March 4

March 4 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

March 4 is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 302 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 51 – Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
• 303 or 304 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
• 852 – Croatian Duke Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
• 932 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
• 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans.
• 1215 – King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.
• 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Russia.
• 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
• 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
• 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
• 1492 – King James IV of Scotland concludes an alliance with France against England.
• 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
• 1519 – Hernan Cortes arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and their wealth.
• 1570 – King Philip II of Spain bans foreign Dutch students.
• 1611 – George Abbot is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
• 1621 – Jakarta, Java is renamed Batavia.
• 1629 – Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
• 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on The Netherlands which marks the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
• 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
• 1681 – Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
• 1776 – The American War of Independence: The Americans capture Dorchester Heights dominating the port of Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1778 – The Continental Congress votes to ratify both the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance with France. The two treaties are the first entered into by the United States government.
• 1789 – In New York City, the first United States Congress meets, putting the Constitution of the United States into effect.
• 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, which cuts across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
• 1791 – Vermont is admitted as the 14th U.S. state.
• 1791 – A Constitutional Act is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
• 1793 – French troops conquer Geertruidenberg, Netherlands.
• 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
• 1797 – In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.
• 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
• 1813 – Russian troops fighting the army of Napoleon reach Berlin in Germany and the French garrison evacuates the city without a fight.
• 1814 – Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
• 1824 – The "National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck" is founded in the United Kingdom, later to be renamed The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1858.
• 1837 – Chicago is incorporated as a city.
• 1845 – James Knox Polk is inaugurated as the 11th President of the United States.
• 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia
• 1861 – First national flag of the Confederate States of America (the 'Stars and Bars') is adopted.
• 1861 – Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States.
• 1863 – The Idaho Territory is created as a political division of the United States.
• 1865 – Third (and last) national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
• 1877 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its première performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
• 1882 – Britain's first electric trams run in East London.
• 1887 – Gottlieb Daimler unveils his first automobile which he test runs in Esslingen and Cannstatt, Germany.
• 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) in length, is opened by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII.
• 1893 – Congo Free State: The army of Francis, Baron Dhanis attacks the Lualaba, enabling him to transport his troops across the Upper Congo and, capture Nyangwe almost without an effort.
• 1894 – Great fire in Shanghai. Over 1,000 buildings are destroyed.
• 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
• 1902 – In Chicago, the American Automobile Association is established.
• 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Russian troops in Korea retreat toward Manchuria followed by 100,000 Japanese troops.
• 1908 – The Collinwood School Fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
• 1911 – Victor Berger (Wisconsin) becomes the first socialist congressman in U.S..
• 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
• 1917 – Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto. The victory of the February Revolution.
• 1918 – The first case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating worldwide pandemic.
• 1925 – Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to have his inauguration broadcast on radio.
• 1929 – Charles Curtis becomes the first native-American Vice President of the United States.
• 1930 – Floods ransack Languedoc and the surrounding area in south-west France, resulting in twelve départements being submerged by water and causing the death of over 700 people.
• 1931 – The British Viceroy of India, Governor-General Edward Frederick Lindley Wood and Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) meet to sign an agreement envisaging the release of political prisoners and allowing salt to be freely used by the poorest members of the population.
• 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
• 1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates authoritarian rule by decree (see Austrofascism).
• 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands.
• 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
• 1945 – In the United Kingdom, Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth II, joins the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver.
• 1945 – Lapland War: Finland declares war on Nazi Germany.
• 1954 – Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.
• 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
• 1960 – French freighter 'La Coubre' explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the U.S.
• 1962 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation.
• 1966 – Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
• 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes.
• 1972 – Libya and the Soviet Union sign a cooperation treaty.
• 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London via the British parliament.
• 1976 – The last flight of the second Concorde prototype aircraft to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton,England.
• 1977 – The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake in southern and eastern Europe kills more than 1,500.
• 1977 – The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.
• 1979 – The first encyclical written by Pope John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (Latin for "The Redeemer of Man") is promulgated less than five months after his installation as pope.
• 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.
• 1982 – NASA launches the Intelsat V-508 satellite.
• 1983 – Bertha Wilson is appointed the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada.
• 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
• 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Comet Halley and the first images ever of its nucleus.
• 1991 – Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, returns to his country for the first time since Iraq's invasion.
• 1994 – Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16) launches into orbit.
• 1994 – Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats sign an agreement to form a federation in a loose economic union with Croatia.
• 1997 – U.S. President Bill Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research.
• 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
• 2001 – 4 March 2001 BBC bombing: a massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring 11 people. The attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
• 2001 – Hintze Ribeiro disaster, a bridge collapses in northern Portugal, killing up to 70 people.
• 2002 – Canada bans human embryo cloning but permits government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from fertility treatment or abortions.
• 2002 – Multinational Force in Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers are killed as they attempt to infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
• 2005 – The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers after it ran a roadblock in Iraq, causing the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two passengers.
• 2005 – The United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by the HIV virus in the future without further action against the spread of the disease.
• 2006 – Final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. No response is received.
• 2007 – Estonian parliamentary election, 2007: Approximately 30,000 voters take advantage of electronic voting in Estonia, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the votecasting is allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet.
• 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.

Births

• 1188 – Blanche of Castile, wife of Louis VIII of France (d. 1252)
• 1394 – Henry the Navigator (d. 1460)
• 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian composer (d. c. 1540)
• 1525 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer (d. 1594)
• 1610 – William Dobson, English portraitist and painter (d. 1646)
• 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers (d. 1716)
• 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
• 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer (d. 1741)
• 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English burglar and escapee (d. 1724)
• 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect and architectural writer (d. 1759)
• 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, British statesman (d. 1763)
• 1719 – George Pigot, Baron Pigot, British governor of Madras (d. 1777)
• 1729 – Anne d'Arpajon, comtesse de Noailles, French noblewoman (d. 1794)
• 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English composer (d. 1814)
• 1745 – Kazimierz Pułaski, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1779)
• 1756 – Sir Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter (d. 1823)
• 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
• 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss folklorist (d. 1830)
• 1790 – David "Robber" Lewis, American robber known for giving stolen money to the poor. (d. 1820)
• 1792 – Samuel Slocum, American inventor (d. 1861)
• 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist (d. 1851)
• 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American statesman and United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
• 1819 – Charles Oberthur, German-born harpist (d. 1895)
• 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (d. 1856)
• 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician (d. 1880)
• 1826 – John Buford, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1863)
• 1826 – Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (d. 1863)
• 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones (Glasynys), Welsh clergyman and author (d. 1870)
• 1835 – John Hughlings Jackson, English neurologist (d. 1911)
• 1847 – Karl Bayer, Austrian chemist (d. 1904)
• 1854 – Sir Napier Shaw, British meteorologist (d. 1945)
• 1856 – Toru Dutt, English and French poet and author (d. 1877)
• 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter (d. 1921)
• 1859 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1905)
• 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
• 1863 – Reginald Innes Pocock, British zoologist (d. 1947)
• 1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American jurist (d. 1943)
• 1863 – Guilląme Sebastian Furrét, Portuguese dramatist (d. 1937)
• 1864 – David W. Taylor, U.S. Navy architect (d. 1940)
• 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet (d. 1944)
• 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician (d. 1945)
• 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American humorist and poet (d. 1904)
• 1873 – John H. Trumbull, 54th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
• 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, former Prime Minister and President of Hungary (d. 1955)
• 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet (d. 1947)
• 1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Founder of the Magician's Guild (d. 1945)
• 1877 – Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike, Russian composer (d. 1957)
• 1877 – Fritz Graebner, German ethnologist (d. 1934)
• 1877 – Garrett Morgan, American inventor (d. 1963)
• 1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American songwriter and pianist (d. 1951)
• 1878 – Peter D. Ouspensky, Russian philosopher (d. 1947)
• 1878 – Arishima Takeo, Japanese writer (d. 1923)
• 1879 – Josip Murn Aleksandrov, Slovenian poet (d. 1901)
• 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
• 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1924)
• 1881 – Maude Fealy, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American writer (d. 1965)
• 1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (d. 1948)
• 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian diplomat (d. 1941)
• 1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (d. 1956)
• 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
• 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist (d. 1958)
• 1887 – John Alexander Buchanan, Canadian politician and civil engineer (d. 1976)
• 1887 – Violet MacMillan, American actress (d. 1953)
• 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-born American actress (d. 1942)
• 1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
• 1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
• 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician (d. 1967)
• 1889 – Oren E. Long, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
• 1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
• 1889 – Robert William Wood, American landscape artist (d. 1979)
• 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
• 1891 – Lois Wilson, founder of Al-Anon (d. 1988)
• 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American aeronautical engineer (d. 1985)
• 1893 – Adolph Lowe (born Adolf Löwe), German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
• 1895 – Jesse Baker (basketball, American baseball player (d. 1976)
• 1895 – Milt Gross, American comic book illustrator (d. 1953)
• 1895 – Shemp Howard, American comedian (d. 1955)
• 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish film actor (d. 1985)
• 1897 – Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (d. 1969)
• 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist (d. 1940)
• 1899 – Liana Del Balzo, Italian film actress (d. 1982)
• 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and editor (d. 1962)
• 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American screenwriter (d. 1971)
• 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist (d. 1986)
• 1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and writer (d. 1991)
• 1901 – Jean Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy/French poet (d. 1937)
• 1902 – Fred Mallin, English boxer (d. 1987)
• 1902 – Russell Reeder, United States Army officer and author (d. 1998)
• 1903 – Carrie Best, Canadian journalist (d. 2001)
• 1903 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish statesman (d. 1973)
• 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunochemist (d. 1983)
• 1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist (d. 1990)
• 1903 – Merwin Graham, American Olympic track and field athlete (d. 1989)
• 1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, British-born actress (d. 1990)
• 1903 – John Scarne, American magician (d. 1985)
• 1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-born physicist (d. 1968)
• 1904 – Joseph Schmidt Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
• 1904 – Chief Tahachee, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1906 – Buck Canel, Argentine American sportscaster (d. 1980)
• 1906 – Meindert DeJong American author (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Avery Fisher, American audio specialist (d. 1994)
• 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian bicycle racer (d. 1969)
• 1906 – Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
• 1907 – Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Richard J. Daley (d. 2003)
• 1908 – T.R.M. Howard, American civil rights leader (d. 1976)
• 1908 – Thomas Shaw, American musician (d. 1977)
• 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American real estate entrepreneur (d. 1997)
• 1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemical engineer (d. 1987)
• 1910 – Miriam Kressyn, Polish-born actor (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Carl Forberg, American racecar driver (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter (d. 1976)
• 1912 – Judith Furse, British character actress (d. 1974)
• 1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor (d. 1996)
• 1912 – Carl Marzani, American documentarian (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Edgar Tafel, American architect
• 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian writer and singer (d. 1976)
• 1913 – John H. Fremlin, English nuclear physicist (d. 1995)
• 1913 – John Garfield, American actor (d. 1952)
• 1913 – Willie Johnson (guitarist), American guitarist (d. 1995)
• 1914 – Gino Colaussi (Luigi Colaussi), Italian footballer (d. 1991)
• 1914 – Ward Kimball, American cartoonist (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor and architect (d. 2000)
• 1915 – Charles Johnston, Baron Johnston of Rockport, British politician and businessman (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian administrator and politician (d. 2000)
• 1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Robert Thom, American painter and historian (d. 1979)
• 1916 – William Alland, American actor, producer, writer and director (d. 1997)
• 1916 – Maurice Argent, American actor (d. 1981)
• 1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (d. 2000)
• 1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-born psychologist (d. 1997)
• 1916 – Michael Howard, British actor and comedian (d. 1988)
• 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player
• 1919 – Buck Baker, American racecar driver (d. 2002)
• 1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian politician (d. 1996)
• 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician (d. 1993)
• 1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-born composer
• 1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
• 1921 – Dinny Pails, Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
• 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American cinematographer and film director (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Martha O'Driscoll, American film actress (d. 1998)
• 1922 – Dina Pathak, Gujarati theatre and film actress (d. 2002)
• 1923 – Sir Patrick Moore, British astronomer
• 1924 – Kenneth O'Donnell, aide to US President John F. Kennedy (d. 1977)
• 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French musician (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Richard DeVos, American billionaire, co-founder of Amway
• 1926 – James J. Eagan, Former Mayor of Florissant, Missouri (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (d. 1977)
• 1926 – Don Rendell, English jazz musician and arranger
• 1926 – Fran Warren, American singer
• 1927 – Philip Batt, 29th Governor of Idaho
• 1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet
• 1927 – Robert Orben, American magician
• 1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player
• 1927 – Cy Touff, American jazz musician (d. 2003)
• 1928 – Samuel Adler, American composer
• 1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English writer
• 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor
• 1929 – Wolfgang Hollegha, Austrian painter
• 1929 – Josep Mestres Quadreny, Catalan composer
• 1929 – Darrett B. Rutman, US historian (d. 1997)
• 1929 – Elaine Shore, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Peter Swerling, American RADAR theoretician (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
• 1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey coach (d. 1991)
• 1931 – William Henry Keeler, American Roman Catholic Archbishop
• 1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist
• 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian composer, pianist and conductor
• 1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist (d. 2007)
• 1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American car designer (d. 2001)
• 1932 – Frank Wells, American entertainment businessman (d. 1994)
• 1933 – Ann Burton, Dutch jazz singer (d. 1989)
• 1933 – John W Mills, British sculptor
• 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian racing driver
• 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian composer
• 1934 – John Duffey, American bluegrass musician (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
• 1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist
• 1934 – Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and dissident
• 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Polish Romani poet, musician and composer
• 1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player
• 1935 – Nancy Whiskey, Scottish folk singer (d. 2003)
• 1936 – Eric Allendale, West Indian trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Jim Clark, OBE, Scottish racing driver (d. 1968)
• 1936 – Robert Garrow, American serial killer (d. 1978)
• 1936 – Aribert Reimann, German composer
• 1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
• 1937 – Leslie Gelb, American foreign policy advisor
• 1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian medical doctor, explorer and TV anchorman. (d. 2003)
• 1937 – Barney Wilen, French jazz saxophonist (d. 1996)
• 1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian novelist
• 1938 – Anton Stanislaus Balasingham, Political strategist and negotiator (d. 2006)
• 1938 – Marshall Cooke, retired Australian politician
• 1938 – Roy Hazelwood, former FBI profiler of sex crimes
• 1938 – Angus MacLise, American percussionist (d. 1979)
• 1938 – Don Perkins, American football player
• 1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
• 1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish diplomat and researcher
• 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
• 1939 – Keith Skues, British radio personality
• 1939 – Carlos Vereza, Brazilian actor
• 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German legal scholar and former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
• 1940 – Volodymyr Morozov, Ukrainian flatwater canoer
• 1940 – Tom Pedigo, American set decorator (d. 2000)
• 1940 – David Plante, American novelist
• 1940 – Tamara Wilcox, American actress (d. 1998)
• 1941 – John Aprea, American actor
• 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English film director
• 1941 – Linda Obermoeller, American painter
• 1941 – Bobby Shew, American jazz musician
• 1941 – James Zagel, United States district judge and novelist
• 1942 – Ji-Tu Cumbuka, veteran American stage and screen actor
• 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American gospel songwriter
• 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
• 1942 – David Matthews, American keyboardist
• 1942 – Lynn Sherr, American broadcast journalist and author
• 1942 – Henk van der Kroon, Dutch founder and president of the Federation of European Carnival Cities
• 1943 – Malcolm Barber, English scholar of medieval history
• 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer and songwriter
• 1943 – Zoltan Jeney, Hungarian composer
• 1944 – Ulrich Roski, German singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English automotive engineer (d. 1999)
• 1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American particle physicist
• 1944 – Michael "Mick" Wilson, drummer (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich)
• 1944 – Len Walker, former English footballer and manager
• 1944 – Greg Weld, American racecar driver (d. 2008)
• 1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer
• 1945 – Femi Benussi, Italian film actress
• 1945 – Tara Browne, British socialite (d. 1966)
• 1945 – Greg Craig, Washington-based lawyer and current White House Counsel to President Barack Obama
• 1945 – Dieter Meier, Swiss singer
• 1945 – Frank Novak, American actor
• 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish football manager
• 1945 – Tim Weigel, American broadcaster (d. 2001)
• 1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball coach
• 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English entrepreneur
• 1946 – Daniel Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
• 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian filmmaker
• 1946 – David Gittins (Red Stripe), singer (Flying Pickets)
• 1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American author
• 1946 – Nora Radcliffe, Scottish politician
• 1946 – Jean-Claude Schmitt, prominent French medievalist
• 1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter
• 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian musician
• 1947 – Greg Guma, American progressive journalist and author
• 1947 – Gunnar Hansen, Icelandic actor
• 1947 – John Hinch (mathematician), English Professor of fluid dynamics, Cambridge University
• 1947 – Aura Lewis, South African singer
• 1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian composer and pianist
• 1947 – Mike Sheahan, Australian journalist and sports television personality
• 1947 – Gwen Welles, American actress (d. 1993)
• 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain, Australian author
• 1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
• 1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player
• 1948 – Leron Lee, American baseball player
• 1948 – Jean O'Leary, American activist and politician (d. 2005)
• 1948 – Chris Squire, English bassist (Yes)
• 1948 – Shakin' Stevens, Welsh singer
• 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian country singer and songwriter
• 1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, President of the partially recognized de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia
• 1949 – Cookie Mueller, American actress and writer (d. 1989)
• 1949 – Tomislav Trifić, Serbian graphic artist
• 1950 – Francis Affleck, Canadian race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1950 – Barrie Cassidy, veteran Australian political journalist
• 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
• 1950 – Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
• 1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian playwright
• 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German politician
• 1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, American novelist (d. 1982)
• 1951 – Pete Haycock, English guitarist and composer
• 1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball manager
• 1951 – Mike Quarry, American boxer (d. 2006)
• 1951 – Chris Rea, English singer
• 1951 – Cecilia Todd, Venezuelan singer and performer
• 1951 – Linda Yamamoto, Japanese singer
• 1952 – Ronn Moss, American actor
• 1952 – Svend Robinson, Canadian politician
• 1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer
• 1953 – John Edwards, Australian television drama producer
• 1953 – [[Emilio Estefan, Cuban percussionist
• 1953 – Scott Hicks, Ugandan-born film director
• 1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish football manager
• 1953 – Rose Laurens, French singer-songwriter
• 1953 – Kay Lenz, American actress
• 1953 – Peggy Rathmann, award-winning American author and illustrator
• 1953 – Chris Smith, American politician
• 1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American crime fiction writer
• 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian major general and Hero of the Russian Federation (d. 2001)
• 1954 – Mark Chorvinsky, American author and editor (d. 2005)
• 1954 – Ricky Ford, American jazz tenor saxophonist
• 1954 – François Fillon, French politician, Prime Minister of France
• 1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American professional golfer
• 1954 – Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
• 1954 – St Clair L. Palmer, vocalist (Sweet Sensation)
• 1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian writer and dissident
• 1954 – Willie Thorne, English snooker player
• 1954 – Adrian Zmed, American actor
• 1955 – Rowland Charles Gould (Boon Gould) English musician (Level 42)
• 1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh professional footballer
• 1955 – Dominique Pinon, French actor
• 1955 – James Weaver, English race car driver
• 1956 – Kermit Driscoll, American jazz bassist
• 1957 – Jim Dwyer, American journalist
• 1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor
• 1957 – Rick Mast, American NASCAR driver
• 1958 – Caroline Ashley, Scottish actress
• 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
• 1958 – Lennie Lee, British artist
• 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian news presenter
• 1960 – Mikko Kuustonen, Finnish singer and songwriter
• 1960 – John Mugabi, Ugandan boxer
• 1960 – Thierry Pastor, French singer
• 1960 – Christina Sussiek, former German athlete
• 1960 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor
• 1961 – Alain Coumont, Belgian chef and restaurateur
• 1961 – Sabine Everts, former German track athlete
• 1961 – Tinker Juarez, bike racer
• 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
• 1961 – Mahito Ōba, Japanese voice actor and narrator
• 1961 – Theodosii Spassov, Bulgarian jazz musician
• 1961 – Steven Weber, American actor
• 1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer
• 1962 – Simon Bisley, British comic book artist
• 1962 – Paul Canoville, English former professional footballer
• 1962 – Jon Durno, bassist (Roman Holliday)
• 1962 – Greg Kragen, American footballer
• 1962 – Mikko Nissinen, Finnish ballet dancer
• 1962 – David Sparrow, English actor
• 1963 – Barbara Bubula, Polish politician
• 1963 – Janey Lee Grace, English singer and disc jockey
• 1963 – Alexei Kyrilloff, Russian artist
• 1963 – Jason Newsted, American bassist (Metallica, Voivod)
• 1963 – Daniel Roebuck, American actor
• 1964– Paul Bostaph, American drummer (Testament, Slayer, Exodus, Forbidden)
• 1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish politician
• 1964 – Cheryl Fergison, British actress
• 1964 – Karen Knowles, Australian singer and entertainer
• 1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player
• 1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian screenwriter and director
• 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English filmmaker
• 1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist
• 1965 – Stacy Edwards, American actress
• 1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan author and physician
• 1965 – WestBam (Maximillian Lenz), German rave techno DJ
• 1965 – Yuri Lonchakov, Russian cosmonaut
• 1965 – Jonathan Shearer, Scottish castaway
• 1966 – Daniela Amavia, American actress and model
• 1966 – Steve Bastoni, Italian Australian actor
• 1966 – Patrick Hannan, drummer (The Sundays)
• 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
• 1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and Mayor of Sacramento, California
• 1966 – Kevin Maurice Johnson, Mayor of Sacramento, California
• 1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author
• 1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
• 1966 – Nick Scandone, American paralympian yachtsman (d. 2009)
• 1966 – Wash West, English gay porn film director
• 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer
• 1967 – Evan Dando, American musician (The Lemonheads)
• 1967 – Fiona Ma, California State Assembly Majority Whip and San Francisco politician
• 1967 – Andrew Osmond, English writer
• 1967 – Dave Rayner, English racing cyclist (d. 1994)
• 1967 – Sam Taylor-Wood, English conceptual artist
• 1967 – Kubilay Türkyılmaz, former Turkish-Swiss footballer
• 1967 – Andreas Wistuba, German taxonomist and botanist
• 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1968 – Shafiek Abrahams, South African cricket player
• 1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian musician and singer
• 1968 – Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Australian cricketer
• 1968 – Patsy Kensit, English actress
• 1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek politician
• 1969 – Chastity Bono, American actress and gay rights activist
• 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian football manager
• 1969 – Annie Shizuka Inoh, Taiwanese actress
• 1969 – Frank Nicotero, American comedian
• 1969 – Stina Nordenstam, Swedish pop singer and musician
• 1969 – Patrick Roach, Canadian actor
• 1969 – Matt Tilley, Australian radio personality and comedian
• 1969 – Jason Townsend, American artist and record producer
• 1970 – Andrea Bendewald, American actress
• 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer
• 1970 – Nate Sidek, American industrial rock vocalist(Shovel)
• 1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch professional tennis player
• 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player
• 1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
• 1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player(Volbeat)
• 1971 – Fergal Lawler, Irish drummer (The Cranberries)
• 1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese racing driver
• 1971 – Shavar Ross, American filmmaker
• 1971 – Jason Sellers, American country music artist
• 1971 – Nick Stabile, American actor
• 1971 – Jovan Stanković, Serbian footballer
• 1972 – Buck 65, Canadian hip hop artist, MC and turntablist
• 1972 – Katherine Center, contemporary American fiction author
• 1972 – Ian Garbutt, English professional golfer
• 1972 – Pae Gil-Su, North Korean gymnast
• 1972 – Giorgos Mazonakis, Greek pop singer
• 1972 – Brittney Powell, German-American actress
• 1972 – Ivy Queen, American composer and singer
• 1972 – Robert Smith, American footballer
• 1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch racing driver
• 1972 – Alison Wheeler, British singer (The Beautiful South)
• 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian football player
• 1973 – Summer Cummings, American porno actress
• 1973 – Phillip Daniels, American footballer
• 1973 – Mark Lavine, West Indian cricketer (d. 2001)
• 1973 – Len Wiseman, American director
• 1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Tollywood film director
• 1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian vocalist (Arcturus)
• 1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
• 1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentine footballer
• 1974 – Gabriel o Pensador, Brazilian hip hop rapper
• 1974 – Tommy Phelps, American baseball player
• 1974 – David Wagner, American wheelchair tennis player
• 1974 – Bill Young (rugby union), Australian rugby union footballer
• 1975 – Kirsten Bolm, German hurdler
• 1975 – Julie Dibens, British triathlete
• 1975 – Patrick Femerling, German-born professional basketball player
• 1975 – Kim Jung-Eun, South Korean actress
• 1975 – Myrna Veenstra, Dutch field hockey player
• 1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian rock singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
• 1976 – Hiram Bocachica, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1976 – Sean Covel, American film producer
• 1976 – Hayley Evetts, English singer, TV presenter and stage actor
• 1976 – Brian Diego Fuentes, Argentine soccer player
• 1976 – Alireza Heidari, Iranian Olympic wrestler
• 1976 – Cho In-Chul, World Champion South Korean judoka
• 1976 – Kim Jung-eun, South Korean actress
• 1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish football player
• 1976 – Christian Nicolay, German javelin thrower
• 1976 – Regi Penxten, Belgian DJ and record producer
• 1976 – Thierry Renaer, Belgian field hockey player
• 1976 – Gary Shortland, British professional figure skater
• 1976 – Scott Sturgeon, American musician (Choking Victim, Leftöver Crack)
• 1976 – Jasin Thomason, American guitarist (The Ataris)
• 1976 – Vic Wunderle, American archer
• 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentine polo player
• 1977 – Ana Gabriela Guevara, Mexican athlete
• 1977 – Jeremiah Green, American indie rock band drummer (Modest Mouse)
• 1977 – Juha Helppi, Finnish professional poker player
• 1977 – Ron Horsley, American author and artist
• 1977 – Mike Kinsella, American musician (Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, American Football, and Owen)
• 1977 – Daniel Klewer, German footballer
• 1977 – Grégory Le Corvec, French rugby union footballer
• 1977 – Tonga Lea'aetoa, New Zealand-Tongan rugby union player
• 1977 – Jason Marsalis, American musician
• 1977 – Traver Rains, American designer (Heatherette)
• 1977 – Rockell (Rachel Alexandra Mercaldo), American musician
• 1977 – Dan Wells, American horror fiction author
• 1977 – Gareth Wyatt, Welsh rugby union player
• 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
• 1978 – César Morales, Mexican bantamweight boxer
• 1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
• 1979 – Neil Best, Irish rugby union footballer
• 1979 – Ariel Carreño, Argentine football striker
• 1979 – Karima Delli, French politician
• 1979 – Ben Fouhy, New Zealand flatwater canoeist
• 1979 – Trenton Hassell, American basketball player
• 1979 – Geoff Huegill, Australian swimmer
• 1979 – Jon Fratelli, Scottish singer (The Fratellis)
• 1979 – Mark Anthony Parrish, American actor, producer, and social and liberal political activist
• 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1979 – Paul Terry, English footballer
• 1979 – Stelios Theocharous, Greek Cypriot actor
• 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
• 1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
• 1980 – Jung Da Bin, South Korean actress (d. 2007)
• 1980 – Michael Henrich, American-born ice hockey player
• 1980 – Alex Ribeiro Garcia, Brazilian professional basketball player
• 1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian professional basketball player
• 1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby union footballer
• 1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
• 1980 – Greg Lamb, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1980 – Arash Markazi, American sportswriter
• 1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish football player
• 1980 – Vladan Milosavljević, Serbian footballer
• 1980 – Kamalinee Mukherjee, (Kamalini Mukherjee) Indian film actress
• 1981 – Carol Banawa, Filipino singer and celebrity
• 1981 – Marie Delattre, French sprint canoer
• 1981 – Gareth Knapman, English theatre actor and director
• 1981 – Laura Michelle Kelly, English actress and singer
• 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese international football player
• 1981 – Aketza Peña, Spanish road bicycle racer
• 1981 – Donny Tourette, English punk rock singer (Towers of London)
• 1981 – Helen Wyman, British cyclist
• 1982 – Mariano Altuna, Argentine racing driver
• 1982 – Uma Blasini, Puerto Rican beauty queen
• 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player
• 1982 – Elia Rigotto, Italian road bicycle racer
• 1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby union footballer
• 1983 – Akeem Omolade, Nigerian footballer
• 1983 – Max Vergara Poeti, Colombian writer
• 1983 – Ryan Lonie, Australian football player
• 1983 – Dante Senger, Argentine footballer
• 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli/English football midfielder
• 1984 – Marin Čolak, Croatian auto racing driver
• 1984 – Norbert Hosnyánszky, Hungarian water polo player
• 1984 – Ai Iwamura, Japanese actress
• 1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
• 1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-born footballer
• 1985 – Jake Buxton, English professional footballer
• 1985 – Guillermo Diaz Puerto Rican professional basketball player
• 1985 – Scott Michael Foster, American actor
• 1985 – Mathieu Montcourt, Professional French tennis player (d. 2009)
• 1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
• 1985 – Whitney Port, American reality television personality
• 1985 – Jonas Troest, Danish professional football player
• 1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
• 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Erin O'Kelley, American beauty queen
• 1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
• 1986 – Park Min Young, South Korean model and actress
• 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian rules footballer
• 1987 – Tamzin Merchant, British actor and poetess
• 1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian rules footballer
• 1988 – Cody Longo, American film actor
• 1988 – Mikuru Uchino, Japanese gravure idol
• 1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
• 1989 – Erin Heatherton, American fashion model
• 1989 – Bradley Middleton, English footballer
• 1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
• 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
• 1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish/English Premier League footballer
• 1990 – Maximiliano Oliva, Argentine footballer
• 1991 – Diandra Newlin, American actress and fashion model
• 1991 – Stuart O'Keefe, English footballer
• 1992 – Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, daughter of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
• 1993 – Jenna Boyd, American actress
• 1993 – Abigail Mavity, American actress
• 1993 – Yves Michel-Beneche, American actor

Deaths

• 251 – Pope Lucius I
• 480 – Saint Landry, bishop of Sées
• 561 – Pope Pelagius I
• 1172 – Stephen III of Hungary (b. 1147)
• 1193 – Saladin, Kurdish sultan (b. 1137)
• 1238 – Joan of England, Queen Consort of Scotland, wife of Alexander II (b. 1210)
• 1238 – Yuri II, Grand Prince of Vladimir (b. 1189)
• 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Saint, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1261)
• 1484 – Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland (b. 1458)
• 1496 – Sigismund of Austria (b. 1427)
• 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English clergyman, "Apostle of the North" (b. 1517)
• 1604 – Fausto Paolo Sozzini, Italian theologian (b. 1539)
• 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter (b. 1552)
• 1619 – Anne of Denmark, wife of James I (b. 1574)
• 1710 – Louis III, Prince of Condé (b. 1668)
• 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (b. 1656)
• 1744 – John Anstis, Garter King of Arms (b. 1669)
• 1762 – Johannes Zick, German fresco painter (b. 1702)
• 1793 – Louis de Bourbon, French admiral (b. 1725)
• 1795 – John Collins, American politician (b. 1717)
• 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
• 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American politician (b. 1754)
• 1821 – Princess Elizabeth of Clarence, daughter of King William IV, granddaughter of King George III (b. 1820)
• 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French scholar (b. 1790)
• 1851 – James Richardson, British explorer (b. 1809)
• 1852 – Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, Russian writer (b. 1809)
• 1853 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (b. 1774)
• 1858 – Matthew Perry, U.S. naval officer (b. 1794)
• 1864 – Thomas Starr King, influential Californian Unitarian minister during the American Civil War (b. 1824)
• 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish founder of the Disciples of Christ (b. 1788)
• 1868 – Jesse Chisholm, American pioneer of the Chisholm Trail (b. 1805)
• 1872 – Johannes Carsten Hauch, Danish poet (b. 1790)
• 1883 – Alexander Hamilton Stephens, former Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
• 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher (b. 1799)
• 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English novelist (b. 1834)
• 1906 – John McAllister Schofield, former U.S. Secretary of War and Commanding General of the U.S. Army (b. 1831)
• 1910 – Knut Ångström, Swedish physicist (b. 1857)
• 1915 – William Willett, campaigner for daylight saving time (b. 1856)
• 1916 – Franz Marc, German artist (b. 1880)
• 1922 – Bert Williams, American entertainer (b. 1874)
• 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish/German composer (b. 1854)
• 1925 – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
• 1925 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player (b. 1860)
• 1927 – Ira Remsen American chemist (b. 1846)
• 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American politician (b. 1852)
• 1938 – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
• 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist (b. 1860)
• 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1858)
• 1944 – Louis Buchalter, Jewish American mobster (b. 1897) (executed)
• 1944 – Louis Capone, New York organized crime figure (b. 1896) (executed)
• 1944 – René Lefebvre, martyr of the French Resistance (b. 1879)
• 1944 – Emanuel Weiss, American hitman (b. 1906) (executed)
• 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and political activist (b. 1855)
• 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
• 1945 – Mark Sandrich, American film director, writer and producer (b. 1900)
• 1946 – Bror von Blixen-Finecke, Danish big-game hunter (b. 1886)
• 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor/director (b. 1896)
• 1950 – Adam Rainer, the only man in recorded human history ever to have been both a dwarf and a giant (b. 1899)
• 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)
• 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer, (b. 1898)
• 1959 – Maxey Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
• 1960 – Herbert O'Conor, 51st Governor of the US State of Maryland (b. 1896)
• 1960 – Leonard Warren, American baritone (b. 1911)
• 1962 – George Mogridge, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet (b. 1883)
• 1967 – Vladan Desnica, Croatian and Serbian writer (b. 1905)
• 1967 – Michel Plancherel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1885)
• 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-born film empresario (b. 1881)
• 1973 – Samuel Tolansky, British scientist and expert on spectroscopy (b. 1907)
• 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter (b. 1903)
• 1976 – Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (b. 1886)
• 1976 – John Marvin Jones, Texan member of the United States House of Representatives and Chief Judge of the US federal Court of Claims (b. 1882)
• 1976 – Nikolai Semashko, Soviet sports administrator (b. 1907)
• 1976 – Jim Walsh, an American basketball player (b. 1930)
• 1977 – Miles C. Allgood, U.S. Representative from Alabama (b. 1878)
• 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian modernist poet, essayist, translator, novelist, publisher, literary and art critic (b. 1925)
• 1977 – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian systemic botanist, conservationist and herbarium curator (b. 1912)
• 1977 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)
• 1977 – Toma Caragiu, Romanian actor (b. 1925)
• 1977 – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German politician (b. 1887)
• 1977 – William Paul, American attorney, legislator, and political activist (b. 1885)
• 1978 – Wesley Bolin, former Governor of the U.S. State of Arizona (b. 1909)
• 1978 – Joe Marsala, Chicago-based jazz clarinetist and songwriter (b. 1907)
• 1978 – John Meighan, Irish Clann na Talmhan politician (b. 1891)
• 1979 – Harry Hopkinson, British yodeler (b. 1902)
• 1979 – Gladys McConnell, American movie actress and aviatrix (b. 1905)
• 1979 – Mike Patto, (Michael Thomas McCarthy), English vocalist and front man for The Bow Street Runners (b. 1942)
• 1979 – Robert John Sinclair, 1st Baron Sinclair of Cleeve, British businessman and public servant (b. 1893)
• 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountain climber (b. 1926)
• 1980 – Johannes Martin Bijvoet, Dutch chemist and crystallographer (b. 1892)
• 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English football administrator (b. 1912)
• 1980 – Eric Kerfoot, English footballer (b. 1924)
• 1980 – J. F. A. McManus, Canadian pathologist (b. 1911)
• 1980 – Luis Piazzini, Argentine chess master (b. 1905)
• 1980 – Alfred Plé, Olympic Frnech rower (b. 1888)
• 1980 – Alex Vetchinsky, British film designer (b. 1904)
• 1981 – Odette Barencey, French film actress (b. 1893)
• 1981 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
• 1981 – Franz Kapus, Swiss Olympic bobsledder (b. 1909)
• 1981 – John Knight, Australian politician (b. 1943)
• 1981 – Karl-Jesco von Puttkamer, World War II naval adjutant to Adolf Hitler (b. 1900)
• 1981 – Torin Thatcher, Indian actor (b. 1905)
• 1982 – Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-born English novelist (b. 1912)
• 1984 – Ernest Buckler, Canadian novelist (b. 1908)
• 1984 – Jewel Carmen, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1984 – Martin Hürlimann, Swiss photographer (b. 1897)
• 1984 – Geoffrey Lumsden, British actor (b. 1914)
• 1986 – Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (b. 1936)
• 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist (b. 1917)
• 1986 – Edward MacLysaght, Irish genealogist (b. 1887)
• 1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian musician (The Band) (b. 1943)
• 1986 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and novelist (b. 1913)
• 1986 – John Spence, British Conservative Party politician (b. 1920)
• 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine novelist and screenwriter (b. 1924)
• 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American jazz and R&B guitarist (b. 1916)
• 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
• 1990 – Harry Worthington, American track and field athlete (b. 1891)
• 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
• 1991 – Kenneth Lindsay, British Labour Party politician (b. 1897)
• 1992 – Néstor Almendros, Spanish cinematographer (b. 1930)
• 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Peter Judge, English cricketer (b. 1916)
• 1992 – Pare Lorentz, American filmmaker (b. 1905)
• 1992 – Mary Osborne, American jazz electric guitarist (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Larry Rosenthal, American professional baseball outfielder (b. 1910)
• 1993 – Michael Beecher, Australian-based model and actor (b. 1939)
• 1993 – Art Hodes, American jazz pianist (b. 1904)
• 1993 – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer, songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
• 1993 – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist (b. 1894)
• 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, British Conservative Party politician and government minister (b. 1929)
• 1993 – Richard Sale, American screenwriter and film director (b. 1911)
• 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian (b. 1950)
• 1994 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-born philosopher and logician(b. 1918)
• 1994 – Chris Seydou, Malian fashion designer (b. 1949)
• 1994 – Paul Solomon, American psychic (b. 1939)
• 1995 – eden ahbez, American composer (b. 1908)
• 1995 – Iftekhar, Bollywood character actor (b.?)
• 1995 – Matt Urban, Lieutenant Colonel United States Army (b. 1919)
• 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American comedian (b. 1912)
• 1996 – Johnny Sauer, American football player, coach, and broadcaster (b. 1925)
• 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell,English Royal Navy officer, aide-de-camp to King George VI and High Sheriff of Northumberland (b. 1901)
• 1997 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist (b. 1916)
• 1997 – Edouard Klabinski, Polish professional racing cyclist (b. 1920)
• 1997 – Carey Loftin, American actor/stuntman (b. 1914)
• 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian World War II Army Major General (b. 1907)
• 1998 – Donald Rodney, British artist (b. 1961)
• 1998 – Jules Fontaine Sambwa, Zairean political officeholder and economist (b. 1940)
• 1999 – Harry Blackmun, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Del Close, American actor (b. 1934)
• 1999 – Fritz Honegger, Swiss politician (b. 1917)
• 1999 – Milosz Magin, Polish composer and pianist (b. 1929)
• 1999 – Teddy McRae, American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Joseph Regenstein Jr., American business leader and philanthropist (b. 1923)
• 1999 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch writer, translator and literary historian (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-born UK astronomer (b. 1905)
• 2000 – Kyi Kyi Htay, four-time Myanmar Academy Award winning film actress, singer, opera performer and dancer (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Michael Noonan, Australian/New Zealand novelist and radio script writer (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Alphons Silbermann, German Jewish sociologist, musicologist, entrepreneur and publicist (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentine chess grandmaster (b. 1961)
• 2001 – Jean René Bazaine, French painter, designer of stained glass windows, and writer (b. 1904)
• 2001 – Glenn Hughes, American singer (The Village People) (b. 1950)
• 2001 – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Jim Rhodes, Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Harold Stassen, American politician (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Martin Wright, British bioengineer and inventor of the peak flow meter (b. 1912)
• 2002 – Claire Davenport, English actress (b. 1933)
• 2002 – Eric Flynn, British actor/singer (b. 1939)
• 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian writer and translator (b. 1935)
• 2002 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (b. 1913)
• 2002 – Margarete Neumann, German writer and lyrical poet (b. 1917)
• 2002 – Shirley Ann Russell, award-winning British costume designer (b. 1935)
• 2002 – Velibor Vasović, Yugoslavian footballer (b. 1939)
• 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian bank robber (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter and film director (b. 1931)
• 2004 – Fernando Lázaro Carreter, Spanish linguist and journalist. (b. 1923)
• 2004 – John McGeoch, Scottish musician (b. 1955)
• 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer (b. 1929)
• 2004 – George Pake, American physicist (b. 1924)
• 2004 – Stephen Sprouse, American fashion designer (b. 1953)
• 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian secret service agent (b. 1953)
• 2005 – Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)
• 2005 – Una Hale, Australian soprano (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian statesman (b. 1951)
• 2005 – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-born writer (b. 1934)
• 2006 – Roman Ogaza, Polish footballer (b. 1952)
• 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American engineer (b. 1944)
• 2006 – Dave Rose, American artist (b. 1910)
• 2006 – Edgar Valter, Estonian illustrator/cartoonist (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Natalie Bodanya (Natalie Bodanskaya), American soprano (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Bob Hattoy, American activist (b. 1950)
• 2007 – Richard Joseph, British games soundtrack composer (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Sunil Kumar Mahato, Indian parliamentarian (b. 1966)
• 2007 – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist and lyricist (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Ian Wooldridge, British sports journalist (b. 1932)
• 2007 – Jorge Kolle Cueto, Bolivian politician
• 2008 – Tina Lagostena Bassi, Italian lawyer, Italian deputy for Forza Italia party, showoman and writer (b. 1926)
• 2008 – Robert Bruning, Australian actor and producer (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Gary Gygax, Fantasy author and role-playing games creator. (b. 1938)
• 2008 – Elena Nathanael, Greek film actress (b. 1941)
• 2008 – Leonard Rosenman, American film, television and concert composer (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Semka Sokolovic-Bertok, Yugoslavian-born Croatian actress (b. 1935)
• 2008 – George Walter, former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda (b. 1928)
• 2009 – Joseph Bloch, American concert pianist and professor of piano literature (b. 1917)
• 2009 – John Cephas, American Piedmont blues guitarist (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1938)
• 2009 – Patricia De Martelaere, Flemish writer (b. 1957)
• 2009 – Horton Foote, American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter (b. 1916)
• 2009 – George McAfee, former American football player (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Harry Parkes, English footballer (b. 1920)
• 2009 – Salvatore Samperi, Italian film director (b 1944)
• 2009 – Triztán Vindtorn, Norwegian poet and performance artist (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances

• The day of the United States presidential inauguration from 1798 to 1933. Starting 1937, the inauguration day is traditionally January 20.
• Pennsylvania – Charter Day (1681).
• St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada – Charter Day (1881)
• Vermont – Admission Day (1791).
• Roman Catholicism – Feast day of Saint Casimir, patron saint of Lithuania.
• Roman Catholicism – Humbert III of Savoy
• Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, bishop of Saint Andrew's, and his Companions.
• Saint Basil and his Companions
• Saint Basinus
• Saint Efrem
• Saint Lucius I.
• Saint Peter of Pappacarbone.
• Roman Catholicism – Commemoration of Saint Lucius I, pope, martyr.
• March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

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

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