrau, Chilean footballer
1982 – Andrea Musacco, Italian footballer
1982 – Evgeni Striganov, Estonian ice dancer
1983 – Hakan Balta, Turkish footballer
1983 – Mo Farah, Somali-English runner
1983 – Sascha Riether, German international footballer
1983 – Jerome Thomas, English footballer
1984 – Ryan Araña, Filipino basketball player
1984 – Brandon Marshall, American football player
1985 – Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
1985 – Bethanie Mattek-Sands, American tennis player
1986 – Patrick Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
1986 – Brett Eldredge, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1986 – Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress
1987 – Alan Toovey, Australian footballer
1988 – Dellin Betances, American baseball player
1988 – Jason Kenny, English cyclist
1988 – Michal Neuvirth, Czech ice hockey player
1989 – Ayesha Curry, Canadian-American chef, author and television personality
1989 – Nikola Gulan, Serbian footballer
1989 – Sarah McKenna, English rugby player
1989 – Luis Fernando Silva, Mexican footballer
1990 – Jaime Alguersuari, Spanish race car driver
1990 – Robert Zickert, German footballer
1991 – Gregg Wylde, Scottish footballer
1992 – Tolga Ciğerci, German-Turkish footballer
1992 – Kyrie Irving, Australian-American basketball player
1993 – Kyle Lovett, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Aytaç Kara, Turkish footballer
1994 – Nick Powell, English footballer
1995 – Kevin Kauber, Estonian footballer
1995 – Jan Lisiecki, Canadian pianist
1995 – Ozan Tufan, Turkish footballer
1996 – Alexander Albon, Thai-British race car driver
Deaths on March 23
851 – Zhou Chi, Chinese historian and politician (b. 793)
1022 – Zhen Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 968)
1103 – Eudes I, duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
1361 – Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1310)
1369 – Peter, king of Castile and León (b. 1334)
1483 – Yolande, duchess of Lorraine (b. 1428)
1548 – Itagaki Nobukata, Japanese samurai (b. 1489)
1555 – Julius III, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1487)
1559 – Gelawdewos, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1521)
1596 – Henry Unton, English diplomat (b. 1557)
1606 – Justus Lipsius, Flemish philologist and scholar (b. 1547)
1618 – James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish police officer and politician (b. 1575)
1629 – Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland, English landowner and politician (b. 1580)
1675 – Anthoni van Noordt, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1619)
1680 – Nicolas Fouquet, French politician (b. 1615)
1742 – Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French historian and author (b. 1670)
1747 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (b. 1675)
1748 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German organist and composer (b. 1684)
1754 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and critic (b. 1693)
1783 – Charles Carroll, English barrister and politician (b. 1723)
