May 23

Events

844 – Battle of Clavijo: The Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.

1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.

1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.

1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.

1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.

1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.

1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.

1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.

1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy in the Battle of Ramillies.

1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.

1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.

1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.

1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.

1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.

1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.

1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.

1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.

1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.

1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.

1934 – Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.

1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.

1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.

1945 – World War II: The Flensburg Government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces.

1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.

1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.

1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China.

1992 – Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.

1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.

1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.

2002 – The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.

2004 – Part of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.

2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.

2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.

2013 – The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.

2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.

2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.

2016 – Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, killed at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.

2016 – Eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. 184 people were killed and at least 200 people injured.

Births

635 – K'inich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (d. 702)

1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)

1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)

1127 – Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (d. 1173)

1330 – Gongmin of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1374)

1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)

1614 – Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1675)

1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)

1629 – William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1663)

1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)

1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)

1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)

1730 – Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Prussian prince and general (d. 1813)

1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)

1735 – Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne, Austrian field marshal and noble (d. 1814)

1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)

1789 – Franz Schlik, Austrian earl and general (d. 1862)

1790 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)

1790 – James Pradier, French neoclassical sculptor (d. 1852)

1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)

1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)

1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)

1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)

1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)

1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)

1834 – Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (d. 1891)

1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)

1837 – Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1919)

1837 – Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1912)

1838 – Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)

1844 – `Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)

1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)

1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)

1861 – József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (d. 1927)

1863 – Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (d. 1930)

1864 – William O'Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)

1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)

1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)

1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)

1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)

1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)

1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)

1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)

1888 – Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (d. 1976)

1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)

1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)

1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)

1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)

1892 – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British peer and grandfather of Diana Spencer (d. 1975)

1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)

1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1937)

1898 – Scott O'Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)

1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)

1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)

1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)

1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)

1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)

1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)

1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)

1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)

1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor and comedian (d. 1986)

1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)

1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)

1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)

1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)

1911 – Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (d. 1983)

1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)

1912 – John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)

1914 – Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (d. 2009)

1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)

1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (d. 1981)

1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)

1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)

1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)

1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)

1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican-American singer and politician (d. 2012)

1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)

1920 – Helen O'Connell, American singer (d. 1993)

1921 – James Blish, American author and critic (d. 1975)

1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)

1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)

1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)

1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)

1925 – Mac Wiseman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1926 – Basil Salvadore D'Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)

1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African politician (d. 1995)

1928 – Jeannie Carson, English-born American-based actress and singer

1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)

1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)

1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)

1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)

1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic

1930 – Richard Anuszkiewicz, American painter and sculptor

1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress

1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)

1933 – Joan Collins, English actress

1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer

1934 – Robert Moog, American businessman, invented the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)

1935 – Julian Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell, English politician

1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)

1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress

1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor

1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)

1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter

1940 – Giles Gordon, Scottish author and agent (d. 2003)

1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver

1940 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophnist (d. 2002)

1940 – Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (d. 2010)

1942 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)

1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic

1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer

1943 – General Johnson, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)

1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016)

1943 – Alan Walden, American businessman and manager, co-founded Capricorn Records

1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster

1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)

1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer

1946 – Stephen Marks, English businessman

1947 – Bernard Comrie, English-American linguist and academic

1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)

1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer

1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal

1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 93rd President of Peru

1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland

1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player

1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece

1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist

1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor

1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist

1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria

1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager

1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)

1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter

1958 – Drew Carey, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur

1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer

1959 – Daniel Alfredson, Swedish film director

1959 – Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist and academic

1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster

1963 – Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician

1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician

1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress and casting director

1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer

1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer

1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach

1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

1967 – Luis Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer

1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician

1967 – Philip Selway, English drummer and songwriter

1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter

1969 – Mindi Abair, American saxophonist and composer

1970 – Nanette Burstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter

1970 – Matt Flynn, American drummer and producer

1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport

1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer

1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver

1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer

1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet

1974 – Ken Jennings, American computer scientist, author, and game show contestant

1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs

1975 – Darren Styles, English record producer

1975 – Kim Sung-soo, South Korean actor and television host

1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager

1976 – Sinha, Brazilian-Mexican footballer

1976 – Kelly Monaco, American model and actress

1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater

1978 – Mike Gonzalez, American baseball player

1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer

1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player

1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player

1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer

1980 – Chris Gethard, American actor and screenwriter

1981 – Pierre Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player

1982 – Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer

1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer

1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist

1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer

1986 – Alice Tait, Australian swimmer

1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater

1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer

1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter

1987 – Bray Wyatt, American wrestler

1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer

1988 – Rosanna Crawford, Canadian biathlete

1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Italian footballer

1990 – Kristína Kučová, Slovak tennis player

1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player

1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter

1991 – Aaron Donald, American football player

1996 – Katharina Althaus, German ski jumper

1997 – Joe Gomez, English footballer

1997 – Gustaf Nilsson, Swedish footballer

1997 – Sam Timmins, New Zealand basketball player

1997 – Pedro Chirivella, Spanish footballer

1998 – Sérgio Sette Câmara, Brazilian racing driver

1998 – Luca de la Torre, American footballer

1998 – Salwa Eid Naser, Bahraini track and field sprinter

1998 – Ross Cunningham, Scottish footballer

Deaths

230 – Pope Urban I

779 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (b. 727)

1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)

1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer

1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (b. 1320)

1423 – Antipope Benedict XIII (b. 1328)

1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)

1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466)

1524 – Ismail I, Iran ruler (b. 1487)

1591 – John Blitheman, English organist and composer (b. 1525)

1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)

1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)

1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1622)

1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)

1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (b. 1700)

1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)

1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)

1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)

1786 – Maurice, Count de Benyovszky, Hungarian explorer (b. 1746)

1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (b. 1772)

1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)

1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)

1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)

1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1789)

1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)

1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (b. 1795)

1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)

1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)

1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)

1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)

1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)

1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (b. 1872)

1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)

1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (b. 1860)

1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)

1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)

1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (b. 1871)

1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1886)

1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior (b. 1900)

1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)

1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (b. 1872)

1956 – Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (b. 1883)

1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)

1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)

1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)

1965 – Earl Webb, American baseball player and coach (b. 1897)

1966 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)

1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)

1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932)

1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)

1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)

1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)

1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)

1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor (b. 1916)

1988 – Aya Kitō, Japanese author (b. 1962)

1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)

1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)

1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)

1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)

1991 – Fletcher Markle, Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1921)

1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)

1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)

1994 – Ray Candy, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1951)

1994 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (b. 1929)

1994 – Olav H. Hauge, Norwegian poet (b. 1908)

1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)

1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)

1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)

2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (b. 1912)

2006 – Clifford Antone, American businessman (b. 1949)

2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)

2006 – Ian Copeland, Syrian-American talent agent (b. 1949)

2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)

2008 – Nigel Anderson, Australian-born English soldier, landowner and politician (b. 1920)

2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)

2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)

2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (b. 1946)

2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)

2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)

2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)

2012 – T. Garry Buckley, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 72nd Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (b. 1922)

2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)

2012 – Hal Jackson, American journalist and radio host (b. 1915)

2012 – Joseph Lesniewski, American soldier (b. 1920)

2012 – William C. Wampler, American soldier and politician (b. 1926)

2013 – William Demby, American author (b. 1922)

2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)

2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)

2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)

2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)

2013 – Luis Zuloaga, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1922)

2014 – Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (b. 1949)

2014 – Michael Gottlieb, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1945)

2014 – Richard Kolitsch, German footballer (b. 1989)

2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (b. 1921)

2014 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (b. 1951)

2014 – Panagiotis Poikilidis, Greek wrestler (b. 1965)

2015 – Leo Berman, American businessman and politician (b. 1935)

2015 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (b. 1929)

2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian sergeant (b. 1975)

2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (b. 1933)

2015 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Desiderius of Vienne

Julia of Corsica

Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler (Episcopal Church (USA))

Quintian, Lucius and Julian

May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Constitution Day (Germany)

Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í Faith)

Labour Day (Jamaica)

Students' Day (Mexico)

World Turtle Day