Events

Pre-1600

  • 690 – Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China.
  • 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
  • 1346 – The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross and imprison him for eleven years.
  • 1448 – An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo.
  • 1456 – The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest university in northern Europe.
  • 1534 – Anti-Catholic posters appear in Paris and other cities supporting Huldrych Zwingli's position on the Mass.
  • 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.

1601–1900

  • 1604 – Kepler's Supernova is observed in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
  • 1610 – French king Louis XIII is crowned in Reims Cathedral.
  • 1660 – The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England are hanged, drawn and quartered.
  • 1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to Louis XIV of France for 40,000 pounds.
  • 1713 – Great Northern War: Russia defeats Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne.
  • 1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Mozart at age 15.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
  • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
  • 1797 – Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the First Coalition.
  • 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
  • 1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I, is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
  • 1811 – The silver deposits of Agua Amarga are discovered in Chile becoming in the following years instrumental for the Patriots to finance the Chilean War of Independence.
  • 1814 – Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.
  • 1850 – Riots start, which lead to a massacre in Aleppo.
  • 1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
  • 1861 – Aboriginal Australians kill nineteen Europeans in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre.

1901–present

  • 1907 – Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service.
  • 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
  • 1919 – Leeds United F.C. founded at Salem Chapel, Holbeck after the winding up of Leeds City F.C. for making illegal payments to players during World War I
  • 1931 – Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.
  • 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
  • 1940 – The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.
  • 1941 – World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat.
  • 1943 – The Burma Railway (Burma–Thailand Railway) is completed.
  • 1943 – Nazi Holocaust in Poland: Sobibór extermination camp is closed.
  • 1945 – A large demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, demands Juan Perón's release.
  • 1952 – Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace demanding President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
  • 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
  • 1961 – Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police massacre scores of Algerian protesters.
  • 1961 – The first attempt of the apartheid analogy by Ahmad Shukeiri.
  • 1965 – The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees.
  • 1966 – The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.
  • 1969 – The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.
  • 1970 – FLQ terrorists murder Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
  • 1973 – OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
  • 1977 – The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued.
  • 1979 – Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act creates the U.S. Department of Education.
  • 1980 – As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.
  • 1988 – Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crashes at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport, in Rome, Italy, killing 33 people.
  • 1989 – The 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63.
  • 1989 – The East German Politburo votes to remove Erich Honecker from his role as General Secretary.
  • 1991 – Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.
  • 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house, Japanese student Yoshihiro Hattori is killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
  • 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
  • 2000 – The Hatfield rail crash leads to the collapse of Railtrack.
  • 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Hamdi Quran, a member of the PFLP, thus becoming the highest-ranking Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian.
  • 2004 – A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas, Venezuela.
  • 2017 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Raqqa, marking the end of the Battle of Raqqa.
  • 2018 – The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
  • 2018 – A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others.
  • 2019 – Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.
  • 2019 – The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.
  • 2023 – An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Gaza war.

Births

Pre-1600

  • 503 – Lý Nam Đế, first emperor of Vietnam (died 548)
  • 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (died 1303)
  • 1493 – Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (died 1560)
  • 1500 – Alonso de Orozco Mena, Spanish Roman Catholic priest (died 1591)
  • 1538 – Irene di Spilimbergo, Italian Renaissance poet and painter (died 1559)
  • 1577 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (died 1621)
  • 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (died 1642)
  • 1582 – Johann Gerhard, German theologian and academic (died 1637)
  • 1587 – Nathan Field, English dramatist and actor (died 1620)

1601–1900

  • 1623 – Francis Turretin, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (died 1687)
  • 1629 – Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias (died 1646)
  • 1688 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian missionary and composer (died 1726)
  • 1711 – Jupiter Hammon, American poet (died 1806)
  • 1719 – Jacques Cazotte, French author and academic (died 1792)
  • 1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian harpsichord player and composer (died 1795)
  • 1725 – John Wilkes, English journalist and politician (died 1797)
  • 1729 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer and academic (died 1817)
  • 1735 – Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer the Younger, German Baroque artist (died 1803)
  • 1759 – Andrey Voronikhin, Russian architect and painter (died 1814)
  • 1760 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (died 1825)
  • 1768 – Sophie von Dönhoff, morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia (died 1838)
  • 1779 – Louis Charles, French prince of the blood (died 1808)
  • 1779 – José Andrés Pacheco de Melo, Argentine statesman and priest (died approx. 1820)
  • 1780 – Richard Mentor Johnson, American politician, ninth Vice President of the United States (died 1850)
  • 1781 – Johann Friedrich Meckel, German anatomist (died 1833)
  • 1784 – Fructuoso Rivera, first president of Uruguay (died 1854)
  • 1785 – Christen Smith, Norwegian scientist (died 1816)
  • 1792 – John Bowring, English polyglot and governor of Hong Kong (died 1826)
  • 1797 – Juan Lavalle, Argentine politician (died 1841)
  • 1803 – Ferenc Deák, Hungarian politician (died 1876)
  • 1810 – Adolphe-Félix Cals, French painter (died 1880)
  • 1811 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American pastor and educator (died 1876)
  • 1813 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (died 1837)
  • 1814 – Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian historian, scholar, and poet (died 1888)
  • 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and scholar (died 1898)
  • 1821 – Alexander Gardner, Scottish photographer (died 1882)
  • 1828 – Aureliano Maestre de San Juan, Spanish scientist (died 1890)
  • 1833 – José E. Días, Paraguayan general (died 1867)
  • 1835 – Louis-Léon Cugnot, French sculptor (died 1894)
  • 1835 – Paul Haenlein, German mechanical engineer (died 1905)
  • 1840 – André Gill, French caricaturist (died 1885)
  • 1844 – Gustave Schlumberger, French historian (died 1929)
  • 1845 – John J. Gardner, American politician (died 1921)
  • 1853 – Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (died 1920)
  • 1859 – Childe Hassam, American painter and illustrator (died 1935)
  • 1860 – Henry Campbell Black, founder of Black's Law Dictionary (died 1927)
  • 1864 – Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (died 1943)
  • 1865 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (died 1950)
  • 1867 – Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Catalan architect who designed the Casa Martí (died 1956)
  • 1869 – Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale, Hindustani classical vocalist
  • 1871 – Segundo de Chomón, Spanish cinematographer, director, and screenwriter (died 1929)
  • 1876 – Hippolyte Aucouturier, French road cyclist (died 1944)
  • 1878 – Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, Spanish politician and 17th Duke of Alba (died 1953)
  • 1880 – Jesús Reyes Ferreira, Mexican artist and art collector (died 1977)
  • 1881 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (died 1959)
  • 1882 – Haritina Korotkevich, Russian war heroine (died 1904)
  • 1883 – Alexander Neill, Scottish educator (died 1973)
  • 1883 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (died 1966)
  • 1886 – Spring Byington, American actress (died 1971)
  • 1889 – Mikha'il Na'ima, Lebanese author (died 1988)
  • 1890 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer (died 1928)
  • 1892 – Theodor Eicke, German SS general (died 1943)
  • 1892 – Herbert Howells, English organist, composer, and educator (died 1983)
  • 1893 – Raffaele Bendandi, Italian clockmaker and seismologist (died 1979)
  • 1894 – Prince René, Italian Prince of Denmark (died 1962)
  • 1894 – Pablo de Rokha, Chilean poet (died 1968)
  • 1895 – Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, President of Guatemala (1958–1963) (died 1982)
  • 1895 – Doris Humphrey, American dancer and choreographer (died 1958)
  • 1896 – Roman Petrovich, Russian prince (died 1978)
  • 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (died 1998)
  • 1898 – Eileen Sedgwick, American actress (died 1991)
  • 1898 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch author and poet (died 1971)
  • 1900 – C. C. van Asch van Wijck, Dutch artist and sculptor (died 1932)
  • 1900 – Jean Arthur, American actress (died 1991)
  • 1900 – Yvor Winters, American critic and poet (died 1968)

1901–present

  • 1901 – Emma Gamboa Alvarado, Costa Rican educator (died 1973)
  • 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (died 1973)
  • 1903 – Andrei Grechko, Soviet general (died 1976)
  • 1903 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (died 1940)
  • 1905 – Leopoldo Benites, Ecuadorian diplomat 28th president of the United Nations General Assembly (died 1996)
  • 1906 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (died 1987)
  • 1906 – Andrey Tikhonov, Soviet mathematician (died 1993)
  • 1907 – John Marley, American actor (died 1984)
  • 1908 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (died 2007)
  • 1908 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (died 1988)
  • 1908 – Wally Prigg, Australian rugby league player (died 1980)
  • 1908 – Red Rolfe, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1969)
  • 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (died 1981)
  • 1909 – Leopoldo Panero, Spanish poet (died 1962)
  • 1909 – Joaquín Satrústegui, Spanish lawyer and politician (died 1992)
  • 1910 – Marina Núñez del Prado, Bolivian sculptor (died 1995)
  • 1910 – Ester Wier, American author (died 2000)
  • 1912 – Pope John Paul I (died 1978)
  • 1912 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (died 2001)
  • 1912 – Jack Owens, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1982)
  • 1913 – Robert Lowery, American actor (died 1971)
  • 1913 – Marian Marsh, Trinidadian-American actress and environmentalist (died 2006)
  • 1913 – Faik Türün, Turkish general (died 2003)
  • 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator (died 1996)
  • 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright and screenwriter (died 2005)
  • 1917 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (died 2014)
  • 1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (died 1991)
  • 1917 – Adele Stimmel Chase, American painter and sculptor (died 2000)
  • 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress, singer and dancer (died 1987)
  • 1921 – George Mackay Brown, Scottish author, poet, and playwright (died 1996)
  • 1921 – Tom Poston, American actor and comedian (died 2007)
  • 1922 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (died 2001)
  • 1922 – Pierre Juneau, Canadian broadcaster and politician, co-founded the Montreal World Film Festival (died 2012)
  • 1923 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (died 2004)
  • 1923 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (died 2001)
  • 1924 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (died 2010)
  • 1926 – Beverly Garland, American actress (died 2008)
  • 1926 – Roberto Lippi, Italian race car driver (died 2011)
  • 1928 – Santiago Stevenson, Panamanian singer and minister (died 2007)
  • 1928 – Alejandro Végh Villegas, Uruguayan politician (died 2017)
  • 1929 – Mário Wilson, Mozambican footballer and manager (died 2016)
  • 1930 – Ismail Akbay, Turkish physicist and engineer (died 2003)
  • 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (died 2003)
  • 1947 – Robert Post, American educator and academic
  • 1948 – Osvaldo Castro, Chilean footballer
  • 1948 – Robert Jordan, American soldier and author (died 2007)
  • 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (died 2018)
  • 1949 – Owen Arthur, Barbadian economist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Barbados (died 2020)
  • 1949 – Bill Hudson, American musician and actor
  • 1956 – Stephen Palumbi, American academic and author
  • 1957 – Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Greek folk singer
  • 1957 – Nelson Barrera, Mexican baseball player (died 2002)
  • 1957 – Lawrence Bender, American actor and producer
  • 1957 – Antonio Galdo, Italian journalist
  • 1957 – Steve McMichael, American football player, wrestler, and sportscaster (died 2025)
  • 1957 – Pino Palladino, Welsh bassist
  • 1957 – Vincent Van Patten, American tennis player and actor
  • 1958 – Howard Alden, American guitarist
  • 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Wood Harris, American actor
  • 1974 – Ariel Levy, American journalist and author
  • 1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
  • 1974 – Obdulio Ávila Mayo, Mexican politician
  • 1974 – Bárbara Paz, Brazilian actress
  • 1974 – Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboard player
  • 1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
  • 1974 – Darío Sala, Argentine footballer
  • 1974 – Gabriel Silberstein, Chilean tennis player
  • 1974 – Dhondup Wangchen, Chinese director and producer
  • 1975 – Jericó Abramo Masso, Mexican politician
  • 1975 – Francis Bouillon, American-Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Vina Morales, Filipino actress and singer
  • 1976 – Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1976 – Seth Etherton, American baseball player
  • 1976 – Carlos Loret de Mola, Mexican journalist
  • 1976 – Kevin Maher, English-Irish footballer and coach
  • 1977 – Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer
  • 1977 – Alimi Ballard, American actor and producer
  • 1977 – Bryan Bertino, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Walter Calderón, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1977 – Marko Antonio Cortés Mendoza, Mexican politician
  • 1977 – Ryan McGinley, American photographer
  • 1977 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player and coach
  • 1978 – Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Spanish politician
  • 1978 – Erin Karpluk, Canadian actress
  • 1978 – Chuka Umunna, English lawyer and politician
  • 1979 – Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer-songwriter and violinist
  • 1979 – Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek martial artist (died 2022)
  • 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
  • 1979 – Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
  • 1980 – Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
  • 1980 – Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1980 – Isaac Mina, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1980 – Angel Parker, American actress
  • 1980 – Alessandro Piccolo, Italian race car driver
  • 1980 – Justin Shenkarow, American actor
  • 1981 – Horacio Cervantes, Mexican footballer
  • 1981 – Kurumi Enomoto, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Holly Holm, American mixed martial artist
  • 1984 – Chris Lowell, American actor
  • 1989 – David Timor, Spanish footballer
  • 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Maica García Godoy, Spanish water polo player
  • 1990 – Ronald González Tabilo, Chilean footballer
  • 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
  • 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
  • 1991 – Brenda Asnicar, Argentine actress
  • 1992 – Jacob Artist, American actor, singer, and dancer
  • 1992 – Keerthy Suresh, Indian actress
  • 1993 – Kenneth Omeruo, Nigerian footballer
  • 1993 – Vincent Poirier, French basketball player
  • 1995 – Jamal Adams, American football player
  • 1995 – Ha-seong Kim, South Korean baseball player
  • 1996 – Jake DeBrusk, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Robert Williams III, American basketball player
  • 2001 – Thomas Strudwick, British motorcycle road racer
  • 2002 – Matthew Knies, American professional ice hockey player
  • 2002 – Lily, Australian-South Korean singer

Deaths

Pre-1600

  • AD 33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (born 14 BC)
  • 532 – Pope Boniface II
  • 866 – Al-Musta'in, Abbasid caliph (born 836)
  • 1271 – Steinvör Sighvatsdóttir, Icelandic aristocrat and poet
  • 1277 – Beatrice of Falkenburg, German queen consort (born c. 1254)
  • 1346 – John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray
  • 1346 – Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn
  • 1456 – Nicolas Grenon, French composer (born 1375)
  • 1485 – John Scott of Scott's Hall, Warden of the Cinque Ports
  • 1528 – Hernando Alonso, Spanish conquistador, first Jew executed in the New World
  • 1552 – Andreas Osiander, German Protestant theologian (born 1498)
  • 1575 – Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta, Spanish cardinal (born 1511)
  • 1586 – Philip Sidney, English courtier, poet, and general (born 1554)
  • 1587 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1541)

1601–1900

  • 1616 – John Pitts, English priest and scholar (born 1560)
  • 1660 – Adrian Scrope, English colonel and politician (born 1601)
  • 1673 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (born 1630)
  • 1690 – Margaret Mary Alacoque, French mystic (born 1647)
  • 1696 – Geoffrey Shakerley (1619–1696), English politician (born 1619)
  • 1757 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (born 1683)
  • 1776 – Pierre François le Courayer, French-English theologian and author (born 1681)
  • 1780 – William Cookworthy, English pharmacist and minister (born 1705)
  • 1781 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral (born 1705)
  • 1786 – Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1723)
  • 1806 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (born 1758)
  • 1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (born 1782)
  • 1837 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1778)
  • 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (born 1810)
  • 1868 – Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (born 1775)
  • 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist and chemist (born 1824)
  • 1889 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (born 1828)
  • 1893 – Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, 3rd President of France (born 1808)

1901–present

  • 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (born 1819)
  • 1918 – Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and author (born 1886)
  • 1920 – Michael Fitzgerald (Irish republican) died on Hunger Strike (born 1881)
  • 1928 – Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (born 1853)
  • 1931 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and academic (born 1884)
  • 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (born 1862)
  • 1938 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-German journalist, philosopher, and theoretician (born 1854)
  • 1948 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (born 1869)
  • 1955 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician (born 1873)
  • 1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (born 1920)
  • 1957 – Wilhelmina Hay Abbott, Scottish suffragist and feminist (born 1884)
  • 1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (born 1896)
  • 1958 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer and lawyer (born 1876)
  • 1962 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and set designer (born 1882)
  • 1963 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician and academic (born 1865)
  • 1965 – Bart King, American cricketer (born 1873)
  • 1966 – Sidney Hatch, American runner and soldier (born 1883)
  • 1966 – Wieland Wagner, German director and manager (born 1917)
  • 1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (born 1906)
  • 1970 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1921)
  • 1970 – Vola Vale, American actress (born 1897)
  • 1970 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist and academic (born 1890)
  • 1972 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1914)
  • 1972 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia (born 1887)
  • 1973 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (born 1926)
  • 1978 – George Clark, American race car driver (born 1890)
  • 1978 – Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (born 1887)
  • 1979 – S. J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (born 1904)
  • 1979 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (born 1898)
  • 1979 – Eugenio Mendoza, Venezuelan business tycoon (born 1909)
  • 1981 – Kannadasan Indian author, poet, and songwriter (born 1927)
  • 1981 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss civil servant and author (born 1895)
  • 1981 – Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (born 1887)
  • 1983 – Raymond Aron, French sociologist, political scientist, and philosopher (born 1905)
  • 1987 – Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (born 1925)
  • 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (born 1919)
  • 1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (born 1912)
  • 1992 – Orestis Laskos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1908)
  • 1993 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (born 1963)
  • 1996 – Chris Acland, English musician and drummer of Lush (born 1966)
  • 1997 – Larry Jennings, American magician and author (born 1933)
  • 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (born 1906)
  • 1998 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (born 1920)
  • 1999 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician and physicist (born 1915)
  • 2000 – Leo Nomellini, Italian-American football player and wrestler (born 1924)
  • 2000 – Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet (born 1964)
  • 2001 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (born 1915)
  • 2001 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French shot putter, discus thrower, and pianist (born 1922)
  • 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli historian, general, and politician, Tourism Minister of Israel (born 1926)
  • 2002 – Derek Bell, Irish harpist and composer (born 1935)
  • 2004 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (born 1952)
  • 2006 – Daniel Emilfork, Chilean-French actor (born 1924)
  • 2006 – Christopher Glenn, American journalist (born 1938)
  • 2007 – Joey Bishop, American actor and talk show host (born 1918)
  • 2007 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (born 1931)
  • 2007 – Suzy Covey, American scholar and academic (born 1939)
  • 2008 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (born 1955)
  • 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (born 1936)
  • 2008 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (born 1923)
  • 2009 – Norma Fox Mazer, American author and educator (born 1931)
  • 2009 – Vic Mizzy, American composer (born 1916)
  • 2011 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (born 1919)
  • 2012 – Milija Aleksic, English-South African footballer (born 1951)
  • 2012 – Émile Allais, French skier (born 1912)
  • 2012 – Henry Friedlander, German-American historian and author (born 1930)
  • 2012 – Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (born 1922)
  • 2012 – Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936)
  • 2013 – Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (born 1926)
  • 2013 – Terry Fogerty, English rugby player and coach (born 1944)
  • 2013 – Arthur Maxwell House, Canadian neurologist and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (born 1926)
  • 2013 – Lou Scheimer, American animator, producer, and voice actor, co-founded the Filmation Company (born 1928)
  • 2013 – Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (born 1966)
  • 2014 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (born 1937)
  • 2014 – Masaru Emoto, Japanese author and activist (born 1943)
  • 2014 – Tom Shaw, American bishop (born 1945)
  • 2014 – Berndt von Staden, German diplomat, German Ambassador to the United States (born 1919)
  • 2015 – Danièle Delorme, French actress and producer (born 1926)
  • 2015 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (born 1946)
  • 2015 – Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian lawyer and politician (born 1949)
  • 2015 – Tom Smith, American businessman and politician (born 1947)
  • 2017 – Gord Downie, Canadian musician (born 1964)
  • 2019 – Elijah Cummings, American politician and civil rights advocate (born 1951)
  • 2024 – Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1931)
  • 2024 – Toshiyuki Nishida, Japanese actor (born 1947)
  • 2024 – Andrew Schally, Polish-American endocrinologist (born 1926)

Holidays and observances

  • Christian feast day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Anstrudis
  • Catervus
  • Ethelred and Ethelberht
  • Florentius of Orange
  • François-Isidore Gagelin (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
  • Hosea
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • John the Short (John Colobus)
  • Marguerite Marie Alacoque (pre-1969 calendar, Visitadines)
  • Nothhelm
  • Rule of Andrew
  • Richard Gwyn
  • Victor of Capua
  • October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
  • Loyalty Day (Argentina)
  • National Police Day (Thailand)
  • National Heroes Day (Somaliland)

References