EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST 21/5

[edit]

• 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome (traditional date).
• 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
• 900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations.
• 1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II
• 1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics.
• 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
• 1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
• 1615 – The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta.
• 1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
• 1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
• 1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl.
• 1821 – Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile.
• 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• 1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.
• 1863 – Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, declares his mission as "He whom God shall make manifest".
• 1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
• 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
• 1914 – Ypiranga incident: A German arms shipment to Mexico is intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Veracruz.
• 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
• 1925 – The Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals is published in Il Mondo, establishing the political and ideological foundations of Italian Fascism.
• 1934 – The "Surgeon's Photograph", the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
• 1941 – Emmanouil Tsouderos becomes the 132nd Prime Minister of Greece.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
• 1952 – Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated.
• 1960 – Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
• 1962 – The Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World's Fair in the United States since World War II.
• 1963 – The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Faith is elected for the first time.
• 1964 – A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed.
• 1965 – The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season.
• 1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
• 1967 – Greek military junta of 1967–74: A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d'état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
• 1970 – The Hutt River Province secedes from Australia as the Principality of Hutt River.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
• 1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
• 1985 – The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in Arkansas after a two-day government siege.
• 1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
• 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
• 1992 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
• 1993 – The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution.
• 2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.
• 2010 – The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; it will be unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014.
• 2012 – Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, injuring 116 people.

Births[edit]

• 1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1619)
• 1630 – Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten, Dutch-English painter (d. 1700)
• 1642 – Simon de la Loubère, French mathematician, poet, and diplomat (d. 1729)
• 1651 – Joseph Vaz, Sri Lankan priest, missionary, and saint (d. 1711)
• 1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (d. 1719)
• 1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
• 1673 – Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1742)
• 1713 – Louis de Noailles, French general (d. 1793)
• 1730 – Antonín Kammel, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1788)
• 1752 – Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait, French engineer, hydrographer, and politician, French Minister of Marine and the Colonies (d. 1807)
• 1752 – Humphry Repton, English gardener and author (d. 1818)
• 1767 – Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg (d. 1790)
• 1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1862)
• 1775 – Alexander Anderson, American illustrator and engraver (d. 1870)
• 1790 – Manuel Blanco Encalada, Chilean admiral and politician, 1st President of Chile (d. 1876)
• 1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician, 10th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
• 1811 – Alson Sherman, American merchant and politician, 8th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
• 1814 – Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, English art collector and philanthropist (d. 1906)
• 1816 – Charlotte Brontë, English author and poet (d. 1855)
• 1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish lieutenant and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
• 1838 – John Muir, Scottish-American environmentalist and author (d. 1914)
• 1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1939)
• 1854 – William Stang, German-American bishop (d. 1907)
• 1862 – John Thayer, American cricketer (d. 1912)
• 1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
• 1868 – Alfred Henry Maurer, American painter (d. 1932)
• 1870 – Edwin Stanton Porter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1941)
• 1871 – Jaro Fürth, Czech-Austrian actor (d. 1945)
• 1874 – Vincent Scotto, French actor and composer (d. 1952)
• 1879 – Kartini, Indonesian activist (d. 1904)
• 1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
• 1885 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (d. 1967)
• 1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
• 1889 – Marcel Boussac, French businessman (d. 1980)
• 1889 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
• 1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
• 1890 – Marc Wright, American pole vaulter (d. 1975)
• 1892 – Freddie Dixon, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1956)
• 1893 – Romeo Bertini, Italian runner (d. 1973)
• 1898 – Maurice Wilson, English soldier, pilot, and mountaineer (d. 1934)
• 1899 – Randall Thompson, American composer and academic (d. 1984)
• 1903 – Issy Bonn, English actor, comedian, and singer (d. 1977)
• 1903 – Luis Saslavsky, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
• 1904 – Jean Hélion, French painter (d. 1987)
• 1904 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (d. 1945)
• 1905 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (d. 1996)
• 1906 – Eugen Sacharias, German-Estonian architect (d. 2002)
• 1907 – Wade Mainer, American singer and banjo player (d. 2011)
• 1911 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Leonard Warren, American opera singer (d. 1960)
• 1912 – Eve Arnold, American photojournalist (d. 2012)
• 1912 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1913 – Norman Parkinson, English photographer (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Norman Panama, American director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1914 – Angelo Savoldi, Italian-American wrestler and promoter, co-founded International World Class Championship Wrestling (d. 2013)
• 1915 – Garrett Hardin, American ecologist, author, and academic (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor and producer (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Estella B. Diggs, American businesswoman and politician (d. 2013)
• 1916 – Eldon Rathburn, Canadian composer (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Eddy Christiani, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1919 – Don Cornell, American singer and trumpet player (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (d. 1981)
• 1919 – Licio Gelli, Italian financer (d. 2015)
• 1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
• 1920 – Ronald Magill, English actor (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Nazim Al-Haqqani, Cypriot sufi leader (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish-Swiss author and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1922 – Allan Watkins, Welsh-English cricketer (d. 2011)
• 1923 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (d. 2009)
• 1924 – Ira Louvin, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player (The Louvin Brothers) (d. 1965)
• 1925 – Anthony Mason, Australian soldier and judge, 9th Chief Justice of Australia
• 1925 – John Swinton of Kimmerghame, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire
• 1926 – Elizabeth II, Queen of The United Kingdom
• 1926 – Keith Davey, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 2011)
• 1926 – Robin Ibbs, English lawyer and banker (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Arthur Rowley, English footballer, cricketer, and manager (d. 2002)
• 1927 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (d. 1991)
• 1927 – Robert Savoie, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Jack Evans, Welsh-Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
• 1929 – Barbara Keogh, English actress (d. 2005)
• 1930 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2004)
• 1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
• 1930 – Dieter Roth, German-Swiss illustrator and sculptor (d. 1998)
• 1930 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (d. 2012)
• 1932 – Slide Hampton, American trombonist and composer
• 1932 – Elaine May, American actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1932 – Angela Mortimer, English tennis player
• 1933 – Edelmiro Amante, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Easley Blackwood, Jr., American pianist, composer, and educator
• 1933 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Robin Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran, Irish bobsledder and politician
• 1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host
• 1935 – Thomas Kean, American academic and politician, 48th Governor of New Jersey
• 1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist, psychologist, and author, founded Focus on the Family
• 1936 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2009)
• 1936 – Avo Paistik, Estonian pastor, author, illustrator, and painter (d. 2013)
• 1937 – David Lucas, American rock and roll composer, singer, and music producer
• 1937 – Ben Zinn, Israeli-born American academic in engineering and former international soccer player
• 1939 – John McCabe, English pianist and composer (d. 2015)
• 1939 – Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, activist, and author
• 1939 – Reni Santoni, American actor
• 1940 – Jacques Caron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1940 – Souleymane Cissé, Malian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1941 – David L. Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma
• 1942 – Laine Kallas, Estonian runner and agronomist
• 1942 – Pierre Lorrain, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
• 1942 – Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand politician, 33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1943 – Alan Fersht, English chemist and academic
• 1944 – Paul Geremia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Adrian Hurley, Australian basketball player and coach
• 1945 – Ian Bruce, English author and academic
• 1945 – Philip Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle, English soldier
• 1945 – Ronnie Tober, Dutch-American singer
• 1945 – Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Indian cricketer and umpire
• 1947 – Robert Black, Scottish serial killer (d. 2016)
• 1947 – Barbara Park, American author (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Iggy Pop, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Stooges and The Trolls)
• 1947 – John Weider, English bass player (Family, The Animals, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, and Stud)
• 1948 – Gary Condit, American businessman and politician
• 1948 – Paul Davis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2008)
• 1948 – Dieter Fromm, German runner
• 1948 – Alan West, Baron West of Spithead, English admiral and politician, Minister for Security
• 1949 – Patti LuPone, American actress and singer
• 1950 – Bruce Duperouzel, Australian footballer and cricketer
• 1950 – Kielo Tommila, Finnish actress
• 1950 – Shivaji Satam, Indian actor
• 1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and producer
• 1951 – Michael Freedman, American mathematician and academic
• 1951 – Bob Varsha, American sportscaster
• 1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1952 – Gerald Early, American author and academic
• 1952 – Cheryl Gillan, Welsh businesswoman and politician, Secretary of State for Wales
• 1953 – Forrest, American-Dutch singer (d. 2013)
• 1953 – Mike Clasper, English businessman
• 1953 – Guy Mongrain, Canadian journalist and game show host
• 1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1954 – James Morrison, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1955 – Murathan Mungan, Turkish author, poet, and playwright
• 1955 – Doug Soetaert, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1956 – Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1956 – Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist
• 1957 – Brutus Beefcake, American wrestler
• 1957 – Hervé Le Tellier, French linguist and author
• 1957 – Jesse Orosco, American baseball player
• 1957 – Herbert Wetterauer, German painter, sculptor, and author
• 1958 – Andie MacDowell, American actress and producer
• 1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese illustrator (d. 2009)
• 1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author
• 1959 – Tim Jacobus, American illustrator and painter
• 1959 – Olga Kuragina, Russian pentathlete
• 1959 – Arno Pijpers, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1959 – Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Glove)
• 1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
• 1960 – Julius Korir, Kenyan runner
• 1961 – Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress and singer
• 1961 – Ronald Florijn, Dutch rower
• 1961 – Carey Hayes, American screenwriter and producer
• 1961 – Chad Hayes, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Neale Marmon, English-German footballer, coach, and manager
• 1961 – David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (d. 2011)
• 1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player and coach
• 1962 – Craig Robinson, American basketball player and coach
• 1962 – Aavo Sarap, Estonian footballer and coach
• 1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
• 1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
• 1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1964 – Alex Baumann, Czech-Canadian swimmer
• 1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-Swedish hurdler
• 1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1965 – Karen Foster, American model and actress
• 1965 – Gary Grant, American basketball player
• 1965 – Thomas Helmer, German footballer
• 1965 – Fiona Kelleghan, American academic, critic and librarian
• 1965 – Oliver McCall, American boxer
• 1965 – Teri Sue Wood, American illustrator
• 1967 – Emilio Valle, Cuban hurdler
• 1968 – Peter van Vossen, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1969 – John Kibowen, Kenyan runner
• 1969 – Robin Meade, American model, singer, and journalist
• 1969 – Toby Stephens, English actor
• 1970 – Jeff Anderson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Frames and The Swell Season)
• 1970 – Rob Riggle, American Marine Corps officer and actor
• 1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress and screenwriter
• 1971 – Anwar al-Awlaki, American-Yemeni terrorist (d. 2011)
• 1971 – Alexander Kravchenko, Russian poker player
• 1971 – Martin Kuuskmann, Estonian bassoon player
• 1971 – Eric Mabius, American actor
• 1971 – Indrek Pertelson, Estonian martial artist
• 1971 – Axl Rotten, American wrestler (d. 2016)
• 1971 – Michael Turner, American author and illustrator (d. 2008)
• 1972 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (d. 2001)
• 1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
• 1973 – Jonathan Nsenga, Belgian hurdler and coach
• 1974 – Maksim Gruznov, Estonian footballer
• 1974 – Orlando Jordan, American wrestler
• 1974 – David Peachey, Australian rugby league player
• 1975 – Danyon Loader, New Zealand swimmer
• 1976 – Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
• 1976 – Petero Civoniceva, Fijian-Australian rugby league player
• 1977 – Doseone, American rapper and producer (Deep Puddle Dynamics, Greenthink, Clouddead, Themselves, Subtle, and 13 & God)
• 1977 – Gyula Koi, Hungarian scholar and educator
• 1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
• 1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
• 1978 – Yuliya Pechonkina, Russian hurdler
• 1978 – Branden Steineckert, American drummer (The Used and Rancid)
• 1979 – Cindy Kurleto, Austrian-Filipino model and actress
• 1979 – Tobias Linderoth, French-Swedish footballer and coach
• 1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
• 1980 – Jeff Keppinger, American baseball player
• 1980 – Hiro Shimono, Japanese voice actor
• 1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
• 1981 – Mads Junker, Danish footballer
• 1982 – Khalif Barnes, American football player
• 1982 – Brianne Davis, American model, actress, and producer
• 1982 – Terrence J, American television host and actor
• 1982 – Micheal Luck, Australian rugby league player
• 1982 – Carnell Williams, American football player
• 1983 – Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
• 1983 – Marco Donadel, Italian footballer
• 1983 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player
• 1984 – Shayna Fox, American voice actress
• 1984 – Michael Tinsley, American hurdler
• 1985 – Andy Jones, American high diver
• 1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
• 1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1986 – Tina Obrez, Slovenian tennis player
• 1986 – Rodney Stuckey, American basketball player
• 1986 – Mirko Valdifiori, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1987 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
• 1987 – Leroy George, Dutch footballer
• 1987 – Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian singer
• 1987 – Lenira Santos, Cape Verdean sprinter
• 1987 – Ryan Adams American baseball player
• 1988 – Robbie Amell, Canadian actor
• 1988 – Jencarlos Canela, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Mia Permanto, Finnish singer and radio host (d. 2008)
• 1988 – Adam Rooney, Irish footballer
• 1988 – Christoph Sanders, American actor
• 1989 – Jayson Bukuya, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
• 1989 – Tatyana McFadden, Russian-American sprinter and skier
• 1989 – Carlos Muñoz, Chilean footballer
• 1990 – Aleksandar Prijović, Swiss footballer
• 1992 – George Burgess, English rugby league player
• 1992 – Tom Burgess, English rugby league player
• 1992 – Isco, Spanish footballer
• 1992 – Rene Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1994 – Mitchell Weiser, German footballer

Deaths[edit]

• 866 – Bardas, Byzantine general
• 941 – Bajkam, Turkish commander
• 1073 – Pope Alexander II
• 1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Italian-English archbishop and saint (b. 1033)
• 1136 – Stephen, Count of Tréguier Breton noblemen (b. c. 1058/62)
• 1142 – Peter Abelard, French philosopher and theologian (b. 1079)
• 1509 – Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
• 1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1495)
• 1574 – Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
• 1699 – Jean Racine, French playwright and poet (b. 1639)
• 1701 – Asano Naganori, Japanese daimyo (b. 1667)
• 1719 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1640)
• 1720 – Antoine Hamilton, Irish-French soldier and author (b. 1646)
• 1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., English-American historian and author (b. 1673)
• 1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy (b. 1663)
• 1740 – Thomas Tickell, English poet and author (b. 1685)
• 1792 – Tiradentes, Brazilian activist (b. 1746)
• 1815 – Joseph Winston, American soldier and politician (b. 1746)
• 1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
• 1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
• 1863 – Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, Irish politician (b. 1782)
• 1868 – Henry James O'Farrell, Australian attempted assassin of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1833)
• 1900 – Vikramatji Khimojiraj, Indian ruler (b. 1819)
• 1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835)
• 1918 – Antonio Pini-Corsi, Italian actor and singer (b. 1858)
• 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (b. 1892)
• 1922 – Alessandro Moreschi, Italian singer (b. 1858)
• 1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
• 1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet and author (b. 1844)
• 1932 – Friedrich Gustav Piffl, Bohemian cardinal (b. 1864)
• 1938 – Muhammad Iqbal, Indian-Pakistani philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
• 1941 – Fritz Manteuffel, German gymnast (b. 1875)
• 1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
• 1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher (b. 1883)
• 1948 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (b. 1887)
• 1952 – Leslie Banks, American actor, director and producer (b. 1890)
• 1956 – Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1895)
• 1963 – Elmar Reimann, Estonian runner (b. 1893)
• 1964 – Bharathidasan, Indian poet and educator (b. 1891)
• 1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
• 1971 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (b. 1907)
• 1971 – Edmund Lowe, American actor (b. 1890)
• 1973 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
• 1973 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1910)
• 1974 – Chic Harley, American football player (b. 1894)
• 1977 – Gummo Marx, American vaudeville performer and agent (b. 1893)
• 1978 – Sandy Denny, English singer-songwriter (Fairport Convention, Strawbs, and Fotheringay) (b. 1947)
• 1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American biologist and academic (b. 1877)
• 1980 – Alexander Oparin, Russian biochemist and academic (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet and painter (b. 1928)
• 1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian-American actor and singer (b. 1902)
• 1984 – Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist (b. 1895)
• 1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian engineer and mountaineer (b. 1943)
• 1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the monokini (b. 1922)
• 1985 – Foster Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian banker and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (b. 1910)
• 1986 – Marjorie Eaton, American painter and actress (b. 1901)
• 1986 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1930)
• 1988 – Stanisław Czabański, Polish murderer (b. 1959)
• 1989 – Princess Deokhye of Korea (b. 1912)
• 1989 – James Kirkwood, Jr., American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1924)
• 1990 – Erté, Russian-French illustrator (b. 1892)
• 1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-born American engineer and racing driver (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen general and politician, 1st President of Ichkeria (b. 1944)
• 1996 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1925)
• 1996 – Jimmy Snyder, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
• 1998 – Jean-François Lyotard, French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Buddy Rogers, American actor (b. 1904)
• 1999 – Tim Forster, English racehorse trainer (b. 1934)
• 2000 – Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (The Jordanaires) (b. 1929)
• 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Gerry Marshall, English race car driver and journalist (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand commander and pilot (b. 1912)
• 2006 – T. K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Purple Hearts, Wild Cherries, and Rose Tattoo) (b. 1941)
• 2010 – Mr. Hito, Japanese wrestler and trainer (b. 1942)
• 2010 – Gustav Lorentzen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Knutsen & Ludvigsen) (b. 1947)
• 2010 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman (b. 1920)
• 2010 – Kanagaratnam Sriskandan, Sri Lankan-English engineer and civil servant (b. 1930)
• 2011 – Catharina Halkes, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Doris Betts, American author and academic (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Charles Colson, American lawyer and activist, founded Prison Fellowship (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Albert Falco, French captain and diver (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Charles Higham, English-American author and poet (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Jerry Toppazzini, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Kriyananda, Romanian-American spiritual leader (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (Divinyls) (b. 1959)
• 2013 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian mathematician and astrologer (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian holocaust survivor, author, and educator (b. 1905)
• 2013 – Gordon D. Gayle, American general and historian (b. 1917)
• 2014 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Janet Gray Hayes, American politician, 60th Mayor of San Jose (b. 1926)
• 2014 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (b. 1930)
• 2015 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (b. 1912)
• 2015 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1959)
• 2015 – John Moshoeu, South African footballer and manager (b. 1965)
• 2015 – Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Indian politician, Governor of Assam (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters, Canadian general (b. 1920)
• 2015 – Betsy von Furstenberg, German-American actress (b. 1931)