On This Day: May 18 - Historical Events, Births & Deaths

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59 Events 218 Births 104 Deaths

2019 United States presidential election: Joe Biden launches his presidential campaign. ↗
2018 A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills ten people. ↗
2018 Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes in Santiago de las Vegas after takeoff from José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, killing 112 of the 113 people on board. ↗
2015 At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar. ↗
2009 The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides. ↗
2006 The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country. ↗
2005 A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra. ↗
1994 Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern. ↗
1993 Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators. ↗
1991 Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland. ↗
1990 In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph). ↗
1980 Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. ↗
1980 Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. ↗
1977 Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. ↗
1974 Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so. ↗
1973 Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker's bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board. ↗
1972 During approach to Kharkiv International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 1491 crashes near Ruska Lozova, killing all 112 aboard. ↗
1969 Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched. ↗
1965 Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria. ↗
1955 Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends. ↗
1953 Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier. ↗
1948 The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking. ↗
1944 World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino. ↗
1944 Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union. ↗
1933 New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority. ↗
1927 The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Bath Township, Michigan. ↗
1927 After being founded for 20 years, the Nationalist government approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China. ↗
1926 Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California. ↗
1922 Seamus Woods leads an Irish Republican Army attack on the headquarters of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Belfast. ↗
1917 World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription. ↗
1912 The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai. ↗
1900 The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga. ↗
1896 The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional. ↗
1896 Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people. ↗
1863 American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant begin the Siege of Vicksburg during the Vicksburg campaign in order to take full control of the Mississippi River. ↗
1860 United States presidential election: Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State. ↗
1848 Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany. ↗
1843 The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland. ↗
1812 John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. ↗
1811 Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas. ↗
1804 Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate. ↗
1803 Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France. ↗
1794 Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. ↗
1783 First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States. ↗
1756 The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France. ↗
1695 The 1695 Linfen earthquake in Shannxi, Qing dynasty causes extreme damage and kills at least 52,000 people. ↗
1652 Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced. ↗
1631 In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts. ↗
1593 Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. ↗
1565 The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta. ↗
1499 Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela. ↗
1388 During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu leads a Ming army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Tögüs Temür, the Khan of Northern Yuan. ↗
1302 Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia. ↗
1291 Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land. ↗
1268 The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch. ↗
1152 The future Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed King Stephen of England. ↗
1096 First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany. ↗
872 Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I. ↗
332 Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. ↗

2009 Hala Finley, American actress ↗
2003 Travis Hunter, American football player ↗
2002 Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater ↗
2001 Emma Navarro, American tennis player ↗
2000 Ryan Sessegnon, English footballer ↗
2000 Steven Sessegnon, English footballer ↗
1999 Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter ↗
1998 Polina Edmunds, American figure skater ↗
1993 Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1993 Jessica Watson, Australian sailor ↗
1992 Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model ↗
1990 Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer ↗
1990 Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer ↗
1990 Josh Starling, Australian rugby league player ↗
1988 Taeyang, South Korean singer ↗
1986 Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player ↗
1985 Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter ↗
1985 Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer ↗
1984 Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter ↗
1984 Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver ↗
1984 Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player ↗
1984 Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player ↗
1984 Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist ↗
1983 Gary O'Neil, English footballer ↗
1983 Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player ↗
1983 Vince Young, American football player ↗
1982 Jason Brown, English footballer ↗
1982 Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player ↗
1981 Mahamadou Diarra, Malian international footballer ↗
1981 Ashley Harrison, Australian rugby league player ↗
1980 Reggie Evans, American basketball player ↗
1980 Michaël Llodra, French tennis player ↗
1980 Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer ↗
1979 Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft ↗
1979 Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer ↗
1979 Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist ↗
1979 Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer ↗
1979 Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer ↗
1978 Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer ↗
1978 Marcus Giles, American baseball player ↗
1978 Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner ↗
1977 Lee Hendrie, English footballer ↗
1977 Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster ↗
1977 Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager ↗
1976 Ron Mercer, American basketball player ↗
1976 Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer ↗
1976 Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player ↗
1975 Jem, Welsh singer-songwriter and producer ↗
1975 John Higgins, Scottish snooker player ↗
1975 Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1975 Ingvild Kjerkol, Norwegian politician ↗
1974 Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster ↗
1973 Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach ↗
1973 Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (died 2011) ↗
1972 Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach ↗
1971 Brad Friedel, American international soccer player, manager and sportscaster ↗
1971 Mark Menzies, Scottish politician ↗
1971 Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver ↗
1970 Javier Cárdenas, Spanish singer, television and radio presenter ↗
1970 Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter ↗
1970 Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster ↗
1970 Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer ↗
1970 Vicky Sunohara, Canadian former ice hockey player ↗
1969 Troy Cassar-Daley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1969 Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress ↗
1969 Antônio Carlos Zago, Brazilian footballer and manager ↗
1968 Philippe Benetton, French rugby player ↗
1968 Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver ↗
1967 Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author ↗
1967 Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver ↗
1967 Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films ↗
1967 Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity ↗
1966 Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach ↗
1966 Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer ↗
1964 Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician ↗
1963 Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach ↗
1963 Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach ↗
1961 Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1960 Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach ↗
1960 Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager ↗
1960 Yannick Noah, French tennis player ↗
1959 Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (died 2011) ↗
1959 Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach ↗
1958 Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach ↗
1958 Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress ↗
1957 Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer ↗
1957 Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic ↗
1956 Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter ↗
1956 John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter ↗
1956 Jim Moginie, Australian guitarist and songwriter ↗
1955 Chow Yun-fat – fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter ↗
1954 Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1954 Eric Gerets, Belgian footballer and manager ↗
1953 Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (died 2015) ↗
1952 Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter ↗
1952 David Leakey, English general and politician ↗
1952 George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer ↗
1952 Jeana Yeager, American pilot ↗
1951 Richard Clapton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1951 Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster ↗
1951 Angela Voigt, German long jumper (died 2013) ↗
1950 Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (died 1997) ↗
1950 Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter ↗
1949 Walter Hawkins, American gospel music singer and pastor (died 2010) ↗
1949 Rick Wakeman, English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter ↗
1948 Joe Bonsall, American country/gospel singer (died 2024) ↗
1948 Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic ↗
1948 Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic ↗
1948 Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico ↗
1947 John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland (died 2024) ↗
1946 Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China ↗
1946 Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster ↗
1946 Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (died 2013) ↗
1945 Gail Strickland, American actress ↗
1944 Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer ↗
1944 W. G. Sebald – German novelist, essayist, and poet (died 2001) ↗
1943 Jimmy Snuka, Fijian wrestler (died 2017) ↗
1942 Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager (died 2020) ↗
1941 Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter ↗
1941 Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic ↗
1941 Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer ↗
1940 Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 2012) ↗
1939 Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician (died 2024) ↗
1939 Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (died 1992) ↗
1939 Gordon O'Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence ↗
1938 Janet Fish, American painter and academic ↗
1937 Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2023) ↗
1937 Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg ↗
1936 Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (died 2013) ↗
1936 Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2024) ↗
1936 Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic ↗
1935 Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, Irish activist and writer (died 2025) ↗
1934 Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director (died 2022) ↗
1933 Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France ↗
1933 H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India ↗
1933 Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (died 1985) ↗
1931 Don Martin, American cartoonist (died 2000) ↗
1931 Robert Morse, American actor (died 2022) ↗
1931 Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (died 1995) ↗
1931 Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician (died 2018) ↗
1930 Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2012) ↗
1930 Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (died 2007) ↗
1929 Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (died 2000) ↗
1929 Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (died 2012) ↗
1928 Pernell Roberts, American actor (died 2010) ↗
1927 Richard Body, English politician (died 2018) ↗
1927 Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (died 2015) ↗
1925 Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (died 1998) ↗
1924 Priscilla Pointer, American actress (died 2025) ↗
1924 Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (died 2019) ↗
1923 Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (died 2013) ↗
1923 Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (died 2004) ↗
1922 Bill Macy, American actor (died 2019) ↗
1922 Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (died 1983) ↗
1921 Joan Eardley, British artist (died 1963) ↗
1921 Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic (died 2024) ↗
1920 Pope John Paul II (died 2005) ↗
1920 Anthony Storr, English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author (died 2001) ↗
1919 Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (died 1991) ↗
1917 Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (died 1973) ↗
1914 Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (died 1982) ↗
1914 Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (died 1993) ↗
1913 Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (died 2000) ↗
1912 Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1992) ↗
1912 Perry Como, American singer and television host (died 2001) ↗
1912 Walter Sisulu, South African politician (died 2003) ↗
1911 Big Joe Turner, American blues/R&B singer (died 1985) ↗
1910 Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (died 1999) ↗
1909 Fred Perry, English tennis player and academic (died 1995) ↗
1907 Irene Hunt, American author and educator (died 2001) ↗
1905 Ruth Alexander, pioneering American pilot (died 1930) ↗
1905 Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (died 1943) ↗
1904 Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (died 1986) ↗
1904 Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (died 1971) ↗
1902 Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (died 1984) ↗
1901 Henri Sauguet, French composer (died 1989) ↗
1901 Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1978) ↗
1898 Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (died 1973) ↗
1897 Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991) ↗
1896 Eric Backman, Swedish runner (died 1965) ↗
1895 Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (died 1934) ↗
1892 Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (died 1957) ↗
1891 Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (died 1970) ↗
1889 Thomas Midgley Jr., American chemist and engineer (died 1944) ↗
1888 Hanna Barysiewicz, the oldest female resident of Belarus not registered by the Guinness Book of Records. (died 2007) ↗
1886 Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (died 1946) ↗
1883 Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (died 1974) ↗
1883 Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (died 1969) ↗
1882 Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (died 1968) ↗
1878 Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (died 1977) ↗
1876 Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (died 1931) ↗
1872 Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970) ↗
1871 Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (died 1922) ↗
1869 Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (died 1937) ↗
1868 Nicholas II of Russia (died 1918) ↗
1867 Minakata Kumagusu, Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist (died 1941) ↗
1862 Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1948) ↗
1855 Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (died 1931) ↗
1854 Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (died 1924) ↗
1852 Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (died 1934) ↗
1851 James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (died 1908) ↗
1851 Simon Kahquados, Potawatomi political activist (died 1930) ↗
1850 Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (died 1925) ↗
1835 Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (died 1908) ↗
1824 Wilhelm Hofmeister, German botanist (died 1877) ↗
1822 Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (died 1896) ↗
1797 Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (died 1854) ↗
1785 John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (died 1854) ↗
1778 Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Austria (died 1854) ↗
1777 John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (died 1852) ↗
1711 Roger Joseph Boscovich, Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (died 1787) ↗
1692 (O.S.) Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (died 1752) ↗
1662 George Smalridge, English bishop (died 1719) ↗
1631 Stanislaus Papczyński, Polish priest and saint (died 1701) ↗
1537 Guido Luca Ferrero, Roman Catholic cardinal (died 1585) ↗
1450 Piero Soderini, Italian politician and diplomat (died 1513) ↗
1186 Konstantin of Rostov (died 1218) ↗
1048 Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (died 1131) ↗

2024 Bruce Nordstrom, American businessman (born 1933) ↗
2024 Tony O'Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman (born 1936) ↗
2024 Alice Stewart, American political commentator (born 1966) ↗
2023 Jim Brown, American football player, civil rights activist, and actor (born 1936) ↗
2021 Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host (born 1935) ↗
2021 Yolanda Tortolero, Venezuelan politician ↗
2020 Ken Osmond, American actor and police officer (born 1943) ↗
2019 Austin Eubanks, American addiction recovery advocate, survivor of the Columbine shooting (born 1981) ↗
2017 Roger Ailes, American businessman (born 1940) ↗
2017 Chris Cornell, American singer (born 1964) ↗
2017 Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (born 1916) ↗
2015 Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (born 1947) ↗
2015 Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (born 1926) ↗
2015 Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (born 1946) ↗
2014 Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1921) ↗
2014 Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (born 1929) ↗
2014 Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1948) ↗
2014 Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (born 1921) ↗
2014 Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (born 1946) ↗
2013 Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (born 1959) ↗
2013 Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (born 1924) ↗
2013 Steve Forrest, American actor (born 1925) ↗
2013 David McMillan, American football player (born 1981) ↗
2013 Lothar Schmid, German chess player (born 1928) ↗
2012 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (born 1925) ↗
2012 Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (born 1967) ↗
2012 Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (born 1927) ↗
2009 Dolla, American rapper (born 1987) ↗
2009 Wayne Allwine, American voice actor, sound effects editor and Foley artist (born 1947) ↗
2009 Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (born 1954) ↗
2008 Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (born 1911) ↗
2008 Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (born 1942) ↗
2007 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1932) ↗
2006 Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (born 1933) ↗
2004 Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (born 1927) ↗
2002 Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (born 1962) ↗
2001 Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (born 1907) ↗
2000 Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (born 1946) ↗
1999 Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (born 1954) ↗
1999 Betty Robinson – American runner (born 1911) ↗
1998 Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (born 1939) ↗
1995 Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (born 1903) ↗
1995 Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (born 1949) ↗
1995 Brinsley Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (born 1911) ↗
1995 Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (born 1933) ↗
1990 Jill Ireland, English actress (born 1936) ↗
1989 Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (born 1921) ↗
1987 Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (born 1936) ↗
1981 Arthur O'Connell, American actor (born 1908) ↗
1981 William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (born 1908) ↗
1980 Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: ↗
1980 Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: ↗
1980 Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (born 1956) ↗
1975 Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (born 1908) ↗
1974 Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (born 1885) ↗
1973 Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (born 1880) ↗
1971 Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (born 1908) ↗
1968 Frank Walsh, Australian politician, 34th Premier of South Australia (born 1897) ↗
1963 Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (born 1939) ↗
1958 Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (born 1881) ↗
1956 Maurice Tate, English cricketer (born 1895) ↗
1955 Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (born 1875) ↗
1947 Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (born 1883) ↗
1943 Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (born 1883) ↗
1941 Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (born 1863) ↗
1922 Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845) ↗
1916 Chen Qimei, Chinese revolutionary (born 1878) ↗
1911 Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (born 1860) ↗
1910 Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (born 1841) ↗
1910 Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (born 1821) ↗
1909 Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (born 1860) ↗
1909 George Meredith – English novelist and poet (born 1828) ↗
1908 Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1823) ↗
1900 Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (born 1813) ↗
1889 Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (born 1823) ↗
1867 Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (born 1793) ↗
1853 Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (born 1806) ↗
1844 Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (born 1780) ↗
1808 Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (born 1738) ↗
1807 John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (born 1721) ↗
1800 Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (born 1729) ↗
1799 Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and publisher (born 1732) ↗
1795 Robert Rogers, English colonel (born 1731) ↗
1792 Levy Solomons, Canadian merchant and fur trader (born 1730) ↗
1781 Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian indigenous rebel leader (born 1742) ↗
1780 Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (born 1714) ↗
1733 Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (born 1661) ↗
1721 Maria Barbara Carillo, victim of the Spanish Inquisition (born1625) ↗
1692 Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (born 1617) ↗
1675 Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, historian, and theologian (born 1623) ↗
1675 Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (born 1637) ↗
1551 Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (born 1486) ↗
1550 Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (born 1498) ↗
1410 Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (born 1352) ↗
1401 Vladislaus II of Opole (born 1332) ↗
1297 Nicholas Longespee, Bishop of Salisbury ↗
1160 Eric Jedvardsson (King Eric IX) of Sweden (since 1156); (born circa 1120) ↗
1096 Minna of Worms, Jewish martyr killed during the Worms massacre (1096) ↗
1065 Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine (born c. 1003) ↗
978 Frederick I, duke of Upper Lorraine ↗
947 Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty ↗
932 Ma Shaohong, general of Later Tang ↗
893 Stephen I of Constantinople (born 867) ↗
526 Pope John I ↗