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July 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

July 14 in History

756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong flees the capital Chang’an as An Lushan’s forces advance toward the city.
1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.
1420 – Battle of Vítkov Hill, decisive victory of Czech Hussite forces commanded by Jan Žižka against Crusade army led by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.
1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá leaves its base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).
1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.
1789 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.
1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completes his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turns out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
1790 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.
1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
1853 – Opening of the first major US world’s fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.
1865 – The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.
1874 – The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago’s city council.
1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg, West Virginia when wages of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers were cut for the third time in a year. The strike was ended on Sept 4 by local and state militias and federal troops.
1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
1902 – The Campanile in St Mark’s Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, lands his airplane at the South Lawn of the White House. He is later awarded a Gold medal from U.S. President William Howard Taft for this feat.
1915 – World War I: The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and the British official Henry McMahon concerning the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire begins.
1916 – World War I: Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.
1928 – New Vietnam Revolutionary Party is founded in Huế, providing some of the communist party’s most important leaders in its early years.
1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
1933 – The Nazi eugenics begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring that calls for the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders.
1938 – Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world.
1940 – People’s Seimas held parliamentary elections, and the Union of Labor Lithuania (ULL) won, paving the way for Lithuania to become Lithuanian SSR; Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, consolidating into the Soviet Union on July 21, 1940.
1943 – In Diamond, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
1950 – Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.
1957 – Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
1958 – Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation’s new leader.
1960 – Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
1969 – Football War: After Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
1969 – The Federal Reserve Banks begins removing large denominations of United States currency from circulation.
1976 – Capital punishment is abolished in Canada.
1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source operating system revolution. Linus Torvalds releases his Linux soon afterwards.
2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
2003 – Hurricane Claudette gathers strength over the Gulf of Mexico and heads for the Texas coast, killing two people.
2013 – The dedication of statue of Rachel Carson, a sculpture named for the environmentalist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
2015 – NASA’s New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.
2016 – A terrorist vehicular attack in Nice, France kills 86 civilians and injures over 400 others.

Births on July 14

926 – Murakami, emperor of Japan (d. 967)
1410 – Arnold, Duke of Guelders, (d. 1473)
1448 – Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1508)
1454 – Poliziano, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1494)
1515 – Philip I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1560)
1602 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French cardinal and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of the French Monarch (d. 1661)
1608 – George Goring, Lord Goring, English general (d. 1657)
1610 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
1634 – Pasquier Quesnel, French priest and theologian (d. 1719)
1671 – Jacques d’Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
1675 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (d. 1747)
1676 – Caspar Abel, German historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1763)
1696 – William Oldys, English historian and author (d. 17610
1721 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (d. 1807)
1743 – Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (d. 1816)
1755 – Michel de Beaupuy, French general (d. 1796)
1785 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist, playwright, and diplomat (d. 1851)
1795 – Eleanor Anne Porden, British Romantic poet; wife of the explorer, John Franklin (d. 1825)
1801 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (d. 1858)
1816 – Arthur de Gobineau, French author and diplomat (d. 1882)
1829 – Edward Benson, English archbishop (d. 1896)
1859 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (d. 1928)
1861 – Kate M. Gordon, American activist (d. 1931)
1862 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (d. 1945)
1862 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (d. 1918)
1863 – Arthur Coningham, Australian cricketer (d. 1939)
1865 – Arthur Capper, American journalist and politician, 20th Governor of Kansas (d. 1951)
1866 – Juliette Wytsman, Belgian painter (d. 1925)
1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (d. 1926)
1872 – Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)
1874 – Abbas II of Egypt (d. 1944)
1874 – Crawford Vaughan, Australian politician, 27th Premier of South Australia (d. 1947)
1878 – Donald Meek, Scottish actor (d. 1946)
1885 – Sisavang Vong, Laotian king (d. 1959)
1888 – Scipio Slataper, Italian author and critic (d. 1915)
1889 – Marco de Gastyne, French painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
1889 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (d. 1959)
1893 – Clarence J. Brown, American publisher and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (d. 1965)
1893 – Garimella Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (d. 1952)
1894 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1979)
1896 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish soldier and anarchist (d. 1936)
1898 – Happy Chandler, American lawyer and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky, second Commissioner of Baseball (d. 1991)
1901 – Gerald Finzi, English composer and academic (d. 1956)
1901 – George Tobias, American actor (d. 1980)
1903 – Irving Stone, American author and educator (d. 1989)
1906 – Tom Carvel, Greek-American businessman, founded Carvel (d. 1990)
1906 – William H. Tunner, American general (d. 1983)
1907 – Chico Landi, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1989)
1910 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2001)
1911 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (d. 2000)
1912 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
1912 – Buddy Moreno, American musician (d. 2015)
1913 – Gerald Ford, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
1914 – Fred Fox, French musician (d. 2019)
1918 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
1918 – Arthur Laurents, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 20110
1918 – Jay Wright Forrester, American computer engineer and systems scientist (d. 2016)
1920 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
1920 – Marijohn Wilkin, American country and gospel songwriter (d. 2006)
1921 – Sixto Durán Ballén, American-Ecuadorian architect and politician, 48th President of Ecuador (d. 2016)
1921 – Leon Garfield, English author (d. 1996)
1921 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
1922 – Robin Olds, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
1922 – Elfriede Rinkel, German SS officer (d. 2018)
1922 – Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist (d. 2014)
1923 – René Favaloro, Argentine surgeon and cardiologist (d. 2000)
1923 – Dale Robertson, American actor (d. 2013)
1923 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (d. 2013)
1924 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (d. 2013)
1925 – Bruce L. Douglas, American politician
1926 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
1926 – Harry Dean Stanton, American actor, musician, and singer (d. 2017)
1926 – Himayat Ali Shair, Urdu poet (d. 2019)
1927 – John Chancellor, American journalist (d. 1996)
1927 – Mike Esposito, American author and illustrator (d. 2010)
1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress
1928 – William Rees-Mogg, English journalist and public servant (d. 2012)
1930 – Polly Bergen, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
1930 – Benoît Sinzogan, Beninese military officer and politician
1931 – Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer and philanthropist
1931 – E. V. Thompson, English police officer and author (d. 2012)
1932 – Rosey Grier, American football player and actor
1932 – Del Reeves, American country singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
1933 – Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1996)
1933 – Dumaagiin Sodnom, Mongolian politician; 13th Prime Minister of Mongolia
1933 – Franz, Duke of Bavaria, head of the House of Wittelsbach
1936 – Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1996)
1937 – Yoshirō Mori, Japanese journalist and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Japan
1938 – Jerry Rubin, American activist, author, and businessman (d. 1994)
1938 – Tommy Vig, Hungarian vibraphone player, drummer, and composer
1939 – Karel Gott, Czech singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
1939 – George Edgar Slusser, American scholar and author (d. 2014)
1940 – Susan Howatch, English author and academic
1941 – Maulana Karenga, American philosopher, author, and activist, created Kwanzaa
1941 – Andreas Khol, German-Austrian lawyer and politician
1942 – Javier Solana, Spanish physicist and politician, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs
1945 – Jim Gordon, American drummer and songwriter
1946 – Sue Lawley, English journalist
1946 – John Wood, Australian actor and screenwriter
1947 – John Blackman, Australian radio and television presenter
1947 – Claudia J. Kennedy, American general
1947 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (d. 2009)
1947 – Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius physician and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Mauritius
1948 – Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king
1948 – Tom Latham, American politician
1948 – Earl Williams, American baseball player (d. 2013)
1949 – Tommy Mottola, American businessman and music publisher
1950 – Bruce Oldfield, English fashion designer
1952 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2014)
1952 – Franklin Graham, American evangelist and missionary
1952 – George Lewis, American musician and composer
1952 – Joel Silver, American actor and producer, co-founded Dark Castle Entertainment
1953 – Martha Coakley, American lawyer and politician, 58th Attorney General of Massachusetts
1955 – L. Brent Bozell III, American journalist and activist, founded the Media Research Center
1958 – Mircea Geoană, Romanian politician and diplomat, 97th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1959 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (d. 2016)
1960 – Anna Bligh, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Queensland
1960 – Kyle Gass, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
1960 – Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer-songwriter, activist, and actor
1960 – Jane Lynch, American actress and game show host
1960 – Mike McPhee, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
1962 – Vanessa Lawrence, English geographer and civil servant
1963 – Jacques Lacombe, Canadian organist and conductor
1964 – Brett Ogle, Australian golfer
1964 – Igor Shpilband, Russian-American ice dancer and coach
1965 – Urmas Kruuse, Estonian lawyer and politician, 41st Mayor of Tartu
1965 – Collins Nweke, Belgian politician of Nigerian origin, 1st foreign born person elected to political office in West Flanders
1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor
1966 – Matt Hume, American mixed martial artist and trainer
1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator
1967 – Marios Constantinou, Cypriot footballer and manager
1967 – Jeff Jarrett, American wrestler and promoter, co-founder of Impact Wrestling
1967 – Patrick J. Kennedy, American politician
1967 – Hashan Tillakaratne, Sri Lankan cricketer
1967 – Robin Ventura, American baseball player and manager
1968 – Michael Palmer, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
1969 – José Hernández, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
1969 – Sven Sester, Estonian politician
1970 – Jacob Young, Norwegian guitarist
1971 – Howard Webb, English footballer and referee
1973 – Tani Fuga, Samoan rugby player
1973 – Paul Methric, American rapper and producer
1974 – Erick Dampier, American basketball player
1974 – David Mitchell, British comedian
1975 – Derlei, Brazilian footballer
1975 – Tim Hudson, American baseball player
1975 – Jamey Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Gordon Cree, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
1977 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
1978 – Mattias Ekström, Swedish race car driver
1979 – Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player
1979 – Axel Teichmann, German skier
1980 – George Smith, Australian rugby player
1981 – Matti Hautamäki, Finnish ski jumper
1981 – Robbie Maddison, Australian motorcycle racer
1982 – Dmitry Chaplin, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
1982 – Achille Coser, Italian footballer
1983 – Igor Andreev, Russian tennis player
1983 – Thomas Howard, American football player (d. 2013)
1983 – Tito Muñoz, American conductor and academic
1984 – Renaldo Balkman, American basketball player
1984 – Erica Blasberg, American golfer (d. 2010)
1984 – Lenka Dlhopolcová, Slovak tennis player
1984 – Mounir El Hamdaoui, Moroccan footballer
1984 – Samir Handanović, Slovenian footballer
1984 – Nilmar, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Billy Celeski, Australian footballer
1985 – Darrelle Revis, American football player
1985 – Chris Wright, English cricketer
1986 – Alexander Gerndt, Swedish footballer
1986 – Nikolay Kulemin, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Dan Smith, English singer-songwriter
1987 – Aqeel Ahmed, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1987 – Margus Hunt, Estonian-American football player, discus thrower, and shot putter
1987 – Adam Johnson, English footballer
1987 – Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter
1987 – Sean Smith, American football player
1987 – Ryan Sweeting, Bahamian-American tennis player
1988 – Conor McGregor, Irish mixed martial artist
1988 – Jérémy Stravius, French swimmer
1988 – James Vaughan, English footballer
1989 – Sakari Mattila, Finnish footballer
1989 – Rolando McClain, American football player
1989 – Cyril Rioli, Australian rules footballer
1991 – Shabazz Napier, American basketball player
1993 – Sayaka Yamamoto, Japanese singer
1995 – Megan Cunningham, Scottish footballer
1995 – Serge Gnabry, German footballer
1995 – Kim Hyo-joo, South Korean golfer
1995 – Federico Mattiello, Italian footballer
1997 – Cengiz Ünder, Turkish footballer

Deaths on July 14

664 – Eorcenberht, king of Kent
809 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shōgun (b. 731)
850 – Wei Fu, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
937 – Arnulf I, duke of Bavaria
1223 – Philip II, king of France (b. 1165)
1242 – Hōjō Yasutoki, regent of Japan (b. 1183)
1262 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (b. 1222)
1486 – Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark (b. 1456)
1526 – John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English peer, landowner, and Lord Great Chamberlain of England (b. 1499)
1575 – Richard Taverner, English translator (b. 1505)
1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian priest and saint (b. 1550)
1723 – Claude Fleury, French historian and author (b. 1640)
1742 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (b. 1662)
1766 – František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
1774 – James O’Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, Irish field marshal (b. 1682)
1780 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (b. 1713)
1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French politician (b. 1721)
1789 – Bernard-René de Launay, French politician (b. 1740)
1790 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
1809 – Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Greek monk and saint (b. 1749)
1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general (b. 1750)
1817 – Germaine de Staël, French philosopher and author (b. 1766)
1827 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer, reviver of a wave theory of light, inventor of catadioptric lighthouse lens (b. 1788)
1834 – Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American diplomat (b. 1763)
1850 – August Neander, German historian and theologian (b. 1789)
1856 – Edward Vernon Utterson, English lawyer and historian (b. 1775)
1876 – John Buckley, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1813)
1881 – Billy the Kid, American criminal (b. 1859)
1904 – Paul Kruger, South African politician, 5th President of the South African Republic (b. 1824)
1907 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (b. 1838)
1910 – Marius Petipa, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1818)
1917 – Octave Lapize, French cyclist (b. 1887)
1918 – Quentin Roosevelt, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1897)
1936 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (b. 1890)
1937 – Julius Meier, American businessman and politician, 20th Governor of Oregon (b. 1874)
1939 – Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1860)
1954 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
1965 – Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1900)
1966 – Julie Manet, French painter and art collector (b. 1878)
1967 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian author and poet (b. 1880)
1968 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian author and poet (b. 1892)
1970 – Preston Foster, American actor (b. 1900)
1973 – Ali Kılıç, Turkish captain and politician (b. 1890)
1974 – Carl Andrew Spaatz, American general (b. 1891)
1975 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
1979 – Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1882)
1984 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1928)
1986 – Raymond Loewy, French-American industrial designer (b. 1893)
1989 – Frank Bell, English linguist and academic (b. 1916)
1991 – Constance Stokes, Australian painter (b. 1906)
1993 – Léo Ferré, Monacan singer-songwriter, pianist, and poet (b. 1916)
1994 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1940)
1996 – Jeff Krosnoff, American race car driver (b. 1964)
1998 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald’s (b. 1909)
2000 – Pepo, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1911)
2000 – William Roscoe Estep, American historian and academic (b. 1920)
2000 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (b. 1944)
2001 – Guy de Lussigny, French painter (b. 1929)
2002 – Joaquín Balaguer, Dominican lawyer and politician, 41st President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)
2002 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (b. 1943)
2003 – François-Albert Angers, Canadian economist and academic (b. 1909)
2005 – Joe Harnell, American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
2005 – Cicely Saunders, English hospice founder (b. 1918)
2007 – John Ferguson Sr., Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1938)
2012 – John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Scottish businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire (b. 1924)
2012 – Don Brinkley, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
2012 – Frank R. Burns, American football player and coach (b. 1928)
2012 – King Hill, American football player (b. 1936)
2012 – Sixten Jernberg, Swedish skier (b. 1929)
2012 – Roy Shaw, English businessman and boxer (b. 1936)
2013 – Herbert M. Allison, American lieutenant and businessman (b. 1943)
2013 – Matt Batts, American baseball player and coach (b. 1921)
2013 – Dennis Burkley, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1945)
2013 – Bill Warner, American motorcycle racer (b. 1969)
2013 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1946)
2014 – Alice Coachman, American high jumper (b. 1923)
2014 – Vange Leonel, Brazilian singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1963)
2014 – John Victor Parker, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1928)
2015 – Willer Bordon, Italian businessman, academic, and politician, Italian Minister of the Environment (b. 1949)
2015 – Wolf Gremm, German director and producer (b. 1942)
2015 – Masao Horiba, Japanese businessman, founded Horiba (b. 1924)
2016 – Helena Benitez, Filipino politician, educator and environmentalist (b. 1914)
2017 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (b. 1977)

Holidays and observances on July 14

Christian feast day:
- Boniface of Savoy
- Camillus de Lellis (Roman Catholic Church, except in the United States)
- Deusdedit of Canterbury
- Francis Solanus
- Gaspar de Bono
- Idus of Leinster
- Kateri Tekakwitha (United States)
- Samson Occom (Episcopal Church (United States))
- John Keble (Church of England)
- Libert of Saint-Trond
- Ulrich of Zell
- July 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Bastille Day (France and French dependencies)
Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day. (Sweden)
Republic Day (Iraq)
Hondurans’ Day (Honduras)
Black Country Day, (United Kingdom)

July 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta’s reputation of military invincibility.
640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under ‘Amr ibn al-‘As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt).
1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania.
1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death.
1411 – Ming China’s Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.
1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.)
1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey.
1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England.
1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.
1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League.
1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England.
1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again.
1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.
1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.
1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends.
1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta.
1630 – Thirty Years’ War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.
1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War.
1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras.
1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars.
1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held.
1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king’s authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.
1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.
1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.
1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.
1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.
1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.
1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.
1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia’s longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.
1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.
1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the “Secret Annexe” above her father’s office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial.
1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America’s worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.
1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.
1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.
1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.
1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.
1962 – The Late Late Show, the world’s longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.
1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.
1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France.
1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.
1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world’s worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.
1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff.
1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded.
1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.
1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city’s international airport.
2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.
2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria.
2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board.
2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town’s central area.

Births on July 6

1387 – Queen Blanche I of Navarre (d. 1441)
1423 – Antonio Manetti, Italian mathematician and architect (d. 1497)
1580 – Johann Stobäus, German lute player and composer (d. 1646)
1623 – Jacopo Melani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1676)
1678 – Nicola Francesco Haym, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1729)
1686 – Antoine de Jussieu, French biologist and academic (d. 1758)
1701 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (d. 1785)
1736 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (d. 1802)
1747 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American captain (d. 1792)
1766 – Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (d. 1813)
1781 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (d. 1826)
1782 – Maria Luisa of Spain (d. 1824)
1785 – William Hooker, English botanist and academic (d. 1865)
1789 – María Isabella of Spain (d. 1846)
1796 – Nicholas I of Russia (d. 1855)
1797 – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (d. 1869)
1799 – Louisa Caroline Huggins Tuthill, American author (d. 1879)
1817 – Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (d. 1905)
1818 – Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (d. 1879)
1823 – Sophie Adlersparre, Swedish publisher, writer, and women’s rights activist (d. 1895)
1829 – Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1880)
1831 – Sylvester Pennoyer, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
1832 – Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
1837 – R. G. Bhandarkar, Indian orientalist and scholar (d. 1925)
1838 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian philologist and scholar (d. 1923)
1840 – José María Velasco Gómez, Mexican painter and academic (d. 1912)
1843 – John Downer, Australian politician, 16th Premier of South Australia (d. 1915)
1856 – George Howard Earle, Jr., American lawyer and businessman (d. 1928)
1858 – William Irvine, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Victoria (d. 1943)
1865 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (d. 1950)
1868 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1935)
1873 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician, 140th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1955)
1877 – Arnaud Massy, French golfer (d. 1950)
1878 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1926)
1883 – Godfrey Huggins, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (d. 1971)
1884 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American businessman and sailor (d. 1970)
1885 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1886 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (d. 1944)
1887 – Marc Chagall, Belarusian-French painter and poet (d. 1985)
1887 – Annette Kellerman, Australian swimmer and actress (d. 1975)
1890 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (d. 1936)
1892 – Will James, American author and illustrator (d. 1942)
1897 – Richard Krautheimer, German-American historian and scholar (d. 1994)
1898 – Hanns Eisler, German-Austrian soldier and composer (d. 1962)
1899 – Susannah Mushatt Jones, American supercentarian (d. 2016)
1900 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1900 – Elfriede Wever, German Olympic runner (d. 1941)
1903 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
1904 – Robert Whitney, American conductor and composer (d. 1986)
1904 – Erik Wickberg, Swedish 9th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1996)
1905 – Juan O’Gorman, Mexican painter and architect (d. 1982)
1907 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter and educator (d. 1954)
1907 – George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the flag of Canada (d. 2002)
1908 – Anton Muttukumaru, Sri Lankan general and diplomat (d. 2001)
1909 – Eric Reece, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Tasmania (d. 1999)
1910 – René Le Grèves, French cyclist (d. 1946)
1911 – June Gale, American actress (d. 1996)
1912 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian geographer and mountaineer (d. 2006)
1912 – Molly Yard, American feminist (d. 2005)
1913 – Vance Trimble, American journalist and author
1914 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter, founded WWE (d. 1984)
1914 – Ernest Kirkendall, American chemist and metallurgist (d. 2005)
1915 – Leonard Birchall, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot (d. 2004)
1916 – Harold Norse, American poet and author (d. 2009)
1916 – Don R. Christensen, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor (d. 2006)
1917 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand runner and coach (d. 2004)
1918 – Sebastian Cabot, English-Canadian actor (d. 1977)
1918 – Herm Fuetsch, American professional basketball player (d. 2010)
1918 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican-American ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (d.1995)
1919 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2007)
1919 – Edward Kenna, Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 2009)
1919 – Ray Dowker, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2004)
1921 – Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2017)
1921 – Billy Mauch, American actor (d. 2006)
1921 – Bobby Mauch, American actor (d. 2007)
1921 – Nancy Reagan, American actress and activist, 42nd First Lady of the United States (d. 2016)
1922 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2016)
1923 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (d. 2014)
1924 – Mahim Bora, Indian writer and educationist, recipients of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour (d. 2016)
1924 – Louie Bellson, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 2009)
1925 – Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (d. 2007)
1925 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
1925 – Gazi Yaşargil, Turkish neurosurgeon and academic
1926 – Sulev Vahtre, Estonian historian and academic (d. 2007)
1926 – Armando Silvestre, Mexican-American actor
1927 – Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess player and journalist (d. 1988)
1927 – Janet Leigh, American actress and author (d. 2004)
1928 – Bernard Malgrange, French mathematician
1929 – Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, French politician historian
1930 – George Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1930 – Ian Burgess, English racing driver (d. 2012)
1931 – Della Reese, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
1931 – László Tábori, Hungarian runner and coach (d. 2018)
1932 – Herman Hertzberger, Dutch architect and academic
1935 – Candy Barr, American model, dancer, and actress (d. 2005)
1935 – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
1936 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1937 – Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-Icelandic pianist and conductor
1937 – Ned Beatty, American actor
1937 – Gene Chandler, American singer-songwriter and producer
1937 – Bessie Head, Botswanan writer
1937 – Michael Sata, Zambian police officer and politician, 5th President of Zambia (d. 2014)
1939 – Jet Harris, English bass player (d. 2011)
1939 – Mary Peters, English-Irish pentathlete and shot putter
1939 – Bruce Hunter, American swimmer (d. 2018)
1940 – Jeannie Seely, Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter and Grand Ole Opry member
1940 – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh politician, 1st President of Kazakhstan
1941 – David Crystal, British linguist, author, and academic
1941 – Reinhard Roder, German footballer and manager
1943 – Tamara Sinyavskaya, Russian soprano
1944 – Gunhild Hoffmeister, German runner
1946 – George W. Bush, American businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
1946 – Fred Dryer, American football player and actor
1946 – Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and academic
1946 – Sylvester Stallone, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1947 – Roy Señeres, Filipino diplomat and politician (d. 2016)
1948 – Nathalie Baye, French actress
1948 – Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Canadian academic and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs
1948 – Brad Park, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
1949 – Noli de Castro, Filipino journalist and politician, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
1949 – Phyllis Hyman, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1995)
1949 – Michael Shrieve, American composer, drummer, and percussionist
1950 – John Byrne, English-American author and illustrator
1951 – Lorna Golding, Former First Lady of Jamaica
1951 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor and producer
1952 – Hilary Mantel, English author and critic
1953 – Nanci Griffith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1953 – Robert Ménard, French politician and former journalist
1954 – Allyce Beasley, American actress
1954 – Willie Randolph, American baseball player and manager
1958 – Jennifer Saunders, English actress, comedian and screenwriter
1959 – Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
1960 – Maria Wasiak, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Infrastructure and Development
1961 – Robin Antin, American dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman
1962 – Todd Bennett, English runner and coach (d. 2013)
1962 – Peter Hedges, American author, screenwriter, and director
1967 – Heather Nova, Bermudian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1970 – Inspectah Deck, American rapper and producer
1970 – Martin Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Daniel Andrews, Australian politician, 48th Premier of Victoria
1972 – Laurent Gaudé, French author and playwright
1972 – Greg Norton, American baseball player and coach
1972 – Zhanna Pintusevich-Block, Ukrainian sprinter
1974 – Zé Roberto, Brazilian footballer
1975 – 50 Cent, American rapper, producer, and actor
1975 – Sebastián Rulli, Argentine-Mexican actor and model
1975 – Amir-Abbas Fakhravar, Iranian journalist and activist
1976 – Rory Delap, English-Irish footballer
1976 – Ioana Dumitriu, Romanian-American mathematician and academic
1977 – Max Mirnyi, Belarusian tennis player
1977 – Makhaya Ntini, South African cricketer
1978 – Adam Busch, American actor, director, and producer
1978 – Tamera Mowry, American actress and producer
1978 – Tia Mowry, American actress and producer
1978 – Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby player
1979 – Nic Cester, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Kevin Hart, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
1980 – Joell Ortiz, American rapper
1980 – Eva Green, French actress and model
1981 – Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player
1981 – Roman Shirokov, Russian footballer
1982 – Brandon Jacobs, American football player
1982 – Misty Upham, American actress (d. 2014)
1983 – Gregory Smith, Canadian actor, director, and producer
1984 – Zhang Hao, Chinese figure skater
1985 – Ranveer Singh, Indian film actor
1986 – David Karp, American businessman, founded Tumblr
1987 – Sophie Auster, American singer-songwriter and actress
1987 – Manteo Mitchell, American runner
1987 – Kate Nash, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
1987 – Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model
1988 – Kevin Fickentscher, Swiss footballer
1990 – Magaye Gueye, French footballer
1992 – Manny Machado, Dominican-American baseball player

Deaths on July 6

371 BC – Cleombrotus I, Spartan king
649 – Goar of Aquitaine, French bishop
887 – Wang Chongrong, Chinese warlord
918 – William I, duke of Aquitaine (b. 875)
1017 – Genshin, Japanese scholar (b. 942)
1070 – Godelieve, Flemish saint (b. 1049)
1189 – Henry II, king of England (b. 1133)
1218 – Odo III, duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)
1249 – Alexander II, king of Scotland (b. 1198)
1415 – Jan Hus, Czech priest, philosopher, and reformer (b. 1369)
1476 – Regiomontanus, German mathematician and astrologer (b. 1436)
1480 – Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer (b. 1416)
1533 – Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet and playwright (b. 1474)
1535 – Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1478)
1553 – Edward VI, king of England and Ireland (b. 1537)
1583 – Edmund Grindal, English archbishop (b. 1519)
1585 – Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (b. 1552)
1614 – Man Singh I, Rajput Raja of Amer (b. 1550)
1684 – Peter Gunning, English bishop (b. 1614)
1758 – George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, English general and politician (b. 1725)
1768 – Conrad Beissel, German-American religious leader (b. 1690)
1802 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (b. 1736)
1809 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, French general (b. 1775)
1813 – Granville Sharp, English activist (b. 1735)
1815 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (b. 1764)
1835 – John Marshall, American captain and politician, 4th United States Secretary of State (b. 1755)
1854 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1789)
1868 – Harada Sanosuke, Japanese captain (b. 1840)
1893 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1850)
1901 – Chlodwig Carl Viktor, German prince and chancellor (b. 1819)
1902 – Maria Goretti, Italian martyr and saint (b. 1890)
1904 – Abai Qunanbaiuly, Kazakh poet and philosopher (b. 1845)
1907 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist and theologian (b. 1826)
1916 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (b. 1840)
1918 – Wilhelm von Mirbach, German diplomat (b. 1871)
1922 – Maria Teresia Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and missionary (b. 1863)
1932 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English author (b. 1859)
1934 – Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian commander (b. 1888)
1946 – Horace Pippin, American painter (b. 1888)
1947 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (b. 1862)
1952 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (b. 1867)
1959 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (b. 1893)
1960 – Aneurin Bevan, Welsh-English politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1897)
1961 – Scott LaFaro, American bassist (b. 1936)
1961 – Woodall Rodgers, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Dallas (b. 1890)
1962 – Paul Boffa, Maltese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1890)
1962 – William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1962 – Joseph August, archduke of Austria (b. 1872)
1963 – George, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1899)
1964 – Claude V. Ricketts, American admiral (b. 1906)
1966 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (b. 1892)
1967 – Hilda Taba, Estonian architect and educator (b. 1902)
1971 – Louis Armstrong, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1901)
1973 – Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
1975 – Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Turkish historian, scholar, and poet (b. 1905)
1976 – Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (b. 1886)
1976 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (b. 1887)
1977 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli viola player and composer (b. 1907)
1978 – Babe Paley, American socialite and fashion style icon (b. 1915)
1979 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
1986 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian lawyer and politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (b. 1908)
1989 – János Kádár, Hungarian mechanic and politician, Hungarian Minister of the Interior (b. 1912)
1991 – Mudashiru Lawal, Nigerian footballer (b. 1954)
1992 – Marsha P. Johnson, American drag queen performer and activist (b. 1945)
1994 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (b. 1932)
1995 – Aziz Nesin, Turkish author and poet (b. 1915)
1997 – Chetan Anand, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
1998 – Roy Rogers, American cowboy, actor, and singer (b. 1911)
1999 – Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1901)
2000 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1911)
2002 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (b. 1932)
2002 – John Frankenheimer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2003 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1908)
2003 – Çelik Gülersoy, Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet (b. 1930)
2004 – Thomas Klestil, Austrian politician, 10th President of Austria (b. 1932)
2004 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
2005 – Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
2005 – Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
2006 – Kasey Rogers, American actress (b. 1925)
2007 – Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, American author (b. 1939)
2009 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian author and academic (b. 1932)
2009 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1916)
2010 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
2011 – Carly Hibberd, Australian road racing cyclist (b. 1985)
2012 – Hani al-Hassan, Palestinian engineer and politician (b. 1939)
2013 – Lo Hsing Han, Burmese businessman, co-founded Asia World (b. 1935)
2014 – Alan J. Dixon, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Illinois Secretary of State (b. 1927)
2015 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer, and talent agent (b. 1937)
2018 – Shoko Asahara, founder of Japanese cult group Aum Shinrikyo (b. 1955)
2019 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist, pioneer of bossa nova music style (b. 1931)
2020 – Charlie Daniels, American singer-songwriter, fiddle-player and guitarist (b. 1936)
2020 – Ennio Morricone, Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on July 6

The first day of San Fermín, which lasts until July 14. (Pamplona)
Christian feast day:
- Maria Goretti
- Romulus of Fiesole
- July 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Cayman Islands)
Day of the Capital (Kazakhstan)
Independence Day (Comoros), celebrates the independence of the Comoros from France in 1975.
Independence Day (Malawi), celebrates the independence of Malawi from United Kingdom in 1964.
International Kissing Day (informally observed)
Jan Hus Day (Czech Republic)
Kupala Night (Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine)
National Fried Chicken Day (United States)
Statehood Day (Lithuania)
Teachers’ Day (Peru)

July 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 5- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
1809 – The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram is fought between the French and Austrian Empires.
1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
1934 – “Bloody Thursday”: Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
1946 – Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an 8-year-long war with France.
1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
1973 – A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
1980 – Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
2004 – The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
2016 – The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.

Births on July 5

465 – Ahkal Mo’ Naab’ I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
980 – Mokjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1009)
1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1094)
1057 – Al-Ghazali, Iranian jurist, philosopher, and mystic (d. 1111)
1321 – Joan of the Tower, English consort of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
1466 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian nobleman (d. 1510)
1547 – Garzia de’ Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1627)
1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (d. 1592)
1580 – Carlo Contarini, doge of Venice (d. 1656)
1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646)
1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
1670 – Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, countess palatine (d. 1748)
1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser and witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
1709 – Étienne de Silhouette, French translator and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1767)
1717 – Peter III, Portuguese king (d. 1786)
1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician and poet (d. 1824)
1755 – Sarah Siddons, English actress (d. 1831)
1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826)
1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
1803 – George Borrow, British writer (d. 1881)
1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
1857 – Julien Tiersot, French musicologist and composer (d. 1936)
1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
1860 – Mathieu Jaboulay, French surgeon (d. 1913)
1862 – George Nuttall, American-British bacteriologist (d. 1937)
1862 – Horatio Caro, English chess master (d. 1920)
1864 – Stephan Krehl, German composer (d. 1924)
1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer (d. 1962)
1872 – Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (d. 1959)
1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
1884 – Enrico Dante, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (d. 1988)
1886 – Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia (d. 1918)
1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
1888 – Louise Freeland Jenkins, American astronomer and academic (d. 1970)
1889 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1955)
1893 – Anthony Berkeley Cox, English writer (d. 1971)
1893 – Giuseppe Caselli, Italian painter (d. 1976)
1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
1896 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1981)
1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
1900 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (d. 1987)
1901 – Julio Libonatti, Italian-Argentinian footballer (d. 1981)
1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
1905 – Madeleine Sylvain-Bouchereau, Haitian sociologist and educator (d. 1970)
1908 – Henri of Orléans, (d. 1999)
1908 – Lyman S. Ayres II, American businessman (d. 1996)
1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2008)
1911 – Haydn Bunton, Sr., Australian footballer and coach (d. 1955)
1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
1911 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
1914 – John Thomas Dunlop, American administrator and labor scholar (d. 2003)
1914 – Annie Fischer, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1995)
1915 – Babe Paley, American socialite (d. 1978)
1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007)
1915 – Al Timothy, Trinidadian musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
1916 – Lívia Rév, Hungarian classical pianist (d. 2018)
1916 – Ivor Powell, Welsh footballer (d. 2012)
1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
1918 – Brian James, Australian actor (d. 2009)
1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
1921 – Nanos Valaoritis, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 2019)
1923 – George Moore, Australian jockey (d. 2008)
1923 – Mitsuye Yamada, Japanese American activist
1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
1924 – Edward Cassidy, Australian Roman Catholic cardinal priest
1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (d. 2020)
1926 – Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971)
1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
1929 – Jimmy Carruthers, Australian boxer (d. 1990)
1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (d. 2019)
1929 – Tony Lock, English cricketer (d. 1995)
1929 – Jovan Rašković, Serbian psychiatrist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
1929 – Jiří Reynek, Czech poet and graphic artist (d. 2014)
1929 – Chikao Ohtsuka, Japanese voice actor (d. 2015)
1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
1933 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critic and physicist (d. 1986)
1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
1941 – Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer
1941 – Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji
1942 – Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2016)
1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1943 – Pierre Villepreux, French rugby player and coach
1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden
1945 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Mexico
1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
1946 – Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
1947 – Todd Akin, American politician
1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
1950 – Carlos Caszely, Chilean footballer
1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor
1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
1953 – Caryn Navy, American mathematician and computer scientist
1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter
1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
1955 – Tony Hadley, English footballer
1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 2019)
1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
1958 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (d. 1996)
1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor and director
1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli-American pianist and educator
1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer
1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer and photographer
1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
1968 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube
1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
1972 – Gary Shteyngart, American writer
1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer
1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
1976 – Bizarre, American rapper
1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
1977 – Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist
1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
1978 – İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter
1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter
1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer
1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, Ukrainian-German boxer
1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
1986 – Iurii Cheban, Ukrainian canoe sprinter
1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Owl City, American singer, songwriter and composer
1987 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
1987 – Mohd Safiq Rahim, Malaysian footballer
1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist
1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
1989 – Charlie Austin, English footballer
1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
1992 – Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
1994 – Diana Harkusha, Ukrainian lawyer, dancer, model and beauty queen
1994 – Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player

Deaths on July 5

905 – Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
905 – Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
905 – Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
905 – Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
905 – Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
936 – Xu Ji, Chinese official and chancellor
967 – Murakami, Japanese emperor (b. 926)
1080 – Ísleifur Gissurarson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1006)
1091 – William of Hirsau, German abbot
1316 – Ferdinand, prince of Majorca (b. 1278)
1375 – Charles III, French nobleman (b. 1337)
1413 – Musa Çelebi, Ottoman prince and co-ruler
1507 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and academic (b. 1475)
1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
1661 – Sir Hugh Speke, 1st Baronet
1666 – Albert VI, German nobleman (b. 1584)
1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613)
1715 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (b. 1659)
1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641)
1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744)
1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782)
1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765)
1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (b. 1777)
1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1800)
1863 – Lewis Armistead, American general (b. 1817)
1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1833)
1920 – Max Klinger, German painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897)
1932 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (b. 1880)
1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870)
1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
1943 – Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (b. 1880)
1943 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (b. 1873)
1945 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888)
1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician (b. 1871)
1957 – Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican race car driver, polo player, and diplomat (b. 1909)
1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (b. 1884)
1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Werkbund Exhibition (b. 1883)
1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician, 1st Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1930)
1969 – Leo McCarey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1898)
1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1892)
1983 – Harry James, American trumpet player and actor (b. 1916)
1984 – Chic Murray, Canadian politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1914)
1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (b. 1920)
1995 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (b. 1919)
1997 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1918)
2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1921)
2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923)
2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (b. 1919)
2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1924)
2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
2006 – Amzie Strickland, American actress (b. 1919)
2007 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (b. 1927)
2007 – George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (b. 1926)
2008 – Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (b. 1956)
2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (b. 1965)
2011 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (b. 1928)
2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982)
2012 – Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1944)
2012 – Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (b. 1933)
2012 – Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
2013 – Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
2013 – David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (b. 1929)
2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939)
2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (b. 1925)
2014 – Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1935)
2014 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (b. 1931)
2014 – Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (b. 1983)
2015 – Archduchess Dorothea of Austria (b. 1920)
2015 – Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1949)
2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances on July 5

Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
Christian feast day:
- Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
- Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
- July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Armenia)
Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)

July 5- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

July 3 in History

324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.
1035 – William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy, reigns until 1087.
1608 – Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
1767 – Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
1767 – Norway’s oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: Iroquois allied to Britain kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
1819 – The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
1839 – The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today’s Framingham State University, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.
1844 – The last pair of great auks is killed.
1848 – Governor-General Peter von Scholten emancipates all remaining slaves in the Danish West Indies.
1849 – France invades the Roman Republic and restores the Papal States.
1852 – Congress establishes the United States’ 2nd mint in San Francisco.
1863 – American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett’s Charge.
1866 – Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgrätz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
1884 – Dow Jones & Company publishes its first stock average.
1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.
1886 – The New-York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
1898 – A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
1913 – Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett’s Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
1938 – World speed record for a steam locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 125.88 miles per hour (202.58 km/h).
1938 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
1940 – World War II: The Royal Navy attacks the French naval squadron in Algeria, to ensure that it will not fall under German control. Of the four French battleships present, one is sunk, two are damaged, and one escapes back to France.
1944 – World War II: The Minsk Offensive clears German troops from the city.
1952 – The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the United States Congress.
1952 – The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
1967 – The Aden Emergency: The Battle of the Crater in which the British Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders retake the Crater district following the Arab Police mutiny.
1969 – Space Race: The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
1970 – The Troubles: The “Falls Curfew” begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1970 – Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashes into the Les Agudes mountain in the Montseny Massif near the village of Arbúcies in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard.
1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
1988 – United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
1988 – The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus.
1996 – British Prime Minister John Major announced the Stone of Scone would be returned to Scotland.
2013 – Egyptian coup d’état: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after four days of protests all over the country calling for Morsi’s resignation, to which he did not respond. President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Adly Mansour is declared acting president.

Births on July 3

321 – Valentinian I, Roman emperor (d. 375)
1423 – Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
1442 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
1518 – Li Shizhen, Chinese physician and mineralogist (d. 1593)
1530 – Claude Fauchet, French historian and author (d. 1601)
1534 – Myeongjong of Joseon, Ruler of Korea (d. 1567)
1550 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (d. 1591)
1569 – Thomas Richardson, English politician and judge (d. 1635)
1683 – Edward Young, English poet, dramatist and literary critic (Night-Thoughts) (d. 1765)
1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (d. 1768)
1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
1738 – John Singleton Copley, American painter (d. 1815)
1778 – Carl Ludvig Engel, German architect (d. 1840)
1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German-Italian painter and engraver (d. 1869)
1814 – Ferdinand Didrichsen, Danish botanist and physicist (d. 1887)
1823 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek-Ottoman statesman, diplomat, playwright, and translator (d. 1891)
1844 – Dankmar Adler, German-born American architect and engineer (d. 1900)
1846 – Achilles Alferaki, Russian composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog (d. 1919)
1851 – Charles Bannerman, English-Australian cricketer and umpire (d. 1930)
1854 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and theorist (d. 1928)
1860 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American sociologist and author (d. 1935)
1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1906)
1869 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (d. 1933)
1870 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
1871 – William Henry Davies, Welsh poet and writer (d.1940)
1874 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1928)
1875 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1951)
1876 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (d. 1957)
1878 – George M. Cohan, American songwriter, actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
1879 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American mathematician, linguist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
1880 – Carl Schuricht, Polish-German conductor (d. 1967)
1883 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian author (d. 1924)
1886 – Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (d. 1969)
1888 – Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1963)
1889 – Richard Cramer, American actor (d. 1960)
1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
1896 – Doris Lloyd, English actress (d. 1968)
1897 – Jesse Douglas, American mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
1898 – Stefanos Stefanopoulos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1982)
1900 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1901 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, American composer (d. 1953)
1903 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
1905 – Johnny Gibson, American hurdler and coach (d. 2006)
1906 – George Sanders, Russian-born British actor (d. 1972)
1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American author (d. 1992)
1908 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1990)
1909 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping magnate (d.1996)
1910 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
1911 – Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricketer (d. 1990)
1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist, actress, and author (d. 1965)
1916 – John Kundla, American basketball player and coach (d. 2017)
1917 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (d. 1990)
1918 – S. V. Ranga Rao, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1974)
1918 – Johnny Palmer, American golfer (d. 2006)
1919 – Cecil FitzMaurice, 8th Earl of Orkney (d. 1998)
1919 – Gerald W. Thomas, American soldier and academic (d. 2013)
1920 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (d. 2012)
1920 – Paul O’Dea, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
1921 – François Reichenbach, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1922 – Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2010)
1922 – Theo Brokmann Jr., Dutch football player (d. 2003)
1924 – Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-Mexican film actress and dancer
1924 – S. R. Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (d. 2016)
1925 – Terry Moriarty, Australian rules footballer (d. 2011)
1925 – Danny Nardico, American professional boxer (d. 2010)
1925 – Philip Jamison, American artist
1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpet player (d. 1997)
1926 – Rae Allen, American actress, singer, and director
1926 – Laurence Street, Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (d. 2018)
1927 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
1927 – Tim O’Connor, American actor (d. 2018)
1928 – Evelyn Anthony, English author (d. 2018)
1929 – Clément Perron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
1929 – Joanne Herring, American socialite, businesswoman, political activist, philanthropist, diplomat, and television talk show host
1930 – Pete Fountain, American clarinet player (d. 2016)
1930 – Carlos Kleiber, German-Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (d. 2014)
1933 – Edward Brandt, Jr., American physician and mathematician (d. 2007)
1935 – Cheo Feliciano, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1935 – Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, astronaut, and politician
1936 – Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, English lawyer and politician
1936 – Baard Owe, Norwegian-Danish actor
1937 – Nicholas Maxwell, English philosopher and academic
1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
1938 – Jean Aitchison, English linguist and academic
1939 – Brigitte Fassbaender, German soprano and director
1939 – László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1939 – Coco Laboy, Puerto Rican baseball player
1940 – Lamar Alexander, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
1940 – Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
1940 – Lance Larson, American swimmer
1940 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer and activist
1941 – Liamine Zéroual, Algerian politician, 4th President of Algeria
1942 – Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter
1943 – Gary Waldhorn, British actor
1943 – Judith Durham, Australian folk-pop singer-songwriter and musician
1943 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
1943 – Norman E. Thagard, American astronaut
1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
1945 – Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, Scottish politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 2018)
1946 – Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
1946 – Leszek Miller, Polish political scientist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
1946 – Michael Shea, American author (d. 2014)
1947 – Dave Barry, American journalist and author
1947 – Betty Buckley, American actress and singer
1947 – Mike Burton, American swimmer
1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 – Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish author and illustrator
1949 – Susan Penhaligon, English actress
1949 – John Verity, English guitarist
1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (d. 2006)
1949 – Bo Xilai, Chinese politician, Chinese Minister of Commerce
1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
1950 – James Hahn, American judge and politician, 40th Mayor of Los Angeles
1951 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (d. 2014)
1951 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
1952 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
1952 – Lu Colombo, Italian singer
1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
1952 – Carla Olson, American singer-songwriter and music producer
1952 – Wasim Raja, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2006)
1952 – Amit Kumar, Indian film playback singer, actor, director, music director and musician
1953 – Lotta Sollander, Swedish alpine skier
1954 – Les Cusworth, English rugby player
1955 – Claude Rajotte, Canadian radio and television host
1956 – Montel Williams, American talk show host and television personality
1957 – Poly Styrene, British musician (d. 2011)
1958 – Matthew Fraser, Canadian-English journalist and academic
1958 – Charlie Higson, English actor, singer, and author
1958 – Siân Lloyd, Welsh meteorologist and journalist
1958 – Didier Mouron, Swiss-Canadian painter
1958 – Aaron Tippin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
1959 – Ian Maxtone-Graham, American screenwriter and producer
1959 – Stephen Pearcy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1959 – David Shore, Canadian screenwriter and producer
1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1962 – Scott Borchetta, American record executive and entrepreneur
1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor and producer
1964 – Yeardley Smith, American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
1965 – Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
1965 – Connie Nielsen, Danish-American actress
1965 – Komsan Pohkong, Thai lawyer and academic
1965 – Christophe Ruer, French pentathlete (d. 2007)
1966 – Moisés Alou, American baseball player
1967 – Katy Clark, Scottish lawyer and politician
1968 – Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo-Albanian soldier and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
1970 – Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
1970 – Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
1970 – Teemu Selänne, Finnish ice hockey player
1971 – Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks
1973 – Paul Rauhihi, New Zealand rugby league player
1973 – Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
1973 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (d. 2013)
1976 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
1976 – Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
1976 – Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist
1976 – Bobby Skinstad, Zimbabwean-South African rugby union player
1977 – David Bowens, American football player
1978 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese runner
1979 – Jamie Grove, English cricketer
1980 – Mazharul Haque, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2013)
1980 – Roland Schoeman, South African swimmer
1980 – Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
1983 – Edinson Vólquez, Dominican baseball player
1984 – Manny Lawson, American football player
1984 – Churandy Martina, Dutch sprinter
1984 – Corey Sevier, Canadian actor and producer
1986 – Marco Antônio de Mattos Filho, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Kisenosato Yutaka, Japanese sumo wrestler
1987 – Sebastian Vettel, German race car driver
1988 – Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
1988 – Vladislav Sesganov, Russian figure skater
1988 – James Troisi, Australian footballer
1989 – Mitchell Dodds, Australian rugby league player
1989 – Elle King, American singer, songwriter, and actress
1990 – Nathan Gardner, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
1990 – Lucas Mendes, Brazilian footballer
1991 – Alison Howie, Scottish field hockey player
1991 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian tennis player
1992 – Will Smith, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Ben Winchell, American actor

Deaths on July 3

458 – Anatolius of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch and saint (b. 449)
710 – Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (b. 656)
896 – Dong Chang, Chinese warlord
964 – Henry I, Frankish nobleman and archbishop
1090 – Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 1060)
1288 – Stephen de Fulbourn, English-born Irish cleric and politician
1503 – Pierre d’Aubusson, Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (b. 1423)
1570 – Aonio Paleario, Italian academic and reformer (b. 1500)
1642 – Marie de’ Medici, French queen consort and regent (b. 1573)
1672 – Francis Willughby, English ornithologist and ichthyologist (b. 1635)
1749 – William Jones, Welsh-English mathematician and academic (b. 1675)
1790 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l’Isle, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1736)
1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar and author (b. 1714)
1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, astronomer, and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
1809 – Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
1863 – George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
1863 – Little Crow, American tribal leader (b. 1810)
1881 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1811)
1887 – Clay Allison, American rancher (b. 1841)
1888 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and author (b. 1822)
1904 – Édouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and playwright (b. 1860)
1908 – Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist and author (b. 1845)
1916 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman and financier (b. 1834)
1918 – Mehmed V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1844)
1921 – James Mitchel, Irish-American weight thrower (b. 1864)
1927 – Gérard de Courcelles, French race car driver
1933 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian educator and politician, 19th President of Argentina (b. 1852)
1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
1940 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (b. 1882)
1941 – Friedrich Akel, Estonian physician and politician, Head of State of Estonia (b. 1871)
1954 – Siegfried Handloser, German physician and general (b. 1895)
1954 – Reginald Marsh, French-American painter, illustrator, and academic (b. 1898)
1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
1957 – Richard Mohaupt, German composer and Kapellmeister (b. 1904)
1958 – Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, English politician, 4th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1867)
1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1942)
1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
1974 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet and critic (b. 1888)
1977 – Alexander Volkov, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1891)
1978 – James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
1979 – Louis Durey, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
1981 – Ross Martin, American actor and director (b. 1920)
1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1893)
1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
1989 – Jim Backus, American actor and voice artist (b. 1913)
1993 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
1994 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player and coach (b. 1934)
1995 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
1995 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
1998 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (b. 1949)
1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1952)
1999 – Pelageya Polubarinova-Kochina, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
1999 – Manoj Kumar Pandey,Param Vir ChakraIndian army personnel
2001 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2001 – Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
2004 – Andriyan Nikolayev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1929)
2005 – Alberto Lattuada, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1916)
2006 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)
2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
2008 – Clive Hornby, English actor and drummer (b. 1944)
2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
2009 – Alauddin Al-Azad, Bangladeshi author and poet (b.1932)
2009 – John Keel, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
2010 – Abu Daoud, Palestinian terrorist, planned the Munich massacre (b. 1937)
2011 – Ali Bahar, Bahraini singer and guitarist (b. 1960)
2012 – Nguyễn Hữu Có, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1925)
2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1926)
2012 – Yvonne B. Miller, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
2012 – Sergio Pininfarina, Italian engineer and politician (b. 1926)
2012 – Richard Alvin Tonry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
2013 – Roman Bengez, Slovenian footballer and manager (b. 1964)
2013 – Francis Ray, American author (b. 1944)
2013 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actress and screenwriter (b. 1951)
2013 – Radu Vasile, Romanian historian and politician, 57th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1942)
2013 – Bernard Vitet, French trumpet player and composer (b. 1934)
2013 – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1948)
2014 – Jini Dellaccio, American photographer (b. 1917)
2014 – Tim Flood, Irish hurler and coach (b. 1927)
2014 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (b. 1948)
2014 – Ira Ruskin, American politician (b. 1943)
2014 – Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Ukrainian-American rabbi and author (b. 1924)
2015 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (b. 1923)
2015 – Boyd K. Packer, American religious leader and educator (b. 1924)
2015 – Wayne Townsend, American farmer and politician (b. 1926)
2015 – Phil Walsh, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1960)
2020 – Saroj Khan, Indian dance choreographer, known as “The Mother of Dance/Choreography in India”.(b. 1948)

Holidays and observances on July 3

Christian feast day:
- Anatolius of Constantinople
- Anatolius of Laodicea
- Dathus
- Germanus of Man
- Gurthiern
- Heliodorus of Altino
- Mucian
- Peregrina Mogas Fontcuberta
- Pope Leo II
- Thomas the Apostle
- July 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Emancipation Day (United States Virgin Islands)
Independence Day, celebrates the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation by Soviet troops in 1944 (Belarus)
The start of the Dog Days according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac but not according to established meaning in most European cultures
Women’s Day (Myanmar)

July 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

It is the last day of the first half of the year. The end of this day marks the halfway point of a leap year. It also falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in a leap year. The midpoint of the year for southern hemisphere DST countries occurs at 11:00 p.m.

AD 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded.
1097 – Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I.
1431 – The Battle of La Higueruela takes place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.
1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall.
1523 – Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels.
1569 – Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations.
1643 – First meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians (“divines”) and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London.
1690 – Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar).
1766 – François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire’s Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France.
1770 – Lexell’s Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units (2,180,000 km; 1,360,000 mi).
1782 – Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attack the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
1819 – Johann Georg Tralles discovers the Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago.
1837 – A system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is established in England and Wales.
1855 – Signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute cede their land to the United States.
1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society of London.
1862 – The Russian State Library is founded as the Library of the Moscow Public Museum.
1862 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill takes place. It is the last of the Seven Days Battles, part of George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.
1863 – Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marking the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg begins.
1867 – The British North America Act takes effect as the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia join into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
1870 – The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.
1873 – Prince Edward Island joins into Canadian Confederation.
1874 – The Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, goes on sale.
1878 – Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.
1879 – Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower.
1881 – The world’s first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.
1881 – General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, comes into effect.
1885 – The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.
1885 – The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
1890 – Canada and Bermuda are linked by telegraph cable.
1898 – Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
1903 – Start of first Tour de France bicycle race.
1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.
1911 – Germany despatches the gunship SMS Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis.
1915 – Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Deutsches Heer’s Fliegertruppe army air service achieves the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker.
1916 – World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded.
1922 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States.
1923 – The Parliament of Canada suspends all Chinese immigration.
1931 – United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport).
1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engined monoplane aircraft.
1932 – Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed.
1935 – Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
1942 – World War II: First Battle of El Alamein.
1942 – The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished.
1943 – The City of Tokyo and the Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis.
1947 – The Philippine Air Force is established.
1948 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan.
1949 – The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin royal family.
1957 – The International Geophysical Year begins.
1958 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave.
1958 – Flooding of Canada’s Saint Lawrence Seaway begins.
1959 – Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.
1960 – Independence of Somalia.
1960 – Ghana becomes a republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its head of state.
1962 – Independence of Rwanda and Burundi.
1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail.
1963 – The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent.
1966 – The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto.
1967 – Merger Treaty: The European Community is formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission.
1968 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency’s Phoenix Program is officially established.
1968 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.
1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States.
1972 – The first Gay pride march in England takes place.
1976 – Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira.
1978 – The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.
1980 – “O Canada” officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.
1983 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
1984 – The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA.
1987 – The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.
1990 – German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.
1997 – China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
1999 – The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly.
2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
2002 – Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes.
2003 – Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong.
2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC.
2006 – The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China.
2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces.
2008 – Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.
2013 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.

Births on July 1

1311 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, statesman and poet (d. 1375)
1464 – Clara Gonzaga, Italian noble (d. 1503)
1481 – Christian II of Denmark (d. 1559)
1506 – Louis II of Hungary (d. 1526)
1534 – Frederick II of Denmark (d. 1588)
1553 – Peter Street, English carpenter and builder (d. 1609)
1574 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and mystic (d. 1656)
1586 – Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1630)
1633 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1698)
1646 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1716)
1663 – Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist (d. 1738)
1725 – Rhoda Delaval, English painter and aristrocrat (d. 1757)
1725 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (d. 1807)
1731 – Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Scottish-English admiral (d. 1804)
1742 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (d. 1799)
1771 – Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1839)
1788 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1867)
1804 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist and politician (d. 1886)
1804 – George Sand, French author and playwright (d. 1876)
1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and educator, founded Clemson University (d. 1888)
1808 – Ygnacio del Valle, Mexican-American landowner (d. 1880)
1814 – Robert Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1884)
1818 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian-Austrian physician and obstetrician (d. 1865)
1818 – Karl von Vierordt, German physician, psychologist and academic (d. 1884)
1822 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and activist (d. 1888)
1834 – Jadwiga Łuszczewska, Polish poet and author (d. 1908)
1850 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (d. 1927)
1858 – Willard Metcalf, American painter (d. 1925)
1858 – Velma Caldwell Melville, American editor and writer of prose and poetry (d. 1924)
1863 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (d. 1892)
1869 – William Strunk Jr., American author and educator (d. 1946)
1872 – Louis Blériot, French pilot and engineer (d. 1936)
1872 – William Duddell, English physicist and engineer (d. 1917)
1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1968)
1873 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1954)
1875 – Joseph Weil, American con man (d. 1976)
1876 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (d. 1921)
1878 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (d. 1944)
1879 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
1881 – Edward Battersby Bailey, English geologist (d. 1965)
1882 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1962)
1883 – Arthur Borton, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1933)
1885 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian author and poet (d. 1968)
1887 – Amber Reeves, New Zealand-English author and scholar (d. 1981)
1892 – James M. Cain, American author and journalist (d. 1977)
1892 – László Lajtha, Hungarian composer and conductor (d. 1963)
1899 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
1899 – Charles Laughton, English-American actor and director (d. 1962)
1899 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek scholar and politician, President of Greece (d. 1987)
1901 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter (d. 1973)
1902 – William Wyler, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1981)
1903 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (d. 1941)
1903 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress (d. 1979)
1906 – Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
1906 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded the Estée Lauder Companies (d. 2004)
1907 – Norman Pirie, Scottish-English biochemist and virologist (d. 1997)
1909 – Emmett Toppino, American sprinter (d. 1971)
1910 – Glenn Hardin, American hurdler (d. 1975)
1911 – Arnold Alas, Estonian landscape architect and artist (d. 1990)
1911 – Sergey Sokolov, Russian marshal and politician, Soviet Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
1912 – David Brower, American environmentalist, founded Sierra Club Foundation (d. 2000)
1912 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (d. 1989)
1913 – Frank Barrett, American baseball player (d. 1998)
1913 – Lee Guttero, American basketball player (d. 2004)
1913 – Vasantrao Naik, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 1979)
1914 – Thomas Pearson, British Army officer (d. 2019)
1914 – Christl Cranz, German alpine skier (d. 2004)
1914 – Bernard B. Wolfe, American politician (d. 2016)
1915 – Boots Poffenberger, American baseball player (d. 1999)
1915 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter, bass player, guitarist and producer (d. 1992)
1915 – Joseph Ransohoff, American soldier and neurosurgeon (d. 2001)
1915 – Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, British peer (d. 2000)
1915 – Nguyễn Văn Linh, Vietnamese politician (d. 1998)
1916 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress
1916 – Iosif Shklovsky, Ukrainian astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1985)
1916 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (d. 2012)
1917 – Humphry Osmond, English-American lieutenant and psychiatrist (d. 2004)
1917 – Álvaro Domecq y Díez, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2005)
1918 – Ralph Young, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
1918 – Ahmed Deedat, South African writer and public speaker (d. 2005)
1918 – Pedro Yap, Filipino lawyer (d. 2003)
1919 – Arnold Meri, Estonian colonel (d. 2009)
1919 – Malik Dohan al-Hassan, Iraqi politician
1919 – Gerald E. Miller, American vice admiral (d. 2014)
1920 – Henri Amouroux, French historian and journalist (d. 2007)
1920 – Harold Sakata, Japanese-American wrestler and actor (d. 1982)
1920 – Joseph G. Williams, American musician
1920 – George I. Fujimoto, American-Japanese chemist
1921 – Seretse Khama, Batswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (d. 1980)
1921 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (d. 2005)
1921 – Arthur Johnson, Canadian canoeist (d. 2003)
1922 – Toshi Seeger, German-American activist, co-founded the Clearwater Festival (d. 2013)
1922 – Mordechai Bibi, Israeli politician
1923 – Scotty Bowers, American Marine, author and pimp (d. 2019)
1924 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
1924 – Florence Stanley, American actress (d. 2003)
1924 – Georges Rivière, French actor
1925 – Farley Granger, American actor (d. 2011)
1925 – Art McNally, American football referee
1926 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
1926 – Carl Hahn, German businessman
1926 – Mohamed Abshir Muse, Somali general (d. 2017)
1926 – Hans Werner Henze, German composer and educator (d. 2012)
1927 – Alan J. Charig, English paleontologist and author (d. 1997)
1927 – Joseph Martin Sartoris, American bishop
1927 – Chandra Shekhar, 8th Prime Minister of India (d. 2007)^[27]
1929 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
1930 – Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American director and producer (d. 2005)
1930 – Carol Chomsky, American linguist and academic (d. 2008)
1931 – Leslie Caron, French actress and dancer
1932 – Ze’ev Schiff, French-Israeli journalist and author (d. 2007)
1933 – C. Scott Littleton, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2010)
1934 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
1934 – Jamie Farr, American actor
1934 – Jean Marsh, English actress and screenwriter
1934 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director and producer (d. 2008)
1935 – James Cotton, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 2017)
1935 – David Prowse, English actor
1936 – Wally Amos, American entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos
1938 – Craig Anderson, American baseball player and coach
1938 – Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian flute player and composer
1939 – Karen Black, American actress (d. 2013)
1939 – Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2008)
1940 – Craig Brown, Scottish footballer and manager
1940 – Ela Gandhi, South African activist and politician
1940 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (d. 1987)
1941 – Rod Gilbert, Canadian-American ice hockey player
1941 – Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
1941 – Myron Scholes, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1941 – Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer
1942 – Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi field marshal and politician (d. 2015)
1942 – Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
1942 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer and pastor (d. 2015)
1942 – Julia Higgins, English chemist and academic
1943 – Philip Brunelle, American conductor and organist
1943 – Peeter Lepp, Estonian politician, 37th Mayor of Tallinn
1943 – Jeff Wayne, American composer, musician and lyricist
1945 – Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
1945 – Debbie Harry, American singer-songwriter and actress
1946 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (d. 2013)
1946 – Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish sergeant and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
1947 – Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese race car driver
1947 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (d. 2012)
1948 – John Ford, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Néjia Ben Mabrouk, Tunisian-Belgian director and screenwriter
1949 – John Farnham, English-Australian singer-songwriter
1949 – David Hogan, American composer and educator (d. 1996)
1949 – Venkaiah Naidu, Indian lawyer and politician
1950 – David Duke, American white supremacist, politician and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard
1951 – Trevor Eve, English actor and producer
1951 – Anne Feeney, American singer-songwriter and activist
1951 – Julia Goodfellow, English physicist and academic
1951 – Klaus-Peter Justus, German runner
1951 – Tom Kozelko, American basketball player
1951 – Terrence Mann, American actor, singer and dancer
1951 – Fred Schneider, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1951 – Victor Willis, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor
1952 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, producer and screenwriter
1952 – David Arkenstone, American composer and performer
1952 – David Lane, English oncologist and academic
1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1952 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)
1953 – Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Malta
1953 – Jadranka Kosor, Croatian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Croatia
1954 – Keith Whitley, American singer and guitarist (d. 1989)
1955 – Nikolai Demidenko, Russian pianist and educator
1955 – Li Keqiang, Chinese economist and politician, 7th Premier of the People’s Republic of China
1955 – Lisa Scottoline, American lawyer and author
1957 – Lisa Blount, American actress and producer (d. 2010)
1957 – Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey player
1957 – Sean O’Driscoll, English footballer and manager
1958 – Jack Dyer Crouch II, American diplomat, United States Deputy National Security Advisor
1960 – Michael Beattie, Australian rugby league player and coach
1960 – Lynn Jennings, American runner
1960 – Evelyn “Champagne” King, American soul/disco singer
1960 – Kevin Swords, American rugby player
1961 – Malcolm Elliott, English cyclist
1961 – Ivan Kaye, English actor
1961 – Carl Lewis, American long jumper and runner
1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
1961 – Michelle Wright, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Andre Braugher, American actor and producer
1962 – Mokhzani Mahathir, Malaysian businessman
1963 – Roddy Bottum, American singer and keyboard player
1963 – Nick Giannopoulos, Australian actor
1963 – David Wood, American lawyer and environmentalist (d. 2006)
1964 – Bernard Laporte, French rugby player and coach
1965 – Carl Fogarty, English motorcycle racer
1965 – Garry Schofield, English rugby player and coach
1965 – Harald Zwart, Norwegian director and producer
1966 – Enrico Annoni, Italian footballer and coach
1966 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2013)
1967 – Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American model and actress
1969 – Séamus Egan, American-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Missy Elliott, American rapper, producer, dancer and actress
1971 – Julianne Nicholson, American actress
1974 – Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian race walker
1975 – Sean Colson, American basketball player and coach
1975 – Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1976 – Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer and coach
1976 – Hannu Tihinen, Finnish footballer
1976 – Albert Torrens, Australian rugby league player
1976 – Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer and manager
1976 – Szymon Ziółkowski, Polish hammer thrower
1977 – Tom Frager, Senegalese-French singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Keigo Hayashi, Japanese musician
1977 – Jarome Iginla, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist and actor
1981 – Carlo Del Fava, South African-Italian rugby player
1981 – Tadhg Kennelly, Irish-Australian footballer
1982 – Justin Huber, Australian baseball player
1982 – Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
1982 – Adrian Ward, American football player
1982 – Hilarie Burton, American actress
1984 – Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper
1985 – Chris Perez, American baseball player
1986 – Charlie Blackmon, American baseball player
1986 – Andrew Lee, Australian footballer
1986 – Julian Prochnow, German footballer
1987 – Michael Schrader, German decathlete
1988 – Dedé, Brazilian footballer
1988 – Aleksander Lesun, Russian modern pentathlete
1989 – Kent Bazemore, American basketball player
1989 – Daniel Ricciardo, Australian race car driver
1990 – Ben Coker, English footballer
1991 – Michael Wacha, American baseball player
1992 – Aaron Sanchez, American baseball player
1995 – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Belgian footballer
1995 – Savvy Shields, Miss America 2017
1996 – Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater
1998 – Aleksandra Golovkina, Lithuanian figure skater
2000 – Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Indonesian sprinter
2001 – Chosen Jacobs, American entertainer

Deaths on July 1

552 – Totila, Ostrogoth king
992 – Heonjeong, Korean queen (b. 966)
1109 – Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile (b. 1040)
1224 – Hōjō Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (b. 1163)
1242 – Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1183)
1277 – Baibars, Egyptian sultan (b. 1223)
1321 – María de Molina, queen of Castile and León
1348 – Joan, English princess
1555 – John Bradford, English reformer, prebendary of St. Paul’s (b. 1510)
1589 – Lady Saigō, Japanese concubine (b. 1552)
1592 – Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Italian composer and educator (b. 1535)
1614 – Isaac Casaubon, French philologist and scholar (b. 1559)
1622 – William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, English politician (b. 1575)
1681 – Oliver Plunkett, Irish archbishop and saint (b. 1629)
1736 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1673)
1774 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1705)
1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1730)
1784 – Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1710)
1787 – Charles de Rohan, French marshal (b. 1715)
1819 – the Public Universal Friend, American evangelist (b. 1752)
1839 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1785)
1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (b. 1800)
1863 – John F. Reynolds, American general (b. 1820)
1884 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American detective and spy (b. 1819)
1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (b. 1811)
1905 – John Hay, American journalist and politician, 37th United States Secretary of State (b. 1838)
1912 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (b. 1875)
1925 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (b. 1866)
1934 – Ernst Röhm, German paramilitary commander (b. 1887)
1942 – Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich, Irish writer (b. 1857)
1943 – Willem Arondeus, Dutch artist, author, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter (b. 1894)
1944 – Carl Mayer, Austrian-English screenwriter (b. 1894)
1944 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian author (b. 1930)
1948 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (b. 1904)
1950 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (b. 1865)
1950 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish-American architect, co-designed the National Museum of Finland (b. 1873)
1951 – Tadeusz Borowski, Polish poet, novelist and journalist (b. 1922)
1961 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (b. 1894)
1962 – Purushottam Das Tandon, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
1962 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1882)
1964 – Pierre Monteux, French-American viola player and conductor (b. 1875)
1965 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (b. 1903)
1965 – Robert Ruark, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
1966 – Frank Verner, American runner (b. 1883)
1967 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (b. 1888)
1968 – Fritz Bauer, German judge and politician (b. 1903)
1971 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
1971 – Learie Constantine, Trinidadian-English cricketer, lawyer, and politician (b. 1901)
1974 – Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, President of Argentina (b. 1895)
1978 – Kurt Student, German general and pilot (b. 1890)
1981 – Carlos de Oliveira, Portuguese author and poet (b. 1921)
1983 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect, designed the Montreal Biosphère (b. 1895)
1984 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1904)
1991 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
1992 – Franco Cristaldi, Italian screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
1994 – Merriam Modell, American author (b. 1908)
1995 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (b. 1938)
1995 – Ian Parkin, English guitarist (Be-Bop Deluxe) (b. 1950)
1996 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1904)
1996 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (b. 1954)
1996 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American author and screenwriter (b. 1942)
1997 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (b. 1917)
1997 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (b. 1909)
1999 – Edward Dmytryk, Canadian-American director and producer (b. 1908)
1999 – Forrest Mars Sr., American businessman, created M&M’s and the Mars bar (b. 1904)
1999 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (b. 1910)
1999 – Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (b. 1935)
2000 – Walter Matthau, American actor (b. 1920)
2001 – Nikolay Basov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
2001 – Jean-Louis Rosier, French race car driver (b. 1925)
2003 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and saxophonist (b. 1930)
2004 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (b. 1924)
2004 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (b. 1909)
2005 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
2005 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1923)
2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (b. 1951)
2006 – Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
2006 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian race car driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (b. 1952)
2006 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1931)
2008 – Mel Galley, English guitarist (b. 1948)
2009 – Karl Malden, American actor (b. 1912)
2009 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (b. 1917)
2009 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (b. 1922)
2010 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
2010 – Arnold Friberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1913)
2010 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (b. 1929)
2012 – Peter E. Gillquist, American priest and author (b. 1938)
2012 – Ossie Hibbert, Jamaican-American keyboard player and producer (b. 1950)
2012 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (b. 1926)
2012 – Alan G. Poindexter, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
2012 – Jack Richardson, American author and playwright (b. 1934)
2013 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (b. 1926)
2013 – Charles Foley, American game designer, co-created Twister (b. 1930)
2013 – William H. Gray, American minister and politician (b. 1941)
2014 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1938)
2014 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (b. 1935)
2014 – Bob Jones, English lawyer and politician (b. 1955)
2014 – Anatoly Kornukov, Ukrainian-Russian general (b. 1942)
2014 – Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (b. 1937)
2015 – Val Doonican, Irish singer and television host (b. 1927)
2015 – Czesław Olech, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1931)
2015 – Nicholas Winton, English lieutenant and humanitarian (b. 1909)
2016 – Robin Hardy, English author and film director (b. 1929)
2020 – Georg Ratzinger, German Roman Catholic priest and musician (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances on July 1

Christian feast day:
- Aaron (Syriac Christianity)
- Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
- Felix of Como
- Junípero Serra
- Julius and Aaron
- Leontius of Autun
- Servanus
- Veep
- July 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Feast of the Most Precious Blood (removed from official Roman Catholic calendar since 1969)
Earliest day on which Alexanderson Day can fall, celebrated on the Sunday closest to July 2. (Sweden)
Earliest day on which CARICOM Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Guyana)
Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Cayman Islands)
Earliest day on which Día del Amigo can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July. (Peru)
Earliest day on which Fishermen’s Holiday, celebrated on the first Friday of July (Marshall Islands)
Earliest day on which Heroes’ Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Zambia)
Earliest day on which International Co-operative Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
Earliest day on which International Free Hugs Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Ukraine)
Earliest day on which Navy Days can fall, celebrated First Saturday and Sunday. (Netherlands)
Earliest day on which Youth Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Singapore)
Armed Forces Day (Singapore)
Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day (Canada)
Children’s Day (Pakistan)
Communist Party of China Founding Day (China)
Day of Officials and Civil Servants (Hungary)
Doctors’ Day (India)
Emancipation Day (Netherlands Antilles)
Engineer’s Day (Bahrain, Mexico)
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Hong Kong, China)
Independence Day (Burundi), celebrates the independence of Burundi from Belgium in 1962.
Independence Day (Rwanda)
Independence Day (Somalia)
International Tartan Day
July Morning (Bulgaria)
Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) (Suriname)
Madeira Day (Madeira, Portugal)
Moving Day (Quebec) (Canada)
Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial Day
Republic Day (Ghana)
Sir Seretse Khama Day (Botswana)
Territory Day (British Virgin Islands)
The first day of Van Mahotsav, celebrated until July 7. (India)

July 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.
1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis.
1381 – Peasants’ Revolt: In England, rebels assemble at Blackheath, just outside London.
1418 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Parisians slaughter Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and his suspected sympathizers, along with all prisoners, foreign bankers, and students and faculty of the College of Navarre.
1429 – Hundred Years’ War: On the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
1550 – The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.
1653 – First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day.
1665 – Thomas Willett is appointed the first mayor of New York City.
1758 – French and Indian War: Siege of Louisbourg: James Wolfe’s attack at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, commences
1772 – French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and 25 of his men killed by Māori in New Zealand.
1775 – American Revolution: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged.
1776 – The Virginia Declaration of Rights is adopted.
1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battle of Ballynahinch.
1817 – The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais.
1821 – Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Isma’il Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom.
1830 – Beginning of the Invasion of Algiers: Thiry-four thousand French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch.
1864 – American Civil War, Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: Ulysses S. Grant gives the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee a victory when he pulls his Union troops from their position at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.
1898 – Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines’ independence from Spain.
1899 – New Richmond tornado: The eighth deadliest tornado in U.S. history kills 117 people and injures around 200.
1914 – Massacre of Phocaea: Turkish irregulars slaughter 50 to 100 Greeks and expel thousands of others in an ethnic cleansing operation in the Ottoman Empire.
1921 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky orders the use of chemical weapons against the Tambov Rebellion, bringing an end to the peasant uprising.
1935 – A ceasefire is negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, ending the Chaco War.
1939 – Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures’ Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
1939 – The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York.
1940 – World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
1942 – Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
1943 – The Holocaust: Germany liquidates the Jewish Ghetto in Brzeżany, Poland (now Berezhany, Ukraine). Around 1,180 Jews are led to the city’s old Jewish graveyard and shot.
1944 – World War II: Operation Overlord: American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division secure the town of Carentan, Normandy, France.
1954 – Pope Pius XII canonises Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at the time of his death, as a saint, making him at the time the youngest unmartyred saint in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2017, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged ten and nine at the time of their deaths, are declared saints.
1963 – NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement.
1964 – Anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in South Africa.
1967 – The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.
1975 – India, Judge Jagmohanlal Sinha of the city of Allahabad ruled that India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had used corrupt practices to win her seat in the Indian Parliament, and that she should be banned from holding any public office. Mrs. Gandhi sent word that she refused to resign.
1979 – Bryan Allen wins the second Kremer prize for a man powered flight across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross.
1987 – The Central African Republic’s former emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed during his 13-year rule.
1987 – Cold War: At the Brandenburg Gate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
1988 – Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 46, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, crashes short of the runway at Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, killing all 22 people on board.
1990 – Russia Day: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
1991 – Russians first democratically elected Boris Yeltsin as the President of Russia.
1991 – Kokkadichcholai massacre: The Sri Lankan Army massacres 152 minority Tamil civilians in the village of Kokkadichcholai near the eastern province town of Batticaloa.
1993 – An election takes place in Nigeria and is won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Its results are later annulled by the military Government of Ibrahim Babangida.
1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are murdered outside Simpson’s home in Los Angeles. Her estranged husband, O.J. Simpson is later charged with the murders, but is acquitted by a jury.
1997 – Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London.
1999 – Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force (KFor) enters the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
2009 – Analog television stations (excluding low-powered stations) switch to digital television following the DTV Delay Act.
2009 – A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests.
2016 – Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida; the gunman, Omar Mateen, is killed in a gunfight with police.
2017 – American student Otto Warmbier returns home in a coma after spending 17 months in a North Korean prison and dies a week later.
2018 – United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore.

Births on June 12

950 – Reizei, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
1107 – Gao Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1187)
1161 – Constance, Duchess of Brittany (d. 1201)
1519 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1574)
1561 – Anna of Württemberg, German princess (d. 1616)
1564 – John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (d. 1633)
1573 – Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, soldier (d. 1629)
1577 – Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (d. 1643)
1580 – Adriaen van Stalbemt, Flemish painter (d. 1662)
1653 – Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1711)
1686 – Marie-Catherine Homassel Hecquet, French writer (d. 1764)
1711 – Louis Legrand, French priest and theologian (d. 1780)
1760 – Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai, French author, playwright, journalist, and politician (d. 1797)
1771 – Patrick Gass, American sergeant (Lewis and Clark Expedition) and author (d. 1870)
1775 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (d. 1851)
1777 – Robert Clark, American physician and politician (d. 1837)
1795 – John Marston, American sailor (d. 1885)
1798 – Samuel Cooper, American general (d. 1876)
1800 – Samuel Wright Mardis, American politician (d. 1836)
1802 – Harriet Martineau, English sociologist and author (d. 1876)
1806 – John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (d. 1869)
1807 – Ante Kuzmanić, Croatian physician and journalist (d. 1879)
1812 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (d. 1890)
1819 – Charles Kingsley, English priest, historian, and author (d. 1875)
1827 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (d. 1901)
1831 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (d. 1905)
1841 – Watson Fothergill, English architect, designed the Woodborough Road Baptist Church (d. 1928)
1843 – David Gill, Scottish-English astronomer and author (d. 1914)
1851 – Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (d. 1940)
1857 – Maurice Perrault, Canadian architect, engineer, and politician, 15th Mayor of Longueuil (d. 1909)
1858 – Harry Johnston, English botanist and explorer (d. 1927)
1858 – Henry Scott Tuke, English painter and photographer (d. 1929)
1861 – William Attewell, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1927)
1864 – Frank Chapman, American ornithologist, photographer, and author (d. 1945)
1877 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (d. 1971)
1883 – Fernand Gonder, French pole vaulter (d. 1969)
1883 – Robert Lowie, Austrian-American anthropologist and academic (d. 1957)
1888 – Zygmunt Janiszewski, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1920)
1890 – Egon Schiele, Austrian soldier and painter (d. 1918)
1892 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (d. 1982)
1895 – Eugénie Brazier, French chef (d. 1977)
1897 – Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1977)
1899 – Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
1899 – Weegee, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1968)
1902 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian lawyer and politician, Mayor of Ghent (d. 1973)
1905 – Ray Barbuti, American sprinter and football player (d. 1988)
1906 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (d. 1977)
1908 – Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian broadcaster (d. 1988)
1908 – Marina Semyonova, Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2010)
1908 – Otto Skorzeny, German SS officer (d. 1975)
1910 – Bill Naughton, Irish-English playwright and author (d. 1992)
1912 – Bill Cowley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1993)
1912 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (d. 1961)
1913 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (d. 1996)
1913 – Desmond Piers, Canadian admiral (d. 2005)
1914 – William Lundigan, American actor (d. 1975)
1914 – Go Seigen, Chinese-Japanese Go player (d. 2014)
1915 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (d. 1995)
1915 – Christopher Mayhew, English soldier and politician (d. 1997)
1915 – David Rockefeller, American banker and businessman (d. 2017)
1916 – Irwin Allen, American director and producer (d. 1991)
1916 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (d. 2015)
1918 – Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer (d. 2001)
1918 – Georgia Louise Harris Brown, American architect (d. 1999)
1918 – Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer, Sri Lankan-Australian mathematician and academic (d. 2001)
1919 – Uta Hagen, German-American actress and educator (d. 2004)
1920 – Dave Berg, American soldier and cartoonist (d. 2002)
1920 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1921 – Luis García Berlanga, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
1921 – Christopher Derrick, English author, critic, and academic (d. 2007)
1921 – James Archibald Houston, Canadian author and illustrator (d. 2005)
1922 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (d. 2013)
1924 – George H. W. Bush, American lieutenant and politician, 41st President of the United States (d. 2018)
1924 – Grete Dollitz, German-American guitarist and radio host (d. 2013)
1928 – Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2018)
1928 – Petros Molyviatis, Greek politician and diplomat, Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
1928 – Richard M. Sherman, American composer and director
1929 – Brigid Brophy, English author and critic (d. 1995)
1929 – Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (d. 1945)
1929 – Jameel Jalibi, Pakistani linguist and academic
1929 – John McCluskey, Baron McCluskey, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2017)
1930 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (d. 1979)
1930 – Donald Byrne, American chess player (d. 1976)
1930 – Innes Ireland, Scottish race car driver and engineer (d. 1993)
1930 – Jim Nabors, American actor and singer (d. 2017)
1931 – Trevanian, American author and scholar (d. 2005)
1931 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (d. 2005)
1932 – Mimi Coertse, South African soprano and producer
1932 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (d. 2002)
1933 – Eddie Adams, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
1934 – John A. Alonzo, American actor and cinematographer (d. 2001)
1934 – Kevin Billington, English director and producer
1935 – Ian Craig, Australian cricketer (d. 2014)
1935 – Paul Kennedy, English lawyer and judge
1937 – Vladimir Arnold, Russian-French mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
1937 – Klaus Basikow, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
1937 – Antal Festetics, Hungarian-Austrian biologist and zoologist
1937 – Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter (d. 2016)
1938 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2016)
1938 – Tom Oliver, English-Australian actor
1939 – Ron Lynch, Australian rugby league player and coach
1939 – Frank McCloskey, American sergeant and politician (d. 2003)
1940 – Jacques Brassard, Canadian educator and politician
1941 – Marv Albert, American sportscaster
1941 – Chick Corea, American pianist and composer
1941 – Roy Harper, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1941 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1941 – Lucille Roybal-Allard, American politician
1942 – Len Barry, American singer-songwriter and producer
1942 – Bert Sakmann, German physiologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1945 – Pat Jennings, Irish footballer and coach
1946 – Michel Bergeron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1946 – Bobby Gould, English footballer and manager
1946 – Catherine Bréchignac, French physicist and academic
1948 – Hans Binder, Austrian race car driver
1948 – Herbert Meyer, German footballer
1948 – Len Wein, American comic book writer and editor (d. 2017)
1949 – Jens Böhrnsen, German judge and politician
1949 – Marc Tardif, Canadian ice hockey player
1949 – John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2017)
1950 – Oğuz Abadan, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1950 – Michael Fabricant, English politician
1950 – Sonia Manzano, American actress of Puerto Rican descent, noted for playing Maria on Sesame Street
1950 – Bun E. Carlos, American drummer
1951 – Brad Delp, American musician and singer (d. 2007)
1951 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian engineer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 2007)
1952 – Spencer Abraham, American academic and politician, 10th United States Secretary of Energy
1952 – Junior Brown, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Pete Farndon, English bass player and songwriter (d. 1983)
1953 – Rocky Burnette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall, English lawyer and politician
1956 – Terry Alderman, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
1957 – Timothy Busfield, American actor, director, and producer
1957 – Javed Miandad, Pakistani cricketer and coach
1958 – Meredith Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1959 – John Linnell, American singer-songwriter and musician
1959 – Scott Thompson, Canadian actor and comedian
1960 – Joe Kopicki, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, professor and cultural critic
1963 – Philippe Bugalski, French race car driver (d. 2012)
1963 – Warwick Capper, Australian footballer, coach, and actor
1963 – Tim DeKay, American actor
1963 – Jerry Lynn, American wrestler
1964 – Derek Higgins, Irish race car driver
1964 – Kent Jones, American journalist
1964 – Paula Marshall, American actress
1964 – Peter Such, Scottish-born, English cricketer
1965 – Adrian Toole, Australian rugby league player
1965 – Gwen Torrence, American sprinter
1965 – Cathy Tyson, English actress
1966 – Marc Glanville, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Tom Misteli, Swiss cell biologist
1967 – Aivar Kuusmaa, Estonian basketball player and coach
1967 – Frances O’Connor, English-Australian actress
1968 – Scott Aldred, American baseball player and coach
1968 – Htay Kywe, Burmese activist
1968 – Bobby Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (d. 1999)
1969 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian guitarist (d. 2007)
1969 – Héctor Garza, Mexican wrestler (d. 2013)
1969 – Mathieu Schneider, American ice hockey player
1969 – Heinz-Christian Strache, Austrian politician
1971 – Mark Henry, American weightlifter and wrestler
1971 – Ryan Klesko, American baseball player
1971 – Jérôme Romain, Caribbean-Dominican triple jumper and coach
1973 – Jason Caffey, American basketball player and coach
1973 – Darryl White, Australian footballer
1974 – Flávio Conceição, Brazilian footballer
1974 – Hideki Matsui, Japanese baseball player
1974 – Jason Mewes, American actor and producer
1974 – Kerry Kittles, American basketball player
1975 – Bryan Alvarez, American wrestler and journalist
1975 – Stéphanie Szostak, French-American actress
1976 – Antawn Jamison, American basketball player and sportscaster
1976 – Ray Price, Zimbabwean cricketer
1976 – Thomas Sørensen, Danish footballer
1977 – Wade Redden, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Kenny Wayne Shepherd, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Lewis Moody, English rugby player
1979 – Dallas Clark, American football player
1979 – Martine Dugrenier, Canadian wrestler
1979 – Diego Milito, Argentine footballer
1979 – Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
1979 – Earl Watson, American basketball player and coach
1980 – Marco Bortolami, Italian rugby player
1980 – Larry Foote, American football player
1980 – Ifet Taljević, German footballer
1981 – Raitis Grafs, Latvian basketball player
1981 – Paul Hasleby, Australian footballer
1981 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model and actress
1982 – Ben Blackwell, American drummer
1982 – Diem Brown, German-American journalist and activist (d. 2014)
1982 – Jason David, American football player
1982 – Shailaja Pujari, Indian weightlifter
1982 – James Tomlinson, English cricketer
1983 – Bryan Habana, South African rugby player
1983 – Alexander Pipa, German rugby player
1983 – Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player
1984 – James Kwalia, Kenyan-Qatari runner
1984 – Bruno Soriano, Spanish footballer
1985 – Blake Ross, American computer programmer, co-created Mozilla Firefox
1985 – Sam Thaiday, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Kendra Wilkinson, American model, actress, and author
1985 – Chris Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1986 – Salim Mehajer, Australian politician
1986 – Harry Taylor, Australian footballer
1987 – Seyi Ajirotutu, American football player
1987 – Antonio Barragán, Spanish footballer
1988 – Artūrs Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
1988 – Eren Derdiyok, Swiss footballer
1988 – Mauricio Isla, Chilean footballer
1988 – Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1988 – Dakota Morton, Canadian actor and radio host
1989 – Emma Eliasson, Swedish ice hockey player
1989 – Ibrahim Jeilan, Ethiopian runner
1990 – Jrue Holiday, American basketball player
1990 – Kevin López, Spanish runner
1990 – David Worrall, English footballer
1991 – Avisail García, Venezuelan baseball player
1992 – Philippe Coutinho, Brazilian footballer

Deaths on June 12

796 – Hisham I, Muslim emir (b. 757)
816 – Pope Leo III (b. 750)
918 – Æthelflæd, Mercian daughter of Alfred the Great (b. 870)
1020 – Lyfing, English archbishop (b. 999)
1036 – Tedald, Italian bishop (b. 990)
1144 – Al-Zamakhshari, Persian theologian (b. 1075)
1152 – Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1114)
1266 – Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben (b. 1215)
1294 – John I of Brienne, Count of Eu
1418 – Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (b. 1360)
1435 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1408)
1478 – Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (b. 1412)
1524 – Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Spanish conquistador (b. 1465)
1560 – Ii Naomori, Japanese warrior (b. 1506)
1560 – Imagawa Yoshimoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1519)
1565 – Adrianus Turnebus, French philologist and scholar (b. 1512)
1567 – Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, English politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1490)
1647 – Thomas Farnaby, English scholar and educator (b. 1575)
1668 – Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge, English politician (b. 1599)
1675 – Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1634)
1734 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French-English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1670)
1758 – Prince Augustus William of Prussia (b. 1722)
1772 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (b. 1724)
1778 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (b. 1716)
1816 – Pierre Augereau, French general (b. 1757)
1818 – Egwale Seyon, Ethiopian emperor
1841 – Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, Greek composer, archaeologist, and philologist (b. 1786)
1900 – Lucretia Peabody Hale, American journalist and author (b. 1820)
1904 – Camille of Renesse-Breidbach (b. 1836)
1912 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1822)
1917 – Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (b. 1853)
1932 – Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1852)
1937 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Russian general (b. 1893)
1944 – Erich Marcks, German general (b. 1891)
1946 – Médéric Martin, Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal (b. 1869)
1952 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (b. 1875)
1957 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (The Dorsey Brothers and The California Ramblers) (b. 1904)
1962 – John Ireland, English composer and educator (b. 1879)
1963 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (b. 1925)
1966 – Hermann Scherchen, German viola player and conductor (b. 1891)
1968 – Herbert Read, English poet and critic (b. 1893)
1969 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Ukrainian-Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1899)
1972 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (b. 1895)
1972 – Dinanath Gopal Tendulkar, Indian writer and documentary filmmaker (b. 1909)
1976 – Gopinath Kaviraj, Indian philosopher and scholar (b. 1887)
1978 – Guo Moruo, Chinese historian, author, and poet (b. 1892)
1978 – Georg Siimenson, Estonian footballer (b. 1912)
1980 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded the Butlins Company (b. 1899)
1980 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime minister of Japan (b. 1910)
1980 – Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
1982 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1953)
1982 – Karl von Frisch, Austrian-German ethologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
1983 – Norma Shearer, Canadian-American actress (b. 1902)
1989 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (b. 1911)
1990 – Terence O’Neill, Baron O’Neill of the Maine, English captain and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (b. 1914)
1994 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-French rabbi and author (b. 1902)
1995 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (b. 1920)
1995 – Pierre Russell, American basketball player (b. 1949)
1997 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
1998 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and educator (b. 1924)
1998 – Theresa Merritt, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
1999 – J. F. Powers, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1917)
2000 – Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
2000 – Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, Brazilian criminal (b. 1978)
2002 – Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Limited (b. 1922)
2002 – Zena Sutherland, American reviewer of children’s literature (b. 1915)
2003 – Gregory Peck, American actor and political activist (b. 1916)
2005 – Scott Young, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1918)
2006 – Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player and fighter pilot (b. 1915)
2006 – György Ligeti, Romanian-Hungarian composer and educator (b. 1923)
2006 – Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)
2008 – Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player (b. 1951)
2008 – Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1932)
2010 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (b. 1931)
2011 – René Audet, Canadian bishop (b. 1920)
2011 – Carl Gardner, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
2012 – Hector Bianciotti, Argentinian-French journalist and author (b. 1930)
2012 – Henry Hill, American mobster (b. 1943)
2012 – Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen, Danish-German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1917)
2012 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (b. 1946)
2012 – Elinor Ostrom, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
2012 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (b. 1923)
2012 – Frank Walker, Australian judge and politician, 41st Attorney General of New South Wales (b. 1942)
2013 – Teresita Barajuen, Spanish nun (b. 1908)
2013 – Jason Leffler, American race car driver (b. 1975)
2013 – Joseph A. Unanue, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1925)
2014 – Nabil Hemani, Algerian footballer (b. 1979)
2014 – Dan Jacobson, South African-English author and critic (b. 1929)
2014 – Frank Schirrmacher, German journalist (b. 1959)
2015 – Fernando Brant, Brazilian journalist, poet, and composer (b. 1946)
2015 – Frederick Pei Li, Chinese-American physician and academic (b. 1940)
2015 – Patrick Lennox Tierney, American historian and academic (b. 1914)
2016 – Omar Mateen, American mass murderer (b. 1986)
2016 – George Voinovich, American politician (b. 1936)
2016 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances on June 12

Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)
Christian feast day:
- 108 Martyrs of World War II
- Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius
- Blessed Hildegard Burjan
- Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)
- Eskil
- First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)
- Gaspar Bertoni
- John of Sahagún
- Onuphrius
- Pope Leo III
- Ternan
- June 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)
Helsinki Day (Finland)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Philippines from Spain in 1898.
June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State)
Loving Day (United States)
Russia Day (Russia)
World Day Against Child Labour, and its related observances:
- Children’s Day (Haiti)

June 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles of Salerno.
1288 – The Battle of Worringen ends the War of the Limburg Succession, with John I, Duke of Brabant, being one of the more important victors.
1610 – The masque Tethys’ Festival is performed at Whitehall Palace to celebrate the investiture of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.
1644 – The Qing dynasty Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor take Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty.
1798 – The Battle of New Ross: The attempt to spread the United Irish Rebellion into Munster is defeated.
1817 – The first Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched.
1829 – HMS Pickle captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba.
1832 – The June Rebellion breaks out in Paris in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy of Louis Philippe.
1837 – Houston is incorporated by the Republic of Texas.
1849 – Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy by the signing of a new constitution.
1851 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
1862 – As the Treaty of Saigon is signed, ceding parts of southern Vietnam to France, the guerrilla leader Trương Định decides to defy Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam and fight on against the Europeans.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Piedmont: Union forces under General David Hunter defeat a Confederate army at Piedmont, Virginia, taking nearly 1,000 prisoners.
1873 – Sultan Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar closes the great slave market under the terms of a treaty with Great Britain.
1883 – The first regularly scheduled Orient Express departs Paris.
1888 – The Rio de la Plata earthquake takes place.
1893 – The trial of Lizzie Borden for the murder of her father and step-mother begins in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
1900 – Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
1915 – Denmark amends its constitution to allow women’s suffrage.
1916 – Louis Brandeis is sworn in as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he is the first American Jew to hold such a position.
1916 – World War I: The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire breaks out.
1917 – World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as “Army registration day”.
1940 – World War II: After a brief lull in the Battle of France, the Germans renew the offensive against the remaining French divisions south of the River Somme in Operation Fall Rot (“Case Red”).
1941 – World War II: Four thousand Chongqing residents are asphyxiated in a bomb shelter during the Bombing of Chongqing.
1942 – World War II: The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
1944 – World War II: More than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
1945 – The Allied Control Council, the military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
1946 – A fire in the La Salle Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, kills 61 people.
1947 – Cold War: Marshall Plan: In a speech at Harvard University, the United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe.
1949 – Thailand elects Orapin Chaiyakan, the first female member of Thailand’s Parliament.
1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, “Hound Dog”, on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
1959 – The first government of Singapore is sworn in.
1963 – The British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, resigns in a sex scandal known as the “Profumo affair”.
1963 – Movement of 15 Khordad: Protests against the arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In several cities, masses of angry demonstrators are confronted by tanks and paratroopers.
1964 – DSV Alvin is commissioned.
1967 – The Six-Day War begins: Israel launches surprise strikes against Egyptian air-fields in response to the mobilisation of Egyptian forces on the Israeli border.
1968 – Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan.
1975 – The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War.
1975 – The United Kingdom holds its first country-wide referendum on membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
1976 – The Teton Dam in Idaho, United States, collapses.
1981 – The “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that five people in Los Angeles, California, have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
1983 – More than 100 people are killed when the Russian river cruise ship Aleksandr Suvorov collides with a girder of the Ulyanovsk Railway Bridge. The collision caused a freight train to derail, further damaging the vessel yet the ship remained afloat and was eventually restored and returned to service.
1984 – Operation Blue Star: Under orders from India’s prime minister, Indira Gandhi, the Indian Army begins an invasion of the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh religion.
1989 – The Tank Man halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
1993 – Portions of the Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK, fall into the sea following a landslide.
1995 – The Bose–Einstein condensate is first created.
1997 – The Second Republic of the Congo Civil War begins.
1998 – A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants. The strike lasts seven weeks.
2000 – The Six-Day War in Kisangani begins in Kisangani, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Ugandan and Rwandan forces. A large part of the city is destroyed.
2001 – Tropical Storm Allison makes landfall on the upper-Texas coastline as a strong tropical storm and dumps large amounts of rain over Houston. The storm causes $5.5 billion in damages, making Allison the second costliest tropical storm in U.S. history.
2003 – A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50 °C (122 °F) in the region.
2004 – Noël Mamère, Mayor of Bègles, celebrates marriage for two men for the first time in France.
2006 – Serbia declares independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
2009 – After 65 straight days of civil disobedience, at least 31 people are killed in clashes between security forces and indigenous people near Bagua, Peru.
2013 – A building collapse in Philadelphia kills six and wounds 14 other people.
2015 – An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.0 struck Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia killing 18 people, including hikers and mountain guides on Mount Kinabalu, after mass landslides that occurred during the earthquake. This is the strongest earthquake to strike Malaysia since 1975.
2017 – Montenegro becomes the 29th member of the NATO.
2017 – Six Arab countries—Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates—cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region.

Births on June 5

1341 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, son of King Edward III of England and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1402)
1412 – Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, Italian ruler (d. 1478)
1493 – Justus Jonas, German priest and academic (d. 1555)
1523 – Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1573)
1554 – Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian clergyman (d. 1621)
1587 – Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, English colonial administrator and admiral (d. 1658)
1596 – Peter Wtewael, Dutch Golden Age painter (d. 1660)
1640 – Pu Songling, Chinese author (d. 1715)
1646 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1684)
1660 – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (d. 1744)
1757 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist and philosopher (d. 1808)
1760 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist (d. 1852)
1771 – Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover (d. 1851)
1781 – Christian Lobeck, German scholar and academic (d. 1860)
1801 – William Scamp, English architect and engineer (d. 1872)
1819 – John Couch Adams, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1892)
1830 – Carmine Crocco, Italian soldier (d. 1905)
1850 – Pat Garrett, American sheriff (d. 1908)
1862 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1930)
1868 – James Connolly, Scottish-born Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
1870 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (d. 1935)
1876 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1957)
1877 – Willard Miller, Canadian-American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1959)
1878 – Pancho Villa, Mexican general and politician, Governor of Chihuahua (d. 1923)
1879 – Robert Mayer, German-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1985)
1883 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1946)
1884 – Ralph Benatzky, Czech-Swiss composer (d. 1957)
1884 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English author (d. 1969)
1884 – Frederick Lorz, American runner (d. 1914)
1892 – Jaan Kikkas, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1944)
1894 – Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian-English publisher and academic (d. 1976)
1895 – William Boyd, American actor and producer (d. 1972)
1895 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (d. 1980)
1898 – Salvatore Ferragamo, Italian shoe designer, founded Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (d. 1960)
1898 – Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet, playwright, and director (d. 1936)
1899 – Otis Barton, American diver, engineer, and actor, designed the bathysphere (d. 1992)
1899 – Theippan Maung Wa, Burmese writer (d. 1942)
1900 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
1902 – Arthur Powell Davies, American minister, author, and activist (d. 1957)
1905 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (d. 1987)
1912 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (d. 2003)
1912 – Eric Hollies, English cricketer (d. 1981)
1913 – Conrad Marca-Relli, American-Italian painter and academic (d. 2000)
1914 – Beatrice de Cardi, English archaeologist and academic (d. 2016)
1916 – Sid Barnes, Australian cricketer (d. 1973)
1916 – Eddie Joost, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
1919 – Richard Scarry, American-Swiss author and illustrator (d. 1994)
1920 – Marion Motley, American football player and coach (d. 1999)
1920 – Cornelius Ryan, Irish-American journalist and author (d. 1974)
1922 – Paul Couvret, Dutch-Australian soldier, pilot, and politician (d. 2013)
1922 – Sheila Sim, English actress (d. 2016)
1923 – Jorge Daponte, Argentinian racing driver (d. 1963)
1923 – Roger Lebel, Canadian actor (d. 1994)
1923 – Daniel Pinkham, American organist and composer (d. 2006)
1924 – Lou Brissie, American baseball player and scout (d. 2013)
1924 – Art Donovan, American football player and radio host (d. 2013)
1925 – Bill Hayes, American actor and singer
1926 – Paul Soros, Hungarian-American engineer and businessman (d. 2013)
1928 – Robert Lansing, American actor (d. 1994)
1928 – Umberto Maglioli, Italian racing driver (d. 1999)
1928 – Tony Richardson, English-American director and producer (d. 1991)
1930 – Alifa Rifaat, Egyptian author (d. 1996)
1931 – Yves Blais, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1998)
1931 – Jacques Demy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
1931 – Jerzy Prokopiuk, Polish anthropologist and philosopher
1932 – Christy Brown, Irish painter and author (d. 1981)
1932 – Dave Gold, American businessman, founded the 99 Cents Only Stores (d. 2013)
1933 – Bata Živojinović, Serbian actor and politician (d. 2016)
1934 – Vilhjálmur Einarsson, Icelandic triple jumper, painter, and educator (d. 2019)
1934 – Bill Moyers, American journalist, 13th White House Press Secretary
1937 – Hélène Cixous, French author, poet, and critic
1938 – Moira Anderson, Scottish singer
1938 – Karin Balzer, German hurdler (d. 2019)
1938 – Roy Higgins, Australian jockey (d. 2014)
1939 – Joe Clark, Canadian journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Canada
1939 – Margaret Drabble, English novelist, biographer, and critic
1941 – Martha Argerich, Argentinian pianist
1941 – Erasmo Carlos, Brazilian singer-songwriter
1941 – Spalding Gray, American writer, actor, and monologist (d. 2004)
1941 – Robert Kraft, American businessman, founded The Kraft Group
1941 – Jeff Rooker, Baron Rooker, English academic and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
1941 – Gudrun Sjödén, Swedish designer
1942 – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatoguinean lieutenant and politician, 2nd President of Equatorial Guinea
1943 – Abraham Viruthakulangara, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India (d. 2018)
1944 – Whitfield Diffie, American cryptographer and academic
1945 – John Carlos, American runner and football player
1945 – André Lacroix, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
1946 – John Du Cann, English guitarist (d. 2001)
1946 – Bob Grant, Australian rugby league player
1946 – Patrick Head, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Williams F1
1946 – Wanderléa, Brazilian singer and television host
1947 – Laurie Anderson, American singer-songwriter and violinist
1947 – Tom Evans, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983)
1947 – David Hare, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
1947 – Freddie Stone, American singer, guitarist, and pastor
1949 – Ken Follett, Welsh author
1949 – Elizabeth Gloster, English lawyer and judge
1949 – Alexander Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee, Scottish politician
1950 – Ronnie Dyson, American singer and actor (d. 1990)
1950 – Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist and activist (d. 1977)
1951 – Suze Orman, American financial adviser, author, and television host
1952 – Pierre Bruneau, Canadian journalist and news anchor
1952 – Carole Fredericks, American singer (d. 2001)
1952 – Nicko McBrain, English drummer and songwriter
1953 – Kathleen Kennedy, American film producer, co-founded Amblin Entertainment
1954 – Alberto Malesani, Italian footballer and manager
1954 – Phil Neale, English cricketer, coach, and manager
1954 – Nancy Stafford, American model and actress
1955 – Edino Nazareth Filho, Brazilian footballer and manager
1956 – Richard Butler, English singer-songwriter
1956 – Kenny G, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
1957 – Charles Nolan, American fashion designer (d. 2011)
1958 – Avigdor Lieberman, Moldavian-Israeli soldier and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
1958 – Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, Comorian businessman and politician, President of Comoros
1959 – Mark Ella, Australian rugby player
1959 – Werner Schildhauer, German runner
1960 – Boris Dugan, Estonian footballer and coach
1960 – Claire Fox, English author and academic
1961 – Anke Behmer, German heptathlete
1961 – Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress (d. 1999)
1961 – Anthony Burger, American singer and pianist (d. 2006)
1961 – Aldo Costa, Italian engineer
1961 – Ramesh Krishnan, Indian tennis player and coach
1962 – Jeff Garlin, American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter
1962 – Tõnis Lukas, Estonian historian and politician, 34th Estonian Minister of Education
1964 – Lisa Cholodenko, American director and screenwriter
1964 – Karl Sanders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1965 – Michael E. Brown, American astronomer and author
1965 – Sandrine Piau, French soprano
1965 – Alfie Turcotte, American ice hockey player
1967 – Matt Bullard, American basketball player and sportscaster
1967 – Joe DeLoach, American sprinter
1967 – Ray Lankford, American baseball player
1967 – Ron Livingston, American actor
1968 – Ed Vaizey, English lawyer and politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
1969 – Brian McKnight, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1970 – Martin Gélinas, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1971 – Susan Lynch, Northern Irish actress
1971 – Alex Mooney, American politician
1971 – Takaya Tsubobayashi, Japanese racing driver
1971 – Mark Wahlberg, American model, actor, producer, and rapper
1972 – Yogi Adityanath, Indian priest and politician
1972 – Paweł Kotla, Polish conductor and academic
1973 – Lamon Brewster, American boxer
1973 – Gella Vandecaveye, Belgian martial artist
1974 – Mervyn Dillon, Trinidadian cricketer
1974 – Scott Draper, Australian tennis player and golfer
1974 – Russ Ortiz, American baseball player
1975 – Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Lithuanian-American basketball player
1975 – Duncan Patterson, English drummer and keyboard player
1975 – Sandra Stals, Belgian runner
1976 – Giannis Giannoulis, Canadian basketball player
1976 – Torry Holt, American football player and sportscaster
1977 – Liza Weil, American actress
1978 – Fernando Meira, Portuguese footballer
1979 – Stefanos Kotsolis, Greek footballer
1979 – Matthew Scarlett, Australian footballer
1979 – Pete Wentz, American singer-songwriter, bass player, actor, and fashion designer
1979 – Jason White, American race car driver
1980 – Mike Fisher, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Antonio García, Spanish racing driver
1981 – Serhat Akın, Turkish footballer
1981 – Sébastien Lefebvre, Canadian singer and guitarist
1982 – Ryan Dallas Cook, American trombonist (d. 2005)
1983 – Marques Colston, American football player
1984 – Robert Barbieri, Canadian-Italian rugby player
1984 – Eric Traoré, Senegalese footballer
1985 – Jeremy Abbott, American figure skater
1985 – Ekaterina Bychkova, Russian tennis player
1986 – Dave Bolland, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Vernon Gholston, American football player
1987 – Marcus Thornton, American basketball player
1988 – Alessandro Salvi, Italian footballer
1989 – Cam Atkinson, American ice hockey player
1989 – Megumi Nakajima, Japanese voice actress and singer
1990 – Radko Gudas, Czech ice hockey defenceman
1991 – Sören Bertram, German footballer
1992 – Joazhiño Arroe, Peruvian footballer
1992 – Emily Seebohm, Australian swimmer
1993 – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Samoan-New Zealand rugby league player
1995 – Troye Sivan, South African–born Australian singer-songwriter, actor, and YouTuber
1995 – Ross Wilson, English table tennis player
1997 – Sam Darnold, American football player
1998 – Yulia Lipnitskaya, Russian figure skater

Deaths on June 5

301 – Sima Lun, Chinese emperor (b. 249)
535 – Epiphanius, patriarch of Constantinople
567 – Theodosius I, patriarch of Alexandria
708 – Jacob of Edessa, Syrian bishop (b. 640)
754 – Eoban, bishop of Utrecht
754 – Boniface, English missionary and martyr (b. 675)
879 – Ya’qub ibn al-Layth, Persian emir (b. 840)
928 – Louis the Blind, king of Provence
1017 – Sanjō, emperor of Japan (b. 976)
1118 – Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Norman nobleman and politician (b. 1049)
1296 – Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1245)
1310 – Amalric, prince of Tyre
1316 – Louis X, king of France (b. 1289)
1383 – Dmitry of Suzdal, Russian grand prince (b. 1324)
1400 – Frederick I, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
1424 – Braccio da Montone, Italian nobleman (b. 1368)
1434 – Yuri IV, Russian grand prince (b. 1374)
1443 – Ferdinand, Portuguese prince (b. 1402)
1445 – Leonel Power, English composer
1530 – Mercurino Gattinara, Italian statesman and jurist (b. 1465)
1568 – Lamoral, Count of Egmont (b. 1522)
1625 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (b. 1583)
1667 – Francesco Sforza Pallavicino, Italian cardinal and historian (b. 1607)
1716 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician and academic (b. 1682)
1722 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (b. 1660)
1738 – Isaac de Beausobre, French pastor and theologian (b. 1659)
1740 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, English politician and courtier (b. 1671)
1791 – Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-Canadian general and politician, 22nd Governor of Quebec (b. 1718)
1816 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
1825 – Odysseas Androutsos, Greek soldier (b. 1788)
1826 – Carl Maria von Weber, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1786)
1866 – John McDouall Stuart, Scottish explorer and surveyor (b. 1815)
1899 – Antonio Luna, Filipino general (b. 1866)
1900 – Stephen Crane, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1871)
1906 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher and author (b. 1842)
1910 – O. Henry, American short story writer (b. 1862)
1913 – Chris von der Ahe, German-American businessman (b. 1851)
1916 – Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Irish-born British field marshal and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1850)
1920 – Rhoda Broughton, Welsh-English author (b. 1840)
1921 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (b. 1852)
1921 – Georges Feydeau, French playwright (b. 1862)
1930 – Eric Lemming, Swedish athlete (b. 1880)
1930 – Pascin, Bulgarian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1885)
1934 – Emily Dobson, Australian philanthropist (b. 1842)
1934 – William Holman, English-Australian politician, 19th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1871)
1947 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish-American actor and director (b. 1884)
1967 – Arthur Biram, Israeli philologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1878)
1967 – Harry Brown, Australian public servant (b. 1878)
1993 – Conway Twitty, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1933)
1996 – Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1933)
1997 – J. Anthony Lukas, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
1998 – Jeanette Nolan, American actress (b. 1911)
1998 – Sam Yorty, American soldier and politician, 37th Mayor of Los Angeles (b. 1909)
1999 – Mel Tormé, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
2000 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (b. 1925)
2002 – Dee Dee Ramone, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1951)
2003 – Jürgen Möllemann, German soldier and politician, 10th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (b. 1945)
2003 – Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor (b. 1904)
2004 – Iona Brown, English violinist and conductor (b. 1941)
2004 – Ronald Reagan, American actor and politician, 40th President of the United States (b. 1911)
2005 – Adolfo Aguilar Zínser, Mexican scholar and politician (b. 1949)
2006 – Frederick Franck, Dutch-American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1909)
2006 – Edward L. Moyers, American businessman (b. 1928)
2009 – Jeff Hanson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1978)
2012 – Ray Bradbury, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2012 – Hal Keller, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
2012 – Mihai Pătrașcu, Romanian-American computer scientist (b. 1982)
2012 – Charlie Sutton, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
2013 – Helen McElhone, Scottish politician (b. 1933)
2013 – Stanisław Nagy, Polish cardinal (b. 1921)
2013 – Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Irish republican activist and politician (b. 1932)
2013 – Michel Ostyn, Belgian physiologist and physician (b. 1924)
2014 – Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, Iraqi commander (b. 1971)
2014 – Don Davis, American songwriter and producer (b. 1938)
2014 – Reiulf Steen, Norwegian journalist and politician, Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications (b. 1933)
2015 – Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1936)
2015 – Alan Bond, English-Australian businessman (b. 1938)
2015 – Richard Johnson, English actor (b. 1927)
2015 – Roger Vergé, French chef and author (b. 1930)
2016 – Jerome Bruner, American psychologist (b. 1915)
2017 – Andy Cunningham, English actor (b. 1950)
2017 – Cheick Tioté, Ivorian footballer (b. 1986)
2018 – Kate Spade, American fashion designer (b. 1962)

Holidays and observances on June 5

Arbor Day (New Zealand)
Christian feast day:
- Boniface (Roman Catholic Church)
- Dorotheus of Tyre
- Genesius, Count of Clermont
- Blessed Meinwerk
- June 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Denmark)
Father’s Day (Denmark)
Feast of Núr, the first day of the fifth month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) (only if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21)
Indian Arrival Day (Suriname)
Khordad Movement Anniversary (Iran) (Only if March equinox falls on March 20)
Liberation Day (Seychelles)
President’s Day (Equatorial Guinea)
Reclamation Day (Azerbaijan)
World Day Against Speciesism (International)
World Environment Day (International)

June 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.
1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years’ War.
1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years’ War.
1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy at the Battle of Ramillies.
1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá’í Faith; Bahá’ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
1863 – The General German Workers’ Association, a precursor of the modern Social Democratic Party of Germany, is founded in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony.
1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.
1934 – Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the “Battle of Toledo”, a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
1945 – World War II: Germany’s Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
1949 – Cold War: The Western occupying powers approve the Basic Law and establish a new German state, the Federal Republic of Germany.
1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with China.
1960 – A tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.
1992 – Italy’s most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.
2002 – The “55 parties” clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
2013 – A freeway bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
2016 – Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, killed at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
2016 – Eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people were killed and at least 200 people injured.
2017 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao, following the Maute’s attack in Marawi.

Births on May 23

635 – K’inich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
675 – Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
1127 – Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (d. 1173)
1330 – Gongmin of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1374)
1586 – Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (d. 1666)
1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
1614 – Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1675)
1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
1629 – William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1663)
1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
1730 – Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Prussian prince and general (d. 1813)
1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
1789 – Franz Schlik, Austrian earl and general (d. 1862)
1790 – Jules Dumont d’Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
1790 – James Pradier, French neoclassical sculptor (d. 1852)
1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
1800 – Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1877)
1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
1817 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (d. 1862)
1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
1834 – Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (d. 1891)
1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
1837 – Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1919)
1837 – Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1912)
1838 – Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
1840 – George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (d. 1910)
1844 – `Abdu’l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)
1861 – József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (d. 1927)
1863 – Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (d. 1930)
1864 – William O’Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
1888 – Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (d. 1976)
1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
1892 – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British peer and grandfather of Diana Spencer (d. 1975)
1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1937)
1898 – Scott O’Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)
1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)
1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor and comedian (d. 1986)
1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
1911 – Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (d. 1983)
1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
1912 – John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
1914 – Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (d. 2009)
1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (d. 1981)
1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)
1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate (d. 2012)
1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
1920 – Helen O’Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
1923 – Irving Millman, American virologist and microbiologist (d. 2012)
1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1926 – Basil Salvadore D’Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African activist and politician (d. 1995)
1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)
1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic (d. 2019)
1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress
1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
1934 – Robert Moog, electronic engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
1940 – Bjorn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (d. 2002)
1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
1940 – Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
1941 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1941 – Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive
1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016)
1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer
1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (d. 2019)
1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2017)
1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
1954 – Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish international footballer, striker
1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor
1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
1958 – Drew Carey, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor
1961 – Daniele Massaro, Italian footballer and manager
1961 – Norrie May-Welby, Scottish Australian gender activist
1962 – Karen Duffy, American actress
1963 – Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician
1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress
1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1967 – Luís Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer
1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player (d. 2018)
1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
1980 – Ben Ross, Australian rugby league player
1983 – Silvio Proto, Belgian-Italian footballer
1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
1985 – Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russian tennis player
1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
1986 – Ryan Coogler, American film director and screenwriter
1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
1986 – Alice Tait, Australian swimmer
1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1987 – Bray Wyatt, American wrestler
1988 – Rosanna Crawford, Canadian biathlete
1988 – Angelo Ogbonna, Italian footballer
1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Italian footballer
1990 – Dan Evans, British tennis player
1990 – Kristina Kucova, Slovakian tennis player
1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player
1991 – Aaron Donald, American football player
1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
1991 – César Pinares, Chilean footballer
1996 – Katharina Althaus, German ski jumper
1996 – Emmanuel Boateng, Ghanaian footballer
1996 – Razvan Marin, Romanian footballer
1997 – Pedro Chirivella, Spanish footballer
1997 – Coy Craft, American footballer
1997 – Joe Gomez, English footballer
1997 – Gustaf Nilsson, Swedish footballer
1997 – Sam Timmins, New Zealand basketball player
1998 – Sérgio Sette Câmara, Brazilian race car driver
1998 – Ross Cunningham, Scottish footballer
1998 – Salwa Eid Naser, Bahraini track and field sprinter
1998 – Luca De La Torre, American footballer
1998 – Steve Lacy, American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
2000 – Felipe Drugovich, Brazilian race car driver
2000 – Jaxson Hayes, American basketball player

Deaths on May 23

230 – Urban I, pope of the Catholic Church
922 – Li Sizhao, Chinese general and governor
962 – Guibert of Gembloux, Frankish abbot (b. 892)
1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
1338 – Alice de Warenne, Countess of Arundel, English noble (b. 1287)
1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (b. 1320)
1423 – Antipope Benedict XIII (b. 1328)
1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)
1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shōgun (b. 1466)
1524 – Ismail I, First Emperor of Safavid Empire (b. 1487)
1591 – John Blitheman, English organist and composer (b. 1525)
1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)
1670 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1622)
1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (b. 1700)
1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)
1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (b. 1772)
1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)
1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1789)
1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)
1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (b. 1795)
1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)
1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)
1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)
1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (b. 1872)
1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (b. 1860)
1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)
1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (b. 1871)
1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1886)
1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior (b. 1900)
1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)
1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (b. 1872)
1956 – Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (b. 1883)
1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)
1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)
1965 – David Smith, American sculptor (b. 1906)
1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)
1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932)
1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)
1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)
1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor (b. 1916)
1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)
1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
1991 – Fletcher Markle, Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1921)
1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
1994 – Olav Hauge, Norwegian poet (b. 1908)
1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)
1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)
1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)
2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (b. 1912)
2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)
2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)
2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)
2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (b. 1946)
2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)
2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)
2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)
2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)
2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)
2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)
2014 – Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (b. 1921)
2015 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (b. 1929)
2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian sergeant (b. 1975)
2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (b. 1933)
2015 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1928)
2017 – Roger Moore, English actor (b. 1927)
2020 – Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1997)

Holidays and observances on May 23

Christian feast day:
- Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Desiderius of Vienne
- Giovanni Battista de’ Rossi
- Julia of Corsica
- Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Quintian, Lucius and Julian
- William of Perth
- May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Germany)
Earliest day on which Declaration of the Báb can fall, while May 24 is the latest; observed on ‘Aẓamat 8 (Bahá’í Faith)
Earliest day on which National Heroes’ Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Monday of May. (Turks and Caicos Islands)
Labour Day (Jamaica)
Students’ Day (Mexico)
World Turtle Day

May 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

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

Births on May 20

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

Deaths on May 20

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

Holidays and observances on May 20

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

May 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.
1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the effective ruler of England.
1509 – Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Republic of Venice.
1607 – Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
1608 – The Protestant Union, a coalition of Protestant German states, is founded to defend the rights, land and safety of each member against the Catholic Church and Catholic German states.
1610 – Henry IV of France is assassinated by Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and Louis XIII ascends the throne.
1643 – Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
1747 – War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.
1796 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.
1800 – The 6th United States Congress recesses, and the process of moving the U.S. Government from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., begins the following day.
1804 – William Clark and 42 men depart from Camp Dubois to join Meriwether Lewis at St. Charles, Missouri, marking the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition‘s historic journey up the Missouri River.
1811 – Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor.
1836 – The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.
1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends as former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward.
1870 – The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
1878 – The last witchcraft trial held in the United States begins in Salem, Massachusetts, after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.
1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
1913 – Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
1918 – Cape Town Mayor, Sir Harry Hands, inaugurates the Two-minute silence.
1925 – Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway is published.
1931 – Five unarmed civilians are killed in the Ådalen shootings, as the Swedish military is called in to deal with protesting workers.
1935 – The Constitution of the Philippines is ratified by a popular vote.
1939 – Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
1940 – World War II: Rotterdam, Netherlands is bombed by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany despite a ceasefire, killing about 900 people and destroying the historic city center.
1943 – World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.
1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
1951 – Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
1961 – Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle.
1970 – Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of the Red Army Faction.
1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
1977 – A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport (now Kenneth Kaunda International Airport) in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.
1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: the Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.
1988 – Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
2004 – The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
2004 – Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4815 crashes into the Amazon rainforest during approach to Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, killing 33 people.
2010 – Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.
2012 – Agni Air Flight CHT crashes in Nepal after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.

Births on May 14

1316 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1378)
1553 – Margaret of Valois (d. 1615)
1574 – Francesco Rasi, Italian singer-songwriter, theorbo player, and poet (d. 1621)
1592 – Alice Barnham, wife of statesman Francis Bacon (d. 1650)
1630 – Katakura Kagenaga, Japanese samurai (d. 1681)
1652 – Johann Philipp Förtsch, German composer (d. 1732)
1657 – Sambhaji, Indian emperor (d. 1689)
1666 – Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1732)
1679 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1764)
1699 – Hans Joachim von Zieten, Prussian general (d. 1786)
1701 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (d. 1782)
1710 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (d. 1771)
1725 – Ludovico Manin, the last Doge of Venice (d. 1802)
1727 – Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (d. 1788)
1737 – George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, Irish-English politician and diplomat, Governor of Grenada (d. 1806)
1752 – Timothy Dwight IV, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1817)
1752 – Albrecht Thaer, German agronomist and author (d. 1828)
1761 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1816)
1771 – Robert Owen, Welsh businessman and social reformer (d. 1858)
1771 – Thomas Wedgwood, English photographer (d. 1805)
1781 – Friedrich Ludwig Georg von Raumer, German historian and academic (d. 1873)
1794 – Fanny Imlay, daughter of British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (d. 1816)
1814 – Charles Beyer, German-English engineer, co-founded Beyer, Peacock and Company (d. 1876)
1817 – Alexander Kaufmann, German poet and educator (d. 1893)
1820 – James Martin, Irish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1886)
1830 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (d. 1905)
1832 – Rudolf Lipschitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1903)
1851 – Anna Laurens Dawes, American author and suffragist (d. 1938)
1852 – Henri Julien, Canadian illustrator (d. 1908)
1863 – John Charles Fields, Canadian mathematician, founder of the Fields Medal (d. 1932)
1867 – Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Bavaria (d. 1919)
1868 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (d. 1935)
1869 – Arthur Rostron, English captain (d. 1940)
1872 – Elia Dalla Costa, Italian cardinal (d. 1961)
1878 – J. L. Wilkinson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
1879 – Fred Englehardt, American jumper (d. 1942)
1880 – Wilhelm List, German field marshal (d. 1971)
1881 – Lionel Hill, Australian politician, 30th Premier of South Australia (d. 1963)
1881 – George Murray Hulbert, American judge and politician (d. 1950)
1885 – Otto Klemperer, German composer and conductor (d. 1973)
1887 – Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
1888 – Archie Alexander, American mathematician and engineer (d. 1958)
1893 – Louis Verneuil, French actor and playwright (d. 1952)
1897 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1959)
1897 – Ed Ricketts, American biologist and ecologist (d. 1948)
1899 – Charlotte Auerbach, German-Jewish Scottish folklorist, geneticist, and zoologist. (d.1994)
1899 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (d. 1993)
1899 – Earle Combs, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
1900 – Hal Borland, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
1900 – Walter Rehberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1957)
1900 – Cai Chang, Chinese first leader of All-China Women’s Federation (d. 1990)
1900 – Leo Smit, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1943)
1900 – Edgar Wind, German-English historian, author, and academic (d. 1971)
1901 – Robert Ritter, German psychologist and physician (d. 1951)
1903 – Billie Dove, American actress (d. 1997)
1904 – Hans Albert Einstein, Swiss-American engineer and educator (d. 1973)
1904 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (d. 1961)
1905 – Jean Daniélou, French cardinal and theologian (d. 1974)
1905 – Herbert Morrison, American soldier and journalist (d. 1989)
1905 – Antonio Berni, Argentinian painter, illustrator, and engraver (d. 1981)
1907 – Ayub Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 2nd President of Pakistan (d. 1974)
1907 – Hans von der Groeben, German journalist and diplomat (d. 2005)
1908 – Betty Jeffrey, Australian nurse and author (d. 2000)
1909 – Godfrey Rampling, English sprinter and colonel (d. 2009)
1910 – Ken Viljoen, South African cricketer (d. 1974)
1910 – Ne Win, Prime Minister and President of Burma (d. 2002)
1914 – Gul Khan Nasir, Pakistani journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1983)
1914 – William Thomas Tutte, British codebreaker and mathematician (d. 2002)
1916 – Robert F. Christy, Canadian-American physicist and astronomer (d. 2012)
1916 – Lance Dossor, English-Australian pianist and educator (d. 2005)
1916 – Marco Zanuso, Italian architect and designer (d. 2001)
1917 – Lou Harrison, American composer and critic (d. 2003)
1917 – Norman Luboff, American composer and conductor (d. 1987)
1919 – Solange Chaput-Rolland, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2001)
1919 – John Hope, American soldier and meteorologist (d. 2002)
1921 – Richard Deacon, American actor (d. 1984)
1922 – Franjo Tuđman, Yugoslav historian; later 1st President of Croatia (d. 1999)
1923 – Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2019)
1923 – Mrinal Sen, Bangladeshi-Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
1925 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (d. 2013)
1925 – Patrice Munsel, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)
1925 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (d. 1997)
1925 – Al Porcino, American trumpet player (d. 2013)
1925 – Ninian Sanderson, Scottish race car driver (d. 1985)
1926 – Eric Morecambe, English comedian and actor (d. 1984)
1927 – Herbert W. Franke, Austrian scientist and author
1928 – Dub Jones, American R&B bass singer (d. 2000)
1928 – Frederik H. Kreuger, Dutch engineer, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1928 – Brian Macdonald, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
1929 – Barbara Branden, Canadian-American author (d. 2013)
1929 – Henry McGee, English actor and singer (d. 2006)
1929 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
1930 – William James, Australian general and physician (d. 2015)
1931 – Alvin Lucier, American composer and academic
1932 – Robert Bechtle, American lithographer and painter
1933 – Siân Phillips, Welsh actress and singer
1935 – Ethel Johnson, American professional wrestler (d. 2018)
1935 – Rudi Šeligo, Slovenian playwright and politician (d. 2004)
1936 – Bobby Darin, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1973)
1936 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
1938 – Robert Boyd, English pediatrician and academic
1939 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (d. 2016)
1939 – Troy Shondell, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
1940 – Chay Blyth, Scottish sailor and rower
1940 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
1940 – George Mathewson, Scottish banker and businessman
1941 – Ada den Haan, Dutch swimmer
1942 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (d. 2003)
1942 – Byron Dorgan, American lawyer and politician
1942 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (d. 2014)
1942 – Tony Pérez, Cuban-American baseball player and manager
1942 – Malise Ruthven, Irish author and academic
1943 – Jack Bruce, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)
1943 – L. Denis Desautels, Canadian accountant and civil servant
1943 – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 5th President of Iceland
1943 – Derek Leckenby, English pop-rock guitarist (d. 1994)
1943 – Richard Peto, English statistician and epidemiologist
1944 – Gene Cornish, Canadian-American guitarist
1944 – George Lucas, American director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm
1944 – David Kelly, Welsh scientist (d. 2003)
1945 – Francesca Annis, English actress
1945 – George Nicholls, English rugby player
1945 – Yochanan Vollach, Israeli footballer
1946 – Sarah Hogg, Viscountess Hailsham, English economist and journalist
1947 – Al Ciner, American pop-rock guitarist
1947 – Ana Martín, Mexican actress, singer producer and former model (Miss Mexico 1963)
1948 – Timothy Stevenson, English lawyer and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
1948 – Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer and coach (d. 2007)
1949 – Sverre Årnes, Norwegian author, screenwriter, and director
1949 – Walter Day, American game designer and businessman, founded Twin Galaxies
1949 – Johan Schans, Dutch swimmer
1949 – Klaus-Peter Thaler, German cyclist
1951 – Jay Beckenstein, American saxophonist
1952 – David Byrne, Scottish singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1952 – Michael Fallon, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Defence
1952 – Orna Grumberg, Israeli computer scientist and academic
1952 – Raul Mälk, Estonian politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1952 – Wim Mertens, Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist.
1952 – Donald R. McMonagle, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1952 – Robert Zemeckis, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1953 – Tom Cochrane, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Hywel Williams, Welsh politician
1955 – Marie Chouinard, Canadian dancer and choreographer
1955 – Alasdair Fraser, Scottish fiddler
1955 – Peter Kirsten, South African cricketer and rugby player
1955 – Dennis Martínez, Nicaraguan baseball player and coach
1955 – Jens Sparschuh, German author and playwright
1956 – Hazel Blears, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
1956 – Steve Hogarth, English singer-songwriter and keyboardist
1958 – Christine Brennan, American journalist and author
1958 – Chris Evans, English-Australian politician, 26th Australian Minister for Employment
1958 – Rudy Pérez, Cuban-born American composer and music producer
1958 – Wilma Rusman, Dutch runner
1959 – Carlisle Best, Barbadian cricketer
1959 – Patrick Bruel, French actor, singer, and poker player
1959 – Markus Büchel, Liechtensteiner politician, 9th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (d. 2013)
1959 – Robert Greene, American author and translator
1959 – John Holt, American football player (d. 2013)
1959 – Rick Vaive, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – Heather Wheeler, English politician
1960 – Anne Clark, English singer-songwriter and poet
1960 – Alec Dankworth, English bassist and composer
1960 – Frank Nobilo, New Zealand golfer
1960 – Ronan Tynan, Irish tenor
1961 – David Quantick, English journalist and critic
1961 – Tommy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 2015)
1961 – Tim Roth, English actor and director
1961 – Alain Vigneault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1962 – Ian Astbury, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
1962 – C.C. DeVille, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor
1962 – Danny Huston, Italian-American actor and director
1963 – Pat Borders, American baseball player and coach
1963 – David Yelland, English journalist and author
1964 – James M. Kelly, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1964 – Suzy Kolber, American sportscaster and producer
1964 – Alan McIndoe, Australian rugby league player
1964 – Eric Peterson, American guitarist and songwriter
1965 – Eoin Colfer, Irish author
1966 – Marianne Denicourt, French actress, director, and screenwriter
1966 – Mike Inez, American rock bass player and songwriter
1966 – Fab Morvan, French singer-songwriter, dancer and model
1966 – Raphael Saadiq, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1967 – Natasha Kaiser-Brown, American sprinter and coach
1967 – Tony Siragusa, American football player and journalist
1968 – Mary DePiero, Canadian diver
1969 – Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
1969 – Sabine Schmitz, German race car driver and sportscaster
1969 – Henry Smith, English politician
1969 – Danny Wood, American singer-songwriter, record producer, and choreographer
1971 – Deanne Bray, American actress
1971 – Sofia Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – Martin Reim, Estonian footballer and manager
1972 – Kirstjen Nielsen, American attorney, 6th United States Secretary of Homeland Security
1973 – Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer and actress
1973 – Voshon Lenard, American basketball player
1973 – Fraser Nelson, Scottish journalist
1973 – Hakan Ünsal, Turkish footballer and sportscaster
1973 – Julian White, English rugby player
1974 – Anu Välba, Estonian journalist
1975 – Nicki Sørensen, Danish cyclist
1976 – Hunter Burgan, American bass player
1976 – Brian Lawrence, American baseball player and coach
1976 – Martine McCutcheon, English actress and singer
1977 – Sophie Anderton, English model and actress
1977 – Roy Halladay, American baseball player (d. 2017)
1977 – Ada Nicodemou, Cypriot-Australian actress
1978 – Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
1978 – Eddie House, American basketball player
1978 – André Macanga, Angolan footballer and manager
1978 – Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
1979 – Dan Auerbach, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1979 – Edwige Lawson-Wade, French basketball player
1979 – Clinton Morrison, English-Irish footballer
1979 – Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer
1980 – Zdeněk Grygera, Czech footballer
1980 – Pavel Londak, Estonian footballer
1980 – Eugene Martineau, Dutch decathlete
1980 – Júlia Sebestyén, Hungarian figure skater
1980 – Hugo Southwell, English-Scottish rugby player
1980 – Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
1981 – Pranav Mistry, Indian computer scientist, invented SixthSense
1983 – Anahí, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1983 – Keeley Donovan, English journalist
1983 – Frank Gore, American football player
1983 – Uroš Slokar, Slovenian basketball player
1983 – Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwean cricketer
1983 – Amber Tamblyn, American actress, author, model, director
1984 – Gary Ablett, Jr., Australian footballer
1984 – Luke Gregerson, American baseball player
1984 – Olly Murs, English singer-songwriter
1984 – Michael Rensing, German footballer
1984 – Indrek Siska, Estonian footballer
1984 – Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Facebook
1985 – Dustin Lynch, American singer-songwriter
1985 – Sam Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player
1985 – Simona Peycheva, Bulgarian gymnast
1985 – Zack Ryder, American wrestler
1986 – Andrea Bovo, Italian footballer
1986 – Clay Matthews III, American football player
1986 – Marco Motta, Italian footballer
1987 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (d. 2012)
1987 – Franck Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer
1987 – François Steyn, South African rugby player
1988 – Jayne Appel, American basketball player
1989 – Rob Gronkowski, American football player
1989 – Alina Talay, Belorussian hurdler
1993 – Miranda Cosgrove, American actress and singer
1993 – Kristina Mladenovic, French tennis player
1993 – Bence Rakaczki, Hungarian footballer (d. 2014)
1994 – Marcos Aoás Corrêa, Brazilian footballer
1994 – Pernille Blume, Danish swimmer
1994 – Bronte Campbell, Australian swimmer
1994 – Dennis Praet, Belgian footballer
1995 – Bernardo Fernandes da Silva Junior, Brazilian footballer
1995 – Jonah Placid, Australian rugby player
1996 – Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ
2001 – Jack Hughes, American hockey player

Deaths on May 14

649 – Pope Theodore I
934 – Zhu Hongzhao, Chinese general and governor
964 – Pope John XII (b. 927)
1080 – William Walcher, Bishop of Durham
1219 – William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, English soldier and politician (b. 1147)
1470 – Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
1576 – Tahmasp I, Shah of Persia (b. 1514)
1603 – Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1543)
1608 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1543)
1610 – Henry IV of France (b. 1553)
1643 – Louis XIII of France (b. 1601)
1649 – Friedrich Spanheim, Swiss theologian and academic (b. 1600)
1667 – Georges de Scudéry, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1601)
1688 – Antoine Furetière, French scholar, lexicographer, and author (b. 1619)
1754 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French playwright and producer (b. 1692)
1761 – Thomas Simpson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1710)
1847 – Fanny Mendelssohn, German pianist and composer (b. 1805)
1860 – Ludwig Bechstein, German author (b. 1801)
1873 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (b. 1797)
1878 – Ōkubo Toshimichi, Japanese samurai and politician (b. 1830)
1881 – Mary Seacole, Jamaican-English nurse and author (b. 1805)
1889 – Volney Howard, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1809)
1893 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1810)
1906 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, journalist, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1829)
1912 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (b. 1843)
1912 – August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist (b. 1849)
1918 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1841)
1919 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (b. 1844)
1923 – N. G. Chandavarkar, Indian jurist and politician (b. 1855)
1923 – Charles de Freycinet, French engineer and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
1931 – David Belasco, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1853)
1934 – Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (b. 1872)
1935 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (b. 1868)
1936 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (b. 1861)
1940 – Emma Goldman, Lithuanian author and activist (b. 1869)
1940 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (b. 1902)
1943 – Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
1945 – Heber J. Grant, American religious leader, 7th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1856)
1945 – Wolfgang Lüth, Latvian-German captain (b. 1913)
1945 – Isis Pogson, English astronomer and meteorologist (b. 1852)
1953 – Yasuo Kuniyoshi, American painter and photographer (b. 1893)
1954 – Heinz Guderian, Prussian-German general (b. 1888)
1956 – Joan Malleson, English physician (b. 1889)
1957 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (b. 1884)
1959 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (b. 1897)
1959 – Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (b. 1862)
1960 – Lucrezia Bori, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1887)
1962 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1880)
1968 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b. 1882)
1969 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (b. 1893)
1969 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b. 1888)
1970 – Billie Burke, American actress and singer (b. 1884)
1973 – Jean Gebser, German linguist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1905)
1976 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1943)
1979 – Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (b. 1890)
1980 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (b. 1912)
1982 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor (b. 1909)
1983 – Roger J. Traynor, American academic and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (b. 1900)
1983 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican politician, 46th President of Mexico (b. 1900)
1984 – Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1910)
1984 – Walter Rauff, German SS officer (b. 1906)
1987 – Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (b. 1918)
1987 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovenian poet and playwright (b. 1914)
1988 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (b. 1886)
1991 – Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (b. 1910)
1992 – Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (b. 1899)
1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1908)
1994 – Cihat Arman, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1915)
1994 – W. Graham Claytor Jr., American businessman, lieutenant, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1914)
1995 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
1997 – Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (b. 1934)
1997 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (b. 1925)
1998 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and environmentalist (b. 1890)
1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915)
2000 – Keizō Obuchi, Japanese politician, 84th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
2001 – Paul Bénichou, French writer, intellectual, critic, and literary historian (b. 1908)
2001 – Gil Langley, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (b. 1919)
2003 – Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
2003 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (b. 1912)
2003 – Robert Stack, American actor and producer (b. 1919)
2004 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (b. 1913)
2005 – Jimmy Martin, American musician (b. 1927)
2006 – Lew Anderson, American actor and saxophonist (b. 1922)
2006 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (b. 1905)
2006 – Eva Norvind, Mexican actress, director, and producer (b. 1944)
2007 – Mary Scheier, American sculptor and educator (b. 1908)
2007 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and author (b. 1921)
2010 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (b. 1938)
2010 – Norman Hand, American football player (b. 1972)
2010 – Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean soldier and politician, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1918)
2012 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2012 – Mario Trejo, Argentinian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1926)
2013 – Wayne Brown, American accountant and politician, 14th Mayor of Mesa (b. 1936)
2013 – Arsen Chilingaryan, Armenian footballer and manager (b. 1962)
2013 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian author and activist (b. 1939)
2013 – Ray Guy, Canadian journalist (b. 1939)
2014 – Jeffrey Kruger, English-American businessman (b. 1931)
2014 – Emanuel Raymond Lewis, American librarian and author (b. 1928)
2014 – Morvin Simon, New Zealand historian, composer, and conductor (b. 1944)
2015 – B.B. King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1925)
2015 – Micheál O’Brien, Irish footballer and hurler (b. 1923)
2015 – Stanton J. Peale, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1937)
2015 – Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (b. 1953)
2016 – Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (b. 1962)
2017 – Powers Boothe, American actor (b. 1948)
2018 – Tom Wolfe, American author (b. 1931)
2019 – Tim Conway, American actor, writer (b. 1933)

Holidays and observances on May 14

Christian feast day:
- Boniface of Tarsus
- Engelmund of Velsen
- Matthias the Apostle (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion)
- Michael Garicoïts
- Mo Chutu of Lismore (Roman Catholic Church)
- Victor and Corona
- May 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which the first day of Sanja Matsuri can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third weekend of May. (Sensō-ji, Tokyo)
Flag Day (Paraguay)
Hastings Banda’s Birthday (Malawi)
National Unification Day (Liberia)
The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival. (Izumo-taisha)

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