May 24

May 24 is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 221 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
• 1276 – Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
• 1487 – The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign.
• 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
• 1607 – One hundred English settlers disembark in Jamestown, the first English colony in America.
• 1621 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
• 1626 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
• 1667 – The French Royal Army crosses the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
• 1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded.
• 1738 – John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.
• 1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.
• 1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
• 1822 – Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
• 1830 – "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by Sarah Josepha Hale is published.
• 1830 – The first revenue trains in the United States begin service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, and Ellicott's Mills, Maryland.
• 1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
• 1844 – Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate the first telegraph line.
• 1856 – John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
• 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
• 1895 – Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted.
• 1900 – Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
• 1915 – World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, joining the conflict on the side of the Allies.
• 1921 – The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opens.
• 1930 – Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
• 1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.
• 1939 – First issue of Fashizmi is published in Tirana.
• 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
• 1940 – Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.
• 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks then-pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
• 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captures the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gives Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later.
• 1956 – Conclusion of the Sixth Buddhist Council on Vesak Day, marking the 2,500 year anniversary after the Lord Buddha's Parinibbāna.
• 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
• 1958 – United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
• 1960 – Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
• 1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
• 1961 – Cyprus joins the Council of Europe.
• 1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
• 1963 – Baldwin–Kennedy meeting on race relations in the US
• 1967 – Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.
• 1968 – FLQ separatists bomb the U.S. consulate in Quebec City.
• 1970 – The drilling of the Kola Superdeep Borehole begins in the Soviet Union.
• 1976 – The London to Washington, D.C., Concorde service begins.
• 1976 – The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
• 1981 – Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.
• 1982 – Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture of the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
• 1988 – Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.
• 1991 – Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
• 1992 – The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
• 1993 – Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
• 1994 – Four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 are each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
• 1999 – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
• 2000 – Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
• 2001 – Mountaineering: Temba Tsheri, a 16-year-old Sherpa, becomes the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
• 2001 – The Versailles wedding hall disaster in Jerusalem, Israel kills 23 and injures over 200.
• 2002 – Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
• 2014 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring 324 people.
• 2014 – At least 3 people are killed in a shooting at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, Belgium

Births

• 15 BC – Germanicus, Roman general (d. 19)
• 1494 – Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
• 1522 – John Jewel, English bishop (d. 1571)
• 1544 – William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1603)
• 1616 – John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Scottish politician, Secretary of State, Scotland (d. 1682)
• 1671 – Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
• 1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (d. 1736)
• 1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1769)
• 1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (d. 1793)
• 1794 – William Whewell, English priest and philosopher (d. 1866)
• 1803 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (d. 1866)
• 1810 – Charles Clark, American general and politician, 24th Governor of Mississippi (d. 1877)
• 1810 – Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
• 1816 – Major John Buckley VC, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1876)
• 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (d. 1868)
• 1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
• 1830 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (d. 1897)
• 1836 – Joseph Rowntree, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1925)
• 1854 – John Riley Banister, American police officer (d. 1918)
• 1855 – Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1934)
• 1861 – Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1940)
• George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
• 1868 – Charlie Taylor, American engineer and mechanic (d. 1956)
• 1870 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (d. 1938)
• 1870 – Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
• 1874 – Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)
• 1875 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1961)
• 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (d. 1972)
• 1879 – H. B. Reese, American candy maker, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (d. 1956)
• 1885 – Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English psychologist and academic (d. 1948)
• 1886 – Paul Paray, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1979)
• 1887 – Mick Mannock, Irish soldier and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
• 1891 – William F. Albright, American archeologist, philologist, and scholar (d. 1971)
• 1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr., American publisher, founded Advance Publications (d. 1979)
• 1898 – Kathleen Hale, English author and illustrator (d. 2000)
• 1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
• 1899 – Henri Michaux, Belgian-French poet and painter (d. 1984)
• 1900 – Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1984)
• 1901 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1954)
• 1902 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (d. 2004)
• 1903 – Milo Burcham, American pilot (d. 1944)
• 1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1909 – Wilbur Mills, American banker and politician (d. 1992)
• 1911 – Barbara West, English survivor of the Sinking of the RMS Titanic (d. 2007)
• 1913 – Joe Abreu, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1993)
• 1913 – Audrey Brown, English runner (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Peter Ellenshaw, American special effects designer (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress and singer (d. 1986)
• 1914 – Giuseppe Valdengo, Italian actor and singer (d. 2007)
• 1916 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Maria Michi, Italian actress (d. 1980)
• 1923 – Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (d. 1986)
• 1924 – Aleksander Arulaid, Estonian chess player and engineer (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Philip Pearlstein, American soldier and painter
• 1925 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator and educator (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish-English actress and director (d. 1994)
• 1926 – Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor and screenwriter
• 1928 – Adrian Frutiger, Swiss typeface designer (d. 2015)
• 1928 – William Trevor, Irish author and playwright
• 1930 – Hans-Martin Linde, German flute player and author
• 1931 – Michael Lonsdale, French actor and singer
• 1932 – James Anderton, English police officer
• 1932 – Arnold Wesker, English playwright and producer
• 1933 – Jane Byrne, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014)
• 1933 – Réal Giguère, Canadian talk show host
• 1933 – Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi and author (d. 2015)
• 1933 – Christopher Staughton, English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
• 1934 – Barry Rose, English organist and conductor
• 1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, American director and screenwriter
• 1935 – Rusty York, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Harold Budd, American composer and poet
• 1937 – Timothy Brown, American football player and actor
• 1937 – Maryvonne Dupureur, French runner and educator (d. 2008)
• 1937 – Roger Peterson, American pilot (d. 1959)
• 1937 – Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer
• 1938 – Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer
• 1938 – Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1938 – David Viscott, American psychiatrist and author (d. 1996)
• 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
• 1941 – Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Traveling Wilburys)
• 1941 – Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician
• 1941 – George Lakoff, American linguist and academic
• 1942 – Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and manager
• 1942 – Lázár Lovász, Hungarian hammer thrower
• 1942 – Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver
• 1942 – Ichirō Ozawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, Japanese Minister of Home Affairs
• 1943 – Gary Burghoff, American actor and singer
• 1944 – Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress (Labelle)
• 1945 – Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
• 1945 – Steven Norris, English engineer and politician
• 1945 – Richard Ottaway, English lieutenant and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• 1945 – Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman
• 1946 – Tansu Çiller Turkish economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey
• 1946 – Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter
• 1946 – Jeremy Treglown, English author, critic, and academic
• 1947 – Albert Bouchard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer (Blue Öyster Cult)
• 1947 – Mike De Leon, Filipino director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer
• 1947 – Waddy Wachtel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1947 – Martin Winterkorn, German businessman
• 1948 – James Cosmo, Scottish actor
• 1948 – Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1949 – Hubert Birkenmeier, German-American soccer player and coach
• 1949 – Jim Broadbent, English actor and screenwriter
• 1949 – Tomaž Pisanski, Slovenian mathematician and academic
• 1950 – Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen (d. 1999)
• 1950 – Vivian Ramsey, English engineer and judge
• 1950 – Larry Seidlin, American lawyer and judge
• 1950 – Terry Scott Taylor, American singer-songwriter and producer (Daniel Amos, The Swirling Eddies, and Lost Dogs)
• 1952 – Sybil Danning, Austrian actress and producer
• 1953 – Nell Campbell, Australian-American actress and singer
• 1953 – Alfred Molina, English actor and producer
• 1953 – Klaus-Günter Stade, German footballer
• 1953 – Richard Wilson, English sculptor
• 1955 – Rosanne Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer-songwriter
• 1955 – David Leonard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Richard B. Bernstein, American historian and academic
• 1956 – Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Cameo and Black Ivory)
• 1956 – Dominic Grieve, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
• 1956 – Michael Jackson, Irish archbishop
• 1956 – Zaid Shakir, American author and scholar
• 1958 – Chip Ganassi, American race car driver and businessman
• 1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-American ice hockey player (d. 1985)
• 1960 – Guy Fletcher, English keyboard player, guitarist, and producer (Dire Straits and The Notting Hillbillies)
• 1960 – Doug Jones, American actor
• 1960 – Paul McCreesh, English conductor
• 1960 – Kristin Scott Thomas, English-French actress and singer
• 1961 – Show Aikawa, Japanese actor
• 1961 – Lorella Cedroni, Italian philosopher and theorist (d. 2013)
• 1961 – Alain Lemieux, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
• 1962 – Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican boxer and singer (d. 2012)
• 1962 – Stephen Otter, English police officer
• 1962 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2003)
• 1963 – Lois Ayres, American porn actress
• 1963 – Ivan Capelli, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
• 1963 – Michael Chabon, American author and screenwriter
• 1963 – Joe Dumars, American basketball player
• 1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football player and coach
• 1964 – Liz McColgan, Scottish educator and runner
• 1964 – Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer
• 1964 – Isidro Pérez, Mexican boxer (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1965 – Jens Becker, German bass player (Grave Digger, Running Wild, and X-Wild)
• 1965 – John C. Reilly, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Shinichirō Watanabe, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1966 – Eric Cantona, French footballer, manager, and actor
• 1966 – Ricky Craven, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1966 – Russell Kun, Nauruan lawyer and politician
• 1967 – Dana Ashbrook, American actor
• 1967 – Andrey Borodin, Russian-English economist and businessman
• 1967 – Eric Close, American actor and director
• 1967 – Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2011)
• 1967 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
• 1967 – Steven Shane McDonald, American bass player and actor (Redd Kross, Off!, and Green and Yellow TV)
• 1967 – Bruno Putzulu, French actor
• 1967 – Tamer Karadağlı, Turkish actor
• 1968 – Mo Willems, American author and illustrator
• 1969 – Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
• 1969 – Rich Robinson, American guitarist and songwriter (The Black Crowes)
• 1970 – Tommy Page, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1971 – Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1972 – Layne Beachley, Australian surfer
• 1972 – Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – Joanna Wiśniewska, Polish discus thrower
• 1973 – Rodrigo, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
• 1973 – Ruslana, Ukrainian singer, dancer, producer, and actress
• 1973 – Bartolo Colón, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1973 – Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Dermot O'Leary, English radio and television host
• 1973 – Hallgeir Pedersen, Norwegian guitarist
• 1973 – Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer and manager
• 1974 – Sébastien Foucan, French runner and actor
• 1974 – Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player and coach
• 1974 – Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer, developed MediaWiki
• 1974 – Will Sasso, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1975 – Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater
• 1975 – Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer and coach
• 1975 – Maria Lawson, English singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Italian-American singer and keyboard player (Modwheelmood, SONOIO, Blindoldfreak, and Nine Inch Nails)
• 1976 – Catherine Cox, New Zealand-Australian netball player
• 1976 – Bob Maesen, Belgian canoe racer
• 1977 – Prince Poppycock, American tenor
• 1977 – Kym Valentine, Australian actress
• 1978 – Elijah Burke, American wrestler
• 1978 – Brian Ching, American soccer player and coach
• 1978 – Bryan Greenberg, American actor and singer
• 1978 – Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1978 – Jo Joyner, English actress
• 1978 – Brad Penny, American baseball player
• 1979 – Amelia Cooke, American actress
• 1979 – Manuel Cortez, Portuguese-German actor and photographer
• 1979 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
• 1979 – Kareem McKenzie, American football player
• 1979 – Frank Mir, American mixed martial artist
• 1980 – Jason Babin, American football player
• 1980 – Owen Benjamin, American comedian and actor
• 1980 – Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1980 – Jenn Korbee, American singer and actress (Hi-5)
• 1980 – Anthony Minichiello, Australian rugby player
• 1980 – Billy L. Sullivan, American actor
• 1981 – Sayaka Ando, Japanese model
• 1981 – Nic Hill, American director and producer
• 1981 – Markéta Jánská, Czech-American model and actress
• 1981 – Andy Lee, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1981 – Jerod Mixon, American actor
• 1982 – Issah Gabriel Ahmed, Ghanaian footballer
• 1982 – DaMarcus Beasley, American soccer player
• 1982 – Rian Wallace, American football player
• 1983 – Custódio Castro, Portuguese footballer
• 1983 – Pedram Javaheri, Iranian-American meteorologist and journalist
• 1983 – Ricky Mabe, Canadian actor and director
• 1983 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (d. 2009)
• 1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress
• 1984 – Dmitri Kruglov, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Brodney Pool, American football player
• 1984 – Ryan Wieber, American director and special effects designer
• 1985 – Tim Bridgman, English race car driver
• 1986 – Mark Ballas, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, dancer, and actor (Ballas Hough Band)
• 1986 – Giannis Kontoes, Greek footballer
• 1986 – Jordan Metcalfe, English actor
• 1987 – Jimena Barón, Argentinian actress and singer
• 1987 – Déborah François, Belgian actress
• 1987 – Guillaume Latendresse, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Aiko Orgla, Estonian footballer
• 1987 – Matt Prior, Australian rugby player
• 1988 – Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Monica Lin Brown, American sergeant
• 1988 – Kimberley Crossman, New Zealand actress and dancer
• 1988 – Billy Gilman, American singer-songwriter
• 1989 – Andrew Jordan, English race car driver
• 1989 – Sam Kessel, Swedish actor
• 1989 – Adel Taarabt, Moroccan footballer
• 1990 – Catalina Artusi, Argentinian actress
• 1990 – Joey Logano, American race car driver
• 1990 – Yuya Matsushita, Japanese singer, dancer, and actor
• 1991 – Aled Davies, Welsh discus thrower
• 1991 – Erika Umeda, Japanese singer (Cute and ZYX)
• 1992 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
• 1992 – Travis T. Flory, American actor
• 1992 – Ryan Leonard, English footballer
• 1993 – Oliver Davis, American actor
• 1993 – Rait-Riivo Laane, Estonian basketball player
• 1994 – Cayden Boyd, American actor
• 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
• 1995 – Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
• 2001 – Darren Espanto, Filipino-Canadian singer

Deaths

• 1153 – David I of Scotland (b. 1083)
• 1201 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (b. 1179)
• 1351 – Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, Moroccan sultan (b. 1297)
• 1408 – Taejo of Joseon (b. 1335)
• 1425 – Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany (b. 1362)
• 1456 – Ambroise de Loré, French commander (b. 1396)
• 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (b. 1473)
• 1612 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1563)
• 1627 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (b. 1561)
• 1632 – Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (b. 1553)
• 1725 – Jonathan Wild, English criminal (b. 1682)
• Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
• Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1718)
• 1806 – John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire (b. 1723)
• 1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
• 1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
• 1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter and illustrator (b. 1794)
• 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (b. 1805)
• 1881 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and illustrator (b. 1805)
• 1901 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (b. 1824)
• 1908 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (b. 1821)
• 1915 – John Condon, Irish-English soldier (b. 1896)
• 1919 – Amado Nervo, Mexican poet, journalist, and educator (b. 1870)
• 1941 – Lancelot Holland, English admiral (b. 1887)
• 1945 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal and pilot (b. 1892)
• 1948 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
• 1949 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect, designed Lenin's Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (b. 1873)
• 1950 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (b. 1883)
• 1951 – Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, screenwriter (b. 1872)
• 1958 – Frank Rowe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
• 1959 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
• 1960 – Avraham Arnon, Belarusian-Israeli educator (b. 1887)
• 1963 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
• 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1908)
• 1972 – Ismail Yassine, Egyptian actor (b. 1915)
• 1974 – Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (b. 1899)
• 1976 – Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (b. 1923)
• 1979 – Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer, and educator (b. 1890)
• 1981 – Herbert Müller, Swiss race car driver (b. 1940)
• 1981 – A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan educator and politician (b. 1916)
• 1984 – Vince McMahon, Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (b. 1914)
• 1990 – Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (b. 1910)
• 1991 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Byrds and Dillard & Clark) (b. 1944)
• 1991 – Miriam di San Servolo, Italian actress (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese race car driver (b. 1956)
• 1992 – Joan Sanderson, English actress (b. 1912)
• 1995 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
• 1996 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (b. 1934)
• 1996 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
• 1997 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (b. 1923)
• 2000 – Kurt Schork, American journalist and scholar (b. 1947)
• 2000 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
• 2002 – Wallace Markfield, American author (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Rachel Kempson, English-American actress (b. 1910)
• 2004 – Henry Ries, German-American photographer (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)
• 2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (b. 1900)
• 2005 – Carl Amery, German activist and author (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and poet (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (b. 1935)
• 2006 – Jesús Ledesma Aguilar, Mexican murderer (b. 1963)
• 2006 – Henry Bumstead, American art director and production designer (b. 1915)
• 2006 – Claude Piéplu, French actor (b. 1923)
• 2006 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (b. 1930)
• 2008 – Rob Knox, English actor (b. 1989)
• 2008 – Dick Martin, American actor and director (b. 1922)
• 2008 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (b. 1936)
• 2009 – Jay Bennett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Wilco) (b. 1963)
• 2010 – Ray Alan, English ventriloquist, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2010 – Tapen Chatterjee, Indian actor (b. 1937)
• 2010 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (Slipknot and Unida) (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Raymond V. Haysbert, American businessman and activist (b. 1920)
• 2010 – Petr Muk, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1965)
• 2010 – Barbara New, English actress (b. 1923)
• 2010 – Anneliese Rothenberger, German soprano and actress (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Huguette Clark, French-American painter and philanthropist (b. 1906)
• 2011 – Hakim Ali Zardari Indian-Pakistani businessman and politician (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Klaas Carel Faber Dutch-German SS officer (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Kathi Kamen Goldmark, American journalist and author (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Jacqueline Harpman, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Juan Francisco Lombardo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Mark McConnell, American drummer (Madam X and Blackfoot) (b. 1961)
• 2012 – Ndombe Opetum, Congolese singer-songwriter (TPOK Jazz) (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Lee Rich, American production manager and producer (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Ron Davies, Welsh footballer (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Gotthard Graubner, German painter (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Yevgeny Kychanov, Russian orientalist and historian (b. 1932)
• 2013 – John "Mule" Miles, American baseball player (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
• 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, Iranian businessman (b. 1969)
• 2014 – Knowlton Nash, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Mark Selbee, American kick-boxer (b. 1969)
• 2014 – John Vasconcellos, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Dean Carroll, English rugby player (b. 1962)
• 2015 – Kenneth Jacobs, Australian lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
• 2015 – Tanith Lee, English author (b. 1947)
• 2015 – Daniel Meltzer, American lawyer and academic (b. 1951)
• 2015 – Michael W. Ryan, American murderer (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances

• Feast of Mary Help of Christians (Roman Catholicism)
• Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
• Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
• Bermuda Day (Bermuda)
• Christian feast day:
  • Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
  • David I of Scotland
  • Donatian and Rogatian
  • Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church)
  • Joanna
  • Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue)
  • Vincent of Lérins
  • May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Commonwealth Day (Belize)
• Earliest day on which El Colacho tradition can fall, while June 27 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday after Corpus Christi. (Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993.
• Lubiri Memorial Day (Buganda)
• Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church) and its related observance:
  • Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (Bulgaria)
  • Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners' Day (Republic of Macedonia)
• Victoria Day; celebrated on Monday on or before May 24. (Canada), and its related observance:
  • National Patriots Day or Journée nationale des patriotes (Quebec)

External links

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