May 6

May 6 is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 239 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo.
• 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish.
• 1536 – King Henry VIII orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church.
• 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
• 1659 – English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removes Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalls the Rump Parliament.
• 1682 – Louis XIV moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.
• 1757 – Battle of Prague: A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years' War.
• 1757 – The end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757).
• 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.
• 1782 – Construction begins on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
• 1801 – Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedy captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
• 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
• 1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
• 1844 – The Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opens.
• 1857 – The British East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops.
• 1877 – Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
• 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed and killed during the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin.
• 1882 – The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.
• 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
• 1902 – Macario Sakay establishes the Tagalog Republic with himself as President.
• 1910 – George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII.
• 1915 – Babe Ruth hits his first major league home run while pitching for the Boston Red Sox.
• 1916 – Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists executed in the Martyrs' Square, Beirut by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman wāli.
• 1933 – The Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books.
• 1935 – New Deal: Executive Order 7034 creates the Works Progress Administration.
• 1935 – The first flight of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk.
• 1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
• 1940 – John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
• 1941 – At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.
• 1941 – The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
• 1942 – World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
• 1945 – World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.
• 1945 – World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.
• 1949 – EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, runs its first operation.
• 1954 – Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
• 1960 – More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
• 1962 – St. Martín de Porres is canonized by Pope John XXIII.
• 1966 – Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England.
• 1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.
• 1975 – During a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gather in Beirut to commemorate 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
• 1976 – An earthquake strikes the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages.
• 1981 – A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
• 1983 – The Hitler Diaries are revealed as a hoax after examination by experts.
• 1984 – One hundred three Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul.
• 1989 – Cedar Point opens Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what is known as the "coaster wars".
• 1994 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
• 1994 – Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones files a lawsuit against United States President Bill Clinton, alleging that he had sexually harassed her in 1991.
• 1996 – The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
• 1997 – The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history.
• 1998 – Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
• 1999 – The first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are held.
• 2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
• 2002 – After a radio-interview at the Mediapark in Hilversum the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated.
• 2004 – The series finale of the television sitcom Friends is aired on NBC. The finale attracts 52.46 million viewers, making it the sixth most watched television series finale in U.S. history.
• 2013 – Three women missing for more than a decade are found alive in the U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio. Their captor, Ariel Castro, is taken into custody.
• 2014 – Six people are injured in a knife attack at a Chinese train station in Guangzhou.

Births

• 1501 – Pope Marcellus II (d. 1555)
• 1574 – Pope Innocent X (d. 1655)
• 1635 – Johann Joachim Becher (d. 1682)
• 1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (d. 1747)
• 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (d. 1755)
• 1713 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (d. 1780)
• 1714 – Anton Raaff, German tenor (d. 1797)
• 1742 – Jean Senebier, Swiss pastor and physiologist (d. 1809)
• 1758 – André Masséna, French general (d. 1817)
• 1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
• 1769 – Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
• 1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
• 1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher and author (d. 1832)
• 1797 – Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)
• 1800 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general (d. 1881)
• 1827 – Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (d. 1891)
• 1836 – Max Eyth, German engineer and author (d. 1906)
• 1843 – Grove Karl Gilbert, American geologist and academic (d. 1918)
• 1848 – Henry Edward Armstrong, English chemist and academic (d. 1937)
• 1851 – Aristide Bruant, French singer and actor (d. 1925)
• 1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian-English neurologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1939)
• 1856 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (d. 1920)
• 1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1931)
• 1868 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (d. 1927)
• 1869 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and central banker, 8th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (d. 1932)
• 1870 – Walter Rutherford, Scottish golfer (d. 1936)
• 1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
• 1871 – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet (d. 1914)
• 1872 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1934)
• 1872 – Djemal Pasha, Ottoman general (d. 1922)
• 1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (d. 1952)
• 1879 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (d. 1929)
• 1880 – Winifred Brunton, English-South African painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
• 1880 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German-Swiss painter (d. 1938)
• 1880 – William Joseph Simmons, American Ku Klux Klan leader (d. 1945)
• 1882 – Wilhelm, German Crown Prince (d. 1951)
• 1883 – Alberto Collo, Italian actor (d. 1955)
• 1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and author (d. 1974)
• 1896 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (d. 1966)
• 1895 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian soldier and politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1946)
• 1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian-American actor (d. 1926)
• 1897 – Paul Alverdes, German author and poet (d. 1979)
• 1898 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1945)
• 1899 – Billy Cotton, English singer, drummer, and bandleader (d. 1969)
• 1902 – Harry Golden, Ukrainian-American journalist and author (d. 1981)
• 1902 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1957)
• 1903 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor's Restaurant (d. 1977)
• 1904 – Raymond Bailey, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1904 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 1984)
• 1904 – Catherine Lacey, English actress (d. 1979)
• 1904 – Harry Martinson, Swedish author and poet Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
• 1905 – Philip N. Krasne, American lawyer and producer (d. 1999)
• 1906 – André Weil, French mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
• 1907 – Weeb Ewbank, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
• 1909 – Loyd Sigmon, American radio host (d. 2004)
• 1911 – Guy des Cars, French journalist and author (d. 1993)
• 1911 – Frank Nelson, American actor (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (d. 1993)
• 1915 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
• 1915 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (d. 1986)
• 1916 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1997)
• 1916 – Sif Ruud, Swedish actress (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Adriana Caselotti, American voice actress and singer (d. 1997)
• 1917 – Kal Mann, American songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1917 – Jilly Rizzo, American businessman and actor (d. 1992)
• 1919 – André Guelfi, French race car driver
• 1920 – Martha Beck, American murderer (d. 1951)
• 1920 – Ross Hunter, American actor and producer (d. 1996)
• 1920 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Fiji (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Erich Fried, Austrian-German author, poet, and translator (d. 1988)
• 1922 – Vladimir Etush, Russian actor
• 1922 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Harry Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
• 1924 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American author (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Denny Wright, English guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1992)
• 1926 – Gilles Grégoire, Canadian politician, co-founded the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Marguerite Piazza, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Rosemary Cramp, English archaeologist and academic
• 1929 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
• 1929 – John Taylor, English bishop and theologian
• 1930 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer
• 1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player and coach
• 1932 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (d. 1994)
• 1932 – Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, English lieutenant and politician
• 1934 – Richard Shelby, American lawyer and politician
• 1936 – Bernard Lemaire, Canadian businessman
• 1937 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (d. 2014)
• 1938 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1938 – Larry Gogan, Irish radio host
• 1939 – Eddie C. Campbell, American singer and guitarist
• 1940 – Alexandra Burslem, Chinese-English academic
• 1942 – Ariel Dorfman, Argentinian author, playwright, and academic
• 1942 – David Friesen, American bassist
• 1942 – Rin Kaiho, Chinese-Japanese go player
• 1943 – Andreas Baader, German terrorist, co-founded the Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
• 1943 – Grange Calveley, English animator and screenwriter
• 1943 – Milton William Cooper, American theorist and author (d. 2001)
• 1943 – Wolfgang Reinhardt, German pole vaulter (d. 2011)
• 1943 – James Turrell, American sculptor and illustrator
• 1944 – Anton Furst, English-American production designer and art director (d. 1991)
• 1944 – Masanori Murakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
• 1945 – Richard Eyer, American actor and educator
• 1945 – Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The Flatlanders)
• 1945 – Bob Seger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1946 – Susan Brown, English actress
• 1946 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Alan Dale, New Zealand actor
• 1947 – Kit Martin, English architect and author
• 1947 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher and author
• 1947 – Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist, founded Real Aikido (d. 2013)
• 1948 – Robert Eyer, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1948 – Mary MacGregor, American singer-songwriter
• 1950 – Jeffery Deaver, American journalist and author
• 1950 – Robbie McIntosh, Scottish drummer (Average White Band and The Senate) (d. 1974)
• 1951 – Samuel Doe, Liberian sergeant and politician, 21st President of Liberia (d. 1990)
• 1951 – Antonio Saldías, Chilean historian and author
• 1952 – Graham Brazier, New Zealand singer-songwriter (Hello Sailor) (d. 2015)
• 1952 – Christian Clavier, French actor and producer
• 1952 – Gregg Henry, American actor and singer
• 1952 – Michael O'Hare, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1952 – Fred Newman, American actor and composer
• 1952 – Gerrit Zalm, Dutch economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1953 – Alexander Akimov, Ukrainian Chernobyl worker (d. 1986)
• 1953 – Tony Blair, Scottish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Canadian urban planner and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
• 1953 – Ülle Rajasalu, Estonian politician
• 1953 – David Rudder, Trinidadian calypsonian
• 1953 – Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress and producer
• 1954 – Tom Abernethy, American basketball player
• 1954 – Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician, 120th Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
• 1954 – Angela Hernández Nuñez, Dominican author and poet
• 1955 – Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh
• 1955 – Tom Bergeron, American television host
• 1955 – Ron Fawcett, English rock climber
• 1955 – John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
• 1956 – Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek actor and screenwriter
• 1956 – Roland Wieser, German race walker and coach
• 1958 – Lolita Flores, Spanish singer and actress
• 1958 – Jan Leyers, Belgian singer-songwriter (Soulsister)
• 1958 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (d. 2014)
• 1959 – Andreas Busse, German runner
• 1959 – Charles Hendry, English politician
• 1960 – Lyudmila Andonova, Bulgarian high jumper
• 1960 – Keith Dowding, English political scientist, philosopher, and academic
• 1960 – Roma Downey, Irish-American actress and producer
• 1960 – John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (They Might Be Giants and Mono Puff)
• 1960 – Aleksei Lotman, Estonian biologist and politician
• 1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress
• 1960 – Phyllis Treigle, American soprano and actress
• 1961 – Oleksandr Apaychev, Ukrainian decathlete and coach
• 1961 – George Clooney, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Tom Hunter, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
• 1961 – Gina Riley, Australian actress, singer, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Tom Brake, English politician
• 1963 – Alessandra Ferri, Italian ballerina
• 1964 – Dana Hill, American actress and singer (d. 1996)
• 1964 – Tony Scalzo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fastball)
• 1965 – Leslie Hope, Canadian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Worku Bikila, Ethiopian runner
• 1968 – Shin Hae-chul, South Korean singer-songwriter and producer (N.EX.T) (d. 2014)
• 1968 – Lætitia Sadier, French singer and keyboard player (Stereolab, Monade, and McCarthy)
• 1969 – Jim Magilton, Irish footballer and manager
• 1970 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
• 1970 – Kavan Smith, Canadian actor
• 1970 – Tristán Ulloa, French-Spanish actor and director
• 1971 – Chris Shiflett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foo Fighters, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Jackson United, No Use for a Name, and Viva Death)
• 1972 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese runner
• 1974 – Bernard Barmasai, Kenyan runner
• 1974 – Daniela Bártová, Czech pole vaulter and gymnast
• 1974 – Faruk Namdar, German-Turkish footballer
• 1974 – Patrick Tang, Hong Kong actor and singer
• 1976 – Dean Chandler, English footballer
• 1977 – Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
• 1977 – Marc Chouinard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1978 – John Abraham, American football player
• 1978 – Fredrick Federley, Swedish journalist and politician
• 1978 – Aleksandr Fyodorov, Russian bodybuilder
• 1979 – Mark Burrier, American illustrator
• 1979 – Kerry Ellis, English actress and singer
• 1979 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
• 1979 – Jan Erik Mikalsen, Norwegian composer
• 1980 – Taebin, American-South Korean rapper (1TYM)
• 1980 – Colt Cabana, American wrestler
• 1980 – Dimitris Diamantidis, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Mark Ladwig, American figure skater
• 1980 – Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Kelly van der Veer, Dutch singer and actress
• 1981 – Matt Drake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Evile)
• 1981 – Nick Setta, American-Canadian football player
• 1981 – Edyta Śliwińska, Polish-American dancer
• 1982 – Dilshod Nazarov, Tajikistani hammer thrower
• 1982 – Kyle Shewfelt, Canadian gymnast
• 1982 – Jason Witten, American football player
• 1983 – Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer
• 1983 – Ingrid Jonach, Australian author
• 1983 – Adrianne Palicki, American actress
• 1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, American actress
• 1983 – Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Karmapa Lama
• 1983 – Raquel Zimmermann, Brazilian model
• 1984 – Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, American-Somali terrorist (d. 2013)
• 1984 – Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Juan Pablo Carrizo, Argentinian footballer
• 1985 – Tanerau Latimer, New Zealand rugby player
• 1985 – Chris Paul, American basketball player
• 1986 – Cindy Daniel, Canadian singer
• 1986 – Goran Dragić, Slovenian basketball player
• 1986 – Tyler Hynes, Canadian actor, director, and producer
• 1986 – Roman Kreuziger, Czech cyclist
• 1986 – Gintarė Vostrecovaitė, Lithuanian figure skater
• 1986 – Sasheer Zamata, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1987 – Moon Geun-young, South Korean actress
• 1987 – Aljona Malets, Estonian footballer
• 1987 – Meek Mill, American rapper and producer
• 1987 – Kaliese Spencer, Jamaican hurdler
• 1989 – Bobby Bazini, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1989 – Dominika Cibulková, Slovakian tennis player
• 1989 – Amra Sadiković, Swiss tennis player
• 1990 – Danielle Beaubrun, Saint Lucian swimmer
• 1990 – Caitlin Yankowskas, American figure skater
• 1991 – Valerio Frasca, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Harriet Lee, English swimmer
• 1992 – Brendan Gallagher, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1992 – Ria Popović, English-Serbian footballer
• 1992 – Zigismunds Sirmais, Latvian javelin thrower
• 1992 – Takashi Usami, Japanese footballer
• 1993 – Alex Preston, American singer
• 1993 – Naomi Scott, English actress and singer
• 1993 – Andris Siksnis, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Kim Dasom, South Korean singer, dancer, actress (Sistar)
• 1994 – Mateo Kovačić, Austrian-Croatian footballer
• 1996 – Dominic Scott Kay, American actor and singer
• 2002 – Emily Alyn Lind, American actress

Deaths

• 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, English commander (b. 1438)
• 1475 – Dieric Bouts, Flemish painter (b. 1415)
• 1502 – James Tyrrell, English knight (b. 1450)
• 1596 – Giaches de Wert, Flemish-Italian composer (b. 1535)
• 1631 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (b. 1570)
• 1638 – Cornelius Jansen, Dutch-French bishop and theologian (b. 1585)
• 1708 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop (b. 1623)
• 1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1683)
• 1757 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (b. 1684)
• 1782 – Christine Kirch, German astronomer and academic (b. 1696)
• 1840 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (b. 1792)
• 1859 – Alexander von Humboldt, German geographer and explorer (b. 1769)
• 1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American author and philosopher (b. 1817)
• 1877 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Swedish-Finnish poet and hymn-writer (b. 1804)
• 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke, Irish civil servant (b. 1829)
• 1882 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, English-Irish politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1836)
• 1902 – Bret Harte, American-English author and poet (b. 1836)
• 1910 – Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1841)
• 1913 – Alexandros Schinas, Greek assassin of George I of Greece (b. 1870)
• 1919 – L. Frank Baum, American journalist and author (b. 1856)
• 1939 – Konstantin Somov, Russian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1869)
• 1949 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian-French poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
• 1951 – Élie Cartan, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1869)
• 1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian-Dutch physician and educator (b. 1870)
• 1959 – Ragnar Nurkse, Estonian-American economist and academic (b. 1907)
• 1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (b. 1895)
• 1963 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1881)
• 1963 – Ted Weems, American violinist, and trombonist, and bandleader (b. 1901)
• 1963 – Monty Woolley, American actor and director (b. 1888)
• 1967 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (b. 1885)
• 1970 – Alexander Rodzyanko, Russian general (b. 1879)
• 1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Turkish activist (b. 1947)
• 1973 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
• 1975 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1892)
• 1981 – Frank O'Grady, Australian public servant (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
• 1983 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (b. 1922)
• 1984 – Mary Cain, American journalist and politician (b. 1904)
• 1984 – Bonner Pink, English politician (b. 1912)
• 1985 – Julie Vega, Filipino actress and singer (b. 1968)
• 1987 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Earl Blaik, American football player and coach (b. 1897)
• 1990 – Charles Farrell, American actor and singer (b. 1901)
• 1991 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English-American actor and singer (b. 1903)
• 1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (b. 1901)
• 1992 – Gaston Reiff, Belgian runner (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Jilly Rizzo, American businessman and actor (b. 1917)
• 1993 – Ann Todd, English actress and producer (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Noel Brotherston, Irish footballer (b. 1956)
• 1995 – Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança, Portuguese woman who claimed to be the daughter of Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1907)
• 2000 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Mike Hazlewood, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Family Dogg) (b. 1941)
• 2002 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1906)
• 2002 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1932)
• 2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (b. 1948)
• 2002 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (b. 1940)
• 2003 – Art Houtteman, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1927)
• 2004 – Virginia Capers, American actress (b. 1925)
• 2004 – Philip Kapleau, American monk and educator (b. 1912)
• 2004 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (The Wrecking Crew) (b. 1923)
• 2006 – Lillian Asplund, American survivor of the Sinking of the RMS Titanic (b. 1906)
• 2006 – Shigeru Kayano, Japanese activist (b. 1926)
• 2006 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Go-Betweens and Jack Frost) (b. 1958)
• 2006 – Lorne Saxberg, Canadian journalist (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian physician and politician (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Curtis Harrington, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Đorđe Novković, Croatian songwriter (b. 1943)
• 2009 – Kevin Grubb, American race car driver (b. 1978)
• 2009 – Viola Wills, American singer (b. 1939)
• 2010 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Fahd al-Quso, Yemeni terrorist (b. 1974)
• 2012 – James R. Browning, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Pat Frink, American basketball player (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Iraj Ghaderi, Iranian actor and director (b. 1935)
• 2012 – James Isaac, American director and producer (b. 1960)
• 2012 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and author (b. 1924)
• 2012 – George Lindsey, American actor and singer (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian journalist and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Steve Carney, English footballer (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Diana Keppel, Countess of Albemarle (b. 1909)
• 2013 – Esperanza Magaz, Cuban-Venezuelan actress (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Severo Aparicio Quispe, Peruvian bishop (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Michelangelo Spensieri, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Wil Albeda, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Bill Dana, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Billy Harrell, American baseball player and scout (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Maria Lassnig, Austrian painter and academic (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1921)
• 2015 – Novera Ahmed, Bangladeshi sculptor (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Errol Brown, Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (Hot Chocolate) (b. 1943)
• 2015 – Denise McCluggage, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Dominic Savio
  • Evodius of Antioch (Roman Catholic Church)
  • François de Laval
  • Gerard of Lunel
  • Lucius of Cyrene
  • Petronax of Monte Cassino
  • St George's Day related observances (Eastern Orthodox Church):
    • Day of Bravery, also known as Gergyovden (Bulgaria)
    • Đurđevdan (Gorani, Roma)
    • Police Day (Georgia)
    • Yuri's Day in the Spring (Russian Orthodox Church)
  • May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Earliest day on which Military Spouse Day can fall, while May 12 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Mother's Day (United States)
• International No Diet Day
• Martyrs' Day (Gabon)
• Martyrs' Day (Lebanon and Syria)
• Teachers' Day (Jamaica)
• The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey)

External links

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