May 13

May 13 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

May 13 is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 232 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions which are later transcribed in her Revelations of Divine Love.
• 1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk are officially married at Greenwich.
• 1568 – Battle of Langside: The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
• 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
• 1648 – Construction of the Red Fort at Delhi is completed.
• 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
• 1780 – The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in early Tennessee.
• 1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the "First Fleet") to establish a penal colony in Australia.
• 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
• 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
• 1846 – Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.
• 1848 – First performance of Finland's national anthem.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
• 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
• 1861 – Pakistan's (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
• 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca: The battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
• 1880 – In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
• 1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), Brazil abolishes slavery.
• 1909 – The first Giro d'Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
• 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
• 1917 – Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
• 1923 – Robert Bellarmine, a Doctor of the Catholic Church, is beatified.
• 1939 – The first commercial FM radio station in the United States is launched in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The station later becomes WDRC-FM.
• 1940 – World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
• 1940 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the German invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
• 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting with German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
• 1943 – World War II: German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in North Africa surrender to Allied forces.
• 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
• 1950 – The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
• 1951 – The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
• 1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
• 1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
• 1954 – The original Broadway production of The Pajama Game opens and runs for another 1,063 performances. Later received three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
• 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
• 1958 – The trademark Velcro is registered.
• 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
• 1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
• 1960 – Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Thirty-one students are arrested, and the Free Speech Movement is born.
• 1963 – The U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland is decided.
• 1967 – Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
• 1969 – Race riots, later known as the 13 May Incident, take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• 1972 – Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
• 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
• 1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
• 1981 – Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
• 1985 – Police release a bomb on MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing 11 MOVE members and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
• 1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
• 1990 – Dinamo Zagreb–Red Star Belgrade riot
• 1992 – Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.
• 1994 – Johnny Carson makes his last television appearance on Late Show with David Letterman.
• 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
• 1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
• 1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
• 1998 – India carries out two nuclear tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
• 2000 – In Enschede, the Netherlands, a fireworks factory explodes, killing 22 people, wounding 950, and resulting in approximately €450 million in damage.
• 2005 – The Andijan massacre occurs in Uzbekistan.
• 2005 – The Bính Bridge opens to traffic in Hai Phong, Vietnam.
• 2006 – São Paulo violence: A major rebellion occurs in several prisons in Brazil.
• 2008 – The Jaipur bombings in Rajasthan, India results in dozens of deaths.
• 2011 – Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
• 2011 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1981 relating to Côte d'Ivoire is adopted.
• 2012 – Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
• 2014 – An explosion at an underground coal mine in south-western Turkey kills 301 miners.
• 2014 – Major floods in Southeast Europe kill at least 47 people.
• 2015 – An industrial fire in Valenzuela, Philippines killing 72 people.

Births

• 1024 – Hugh of Cluny, French abbot and saint (d. 1109)
• 1179 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (d. 1201)
• 1221 – Alexander Nevsky, Russian prince and saint (d. 1263)
• 1254 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (d. 1321)
• 1588 – Ole Worm, Danish physician and historian (d. 1654)
• 1638 – Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (d. 1712)
• 1655 – Pope Innocent XIII (d. 1724)
• 1699 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
• 1712 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (d. 1772)
• 1713 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1765)
• 1717 – Maria Theresa, Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1780)
• 1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
• 1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (d. 1821)
• 1742 – Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
• 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823)
• 1759 – Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1824)
• 1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
• 1794 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
• 1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (d. 1875)
• 1822 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (d. 1902)
• 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
• 1832 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (d. 1864)
• 1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1897)
• 1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
• 1856 – Tom O'Rourke, American boxer and manager (d. 1938)
• 1857 – Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
• 1868 – Sumner Paine, American target shooter (d. 1904)
• 1869 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (d. 1944)
• 1881 – Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (d. 1922)
• 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964)
• 1882 – Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
• 1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
• 1885 – Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
• 1888 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
• 1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
• 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964)
• 1898 – Justin Tuveri, Italian-French soldier (d. 2007)
• 1901 – Murilo Mendes, Brazilian poet and telegrapher (d. 1975)
• 1904 – Louis Duffus, Australian-South African cricketer and journalist (d. 1984)
• 1904 – Chishū Ryū, Japanese actor (d. 1993)
• 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (d. 1977)
• 1907 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (d. 1989)
• 1908 – Eugen Kapp, Estonian composer and educator (d. 1996)
• 1909 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (d. 1992)
• 1911 – Robert Middleton, American actor (d. 1977)
• 1911 – Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
• 1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1988)
• 1912 – Judah Nadich, American colonel and rabbi (d. 2007)
• 1913 – Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Theo Helfrich, German racing driver (d. 1978)
• 1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (d. 1980)
• 1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer, wrestler, and actor (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Johnnie & Jack) (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (d. 2004)
• 1918 – Balasaraswati, Indian dancer and instructor (d. 1984)
• 1918 – Gwyn Howells, Australian public servant (d. 1997)
• 1920 – Gareth Morris, English flute player (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Michael Ainsworth, English cricketer (d. 1978)
• 1922 – Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (d. 1991)
• 1922 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Red Garland, American pianist (Miles Davis Quintet) (d.1984)
• 1924 – Theodore Mann, American director and producer (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Harry Schwarz, German-South African lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 13th South African Ambassador to the United States (d. 2010)
• 1927 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (d. 1958)
• 1927 – Herbert Ross, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
• 1928 – Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua
• 1928 – Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Theo Saat, Dutch sprinter (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Jim Shoulders, American rodeo rider (d. 2007)
• 1929 – John Galvin, American general (d. 2015)
• 1930 – Mike Gravel, American lieutenant and politician
• 1930 – José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish journalist and author
• 1930 – Vernon Shaw, Dominican politician, 5th President of Dominica (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)
• 1931 – Sydney Lipworth, South African-English lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
• 1933 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
• 1934 – Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (d. 2010)
• 1934 – Leon Wagner, American baseball player and actor (d. 2004)
• 1935 – Dominic Cossa, American opera singer
• 1935 – Teddy Randazzo, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (The Three Chuckles) (d. 2003)
• 1935 – Jan Saudek, Czech photographer and painter
• 1935 – Kája Saudek, Czech author and illustrator (d. 2015)
• 1936 – Bill Rompkey, Canadian educator and politician
• 1937 – Trevor Baylis, English inventor, invented the wind-up radio
• 1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian librarian and author
• 1937 – John Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley, English accountant and politician, Treasurer of the Household
• 1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
• 1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (d. 1995)
• 1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy
• 1938 – Laurent Beaudoin, Canadian businessman
• 1938 – Francine Pascal, American author and playwright
• 1939 – Hildrun Claus, German long jumper
• 1939 – Peter Frenkel, German race walker and coach
• 1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
• 1940 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (d. 1989)
• 1940 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese runner (d. 1968)
• 1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
• 1941 – Joe Brown, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and game show host
• 1941 – Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach
• 1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
• 1942 – Leighton Gage, American author (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Roger Young, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1943 – Anthony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, English lawyer and judge
• 1943 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish painter and sculptor
• 1943 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
• 1944 – Sir Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet, Scottish explorer, lawyer, and judge
• 1944 – Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
• 1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor
• 1945 – Sam Anderson, American actor
• 1945 – Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1945 – Magic Dick, American harmonica player (The J. Geils Band)
• 1945 – Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer (The Blues Brothers)
• 1946 – Waneta Hoyt, American murderer (d. 1998)
• 1946 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author
• 1946 – Jean Rondeau, French race car driver and constructor (d. 1985)
• 1946 – Marv Wolfman, American author
• 1947 – Charles Baxter, American novelist, essayist, and poet
• 1947 – Edgar Burcksen, Dutch-American film editor
• 1948 – Sheila Jeffreys, English-Australian political scientist, author, and academic
• 1948 – Dean Meminger, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
• 1949 – Jane Glover, English conductor and scholar
• 1949 – Franklyn Ajaye, American stand-up comedian
• 1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-English actress
• 1949 – Philip Kruse, Norwegian trumpeter and orchestra leader
• 1950 – Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
• 1950 – Manning Marable, American author and academic (d. 2011)
• 1950 – Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
• 1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1951 – Rosie Boycott, English journalist and author
• 1951 – Sharon Sayles Belton, American politician, 45th Mayor of Minneapolis
• 1951 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (d. 2014)
• 1951 – Herman Philipse, Dutch philosopher and academic
• 1951 – Selina Scott, English journalist, producer, and author
• 1951 – Paul Thompson, English drummer (Roxy Music, Concrete Blonde, and Angelic Upstarts)
• 1951 – James Whale, English radio and television host
• 1952 – John Kasich, American talk show host and politician, 69th Governor of Ohio
• 1952 – Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1953 – Gerry Sutcliffe, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
• 1953 – David Voelker, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
• 1953 – Harm Wiersma, Dutch draughts player and politician
• 1954 – Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Richard Madeley, English journalist and author
• 1957 – Alan Ball, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1957 – David Hill, English organist and conductor
• 1957 – Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Filipino Secretary of the Interior
• 1957 – Koji Suzuki, Japanese author and screenwriter
• 1958 – Frances Barber, English actress and singer
• 1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor
• 1962 – Paul Burstow, English politician
• 1962 – Nick Hurd, English businessman and politician, Minister for Civil Society
• 1962 – Kathleen Jamie, Scottish poet and academic
• 1962 – Paul McDermott, Australian comedian, actor, and singer (Doug Anthony All Stars)
• 1963 – Andrea Leadsom, English politician
• 1963 – Wally Masur, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
• 1964 – Chris Maitland, English drummer (Porcupine Tree and Nosound)
• 1965 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (d. 2006)
• 1965 – Tasmin Little, English violinist and educator
• 1965 – János Marozsán, Hungarian footballer
• 1965 – Hikari Ōta, Japanese comedian and actor
• 1965 – José Rijo, Dominican baseball player
• 1965 – Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1966 – Lee Altus, American heavy metal guitarist (Angelwitch and Heathen)
• 1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer (Goldfrapp)
• 1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Hootie & the Blowfish)
• 1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Death, Control Denied, Slaughter, and Voodoocult) (d. 2001)
• 1967 – Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (La Bouche) (d. 2001)
• 1968 – PMD, American rapper (EPMD)
• 1968 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
• 1968 – Susan Floyd, American actress
• 1968 – Dmitriy Shevchenko, Russian discus thrower and coach
• 1969 – Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter (Guns N' Roses, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, Praxis, and Deli Creeps)
• 1969 – Nikos Aliagas, French-Greek journalist and television host
• 1970 – Doug Evans, American football player
• 1970 – Robert Maćkowiak, Polish sprinter
• 1971 – Imogen Boorman, English actress and martial artist
• 1971 – Rob Fredrickson, American football player
• 1971 – Espen Lind, Norwegian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Espionage)
• 1971 – Fana Mokoena, South African actor
• 1971 – Tom Nalen, American football player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
• 1972 – Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1972 – Pieta van Dishoeck, Dutch rower
• 1973 – Eric Lewis, American pianist
• 1973 – Bridgett Riley, American boxer and stuntwoman
• 1975 – Jamie Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Cristian Bezzi, Italian rugby player and coach
• 1976 – Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer and manager
• 1976 – Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and scout
• 1976 – Ana Popović, Serbian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Magdalena Walach, Polish actress
• 1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter (The Common Linnets)
• 1977 – Anthony Q. Farrell, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter
• 1977 – Robby Hammock, American baseball player and coach
• 1977 – Neil Hopkins, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – James Middlebrook, English cricketer
• 1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress and director
• 1977 – Brian Thomas Smith, American actor and producer
• 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper (Clipse)
• 1978 – Brooke Anderson, American journalist
• 1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach
• 1978 – Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
• 1978 – Germán Magariños, Argentinian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1978 – Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
• 1979 – Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
• 1979 – Mickey Madden, American bass player (Maroon 5)
• 1979 – Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
• 1979 – Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ukrainian footballer
• 1979 – Jenny Winkler, German actress
• 1980 – Waka Inoue, Japanese model and actress
• 1980 – L. J. Smith, American football player
• 1981 – Luciana Berger, English politician
• 1981 – Nicolas Jeanjean, French rugby player
• 1981 – Sunny Leone, Canadian-American model, actress, director, and producer
• 1981 – Rebecka Liljeberg, Swedish actress
• 1981 – Shaun Phillips, American football player
• 1981 – James Yun, American wrestler and actor
• 1982 – Albert Crusat, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player
• 1982 – Yoko Kumada, Japanese model and singer
• 1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American soccer player
• 1983 – Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer
• 1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
• 1983 – Johnny Hoogerland, Dutch cyclist
• 1983 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
• 1983 – Jacob Reynolds, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
• 1984 – J. B. Cox, American baseball player
• 1984 – Benny Dayal, Indian singer (S5)
• 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler
• 1984 – Caroline Rotich, Kenyan runner
• 1985 – Javier Balboa, Spanish-Equatoguinean footballer
• 1985 – Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1985 – David Hernandez, American baseball player
• 1985 – Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer
• 1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1986 – Eun-Hee Ji, South Korean golfer
• 1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor
• 1986 – Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor
• 1986 – Scott Sutter, English footballer
• 1986 – Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Candice Accola, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1987 – Antonio Adán, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Matt Doyle, American actor and singer
• 1987 – Laura Izibor, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1987 – Mei Kurokawa, Japanese actress and singer
• 1987 – Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
• 1987 – Carrie Prejean, American model and author, Miss California USA 2009
• 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist
• 1987 – Charlotte Wessels, Dutch singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer
• 1988 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1989 – Hiromi Hosoi, Japanese entertainer and model
• 1989 – P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1990 – Mychal Givens, American baseball player
• 1991 – Francisco Lachowski, Brazilian model
• 1992 – Bill Arnold, American ice hockey player
• 1992 – Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
• 1992 – Georgina García Pérez, Spanish tennis player
• 1993 – Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
• 1993 – Bang Min-ah, South Korean singer and actress (Girl's Day)
• 1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer
• 1993 – Siim-Tanel Sammelselg, Estonian ski jumper
• 1994 – Łukasz Moneta, Polish footballer
• 1998 – Karen Iwata, Japanese singer (AKB48)

Deaths

• 1112 – Ulric II, Margrave of Carniola
• 1176 – Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
• 1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
• 1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyo (b. 1521)
• 1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician (b. 1547)
• 1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher and author (b. 1632)
• 1726 – Francesco Antonio Pistocchi, Italian singer (b. 1659)
• 1782 – Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist (b. 1736)
• 1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1721)
• 1809 – Beilby Porteus, English bishop (b. 1731)
• 1832 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (b. 1769)
• 1835 – John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (b. 1752)
• 1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
• 1878 – Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (b. 1797)
• 1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (b. 1809)
• 1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (b. 1809)
• 1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (b. 1864)
• 1916 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (b. 1859)
• 1921 – Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
• 1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (b. 1857)
• 1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
• 1938 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
• 1941 – Frederick Christian, English cricketer (b. 1877)
• 1941 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (b. 1891)
• 1945 – Tubby Hall, American drummer (b. 1895)
• 1947 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1926)
• 1948 – Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (b. 1920)
• 1957 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (b. 1886)
• 1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
• 1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (b. 1893)
• 1962 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (b. 1910)
• 1963 – Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (b. 1885)
• 1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
• 1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (b. 1902)
• 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898)
• 1975 – Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (Light Crust Doughboys) (b. 1905)
• 1977 – Mickey Spillane, American mobster (b. 1934)
• 1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1985 – Richard Ellmann American literary critic and biographer (b. 1918)
• 1988 – Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1929)
• 1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
• 1994 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (b. 1910)
• 1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (b. 1902)
• 2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (b. 1951)
• 2001 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (b. 1939)
• 2001 – R. K. Narayan, Indian author (b. 1906)
• 2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress and author (b. 1925)
• 2002 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
• 2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (b. 1921)
• 2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Michael Bruce Ross, American serial killer (b. 1959)
• 2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (b. 1923)
• 2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (Heatwave) (b. 1949)
• 2008 – Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
• 2008 – Ron Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
• 2009 – Frank Aletter, American actor (b. 1926)
• 2009 – Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (b. 1934)
• 2009 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (b. 1914)
• 2011 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
• 2011 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (b. 1933)
• 2011 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1930)
• 2011 – Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Donald "Duck" Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, The Blues Brothers, and The Mar-Keys) (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (b. 1979)
• 2012 – Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (b. 1906)
• 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (b. 1954)
• 2013 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (b. 1953)
• 2013 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (b. 1973)
• 2013 – Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
• 2014 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (b. 1977)
• 2014 – J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (b. 1948)
• 2015 – Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928)
• 2015 – David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
• Christian feast day:
  • Our Lady of Fátima
  • Gerard of Villamagna
  • Glyceria
  • John the Silent (Roman Catholic)
  • Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)
  • Frances Perkins (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Servatius
  • May 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Rotuma Day (Rotuma)

External links

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