May 14

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 Leonidas.

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)

1414 – Francis I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1450)

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)

1794 – Fanny Imlay, daughter of British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (d. 1816)

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)

1851 – Anna Laurens Dawes, American author and suffragist (d. 1938)

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)

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 – 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)

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

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 singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

1952 – Michael Fallon, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Defence

1952 – Orna Grumberg, Israeli computer scientist and academic

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 – 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 – 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 – 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

1971 – Sofia Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter

1971 – Martin Reim, Estonian footballer and manager

1972 – Mark Ruskell, Scottish politician

1972 – Amma Asante, Dutch politician

1973 – Shanice, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

1973 – Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer and actress

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 – 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

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

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

1984 – Gary Ablett, Jr., Australian footballer

1984 – Luke Gregerson, American baseball player

1984 – Michael Rensing, German footballer

1984 – Olly Murs, English singer

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 – 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

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

1995 – Jonah Placid, Australian rugby player

1996 – Martijn Garritsen, Dutch DJ, record producer and musician

Deaths

649 – Pope Theodore I

964 – Pope John XII (b. 927)

1080 – William Walcher, Bishop of Durham

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)

1931 – David Belasco, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1853)

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 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)

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)

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 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)

2012 – Mario Trejo, Argentinian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1926)

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 – 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)

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)