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52 Events 209 Births 99 Deaths
  • 2025 A devastating EF4 tornado kills nineteen people in Southeast Kentucky, hitting the towns of Somerset and London.
  • 2014 Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.
  • 2011 STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
  • 2005 Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
  • 2003 In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
  • 1997 Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
  • 1991 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
  • 1988 A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
  • 1975 Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
  • 1974 Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
  • 1972 An Antonov An-24 crashes into a kindergarten building in Svetlogorsk, killing 35.
  • 1969 Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
  • 1966 The Chinese Communist Party issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
  • 1961 Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
  • 1960 Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
  • 1959 The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
  • 1954 Beginning of the Kengir uprising in the Gulag.
  • 1951 The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
  • 1945 Beginning of the Levant Crisis between Britain and France in Syria. The latter try to quell nationalist protests but backs down after threat of military action by the British.
  • 1943 The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
  • 1943 Operation Chastise is undertaken by RAF Bomber Command with specially equipped Avro Lancasters to destroy the Mohne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley.
  • 1929 In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
  • 1925 The first modern performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria occurred in Paris.
  • 1920 In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
  • 1919 A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
  • 1918 The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
  • 1916 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
  • 1891 The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opened in Frankfurt, Germany, featuring the world's first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).
  • 1888 Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
  • 1877 The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.
  • 1874 A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
  • 1868 The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.
  • 1866 The United States Congress establishes the nickel.
  • 1863 American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, the decisive Union victory by Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Champion Hill drives the Confederate army under John C. Pemberton back towards Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • 1842 The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.
  • 1834 The Battle of Asseiceira is fought; it was the final and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
  • 1832 Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.
  • 1822 Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
  • 1812 Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.
  • 1811 Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom fight an inconclusive battle against the French at the Albuera. It is, in proportion to the numbers involved, the bloodiest battle of the war.
  • 1777 Continental Army officer Lachlan McIntosh fatally wounds Button Gwinnett, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, in a duel in Savannah, Georgia.
  • 1771 The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
  • 1770 The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, Dauphin de France, who later becomes king of France.
  • 1739 The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.
  • 1584 Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.
  • 1568 Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
  • 1532 Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
  • 1527 The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
  • 1426 Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes King of Ava.
  • 1364 Hundred Years' War: Bertrand du Guesclin and a French army defeat the Anglo-Navarrese army of Charles the Bad at Cocherel.
  • 1204 Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
  • 946 Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
  • 2002 Ryan Gravenberch, Dutch footballer
  • 2000 Luis Garcia, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1996 Louisa Chirico, American tennis player
  • 1995 Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
  • 1994 Kathinka von Deichmann, Liechtenstein tennis player
  • 1993 Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete
  • 1993 Karol Mets, Estonian footballer
  • 1993 IU, Korean singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1992 Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 Kirstin Maldonado, American singer and songwriter
  • 1991 Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player
  • 1991 Joey Graceffa, American internet celebrity
  • 1991 Ashley Wagner, American figure skater
  • 1990 Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player
  • 1990 Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor
  • 1990 Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter
  • 1990 Omar Strong, American basketball player
  • 1989 Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model
  • 1988 Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1988 Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player
  • 1987 Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver
  • 1986 Megan Fox, American actress
  • 1986 Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
  • 1986 Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect
  • 1985 Anja Mittag, German footballer
  • 1985 Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer
  • 1985 Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer
  • 1984 Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1984 Jensen Lewis, American baseball player
  • 1984 Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2011)
  • 1983 Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
  • 1983 Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
  • 1981 Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer
  • 1980 Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
  • 1979 Michael Oberlechner, Austrian politician
  • 1978 Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer
  • 1978 Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1977 Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
  • 1977 Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter
  • 1976 Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
  • 1975 Tony Kakko, Finnish musician, composer, and vocalist
  • 1975 Simon Whitfield, Canadian triathlete
  • 1974 Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and rapper
  • 1973 Tori Spelling, American actress, reality television personality, and author
  • 1972 Christian Califano, French rugby player
  • 1972 Matthew Hart, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1971 Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1971 Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1970 Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1970 Danielle Spencer, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1969 David Boreanaz, American actor
  • 1969 Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
  • 1969 Steve Lewis, American sprinter
  • 1968 Ralph Tresvant, American singer and producer
  • 1967 Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach
  • 1967 Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician
  • 1966 Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter actress
  • 1966 Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1966 Thurman Thomas, American football player
  • 1965 Krist Novoselic, American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist
  • 1965 Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic
  • 1964 John Salley, American basketball player and actor
  • 1964 Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist
  • 1964 Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1963 Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
  • 1963 David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic
  • 1962 Helga Radtke, German long jumper
  • 1961 Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
  • 1961 Charles Wright, American wrestler
  • 1960 Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
  • 1960 Bruce Norris, playwright
  • 1960 S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (died 1998)
  • 1959 Mitch Webster, American baseball player
  • 1959 Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter
  • 1957 Joan Benoit, American runner
  • 1957 Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician
  • 1957 Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman
  • 1957 Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (died 2014)
  • 1956 Loretta Schrijver, Dutch television host, news anchor (died 2025)
  • 1955 Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
  • 1955 Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1955 Hazel O'Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1955 Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (died 2012)
  • 1955 Debra Winger, American actress
  • 1954 Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut
  • 1953 Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer
  • 1953 Peter Onorati, American actor
  • 1953 Richard Page, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1953 Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (died 2015)
  • 1953 David Maclean, Scottish politician
  • 1953 Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic
  • 1951 Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
  • 1951 Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian
  • 1950 Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1950 Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2004)
  • 1950 Bruce Coville, American author
  • 1949 Rick Reuschel, American baseball player
  • 1948 Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer
  • 1948 Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author
  • 1948 Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer
  • 1948 Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician (died 2017)
  • 1948 Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic
  • 1948 Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist
  • 1947 Cheryl Clarke, American writer
  • 1947 Darrell Sweet, Scottish drummer (died 1999)
  • 1947 Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (died 2011)
  • 1946 John Law, English sociologist and academic
  • 1946 Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer
  • 1944 Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader
  • 1944 Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer
  • 1944 Friedrich Schorlemmer, German Protestant theologian (died 2024)
  • 1944 Danny Trejo, American actor
  • 1943 Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
  • 1943 Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
  • 1943 Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist (died 2024)
  • 1942 David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge (died 2015)
  • 1941 Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
  • 1939 Mario Segni, Italian professor and politician
  • 1938 Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (died 2012)
  • 1938 Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1938 Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist (died 2018)
  • 1937 Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (died 2015)
  • 1936 Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (died 2018)
  • 1935 Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1934 Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author
  • 1934 Antony Walker, English general (died 2023)
  • 1931 Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (died 2014)
  • 1931 Hana Brady, Jewish-Czech Holocaust victim (died 1944)
  • 1931 Lowell P. Weicker Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut (died 2023)
  • 1930 Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (died 2000)
  • 1929 Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (died 1998)
  • 1929 John Conyers, American lawyer and politician (died 2019)
  • 1929 Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician
  • 1929 Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (died 2012)
  • 1929 K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (died 2024)
  • 1928 Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (died 1989)
  • 1926 Glen Michael, British television presenter and entertainer (died 2025)
  • 1925 Nancy Roman, American astronomer (died 2018)
  • 1925 Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (died 2012)
  • 1925 Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (died 2013)
  • 1924 Barbara Bachmann, American microbiologist (died 1999)
  • 1924 Dawda Jawara, 1st President of the Gambia (died 2019)
  • 1923 Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (died 2000)
  • 1923 Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000)
  • 1923 Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (died 2014)
  • 1921 Harry Carey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2012)
  • 1920 Martine Carol, French actress (died 1967)
  • 1919 Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (died 1987)
  • 1919 Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (died 2004)
  • 1918 Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (died 2000)
  • 1917 Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (died 2015)
  • 1917 James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (died 1999)
  • 1917 Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (died 1986)
  • 1916 Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (died 2009)
  • 1915 Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2010)
  • 1914 Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (died 2009)
  • 1913 Gordon Chalk, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Queensland (died 1991)
  • 1913 Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (died 1987)
  • 1912 Studs Terkel, American historian and author (died 2008)
  • 1910 Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (died 1975)
  • 1910 Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (died 2014)
  • 1909 Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (died 1960)
  • 1909 Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (died 1997)
  • 1907 Bob Tisdall, Irish hurdler (died 2004)
  • 1906 Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (died 1991)
  • 1906 Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (died 1988)
  • 1906 Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (died 2001)
  • 1906 Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (died 1996)
  • 1905 Henry Fonda, American actor (died 1982)
  • 1903 Charles F. Brannock, American inventor and manufacturer (died 1992)
  • 1898 Tamara de Lempicka – Polish-American painter (died 1980)
  • 1898 Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (died 1993)
  • 1898 Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (died 1956)
  • 1897 Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (died 1994)
  • 1894 Walter Yust, American journalist and writer (died 1960)
  • 1892 Osgood Perkins (actor, born 1892), American actor (died 1937)
  • 1890 Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (died 1975)
  • 1888 Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (died 1971)
  • 1887 Maria Lacerda de Moura, Brazilian teacher and anarcha-feminist (died 1945)
  • 1883 Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (died 1986)
  • 1882 Simeon Price, American golfer (died 1945)
  • 1879 Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (died 1962)
  • 1876 Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (died 1948)
  • 1862 Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (died 1940)
  • 1859 Horace Hutchinson, English golfer (died 1932)
  • 1831 David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (died 1900)
  • 1827 Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (died 1921)
  • 1824 Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (died 1920)
  • 1824 Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (died 1893)
  • 1821 Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (died 1894)
  • 1819 Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (died 1890)
  • 1804 Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator who founded the first U.S. kindergarten (died 1894)
  • 1801 William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (died 1872)
  • 1788 Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (died 1866)
  • 1763 Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (died 1829)
  • 1718 Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (died 1799)
  • 1710 William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (died 1782)
  • 1641 Dudley North, English economist and politician (died 1691)
  • 1611 Pope Innocent XI (died 1689)
  • 1606 John Bulwer, British doctor (died 1656)
  • 1542 Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (died 1580)
  • 1455 Wolfgang I of Oettingen, German count (died 1522)
  • 1418 John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable; (died 1458)
  • 2025 Domingos Maubere, East Timorese Catholic priest and activist (born 1952)
  • 2024 Dabney Coleman, American actor (born 1932)
  • 2024 Eddie Gossage, American public speaker and businessman (born 1958)
  • 2023 Norm Green, American long-distance runner (born 1932)
  • 2021 Bruno Covas, Brazilian lawyer, politician (born 1980)
  • 2019 Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (born 1937)
  • 2019 Bob Hawke, Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (born 1929)
  • 2019 I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (born 1917)
  • 2015 Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (born 1973)
  • 2015 Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (born 1935)
  • 2015 Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (born 1928)
  • 2014 Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (born 1933)
  • 2014 Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (born 1932)
  • 2014 Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (born 1943)
  • 2014 Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (born 1928)
  • 2013 Angelo Errichetti, American politician (born 1928)
  • 2013 Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (born 1957)
  • 2013 Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (born 1948)
  • 2013 Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1933)
  • 2013 Paul Shane, British actor and comedian (born 1940)
  • 2013 Dick Trickle, American race car driver (born 1941)
  • 2013 Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (born 1921)
  • 2012 Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (born 1952)
  • 2012 James Abdnor, American soldier and politician (born 1923)
  • 2012 Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1936)
  • 2012 Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (born 1940)
  • 2012 Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (born 1956)
  • 2011 Ralph Barker, English author (born 1917)
  • 2011 Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (born 1928)
  • 2011 Edward Hardwicke, English actor (born 1932)
  • 2011 Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (born 1934)
  • 2010 Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1942)
  • 2010 Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (born 1918)
  • 2008 Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (born 1913)
  • 2005 Andrew Goodpaster, American general (born 1915)
  • 2003 Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (born 1930)
  • 2002 Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (born 1899)
  • 1997 Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (born 1903)
  • 1996 Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (born 1939)
  • 1994 Alain Cuny, French actor (born 1908)
  • 1993 Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1938)
  • 1990 Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (born 1925)
  • 1990 Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, creator of The Muppets (born 1936)
  • 1989 Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (born 1939)
  • 1985 Margaret Hamilton, American actress (born 1902)
  • 1984 Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (born 1949)
  • 1984 Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (born 1913)
  • 1981 Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (born 1922)
  • 1981 Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (born 1905)
  • 1979 A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (born 1889)
  • 1977 Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (born 1915)
  • 1961 George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (born 1881)
  • 1957 Eliot Ness, American federal agent (born 1903)
  • 1956 H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (born 1876)
  • 1955 James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(born 1909)
  • 1955 Manny Ayulo, American race car driver (born 1921)
  • 1954 Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (born 1893)
  • 1953 Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (born 1910)
  • 1947 Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1861)
  • 1947 Kalle Hakala, Finnish politician (born 1880)
  • 1947 Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (born 1903)
  • 1946 Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (born 1890)
  • 1944 George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (born 1866)
  • 1944 Filip Mișea, Aromanian activist, physician and politician (born 1873)
  • 1943 Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (born 1865)
  • 1943 Nigger, black labrador retriever belonging to Wing Commander Guy Gibson of the Royal Air Force, and the mascot of No. 617 Squadron.
  • 1938 Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (born 1870)
  • 1936 Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (born 1860)
  • 1926 Mehmed VI, the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (born 1861)
  • 1920 Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (born 1824)
  • 1913 Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (born 1849)
  • 1910 Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (born 1856)
  • 1891 Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (born 1821)
  • 1890 Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (born 1843)
  • 1882 Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (born 1799)
  • 1862 Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (born 1796)
  • 1861 Charles Darwin – British priest, geologist and doctoral advisor to Charles Darwin (born 1796)
  • 1830 Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (born 1768)
  • 1823 Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (born c. 1754)
  • 1818 Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (born 1775)
  • 1790 Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (born 1720)
  • 1778 Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (born 1718)
  • 1703 Charles Perrault, French author and academic (born 1628)
  • 1696 Mariana of Austria, Queen consort of Spain (born 1634)
  • 1691 Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (born 1640)
  • 1669 Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (born 1596)
  • 1667 Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (born 1607)
  • 1657 Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (born 1591)
  • 1620 William Adams, English sailor and navigator (born 1564)
  • 1561 Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (born 1488)
  • 1412 Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (born 1388)
  • 1375 Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, officer, statesman and poet (born 1311)
  • 1265 Simon Stock, English-French saint (born 1165)
  • 1182 John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (born 1132)
  • 1115 Lambert of Arras, Flemish bishop
  • 995 Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (born 953)
  • 934 Meng Hanqiong, eunuch official of Later Tang
  • 895 Qian Kuan, Chinese nobleman
  • 290 Emperor Wu of Jin, Chinese emperor (born 236)