May 14

May 14 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 231 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England.
• 1509 – Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Venetians.
• 1607 – Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
• 1608 – The Protestant Union is founded in Auhausen.
• 1610 – Henry IV of France is assassinated, bringing Louis XIII to the throne.
• 1643 – Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
• 1747 – War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.
• 1787 – In Philadelphia, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States; George Washington presides.
• 1796 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.
• 1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begins its historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River.
• 1811 – Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor
• 1836 – The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.
• 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends as former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward to Aizu by way of Nikkō.
• 1870 – The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
• 1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the .
• 1889 – The children's charity, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is launched in London.
• 1913 – Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
• 1925 – Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway is published.
• 1931 – Five unarmed civilians are killed in the Ådalen shootings, as the Swedish military is called in to deal with protesting workers.
• 1935 – The Philippines ratifies an independence agreement.
• 1939 – Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
• 1940 – World War II: Rotterdam is bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
• 1940 – World War II: The Battle of the Netherlands ends with the Netherlands surrendering to Germany.
• 1943 – World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.
• 1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
• 1951 – Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
• 1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
• 1961 – African-American Civil Rights Movement: The Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protesters are beaten by an angry mob.
• 1963 – Kuwait joins the United Nations.
• 1970 – Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of The Red Army Faction.
• 1973 – Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
• 1988 – Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
• 2004 – The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
• 2012 – Agni Air Flight CHT crashes near Jomsom Airport in Jomsom, Nepal, after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.
• 2013 – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declares a state of emergency in the northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa due to the terrorist activities of Boko Haram.

Births

• 1316 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1378)
• 1553 – Margaret of Valois (d. 1615)
• 1574 – Francesco Rasi, Italian singer-songwriter, theorbo player, and poet (d. 1621)
• 1630 – Katakura Kagenaga, Japanese samurai (d. 1681)
• 1652 – Johann Philipp Förtsch, German composer (d. 1732)
• 1657 – Sambhaji, Indian emperor (d. 1689)
• 1666 – Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1732)
• 1679 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1764)
• 1699 – Hans Joachim von Zieten, Prussian general (d. 1786)
• 1701 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (d. 1782)
• 1710 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (d. 1771)
• 1725 – Ludovico Manin, French politician, Doge of Venice (d. 1802)
• 1727 – Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (d. 1788)
• 1737 – George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, Irish-English politician and diplomat, Governor of Grenada (d. 1806)
• 1752 – Timothy Dwight IV, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1817)
• 1752 – Albrecht Thaer, German agronomist and author (d. 1828)
• 1761 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1816)
• 1771 – Robert Owen, Welsh businessman and social reformer (d. 1858)
• 1771 – Thomas Wedgwood, English photographer (d. 1805)
• 1781 – Friedrich Ludwig Georg von Raumer, German historian and academic (d. 1873)
• 1814 – Charles Beyer, German-English engineer, co-founded the Beyer, Peacock and Company (d. 1876)
• 1817 – Alexander Kaufmann, German poet and educator (d. 1893)
• 1830 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (d. 1905)
• 1832 – Rudolf Lipschitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1903)
• 1832 – Charles Peace, English criminal (d. 1879)
• 1852 – Henri Julien, Canadian illustrator (d. 1908)
• 1863 – John Charles Fields, Canadian mathematician, founder of the Fields Medal (d. 1932)
• 1867 – Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Bavaria (d. 1919)
• 1868 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (d. 1935)
• 1869 – Arthur Rostron, English captain (d. 1940)
• 1872 – Elia Dalla Costa, Italian cardinal (d. 1961)
• 1878 – J. L. Wilkinson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
• 1879 – Fred Englehardt, American jumper (d. 1942)
• 1880 – Wilhelm List, German field marshal (d. 1971)
• 1881 – George Murray Hulbert, American judge and politician (d. 1950)
• 1881 – Ed Walsh, American baseball player and coach (d. 1959)
• 1882 – Mokichi Saitō, Japanese poet and psychiatrist (d. 1953)
• 1885 – Otto Klemperer, German composer and conductor (d. 1973)
• 1887 – Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
• 1893 – Louis Verneuil, French actor and playwright (d. 1952)
• 1897 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1959)
• 1897 – Ed Ricketts, American biologist and ecologist (d. 1948)
• 1899 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (d. 1993)
• 1899 – Earle Combs, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
• 1900 – Hal Borland, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
• 1900 – Walter Rehberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1957)
• 1900 – Leo Smit, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1943)
• 1900 – Edgar Wind, German-English historian, author, and academic (d. 1971)
• 1901 – Robert Ritter, German psychologist and physician (d. 1951)
• 1903 – Billie Dove, American actress (d. 1997)
• 1904 – Hans Albert Einstein, Swiss-American engineer and educator (d. 1973)
• 1904 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (d. 1961)
• 1905 – Jean Daniélou, French cardinal and theologian (d. 1974)
• 1905 – Herbert Morrison, American soldier and journalist (d. 1989)
• 1905 – Antonio Berni, Argentinian painter, illustrator, and engraver (d. 1981)
• 1907 – Ayub Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 2nd President of Pakistan (d. 1974)
• 1907 – Hans von der Groeben, German journalist and diplomat (d. 2005)
• 1908 – Betty Jeffrey, Australian nurse and author (d. 2000)
• 1909 – Godfrey Rampling, English sprinter and colonel (d. 2009)
• 1910 – Ken Viljoen, South African cricketer (d. 1974)
• 1910 – Ne Win, Prime Minister of Burma (1958-60, 1962-74)(d. 2002)
• 1914 – Gul Khan Nasir, Pakistani journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1983)
• 1916 – Robert F. Christy, Canadian-American physicist and astronomer (d. 2012)
• 1916 – Lance Dossor, English-Australian pianist and educator (d. 2005)
• 1916 – Marco Zanuso, Italian architect and designer (d. 2001)
• 1917 – Lou Harrison, American composer and critic (d. 2003)
• 1917 – Norman Luboff, American composer and conductor (d. 1987)
• 1919 – Solange Chaput-Rolland, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2001)
• 1919 – John Hope, American soldier and meteorologist (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Richard Deacon, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
• 1922 – Franjo Tuđman, Yugoslav historian; later 1st President of Croatia (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1923 – Mrinal Sen, Bangladeshi-Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1925 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Patrice Munsel, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)
• 1925 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (d. 1997)
• 1925 – Al Porcino, American trumpet player (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Ninian Sanderson, Scottish race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1926 – Eric Morecambe, English actor (d. 1984)
• 1927 – Herbert W. Franke, Austrian scientist and author
• 1928 – Will "Dub" Jones, American singer (d. 2000)
• 1928 – Frederik H. Kreuger, Dutch engineer, author, and academic (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Brian Macdonald, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Barbara Branden, Canadian-American author (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Henry McGee, English actor and singer (d. 2006)
• 1929 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• 1930 – William James, Australian general and physician (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Alvin Lucier, American composer and academic
• 1932 – Robert Bechtle, American lithographer and painter
• 1932 – Richard Estes, American painter and illustrator
• 1933 – Siân Phillips, Welsh actress and singer
• 1935 – Rudi Šeligo, Slovenian playwright and politician (d. 2004)
• 1936 – Bobby Darin, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1973)
• 1936 – Vic Eliason, American clergyman and radio host, founded VCY America (d. 2015)
• 1936 – Charlie Gracie, American singer and guitarist
• 1936 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
• 1938 – Robert Boyd, English pediatrician and academic
• 1939 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (d. 2016)
• 1939 – Troy Shondell, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
• 1939 – Veruschka von Lehndorff, German model and actress
• 1940 – Chay Blyth, Scottish sailor and rower
• 1940 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
• 1940 – George Mathewson, Scottish banker and businessman
• 1941 – Ada den Haan, Dutch swimmer
• 1942 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (d. 2003)
• 1942 – Byron Dorgan, American lawyer and politician
• 1942 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (d. 2014)
• 1942 – Tony Pérez, Cuban-American baseball player and manager
• 1942 – Malise Ruthven, Irish author and academic
• 1943 – Jack Bruce, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)
• 1943 – L. Denis Desautels, Canadian accountant and civil servant
• 1943 – Derek Leckenby, English guitarist (Herman's Hermits) (d. 1994)
• 1943 – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 5th President of Iceland
• 1943 – Richard Peto, English statistician and epidemiologist
• 1944 – Gene Cornish, Canadian-American guitarist
• 1944 – George Lucas, American director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm
• 1945 – Francesca Annis, English actress
• 1945 – George Nicholls, English rugby player
• 1945 – Yochanan Vollach, Israeli footballer
• 1946 – Sarah Hogg, Viscountess Hailsham, English economist and journalist
• 1948 – Timothy Stevenson, English lawyer and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
• 1948 – Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer and coach (d. 2007)
• 1949 – Sverre Årnes, Norwegian author, screenwriter, and director
• 1949 – Walter Day, American game designer and businessman, founded Twin Galaxies
• 1949 – Johan Schans, Dutch swimmer
• 1949 – Klaus-Peter Thaler, German cyclist
• 1950 – Vijay J. Darda, Indian Editor and politician
• 1950 – Adolfo Domínguez, Spanish fashion designer
• 1951 – Jay Beckenstein, American saxophonist
• 1951 – Robert Zemeckis, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1952 – Wim Mertens, Flemish Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist.
• 1952 – David Byrne, Scottish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1952 – Michael Fallon, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Defence
• 1952 – Orna Grumberg, Israeli computer scientist and academic
• 1952 – Scott Irwin, American wrestler (d. 1987)
• 1952 – Raul Mälk, Estonian politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1952 – Donald R. McMonagle, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1953 – Tom Cochrane, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1953 – Hywel Williams, Welsh politician
• 1955 – Marie Chouinard, Canadian dancer and choreographer
• 1955 – Kenth Eldebrink, Swedish javelin thrower
• 1955 – Alasdair Fraser, Scottish fiddler
• 1955 – Peter Kirsten, South African cricketer and rugby player
• 1955 – Dennis Martínez, Nicaraguan baseball player and coach
• 1955 – Jens Sparschuh, German author and playwright
• 1956 – Hazel Blears, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
• 1958 – Christine Brennan, American journalist and author
• 1958 – Chris Evans, English-Australian politician, 26th Australian Minister for Employment
• 1958 – Jan Ravens, English actress and screenwriter
• 1958 – Wilma Rusman, Dutch runner
• 1958 – Andrus Vaarik, Estonian actor and director
• 1959 – Carlisle Best, Barbadian cricketer
• 1959 – Patrick Bruel, French actor, singer, and poker player
• 1959 – Markus Büchel, Liechtensteiner politician, 9th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (d. 2013)
• 1959 – Robert Greene, American author and translator
• 1959 – Steve Hogarth, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1959 – John Holt, American football player (d. 2013)
• 1959 – Rick Vaive, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1959 – Heather Wheeler, English politician
• 1960 – Anne Clark, English singer-songwriter and poet
• 1960 – Alec Dankworth, English bassist and composer
• 1960 – Frank Nobilo, New Zealand golfer
• 1960 – Ronan Tynan, Irish tenor
• 1961 – Jean Leloup, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1961 – David Quantick, English journalist and critic
• 1961 – Tommy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 2015)
• 1961 – Tim Roth, English actor and director
• 1961 – Alain Vigneault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1962 – Ian Astbury, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1962 – C.C. DeVille, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor
• 1962 – Danny Huston, Italian-American actor and director
• 1963 – Pat Borders, American baseball player and coach
• 1963 – David Yelland, English journalist and author
• 1964 – James M. Kelly, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1964 – Suzy Kolber, American sportscaster and producer
• 1965 – Eoin Colfer, Irish author
• 1965 – Emma Forbes, English radio and television host
• 1966 – Marianne Denicourt, French actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1966 – Mike Inez, American bass player and songwriter
• 1966 – Fab Morvan, French singer-songwriter and dancer
• 1966 – Raphael Saadiq, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1967 – Natasha Kaiser-Brown, American sprinter and coach
• 1967 – Tony Siragusa, American football player and journalist
• 1969 – Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
• 1969 – Sabine Schmitz, German race car driver and sportscaster
• 1969 – Henry Smith, English politician
• 1969 – Danny Wood, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1971 – Sofia Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1971 – Martin Reim, Estonian footballer and manager
• 1972 – Mark Ruskell, Scottish politician
• 1973 – Shanice, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
• 1973 – Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer and actress
• 1973 – Anais Granofsky, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Voshon Lenard, American basketball player
• 1973 – Fraser Nelson, Scottish journalist
• 1973 – Hakan Ünsal, Turkish footballer and sportscaster
• 1973 – Julian White, English rugby player
• 1974 – Jennifer Allan, American model
• 1974 – Krister Axel, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1974 – Anu Välba, Estonian journalist
• 1975 – Nicki Sørensen, Danish cyclist
• 1976 – Hunter Burgan, American bass player
• 1976 – Brian Lawrence, American baseball player and coach
• 1976 – Martine McCutcheon, English actress and singer
• 1977 – Sophie Anderton, English model and actress
• 1977 – Roy Halladay, American baseball player and coach
• 1977 – Ada Nicodemou, Cypriot-Australian actress
• 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper
• 1978 – Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
• 1978 – Eddie House, American basketball player
• 1978 – André Macanga, Angolan footballer and manager
• 1978 – Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
• 1979 – Dan Auerbach, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1979 – Edwige Lawson-Wade, French basketball player
• 1979 – Clinton Morrison, English-Irish footballer
• 1979 – Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1980 – Zdeněk Grygera, Czech footballer
• 1980 – Pavel Londak, Estonian footballer
• 1980 – Eugene Martineau, Dutch decathlete
• 1980 – Júlia Sebestyén, Hungarian figure skater
• 1980 – Hugo Southwell, English-Scottish rugby player
• 1980 – Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
• 1981 – Pranav Mistry, Indian computer scientist, invented SixthSense
• 1982 – Ai Shibata, Japanese swimmer
• 1982 – Stanimir Todorov, Bulgarian figure skater
• 1983 – Anahí, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1983 – Keeley Donovan, English journalist
• 1983 – Frank Gore, American football player
• 1983 – Uroš Slokar, Slovenian basketball player
• 1983 – Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1983 – Amber Tamblyn, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1983 – Tom Welham, English singer and guitarist
• 1984 – Gary Ablett, Jr., Australian footballer
• 1984 – Luke Gregerson, American baseball player
• 1984 – Olly Murs, English singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Michael Rensing, German footballer
• 1984 – Nigel Reo-Coker, English footballer
• 1984 – Indrek Siska, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Facebook
• 1985 – Dustin Lynch, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Sam Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1985 – Simona Peycheva, Bulgarian gymnast
• 1985 – Zack Ryder, American wrestler
• 1986 – Andrea Bovo, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Clay Matthews III, American football player
• 1986 – Marco Motta, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Zarine Khan, Indian model and actress
• 1987 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (d. 2012)
• 1987 – Franck Songo'o, Cameroonian footballer
• 1987 – François Steyn, South African rugby player
• 1988 – Jayne Appel, American basketball player
• 1989 – Rob Gronkowski, American football player
• 1989 – Alina Talay, Belorussian hurdler
• 1990 – Olga Ikonnikova, Estonian figure skater
• 1993 – Miranda Cosgrove, American actress and singer
• 1993 – Kristina Mladenovic, French tennis player
• 1993 – Bence Rakaczki, Hungarian footballer (d. 2014)
• 1994 – Marcos Aoás Corrêa, Brazilian footballer
• 1994 – Pernille Blume, Danish swimmer
• 1994 – Kierran Moseley, Australian rugby league player
• 1994 – Dennis Praet, Belgian footballer
• 1995 – Jonah Placid, Australian rugby player
• 1996 – Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ, record producer, composer and musician

Deaths

• 649 – Pope Theodore I
• 964 – Pope John XII (b. 927)
• 1219 – William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, English soldier and politician (b. 1147)
• 1470 – Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
• 1576 – Haydar Mirza Safavi (b. 1554)
• 1608 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1543)
• 1610 – Henry IV of France (b. 1553)
• 1643 – Louis XIII of France (b. 1601)
• 1649 – Friedrich Spanheim, Swiss theologian and academic (b. 1600)
• 1667 – Georges de Scudéry, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1601)
• 1688 – Antoine Furetière, French scholar, lexicographer, and author (b. 1619)
• 1754 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French playwright and producer (b. 1692)
• 1761 – Thomas Simpson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1710)
• 1847 – Fanny Mendelssohn, German pianist and composer (b. 1805)
• 1860 – Ludwig Bechstein, German author (b. 1801)
• 1873 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (b. 1797)
• 1878 – Ōkubo Toshimichi, Japanese samurai and politician (b. 1830)
• 1881 – Mary Seacole, Jamaican-English nurse and author (b. 1805)
• 1887 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher and theorist (b. 1808)
• 1889 – Volney Howard, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1809)
• 1893 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1810)
• 1906 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, journalist, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1829)
• 1912 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (b. 1843)
• 1912 – August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist (b. 1849)
• 1918 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1841)
• 1919 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (b. 1844)
• 1923 – N. G. Chandavarkar, Indian jurist and politician (b. 1855)
• 1923 – Charles de Freycinet, French engineer and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
• 1925 – H. Rider Haggard, English novelist (b. 1856)
• 1931 – David Belasco, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Denys Finch Hatton, English hunter (b. 1887)
• 1934 – Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (b. 1872)
• 1935 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (b. 1868)
• 1936 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (b. 1861)
• 1940 – Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-American author and activist (b. 1869)
• 1940 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (b. 1902)
• 1943 – Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
• 1945 – Heber J. Grant, American religious leader, 7th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1856)
• 1945 – Wolfgang Lüth, Latvian-German captain (b. 1913)
• 1945 – Isis Pogson, English astronomer and meteorologist (b. 1852)
• 1953 – Yasuo Kuniyoshi, American painter and photographer (b. 1893)
• 1954 – Heinz Guderian, Polish-German general (b. 1888)
• 1956 – Joan Malleson, English physician (b. 1889)
• 1957 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (b. 1884)
• 1959 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (b. 1897)
• 1959 – Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (b. 1862)
• 1960 – Lucrezia Bori, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1887)
• 1962 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1968 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b. 1882)
• 1969 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (b. 1893)
• 1969 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b. 1888)
• 1970 – Billie Burke, American actress and singer (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Jean Gebser, German linguist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1905)
• 1976 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1943)
• 1979 – Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (b. 1890)
• 1980 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (b. 1912)
• 1982 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor (b. 1909)
• 1983 – Roger J. Traynor, American academic and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican politician, 46th President of Mexico (b. 1900)
• 1984 – Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1910)
• 1984 – Walter Rauff, German SS officer (b. 1906)
• 1987 – Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (b. 1918)
• 1987 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovenian poet and playwright (b. 1914)
• 1988 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (b. 1886)
• 1989 – Mary Lalopoulou, Greek actress (b. 1926)
• 1992 – Lyle Alzado, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1949)
• 1992 – Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (b. 1899)
• 1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1908)
• 1994 – Cihat Arman, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1915)
• 1994 – W. Graham Claytor Jr., American businessman, lieutenant, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1914)
• 1995 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
• 1997 – Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (b. 1934)
• 1997 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (b. 1925)
• 1998 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and environmentalist (b. 1890)
• 1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Keizō Obuchi, Japanese politician, 84th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
• 2001 – Paul Bénichou, French writer, intellectual, critic, and literary historian (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Gil Langley, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (b. 1919)
• 2003 – Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
• 2003 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Robert Stack, American actor and producer (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (b. 1913)
• 2006 – Lew Anderson, American actor and saxophonist (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (b. 1905)
• 2006 – Eva Norvind, Mexican actress, director, and producer (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Mary Scheier, American sculptor and educator (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and author (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Will Elder, American illustrator (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Roger Ellis, American Football player, US Secret Service agent (b. 1938)
• 2010 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (b. 1938)
• 2010 – Norman Hand, American football player (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean soldier and politician, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Mitchell Guist, American hunter (b. 1964)
• 2012 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Mario Trejo, Argentinian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Belita Woods, American singer (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Joy Baluch, Australian stenographer and politician (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Wayne Brown, American accountant and politician, 14th Mayor of Mesa (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Arsen Chilingaryan, Armenian footballer and manager (b. 1962)
• 2013 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian author and activist (b. 1939)
• 2013 – Billie Sol Estes, American businessman (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Ray Guy, Canadian journalist (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Jeffrey Kruger, English-American businessman (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Emanuel Raymond Lewis, American librarian and author (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Morvin Simon, New Zealand historian, composer, and conductor (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Stephen Sutton, English activist and blogger (b. 1994)
• 2015 – B.B. King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Micheál O'Brien, Irish footballer and hurler (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Stanton J. Peale, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (b. 1953)
• 2016 – Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (b. 1962)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Engelmund of Velsen
  • Matthias the Apostle (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Michael Garicoïts
  • Mo Chutu of Lismore (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Victor and Corona
  • May 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which the first day of Sanja Matsuri can fall, while May 20 is the latest; celebrated on the third weekend of May. (Sensō-ji, Tokyo)
• Flag Day (Paraguay)
• Hastings Banda's Birthday (Malawi)
• National Unification Day (Liberia)
• The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival. (Izumo-taisha)

External links

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