ΕVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST

[edit]

• 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) in the battle of Thapsus.
• 402 – Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
• 1199 – King Richard I of England dies from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder.
• 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
• 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
• 1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
• 1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, is made king John I of Portugal.
• 1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
• 1580 – One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
• 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
• 1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
• 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) founds the Chakri dynasty.
• 1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
• 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America's first millionaire.
• 1812 – British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.
• 1814 – Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
• 1830 – Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
• 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison's death.
• 1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.
• 1861 – First performance of Arthur Sullivan's debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor's Creek: Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
• 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.
• 1869 – Celluloid is patented.
• 1888 – Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to the State of South Carolina to establish Clemson Agricultural College.
• 1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
• 1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
• 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
• 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole.
• 1911 – During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).
• 1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson's address to Congress).
• 1919 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi orders a general strike.
• 1926 – Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
• 1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
• 1930 – Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire," beginning the Salt Satyagraha.
• 1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
• 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
• 1945 – World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
• 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Slater's Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
• 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
• 1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
• 1962 – Leonard Bernstein causes controversy with his remarks from the podium during a New York Philharmonic concert featuring Glenn Gould performing Brahms' First Piano Concerto.
• 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
• 1965 – The British Government announces the cancellation of the TSR-2 aircraft project.
• 1968 – In Richmond, Indiana's downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
• 1968 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Leadership Election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon after.
• 1970 – Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
• 1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
• 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
• 1974 – The Swedish pop band ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo", launching their international career.
• 1979 – Student protests break out in Nepal.
• 1984 – Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
• 1992 – The Bosnian War begins.
• 1994 – The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
• 1998 – Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
• 1998 – Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.
• 2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
• 2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
• 2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
• 2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
• 2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
• 2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
• 2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.

Births[edit]

• 1135 – Maimonides (March 30 also proposed, d. 1204)
• 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
• 1492 – Maud Green, English noble (d. 1531)
• 1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria (d. 1649)
• 1651 – André Dacier, French scholar and academic (d. 1722)
• 1660 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (d. 1722)
• 1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician, Governor of Västerbotten County (d. 1742)
• 1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (d. 1741)
• 1672 – André Cardinal Destouches, French composer (d. 1749)
• 1706 – Louis de Cahusac, French playwright and composer (d. 1759)
• 1708 – Johann Georg Reutter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1772)
• 1725 – Pasquale Paoli, French soldier and politician (d. 1807)
• 1726 – Gerard Majella, Italian saint (d. 1755)
• 1741 – Nicolas Chamfort, French author and playwright (d. 1794)
• 1766 – Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and educator (d. 1853)
• 1773 – James Mill, Scottish historian, economist, and philosopher (d. 1836)
• 1810 – Philip Henry Gosse, English biologist and academic (d. 1888)
• 1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (d. 1870)
• 1815 – Robert Volkmann, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1883)
• 1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian journalist and poet (d. 1870)
• 1820 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (d. 1910)
• 1823 – Joseph Medill, Canadian-American publisher and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
• 1824 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
• 1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (d. 1898)
• 1844 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1913)
• 1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
• 1852 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (d. 1921)
• 1855 – Charles Huot, Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
• 1857 – Arthur Wesley Dow, American painter and photographer (d. 1922)
• 1860 – René Lalique, French sculptor and jewellery designer (d. 1945)
• 1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French poet and author (d. 1897)
• 1864 – William Bate Hardy, English biologist and academic (d. 1934)
• 1866 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (d. 1931)
• 1869 – Levon Shant, Armenian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1951)
• 1878 – Erich Mühsam, Jewish-German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1934)
• 1881 – Karl Staaf, Swedish pole vaulter and hammer thrower (d. 1953)
• 1884 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (d. 1927)
• 1886 – Athenagoras I of Constantinople (d. 1972)
• 1886 – Walter Dandy, American physician and neurosurgeon (d. 1946)
• 1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, Indian ruler (d. 1967)
• 1888 – Hans Richter, Swiss painter, illustrator, and director (d. 1976)
• 1888 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (d. 1967)
• 1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch engineer and businessman, founded Fokker Aircraft Manufacturer (d. 1939)
• 1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (d. 1981)
• 1892 – Lowell Thomas, American journalist and author (d. 1981)
• 1894 – Gertrude Baines, African-American super-centenarian (d. 2009)
• 1895 – Dudley Nichols, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1960)
• 1898 – Jeanne Hébuterne, French painter and author (d. 1920)
• 1900 – Leo Robin, American composer and songwriter (d. 1984)
• 1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist (d. 1925)
• 1902 – Julien Torma, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
• 1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (d. 1962)
• 1903 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
• 1904 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer and politician, 3rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1988)
• 1904 – Erwin Komenda, Austrian car designer and engineer (d. 1966)
• 1908 – Marcel-Marie Desmarais, Canadian preacher, missionary, and author (d. 1994)
• 1909 – William M. Branham, American minister and theologian (d. 1965)
• 1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
• 1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
• 1913 – Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune, American geographer and academic (d. 1993)
• 1915 – Tadeusz Kantor, Polish director, painter, and set designer (d. 1990)
• 1916 – Phil Leeds, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Vincent Ellis McKelvey, American geologist and author (d. 1987)
• 1917 – Leonora Carrington, English-Mexican painter and author (d. 2011)
• 1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (d. 1982)
• 1919 – Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician, 11th Greek Minister of Culture (d. 1998)
• 1920 – Jack Cover, American pilot and physicist, invented the Taser gun (d. 2009)
• 1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Chinese-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1921 – Wilbur Thompson, American shot putter (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Gordon Chater, English-Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Herb Thomas, American race car driver (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American singer and actor (d. 1990)
• 1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical minister and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer
• 1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1996)
• 1928 – James Watson, American biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1929 – Willis Hall, English playwright and author (d. 2005)
• 1929 – Joi Lansing, American model, actress and nightclub singer (d. 1972)
• 1929 – André Previn, American pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1931 – Ram Dass, American author and educator
• 1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Connie Broden, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
• 1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor and director (d. 2004)
• 1933 – Roy Goode, English lawyer and academic
• 1933 – Tom C. Korologos, American journalist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Belgium
• 1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Kauai (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist and wrestler (d. 2010)
• 1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian painter, illustrator, and photographer (d. 2008)
• 1935 – Douglas Hill, Canadian author and critic (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli painter and illustrator
• 1936 – Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist, biologist, and academic
• 1937 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
• 1937 – Tom Veivers, Australian cricketer and politician
• 1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor, singer, and writer
• 1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician and television host (d. 2016)
• 1938 – Roy Thinnes, American actor
• 1939 – André Ouellet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1939 – John Sculley, American businessman, co-founded Zeta Interactive
• 1940 – Homero Aridjis, Mexican journalist, author, and poet
• 1940 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican-American actor and producer (d. 2011)
• 1941 – Christopher Allsopp, English economist and academic
• 1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
• 1941 – Hans W. Geißendörfer, German director and producer
• 1941 – Don Prudhomme, American race car driver and manager
• 1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian flute player and composer
• 1942 – Barry Levinson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1943 – Max Clifford, English journalist and publicist
• 1943 – Roger Cook, New Zealand-English journalist and academic
• 1943 – Ian MacRae, New Zealand rugby player
• 1943 – Mitchell Melton, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-English model, actress, and fashion designer
• 1944 – Felicity Palmer, English operatic soprano
• 1945 – Rodney Bickerstaffe, English trade union leader
• 1945 – Peter Hill, English journalist
• 1946 – Paul Beresford, New Zealand-English dentist and politician
• 1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and director
• 1947 – André Weinfeld, French-American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Mike Worboys, English mathematician and computer scientist
• 1949 – Alyson Bailes, English academic and diplomat (d. 2016)
• 1949 – Patrick Hernandez, French singer-songwriter
• 1949 – Ng Ser Miang, Singaporean athlete, entrepreneur and diplomat
• 1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1950 – Claire Morissette, Canadian cycling activist (d. 2007)
• 1950 – Cleo Odzer, Jewish-American anthropologist and author (d. 2001)
• 1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1951 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French skier, mountaineer, and pilot (d. 1990)
• 1951 – Pascal Rogé, French pianist
• 1951 – Phil Schaap, American jazz disc jockey and historian
• 1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer-songwriter
• 1952 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress and author
• 1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 1992)
• 1953 – Patrick Doyle, Scottish actor and composer
• 1953 – Christopher Franke, German-American drummer and songwriter
• 1955 – Rob Epstein, American director and producer
• 1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor, director, and producer
• 1955 – Cathy Jones, Canadian actress, comedian, and writer
• 1956 – Michele Bachmann, American lawyer and politician
• 1956 – Normand Corbeil, Canadian composer (d. 2013)
• 1956 – Mudassar Nazar, Pakistani cricketer
• 1956 – Lee Scott, English politician
• 1956 – Sebastian Spreng, Argentinian-American painter and journalist
• 1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1957 – Giorgio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
• 1957 – Maurizio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
• 1957 – Jaroslava Maxová, Czech soprano and educator
• 1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian soldier, engineer, and astronaut
• 1958 – Graeme Base, Australian author and illustrator
• 1959 – Gail Shea, Canadian politician
• 1960 – Warren Haynes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1960 – Richard Loe, New Zealand rugby player
• 1960 – John Pizzarelli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1961 – Rory Bremner, Scottish actor and screenwriter
• 1961 – Peter Jackson, English footballer and manager
• 1962 – Iris Häussler, German sculptor and academic
• 1962 – Marco Schällibaum, Swiss footballer, coach, and manager
• 1963 – Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian economist and politician, 54th President of Ecuador
• 1963 – Derrick May, American electronic musician
• 1964 – Phil Gayle, English journalist
• 1965 – Black Francis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
• 1966 – Vince Flynn, American author (d. 2013)
• 1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean-American director and producer
• 1967 – Julian Anderson, English composer and educator
• 1967 – Kathleen Barr, Canadian voice actress and singer
• 1967 – Tanya Byron, English psychologist and academic
• 1967 – Jonathan Firth, English actor
• 1968 – Archon Fung, American political scientist, author, and academic
• 1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian race car driver
• 1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player and manager
• 1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (d. 2002)
• 1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian race car driver
• 1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor
• 1969 – Spencer Wells, American geneticist and anthropologist
• 1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-German ice hockey player and coach
• 1970 – Roy Mayorga, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
• 1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
• 1971 – Lou Merloni, American baseball player and radio host
• 1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter
• 1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player
• 1973 – Randall Godfrey, American football player
• 1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese model and actress
• 1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
• 1975 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1975 – Hal Gill, American ice hockey player
• 1976 – Candace Cameron Bure, American actress and talk show panelist
• 1976 – James Fox, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1976 – Chris Hoke, American football player
• 1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic bass player
• 1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese author and educator
• 1977 – Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player and coach
• 1978 – Imani Coppola, American singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
• 1978 – Myleene Klass, English singer, pianist, and model
• 1978 – Martín Méndez, Uruguayan bass player and songwriter
• 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player
• 1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer
• 1979 – Lord Frederick Windsor, English journalist and financier
• 1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper
• 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
• 1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player
• 1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player
• 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer
• 1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
• 1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
• 1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1983 – James Wade, English darts player
• 1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer
• 1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer
• 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer
• 1985 – Sinqua Walls, American basketball player and actor
• 1986 – Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer
• 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player
• 1986 – Goeido Gotaro, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1986 – Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer
• 1987 – Benjamin Corgnet, French footballer
• 1987 – Heidi Mount, American model
• 1987 – Juan Adriel Ochoa, Mexican footballer
• 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer
• 1987 – Hilary Rhoda, American model
• 1988 – Jucilei, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian footballer
• 1988 – Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Carlton Mitchell, American football player
• 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Congolese-English footballer
• 1988 – Ivonne Orsini, Puerto Rican-American model and television host, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008
• 1989 – Rigard van Klooster, Dutch cyclist and speed skater
• 1990 – Lachlan Coote, Australian rugby league player
• 1990 – Charlie McDermott, American actor
• 1990 – Andrei Veis, Estonian footballer
• 1994 – Adrián Alonso, Mexican actor
• 1995 – Darya Lebesheva, Belarusian tennis player

Deaths[edit]

• 861 – Prudentius, bishop of Troyes
• 885 – Saint Methodius, Byzantine missionary and saint (b. 815)
• 887 – Pei Che, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• 1147 – Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
• 1199 – Richard I of England (b. 1157)
• 1231 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
• 1250 – Guillaume de Sonnac, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
• 1252 – Saint Peter of Verona
• 1340 – Basil of Trebizond
• 1362 – James I, Count of La Marche (b. 1319)
• 1490 – Matthias Corvinus, Romanian-Hungarian husband of Beatrice of Naples (b. 1443)
• 1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
• 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (b. 1471)
• 1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss scholar and politician (b. 1484)
• 1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish archbishop and academic (b. 1512)
• 1590 – Francis Walsingham, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1532)
• 1605 – John Stow, English historian and author (b. 1525)
• 1655 – David Blondel, French minister, historian, and scholar (b. 1591)
• 1676 – John Winthrop the Younger, English politician, 1st Governor of Connecticut (b. 1606)
• 1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (b. 1614)
• 1707 – Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch-English painter (b. 1633)
• 1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (b. 1690)
• 1790 – Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
• 1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Ukrainian-Russian painter and educator (b. 1757)
• 1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (b. 1802)
• 1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek philosopher and scholar (b. 1748)
• 1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian poet, academic, and politician (b. 1763)
• 1860 – James Kirke Paulding, American author and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1778)
• 1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (b. 1803)
• 1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801)
• 1886 – William Edward Forster, English businessman, philanthropist, and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1818)
• 1899 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809)
• 1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician, 6th County Governor of Møre og Romsdal (b. 1849)
• 1913 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (b. 1835)
• 1927 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (b. 1850)
• 1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (b. 1869)
• 1944 – Rose O'Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (b. 1874)
• 1947 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (b. 1896)
• 1950 – Louis Wilkins, American pole vaulter (b. 1882)
• 1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet and author (b. 1905)
• 1959 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1895)
• 1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
• 1963 – Otto Struve, Ukrainian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Sam Sheppard, American wrestler and physician (b. 1923)
• 1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
• 1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882)
• 1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
• 1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (b. 1889)
• 1979 – Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect, designed the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (b. 1893)
• 1983 – Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Indian General who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949. (b. 1908)
• 1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920)
• 1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan banker and politician, 3rd President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
• 1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (b. 1955)
• 1995 – Ioannis Alevras, Greek banker and politician, President of Greece (b. 1912)
• 1996 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (b. 1904)
• 1998 – Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (b. 1958)
• 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
• 1999 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (b. 1908)
• 2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician, 1st President of Tunisia (b. 1903)
• 2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer-songwriter (Charles & Eddie) (b. 1963)
• 2003 – David Bloom, American journalist (b. 1963)
• 2003 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist, founded Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (b. 1949)
• 2003 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, and activist (b. 1927)
• 2004 – Lou Berberet, American baseball player (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
• 2006 – Maggie Dixon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1977)
• 2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, American soldier and diplomat (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Stefanos Stratigos, Greek actor and director (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and producer (b. 1916)
• 2009 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1919)
• 2009 – Shawn Mackay, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1982)
• 2010 – Wilma Mankiller, American tribal leader (b. 1945)
• 2010 – Corin Redgrave, English actor (b. 1939)
• 2011 – Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Roland Guilbault, American admiral (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter and illustrator (b. 1958)
• 2012 – Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist and academic (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Sheila Scotter, Australian fashion designer and journalist (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Reed Whittemore, American poet and critic (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Hilda Bynoe, Grenadian physician and politician, 2nd Governor of Grenada (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Bill Guttridge, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Bigas Luna, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1946)
• 2013 – Ottmar Schreiner, German lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Mary Anderson, American actress (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Liv Dommersnes, Norwegian actress (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Mickey Rooney, American soldier, actor, and dancer (b. 1920)
• 2014 – Chuck Stone, American soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Massimo Tamburini, Italian motorcycle designer, co-founded Bimota (b. 1943)
• 2015 – Giovanni Berlinguer, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
• 2015 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1918)
• 2015 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
• 2016 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)