Events

Pre-1600

• 453 BC Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.

• 413 Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.

• 589 Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.

• 1360 The Hundred Years War: the Treaty of Brétigny is drafted between King Edward III of England and King John II of France (the Good).

• 1373 Julian of Norwich, a Christian mystic and anchoress, experiences the deathbed visions described in her Revelations of Divine Love.

• 1429 The Hundred Years War: Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the war

• 1516 A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murder Emperor Lê Tương Dực and flee, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended.

• 1541 Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River (then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519).

1601–1900

• 1608 A newly nationalized silver mine in Scotland at Hilderston, West Lothian is re-opened by Bevis Bulmer.

• 1639 William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island.

• 1721 In the Papal States, Cardinal Michelangelo dei Conti is elected Pope, and takes the name Innocent XIII.

• 1788 King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements.

• 1794 Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris.

• 1821 Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.

• 1842 A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.

• 1846 Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.

• 1877 At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.

• 1886 Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine.

• 1898 The first games of the Italian football league system are played.

1901–present

• 1902 In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.

• 1919 Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I.

• 1921 The creation of the Communist Party of Romania.

• 1924 The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania. It would come back to Germany in 1939.

• 1927 Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.

• 1933 Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.

• 1941 World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.

• 1942 World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula.

• 1942 World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier .

• 1942 World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.

• 1945 World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Berlin-Karlshorst comes into effect. This is commemorated as Victory in Europe Day.

• 1945 End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.

• 1945 Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.

• 1945 The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia.

• 1946 Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.

• 1950 The Tollund Man is discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark.

• 1957 South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem begins a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor.

• 1963 South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.

• 1967 The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.

• 1970 The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album Let It Be.

• 1972 Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.

• 1973 A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.

• 1976 The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

• 1978 The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.

• 1980 The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.

• 1984 Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.

• 1984 The Soviet Union announces a boycott upon the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles, later joined by 14 other countries.

• 1984 The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.

• 1987 The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.

• 1988 A fire at Illinois Bell's Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the "worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history".

• 1997 China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao'an International Airport, killing 35 people.

• 2019 British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.

• 2021 A car bomb explodes in front of a school in Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan killing at least 55 people and wounding over 150.

• 2025 The 2025 papal conclave elects Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, taking the name Leo XIV as the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1326 Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (died 1360)

• 1427 John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, Lord High Treasurer (died 1470)

• 1460 Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (died 1536)

• 1492 Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist and writer (died 1550)

• 1508 Charles Wriothesley, English Officer of Arms (died 1562)

• 1521 Peter Canisius, Dutch-Swiss priest and saint (died 1597)

• 1551 Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (died 1603)

• 1587 Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (died 1637)

1601–1900

• 1622 Claes Rålamb, Swedish politician (died 1698)

• 1628 Angelo Italia, Sicilian Jesuit and architect (died 1700)

• 1629 Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (died 1697)

• 1632 Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and politician (died 1706)

• 1639 Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian artist (died 1709)

• 1641 Nicolaes Witsen, Mayor of Amsterdam, Netherlands (died 1717)

• 1653 Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (died 1734)

• 1670 Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (died 1726)

• 1698 Henry Baker, English naturalist (died 1774)

• 1720 William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1764)

• 1735 Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter and politician (died 1811)

• 1737 Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (died 1794)

• 1745 Carl Stamitz, German violinist and composer (died 1801)

• 1753 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and rebel leader (died 1811)

• 1786 John Vianney, French priest and saint (died 1859)

• 1815 Edward Tompkins, American lawyer and politician (died 1872)

• 1818 Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian pharmacist and politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (died 1896)

• 1821 William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1885)

• 1824 William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (died 1860)

• 1825 George Bruce Malleson, English-Indian colonel and author (died 1898)

• 1828 Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman and activist, co-founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1910)

• 1828 Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (died 1898)

• 1829 Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (died 1869)

• 1835 Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (died 1910)

• 1839 Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian judge, author, and songwriter (died 1920)

• 1842 Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (died 1909)

• 1846 Oscar Hammerstein I, American businessman and composer (died 1919)

• 1850 Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (died 1915)

• 1853 Dan Brouthers, American baseball player and manager (died 1932)

• 1856 Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician (died 1952)

• 1858 Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (died 1924)

• 1858 J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (died 1932)

• 1859 Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (died 1925)

• 1867 Margarete Böhme, German novelist (died 1939)

• 1876 Ludvig Karsten, Norwegian painter (died 1926)

• 1879 Wesley Coe, American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (died 1926)

• 1884 Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (died 1972)

• 1885 Thomas B. Costain, Canadian journalist and author (died 1965)

• 1892 Adriaan Pelt, Dutch journalist and diplomat (died 1981)

• 1893 Francis Ouimet, American golfer (died 1967)

• 1893 Edd Roush, American baseball player and coach (died 1988)

• 1893 Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (died 1963)

• 1895 James H. Kindelberger, American businessman (died 1962)

• 1895 Fulton J. Sheen, American archbishop (died 1979)

• 1895 Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (died 1972)

• 1898 Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (died 1960)

• 1899 Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (died 1959)

• 1899 Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1992)

• 1899 Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (died 1967)

1901–present

• 1901 Turkey Stearnes, American baseball player (died 1979)

• 1902 André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)

• 1903 Fernandel, French actor and singer (died 1971)

• 1904 John Snagge, English journalist (died 1996)

• 1905 Red Nichols, American cornet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1965)

• 1906 Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1977)

• 1910 Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (died 1981)

• 1911 Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of The Interior (died 1997)

• 1911 Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1938)

• 1912 George Woodcock, Canadian author and poet (died 1995)

• 1913 Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (died 1984)

• 1913 Sid James, South African-English actor and singer (died 1976)

• 1916 João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (died 2016)

• 1916 Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader and educator (died 1993)

• 1919 Lex Barker, American actor (died 1973)

• 1920 Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (died 1996)

• 1920 Barbara Howard, Canadian sprinter and educator (died 2017)

• 1920 Tom of Finland, Finnish illustrator (died 1991)

• 1920 Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (died 2000)

• 1925 Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician, 2nd President of Tanzania (died 2024)

• 1926 David Attenborough, English environmentalist and television host

• 1926 David Hurst, German actor (died 2019)

• 1926 Don Rickles, American comedian and actor (died 2017)

• 1928 Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (died 2010)

• 1929 John C. Bogle, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (died 2019)

• 1929 Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (died 2007)

• 1930 Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (died 2019)

• 1930 Doug Atkins, American football player (died 2015)

• 1930 Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, and translator

• 1934 Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, South African-English lawyer and judge

• 1935 Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager (died 2020)

• 1937 Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (died 2010)

• 1937 Thomas Pynchon, American novelist

• 1938 Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (died 2012)

• 1940 Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (died 2006)

• 1940 Irwin Cotler, Canadian lawyer and politician, 47th Canadian Minister of Justice

• 1940 Emilio Delgado, Mexican-American actor (died 2022)

• 1940 Ricky Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 1985)

• 1940 Toni Tennille, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player

• 1940 William B. Jordan, American art historian (died 2018)

• 1941 Bill Lockyer, American academic and politician, 30th Attorney General of California

• 1941 James Traficant, American lawyer and politician (died 2014)

• 1942 Norman Lamont, Scottish banker and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer

• 1942 Terry Neill, Irish footballer and manager (died 2022)

• 1943 Pat Barker, English author

• 1943 Gamini Lokuge, Sri Lankan politician (died 2025)

• 1944 Gary Glitter, English singer-songwriter

• 1945 Keith Jarrett, American pianist and composer

• 1947 H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

• 1947 John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, Scottish historian and politician, Secretary of State for Defence

• 1951 Philip Bailey, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor

• 1951 Mike D'Antoni, American basketball player and coach

• 1951 Chris Frantz, American drummer and producer

• 1952 Peter McNab, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (died 2022)

• 1953 Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American drummer

• 1954 David Keith, American actor and director

• 1955 Patrick Hanrahan, American computer graphics researcher

• 1955 Mladen Markač, Croatian general

• 1956 Jeff Wincott, Canadian actor and martial artist

• 1957 Bill Cowher, American football player, coach, and analyst

• 1958 Roddy Doyle, Irish novelist, playwright, and screenwriter

• 1958 Brooks Newmark, American-English businessman and politician, Lord of the Treasury

• 1959 Ronnie Lott, American football player and sportscaster

• 1960 Franco Baresi, Italian footballer and coach (died 2026)

• 1961 Bill de Blasio, American politician, 109th Mayor of New York City

• 1961 David Winning, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter

• 1963 Anthony Field, Australian guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor

• 1963 Michel Gondry, French director and screenwriter

• 1964 Melissa Gilbert, American actress and director

• 1966 Eileen Bowman, American actress

• 1966 Cláudio Taffarel, Brazilian footballer and coach

• 1967 Viviana Durante, Italian ballerina and actress

• 1969 Akebono Tarō, American-Japanese sumo wrestler, the 64th Yokozuna (died 2024)

• 1969 John Timu, New Zealand rugby player

• 1970 Michael Bevan, Australian cricketer and coach

• 1970 Naomi Klein, Canadian author and activist

• 1970 Luis Enrique, Spanish footballer and manager

• 1971 Candice Night, American singer-songwriter

• 1972 Darren Hayes, Australian singer-songwriter

• 1972 Ray Whitney, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1973 Jesús Arellano, Mexican footballer

• 1973 Marcus Brigstocke, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter

• 1974 Korey Stringer, American football player (died 2001)

• 1975 Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

• 1976 Martha Wainwright, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1977 Joe Bonamassa, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1977 Bad News Brown, Canadian rapper, harmonica player, and actor (died 2011)

• 1977 Theodoros Papaloukas, Greek basketball player

• 1978 Lúcio, Brazilian footballer

• 1980 Evgeny Lebedev, Russian-English publisher and philanthropist

• 1980 Michelle McManus, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress

• 1981 Stephen Amell, Canadian actor

• 1981 Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer

• 1982 Buakaw Banchamek, Thai kick-boxer

• 1982 Adrián González, American baseball player

• 1985 Tommaso Ciampa, American wrestler

• 1986 Galen Rupp, American runner

• 1987 Felix Jones, American football player

• 1987 Mark Noble, English footballer

• 1987 Kurt Tippett, Australian footballer

• 1988 Trisha Paytas, American media personality

• 1989 Lars Eller, Danish ice hockey player

• 1990 Lane Johnson, American football player

• 1990 Iyo Sky, Japanese wrestler

• 1990 Kemba Walker, American basketball player

• 1992 Olivia Culpo, American model and actress

• 1992 Kevin Hayes, American ice hockey player

• 1993 Pat Cummins, Australian cricketer

• 1996 6ix9ine, American rapper

• 2001 Jordyn Huitema, Canadian soccer player

• 2003 Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco

• 2005 Oliver Bearman, English racing driver

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 535 Pope John II

• 615 Pope Boniface IV (born 550)

• 685 Pope Benedict II

• 997 Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (born 939)

• 1157 Ahmed Sanjar, Seljuk sultan (born 1086)

• 1192 Ottokar IV, duke of Styria (born 1163)

• 1220 Rikissa of Denmark, queen of Sweden

• 1278 Duan Zong, Chinese emperor (born 1269)

• 1319 Haakon V, king of Norway (born 1270)

• 1473 John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (born 1420)

• 1538 Edward Foxe, English bishop and academic (born 1496)

• 1551 Barbara Radziwiłł, queen of Poland (born 1520)

1601–1900

• 1668 Catherine of St. Augustine, French-Canadian nun and saint (born 1632)

• 1766 Samuel Chandler, English minister and author (born 1693)

• 1773 Ali Bey al-Kabir, Egyptian sultan (born 1728)

• 1781 Richard Jago, English priest and poet (born 1715)

• 1782 Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (born 1699)

• 1785 Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1719)

• 1785 Pietro Longhi, Italian painter (born 1701)

• 1788 Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and botanist (born 1723)

• 1794 Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (born 1743)

• 1819 Kamehameha I, king of the Hawaiian Islands (born 1738)

• 1822 John Stark, American general (born 1728)

• 1828 Mauro Giuliani, Italian guitarist, cellist, and composer (born 1781)

• 1837 Alexander Balashov, Russian general and politician, Russian Minister of Police (born 1770)

• 1842 Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (born 1790)

• 1853 Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest, 21st Superior General of the Society of Jesus (born 1785)

• 1880 Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (born 1821)

• 1891 Helena Blavatsky, Russian-English mystic and author (born 1831)

• 1891 John Robertson, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of New South Wales (born 1816)

• 1893 Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and president, 1880–1884 (born 1833)

1901–present

• 1903 Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (born 1848)

• 1907 Edmund G. Ross, American soldier and politician, 13th Governor of New Mexico Territory (born 1826)

• 1925 John Beresford, Irish polo player (born 1847)

• 1936 Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (born 1880)

• 1941 Natalie, queen consort of Serbia (born 1859)

• 1941 Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (born 1858)

• 1942 Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (born 1890)

• 1943 Mordechai Anielewicz, Polish commander (born 1919)

• 1944 Themistoklis Diakidis, Greek high jumper (born 1882)

• 1945 Frank Bourne, British soldier, last survivor of the Battle of Rorke's Drift (born 1854)

• 1945 Julius Hirsch, German footballer (born 1892)

• 1945 Wilhelm Rediess, German SS officer (born 1900)

• 1945 Bernhard Rust, German lieutenant and Nazi politician (born 1883)

• 1945 Josef Terboven, German lieutenant and Nazi politician, commissioner of German occupied Norway (born 1898)

• 1947 Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (born 1858)

• 1948 U Saw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (born 1900)

• 1950 Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician and immunologist (born 1865)

• 1952 William Fox, Austrian businessman, founded Fox Theatres (born 1879)

• 1959 John Fraser, Canadian soccer player (born 1881)

• 1960 J. H. C. Whitehead, Indian-English mathematician and academic (born 1904)

• 1965 Wally Hardinge, English cricketer and footballer (born 1886)

• 1969 Remington Kellogg, American zoologist and paleontologist (born 1892)

• 1972 Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indian Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (born 1880)

• 1972 Beatrice Helen Worsley, Mexican-Canadian computer scientist (born 1921)

• 1975 Avery Brundage, American businessman and art collector (born 1887)

• 1980 Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (born 1920)

• 1981 Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist (born 1896)

• 1982 Neil Bogart, American record producer, co-founded Casablanca Records (born 1943)

• 1982 Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (born 1950)

• 1983 John Fante, American author and screenwriter (born 1909)

• 1984 Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader's Digest (born 1890)

• 1984 Gino Bianco, Italian-Brazilian race car driver (born 1916)

• 1985 Robert Halperin, American yachtsman (born 1908)

• 1985 Karl Marx, German conductor and composer (born 1897)

• 1985 Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (born 1918)

• 1985 Dolph Sweet, American actor (born 1920)

• 1986 Ernle Bradford, English historian and author (born 1922)

• 1987 Doris Stokes, English psychic and author (born 1920)

• 1988 Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (born 1907)

• 1990 Luigi Nono, Italian composer and educator (born 1924)

• 1991 Jean Langlais, French pianist and composer (born 1907)

• 1991 Rudolf Serkin, Czech-Austrian pianist and educator (born 1903)

• 1992 Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (born 1933)

• 1993 Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (born 1923)

• 1994 George Peppard, American actor and producer (born 1928)

• 1995 Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (born 1953)

• 1996 Beryl Burton, English cyclist (born 1937)

• 1996 Luis Miguel Dominguín, Spanish bullfighter (born 1926)

• 1996 Larry Levis, American poet, author, and critic (born 1946)

• 1996 Garth Williams, American illustrator (born 1912)

• 1998 Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler (born 1915)

• 1998 Charles Rebozo, American banker and businessman (born 1912)

• 1999 Dirk Bogarde, English actor and screenwriter (born 1921)

• 1999 Ed Gilbert, American actor (born 1931)

• 1999 Dana Plato, American actress (born 1964)

• 1999 Soeman Hs, Indonesian author and educator (born 1904)

• 2000 Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (born 1918)

• 2000 Dédé Fortin, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1962)

• 2000 Henry Nicols, American activist (born 1973)

• 2003 Elvira Pagã, Brazilian vedette, singer, and artist (born 1920)

• 2005 Jean Carrière, French author (born 1928)

• 2005 Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (born 1981)

• 2006 Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer and author (born 1938)

• 2007 Philip R. Craig, American author and poet (born 1933)

• 2007 Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (born 1945)

• 2008 Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1918)

• 2008 François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (born 1982)

• 2009 Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (born 1917)

• 2011 Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (born 1948)

• 2012 Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator (born 1928)

• 2012 Ampon Tangnoppakul, Thai criminal (born 1948)

• 2012 Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (born 1911)

• 2013 Jeanne Cooper, American actress (born 1928)

• 2013 Bryan Forbes, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)

• 2013 Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (born 1950)

• 2013 Hugh J. Silverman, American philosopher and theorist (born 1945)

• 2014 Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (born 1921)

• 2014 Nancy Malone, American actress, director, and producer (born 1935)

• 2014 Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian singer (born 1939)

• 2014 Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (born 1936)

• 2015 Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (born 1943)

• 2015 Mwepu Ilunga, Congolese footballer (born 1949)

• 2015 Juan Schwanner, Hungarian-Chilean footballer and manager (born 1921)

• 2015 Atanas Semerdzhiev, Bulgarian soldier and politician, 1st Vice President of Bulgaria (born 1924)

• 2016 William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (born 1922)

• 2018 Big Bully Busick, American professional wrestler (born 1954)

• 2018 Anne V. Coates, British film editor (Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, Erin Brockovich), Oscar winner (1963) (born 1925)

• 2019 Sprent Dabwido, President of Nauru from 2011 to 2013 (born 1972)

• 2021 Helmut Jahn, German-American architect (born 1940)

• 2022 Robert Gillmor, British wildlife artist and illustrator (born 1936)

• 2022 Dennis Waterman, English actor and singer (born 1948)

• 2023 Rita Lee, Brazilian musician and author (born 1947)

• 2024 Chris Cannon, American politician (born 1950)

• 2024 Jimmy Johnson, American football player (born 1938)

• 2024 Pete McCloskey, American politician (born 1927)

• 2024 Ramón Fonseca Mora, Panamanian novelist and lawyer (born 1952)

• 2025 – Simon Mann, British military officer and mercenary (born 1952)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

• Amato Ronconi

• Pope Boniface IV

• Apparition of Saint Michael

• Arsenius the Great

• Desideratus

• Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine

• Julian of Norwich (Anglican, Lutheran)

• Magdalene of Canossa

• Our Lady of Luján

• Peter II of Tarentaise

• Blessed Teresa Demjanovich (Ruthenian Catholic Church)

• Blessed Ulrika Nisch

• 19 Martyrs of Algeria

• May 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)

• Furry Dance (Helston, UK)

• Liberation Day (Czech Republic)

• Miguel Hidalgo's birthday (Mexico)

• Parents' Day (South Korea)

• Truman Day (Missouri)

• Veterans Day (Norway)

Victory in Europe Day, and its related observances (Europe):

• Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, continues to May 9

• Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II 1939 – 1945 (Ukraine)

• White Lotus Day (Theosophy)

• World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day (International)

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on May 8