/year

May 27 in history

215 sourced entries recorded on May 27, from 308 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 308May 27 or June 26 – Pope Marcellus I succeeds Pope Marcellinus as the 30th pope.source
  • 1072The Accord of Winchester establishes the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury over the Archbishop of York, in the Church of England.source
  • 1096Members of the People's Crusade under Emicho massacre at least 1,000 Jews in Mainz. Archbishop Ruthard tries to hide some of them in the cellars of Mainz Cathedral but the crusaders learn of this – and murder most of the Jews. Men, women, and children of all ages are slaughtered indiscriminately.source
  • 1102The Crusaders under Baldwin I break their way out of Jaffa, which is encircled by the Fatimid Army. A charge of the French cavalry breaks the enemy's ranks, and forces them to retreat to Ascalon.source
  • 1267Treaty of Viterbo: Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople gifts the Principality of Achaea to King Charles I of Sicily, in the hope that Charles can help him restore the Latin Empire.source
  • 1379The English Parliament closes after a short session, and King Richard II issues royal assent to legislation passed, including the Riots Act 1379, a prohibition against "fraudulent deeds made by debtors to avoid their creditors", and a confirmation of liberties of the Church.source
  • 1384The English Parliament adjourns and King Richard II gives royal assent to laws passed during the session.source
  • 1391Dominique de Flourence, Bishop of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, helps conclude a peace agreement between the Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile, based on his influence as France's legate to King Juan I of Castile.source
  • 1459Pope Pius II arrives in Mantua in the Italian region of Lombardy as the guest of Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, in order to convene the Council of Mantua in hopes of organizing a crusade against the Ottoman Empire. Meetings begin on June 1 the Council continues for six months.source
  • 1471Two months after the death of King George of Poděbrady, the Diet of Bohemian nobles meets at Kutná Hora and elects Vladislaus Jagiello as the new King of Bohemia. The papal legate, Lorenzo Roverella, Bishop of Ferrara, declares the election void with the approval of Pope Paul II, and endorses Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, to be the new King of Bohemia, which the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire refuses to approve.source
  • 1472An alliance agreement is signed between Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine, with Charles pledging his daughter, Mary of Burgundy, to marry Nicholas. The agreement comes at the same time that King Ferdinand I of Naples had been negotiating the engagement of Mary of Burgundy to Frederick, prince of Naples.source
  • 1482Cem Sultan, who briefly reigned as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for several weeks in 1481 before being deposed by his half-brother, Bayezid II, invades the Turkish mainland and besieges the city of Konya, but is defeated and forced to withdraw to Ankara. Upon trying to retreat to Cairo in Egypt, he finds that all the roads are under Bayezid's control.source
  • 1487At Chiang Mai, in what is now part of northern Thailand, King of Lan Na, Prince Yotchiangrai becomes the new reigning monarch upon the death of his father, King Tilokaraj.source
  • 1498The formal coronation of King Louis XII in France takes place at the Reims Cathedral.source
  • 1498Coronation of Louis XIIsource
  • 1521After the death of his cousin, Prince Zhu Houcong became the new Ming dynasty Emperor of China, taking the imperial name of the Emperor Jiajing<.source
  • 1523Swedish War of Liberation: The city of Kalmar in Sweden, occupied by troops of Denmark, falls to a Swedish Army force led by Arvid Västgöte after the city's magistrates agree to leave the northern gate of the city open. Kalmar Castle surrenders on June 4. With the fall of Kalmar, only Stockholm remains as a site of the Danish occupation.source
  • 1538A joint delegation of Lutherans from various German cities arrives in England for meetings with King Henry VIII; Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; and Thomas Cromwell, the former Chief Minister of England.source
  • 1545Prince Jalal Khan, the second son of the late Sher Shah Suri, is crowned as the new King of the Suri Empire and takes the regnal name of Islam Shah Suri.source
  • 1551Italian War of 1551–1559: A defensive alliance, placing the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza under the protection of France, is signed between representatives of King Henry II of France and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, placing Parma under French protection.source
  • 1576An attempt by the Dutch Republic to end the Siege of Zierikzee and free the city from Spain fails after Spanish forces are tipped off about a surprise attack. Dutch Admiral Lodewijk van Boisot is killed in the battle.source
  • 1577English explorer Martin Frobisher departs from Blackwall in his flagship, HMS Ayde, along with the ships Gabriel and Michael, to begin the English expedition to North America.source
  • 1586English privateers, commanded by Sir Francis Drake, carry out a raid on the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida.source
  • 1594States General of the Dutch Republic reject Archduke Ernest's peace overturessource
  • 1597The Kingdom of Kotte, on most of the western side of the island of Sri Lanka, upon the death of King Dharmapala. With no heirs, Dharmapala had made a will bequeathing the entire kingdom to the European nation of Portugal, creating the territory of Portuguese Ceylon (Puruthugisi Lankawa or Porthueka Ilankai).source
  • 1600Michael the Brave becomes ruler of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia, formally uniting the three Danubian Principalities under one Romanian ruler.source
  • 1613After getting an official proclamation that he is the French Governor of New France, explorer Samuel de Champlain begins exploration of the area westward from Quebec, traveling along the Ottawa River.source
  • 1617In Germany, the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg, Eichstädt and Würzburg, and the Prince-Provost of Ellwangen, withdraw their states from the Catholic League.source
  • 1629May 14–28 – Huguenot rebellions: After a 15-day siege, Louis XIII of France captures Privas.source
  • 1636May 27–28 – cross-examination of a Galway jury on a charge of refusing to find the king's title to land, resulting in heavy fines and imprisonment until the jury submits in December.source
  • 1644Battle of Shanhai Pass: The Manchu Qing dynasty and Wu Sangui gain a decisive victory over Li Zicheng's Shun dynasty.source
  • 1645May 20–30 - Yangzhou massacre, one of the most destructive massacres in historysource
  • 1653Discovery of the tomb of Childeric I near Tournaisource
  • 1660The Treaty of Copenhagen is signed, marking the conclusion of the Second Northern War. Sweden returns Trøndelag to Norway, and Bornholm to Denmark.source
  • 1660William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.source
  • 1660The Treaty of Copenhagen is signed, marking the conclusion of the Second Northern War.source
  • 1660Trondhjems len was returned to Norway, following the Treaty of Copenhagen (after having been ceded to Sweden at the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658).source
  • 1660The Treaty of Copenhagen (1660) is signed, marking the conclusion of the Second Northern War.source
  • 1679The Parliament of England passes the Habeas Corpus Act, "for the better securing the liberty of the subject" and then adjourns.source
  • 1694Taking advantage of a fog, the French Army, with 24,000 troops, fights the Battle of Torroella against an equally large Spanish Army force on the banks of the Ter in Spain, near the city of Girona during the Nine Years' War. The Spaniards suffer 3,000 casualties, while the French sustain 500.source
  • 1703May 27 (May 16 OS) – The city of Saint Petersburg, Russia is founded, following Peter the Great's reconquest of Ingria from Sweden during the Great Northern War.source
  • 1703Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil becomes Governor General of New France.source
  • 1717Spain creates the Viceroyalty of New Granada in South America from the northern section of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The viceroyalty, with a capital at Bogotá, later declares independence and splits up into what become the nations of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.source
  • 1723The Black Act 1723, intended to combat illegal hunting in Great Britain, comes into force and expands the number of crimes that are punishable by death, and remains in effect for 100 years.source
  • 1734French and Swiss troops suppress the slave insurrection in the Danish West Indies on the island of Saint John (part of the modern-day U.S. Virgin Islands) after six months and restore control of the plantations to the Danish owners.source
  • 1746The three Scottish leaders of the Jacobite uprising— the Earl of Kilmarnock, Lord Balmerino, and Lord Lovat— are imprisoned for treason in the Tower of London, where they are held by the British government until their execution. Boyd and Balmerino are beheaded in August, while Fraser is not put to death until April 1747.source
  • 1751May 27 (May 13 Old Style) – Adoption of the Gregorian calendar: Royal assent is given to An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use (the "Calendar Act") passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, introducing the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the eleven-day difference between Old Style and New Style dates and making 1 January legally New Year's Day from 1752 in the British Empire. It is largely promoted by George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield.source
  • 1751adoption of the Gregorian calendar: royal assent is given to An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use (the "Calendar Act") passed by Parliament, introducing the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the eleven-day difference between Old Style and New Style dates and making 1 January legally New Year's Day from 1752 in the British Empire. It is largely promoted by George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield.source
  • 1773Parliament passes the Plate Assay (Sheffield and Birmingham) Act 1772 (13 Geo. 3. c. 52) permitting assay offices in Birmingham and Sheffield.source
  • 1773Major landslip at Buildwas in the valley of the River Severn.source
  • 1782Jewish immigration to Sweden is legalized.source
  • 1798Pitt–Tierney duel takes place on Putney Heath. British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger fights a duel against opposition politician George Tierneysource
  • 1799War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Winterthur – Habsburg forces secure control of north-east Switzerland from the French Army of the Danube.source
  • 1801The French cartographic expedition of Nicolas Baudin sights Cape Hamelin.source
  • 1808the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway becomes the first railway line in Scotland to be authorised by Act of Parliament.source
  • 1811second national Census. In Scotland the count is carried out by schoolmasters.source
  • 1811The second national Census reveals that the population of England and Wales has increased in ten years by over a million to 10.1 million.source
  • 1814Harriet Smithson makes her stage debut at the Crow Street Theatre, Dublin, as Albina Mandeville in Frederick Reynolds's The Will.source
  • 1817The General Convention of the Episcopal Church founds the General Theological Seminary, while meeting in New York City.source
  • 1830Rev. Alexander Duff arrives in Calcutta as the Church of Scotland's first missionary to India.source
  • 1854Taiping Rebellion: United States diplomatic minister Robert McLane arrives at the Heavenly Capital aboard the USS Susquehanna.source
  • 1860Garibaldi's forces take Palermo, the capital of Sicily.source
  • 1863Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum at Crowthorne receives its first patients.source
  • 1871French government troops massacre 147 Communards from Belleville, at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.source
  • 1873Classical archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovers Priam's Treasure.source
  • 1874The first group of Dorsland Trekkers, a series of expeditions by Trekboere in search of political independence and better farming conditions, departs South Africa to settle in Angola, led by Gert Alberts.source
  • 1874The first group of Dorsland Trekkers departs from Pretoria to settle in Angola, led by Gert Alberts.source
  • 1875German company Soennecken is foundedsource
  • 1886Tellef Dahll Schweigaard, politician (born 1806)source
  • 1893Algonquin Provincial Park is established as a wildlife sanctuary in Ontario.source
  • 1895In re Debs: The Supreme Court of the United States decides that the federal government has the right to regulate interstate commerce, legalizing the military suppression of the Pullman Strike.source
  • 1896St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring US$2.9 billion (1997 USD) in normalized damages, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.source
  • 18961896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring over $10,000,000 in damages at contemporaneous prices, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.source
  • 1898The territory of Guangzhouwan is leased by China to France, according to the Treaty of 12 April 1892, as the Territoire de Kouang-Tchéou-Wan, forming part of French Indochina.source
  • 1899Rangers F.C., one of the most successful teams in the Scottish Football League, is incorporated.source
  • 1899Maurice Ravel conducts the first public performance of his Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie in Paris.source
  • 1906The first inmates are moved to the Culion leper colony by the American Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.source
  • 1906Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6 receives its premiere at the Saalbau Essen in Germany conducted by the composer.source
  • 1912The current Flag of El Salvador was adopted.source
  • 1917Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law.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
  • 1919Siege of Spin Boldak (Third Anglo-Afghan War). This is the last time the British Army uses an escalade.source
  • 1923The Ku Klux Klan in the United States defies a law requiring publication of its membership.source
  • 1933The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago.source
  • 1933New Deal in the United States: The Federal Securities Act is signed into law, requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.source
  • 1933Lose 1–7 vs Northern Districts at Newcastlesource
  • 1935Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (the "Sick Chicken Case"): The Supreme Court of the United States declares that the National Industrial Recovery Act, a major component of the New Deal, is unconstitutional.source
  • 1935founding of Club Aurorasource
  • 1940The new Churchill war ministry in London agrees to seek co-operation from Éamon de Valera and creation of an All-Ireland Council during "the present emergency".source
  • 1941Speaking in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Winston Churchill rules out the introduction of conscription in the North.source
  • 1941The Swiss Socialist Federation is banned.source
  • 1941WWII: German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic, killing 2,300. It is eventually found in 1989.source
  • 1942Decree obliging Jews to wear an identifying Star of David.source
  • 1943The port city of Maizuru is founded in Japan.source
  • 1945basic food ration reduced.source
  • 1960In Turkey, a bloodless military coup d'état removes President Celâl Bayar, and installs General Cemal Gürsel as the head of state.source
  • 1961Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaya, holds a press conference in Singapore, announcing his idea to form the Federation of Malaysia, comprising Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo (Sabah).source
  • 1962First Nuclear (test) reactor of Turkey in Küçükçekmece, a suburb of Istanbulsource
  • 1964The ongoing Colombian conflict starts, with an assault by 1,000 Colombian soldiers, backed by fighter planes and helicopters, against about 50 guerrillas in the community of Marquetalia.source
  • 1965Internazionale beats Benfica 1–0 at the San Siro, Milan and wins the 1964–65 European Cup in Association football.source
  • 1967The Australian referendum, 1967 passes with an overwhelming 90% support, removing, from the Australian Constitution, 2 discriminatory sentences referring to Indigenous Australians. It signifies Australia's first step in recognising Indigenous rights.source
  • 1968May 68: Grenelle agreements concluded in France, giving a large increase in minimum wages, but are rejected by trade unions.source
  • 1969May 26–June 2 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono conduct their second bed-in. The follow-up to the Amsterdam event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Lennon composes and records the song "Give Peace a Chance" during the event.source
  • 19701970 Balkans Cup: Albania defeats Romania 1-0source
  • 1971Six armed passengers hijack a Romanian passenger plane and force it to fly to Vienna.source
  • 1971Christie's auctions a diamond known as Deepdene; it is later found to be artificially colored.source
  • 1971Dahlerau train disastersource
  • 1972Mark Donohue wins the Indianapolis 500 in a Penske Racing McLaren–Offenhauser.source
  • 1975The Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, North Yorkshire, England, results in 32 deaths (the highest toll in a United Kingdom road accident).source
  • 1977A demonstration and coup attempt in Angola takes place. Thousands are killed by the government and Cuban forces.source
  • 1977The 1977 Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 airplane crash in Cuba kills 69 people.source
  • 1979Indianapolis 500: Rick Mears wins the race for the first time, and car owner Roger Penske for the second time.source
  • 1980May 18–27 – Gwangju Uprising: Students in Gwangju, South Korea, begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.source
  • 1983Benton fireworks disaster. An explosion at an unlicensed and illegal fireworks operation near Benton, Tennessee, kills eleven and injures one. The blast is heard within a radius of 20 mi.source
  • 1987In one of the densest concentrations of humanity in history, a crowd of 800,000+ packed shoulder-to-shoulder onto the Golden Gate Bridge and its approaches for its 50th Anniversary celebration.source
  • 1987At the Prater Stadium of Vienna, Porto of Portugal defeats Bayern München of West Germany 2–1 and wins its first European Cup.source
  • 1988May 27–29 – Somaliland War of Independence: Somali National Movement launches a major offensive against Somali government forces in Hargeisa and Burao, then second and third largest cities of Somalia.source
  • 1990Killings of Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrosesource
  • 1990In the Burmese general election, Burma's first multiparty election in 30 years, the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi wins in a landslide, but the State Law and Order Restoration Council nullifies the election results.source
  • 1993Belfast architect Dawson Stelfox becomes one of the first Irish people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.source
  • 1996First Chechnya War: Russian president Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a ceasefire for the dispute.source
  • 1997The fourth-deadliest tornado of the 1990s hits in Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people and causing extreme damage in the Double Creek Estates.source
  • 1998The United States requests that El Salvador reopen its probe into the 1980 murders of U.S. missionaries.source
  • 1999Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-96, the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station.source
  • 1999The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.source
  • 20002000 Korean League Cupsource
  • 2002State of emergency is extended for three months through royal ordinance.source
  • 2003A destructive aftershock of the Boumerdès earthquake affected the Algiers-Boumerdes-Reghaia area with a maximum intensity of VI (Strong), leaving nine dead and 200 injured.source
  • 2005The King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, has been taken to hospital, overtly for tests; however, the BBC quotes an unofficial source who claims the King has water in his lungs.source
  • 2006The 6.4 Mw Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java in Indonesia with an MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.source
  • 20062006 Yogyakarta earthquakesource
  • 2007Nepalese police clash with Bhutanese asylum seekers at a United Nations resulting in one 16-year-old boy being killed and a dozen people being injured.source
  • 2009At&t Stadium opens to the public home of the NFL Dallas Cowboyssource
  • 2010Israel summons the ambassador of Cyprus and other European countries to protest the expedition as an unnecessary provocation after eight ships, including four cargo vessels and a Turkish passenger ferry carrying 600 people, including a Nobel peace laureate and former U.S. congresswoman, set sail for Gaza with 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to break a three-year Israeli blockade on the territory. The same day, the country bans flotilla vessels from gathering in its territorial waters, which is commended by Israel as "an ethical deed and a voice of reason."source
  • 2010May 25–29 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 takes place in Oslo, Norway, and is won by German entrant Lena with the song "Satellite".source
  • 2019U.S. President Donald Trump, during an official state visit to Japan, becomes the first foreign leader to meet with Japanese emperor Naruhito.source
  • 2019Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party wins the election with 39% of the vote, followed by Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party with 36% and Saulos Chilima of the United Democratic Movement with 20%.source
  • 2020The Chinese National People's Congress votes in favour of national security legislation that criminalizes "secession", "subversion", "terrorism" and foreign interference in Hong Kong; the legislation grants sweeping powers to the Chinese central government to suppress the Hong Kong democracy movement, including banning activist groups and curtailing civil liberties. The U.S. government responds by declaring Hong Kong is "no longer autonomous" under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act.source
  • 2022Fiji announces that it will become the 14th member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in order to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific. This comes amid a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to Kiribati.source
  • 2022Fiji announces that it will become the 14th member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity in order to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific. This comes amid a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to Kiribati.source
  • 2025Airtel Madagascar secures a 15-year license for global telecom operations.source

Births

  • 1332Ibn Khaldun, North African Arab historian (died 1406)source
  • 1378Zhu Quan, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (died 1448)source
  • 1564Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara, Italian noble, patron of the arts (died 1618)source
  • 1601Antoine Daniel, Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons (died 1648)source
  • 1626William II, Prince of Orange (died 1650)source
  • 1639Laura Martinozzi, Duchess consort of Modena (died 1687)source
  • 1652Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, wife to Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (died 1722)source
  • 1691James Alexander, American lawyer in colonial New York (died 1756)source
  • 1695Miguel Cabrera, Mexican painter (died 1768)source
  • 1738Nathaniel Gorham, American politician (died 1796)source
  • 1756King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (died 1825)source
  • 1783John Crawfurd, Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat and author. Last British Resident of Singapore (died 1868)source
  • 1794Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (died 1877)source
  • 1815Sir Henry Parkes, father of the Australian Federation (died 1896)source
  • 1819Julia Ward Howe, American abolitionist and poet (died 1910)source
  • 1836Jay Gould, American financier (died 1892)source
  • 1837Wild Bill Hickok, American gunfighter (died 1876)source
  • 1860Manuel Teixeira Gomes, writer and politician (died 1941)source
  • 1877Isadora Duncan, American dancer (died 1927)source
  • 1894Dashiell Hammett, American detective fiction writer (died 1961)source
  • 1907Rachel Carson, American environmental writer (died 1964)source
  • 1911Hubert Humphrey, American politician, Vice President of the United States (1965–1969) (died 1978)source
  • 1923Henry Kissinger, German-born United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (died 2023)source
  • 1934Harlan Ellison, American writer (died 2018)source
  • 1936Louis Gossett Jr., African-American actor (died 2024)source
  • 1968Jeff Bagwell, American baseball playersource
  • 1974Marjorie Taylor Greene, American politiciansource
  • 1981Saud Alsanousi, novelist and journalistsource

Deaths

  • 366Procopius, Roman general and usurpersource
  • 398Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (born 355)source
  • 453Liu Shao, emperor of Liu Song (born 426) — executedsource
  • 453Liu Jun, Prince Shixing of the Liu Song dynasty (born 429) — executedsource
  • 453Pan, concubine of Wen Di — executedsource
  • 453Empress Yin of Liu Song, forced suicide — executedsource
  • 453Liu Shao is executed, together with other members of his family.source
  • 475Eutropius, bishop of Orangesource
  • 866Ordoño I, king of Asturiassource
  • 866King Ordoño I, ruler of the Kingdom of Asturias, dies after a 16-year reign. He is succeeded by his son, Alfonso III, who later is referred to as "Alfonso the Great".source
  • 927Simeon I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies of heart failure in his palace at Preslav after a 34-year reign. He is survived by four sons and succeeded by his second son Peter I, who signs a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. The peace is confirmed by Peter's marrying Maria Lekapene (the daughter of Christopher Lekapenos, son and co-emperor of Romanos I). The treaty restores the borders to those established by several treaties (thus recognizing Bulgaria's possession of Macedonia).source
  • 927Simeon I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empiresource
  • 1039Dirk III (or Theodoric), count of Hollandsource
  • 1045Bruno of Würzburg, imperial chancellor of Italy (born c. 1005)source
  • 1085Gundred, Countess of Surrey (or Gundreda), English noblewomansource
  • 1138Hadmar I of Kuenring, German noblemansource
  • 1178Godfrey van Rhenen, bishop of Utrechtsource
  • 1240William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, English noblemansource
  • 1289John III, German nobleman and co-ruler of Mecklenburgsource
  • 1444John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (born 1404)source
  • 1487Tilokaraj, king of Lan Na (born 1409)source
  • 1508Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (born 1452)source
  • 1525Thomas Müntzer, German pastor and rebel leader (born 1489) (executed)source
  • 1531(11th waxing of Nayon 893 ME) Minkhaung of Mrauk-U, the Burmese King of Arakan since 1521, is killed in a coup d'etat by the rebellious Governor of Thandwe, Min Pa.source
  • 1541Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury (executed) (born 1473)source
  • 1564John Calvin, French Protestant reformer (born 1509)source
  • 1564John Calvin, theologian, principal developer of the system later called Calvinism (born 1509)source
  • 1569François de Coligny d'Andelot, French general (born 1521)source
  • 1597James Tyrie, Jesuit theologian (born 1543)source
  • 1610Regicide François Ravaillac is executed by being pulled apart by horses in the Place de Grève, Paris.source
  • 1624Diego Ramírez de Arellano, Spanish sailor and cosmographer (born c. 1580)source
  • 1661Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish dissenter (beheaded) (born 1607)source
  • 1661The Marquess of Argyll, one of the first of the Scottish-born people sentenced to death as a regicide for his role in the conviction and execution of King Charles I of England and Scotland in 1649, is beheaded at the Tolbooth Prison in Edinburgh using the "Scottish Maiden," almost immediately after his conviction of collaboration with the government of Oliver Cromwell. His head is then placed on a spike outside the prison.source
  • 1690Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (born 1626)source
  • 1707Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan, mistress of King Louis XIV of France (born 1641)source
  • 1775Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, French noblewoman (born 1693)source
  • 1781Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist (born 1716)source
  • 1840Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist, composer (born 1782)source
  • 1910Robert Koch, German physician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1843)source
  • 1915Armenian genocide: The Tehcir Law is promulgated by the Turkish Ottoman Empire authorizing deportation of the Ottoman Armenian population to Deir ez-Zor in the Syrian desert, leading to the deaths of anywhere between 800,000 and over 1,500,000 civilians and confiscation of their property.source
  • 1940WWII: Le Paradis massacre: 97 retreating British soldiers of the Royal Norfolk Regiment are executed by German troops of 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf after surrendering in France.source
  • 1941Günther Lütjens, German admiral (killed in action) (born 1889)source
  • 1951Sir Thomas Blamey, Australian field marshal (born 1884)source
  • 1964Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (born 1889)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
  • 1986Islamic scholars Isma'il and Lois Lamya al-Faruqi are murdered in their home in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, drawing attention due to their academic prominence and the brutality of the attack.source