May 19

May 19 is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 226 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Daizong at Jiucheng Palace.
• 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.
• 1051 – Henry I of France is married to Anne of Kiev.
• 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.
• 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
• 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
• 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
• 1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Burma.
• 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
• 1643 – Thirty Years' War: French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
• 1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
• 1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.
• 1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.
• 1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
• 1780 – New England's Dark Day: A combination of thick smoke and heavy cloud cover causes complete darkness to fall on Eastern Canada and the New England area of the United States at 10:30 A.M.
• 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
• 1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
• 1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
• 1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
• 1897 – Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol.
• 1911 – Parks Canada, the world's first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
• 1917 – the Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.
• 1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
• 1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
• 1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.
• 1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d'état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
• 1941 – The Viet Minh, a communist coalition, formed at Cao Bằng Province, Vietnam.
• 1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.
• 1943 – World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set Monday, May 1, 1944 as the date for the Normandy landings ("D-Day"). It would later be delayed over a month due to bad weather.
• 1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
• 1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.
• 1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
• 1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
• 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.
• 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".
• 1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
• 1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
• 1984 – Michael Larson, a contestant on the television game show Press Your Luck exploits a bug in the prize board, and wins over US$110,000.
• 1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
• 1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
• 1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
• 2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
• 2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
• 2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing 1 and injuring 5 others.
• 2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing 9 people.
• 2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.

Births

• 1593 – Jacob Jordaens, Flemish painter and illustrator (d. 1678)
• 1616 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (d. 1667)
• 1700 – José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda, Spanish sergeant and politician (d. 1770)
• 1724 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1779)
• 1744 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1818)
• 1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1814)
• 1773 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (d. 1854)
• 1795 – Johns Hopkins, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1873)
• 1797 – Maria Isabel of Portugal (d. 1818)
• 1827 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French academic and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1896)
• 1832 – James Watney, Jr., English politician, brewer and cricketer (d. 1886)
• 1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (d. 1931)
• 1870 – Albert Fish, American serial killer (d. 1936)
• 1871 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 1963)
• 1874 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1955)
• 1878 – Alfred Laliberté, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 1953)
• 1879 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (d. 1964)
• 1880 – Albert Richardson, English architect and educator, designed the Manchester Opera House (d. 1964)
• 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkish marshal and politician, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
• 1884 – David Munson, American runner (d. 1953)
• 1886 – Francis Biddle, American lawyer and judge, 58th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
• 1887 – Ion Jalea, Romanian soldier and sculptor (d. 1983)
• 1889 – Tản Đà, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1939)
• 1889 – Henry B. Richardson, American archer (d. 1963)
• 1890 – Eveline Adelheid von Maydell, German-American illustrator (d. 1962)
• 1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (d. 1969)
• 1891 – Oswald Boelcke, German captain and pilot (d. 1916)
• 1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1950)
• 1897 – Frank Luke, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
• 1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Lothar Rădăceanu, Romanian journalist, linguist, and politician (d. 1955)
• 1901 – Piri Vaszary, Hungarian actress (d. 1965)
• 1902 – Lubka Kolessa, Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and educator (d. 1997)
• 1906 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (d. 2007)
• 1908 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
• 1908 – Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
• 1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
• 1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian (d. 2015)
• 1910 – Nathuram Godse, Indian assassin of Mahatma Gandhi (d. 1949)
• 1910 – Alan Melville, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
• 1913 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 1996)
• 1913 – Carol Victor, Hereditary Prince of Albania (d. 1973)
• 1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
• 1914 – John Vachon, American photographer and journalist (d. 1975)
• 1915 – Renée Asherson, English actress (d. 2014)
• 1918 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist, historian, and academic (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Georgie Auld, Canadian-American saxophonist, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1990)
• 1919 – Mitja Ribičič, Italian-Slovenian soldier and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Leslie Broderick, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Harry W. Brown, American colonel and pilot (d. 1991)
• 1921 – Daniel Gélin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Yuri Kochiyama, American activist (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch historian and author (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Joe Gilmore, Irish bartender
• 1924 – Sandy Wilson, English composer and songwriter (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Guy Provost, Canadian actor (d. 2004)
• 1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (d. 1965)
• 1926 – Kriyananda, Romanian-American spiritual leader and author (d. 2013)
• 1926 – David Jacobs, English radio and television host (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Edward Parkes, English engineer and academic
• 1926 – Fernand Raynaud, French actor and singer (d. 1973)
• 1926 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1927 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (d. 1982)
• 1928 – Thomas Kennedy, English air marshal (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Gil McDougald, American baseball player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1928 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Richard Larter, Australian painter (d. 2014)
• 1929 – John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
• 1930 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright and director (d. 1965)
• 1931 – Bob Anderson, English race car driver (d. 1967)
• 1931 – Éric Tappy, Swiss tenor and actor
• 1932 – Claude Blanchard, Canadian singer and actor (d. 2006)
• 1932 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
• 1932 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
• 1932 – Elena Poniatowska, Mexican intellectual and journalist
• 1933 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, author, and academic
• 1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author and poet
• 1934 – Bill Fitch, American basketball player and coach
• 1934 – Jim Lehrer, American journalist and author
• 1935 – David Hartman, American journalist and actor
• 1937 – Pat Roach, English wrestler and actor (d. 2004)
• 1938 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
• 1938 – Madge Hindle, English actress
• 1938 – Girish Karnad, Indian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright
• 1938 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Ukrainian long jumper and coach
• 1939 – Livio Berruti, Italian sprinter
• 1939 – James Fox, English actor and singer
• 1939 – Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-American actress and makeup artist
• 1939 – Jānis Lūsis, Latvian javelin thrower and coach
• 1939 – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
• 1940 – Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
• 1940 – Mickey Newbury, American singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1941 – Bobby Burgess, American singer and dancer
• 1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Maltese-English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
• 1941 – Tania Mallet, English model and actress
• 1942 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research Inc. (d. 1994)
• 1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk, English television host and politician
• 1943 – Eddie May, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Shirrel Rhoades, American author, publisher, and academic
• 1944 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor
• 1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Who, Deep End, and Thunderclap Newman)
• 1946 – Claude Lelièvre, Belgian activist
• 1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
• 1946 – André the Giant, French-American wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
• 1947 – Paul Brady, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Planxty and The Johnstons)
• 1947 – Christopher Chope, English lawyer and politician
• 1947 – Steve Currie, English bass player (T. Rex) (d. 1981)
• 1947 – David Helfgott, Australian pianist
• 1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1949 – Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (ZZ Top and American Blues)
• 1949 – Philip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, English politician
• 1949 – Archie Manning, American football player and sportscaster
• 1950 – Tadeusz Ślusarski, Polish pole vaulter (d. 1998)
• 1951 – Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian singer and actor (d. 2008)
• 1951 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (Ramones and Sniper) (d. 2001)
• 1951 – Dick Slater, American wrestler
• 1952 – Charlie Spedding, English runner
• 1952 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
• 1953 – Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Scottish lawyer and judge
• 1953 – Florin Marin, Romanian footballer and manager
• 1953 – Dawud M. Mu'Min, American murderer (d. 1997)
• 1953 – Jimmy Thackery, American singer and guitarist (The Nighthawks)
• 1953 – Victoria Wood, English actress, singer, director, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Rick Cerone, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1954 – Nükhet Duru, Turkish singer and actress
• 1954 – Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
• 1954 – Phil Rudd, Australian-New Zealand drummer (AC/DC and Buster Brown)
• 1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java
• 1956 – Steven Ford, American actor
• 1956 – Oliver Letwin, English philosopher and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• 1956 – Martyn Ware, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (The Human League and Heaven 17)
• 1957 – Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Nicole Brown Simpson, German-American murder victim (d. 1994)
• 1960 – Yazz, English singer
• 1961 – Vadim Cojocaru, Moldovan politician
• 1961 – Gregory Poirier, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Wayne Van Dorp, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1963 – Filippo Galli, Italian footballer and manager
• 1964 – Murali, Indian actor (d. 2010)
• 1964 – John Lee, South Korean-American football player
• 1964 – Miloslav Mečíř, Slovak tennis player
• 1964 – Lawrence Ng, Hong Kong actor
• 1964 – Sean Whalen, American actor and screenwriter
• 1965 – Boris, French singer-songwriter and radio host
• 1965 – Cecilia Bolocco, Chilean model and television host, Miss Universe 1987
• 1965 – Maile Flanagan, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1966 – Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1966 – Sophia Crawford, English actress and martial artist
• 1966 – Jodi Picoult, American author and educator
• 1966 – Polly Walker, English actress
• 1967 – Massimo Taccon, Italian painter and sculptor
• 1968 – Kyle Eastwood, American actor, singer, and bass player
• 1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
• 1970 – Mario Dumont, Canadian television host and politician
• 1970 – Jason Gray-Stanford, Canadian actor
• 1970 – Regina Narva, Estonian chess player
• 1971 – Psicosis, Mexican wrestler
• 1971 – Ross Katz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1971 – Andres Salumets, Estonian biologist, biochemist, and educator
• 1972 – Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter (Ace of Base)
• 1972 – Claudia Karvan, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
• 1974 – Andrew Johns, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1974 – Emma Shapplin, French soprano
• 1975 – Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
• 1975 – Masanobu Ando, Japanese actor
• 1975 – London Fletcher, American football player
• 1975 – Josh Paul, American baseball player and manager
• 1975 – Jonas Renkse, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Katatonia, Bloodbath, and October Tide)
• 1976 – Ed Cota, American basketball player
• 1976 – Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
• 1977 – Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
• 1977 – Wouter Hamel, Dutch singer and guitarist
• 1977 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player
• 1977 – Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actress
• 1977 – Kelly Sheridan, Canadian voice actress and singer
• 1978 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
• 1978 – Dave Bus, Dutch footballer
• 1978 – Kim Zolciak, American singer
• 1979 – Diego Forlán, Uruguayan footballer
• 1979 – Bérénice Marlohe, French actress
• 1979 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Drew Fuller, American model and actor
• 1980 – Tony Hackworth, English footballer
• 1981 – Luciano Figueroa, Argentinian footballer
• 1981 – Yo Gotti, American rapper
• 1981 – Michael Leighton, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Sina Schielke, German sprinter
• 1981 – Georges St-Pierre, Canadian mixed martial artist and actor
• 1981 – Bong Tae-gyu, South Korean actor
• 1981 – Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
• 1982 – Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
• 1982 – Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
• 1982 – Alexandru Găvan, Romanian mountaineer
• 1982 – Rebecca Hall, English-American actress
• 1982 – Mihiro, Japanese actress, singer, and television personality
• 1982 – Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
• 1983 – Eve Angel, Hungarian porn actress and model
• 1983 – Michael Che, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1983 – Jessica Fox, English actress
• 1984 – Marcedes Lewis, American football player
• 1984 – Carla Lynch, English actress and model
• 1984 – Inna Modja, Malian-French singer
• 1985 – Chris Loudon, Scottish darts player
• 1986 – Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
• 1986 – Eric Lloyd, American actor
• 1987 – Michael Angelakos, American singer-songwriter and producer (Passion Pit)
• 1987 – David Edgar, Canadian soccer player
• 1987 – Mariano Torres, Argentinian footballer
• 1989 – Jasmine, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
• 1991 – Jordan Pruitt, American singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
• 1992 – Ola John, Dutch footballer
• 1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter
• 1993 – Ryunosuke Kamiki, Japanese actor
• 1994 – Carlos Guzmán, Mexican footballer
• 1997 – Ida LaFontaine, Swedish singer

Deaths

• 804 – Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. 735)
• 988 – Dunstan, English archbishop and saint (b. 909)
• 1102 – Stephen, Count of Blois (b. 1045)
• 1125 – Vladimir II Monomakh, Russian son of Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1053)
• 1296 – Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
• 1319 – Louis, Count of Évreux (b. 1276)
• 1389 – Dmitry Donskoy, Russian son of Ivan II of Moscow (b. 1350)
• 1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
• 1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish archbishop and diplomat (b. 1456)
• 1536 – Anne Boleyn, English wife of Henry VIII of England (b. 1501)
• 1601 – Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528)
• 1610 – Thomas Sanchez, Spanish priest and theologian (b. 1550)
• 1637 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
• 1715 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
• 1786 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (b. 1712)
• 1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and politician, 4th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1729)
• 1795 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer(b. 1740)
• 1798 – William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1722)
• 1821 – Camille Jordan, French lawyer and politician (b. 1771)
• 1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French philosopher and theorist (b. 1760)
• 1831 – Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, Estonian-German physician, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1793)
• 1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author and diplomat (b. 1804)
• 1865 – Sengge Rinchen, Mongolian general (b. 1811)
• 1876 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (b. 1801)
• 1885 – Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
• 1895 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1853)
• 1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
• 1901 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
• 1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
• 1904 – Auguste Molinier, French librarian and historian (b. 1851)
• 1904 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (b. 1839)
• 1906 – Gabriel Dumont, Canadian Métis leader (b. 1837)
• 1907 – Benjamin Baker, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (b. 1840)
• 1912 – Bolesław Prus, Polish journalist and author (b. 1847)
• 1915 – John Simpson Kirkpatrick, English-Australian soldier (b. 1892)
• 1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (b. 1885)
• 1935 – T. E. Lawrence, Welsh-English colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
• 1939 – Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Azerbaijani-Turkish journalist and publicist (b. 1869)
• 1940 – Diego Mazquiarán, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1895)
• 1943 – Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and illustrator (b. 1865)
• 1945 – Philipp Bouhler, German soldier and politician (b. 1889)
• 1946 – Booth Tarkington, American author and playwright (b. 1869)
• 1950 – Daniel Ciugureanu, Moldovan physician and politician, Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1884)
• 1954 – Charles Ives, American composer and educator (b. 1874)
• 1958 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (b. 1927)
• 1958 – Ronald Colman, English-American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1891)
• 1963 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1871)
• 1965 – Tu'i Malila, Malagasy turtle (b. 1777)
• 1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1901)
• 1971 – Ogden Nash, American poet and author (b. 1902)
• 1975 – Li Tobler, Swiss model and actress (b. 1948)
• 1978 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1898)
• 1980 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (b. 1906)
• 1983 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
• 1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
• 1984 – Michael Silka, American spree killer (b. 1958)
• 1986 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (b. 1931)
• 1987 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (b. 1915)
• 1989 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and historian (b. 1901)
• 1989 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (b. 1910)
• 1994 – Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1912)
• 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
• 1996 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917)
• 1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese soldier and politician, 75th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
• 1999 – James Blades, English drummer and educator (Melos Ensemble) (b. 1901)
• 1999 – Candy Candido, American actor and singer (b. 1913)
• 2001 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
• 2002 – Ralph Anstruther, Scottish courtier (b. 1921)
• 2002 – John Gorton, Australian lieutenant and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
• 2002 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Camoflauge, American rapper (b. 1981)
• 2004 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (b. 1907)
• 2005 – Henry Corden, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1920)
• 2006 – Freddie Garrity, English singer and actor (Freddie and the Dreamers) (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
• 2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (b. 1928)
• 2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
• 2009 – Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1913)
• 2009 – Herbert York, American physicist and academic (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (b. 1944)
• 2012 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Bella Flores, Filipino actress (b. 1929)
• 2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Carlo Monni, Italian actor (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (b. 1982)
• 2014 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Terry W. Gee, American businessman and politician (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Sante Kimes, American murderer (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
• 2015 – State of Bengal, Pakistani-English DJ and producer (b. 1965)
• 2015 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, 31st Second Lady of the United States (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Robert S. Wistrich, Kazakh-English historian, author, and academic (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Calocerus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Crispin of Viterbo
  • Dunstan (commemoration, Anglicanism)
  • Ivo of Kermartin
  • Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
  • Maria Bernarda Bütler
  • Peter Celestine
  • Pudentiana (Roman Catholic Church)
  • May 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)
• Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)
• Hồ Chí Minh's Birthday (Vietnam)
• Malcolm X Day (United States of America)
• National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
• Hepatitis Testing Day (United States)
• Mother's Day (Kyrgyzstan)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada