Events That Happened on May 15

Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is shot and critically injured while meeting with supporters at an event in Handlová.

The UN commemorates the Palestinian Nakba Day for the first time.

An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.

Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.

California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.

Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C. with the right to claim the title "The Invincibles".

A CSX EMD SD40-2 rolls out of a train yard in Walbridge, Ohio, with 47 freight cars, including some tank cars with flammable chemical, after its engineer fails to reboard it after setting a yard switch. It travels south driverless for 66 miles (106 km) until it was brought to a halt near Kenton. The incident became the inspiration for the 2010 film Unstoppable.

The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.

Édith Cresson becomes France's first female Prime Minister.

Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.

Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes near Viktorivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 52.

Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.

The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.

President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals.

Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.

At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.

Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.

Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).

World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.

First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.

USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.

World War II: The Battle of the Netherlands: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.

Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald's restaurant.

A self coup by prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis succeeded in Latvia, suspending its constitution and dissolving its Saeima.

All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military's air arm, the Luftwaffe.

In an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated.

A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.

The Winnipeg general strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.

Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.

The Finnish Civil War ends when the Whites took over Fort Ino, a Russian coastal artillery base on the Karelian Isthmus, from Russian troops.

A seventeen-year-old farmworker, Jesse Washington, is infamously lynched in Waco, Texas, USA, after being convicted of rape and murder.

In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.

More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.

The city of Las Vegas is founded in Nevada, United States.

Pope Leo XIII defends workers' rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.

American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.

The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.

The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending "the existing differences" between Great Britain and Argentina.

The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.

Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.

Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.

Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85, about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.

Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).

Cape Cod is sighted by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold.

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.

Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire.

Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.

Michael the Syrian reconsecrates the Mor Bar Sauma Monastery, which he reconstructed after its destruction by a fire. The monastery stays a center of the Syriac Orthodox Church until the end of the thirteenth century.

Abd al-Rahman I, the founder of the Arab dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries, becomes emir of Cordova, Spain.

King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.

Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.

Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.

Haerin, Korean singer

Chase Hudson, American internet celebrity, singer, actor

Dayana Yastremska, Ukrainian tennis player

Anastasia Gasanova, Russian tennis player

Lucrezia Stefanini, Italian tennis player

Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer

Scott Drinkwater, Australian rugby league player

Birdy, English singer-songwriter

Jeremy Hawkins, New Zealand rugby league player

Tomáš Kalas, Czech international footballer

Jordan Eberle, Canadian ice hockey player

Lee Jong-hyun, Korean guitarist

Stella Maxwell, New Zealand model

Susan Soonkyu Lee, Korean-American singer and entertainer

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, French footballer

Indrek Kajupank, Estonian basketball player

Scott Laird, English footballer

David Adams, American baseball player

Michael Brantley, American baseball player

Brian Dozier, American baseball player

Mark Fayne, American ice hockey player

Ersan İlyasova, Turkish basketball player

Leonardo Mayer, Argentinian tennis player

Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player

Thomas Brown, American football player

Matías Fernández, Chilean footballer

Adam Moffat, Scottish footballer

Cristiane, Brazilian footballer

Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver

Laura Harvey, English football coach

Tathagata Mukherjee, Indian actor

Denis Onyango, Ugandan football goalkeeper

Justine Robbeson, South African javelin thrower

Jeff Deslauriers, Canadian ice hockey player

Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian race car driver

Samantha Noble, Australian actress

Beau Scott, Australian rugby league player

Mr Probz, Dutch singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer

Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican sprinter

Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer

Rafael Pérez, Dominican baseball player

Layal Abboud, Lebanese singer

Patrice Evra, French footballer

Paul Konchesky, English international footballer

Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player

Zara Phillips, English equestrian

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress and singer

Josh Beckett, American baseball player

Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer

Daniel Caines, English sprinter

Chris Masoe, New Zealand rugby player

Ryan Max Riley, American skier

Robert Royal, American football player

Dominic Scott, Irish guitarist

Amy Chow, American gymnast and pediatrician

Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian soccer player

Edu, Brazilian footballer

David Krumholtz, American actor

Torraye Braggs, American basketball player

Mark Kennedy, Irish footballer

Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer

Ryan Leaf, American football player and coach

Anže Logar, Slovenian politician

Tyler Walker, American baseball player

Ray Lewis, American football player and sportscaster

Ales Michalevic, Belarusian lawyer and politician

Janne Seurujärvi, Finnish Sami politician, first Sami ever to be elected to the Finnish Parliament

Vasilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player and politician

Matthew Sadler, English chess player and author

Marko Tredup, German footballer and manager

Ahmet Zappa, American musician and writer

Danny Alexander, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland

David Charvet, French actor and singer

Karin Lušnic, Slovenian tennis player

Frank de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager

Ronald de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager

Desmond Howard, American football player and sportscaster

Alison Jackson, English photographer, director, and screenwriter

Rod Smith, American football player

Ben Wallace, English captain and politician

Hideki Irabu, Japanese-American baseball player (died 2011)

Emmitt Smith, American football player and sportscaster

Cecilia Malmström, Swedish academic and politician, 15th European Commissioner for Trade

Sophie Raworth, English journalist and broadcaster

Simen Agdestein, Norwegian chess grandmaster and football player

Laura Hillenbrand, American journalist and author

John Smoltz, American baseball player and sportscaster

Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress

Jiří Němec, Czech footballer

André Abujamra, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Scott Tronc, Australian rugby league player

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark

Gavin Nebbeling, South African footballer

Lisa Curry, Australian swimmer

Giselle Fernández, Mexican-American television journalist.

Rhonda Burchmore, Australian actress, singer, and dancer

Rob Bowman, American director and producer

R. Kuhaneswaran, Sri Lankan politician

Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach

Khaosai Galaxy, Thai boxer and politician

Luis Pérez-Sala, Spanish race car driver

Beverly Jo Scott, American-Belgian singer-songwriter

Jason Graae, American musical theater actor

Ruth Marcus, American journalist

Ron Simmons, American football player and wrestler

Meg Gardiner, American-English author and academic

Juan José Ibarretxe, Spanish politician

Kevin Von Erich, American football player and wrestler

Andreas Loverdos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Labour

Dan Patrick, American television anchor and sportscaster

Kevin Greenaugh, American nuclear engineer (died 2023)

Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (died 2013)

Lia Vissi, Cypriot singer-songwriter and politician

Diana Liverman, English-American geographer and academic

Caroline Thomson, English journalist and broadcaster

George Brett, American baseball player and coach

Athene Donald, English physicist and academic

Mike Oldfield, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Chazz Palminteri, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)

Chris Ham, English political scientist and academic

Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (died 2004)

Jim Simons, American golfer (died 2005)

Frank L. Culbertson Jr., American captain, pilot, and astronaut

Robert S.J. Sparks, English geologist and academic

Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese baseball player

Brian Eno, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer

Kathleen Sebelius, American politician, 44th Governor of Kansas

Graeham Goble, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer

Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Vietnamese priest and activist

Michael Dexter, English hematologist and academic

Jerry Quarry, American boxer (died 1999)

Bill Alter, American police officer and politician

Ulrich Beck, German sociologist and academic (died 2015)

Paul Bégin, Canadian lawyer and politician

Freddie Perren, American songwriter, producer, and conductor (died 2004)

Lois Johnson, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)

Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian businessman and politician, 10th Vice President of Indonesia

Doug Lowe, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Tasmania

K. T. Oslin, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 2020)

Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded the Rip Off Press (died 2006)

Roger Ailes, American businessman (died 2017)

Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer

Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach

Dorothy Shirley, English high jumper and educator

Mireille Darc, French actress, director, and screenwriter (died 2017)

Nancy Garden, American author (died 2014)

Madeleine Albright, Czech-American politician and diplomat, 64th United States Secretary of State (died 2022)

Karin Krog, Norwegian singer

Trini Lopez, American singer, guitarist, and actor (died 2020)

Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-American actress and singer

Mart Laga, Estonian basketball player (died 1977)

Ralph Steadman, English painter and illustrator

Paul Zindel, American playwright and novelist (died 2003)

Don Bragg, American pole vaulter (died 2019)

Ted Dexter, Italian-English cricketer (died 2021)

Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2008)

Akihiro Miwa, Japanese singer, actor, director, composer, author and drag queen

Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (died 2013)

James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, Vincentian politician and agronomist, 2nd Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (died 2021)

Jasper Johns, American painter and sculptor

Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (died 2006)

Anthony Shaffer, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 2001)

Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter (died 2016)

Andrei Eshpai, Russian pianist and composer (died 2015)

Mary F. Lyon, English geneticist and biologist (died 2014)

Carl Sanders, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 74th Governor of Georgia (died 2014)

Roy Stewart, Jamaican-English actor and stuntman (died 2008)

Maria Koepcke, German-Peruvian ornithologist and zoologist (died 1971)

Richard Avedon, American sailor and photographer (died 2004)

John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (died 2003)

Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (died 2013)

Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese nun and author (died 2021)

Federico Krutwig, Basque writer, member of ETA and translator (died 1998)

Michel Audiard, French director and screenwriter (died 1985)

Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2008)

Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (died 2015)

Joseph Wiseman, Canadian-American actor (died 2009)

Vera Gebuhr, Danish actress (died 2014)

Hilda Bernstein, English-South African author and activist (died 2006)

Paul Samuelson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009)

Henrik Sandberg, Danish production manager and producer (died 1993)

Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1972)

Angus MacLean, Canadian farmer and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (died 2000)

Norrie Paramor, English composer, producer, and conductor (died 1979)

Arthur Berger, American composer and educator (died 2003)

Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (died 1991)

Herta Oberheuser, German physician (died 1978)

Constance Cummings, British-based American actress (died 2005)

James Mason, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 1984)

Clara Solovera, Chilean singer-songwriter (died 1992)

Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (died 1931)

Joseph Cotten, American actor (died 1994)

Albert Dubout, French cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor (died 1976)

Abraham Zapruder, American businessman and amateur photographer, filmed the Zapruder film (died 1970)

Clifton Fadiman, American game show host and author (died 1999)

Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (died 1998)

Richard J. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (died 1976)

Sigizmund Levanevsky, Soviet aircraft pilot of Polish origin (died 1937)

Xavier Herbert, Australian author (died 1984)

Luis Monti, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager (died 1983)

Ida Rhodes, American mathematician, pioneer in computer programming (died 1986)

Jean Étienne Valluy, French general (died 1970)

Arletty, French model, actress, and singer (died 1992)

Prescott Bush, American captain, banker, and politician (died 1972)

William D. Byron, American lieutenant and politician (died 1941)

Feg Murray, American hurdler and cartoonist (died 1973)

José Nepomuceno, Filipino filmmaker, founder of Philippine cinema (died 1959)

Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral (died 1977)

Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (died 1969)

Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (died 1940)

Hjalmar Dahl, Finnish journalist, translator and writer (died 1960)

Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (died 1971)

Katherine Anne Porter, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist (died 1980)

Walter White, Scottish international footballer (died 1950)

Oskari Tokoi, Finnish socialist and the Chairman of the Senate of Finland (died 1963)

Paul Probst, Swiss target shooter (died 1945)

John Storey, Australian politician, 20th Premier of New South Wales (died 1921)

Frank Hornby, English businessman and politician, invented Meccano (died 1936)

Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (died 1931)

Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1906)

Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer and academic (died 1911)

L. Frank Baum, American novelist (died 1919)

Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (died 1917)

Ioannis Psycharis, Ukrainian-French philologist and author (died 1929)

Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter and illustrator (died 1926)

Carl Wernicke, German neuropathologist. (died 1905)

Élie Metchnikoff, Russian zoologist (died 1916)

Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (died 1912)

Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (died 1905)

Michael William Balfe, Irish composer and conductor (died 1870)

Samuel Carter, English railway solicitor and Member of Parliament (MP) (died 1878)

Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (died 1869)

Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek general and politician (died 1864)

Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (died 1859)

Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (died 1843)

Maria Theresia von Paradis, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1824)

Levi Lincoln Sr., American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Attorney General (died 1820)

Maximilian Hell, Hungarian priest and astronomer (died 1792)

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (died 1762)

George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, British judge (died 1689)

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French noble (died 1707)

René Goupil, French-American missionary and saint (died 1642)

Claudio Monteverdi, Italian priest and composer (died 1643)

Hendrick de Keyser, Dutch sculptor and architect (died 1621)

Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (died 1581)[citation needed]

Sejong the Great, Korean king of Joseon (died 1450)

Robert Walls, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (born 1950)

Kamla Beniwal, Indian politician (born 1927)

Frank Curry, Australian rugby league player and coach (born 1950)

Kay Mellor, English actress (born 1951)

Oliver Gillie, British journalist and scientist (born 1937)

Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (born 1933)

Herbert R. Axelrod American tropical fish expert, publisher of pet books, and entrepreneur (born 1927)

Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (born 1914)

Jackie Brookner, American sculptor and educator (born 1945)

Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (born 1928)

Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-American football player (born 1944)

Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1940)

Noribumi Suzuki, Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1933)

Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (born 1946)

Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (born 1928)

Arno Lustiger, German historian and author (born 1924)

Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1918)

Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (born 1987)

Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (born 1950)

Bud Tingwell, Australian actor, director, and producer (born 1923)

Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (born 1964)

Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1956)

Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (born 1919)

Will Elder, American illustrator (born 1921)

Jerry Falwell, American pastor, founded Liberty University (born 1933)

Nizar Abdul Zahra, Iraqi footballer (born 1961)

June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (born 1929)

Earl Manigault, American basketball player (born 1944)

Naim Talu, Turkish economist, banker, politician, 15th Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1919)

Charles B. Fulton, American lawyer and judge (born 1910)

Eric Porter, English actor (born 1928)

Gilbert Roland, American actor (born 1905)

Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese poet and diplomat (born 1933)

Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (born 1956)

Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Malian ethnologist and author (born 1901)

Fritz Riess, German race car driver (born 1922)

Johnny Green, American composer and conductor (born 1908)

Luc Lacourcière, Canadian ethnographer and author (born 1910)

Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (born 1958)

Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (born 1915)

Jackie Curtis, American actress and writer (born 1947)

Francis Schaeffer, American pastor, theologian, and philosopher (born 1912)

Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (born 1946)

Gordon Prange, American historian and author (born 1910)

Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1894)

Tyrone Guthrie, English director, producer, and playwright (born 1900)

Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1890)

Edward Hopper, American painter (born 1882)

Italo Mus, Italian painter (born 1892)

Pio Pion, Italian businessman (born 1887)

Vladko Maček, Croatian lawyer and politician (born 1879)

John Aglionby, English-born Bishop of Accra and soldier (born 1884)

Keith Andrews, American race car driver (born 1920)

Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1892)

Austin Osman Spare, English painter and magician (born 1886)

Harry J. Capehart, American lawyer, politician, and businessperson (born 1881)

William March, American soldier and author (born 1893)

Edward J. Flanagan, Irish-American priest, founded Boys Town (born 1886)

Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (born 1881)

Charles Williams, English author, poet, and critic (born 1886)

Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1864)

Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter and theoretician (born 1878)

Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (born 1845)

Joseph James Fletcher, Australian biologist (born 1850)

Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1852)

Hasan Tahsin, Turkish journalist (born 1888)

Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (born 1863)

Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (born 1830)

Gottfried Semper, German architect and educator, designed the Semper Opera House (born 1803)

Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, Head of State of Costa Rica (born 1800)

Alban Butler, English priest and hagiographer (born 1710)

Ephraim Chambers, English publisher (born 1680)

John Hale, American minister (born 1636)

Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, English politician (born 1631)

Marie Champmeslé, French actress (born 1642)

Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (born 1585)

Henry Bromley, English politician (born 1560)

Giovanni Croce, Italian composer and educator (born 1557)

Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (born 1535)

Charles VIII, king of Sweden (born 1409)

Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (born 1436)

Domenico Veneziano, Italian painter (born c. 1410)

Peter II, count of Savoy (born 1203)

Mleh, prince of Armenia

Nur ad-Din, Seljuk emir of Syria (born 1118)

Yuri Dolgorukiy, Grand Prince of Kiev (born 1099)

Go-Ichijō, emperor of Japan (born 1008)

Byrhthelm, bishop of Wells

Zhuang Zong, Chinese emperor (born 885)

Hatto I, German archbishop (born 850)

Marinus I, pope of the Catholic Church (born 830)

Hilary of Galeata, Christian monk (born 476)

Valentinian II, Roman emperor (born 371)

Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)

Army Day (Slovenia)

Christian feast day: Achillius of Larissa

Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church)

Christian feast day: Dymphna

Christian feast day: Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: Hesychius of Cazorla

Christian feast day: Hilary of Galeata

Christian feast day: Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid.

Christian feast day: Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: Reticius (Roman Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church)

Christian feast day: May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar)

Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)

Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14.

International Conscientious Objectors Day

International Day of Families (International)

La Corsa dei Ceri begins on the eve of the feast day of Saint Ubaldo. (Gubbio)

Mother's Day (Paraguay)

Nakba Day (Palestinian communities)

Peace Officers Memorial Day (United States)

Republic Day (Lithuania)

Teachers' Day (Colombia, Mexico, and South Korea)