/year

May 21 in history

241 sourced entries recorded on May 21, from 120 BCE to 2022 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 591A Mesoamerican ballgame court is dedicated at the Mayan city of Chinkultic (Mexico).source
  • 878Siege of Syracuse: The Aghlabids capture the Byzantine fortress city of Syracuse, after a nine-month siege. Most of the population is massacred by the Arabs.source
  • 996Otto III, 16, is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at St. Peter's Basilica, and claims also the title of King of Italy. His grandmother, Adelaide, retires to a convent she has founded at Seltz (Alsace). Otto puts down a Roman rebellion; a number of nobles (including Crescentius II) are banished for their crimes.source
  • 1092Synod of Szabolcs: King Ladislaus I of Hungary assembles a council of the prelates of his kingdom at the fortress of Szabolcs.source
  • 1096May 18–26 – The Worms massacre: Members of the People's Crusade under Emicho besiege Worms in the Rhineland before killing at least 800 Jews, despite the intervention of Bishop Adalbert II. He tries to hide some of them in the bishop's palace, others chose to remain outside its walls. One of the victims is Minna of Worms, an influential Jew among the Christian nobility.source
  • 1172Henry II of England does penance at Avranches Cathedral for the murder of Thomas Becket.source
  • 1216Prince Louis of France, son of King Philip II ("Augustus"), invades England in support of the barons, landing in Thanet. He enters London without opposition, and is proclaimed, but not crowned, King of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral. In June, Louis captures Rochester Castle and Winchester, and soon controls over half of the English kingdom.source
  • 1216First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France, son of King Philip II, invades England in support of the barons, landing in Thanet. He enters London without opposition, and is proclaimed, but not crowned, King of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral.source
  • 1260Kublai sends his envoy Hao Jing to negotiate with Song dynasty Chancellor Jia Sidao, after the small force left by Kublai south of the Yangtze River is destroyed, by a Chinese army of the Southern Song dynasty. Chancellor Jia Sidao imprisons the entire embassy of Kublai. This slight will not be forgotten by Kublai, but he is unable to assault the Song, due to the civil war with his rival brother Ariq Böke.source
  • 1323The German ruler Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg, signs a peace treaty with King Christopher II of Denmark confirming his conquest of the Lordship of Rostock.source
  • 1369The Yuan dynasty Chinese warlord of Shaanxi province, Li Siqi, surrenders to the Ming dynasty Emperor Hongwu.source
  • 1381Al-Salih Hajji succeeds his older brother, Al-Mansur Ali II as the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. The Egyptian government continues to be controlled by rebel leader Barquq.source
  • 1382John Wycliffe's teachings are condemned by the Synod of London, which becomes known as the "Earthquake Synod", after its meetings are disrupted by an earthquake.source
  • 1388Permission to create the University of Cologne is granted to the city of Köln by Pope Urban VI. By the 21st century it will be the largest university in Germany.source
  • 1389Sir John Roches is made Admiral of the North and Western Fleets of the English Navy by King Richard II, but serves for only a month, until June 22.source
  • 1402Following the death of Queen Maria of Sicily, her husband Martin I of Sicily, now sole ruler, marries Blanche of Navarre by proxy. They marry in person on December 26.source
  • 1403Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, an ambassador from the king of Castile to Timur, leaves Cadiz; he arrives in Samarkand over a year later.source
  • 1406Pope Innocent VII issues the bull Piae Postulatio to protect the charity and hospice of Santa Maria dell'Anima (Saint Mary of the Soul), located in Rome and serving the German-speaking community.source
  • 1420Treaty of Troyes: With the Burgundian faction dominant in France, King Charles VI of France acknowledges Henry V of England as his heir, and as virtual ruler of most of France.source
  • 1420The Treaty of Troyes is signed, and Charles VI acknowledges Henry V of England as his heir.source
  • 1424The coronation of James I as King of Scotland takes place at Scone Abbey in the Scottish town of Scone. After the ceremony King James performs his first knighthood ceremony, honoring 18 prominent nobles.source
  • 1437During a visit by Phillip III of Burgundy, who still controls parts of France while his war against King Charles VI continues, rebels in the city of Bruges take over and lynch his representative, Marshal Jean de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, while Philip himself narrowly escapes capture.source
  • 1466On his deathbed, Bosnian nobleman Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, Grand Duke of Bosnia, dictates a testament proclaiming that his son Vladislav Hercegović, "brought the great Turk to Bosnia to the death and destruction of us all" and blames Vladislav for the end of the Kingdom of Bosnia. Vladislav becomes the Grand Duke of Bosnia the next day with the approval of the Ottoman governor.source
  • 1471King Edward IV celebrates his victories with a triumphal parade on his return to London. The captured Queen Margaret is paraded through the streets. On the same day Henry VI of England is murdered in the Tower of London, eliminating all Lancastrian opposition to the House of York.source
  • 1498In England, the members of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London are granted a trade monopoly with the Netherlands by King Henry VII "in return for the payment of £5,000" to the royal coffers.source
  • 1579Battle of Mimaomote: In Japan, Doi Kiyonaga defeats the forces of Kumu Yorinobu.source
  • 1583Battle of Shizugatake in Japan: Shibata Katsuie is defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who goes on to commence construction of Osaka Castle.source
  • 1601As Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg, the Archdukes Albert and Isabella conclude an agreement with Ernest of Bavaria, Prince-Bishop of Liège, concerning their rights of patronage over the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy.source
  • 1628(17 Ramadan 1037 AH) Muhsin ibn Husayn, Emir of Mecca and King of Hejaz, surrenders control to Ahmad ibn Abd al-Muttalib.source
  • 1629May 14–28 – Huguenot rebellions: After a 15-day siege, Louis XIII of France captures Privas.source
  • 1645May 20–30 - Yangzhou massacre, one of the most destructive massacres in historysource
  • 1651The Sovereign Military Order of Malta purchases the Caribbean islands of Saint Barthélemy, Saint Christopher, Saint Croix and Saint Martin from the France's Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique. The Order will sell the islands in 1665 to the French West India Company.source
  • 1659The Kingdom of France, the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic sign the Concert of The Hague, agreeing a common stance on the Second Northern War.source
  • 1659Signing of the Concert of The Hague, an outline of the common stance of England, France and the Dutch Republic regarding the Second Northern War. The powers agree that the Swedish and Denmark shall settle for a peace treaty based on the Treaty of Roskilde, including free navigation through The Sound and the Baltic Sea based on the Treaty of Elbing. The subsequent Dano-Swedish Peace of Copenhagen largely followed the terms dictated by the Concert of the Hague.source
  • 1659France, the Commonwealth of England, and the Dutch Republic sign the Concert of The Hague.source
  • 1660The Desormeaux caravan and 300 Iroquois die in explosion at Long Sault.source
  • 1662(May 31 N.S.); Princess Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King João IV of Portugal, marries Charles II of England. As part of the dowry, Portugal cedes Bombay in India, and Tangier in Morocco, to England.source
  • 1662Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England at Portsmouth in both a secret Catholic and a public Anglican ceremony the day after they first meet.source
  • 1663Colonel Thomas Blood fails in an attempt to seize Dublin Castle in support of the claims of Cromwellian soldiers.source
  • 1666The Holy Roman Empire, ruled by Leopold I, repurchases the territory of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz (Oppeln und Ratibor), which it had ceded to Poland in 1645, for the sum of 120,000 guldens and consolidates it with Upper Silesia. The territory will be ceded from Germany to Poland in 1945 at the end of World War II.source
  • 1666Iliaș Alexandru becomes the ruler of Moldavia, part of modern-day Romania.source
  • 1672The Earl of Essex is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (sworn 5 August).source
  • 1674John III Sobieski is elected by the nobility, as King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (to 1696).source
  • 1704May 19–23 – Vigorous Strombolian activity from Mount Vesuvius, Italy is recorded.source
  • 1713Great Northern War: The Russian fleet lands a force of 10,000 men at Pernå on the southern coast of Finland.source
  • 1725On the day of the grand wedding of her daughter Anna to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Empress Catherine I of Russia creates the Order of Saint Alexander Nevskysource
  • 1741War of the Austrian Succession: King George II of Great Britain orders the British Army to prepare for an invasion of Prussia to defend his Electorate of Hanover.source
  • 1758Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: Mary Campbell is abducted from her home in Pennsylvania by members of the Lenape Nation.source
  • 1776May 15–26 – American Revolution: Battle of the Cedars – British forces skirmish with the American Continental Army around Les Cèdres, Quebec.source
  • 1786The trial in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace ends in Paris.source
  • 17921792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami: An old lava dome collapses in Kyūshū, Japan, due to activity of Mount Unzen volcano; the resulting avalanche and tsunami kill about 14,300 people.source
  • 1794the French Revolutionary Government decides that the Terror would be centralised, with almost all the tribunals in the provinces closed and all the trials held in Paris.source
  • 1799The Siege of Acre ends after two months; Napoleon's attempt to widen his Middle Eastern campaign into Syria is frustrated by Ottoman forces, and he withdraws to Egypt.source
  • 1800President John Adams issues general amnesty for the Pennsylvania Dutch farmers who participated in Fries's Rebellion.source
  • 1802Governor King questions the Captains of three ships, the Britannia, Speedy and Venus i about whaling off the New Zealand coast.source
  • 1804Père Lachaise Cemetery a 118 acres cemetery in Paris, France, is opened.source
  • 1810May 18–25 – May Revolution: Armed citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy and establish a provincial government for Argentina (the Primera Junta). Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros is removed.source
  • 1816Highland Society of London (established 1778) incorporated by Act of Parliament.source
  • 1821The so-called Copenhagen Mythological Competition is announced via advertisements in several Copenhagen newspapers.source
  • 1827The Maryland Democratic Party is founded by supporters of Andrew Jackson in Baltimore, and hosts its first meeting at the Baltimore Atheneum.source
  • 1828Antonio José de Sucre tries to invade Paraguay, reaching the northern city of Fuerte Olimpo, but the planned invasion is immediately cancelled.source
  • 1832Election riots at Montreal. Three supporters of Daniel Tracey of the Parti Patriote are shot dead by government troops. Colonel MacIntosh and Captain Temple are arrested for ordering the shooting. The next day, it is announced that Tracey is elected to the Legislative Assembly for Montreal West.source
  • 1833Convention of London indefinitely extends ceasefire with the Kingdom of the Netherlands following the Belgian Revolution of 1830source
  • 1838Elizabeth Jeffrey of Carluke is hanged in Glasgow for poisoning a neighbour and a lodger.source
  • 1839Royal Library of Belgium opens to the public.source
  • 1840New Zealand is declared a British colony.source
  • 1849Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Hungarian army, led by Arthur Görgey, captures the Castle of Buda, liberating the Hungarian capital city completely. The leader of the defending Austrian forces, General Heinrich Hentzi, dies because of his injuries. The Hungarian government moves back from Debrecen to Budapest.source
  • 1849Warsaw Agreement leads to Russian intervention in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848source
  • 1856Sacking of Lawrence: Lawrence, Kansas, is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces.source
  • 1856Bleeding Kansas: Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces (the "Sacking of Lawrence").source
  • 1861Russian sailors clash with Japanese samurai and farmers at Tsushima island.source
  • 1863The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is formed in Battle Creek, Michigan.source
  • 1864The Russian Empire begins the Circassian genocide. More than 1.5 million Circassians are driven from their homeland to the Ottoman Empire, ending the Russo-Circassian War.source
  • 1864Father Damien ordained in Honolulusource
  • 1871The first rack railway in Europe, the Vitznau–Rigi Railway on Mount Rigi in Switzerland, is opened.source
  • 1877May 21 (May 9 O.S.) – By a speech in the Parliament of Romania by Mihail Kogălniceanu, the country declares itself independent from the Ottoman Empire (recognized in 1878 after the end of the Romanian independence war).source
  • 1881The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton.source
  • 1881The United States Tennis Association is established by a small group of tennis club members; the first U.S. Tennis Championships are played this year.source
  • 1892The French-built monitor Solimoes is wrecked off Cape Polonio, Uruguay, with the loss of 125 lives.source
  • 1894The Manchester Ship Canal and Docks are officially opened by Queen Victoria, linking the previously landlocked industrial city of Manchester, in north-west England, to the Irish Sea.source
  • 1900The Chinese province of Manchuria is invaded by the Russian Empire.source
  • 1903The first contingent of Chinese labourers leave China to work on the Witwatersrand gold mines.source
  • 1904The International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, is established with Germany as a founder member.source
  • 1911Mexican Revolution: In Ciudad Juárez, a peace treaty is signed between Madero's rebels and government troops.source
  • 1915May 15–21 – The Far Eastern Championship Games take place in Shanghai.source
  • 1917Over 300 acres (73 blocks) are destroyed in the Great Atlanta fire of 1917 in the United States.source
  • 1918May 21–29 - The Ottoman World War I defeat at the Battle of Sardarabad is seen as saving the Armenian nation from destruction.source
  • 1918The United States Army Aviation Section is separated from the Signal Corps, and divided into the Division of Military Aeronautics and the Bureau of Aircraft Production.source
  • 1923May 21–25 – 1923 Far Eastern Games held in Osaka.source
  • 1927May 20–21 – Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo, nonstop transatlantic airplane flight, from New York City to Paris, France, in his single-engined aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis.source
  • 1932May 20–21 – Amelia Earhart flies from the United States to County Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 14 hours 54 minutes.source
  • 1932Amelia Earhart lands near Culmore, having become the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic.source
  • 1935In Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler announces the reintroduction of conscription to the Wehrmacht, in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.source
  • 1937As one of the reprisals for the attempted assassination of Italian viceroy Rodolfo Graziani, a detachment of Italian troops massacres the entire community of Debre Libanos in Ethiopia, killing 297 monks and 23 laymen.source
  • 1937A Russian manned ice station becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.source
  • 1938Tsuyama massacre: Matsuo Toi kills 30 people in a village in Okayama, Japan, in the world's worst spree killing by an individual until 1957.source
  • 1941German submarine U-69 sinks the U.S.-flagged SS Robin Moor off the west African coast, having allowed the passengers and crew to disembark.source
  • 1941A theatre strike starts in Oslo, spreading to Bergen and Trondheim from the next day, and lasts for five weeks.source
  • 1942WWII: Sinking of the Mexican tanker Faja de Oro by GS U-160 off Key West.source
  • 1944The Naval de Talcahuano football club is founded.source
  • 1946Manhattan Project physicist Louis Slotin accidentally triggers a fission reaction at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States and, although saving his coworkers, gives himself a lethal dose of ionizing radiation, making him the second victim of a criticality accident in history (the incident is initially treated as classified information).source
  • 1951The establishment of TransAsia Airways.source
  • 1953May 20–21 – A tornado outbreak tears through Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, leaving eight people dead and 123 people injured.source
  • 1955The 1955 Vuelta a Colombia begins.source
  • 1959Gypsy: A Musical Fable, starring Ethel Merman in her last new musical, opens on Broadway and runs for 702 performances.source
  • 1960An El Al flight took off from Buenos Aires at 12:05 a.m., with kidnapped Nazi fugitive Adolf Eichmann safely on board, to face trial for the Holocaust in Israel.source
  • 1961Civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order, after race riots break out.source
  • 1963Establishment of the Seppiko-Mineyama Prefectural Natural Parksource
  • 1969Rosariazo: Civil unrest breaks out in Rosario, Argentina, following the death of a 15-year-old student.source
  • 1969Håkon Haugli, politician and business executive.source
  • 1971Constitutional Court closes down National Order Party for anti-secular propaganda.source
  • 1972In St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican City), Laszlo Toth attacks Michelangelo's Pietà statue with a geologist's hammer, shouting that he is Jesus Christ.source
  • 1973Official opening of the Rantau Panjang – Sungai Golok Bridge of Malaysia-Thailand border in Kelantan.source
  • 1974The Ulster Workers' Council Strike comes to an end.source
  • 1976May 21–23 – Six terrorists hijack a Philippine Airlines plane, which lands later on the Zamboanga Airport; hostage crisis ends on May 23 as they explode a plane and a shootout followed, killing 3 of them as well as 10 passengers.source
  • 1976The Yuba City bus disaster, the second-worst bus crash in U.S. history, leaves 28 students and one teacher killed.source
  • 1976May 20–24 – Flooding in the wake of a typhoon kills 215 persons and left 60,000 homeless in Luzon Island.source
  • 1979Dan White is convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder, for the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, after using what would become known as the "Twinkie defense" and persuading a jury that the crime was not premeditated. The maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment, with eligibility for early parole, prompting the "White Night riots" in the gay community.source
  • 1980May 18–27 – Gwangju Uprising: Students in Gwangju, South Korea, begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.source
  • 1981François Mitterrand becomes the first socialist President of the French Fifth Republic.source
  • 1982The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is established.source
  • 1982Falklands War: HMS Ardent is sunk by Argentine aircraft, killing 22 sailors.source
  • 19861986 Dutch general election.source
  • 198721 people are arrested in Operation Spectrum for the Marxist conspiracy.source
  • 1989May 12–25 – San Bernardino train disaster: Southern Pacific freight locomotive SP 7551 East derails in a residential area of San Bernardino, California, killing four and destroying seven houses. On May 25, as a direct result of the derailment, the Calnev Pipeline explodes, killing an additional two people and destroying eleven more houses and 21 cars.source
  • 1991Ethiopian Civil War: Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia to Zimbabwe, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.source
  • 1991At Sriperumbudur, India, a suicide bomber from LTTE attacks a political meeting, killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and at least 14 others.source
  • 1996The MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters in Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000 people in one of Africa's worst maritime disasters.source
  • 1997Radiohead releases OK Computersource
  • 1998Suharto (elected 1967) resigns after 31 years as President of Indonesia, effectively ending the New Order period. It is his 7th consecutive re-election by the Indonesian Parliament (MPR). Suharto's hand-picked Vice President, B. J. Habibie, becomes Indonesia's third president.source
  • 1998Fall of Suharto: Suharto resigns as president.source
  • 2001The Končulj Agreement results in the disarmament of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac, ending the Insurgency in the Preševo Valley.source
  • 2003The World Health Organization adopts its first treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.source
  • 20032003 Boumerdès earthquake: a 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes in Algeria, killing over 2,200 people.source
  • 2005Kingda Ka is opened for the first time to the public at Six Flags Great Adventure, becoming the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster at the time.source
  • 2005May 19–21 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 takes place in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is won by Greek entrant Helena Paparizou with the song "My Number One".source
  • 2005David Foster Wallace delivers his now-famous commencement address, This Is Water at Kenyon College in Ohio.source
  • 2008The Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental organization between states in South America, is founded.source
  • 2008The International Court of Justice awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.source
  • 2008The Doha Agreement is signed by rival factions, ending the conflict.source
  • 2008Manchester United wins their third European Cup and second Champions League after they beat Chelsea in the first all-English final in the history of the competition. Manchester United won the match 6–5 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time.source
  • 2008May 20–24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, and is won by Russian entrant Dima Bilan with the song "Believe".source
  • 2009May 11–24 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope on May 11, landing at Edwards Air Force Base May 24.source
  • 2011Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano, erupts and causes disruption to air travel in Northwestern Europe.source
  • 2014A mass stabbing incident occurred on Taipei Metro's Bannan line from Longshan Temple to Jiangzicui station causing 4 fatalities and 21 injuries.source
  • 2014Ten men convicted for producing poisoned alcohol that killed more than 30 people in 2012 have been sentenced to prison by a court in the Czech Republic, including 2 life sentences.source
  • 2015ISIS captures the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.source
  • 2015May 19–23 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 is held in Vienna, Austria, and is won by Swedish entrant Måns Zelmerlöw with the song "Heroes".source
  • 2016Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala becomes the first Sri Lankan to reach the summit of Mount Everest.source
  • 2020Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, shattering the record previously held by Nargis.source
  • 2021May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".source
  • 20222022 Australian federal election: The Labor party, led by Anthony Albanese, defeats the Liberal-National Coalition government led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Albanese is sworn in as Prime Minister two days later.source
  • 2022An elderly Italian couple and their son are kidnapped by jihadists in Southern Mali. A Togolese citizen is also reported to have been kidnapped along with the Italians, but authorities say that they are unable to confirm if this is true.source

Births

  • 120 BCEAurelia Cotta, mother of Julius Caesar (died 54 BC)source
  • 1173Shinran, founder of Jōdo Shinshū (Shin Buddhism) (died 1263)source
  • 1471Albrecht Dürer, German artist, writer and mathematician (died 1528)source
  • 1497Al-Hattab, Tripolitanian Muslim jurist (died 1547)source
  • 1527Philip II, King of Spain (died 1598)source
  • 1527Philip II of Spain, King of England and Ireland (died 1598).source
  • 1688Alexander Pope, English poet (died 1744)source
  • 1744Samuel Ireland, British author and engraver (died 1800)source
  • 1759Joseph Fouché, French statesman (died 1820)source
  • 1765Ísleifur Einarsson, magistratesource
  • 1780Elizabeth Fry, British humanitarian (died 1845)source
  • 1799Mary Anning, British paleontologist (died 1847)source
  • 1832Hudson Taylor, English founder of the China Inland Mission (died 1905)source
  • 1855Ella Stewart Udall, American telegraphist (died 1937)source
  • 1856José Batlle y Ordóñez, Twice President of Uruguay (died 1929)source
  • 1880Tudor Arghezi, Romanian writer (died 1967)source
  • 1880Mona Rudao, Seediq chiefsource
  • 1895Lázaro Cárdenas, 44th President of Mexico, 1934–1940 (died 1970)source
  • 1914Oton Gliha, painter (died 1999)source
  • 1917Raymond Burr, Canadian actor, best known for his role in Perry Mason (died 1993)source
  • 1921Andrei Sakharov, Soviet physicist, human rights activist, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (died 1989)source
  • 1932Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, admiral (died 2014)source
  • 1933Enn Põldroos, painter, monumental artist and writer (died 2025)source
  • 1960Mohanlal, Indian actorsource
  • 1960Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (died 1994)source
  • 1972The Notorious B.I.G., African-American rapper (died 1997)source
  • 1994Tom Daley, British diversource
  • 1996Josh Allen, American football quarterbacksource
  • 2019Tengku Ismail Leon Petra, son of Muhammad V of Kelantan and Oksana Voevodina.source

Deaths

  • 252Sun Quan, founder of the Eastern Wu state (born 182)source
  • 954Feng Dao, Chinese prince and chancellor (born 882)source
  • 987Louis V, king of the West Frankish Kingdomsource
  • 1066Su Xun, Chinese scholar and writer (born 1009)source
  • 1075Richeza (or Adelaide), Hungarian queensource
  • 1086Wang Anshi, Chinese chancellor (born 1021)source
  • 1108Gerard, Norman archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of Englandsource
  • 1169Berthold of Zwiefalten, German abbotsource
  • 1170Godric of Finchale, English hermit and merchantsource
  • 1254King Conrad IV, son of the late Emperor Frederick II, dies of malaria at Lavello (southern Italy). With Conrad's death a interregnum begins, during which no ruler manages to gain undisputed control of Germany. The 22-year-old Manfred, half-brother of Conrad, refuses to surrender Sicily to Pope Innocent IV and accepts the regency on behalf of Conrad's 2-year-old son Conradin ("the Younger").source
  • 1254Conrad IV, king of Germany en Sicily (born 1228)source
  • 1297Judith of Habsburg, Bohemian queen consort (born 1271)source
  • 1361Orhan Ghazi, Ottoman Sultan (born 1274)source
  • 1378After only five weeks as Sultan of Bahmani in India, Da'ud Shah is assassinated while praying in the grand mosque at the capital, Kalaburagi. Da'ud Shah is succeeded by one of his nephews, Mahmud Shah.source
  • 1416Anna of Celje, queen consort of Poland (born c. 1381)source
  • 1471King Henry VI of England (murdered in prison) (born 1421)source
  • 1481King Christian I of Denmark and Norway (born 1426)source
  • 1481King Christian I of Denmark and Norway dies at the age of 55. Although his eldest son, Prince Hans of Oldenburg, is accepted as the new King of Denmark, the Riksrådet (Council of the Realm) of the Kingdom of Norway postpones its decision pending negotiations to possibly reunite with the Kingdom of Sweden.source
  • 1484Olivier le Daim, courtier and close advisor of Louis XI of France (born c. 1428)source
  • 1489Henry V of Rosenberg, Bohemian nobleman (born 1456)source
  • 1508Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (born 1451)source
  • 1512Pandolfo Petrucci, ruler of Siena (born 1452)source
  • 1524Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, English soldier and statesman (born 1443)source
  • 1542Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer, navigator and conquistador (born c. 1500)source
  • 1563Martynas Mažvydas, author of the first printed book in Lithuanian (born 1510)source
  • 1601Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (born 1547)source
  • 1607John Rainolds, English scholar and Bible translator (born 1549)source
  • 1639Tommaso Campanella, Italian theologian and poet (born 1568)source
  • 1650James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, Scottish royalist (born 1612)source
  • 1653Jacob Madsen, merchant (born 1597)source
  • 1660Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, iconic figure in the history of New France (born 1635)source
  • 1668Christoph Delphicus zu Dohna, Prussian-born Swedish soldier, diplomat (born 1628)source
  • 1670Niccolò Zucchi, Italian astronomer and physicist (born 1586)source
  • 1682Reinhold von Hoven, military officer (born c. 1610)source
  • 1690John Eliot, Puritan missionary to the American Indians (born 1604)source
  • 1690John Eliot, Puritan missionary to Native Americans, died in Massachusetts Bay Colony (born 1604)source
  • 1724Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, English statesman (born 1661)source
  • 1746Lewis Morris, Welsh-descended Governor of New Jersey, 74source
  • 1771Christopher Smart, English poet (born 1722)source
  • 1782Robert Monckton, army officer and colonial administrator (born 1726)source
  • 1786Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Swedish chemist (born 1742)source
  • 1810Chevalier d'Eon, French-born diplomat, spy, soldier and transvestite (born 1728)source
  • 1813José Antonio Pareja (born 1757)source
  • 1860Phineas Gage, improbable American head injury survivor (born 1823)source
  • 1871French government troops enter Paris to overthrow the Commune, beginning "Bloody Week" (Semaine sanglante), leading to the deaths of over 20,000 Parisians and the arrests of over 38,000 more.source
  • 1897Gregorio Luperón, Dominican revolutionary leader (born 1839)source
  • 1905demonstration consisting of thousands of workers gathered at Constitution Square and marched from there to the Plaza Lavalle, where the concentration was attacked with bullets and sabers. 2 people are killed and 20 are injured.source
  • 1912Natko Nodilo, politician and historian (born 1834).source
  • 1916Artúr Görgei, Hungarian military general and politician (born 1818)source
  • 1920Venustiano Carranza, President of Mexico (born 1859)source
  • 1925The opera Doktor Faust, unfinished when composer Ferruccio Busoni died, is premiered in Dresden.source
  • 1928Hideyo Noguchi, Japanese bacteriologist (born 1876)source
  • 1929Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1847)source
  • 1935Jane Addams, American social worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (born 1860)source
  • 1980May 18–27 - Gwangju massacre: Up to 165 people are killed when a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju is crushed by the South Korean army.source
  • 1991Rajiv Gandhi, 46, Indian politician, prime minister (1984–1989), suicide bombing.source
  • 1996Seven Trappist monks from the monastery of Thibirine are killed by members of the Armed Islamic Group in Algeria after talks with French government concerning the imprisonment of several GIA sympathisers break down.source
  • 2000Sir John Gielgud, 96, English actor (Arthur, Becket, Julius Caesar), Oscar winner (1982).source
  • 2002Niki de Saint Phalle, 71, French artist, pulmonary emphysema.source