EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST. 27/9

• 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
• 1331 – The Battle of Płowce between the Poland and the Teutonic Order is fought.
• 1422 – After the brief Gollub War, the Teutonic Knights sign the Treaty of Melno with Poland and Lithuania
• 1529 – The Siege of Vienna begins when Suleiman I attacks the city.
• 1540 – The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III.
• 1590 – Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the shortest papacy in history.
• 1605 – The armies of Sweden are defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Kircholm.
• 1669 – The Venetians surrender the fortress of Candia to the Ottomans, thus ending the 21-year-long Siege of Candia.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Lancaster, Pennsylvania becomes the capital of the United States for one day after the Second Continental Congress evacuates Philadelphia to evade invading British forces.
• 1791 – The National Assembly votes to award full citizenship to Jews in France.
• 1822 – Jean-François Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta Stone.
• 1825 – The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, is ceremonially opened.
• 1854 – The steamship SS Arctic sinks with 300 people on board.
• 1875 – The merchant sailing ship Ellen Southard is wrecked in a storm at Liverpool.
• 1903 – The Wreck of the Old 97, an American rail disaster that became the subject of a popular ballad.
• 1908 – Production of the Model T automobile begins at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit.
• 1916 – Iyasu V is proclaimed deposed as ruler of Ethiopia in a palace coup in favor of his aunt Zewditu.
• 1922 – King Constantine I of Greece abdicates his throne in favor of his eldest son, George II.
• 1928 – The Republic of China is recognized by the United States.
• 1930 – Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Amateur Championship to complete the grand slam of golf. The old structure of the grand slam was the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, the U.S. Amateur, and the British Amateur.
• 1938 – The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth is launched in Glasgow.
• 1940 – World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Japan and Italy.
• 1941 – The Greek National Liberation Front is established with Georgios Siantos as acting leader.
• 1941 – The SS Patrick Henry is launched, becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships.
• 1942 – Last day of the Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marines barely escape after being surrounded by Japanese forces.
• 1944 – The Kassel Mission results in the largest loss by a USAAF group on any mission in World War II.
• 1949 – Zeng Liansong's design is chosen as the flag of the People's Republic of China.
• 1956 – USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first person to exceed Mach 3. Shortly thereafter, the Bell X-2 goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed.
• 1959 – Typhoon Vera kills nearly 5,000 people in Japan.
• 1962 – The Yemen Arab Republic is established.
• 1962 – Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is published, inspiring an environmental movement and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• 1964 – The British TSR-2 aircraft XR219 makes its maiden flight.
• 1975 – The last use of capital punishment in Spain sees the executions of five members of militant organisations, sparking worldwide protests against the Spanish government and the withdrawal of numerous ambassadors.
• 1983 – Richard Stallman announces the GNU Project to develop a free Unix-like operating system.
• 1988 – The National League for Democracy is formed by Aung San Suu Kyi and various others to help fight against dictatorship in Myanmar.
• 1993 – The Sukhumi massacre takes place in Abkhazia.
• 1996 – The Battle of Kabul ends in a Taliban victory, who establish the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
• 1996 – Confusion on a tanker ship results in the Julie N. oil spill in Portland, Maine.
• 1998 – The Google internet search engine retroactively claims this date as its birthday.
• 2001 – In Switzerland, a gunman shoots 18 citizens, killing 14 and then himself.
• 2003 – The SMART-1 satellite is launched.
• 2007 – NASA launches the Dawn probe to the asteroid belt.
• 2008 – CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk.
• 2012 – A mass shooting takes place in Minneapolis, killing six people, including the gunman who committed suicide, and wounding two others.
• 2014 – The eruption of Mount Ontake in Japan occurs.

• 808 – Ninmyō, Japanese emperor (d. 850)
• 823 – Ermentrude of Orléans (d. 869)
• 1271 – Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (d. 1305)
• 1275 – John II, Duke of Brabant (d. 1312)
• 1300 – Adolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1327)
• 1389 – Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1464)
• 1433 – Stanisław Kazimierczyk, Polish canon regular and saint (d. 1489)
• 1442 – John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (d. 1491)
• 1496 – Hieronymus Łaski, Polish diplomat (d. 1542)
• 1507 – Guillaume Rondelet, French physician (d. 1566)
• 1533 – Stefan Batory, King of Poland (d. 1586)
• 1544 – Takenaka Shigeharu, Japanese samurai (d. 1579)
• 1552 – Flaminio Scala, Italian playwright and stage actor (d. 1624)
• 1598 – Robert Blake, English admiral (d. 1657)
• 1601 – Louis XIII of France (d. 1643)
• 1627 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (d. 1704)
• 1643 – Solomon Stoddard, American pastor and librarian (d. 1729)
• 1657 – Sofia Alekseyevna of Russia (d. 1704)
• 1677 – Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1754)
• 1696 – Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (d. 1787)
• 1719 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician and epigrammatist (d. 1800)
• 1722 – Samuel Adams, American philosopher and politician, 4th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1803)
• 1729 – Michael Denis, Austrian lepidopterist, author, and poet (d. 1800)
• 1739 – Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock, Irish politician (d. 1767)
• 1765 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (d. 1794)
• 1772 – Martha Jefferson Randolph, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who had twelve children (d. 1836)
• 1783 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican royalist turned insurgent; first emperor of Mexico (d. 1824)
• 1803 – Samuel Francis Du Pont, American admiral (d. 1865)
• 1805 – George Müller, German-English evangelist and missionary, founded the Ashley Down Orphanage (d. 1898)
• 1818 – Hermann Kolbe, German chemist and academic (d. 1884)
• 1821 – Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Swiss philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1881)
• 1824 – William "Bull" Nelson, American general (d. 1862)
• 1830 – William Babcock Hazen, American general (d. 1887)
• 1838 – Lawrence Sullivan Ross, American general and politician, 19th Governor of Texas (d. 1898)
• 1840 – Alfred Thayer Mahan, American captain and historian (d. 1914)
• 1840 – Thomas Nast, German-American cartoonist (d. 1902)
• 1842 – Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist and petrographer (d. 1903)
• 1843 – Gaston Tarry, French mathematician and academic (d. 1913)
• 1861 – Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, American poet and author (d. 1933)
• 1864 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak priest and politician (d. 1938)
• 1866 – Eurosia Fabris, Italian saint (d. 1932)
• 1871 – Grazia Deledda, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
• 1879 – Hans Hahn, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1934)
• 1879 – Frederick Schule, American hurdler and coach (d. 1962)
• 1879 – Cyril Scott, English poet and composer (d. 1970)
• 1882 – Dorothy Greenhough-Smith, English figure skater and tennis player (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Harry Blackstone, Sr., American magician (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Charles Benjamin Howard, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1964)
• 1892 – George Bambridge, English diplomat (d. 1943)
• 1894 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1922)
• 1895 – Woolf Barnato, English race car driver and financier (d. 1948)
• 1896 – Gilbert Ashton, English cricketer (d. 1981)
• 1896 – Sam Ervin, American soldier and politician (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (d. 1946)
• 1904 – Edvard Kocbek, Slovenian poet and politician (d. 1981)
• 1905 – Conrad Heidkamp, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
• 1906 – William Empson, English poet and critic (d. 1984)
• 1906 – Jim Thompson, American author and screenwriter (d. 1977)
• 1906 – Sergei Varshavsky, Russian art collector and author (d. 1980)
• 1907 – Bernard Miles, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1911 – Marcey Jacobson, American-Mexican photographer (d. 2009)
• 1913 – Albert Ellis, American psychologist and author (d. 2007)
• 1916 – S. Yizhar, Israeli academic and politician (d. 2006)
• 1917 – Louis Auchincloss, American novelist and essayist (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Carl Ballantine, American magician and actor (d. 2009)
• 1917 – William T. Orr, American actor and producer (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Benjamin Rubin, American microbiologist (d. 2010)
• 1918 – Martin Ryle, English astronomer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1918 – Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd (d. 2001)
• 1919 – Jayne Meadows, Chinese-American actress and author (d. 2015)
• 1919 – Charles H. Percy, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2011)
• 1919 – James H. Wilkinson, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1986)
• 1920 – Tô Hoài, Vietnamese writer (d. 2014)
• 1920 – William Conrad, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1994)
• 1921 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Milton Subotsky, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Amicus Productions (d. 1991)
• 1921 – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Sammy Benskin, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1992)
• 1922 – Arthur Penn, American director and producer (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Ernest Becker, American-Canadian anthropologist, author, and academic (d. 1974)
• 1924 – Bud Powell, American pianist and composer (d. 1966)
• 1924 – Fred Singer, Austrian-American physicist and academic
• 1924 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Robert Edwards, English physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• 1925 – George Gladir, American author (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Chrysostomos I of Cyprus (d. 2007)
• 1927 – Red Rodney, American trumpet player (d. 1994)
• 1927 – Romano Scarpa, Italian author and illustrator (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Sada Thompson, American actress (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Margaret Rule, English archaeologist and historian (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Calvin Jones, American pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Bruno Junk, Estonian race walker (d. 1995)
• 1929 – Barbara Murray, English actress (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Paul Reichmann, Austrian-Canadian businessman, founded Olympia and York (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Freddy Quinn, Austrian singer, guitarist, and actor
• 1932 – Geoff Bent, English footballer (d. 1958)
• 1932 – Michael Colvin, English captain and politician (d. 2000)
• 1932 – Gabriel Loubier, Canadian politician
• 1932 – Oliver E. Williamson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1932 – Marcia Neugebauer, American geophysicist
• 1933 – Rodney Cotterill, Danish-English physicist and neuroscientist (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Paul Goble, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2017)
• 1933 – Greg Morris, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Wilford Brimley, American actor
• 1934 – Claude Jarman, Jr., American actor and producer
• 1934 – Dick Schaap, American sportscaster and author (d. 2001)
• 1935 – Al MacNeil, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1936 – Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (Soul Train) (d. 2012)
• 1936 – Gordon Honeycombe, English actor, playwright, and author (d. 2015)
• 1937 – Vasyl Durdynets, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 8th Prime Minister of Ukraine
• 1938 – Jean-Loup Dabadie, French journalist, songwriter, and screenwriter
• 1939 – Nicholas Haslam, English interior designer and author
• 1939 – Carol Lynn Pearson, American author, poet, and playwright
• 1939 – Kathy Whitworth, American golfer
• 1940 – Josephine Barstow, English soprano and actress
• 1940 – Benoni Beheyt, Belgian cyclist
• 1941 – Peter Bonetti, English footballer and coach
• 1941 – Serge Ménard, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1941 – Don Nix, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
• 1942 – Dith Pran, Cambodian photographer and journalist (d. 2008)
• 1942 – Alvin Stardust, English singer and actor (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta
• 1943 – Randy Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Ian Garnett, English admiral
• 1944 – Gary Sutherland, American baseball player and scout
• 1945 – Jack Goldstein, Canadian-American painter (d. 2003)
• 1945 – Bob Spiers, Scottish-English director and producer (d. 2008)
• 1946 – Nicos Anastasiades, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 7th President of Cyprus
• 1946 – T. C. Cannon, American painter and sculptor (d. 1978)
• 1947 – Dick Advocaat, Dutch football manager and former player
• 1947 – Richard Court, Australian politician, 26th Premier of Western Australia
• 1947 – Barbara Dickson, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1947 – Denis Lawson, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Meat Loaf, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1948 – Tom Braidwood, Canadian actor, director, and producer
• 1948 – Les Chapman, English footballer and manager
• 1948 – Duncan Fletcher, Rhodesian-Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
• 1949 – Graham Richardson, Australian journalist and politician, 39th Australian Minister for Health
• 1949 – Mike Schmidt, American baseball player and coach
• 1949 – Jahn Teigen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese-American actor and martial artist
• 1951 – Paul Craig, English author and academic
• 1951 – Geoff Gallop, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Western Australia
• 1951 – Michel Rivard, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1951 – Jim Shooter, American author and illustrator
• 1951 – David Starobin, American guitarist, producer, and director
• 1951 – Steve Soper, English race car driver
• 1952 – Katie Fforde, English author
• 1952 – Dumitru Prunariu, Romanian pilot, engineer, and astronaut
• 1953 – Diane Abbott, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
• 1953 – Mata Amritanandamayi, Indian guru and saint
• 1953 – Claudio Gentile, Italian footballer and manager
• 1953 – Greg Ham, Australian keyboard player, saxophonist and songwriter (d. 2012)
• 1954 – Ray Hadley, Australian radio host and sportscaster
• 1954 – Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Russian violinist and conductor
• 1954 – Larry Wall, American computer programmer and author
• 1956 – Steve Archibald, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1957 – Bill Athey, English cricketer, footballer, and coach
• 1957 – Peter Sellars, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Shaun Cassidy, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Irvine Welsh, Scottish author and playwright
• 1959 – Beth Heiden, American speed skater and cyclist
• 1960 – Jean-Marc Barr, German-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Andy Lau, Hong Kong actor, singer, and film producer
• 1962 – Gavin Larsen, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
• 1963 – Marc Maron, American comedian, actor, and radio host
• 1964 – Predrag Brzaković, Serbian footballer (d. 2012)
• 1964 – Tracy Camp, American computer scientist and academic
• 1964 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Stephan Jenkins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1965 – Steve Kerr, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1965 – Bernard Lord, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Premier of New Brunswick
• 1965 – Peter MacKay, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Canadian Minister of Justice
• 1965 – Alexis Stewart, American radio and television host
• 1966 – Don Jamieson, American comedian and television host
• 1966 – Debbie Wasserman Schultz, American politician
• 1966 – Stephanie Wilson, American engineer and astronaut
• 1966 – Lorenzo Cherubini, Italian singer-songwriter and rapper
• 1967 – Uche Okechukwu, Nigerian footballer
• 1968 – Mari Kiviniemi, Finnish politician, 41st Prime Minister of Finland
• 1970 – Yoshiharu Habu, Japanese chess player and author
• 1970 – Tamara Taylor, Canadian actress
• 1971 – Horacio Sandoval, Mexican illustrator
• 1972 – Sylvia Crawley, American basketball player and coach
• 1972 – Clara Hughes, Canadian cyclist and speed skater
• 1972 – Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress, blogger, and businesswoman
• 1972 – Craig L. Rice, American politician
• 1973 – Vratislav Lokvenc, Czech footballer
• 1974 – Carrie Brownstein, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
• 1976 – Matt Harding, American video game designer and dancer
• 1976 – Jason Phillips, American baseball player and coach
• 1976 – Francesco Totti, Italian footballer
• 1977 – Andrus Värnik, Estonian javelin thrower
• 1978 – Brad Arnold, American rock singer-songwriter (3 Doors Down)
• 1978 – Jon Rauch, American baseball player
• 1978 – Mihaela Ursuleasa, Romanian pianist (d. 2012)
• 1979 – Jon Garland, American baseball player
• 1979 – Zita Görög, Hungarian actress and model
• 1979 – Christian Jones, Australian race car driver
• 1979 – Steve Simpson, Australian rugby league player
• 1980 – Asashōryū Akinori, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 68th Yokozuna
• 1980 – Ehron VonAllen, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1981 – Sophie Crumb, American author and illustrator
• 1981 – Brendon McCullum, New Zealand cricketer
• 1981 – Lakshmipathy Balaji, Indian cricketer
• 1982 – Jon McLaughlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1982 – Markus Rosenberg, Swedish footballer
• 1982 – Lil Wayne, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1982 – Anna Camp, American actress and singer
• 1982 – Darrent Williams, American football player (d. 2007)
• 1983 – Jeon Hye-bin, South Korean actress and singer
• 1984 – Paul Bevan, Australian footballer
• 1984 – Davide Capello, Italian footballer
• 1984 – John Lannan, American baseball player
• 1984 – Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
• 1984 – Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (d. 2011)
• 1985 – Massimo Bertocchi, Canadian decathlete
• 1985 – Daniel Pudil, Czech footballer
• 1985 – Ibrahim Touré, Ivorian footballer (d. 2014)
• 1986 – Vin Mazzaro, American baseball player
• 1986 – Matt Shoemaker American baseball player
• 1986 – Ricardo Risatti, Argentinian race car driver
• 1987 – Ádám Bogdán, Hungarian footballer
• 1987 – Austin Carlile, American singer-songwriter
• 1987 –  Vanessa James, French figure skater
• 1987 – Olga Puchkova, Russian tennis player
• 1988 – Lisa Ryzih, German pole vaulter
• 1989 – Park Tae-hwan, South Korean swimmer
• 1991 – Ousmane Barry, Guinean footballer
• 1991 – Simona Halep, Romanian tennis player
• 1991 – Anete Paulus, Estonian footballer
• 1991 – Rio Uchida, Japanese model and actress
• 1992 – Lachlan Burr, Australian rugby league player
• 1992 – Luc Castaignos, Dutch footballer
• 1992 – Pak Kwang-ryong, North Korean footballer
• 1992 – Ryan O'Shaughnessy, Irish singer-songwriter and actor
• 1992 – Gabriel Vasconcelos Ferreira, Brazilian footballer
• 1992 – Granit Xhaka, Swiss footballer
• 1993 – Lisandro Magallán, Argentinian footballer
• 1993 – Monica Puig, Puerto Rican-American tennis player
• 1993 – Vinnie Sunseri, American football player
• 1994 – Dylan Walker, Australian rugby league player
• 1998 – Ioana Mincă, Romanian tennis player

• 765 – Pugu Huai'en, Chinese general during the Tang Dynasty
• 936 – Gyeon Hwon, king of Hubaekje (b. 867)
• 1111 – Vekenega, Croatian Benedictine abbess
• 1125 – Richeza of Berg, Duchess of Bohemia (b.c. 1095)
• 1194 – Renaud de Courtenay, Anglo-Norman nobleman (b. 1125)
• 1249 – Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse (b. 1197)
• 1404 – William of Wykeham, English bishop (b. 1320)
• 1536 – Felice della Rovere, illegitimate daughter of Pope Julius II (b. 1483)
• 1612 – Piotr Skarga, Polish Jesuit and polemicist (b. 1536)
• 1637 – Lorenzo Ruiz, Filipino saint (b. c.1600)
• 1657 – Olimpia Maidalchini, Roman noble (b. 1591)
• 1557 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (b. 1497)
• 1590 – Pope Urban VII (b. 1521)
• 1651 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1573)
• 1660 – Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (b. 1581)
• 1674 – Robert Arnauld d'Andilly, French writer (b. 1589)
• 1700 – Pope Innocent XII (b. 1615)
• 1719 – George Smalridge, English bishop (b. 1662)
• 1730 – Laurence Eusden, English poet and author (b. 1688)
• 1735 – Peter Artedi, Swedish ichthyologist and zoologist (b. 1705)
• 1742 – Hugh Boulter, Irish archbishop (b. 1672)
• 1783 – Étienne Bézout, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1730)
• 1832 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher and author (b. 1781)
• 1833 – Ram Mohan Roy, Indian humanitarian and reformer (b. 1772)
• 1838 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1777)
• 1876 – Braxton Bragg, American general (b. 1817)
• 1886 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist and politician (b. 1804)
• 1891 – Ivan Goncharov, Russian author and critic (b. 1812)
• 1898 – Thomas Joseph Byrnes, Australian politician, 12th Premier of Queensland (b. 1860)
• 1911 – Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist and academic (b. 1844)
• 1915 – Remy de Gourmont, French novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1858)
• 1917 – Edgar Degas, French painter and sculptor (b. 1834)
• 1919 – Adelina Patti, Italian-French opera singer (b. 1843)
• 1921 – Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer and educator (b. 1854)
• 1935 – Alan Gray, English composer and organist (b. 1855)
• 1940 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (b. 1892)
• 1940 – Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian physician and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
• 1942 –  Douglas Albert Munro, United States Coast Guard signalman, posthumously awarded Medal of Honor, (b. 1919)
• 1944 – Aimee Semple McPherson, Canadian-American evangelist, founded the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (b. 1890)
• 1956 – Gerald Finzi, English composer and educator (b. 1901)
• 1956 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American basketball player and golfer (b. 1911)
• 1960 – Sylvia Pankhurst, English activist (b. 1882)
• 1960 – Hilda Doolittle. American poet, novelist, and memoirist (b. 1886)
• 1965 – Clara Bow, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1965 – William Stanier, English engineer, co-designed the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (b. 1876)
• 1967 – Felix Yusupov, Russian husband of Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia (b. 1887)
• 1972 – S. R. Ranganathan, Indian mathematician, librarian, and academic (b. 1892)
• 1974 – Silvio Frondizi, Argentinian lawyer and academic (b. 1907)
• 1975 – Jack Lang, Australian lawyer and politician, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1876)
• 1979 – Gracie Fields, English actress and singer (b. 1898)
• 1979 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1953)
• 1981 – Robert Montgomery, American actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1904)
• 1983 – Wilfred Burchett, Australian journalist and author (b. 1911)
• 1984 – Chronis Exarhakos, Greek actor (b. 1932)
• 1985 – Lloyd Nolan, American actor (b. 1902)
• 1986 – Cliff Burton, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1962)
• 1991 – Joe Hulme, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1904)
• 1993 – Jimmy Doolittle, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1896)
• 1993 – Fraser MacPherson, Canadian saxophonist and educator (b. 1928)
• 1996 – Mohammad Najibullah, Afghan physician and politician, 7th President of Afghanistan (b. 1947)
• 1997 – Walter Trampler, American viola player and educator (b. 1915)
• 1998 – Doak Walker, American football player (b. 1927)
• 2003 – Jean Lucas, French race car driver (b. 1927)
• 2003 – Donald O'Connor, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1925)
• 2004 – John E. Mack, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Ronald Golias, Brazilian comedian and actor (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Mary Lee Settle, American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Helmut Kallmeyer, German chemist and soldier (b. 1910)
• 2007 – Dale Houston, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Kenji Nagai, Japanese photographer and journalist (b. 1957)
• 2008 – Henri Pachard, American director and producer (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Ivan Dykhovichny, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1947)
• 2009 – Charles Houston, American physician and mountaineer (b. 1913)
• 2009 – William Safire, American author and journalist (b. 1929)
• 2010 – George Blanda, American football player (b. 1927)
• 2010 – Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Singapore (b. 1955)
• 2010 – Trevor Taylor, English race car driver (b. 1936)
• 2011 – David Croft, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Imre Makovecz, Hungarian architect (b. 1935)
• 2011 – Johnny "Country" Mathis, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Eddie Bert, American trombonist (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Herbert Lom, Czech-English actor (b. 1917)
• 2012 – John Silber, American academic and politician (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Sanjay Surkar, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Frank Wilson, American songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Gates Brown, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
• 2013 – Oscar Castro-Neves, Brazilian-American guitarist, composer, and conductor (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Elvin R. Heiberg III, American general and engineer (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 2013 – A. C. Lyles, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Albert Naughton, English rugby player (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Gaby Aghion, French fashion designer, founded Chloé (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Eugie Foster, American journalist and author (b. 1971)
• 2014 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect and educator, designed Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain Park (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Wally Hergesheimer, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Abdelmajid Lakhal, Tunisian actor and director (b. 1939)
• 2014 – James Traficant, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
• 2015 – Syed Ahmed, Indian author and politician, 16th Governor of Manipur (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Wilton Felder, American saxophonist and bass player (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1915)
• 2015 – Denise Lor, American singer and actress (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Kallen Pokkudan, Indian activist and author (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Frank Tyson, English-Australian cricketer, coach, and journalist (b. 1930)
• 2016 – David Hahn, American Boy Scout famous for attempting to build a nuclear reactor in a shed in his backyard (b. 1976)
• 2017 – Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founder of Playboy Enterprises (b. 1926)