Events

Pre-1600

  • 1040 – The Seljuks defeat the Ghaznavids in the battle of Dandanaqan.
  • 1308 – Robert the Bruce, king of Scots, defeats John Comyn, earl of Buchan, decisively in the battle of Inverurie.
  • 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction.
  • 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 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau defeat Jean de Ligne and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.

1601–1900

  • 1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
  • 1618 – The Third Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
  • 1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy at the Battle of Ramillies.
  • 1788 – South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution. although some do so on May 22 instead.
  • 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, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
  • 1919 – Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji, a Kurdish sheikh and at-the-time governor of the Slêmanî Province of British Iraq, initiates the first Mahmud Barzanji revolt.
  • 1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.
  • 1934 – 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.
  • 1941 – World War II: German paratroopers start a series of mass executions of Greek civilians in Missiria for their participation in the ongoing Battle of Crete.
  • 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
  • 1945 – World War II: Germany's Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
  • 1946 – The start of a two-day tornado outbreak across the Central United States that spawned at least 15 significant tornadoes.
  • 1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
  • 1949 – Cold War: The Western occupying powers approve the Basic Law and establish a new German state, the Federal Republic of Germany.
  • 1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with China.
  • 1960 – A tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.
  • 1971 – Seventy-eight people are killed when Aviogenex Flight 130 crashes on approach to Rijeka Airport in present-day Rijeka, Croatia (then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).
  • 1971 – The Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest opens, becoming the second-tallest building in the city.
  • 1978 – A Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near the Russian town of Yegoryevsk, killing two.
  • 1980 – The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, is premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles on the Memorial Day weekend.
  • 1991 – Aeroflot Flight 8556 crashes at Pulkovo Airport, killing 13.
  • 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 roughly 75% voting yes.
  • 2002 – The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
  • 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.
  • 2013 – A freeway bridge carrying Interstate 5 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 30 people are killed as a result of floods and tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma, and northern Mexico.
  • 2016 – Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, kill at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
  • 2016 – Eight bombings are carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people are killed and at least 200 people injured.
  • 2017 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declares martial law in Mindanao, following the Maute's attack in Marawi.
  • 2021 – A cable car falls from a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, killing 14 people.
  • 2021 – Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.
  • 2022 – Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party is sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia after winning the 2022 Australian federal election, ending 9 years of conservative rule.

Births

Pre-1600

  • 635 – Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (died 702)
  • 675 – Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 1052 – Philip I of France (died 1108)
  • 1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (died 1161)
  • 1127 – Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (died 1173)
  • 1330 – Gongmin of Goryeo, Korean ruler (died 1374)
  • 1586 – Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (died 1666)

1601–1900

  • 1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (died 1682)
  • 1614 – Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (died 1675)
  • 1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (died 1692)
  • 1629 – William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (died 1663)
  • 1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (died 1778)
  • 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (died 1783)
  • 1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (died 1799)
  • 1730 – Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Prussian prince and general (died 1813)
  • 1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (died 1815)
  • 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (died 1801)
  • 1789 – Franz Schlik, Austrian earl and general (died 1862)
  • 1790 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (died 1842)
  • 1790 – James Pradier, French neoclassical sculptor (died 1852)
  • 1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (died 1870)
  • 1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (died 1860)
  • 1800 – Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president (1855) (died 1877)
  • 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (died 1850)
  • 1817 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (died 1862)
  • 1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (died 1887)
  • 1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (died 1891)
  • 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (died 1881)
  • 1834 – Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (died 1891)
  • 1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (died 1890)
  • 1837 – Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (died 1919)
  • 1837 – Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (died 1912)
  • 1838 – Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (died 1932)
  • 1840 – George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (died 1910)
  • 1844 – ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (died 1921)
  • 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (died 1896)
  • 1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (died 1924)
  • 1861 – József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (died 1927)
  • 1863 – Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (died 1930)
  • 1864 – William O'Connor, American fencer (died 1939)
  • 1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (died 1942)
  • 1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1966)
  • 1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (died 1960)
  • 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1939)
  • 1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (died 1965)
  • 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (died 1963)
  • 1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (died 1951)
  • 1887 – C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, English historian (died 1941)
  • 1888 – Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (died 1976)
  • 1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (died 1972)
  • 1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (died 1967)
  • 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (died 1966)
  • 1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1974)
  • 1892 – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British peer (died 1975)
  • 1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (died 1966)
  • 1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motorcycle racer (died 1937)
  • 1898 – Scott O'Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (died 1989)
  • 1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (died 1945)
  • 1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (died 2015)
  • 1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (died 1946)
  • 1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (died 1954)

1901–present

  • 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991)
  • 1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (died 1934)
  • 1908 – Tomiko Itooka, Japanese supercentenarian (died 2024)
  • 1908 – Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Swiss author and photographer (died 1942)
  • 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (died 1952)
  • 1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (died 1999)
  • 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor and comedian (died 1986)
  • 1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (died 1962)
  • 1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (died 2004)
  • 1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (died 1984)
  • 1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (died 2010)
  • 1911 – Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (died 1983)
  • 1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (died 1997)
  • 1912 – John Payne, American actor (died 1989)
  • 1914 – Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (died 2009)
  • 1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (died 1999)
  • 1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (died 1981)
  • 1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (died 2014)
  • 1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (died 2008)
  • 1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (died 1997)
  • 1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (died 1988)
  • 1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate (died 2012)
  • 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2011)
  • 1920 – Helen O'Connell, American singer (died 1993)
  • 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, British jazz musician and broadcaster (died 2008)
  • 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (died 2009)
  • 1923 – Irving Millman, American virologist and microbiologist (died 2012)
  • 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (died 2014)
  • 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)
  • 1926 – Basil Salvadore D'Souza, Indian bishop (died 1996)
  • 1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African activist and politician (died 1995)
  • 1926 – Aileen Hernandez, American union organizer and civil rights activist (died 2017)
  • 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (died 2002)
  • 1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (died 2013)
  • 1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (died 2015)
  • 1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (died 1982)
  • 1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic (died 2019)
  • 1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress
  • 1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (died 1998)
  • 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
  • 1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
  • 1934 – Robert Moog, electronic engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer (died 2005)
  • 1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (died 2009)
  • 1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
  • 1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor (died 2023)
  • 1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (died 2004)
  • 1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
  • 1940 – Bjørn Johansen (musician), Norwegian saxophonist (died 2002)
  • 1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
  • 1940 – Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (died 2010)
  • 1941 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2012)
  • 1941 – Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive
  • 1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
  • 1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
  • 1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (died 2016)
  • 1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (died 1991)
  • 1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer
  • 1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (died 1995)
  • 1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
  • 1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
  • 1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, twice President of Peru (died 2019)
  • 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (died 2017)
  • 1950 – Richard Chase, American serial killer (died 1980)
  • 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
  • 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
  • 1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
  • 1954 – Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish international footballer
  • 1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor (died 2021)
  • 1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (died 1988)
  • 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
  • 1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Drew Carey, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
  • 1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
  • 1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor
  • 1961 – Daniele Massaro, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Norrie May-Welby, Scottish Australian gender activist
  • 1962 – Karen Duffy, American actress
  • 1963 – Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician
  • 1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
  • 1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
  • 1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress
  • 1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – H. Jon Benjamin, American actor, comedian, writer, and producer
  • 1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
  • 1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1967 – Luís Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
  • 1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
  • 1967 – Philip Selway, English musician
  • 1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
  • 1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1972 – Poppy King, Australian entrepreneur
  • 1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
  • 1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
  • 1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
  • 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Andy Selva, Sammarinese footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Richard Ayoade, British actor, director and writer
  • 1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
  • 1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer
  • 1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player (died 2018)
  • 1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
  • 1980 – Chris Gethard, American actor, comedian and writer
  • 1980 – Ben Ross, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Tim Robinson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1983 – Silvio Proto, Belgian-Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
  • 1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1985 – Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russian tennis player
  • 1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
  • 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
  • 1986 – Ryan Coogler, American film director and screenwriter
  • 1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
  • 1986 – Alice Tait, Australian swimmer
  • 1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Bray Wyatt, American wrestler (died 2023)
  • 1988 – Rosanna Crawford, Canadian biathlete
  • 1988 – Angelo Ogbonna, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
  • 1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Argentine-Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Dan Evans, British tennis player
  • 1990 – Kristína Kučová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player
  • 1991 – Aaron Donald, American football player
  • 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
  • 1991 – César Pinares, Chilean footballer
  • 1992 – Laerte do Vando, Brazilian politician
  • 1996 – Katharina Althaus, German ski jumper
  • 1996 – Emmanuel Boateng, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1996 – Răzvan Marin, Romanian footballer
  • 1996 – Çağlar Söyüncü, Turkish footballer
  • 1997 – Pedro Chirivella, Spanish footballer
  • 1997 – Coy Craft, American footballer
  • 1997 – Joe Gomez, English footballer
  • 1997 – Maximilian Kilman, English footballer
  • 1997 – Gustaf Nilsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1997 – Sam Timmins, New Zealand basketball player
  • 1998 – Sérgio Sette Câmara, Brazilian racing driver
  • 1998 – Salwa Eid Naser, Bahraini track and field sprinter
  • 1998 – Luca de la Torre, American soccer player
  • 1999 – James Charles, American internet personality
  • 1999 – Trinidad Cardona, American singer and songwriter
  • 1999 – Sandro Mamukelashvili, Georgian-American basketball player
  • 2000 – Felipe Drugovich, Brazilian-Italian racing driver
  • 2000 – Israel Reyes, Mexican footballer
  • 2001 – Brennan Johnson, Welsh footballer
  • 2005 – Alexandra Eala, Filipino tennis player
  • 2007 – Rayane Messi, French footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

  • 230 – Urban I, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 922 – Li Sizhao, Chinese general and governor
  • 962 – Guibert of Gembloux, Frankish abbot (born 892)
  • 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1086)
  • 1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
  • 1338 – Alice de Warenne, Countess of Arundel, English noble (born 1287)
  • 1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (born 1320)
  • 1423 – Antipope Benedict XIII (born 1328)
  • 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (born 1452)
  • 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shōgun (born 1466)
  • 1524 – Ismail I, First Emperor of Safavid Empire (born 1487)
  • 1591 – John Blitheman, English organist and composer (born 1525)

1601–1900

  • 1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (born 1605)
  • 1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1610)
  • 1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (born 1622)
  • 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (born 1645)
  • 1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (born 1700)
  • 1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (born 1663)
  • 1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (born 1704)
  • 1783 – James Otis Jr., American lawyer and politician (born 1725)
  • 1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (born 1772)
  • 1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (born 1753)
  • 1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (born 1765)
  • 1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (born 1797)
  • 1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (born 1789)
  • 1868 – Kit Carson, American general (born 1809)
  • 1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (born 1795)
  • 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (born 1805)
  • 1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (born 1798)

1901–present

  • 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (born 1828)
  • 1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (born 1842)
  • 1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (born 1856)
  • 1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (born 1872)
  • 1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (born 1909)
  • 1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (born 1860)
  • 1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (born 1910)
  • 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (born 1839)
  • 1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (born 1871)
  • 1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (born 1886)
  • 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior and head of the SS (born 1900)
  • 1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (born 1878)
  • 1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (born 1872)
  • 1956 – Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (born 1883)
  • 1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (born 1870)
  • 1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (born 1879)
  • 1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (born 1904)
  • 1965 – David Smith, American sculptor (born 1906)
  • 1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (born 1894)
  • 1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (born 1932)
  • 1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (born 1933)
  • 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (born 1911)
  • 1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (born 1898)
  • 1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1909)
  • 1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor (born 1916)
  • 1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (born 1915)
  • 1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (born 1965)
  • 1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (born 1895)
  • 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1907)
  • 1991 – Fletcher Markle, Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1921)
  • 1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (born 1948)
  • 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (born 1939)
  • 1994 – Olav Hauge, Norwegian poet (born 1908)
  • 1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (born 1934)
  • 1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (born 1908)
  • 1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (born 1965)
  • 2002 – Big Bill Neidjie, Australian activist and last speaker of the Gaagudju language (born )
  • 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (born 1912)
  • 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (born 1921)
  • 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (born 1921)
  • 2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (born 1967)
  • 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (born 1935)
  • 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (born 1946)
  • 2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (born 1972)
  • 2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1970)
  • 2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (born 1978)
  • 2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (born 1924)
  • 2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (born 1942)
  • 2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (born 1938)
  • 2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1934)
  • 2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (born 1941)
  • 2014 – Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (born 1949)
  • 2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (born 1921)
  • 2015 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (born 1929)
  • 2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Pro-Russian Ukrainian separatist leader (born 1975)
  • 2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (born 1933)
  • 2015 – John Forbes Nash Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1928)
  • 2017 – Roger Moore, English actor (born 1927)
  • 2020 – Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler (born 1997)
  • 2021 – Ron Hill, English long-distance runner (born 1938)
  • 2021 – Eric Carle, American children's book designer, illustrator, and writer best known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar (born 1929)
  • 2024 – Caleb Carr, American military historian and author (born 1955)
  • 2024 – Morgan Spurlock, American filmmaker (born 1970)

Holidays and observances

  • Aromanian National Day
  • Christian feast day:
  • Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • Desiderius of Vienne
  • Giovanni Battista de' Rossi

References

  • BBC: On This Day
  • Historical Events on May 23