The Sri Lanka Army killed Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader and founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to bring an end to the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war.
The Parliament of Nepal unanimously voted to strip King Gyanendra of many of his powers.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion publicly debuted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Ireland won the Eurovision song contest for the seventh time, the highest number of wins for any country before Sweden tied it in 2023.
India conducted its first nuclear test explosion at Pokhran, the first confirmed nuclear test by a nation outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Eli Cohen, a spy who is credited with gathering significant intelligence used by Israel during the Six-Day War, was publicly hanged in Syria.
Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ended.
First Indochina War: Viet Minh forces overran a French and Laotian garrison at Muong Khoua, leaving only four survivors.
The Soviet Union forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars to the Uzbek SSR and elsewhere in the country.
In a crime that captivated Japan, Sada Abe (pictured) strangled her lover, cut off his genitals, and carried them around with her for several days until her arrest.
U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act establishing the Tennessee Valley Authority to stimulate the economic development of the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression.
Disgruntled school board treasurer Andrew Kehoe set off explosives with timers and a rifle (aftermath pictured), causing the Bath School disaster in the Bath Consolidated School in Michigan, killing 44 people in the deadliest mass murder in a school in United States history.
Pentecostal evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson was reportedly kidnapped near Venice Beach in Los Angeles before reappearing five weeks later in Mexico.
Ruling in the landmark decision Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legality of racial segregation in public transportation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of the Tennessee across the Big Black River in preparation for the Siege of Vicksburg.
An earthquake measuring .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}Ms7.8 struck Shanxi Province in northern China, resulting in at least 52,600 deaths.
At the Battle of Buir Lake, a Ming Chinese army led by general Lan Yu defeated the forces of Tögüs Temür, the Mongol khan of Northern Yuan.
Armed insurrectionists massacred the occupying French garrison in Bruges, Flanders, killing approximately 2,000 people.
United States presidential election: Joe Biden launches his presidential campaign.
A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills ten people.
Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes in Santiago de las Vegas after takeoff from José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, killing 112 of the 113 people on board.
At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.
The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern.
Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators.
Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland.
In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.
Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker's bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board.
During approach to Kharkiv International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 1491 crashes near Ruska Lozova, killing all 112 aboard.
Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.
Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union.
New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Bath Township, Michigan.
After being founded for 20 years, the Nationalist government approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.
Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California.
Seamus Woods leads an Irish Republican Army attack on the headquarters of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Belfast.
World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai.
The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional.
Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant begin the Siege of Vicksburg during the Vicksburg campaign in order to take full control of the Mississippi River.
United States presidential election: Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas.
Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
The 1695 Linfen earthquake in Shannxi, Qing dynasty causes extreme damage and kills at least 52,000 people.
Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced.
In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.
Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu leads a Ming army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Tögüs Temür, the Khan of Northern Yuan.
Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch.
The future Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed King Stephen of England.
First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany.
Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I.
Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
Hala Finley, American actress
Travis Hunter, American football player
Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater
Emma Navarro, American tennis player
Ryan Sessegnon, English footballer
Steven Sessegnon, English footballer
Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter
Polina Edmunds, American figure skater
Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player
Jessica Watson, Australian sailor
Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model
Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer
Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer
Josh Starling, Australian rugby league player
Taeyang, South Korean singer
Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player
Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter
Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer
Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter
Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver
Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player
Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
Gary O'Neil, English footballer
Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
Vince Young, American football player
Jason Brown, English footballer
Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player
Mahamadou Diarra, Malian international footballer
Ashley Harrison, Australian rugby league player
Reggie Evans, American basketball player
Michaël Llodra, French tennis player
Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft
Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist
Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer
Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer
Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
Marcus Giles, American baseball player
Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner
Lee Hendrie, English footballer
Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster
Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager
Ron Mercer, American basketball player
Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer
Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
Jem, Welsh singer-songwriter and producer
John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Ingvild Kjerkol, Norwegian politician
Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster
Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach
Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (died 2011)
Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Brad Friedel, American international soccer player, manager and sportscaster
Mark Menzies, Scottish politician
Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver
Javier Cárdenas, Spanish singer, television and radio presenter
Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
Vicky Sunohara, Canadian former ice hockey player
Troy Cassar-Daley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
Antônio Carlos Zago, Brazilian footballer and manager
Philippe Benetton, French rugby player
Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver
Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author
Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver
Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films
Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity
Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach
Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer
Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician
Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach
Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager
Yannick Noah, French tennis player
Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (died 2011)
Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach
Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer
Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic
Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter
John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter
Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter
Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Eric Gerets, Belgian footballer and manager
Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (died 2015)
Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter
David Leakey, English general and politician
George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer
Jeana Yeager, American pilot
Richard Clapton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster
Angela Voigt, German long jumper (died 2013)
Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (died 1997)
Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter
Walter Hawkins, American gospel music singer and pastor (died 2010)
Rick Wakeman, English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter
Joe Bonsall, American country/gospel singer (died 2024)
Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic
Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic
Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico
John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland (died 2024)
Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China
Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster
Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (died 2013)
Gail Strickland, American actress
Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
W. G. Sebald, German novelist, essayist, and poet (died 2001)
Jimmy Snuka, Fijian wrestler (died 2017)
Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager (died 2020)
Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter
Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic
Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer
Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 2012)
Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician (died 2024)
Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (died 1992)
Gordon O'Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence
Janet Fish, American painter and academic
Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2023)
Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (died 2013)
Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2024)
Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic
Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, Irish activist and writer (died 2025)
Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director (died 2022)
Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France
H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (died 1985)
Don Martin, American cartoonist (died 2000)
Robert Morse, American actor (died 2022)
Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (died 1995)
Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician (died 2018)
Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2012)
Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (died 2007)
Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (died 2000)
Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (died 2012)
Pernell Roberts, American actor (died 2010)
Richard Body, English politician (died 2018)
Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (died 2015)
Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (died 1998)
Priscilla Pointer, American actress (died 2025)
Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (died 2019)
Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (died 2013)
Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (died 2004)
Bill Macy, American actor (died 2019)
Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (died 1983)
Joan Eardley, British artist (died 1963)
Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic (died 2024)
Pope John Paul II (died 2005)
Anthony Storr, English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author (died 2001)
Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (died 1991)
Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (died 1973)
Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (died 1982)
Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (died 1993)
Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (died 2000)
Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1992)
Perry Como, American singer and television host (died 2001)
Walter Sisulu, South African politician (died 2003)
Big Joe Turner, American blues/R&B singer (died 1985)
Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (died 1999)
Fred Perry, English tennis player and academic (died 1995)
Irene Hunt, American author and educator (died 2001)
Ruth Alexander, pioneering American pilot (died 1930)
Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (died 1943)
Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (died 1986)
Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (died 1971)
Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (died 1984)
Henri Sauguet, French composer (died 1989)
Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1978)
Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (died 1973)
Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991)
Eric Backman, Swedish runner (died 1965)
Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (died 1934)
Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (died 1957)
Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (died 1970)
Thomas Midgley Jr., American chemist and engineer (died 1944)
Hanna Barysiewicz, the oldest female resident of Belarus not registered by the Guinness Book of Records. (died 2007)
Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (died 1946)
Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (died 1974)
Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (died 1969)
Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (died 1968)
Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (died 1977)
Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (died 1931)
Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)
Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (died 1922)
Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (died 1937)
Nicholas II of Russia (died 1918)
Minakata Kumagusu, Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist (died 1941)
Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1948)
Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (died 1931)
Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (died 1924)
Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (died 1934)
James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (died 1908)
Simon Kahquados, Potawatomi political activist (died 1930)
Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (died 1925)
Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (died 1908)
Wilhelm Hofmeister, German botanist (died 1877)
Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (died 1896)
Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (died 1854)
John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (died 1854)
Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Austria (died 1854)
John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (died 1852)
Roger Joseph Boscovich, Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (died 1787)
(O.S.) Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (died 1752)
George Smalridge, English bishop (died 1719)
Stanislaus Papczyński, Polish priest and saint (died 1701)
Guido Luca Ferrero, Roman Catholic cardinal (died 1585)
Piero Soderini, Italian politician and diplomat (died 1513)
Konstantin of Rostov (died 1218)
Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (died 1131)
Bruce Nordstrom, American businessman (born 1933)
Tony O'Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman (born 1936)
Alice Stewart, American political commentator (born 1966)
Jim Brown, American football player, civil rights activist, and actor (born 1936)
Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host (born 1935)
Yolanda Tortolero, Venezuelan politician
Ken Osmond, American actor and police officer (born 1943)
Austin Eubanks, American addiction recovery advocate, survivor of the Columbine shooting (born 1981)
Roger Ailes, American businessman (born 1940)
Chris Cornell, American singer (born 1964)
Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (born 1916)
Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (born 1947)
Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (born 1926)
Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (born 1946)
Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1921)
Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (born 1929)
Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1948)
Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (born 1921)
Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (born 1946)
Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (born 1959)
Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (born 1924)
Steve Forrest, American actor (born 1925)
David McMillan, American football player (born 1981)
Lothar Schmid, German chess player (born 1928)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (born 1925)
Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (born 1967)
Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (born 1927)
Dolla, American rapper (born 1987)
Wayne Allwine, American voice actor, sound effects editor and Foley artist (born 1947)
Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (born 1954)
Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (born 1911)
Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (born 1942)
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1932)
Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (born 1933)
Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (born 1927)
Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (born 1962)
Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (born 1907)
Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (born 1946)
Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (born 1954)
Betty Robinson, American runner (born 1911)
Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (born 1939)
Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (born 1903)
Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (born 1949)
Brinsley Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (born 1911)
Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (born 1933)
Jill Ireland, English actress (born 1936)
Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (born 1921)
Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (born 1936)
Arthur O'Connell, American actor (born 1908)
William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (born 1908)
Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (born 1956)
Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (born 1908)
Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (born 1885)
Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (born 1880)
Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (born 1908)
Frank Walsh, Australian politician, 34th Premier of South Australia (born 1897)
Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (born 1939)
Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (born 1881)
Maurice Tate, English cricketer (born 1895)
Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (born 1875)
Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (born 1883)
Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (born 1883)
Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (born 1863)
Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845)
Chen Qimei, Chinese revolutionary (born 1878)
Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (born 1860)
Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (born 1841)
Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (born 1821)
Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (born 1860)
George Meredith, English novelist and poet (born 1828)
Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1823)
Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (born 1813)
Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (born 1823)
Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (born 1793)
Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (born 1806)
Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (born 1780)
Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (born 1738)
John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (born 1721)
Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (born 1729)
Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and publisher (born 1732)
Robert Rogers, English colonel (born 1731)
Levy Solomons, Canadian merchant and fur trader (born 1730)
Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian indigenous rebel leader (born 1742)
Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (born 1714)
Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (born 1661)
Maria Barbara Carillo, victim of the Spanish Inquisition (born1625)
Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (born 1617)
Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, historian, and theologian (born 1623)
Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (born 1637)
Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (born 1486)
Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (born 1498)
Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (born 1352)
Vladislaus II of Opole (born 1332)
Nicholas Longespee, Bishop of Salisbury
Eric Jedvardsson (King Eric IX) of Sweden (since 1156); (born circa 1120)
Minna of Worms, Jewish martyr killed during the Worms massacre (1096)
Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine (born c. 1003)
Frederick I, duke of Upper Lorraine
Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty
Ma Shaohong, general of Later Tang
Stephen I of Constantinople (born 867)
Pope John I
Christian feast day: Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Christian feast day: Eric IX of Sweden
Christian feast day: Felix of Cantalice
Christian feast day: Pope John I
Christian feast day: Venantius of Camerino
Christian feast day: May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)
Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar genocide (Ukraine)
Independence Day (Somaliland) (unrecognized)
International Museum Day
National Speech Pathologist Day (United States)
Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (Sri Lankan Tamils)
Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan)
Teacher's Day (Syria)