On This Day: July 4 - Historical Events, Births & Deaths

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89 Events 234 Births 141 Deaths

2025 A devastating flood strikes the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 108 people. ↗
2025 The Oasis Live '25 tour began in Principality Stadium, Cardiff, ending a 16 year hiatus ↗
2024 The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, wins a landslide majority in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, ending 14 years of Conservative government. ↗
2015 Chile claims its first title in international football by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final. ↗
2012 The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN. ↗
2009 The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks. ↗
2009 The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao. ↗
2008 A bomb explodes at a concert in Minsk's Independence Square, injuring 50 people. ↗
2006 Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program's history to occur on the United States' Independence Day. ↗
2005 The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1. ↗
2004 The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City. ↗
2004 Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history. ↗
2002 A Boeing 707 crashes near Bangui M'Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic, killing 28. ↗
2001 Vladivostok Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board. ↗
1998 Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation. ↗
1997 NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars. ↗
1994 Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city. ↗
1982 Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown. ↗
1982 Space Shuttle program: Columbia lands at Edwards Air Force Base at the end of the program's final test flight, STS-4. President Ronald Reagan declares the Space Shuttle to be operational. ↗
1977 The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit. ↗
1976 Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists. ↗
1973 Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago sign the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago establishing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It replaces the Caribbean Free Trade Association as another step towards Caribbean regional integration. ↗
1966 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year. ↗
1961 On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years. ↗
1960 Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)). ↗
1954 Food rationing in Great Britain ends, with the lifting of restrictions on sale and purchase of meat, 14 years after it began early in World War II, and nearly a decade after the war's end. ↗
1951 Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage. ↗
1951 William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor. ↗
1950 Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts. ↗
1947 The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan. ↗
1946 The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland. ↗
1946 After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States. ↗
1943 World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka. ↗
1943 World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives. ↗
1942 World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces. ↗
1941 Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv. ↗
1941 World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement. ↗
1939 Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announces his retirement from major league baseball. ↗
1927 First flight of the Lockheed Vega. ↗
1918 Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne. ↗
1918 World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front. ↗
1914 The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo. ↗
1913 President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913. ↗
1911 A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities. ↗
1910 The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured. ↗
1903 The Philippine–American War is officially concluded. ↗
1901 William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines. ↗
1898 En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives. ↗
1894 The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole. ↗
1892 Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a leap year with 367 days. ↗
1887 The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi. ↗
1886 The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel. ↗
1881 In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens. ↗
1879 Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee. ↗
1863 American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: The Confederate army in Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege, contributing to the Union capture of the Mississippi River. ↗
1863 American Civil War: Union forces repulse a Confederate army at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas. The battle thwarts a Rebel attempt to relieve pressure on the besieged city of Vicksburg, and paves the way for the Union capture of Little Rock. ↗
1863 American Civil War: Retreat from Gettysburg: The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signaling an end to his last invasion of the North. ↗
1862 Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels. ↗
1855 The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn. ↗
1845 Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau's account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement. ↗
1838 The Iowa Territory is organized. ↗
1837 Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool. ↗
1832 John Neal delivers the first public lecture in the US to advocate the rights of women. ↗
1832 Durham University established by Act of Parliament; the first recognized university to be founded in England since Cambridge over 600 years earlier. ↗
1831 Samuel Francis Smith writes "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities. ↗
1827 Slavery is abolished in the State of New York. ↗
1818 US Flag Act of 1818 goes into effect creating a 13 stripe flag with a star for each state. New stars would be added on July 4 after a new state had been admitted. ↗
1817 In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins. ↗
1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the US people. ↗
1802 The United States Military Academy opens at West Point, New York. ↗
1778 American Revolutionary War: US forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign. ↗
1776 American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress. ↗
1774 Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament's Coercive Acts. ↗
1744 The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ↗
1634 The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada). ↗
1610 The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Russian War, after which Polish troops entered Moscow. ↗
1584 Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island. ↗
1534 Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye. ↗
1456 Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins. ↗
1359 Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz. ↗
1333 Genkō War: Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo seize Tōshō-ji during the Siege of Kamakura. Hōjō Takatoki and other members of the Hōjō clan commit suicide, ending the rule of the Kamakura shogunate. ↗
1253 Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre. ↗
1187 The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem. ↗
1120 Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death. ↗
1054 A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula. ↗
993 Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint. ↗
836 Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed. ↗
414 Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire. ↗
362 BCE Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. ↗

2003 Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer ↗
1999 Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician ↗
1995 Post Malone, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer ↗
1993 Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer ↗
1992 Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer ↗
1992 Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer ↗
1990 Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player ↗
1990 Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer ↗
1990 Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer ↗
1990 Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer ↗
1989 Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer ↗
1988 Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress ↗
1987 Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner ↗
1987 Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer ↗
1986 Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player ↗
1986 Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer ↗
1986 Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player ↗
1986 Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer ↗
1986 Terrance Knighton, American football player ↗
1986 Marte Elden, Norwegian skier ↗
1985 Kane Tenace, Australian footballer ↗
1985 Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player ↗
1985 Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer ↗
1984 Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter ↗
1983 Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter ↗
1983 Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter ↗
1983 Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer ↗
1983 Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist ↗
1983 Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer ↗
1982 Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player ↗
1982 Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist ↗
1982 Jeff Lima, New Zealand rugby league player ↗
1982 Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality ↗
1981 Dedé, Angolan footballer ↗
1981 Brock Berlin, American football player ↗
1981 Christoph Preuß, German footballer ↗
1981 Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player ↗
1981 Will Smith, American football player (died 2016) ↗
1980 Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer ↗
1979 Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician ↗
1979 Josh McCown, American football player ↗
1979 Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer ↗
1978 Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player ↗
1978 Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer ↗
1976 Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (died 2003) ↗
1976 Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier ↗
1974 Jill Craybas, American tennis player ↗
1974 La'Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster ↗
1974 Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach ↗
1973 Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver ↗
1973 Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor ↗
1973 Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager ↗
1973 Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach ↗
1973 Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver ↗
1973 Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager ↗
1972 Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer ↗
1972 Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach ↗
1969 Al Golden, American football player and coach ↗
1969 Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach ↗
1969 Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach ↗
1967 Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager ↗
1967 Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete ↗
1966 Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter ↗
1966 Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer ↗
1966 Lee Reherman, American actor (died 2016) ↗
1965 Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach ↗
1965 Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach ↗
1965 Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager ↗
1965 Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright ↗
1964 Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager ↗
1964 Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer ↗
1964 Edi Rama, Albanian politician ↗
1964 Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer ↗
1964 Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter ↗
1963 Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster ↗
1963 Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist ↗
1963 José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach ↗
1963 Sonia Pierre, Haitian-Dominican human rights activist (died 2011) ↗
1962 Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster ↗
1961 Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series ↗
1960 Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (died 1994) ↗
1959 Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer ↗
1958 Vera Leth, Greenlandic Ombudsman ↗
1958 Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter ↗
1958 Carl Valentine, Canadian soccer player, coach, and manager ↗
1957 Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs ↗
1956 Robert Sinclair MacKay, British academic and educator ↗
1955 Eero Heinäluoma, Finnish politician ↗
1955 Kevin Nichols, Australian cyclist ↗
1954 Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager ↗
1954 Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer ↗
1954 Devendra Kumar Joshi, 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy ↗
1953 Francis Maude, English lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office ↗
1952 Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia ↗
1952 Carol MacReady, English actress ↗
1952 John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1952 Paul Rogat Loeb, American author and activist ↗
1951 John Alexander, Australian tennis player and politician ↗
1951 Ralph Johnson, American R&B drummer and percussionist ↗
1951 Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist, sociologist, and academic ↗
1951 Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland ↗
1950 Philip Craven, English basketball player and swimmer ↗
1950 David Jensen, Canadian-English radio and television host ↗
1948 René Arnoux, French race car driver ↗
1948 Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor ↗
1948 Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1947 Lembit Ulfsak, Estonian actor and director (died 2017) ↗
1946 Ron Kovic, American author and activist ↗
1946 Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist ↗
1945 Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (died 1972) ↗
1943 Conny Bauer, German trombonist ↗
1943 Emerson Boozer, American football player and sportscaster ↗
1943 Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer ↗
1943 Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author ↗
1943 Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist ↗
1943 Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1970) ↗
1942 Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager ↗
1942 Floyd Little, American football player and coach (died 2021) ↗
1942 Stefan Meller, French-Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2008) ↗
1942 Prince Michael of Kent ↗
1942 Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1941 Sam Farr, American politician ↗
1941 Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (died 2014) ↗
1941 Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1941 Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist ↗
1940 Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2020) ↗
1938 Steven Rose, English biologist and academic ↗
1938 Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2020) ↗
1937 Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic ↗
1937 Queen Sonja of Norway ↗
1937 Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian ↗
1937 Eric Walters, Australian journalist (died 2010) ↗
1936 Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress ↗
1935 Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (died 2013) ↗
1934 Yvonne B. Miller, American academic and politician (died 2012) ↗
1934 Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter (died 2015) ↗
1932 Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner (died 2023) ↗
1931 Stephen Boyd, Northern Ireland-born American actor (died 1977) ↗
1931 Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (died 2013) ↗
1931 Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (died 2003) ↗
1931 Peter Richardson, English cricketer (died 2017) ↗
1930 George Steinbrenner, American businessman (died 2010) ↗
1929 Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (died 2011) ↗
1929 Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (died 1998) ↗
1928 Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician (died 2021) ↗
1928 Teofisto Guingona Jr., Filipino politician; 11th Vice President of the Philippines ↗
1928 Jassem Alwan, Syrian Army Officer (died 2018) ↗
1928 Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (died 2001) ↗
1928 Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (died 2011) ↗
1927 Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer (died 2023) ↗
1927 Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (died 2018) ↗
1926 Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (died 2014) ↗
1926 Lake Underwood, American race car driver and businessman (died 2008) ↗
1925 Ciril Zlobec, Slovene poet, writer, translator, journalist and politician (died 2018) ↗
1925 Dorothy Head Knode, American tennis player (died 2015) ↗
1924 Eva Marie Saint, American actress ↗
1924 Delia Fiallo, Cuban author and screenwriter (died 2021) ↗
1924 Harry Stewart Jr., American military officer and fighter pilot (died 2025) ↗
1923 Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss lawyer and politician (died 2013) ↗
1922 R. James Harvey, American politician (died 2019) ↗
1921 Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004) ↗
1921 Nasser Sharifi, Iranian sports shooter ↗
1921 Metropolitan Mikhail of Asyut (died 2014) ↗
1921 Philip Rose, American actor, playwright, and producer (died 2011) ↗
1921 Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (died 2003) ↗
1920 Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee (died 2015) ↗
1920 Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (died 2007) ↗
1920 Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (died 1977) ↗
1920 Paul Bannai, American politician (died 2019) ↗
1918 Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (died 2002) ↗
1918 Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (died 1984) ↗
1918 King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga, (died 2006) ↗
1918 Alec Bedser, English cricketer (died 2010) ↗
1918 Eric Bedser, English cricketer (died 2006) ↗
1918 Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (died 2013) ↗
1916 Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (died 2006) ↗
1915 Timmie Rogers, American actor and singer-songwriter (died 2006) ↗
1914 Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer (died 1997) ↗
1911 Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (died 1989) ↗
1911 Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (died 2010) ↗
1911 Elizabeth Peratrovich, Alaskan-American civil rights activist (died 1958) ↗
1910 Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (died 2003) ↗
1910 Gloria Stuart, American actress (died 2010) ↗
1909 Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, pianist and satirist (died 1963) ↗
1907 John Anderson, American discus thrower (died 1948) ↗
1907 Howard Taubman, American author and critic (died 1996) ↗
1906 Vincent Schaefer, American chemist and meteorologist (died 1993) ↗
1905 Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (died 1991) ↗
1905 Robert Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, British diplomat and public servant (died 1996) ↗
1905 Lionel Trilling, American critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (died 1975) ↗
1904 Angela Baddeley, English actress (died 1976) ↗
1903 Flor Peeters, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (died 1986) ↗
1902 Meyer Lansky, American gangster (died 1983) ↗
1902 George Murphy, American actor and politician (died 1992) ↗
1900 Belinda Dann, Indigenous Australian who was one of the Stolen Generation, reunited with family aged 107 (died 2007) ↗
1900 Nellie Mae Rowe, American folk artist (died 1982) ↗
1898 Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican-American historian and activist (died 1997) ↗
1898 Gertrude Lawrence, British actress, singer, and dancer (died 1952) ↗
1898 Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician (died 1998) ↗
1898 Gertrude Weaver, American supercentenarian (died 2015) ↗
1897 Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (died 1924) ↗
1896 Mao Dun, Chinese journalist, author, and critic (died 1981) ↗
1895 Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (died 1996) ↗
1888 Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor and singer (died 1945) ↗
1887 Pio Pion, Italian engineer and businessman (died 1965) ↗
1886 Tom Longboat, Canadian runner and soldier (died 1949) ↗
1883 Rube Goldberg, American sculptor, cartoonist, and engineer (died 1970) ↗
1881 Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (died 1968) ↗
1880 Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (died 1975) ↗
1874 John McPhee, Australian journalist and politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (died 1952) ↗
1872 Calvin Coolidge – American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (died 1933) ↗
1871 Hubert Cecil Booth, English engineer (died 1955) ↗
1868 Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (died 1921) ↗
1854 Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (died 1926) ↗
1847 James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (died 1906) ↗
1845 Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist and humanitarian (died 1905) ↗
1842 Hermann Cohen, German philosopher (died 1918) ↗
1826 Stephen Foster, American songwriter and composer (died 1864) ↗
1816 Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (died 1899) ↗
1807 Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (died 1882) ↗
1804 Nathaniel Hawthorne – American novelist and short story writer (died 1864) ↗
1799 Oscar I of Sweden (died 1859) ↗
1790 George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (died 1866) ↗
1753 Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (died 1809) ↗
1729 George Leonard, American lawyer, jurist and politician (died 1819) ↗
1719 Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (died 1797) ↗
1715 Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (died 1769) ↗
1694 Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (died 1772) ↗
1656 John Leake, Royal Navy admiral (died 1720) ↗
1546 Murad III, Ottoman sultan (died 1595) ↗
1477 Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (died 1534) ↗
1330 Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun (died 1367) ↗
1095 Usama ibn Munqidh, Muslim poet, author and faris (Knight) (died 1188) ↗
68 Salonia Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (died 119) ↗

2025 Lyndon Byers, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (born 1964) ↗
2025 Richard Greenberg, American playwright and television writer (born 1958) ↗
2025 Bobby Jenks, American baseball player (born 1981) ↗
2025 Peter Russell-Clarke, Australian chef, author and illustrator (born 1935) ↗
2025 Mark Snow, American composer for film and television (born 1946) ↗
2022 Cláudio Hummes, Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1934) ↗
2022 Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese manga artist (born 1961) ↗
2021 Harmoko, Indonesian politician, former parliament speaker and government minister (born 1939) ↗
2021 Matīss Kivlenieks, Latvian ice hockey goaltender (born 1996) ↗
2018 Henri Dirickx, Belgian footballer (born 1927) ↗
2018 Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (born 1940) ↗
2017 John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (born 1973) ↗
2017 Daniil Granin, Soviet and Russian author (born 1919) ↗
2017 Gene Conley, American MLB player and NBA player (born 1930) ↗
2016 Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (born 1940) ↗
2015 Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (born 1928) ↗
2015 William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (born 1926) ↗
2014 Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (born 1950) ↗
2014 C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (born 1951) ↗
2014 Earl Robinson, American baseball player (born 1936) ↗
2014 Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (born 1932) ↗
2013 Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (born 1932) ↗
2013 Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (born 1921) ↗
2013 James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (born 1940) ↗
2013 Charles A. Hines, American general (born 1935) ↗
2013 Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (born 1960) ↗
2012 Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (born 1932) ↗
2012 Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (born 1919) ↗
2012 Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (born 1987) ↗
2012 Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1923) ↗
2010 Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (born 1927) ↗
2009 Brenda Joyce, American actress (born 1917) ↗
2009 Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (born 1931) ↗
2009 Drake – American guitarist (born 1946) ↗
2009 Steve McNair, American football player (born 1973) ↗
2009 Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (born 1935) ↗
2009 Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (born 1938) ↗
2008 Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (born 1940) ↗
2008 Jesse Helms, American politician (born 1921) ↗
2008 Evelyn Keyes, American actress (born 1916) ↗
2008 Terrence Kiel, American football player (born 1980) ↗
2008 Charles Wheeler, German-English soldier and journalist (born 1923) ↗
2007 Bill Pinkney, American singer (born 1925) ↗
2005 Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1915) ↗
2005 Hank Stram, American football player and coach (born 1923) ↗
2004 Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (born 1920) ↗
2003 Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (born 1939) ↗
2003 André Claveau, French singer (born 1915) ↗
2003 Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1944) ↗
2002 Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (born 1919) ↗
2002 Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (born 1912) ↗
2000 Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (born 1919) ↗
1999 Leo Garel, American illustrator and educator (born 1917) ↗
1997 Charles Kuralt, American journalist (born 1934) ↗
1997 John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (born 1907) ↗
1995 Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (born 1919) ↗
1995 Bob Ross, American painter and television host (born 1942) ↗
1994 Ling Ma – American wrestling referee (born 1964) ↗
1993 Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (born 1903) ↗
1992 Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (born 1921) ↗
1991 Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (born 1936) ↗
1991 Art Sansom, American cartoonist (born 1920) ↗
1990 Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (born 1924) ↗
1988 Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (born 1954) ↗
1986 Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critique musical and physicist (born 1933) ↗
1986 Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (born 1903) ↗
1986 Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (born 1899) ↗
1984 Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (born 1949) ↗
1980 Ling Ma – Belgian linguist and author (born 1895) ↗
1979 Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (born 1905) ↗
1977 Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (born 1918) ↗
1976 Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (born 1946) ↗
1976 Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (born 1895) ↗
1974 Georgette Heyer, English author (born 1902) ↗
1974 André Randall, French actor (born 1892) ↗
1971 August Derleth, American anthologist and author (born 1909) ↗
1971 Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (born 1877) ↗
1970 Barnett Newman, American painter and illustrator (born 1905) ↗
1970 Ling Ma – American sailor and businessman (born 1884) ↗
1969 Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (born 1890) ↗
1964 Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (born 1893) ↗
1963 Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (born 1889) ↗
1963 Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (born 1927) ↗
1963 Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (born 1876) ↗
1949 François Brandt, Dutch rower and engineer (born 1874) ↗
1948 Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian journalist and author (born 1882) ↗
1946 Taffy O'Callaghan, Welsh footballer and coach (born 1906) ↗
1943 Władysław Sikorski, Polish general and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Poland (born 1881) ↗
1941 Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (born 1881) ↗
1938 Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1881) ↗
1938 Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (born 1899) ↗
1935 Anna Paaske, Norwegian opera singer and music teacher (born 1856) ↗
1934 Marie Curie – French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1867) ↗
1926 Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist and saint (born 1901) ↗
1922 Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (born 1894) ↗
1916 Alan Seeger, American soldier and poet (born 1888) ↗
1910 Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (born 1833) ↗
1910 Kabua the Great, Marshallese iroijlaplap (born c. 1820) ↗
1910 Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (born 1835) ↗
1905 Élisée Reclus, French geographer and author (born 1830) ↗
1902 Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk and saint (born 1863) ↗
1901 Ling Ma – German linguist and academic (born 1843) ↗
1891 Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (born 1809) ↗
1886 Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (born 1797) ↗
1882 Joseph Brackett, American composer and author (born 1797) ↗
1881 Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (born 1806) ↗
1857 William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (born 1786) ↗
1854 Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German academic and jurist (born 1781) ↗
1850 William Kirby, English entomologist and author (born 1759) ↗
1848 François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (born 1768) ↗
1831 James Monroe – American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (born 1758) ↗
1826 John Adams – American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (born 1735) ↗
1826 Thomas Jefferson – American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (born 1743) ↗
1821 Richard Cosway, English painter and academic (born 1742) ↗
1787 Charles, Prince of Soubise, Marshal of France (born 1715) ↗
1780 Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (born 1712) ↗
1761 Samuel Richardson, English author and painter (born 1689) ↗
1754 Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright and author (born 1680) ↗
1742 Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (born 1671) ↗
1648 Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (born 1601) ↗
1644 Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (born 1581) ↗
1623 William Byrd, English composer (born c. 1540) ↗
1603 Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer and educator (born 1521) ↗
1551 Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, English politician (born 1514) ↗
1546 Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman admiral (born 1478) ↗
1541 Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish general and explorer (born 1495) ↗
1533 John Frith, English priest, writer, and martyr (born 1503) ↗
1429 Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus (born 1372) ↗
1336 Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (born 1271) ↗
1307 Rudolf I of Bohemia (born 1281) ↗
1187 Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (born 1125) ↗
975 Gwangjong of Goryeo, Korean king (born 925) ↗
973 Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop and saint (born 890) ↗
965 Benedict V, pope of the Catholic Church ↗
945 Zhuo Yanming, Chinese Buddhist monk and emperor ↗
943 Taejo of Goryeo, Korean king (born 877) ↗
940 Wang Jianli, Chinese general (born 871) ↗
910 Luo Shaowei, Chinese warlord (born 877) ↗
907 Luitpold, margrave of Bavaria ↗
907 Dietmar I, archbishop of Salzburg ↗
673 Ecgberht, king of Kent ↗