May 23

May 23 is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 222 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 844 – Battle of Clavijo: The Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.
• 1430 – Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne.
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
• 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
• 1568 – The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain.
• 1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
• 1609 – Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
• 1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
• 1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London, England.
• 1706 – Battle of Ramillies: John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy.
• 1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
• 1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
• 1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
• 1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
• 1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
• 1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• 1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
• 1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
• 1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
• 1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which occurred in the city of São Paulo. Their names and surnames were used to form the MMDC, a revolutionary group that would act against the dictatorial government, especially in the Constitutionalist Revolution ("Revolução Constitucionalista", in Portuguese), the major uprising in Brazil during the 20th century.
• 1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
• 1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
• 1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
• 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
• 1945 – World War II: The Flensburg Government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
• 1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
• 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.
• 1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China.
• 1958 – The satellite Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
• 1967 – Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.
• 1970 – Robert Stephenson's pioneering Britannia Tubular Bridge over the Menai Strait is catastrophically damaged by fire after standing for 120 years.
• 1992 – Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
• 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
• 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
• 2002 – The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
• 2004 – Part of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.
• 2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
• 2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
• 2009 – Former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun commits suicide, jumping from a 45-meter cliff in Bongha, Gimhae, South Korea.
• 2010 – Jamaican police begin a manhunt for drug lord Christopher Coke, after the United States requested his extradition, leading to three days of violence during which at least 73 bystanders are killed.
• 2012 – Adam Lambert became the first openly gay artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts, with his album Trespassing.
• 2013 – The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
• 2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
• 2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
• 2015 – The Republic of Ireland votes to legalize same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.

Births

• 635 – K'inich Kan B'alam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
• 1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
• 1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
• 1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
• 1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
• 1696 – Johann Caspar Vogler, German organist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
• 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
• 1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
• 1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
• 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
• 1790 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
• 1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
• 1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
• 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
• 1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
• 1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
• 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
• 1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
• 1844 – `Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
• 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
• 1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (d. 1913)
• 1864 – William O'Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
• 1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
• 1867 – John Exley, American rower (d. 1938)
• 1871 – Saint George Ashe, Maltese-English rower (d. 1922)
• 1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
• 1879 – Elizabeth Gunn, New Zealand soldier and pediatrician (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Dezső Lauber, Hungarian tennis player and architect (d. 1966)
• 1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
• 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
• 1883 – Ferenc Talányi, Slovenian journalist and painter (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
• 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
• 1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
• 1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
• 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
• 1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
• 1895 – Billy Smith, English footballer and manager (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
• 1898 – Scott O'Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
• 1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian
• 1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
• 1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
• 1902 – Frank Buckland, Canadian businessman (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Pran Nath Thapar, Indian general (d. 1975)
• 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
• 1908 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (d. 1984)
• 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)
• 1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor, singer, dancer, and guitarist (d. 1986)
• 1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
• 1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Betty Astell, English actress and screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
• 1912 – John Payne, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1989)
• 1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
• 1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (d. 1981)
• 1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)
• 1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
• 1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
• 1919 – Gayatri Devi, English-Indian wife of Prince Jagat Singh (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Avraham Drori, Polish-Israeli soldier and politician (d. 1964)
• 1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
• 1920 – Helen O'Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
• 1921 – James Blish, American author and critic (d. 1975)
• 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Edna Skinner, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Walter Wolfrum, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Clyde King, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Mac Wiseman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foggy Mountain Boys)
• 1926 – Basil Salvadore D'Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
• 1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African politician (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Bodil Skjånes Dugstad, Norwegian politician
• 1928 – Jeannie Carson, English-American actress and singer
• 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Pauline Julien, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1998)
• 1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
• 1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic
• 1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress and author
• 1931 – Patience Cleveland, American actress (d. 2004)
• 1931 – José da Conceição, Brazilian high jumper (d. 1974)
• 1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
• 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
• 1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
• 1933 – Jean-Louis Lagadec, French footballer and coach (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Robert Moog, American businessman, invented the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Julian Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell, English politician
• 1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
• 1936 – John Drury, English priest and author
• 1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
• 1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor and singer
• 1938 – Johnny Ball, English radio and television host
• 1938 – Peter Preston, English journalist and author
• 1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
• 1939 – Jack McCarthy, American poet and author (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Giles Gordon, Scottish author and agent (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
• 1940 – Levan Moseshvili, Georgian basketball player and coach
• 1940 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophnist (d. 2002)
• 1941 – Martin Puryear, American sculptor and painter
• 1942 – Michael Ashburner, English biologist and academic
• 1942 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
• 1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
• 1943 – General Johnson, American singer-songwriter and producer (Chairmen of the Board and The Showmen) (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Alan Walden, American businessman and manager, co-founded Capricorn Records
• 1944 – Alan Bowman, English scholar and academic
• 1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
• 1945 – Lauren Chapin, American actress
• 1946 – Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
• 1946 – Stephen Marks, English businessman
• 1946 – H. Paul Shuch, American astronomer and engineer
• 1947 – Bernard Comrie, English-American linguist and academic
• 1947 – Ann Hui, Hong Kong actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
• 1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
• 1948 – Reggie Cleveland, Canadian-American baseball player
• 1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
• 1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 93rd President of Peru
• 1949 – Janet Thornton, English biologist and academic
• 1950 – Bruce Hay, Scottish rugby player and engineer (d. 2007)
• 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
• 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
• 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
• 1952 – Anne-Marie David, French singer
• 1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
• 1953 – Dick Stellingwerf, Dutch politician
• 1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor
• 1954 – Hans Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
• 1954 – Michel Roux Jr., English-French chef and author
• 1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
• 1956 – Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby player
• 1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
• 1956 – Albert Voorn, Dutch horse rider
• 1957 – Mark Arnold, American actor
• 1957 – Craig Brown, English journalist and critic
• 1957 – Jimmy McShane, Northern Irish musician (Baltimora) (d. 1995)
• 1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Drew Carey, American actor and game show host
• 1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
• 1958 – Serge Dupire, Canadian actor
• 1958 – François Feldman, French singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Frank Jelinski, German race car driver
• 1958 – Jack Lohman, English historian and curator
• 1959 – Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist and academic
• 1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
• 1959 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian and actor
• 1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor and martial artist
• 1961 – Karen Duffy, American model and actress
• 1962 – Matt Wrack, English firefighter and union leader
• 1963 – Wally Dallenbach Jr., American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
• 1965 – Charlie Hayes, American baseball player
• 1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress and casting director
• 1965 – Woorkeri Raman, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
• 1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby player and police officer
• 1965 – Athanasios Skourtopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
• 1965 – Kappei Yamaguchi, Japanese voice actor and singer
• 1966 – Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch television host and producer (d. 2008)
• 1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
• 1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1966 – Heidi Rohi, Estonian fencer
• 1967 – Luis Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
• 1967 – Xu Demei, Chinese javelin thrower
• 1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
• 1967 – Carlos Mercenario, Mexican race walker
• 1967 – Philip Selway, English drummer and songwriter (Radiohead)
• 1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
• 1969 – Mindi Abair, American saxophonist and compoaser
• 1970 – Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin of Yitzhak Rabin
• 1970 – Nanette Burstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Matt Flynn, American drummer and producer (Maroon 5 and Gandhi)
• 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
• 1971 – Laurel Holloman, American actress and painter
• 1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
• 1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
• 1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Klaus Ambrosch, Austrian decathlete
• 1973 – Livia Millhagen, Swedish actress
• 1973 – Juan José Padilla, Spanish bullfighter
• 1973 – Mirjam Sterk, Dutch minister and politician
• 1973 – Ron Trent, American DJ and producer
• 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
• 1974 – Ken Jennings, American computer scientist, author, and game show contestant
• 1974 – Mónica Naranjo, Spanish singer
• 1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
• 1974 – Charlie Young, Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1975 – Kim Sung-soo, South Korean actor and television host
• 1975 – Michiel van den Bos, Dutch DJ and composer
• 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Sinha, Brazilian-Mexican footballer
• 1976 – Kelly Monaco, American model and actress
• 1977 – Annabel Kosten, Dutch swimmer
• 1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
• 1978 – Mike Gonzalez, American baseball player
• 1978 – Carolyn Moos, American basketball player and trainer
• 1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer (Blink-182)
• 1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player
• 1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Martin Giroux, Canadian singer and actor
• 1979 – Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player and coach
• 1980 – Gary Brackett, American football player
• 1980 – Lane Garrison, American actor
• 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Chris Gethard, American actor and screenwriter
• 1981 – Pierre Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1981 – Tim Robinson, American actor and screenwriter
• 1981 – Gwenno Saunders, Welsh singer and dancer (The Pipettes)
• 1982 – Cyrill Gloor, Swiss footballer
• 1982 – Malene Mortensen, Danish singer
• 1982 – Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1983 – Cas Alfonso, Indonesian singer-songwriter and composer
• 1983 – Josh Pace, American basketball player
• 1983 – Heidi Range, English singer-songwriter (Sugababes and Atomic Kitten)
• 1983 – Alex Shelley, American wrestler and singer
• 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
• 1984 – Sam Milby, American-Filipino actor and singer
• 1985 – Kanyeria, Kenyan songwriter and producer
• 1985 – Shafiq Chitou, Beninese boxer
• 1985 – Sekou Cissé, Ivorian footballer
• 1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
• 1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
• 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
• 1986 – Angela Martini, Albanian model, Miss Universe Albania 2010
• 1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
• 1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1987 – Bray Wyatt, American wrestler
• 1988 – Danny de Jong, Dutch actor
• 1988 – Lorenzo De Silvestri, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Vaness del Moral, Filipino actress and dancer
• 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
• 1988 – Roope Ranta, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1988 – Zachary Wohlman, American boxer
• 1988 – Gavin Free, Filmmaker and actor
• 1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Ricardo dos Santos, Brazilian surfer (d. 2015)
• 1990 – Kristína Kučová, Slovak tennis player
• 1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player
• 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Olesia Karmi, Finnish figure skater
• 1992 – Asenate Manoa, Fijian-Tuvaluan runner

Deaths

• 779 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (b. 727)
• 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
• 1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
• 1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (b. 1320)
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)
• 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466)
• 1524 – Ismail I, Iran ruler (b. 1487)
• 1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)
• 1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
• 1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1622)
• 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
• 1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (b. 1700)
• 1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)
• 1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
• 1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
• 1786 – Maurice, Count de Benyovszky, Hungarian explorer (b. 1746)
• 1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (b. 1772)
• 1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
• 1825 – Gugsa of Yejju
• 1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
• 1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)
• 1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1789)
• 1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)
• 1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (b. 1795)
• 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)
• 1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)
• 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
• 1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)
• 1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
• 1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (b. 1872)
• 1925 – R. A. Jones, English clock and watchmaker (b. 1849)
• 1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
• 1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (b. 1860)
• 1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
• 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)
• 1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (b. 1871)
• 1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1886)
• 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior (b. 1900)
• 1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)
• 1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (b. 1872)
• 1956 – Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
• 1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)
• 1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)
• 1965 – Earl Webb, American baseball player and coach (b. 1897)
• 1966 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)
• 1967 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1878)
• 1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)
• 1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932)
• 1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)
• 1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)
• 1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (b. 1916)
• 1988 – Aya Kitō, Japanese author (b. 1962)
• 1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)
• 1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
• 1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
• 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
• 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
• 1994 – Ray Candy, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1951)
• 1994 – George Metesky, American terrorist (b. 1903)
• 1994 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Olav H. Hauge, Norwegian poet (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)
• 1996 – Tanju Okan, Turkish singer (b. 1938)
• 1997 – Frances E. Nealy, American actress (b. 1918)
• 1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Jean Yanne, French actor and director (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and academic (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Clifford Antone, American businessman (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Ian Copeland, Syrian-American talent agent (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Princess Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani (b. 1914)
• 2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)
• 2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)
• 2012 – T. Garry Buckley, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 72nd Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Gyula Elek, Hungarian handball player and coach (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, Persian daughter of Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Hal Jackson, American journalist and radio host (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Joseph Lesniewski, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 2012 – William C. Wampler, American soldier and politician (b. 1926)
• 2013 – William Demby, American author (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Hazel Hawke, Australian wife of Bob Hawke, 23rd Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)
• 2013 – James Sisnett, Barbadian super-centenarian (b. 1900)
• 2013 – Luis Zuloaga, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Michael Gottlieb, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Richard Kolitsch, German footballer (b. 1989)
• 2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (b. 1951)
• 2014 – Panagiotis Pikilidis, Greek wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2014 – Elliot Rodger, American spree killer (b. 1991)
• 2015 – Ali Raymi, Yemeni boxing World Champion (b. 1973)
• 2015 – Leo Berman, American businessman and politician (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian sergeant (b. 1975)
• 2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (b. 1933)
• 2015 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • Desiderius of Vienne
  • Julia of Corsica
  • Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Quintian, Lucius and Julian
  • May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Germany)
• Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í Faith)
• Labour Day (Jamaica)
• Students' Day (Mexico)
• World Crohn's and Colitis Day
• World Turtle Day

External links

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