May 29

Events

363 – The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city.

1108 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez.

1167 – Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.

1176 – Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I.

1328 – Philip VI is crowned King of France.

1453 – Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Byzantine Empire.

1660 – English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1677 – Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between the Virginia colonists and the local Natives.

1727 – Peter II becomes Czar of Russia.

1733 – The right of Canadians to enslave natives is upheld at Quebec City.

1780 – American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Waxhaws, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that remained.

1790 – Rhode Island becomes the last of the original United States' colonies to ratify the Constitution and is admitted as the 13th U.S. state.

1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are massacred by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland.

1807 – Mustafa IV became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.

1848 – Wisconsin is admitted as the 30th U.S. state.

1852 – Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour.

1861 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong.

1864 – Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time.

1867 – The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ("the Compromise") is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia is assassinated.

1886 – The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal.

1900 – N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil.

1903 – In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.

1913 – Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a riot.

1914 – The Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives.

1918 – Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad.

1919 – Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin.

1931 – Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by Italian military firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini.

1932 – World War I veterans begin to assemble in Washington, D.C., in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.

1935 – First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.

1945 – First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber.

1950 – The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

1953 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday.

1954 – First of the annual Bilderberg conferences.

1964 – The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

1969 – General strike in Córdoba, Argentina, leading to the Cordobazo civil unrest.

1973 – Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California.

1982 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.

1982 – Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.

1985 – Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses.

1985 – Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.

1988 – The U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

1989 – Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States, allowing the manufacture of parts of the F-16 jet fighter plane in Egypt.

1990 – The Russian parliament elects Boris Yeltsin as president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

1993 – The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens.

1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule.

1999 – Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.

2001 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.

2004 – The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

2008 – A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people.

2012 – A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.

Births

1421 – Charles, Prince of Viana (d. 1461)

1439 – Pope Pius III (d. 1503)

1443 – Victor, Duke of Münsterberg, Reichsgraf, Duke of Münsterberg and Opava, Count of Glatz (d. 1500)

1504 – Antun Vrančić, Croatian archbishop (d. 1573)

1594 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (d. 1632)

1630 – Charles II of England (d. 1685)

1675 – Humphry Ditton, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1715)

1716 – Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French zoologist and mineralogist (d. 1800)

1722 – James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1773)

1730 – Jackson of Exeter, English organist and composer (d. 1803)

1736 – Patrick Henry, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Virginia (d. 1799)

1780 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (d. 1855)

1794 – Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer and selenographer (d. 1874)

1823 – John H. Balsley, American carpenter and inventor (d. 1895)

1860 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1909)

1871 – Clark Voorhees, American painter (d. 1933)

1873 – Rudolf Tobias, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1918)

1874 – G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and playwright (d. 1936)

1880 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (d. 1936)

1892 – Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentinian poet and author (d. 1938)

1893 – Max Brand, American journalist and author (d. 1944)

1894 – Beatrice Lillie, Canadian-English actress, singer and writer (d. 1989)

1894 – Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1969)

1897 – Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Czech-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1957)

1899 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Defence (d. 1987)

1903 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2003)

1904 – Hubert Opperman, Australian cyclist and politician (d. 1996)

1905 – Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1994)

1906 – T. H. White, Indian-English author (d. 1964)

1907 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (d. 2002)

1908 – Diana Morgan, Welsh-English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1996)

1910 – Ralph Metcalfe, American sprinter and politician (d. 1978)

1914 – Stacy Keach Sr., American actor (d. 2003)

1914 – Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (d. 1986)

1915 – Karl Münchinger, German conductor and composer (d. 1990)

1917 – John F. Kennedy, American lieutenant and politician, 35th President of the United States (d. 1963)

1917 – Marcel Trudel, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 2011)

1919 – Jacques Genest, Canadian physician and academic

1920 – John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)

1921 – Norman Hetherington, Australian cartoonist and puppeteer (d. 2010)

1921 – Clifton James, American actor

1922 – Joe Weatherly, American race car driver (d. 1964)

1922 – Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, engineer, and theorist (d. 2001)

1923 – Bernard Clavel, French author (d. 2010)

1923 – John Parker, 6th Earl of Morley, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon

1924 – Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (d. 1999)

1924 – Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (d. 2013)

1924 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (d. 2013)

1926 – Katie Boyle, Italian-English actress and television host

1926 – Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, Queen Consort of Tonga (d. 2017)

1926 – Thanasis Veggos, Greek actor and director (d. 2011)

1926 – Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese academic and politician, 3rd President of Senegal

1927 – Jean Coutu, Canadian pharmacist and businessman, founded the Jean Coutu Group

1929 – Harry Frankfurt, American philosopher and academic

1929 – Peter Higgs, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1929 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)

1932 – Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author

1932 – Richie Guerin, American basketball player and coach

1933 – Helmuth Rilling, German conductor and educator

1933 – Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2005)

1934 – Nanette Newman, English actress

1934 – Bill Vander Zalm, Dutch-Canadian businessman and politician, 28th Premier of British Columbia

1935 – André Brink, South African author and playwright (d. 2015)

1937 – Charles W. Pickering, American lawyer and judge

1937 – Irmin Schmidt, German keyboard player and composer

1937 – Alwin Schockemöhle, German show-jumper

1938 – Christopher Bland, English businessman and politician (d. 2017)

1938 – Fay Vincent, American lawyer and businessman

1939 – Pete Smith, Australian radio and television announcer

1939 – Al Unser, American race car driver

1940 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (d. 2013)

1940 – Farooq Leghari, Pakistani politician, 8th President of Pakistan (d. 2010)

1941 – Doug Scott, English mountaineer and author

1941 – Bob Simon, American journalist (d. 2015)

1942 – Pierre Bourque, Canadian businessman and politician, 40th Mayor of Montreal

1942 – Kevin Conway, American actor and director

1943 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (d. 2013)

1944 – Bob Benmosche, American businessman (d. 2015)

1944 – Quentin Davies, English soldier and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

1945 – Gary Brooker, English singer-songwriter and pianist

1945 – Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Scottish lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2013)

1945 – Catherine Lara, French singer-songwriter and violinist

1945 – Julian Le Grand, English economist and author

1945 – Martin Pipe, English jockey and trainer

1945 – Joyce Tenneson, American photographer

1945 – Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, Belgian scholar and author

1946 – Fernando Buesa, Spanish politician (d. 2000)

1947 – Anthony Geary, American actor

1947 – Joey Levine, American singer-songwriter and producer

1947 – Gene Robinson, American bishop

1947 – Constantino Romero, Spanish radio host and actor (d. 2013)

1948 – Michael Berkeley, English composer and radio host

1948 – Keith Gull, English microbiologist and academic

1949 – Robert Axelrod, American actor and screenwriter

1949 – Andrew Clements, American author and educator

1949 – Brian Kidd, English footballer and coach

1949 – Francis Rossi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1953 – Giles Clarke, English businessman

1953 – Danny Elfman, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

1954 – Robert Beaser, American composer and educator

1954 – Jerry Moran, American lawyer and politician

1955 – Frank Baumgartl, German runner (d. 2010)

1955 – David Kirschner, American animator, producer, and author

1955 – Mike Porcaro, American bass player (d. 2015)

1955 – Gordon Rintoul, Scottish historian and curator

1955 – Ken Schrader, American race car driver and sportscaster

1956 – Mark Lyall Grant, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations

1956 – La Toya Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress

1957 – Steven Croft, English bishop and theologian

1957 – Jeb Hensarling, American lawyer and politician

1957 – Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian film director

1958 – Annette Bening, American actress

1958 – Wayne Duvall, American actor

1958 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (d. 2011)

1958 – Uwe Rapolder, German footballer and coach

1958 – Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player and sportscaster

1959 – Rupert Everett, English actor and novelist

1959 – Steve Hanley, Irish-English bass player and songwriter

1960 – Thomas Baumer, Swiss economist and academic

1960 – Mike Freer, English politician

1960 – Carol Kirkwood, Scottish journalist

1961 – Melissa Etheridge, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist

1961 – John Miceli, American drummer

1962 – Fandi Ahmad, Singaporean footballer, coach, and manager

1962 – Eric Davis, American baseball player

1963 – Blaze Bayley, English singer-songwriter

1963 – Zhu Jianhua, Chinese high jumper

1963 – Ukyo Katayama, Japanese race car driver

1963 – Claude Loiselle, Canadian ice hockey player and manager

1964 – Howard Mills III, American academic and politician

1967 – Noel Gallagher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1967 – Mike Keane, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

1967 – Steven Levitt, American economist, author, and academic

1968 – Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician

1968 – Tate George, American basketball player

1968 – Jessica Morden, English politician

1969 – Chan Kinchla, Canadian guitarist

1970 – Roberto Di Matteo, Italian footballer and manager

1971 – Éric Lucas, Canadian boxer

1971 – Bernd Mayländer, German race car driver

1971 – Rob Womack, English shot putter and discus thrower

1972 – Közi, Japanese singer-songwriter and keyboard player

1972 – Bill Curley, American basketball player and coach

1972 – Simon Jones, English singer and bass player

1973 – Tomoko Kaneda, Japanese voice actress, singer, and radio personality

1973 – Mark Lee, American guitarist and songwriter

1973 – Alpay Özalan, Turkish footballer

1974 – Steve Cardenas, American martial artist and retired actor

1974 – Stephen Larkham, Australian rugby player and coach

1974 – Aaron McGruder, American author and cartoonist

1974 – Jenny Willott, English politician

1975 – Jason Allison, Canadian ice hockey player

1975 – Mel B, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

1975 – Natarsha Belling, Australian journalist

1975 – Sven Kubis, German footballer

1975 – Sarah Millican, English comedian

1975 – Anthony Wall, English golfer

1976 – Caçapa, Brazilian footballer and manager

1976 – Jerry Hairston Jr., American baseball player and sportscaster

1976 – Yūsuke Iseya, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter

1976 – Raef LaFrentz, American basketball player

1976 – Yegor Titov, Russian footballer

1977 – Massimo Ambrosini, Italian footballer

1977 – Marco Cassetti, Italian footballer

1977 – António Lebo Lebo, Angolan footballer

1978 – Pelle Almqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter

1978 – Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player

1978 – Adam Rickitt, English singer

1979 – Arne Friedrich, German footballer

1979 – Brian Kendrick, American wrestler

1979 – Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin, Singaporean footballer

1979 – John Rheinecker, American baseball player

1980 – Ernesto Farías, Argentinian footballer

1981 – Andrey Arshavin, Russian footballer

1981 – Justin Chon, American actor, director, and screenwriter

1982 – Ana Beatriz Barros, Brazilian model

1982 – Nataliya Dobrynska, Ukrainian heptathlete

1982 – Matt Macri, American baseball player

1982 – Kim Tae-kyun, South Korean baseball player

1984 – Carmelo Anthony, American basketball player

1984 – Funmi Jimoh, American long jumper

1984 – Andreas Schäffer, German footballer

1985 – Nathan Horton, Canadian ice hockey player

1987 – Lina Andrijauskaitė, Lithuanian long jumper

1987 – Issac Luke, New Zealand rugby league player

1987 – Kelvin Maynard, Dutch footballer

1987 – Noah Reid, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter

1987 – Rui Sampaio, Portuguese footballer

1988 – Muath Al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian captain and pilot (d. 2015)

1988 – Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast

1988 – Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey player

1989 – Ezekiel Ansah, Ghanaian-American football player

1989 – Diego Barisone, Argentinian footballer (d. 2015)

1991 – Saori Hayami, Japanese voice actress and singer

1991 – Steven Matz, American baseball player

1992 – Sarah Moundir, Swiss tennis player

1993 – Jana Čepelová, Slovak tennis player

1993 – Grete Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete

1999 – Yuuri Rukawa, Japanese actress

Deaths

931 – Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona

1259 – Christopher I of Denmark (b. 1219)

1311 – James II of Majorca (b. 1243)

1320 – Pope John VIII of Alexandria, Coptic pope

1327 – Jens Grand, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1260)

1379 – Henry II of Castile (b. 1334)

1405 – Philippe de Mézières, French soldier and author (b. 1327)

1425 – Hongxi Emperor of China (b. 1378)

1453 – Ulubatlı Hasan, Ottoman commander (b. 1428)

1453 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1404)

1500 – Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1451)

1500 – Thomas Rotherham, English cleric and minister (b. 1423)

1546 – David Beaton, Scottish cardinal and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1494)

1593 – John Penry, Welsh martyr (b. 1559)

1660 – Frans van Schooten, Dutch mathematician and academic (b. 1615)

1691 – Cornelis Tromp, Dutch admiral (b. 1629)

1790 – Israel Putnam, American general (b. 1718)

1796 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (b. 1720)

1829 – Humphry Davy, English-Swiss chemist and academic (b. 1778)

1847 – Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy, French general (b. 1766)

1866 – Winfield Scott, American general, lawyer, and politician (b. 1786)

1873 – Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine (b. 1870)

1892 – Bahá'u'lláh, Persian religious leader, founded the Bahá'í Faith (b. 1817)

1896 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and academic (b. 1814)

1903 – Bruce Price, American architect, designed the Château Frontenac and American Surety Building (b. 1845)

1910 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)

1911 – W. S. Gilbert, English playwright and poet (b. 1836)

1914 – Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving, English author and playwright (b. 1871)

1914 – Henry Seton-Karr, English explorer, hunter, and author (b. 1853)

1917 – Kate Harrington, American poet and educator (b. 1831)

1919 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)

1920 – Carlos Deltour, French rower (b. 1864)

1921 – Abbott Handerson Thayer, American painter and educartor (b. 1849)

1935 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1874)

1939 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Austrian-Polish nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (b. 1865)

1941 – Léo-Pol Morin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1892)

1942 – John Barrymore, American actor (b. 1882)

1946 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (b. 1905)

1948 – May Whitty, English actress (b. 1865)

1951 – Fanny Brice, American singer and comedian (b. 1891)

1951 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier and composer (b. 1885)

1953 – Morgan Russell, American painter and educator (b. 1886)

1958 – Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)

1963 – Netta Muskett, English author (b. 1887)

1966 – Ignace Lepp, Estonian-French priest and psychologist (b. 1909)

1968 – Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1896)

1970 – John Gunther, American journalist and author (b. 1901)

1970 – Eva Hesse, German-American sculptor and educator (b. 1936)

1972 – Moe Berg, American baseball player, coach, and spy (b. 1902)

1972 – Prithviraj Kapoor, Pakistani-Indian actor and director (b. 1906)

1972 – Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-American engineer and academic (b. 1878)

1973 – George Harriman, English businessman (b. 1908)

1973 – P. Ramlee, Malaysian actor, director, producer, and composer (b. 1922)

1977 – Ba Maw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1893)

1979 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (b. 1892)

1979 – John H. Wood Jr., American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)

1982 – Romy Schneider, Austrian actress and singer (b. 1938)

1983 – Arvīds Pelše, Latvian-Russian historian and politician (b. 1899)

1987 – Charan Singh, Indian politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (b. 1902)

1988 – Salem bin Laden, Saudi Arabian businessman (b. 1946)

1989 – George C. Homans, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)

1993 – Billy Conn, American boxer (b. 1917)

1994 – Erich Honecker, German lawyer and politician (b. 1912)

1996 – Tamara Toumanova, American ballerina and actress (b. 1919)

1997 – Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)

1998 – Barry Goldwater, American general, activist, and politician (b. 1909)

2003 – David Jefferies, English motorcycle racer (b. 1972)

2004 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (b. 1912)

2004 – Samuel Dash, American academic and politician (b. 1925)

2005 – John D'Amico, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (b. 1937)

2005 – Hamilton Naki, South African surgeon (b. 1926)

2005 – George Rochberg, American soldier and composer (b. 1918)

2006 – Jacques Bouchard, Canadian businessman (b. 1930)

2006 – Steve Mizerak, American pool player (b. 1944)

2007 – Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1938)

2007 – Lois Browne-Evans, Bermudian lawyer and politician (b. 1927)

2008 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1987)

2008 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (b. 1927)

2010 – Dennis Hopper, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1936)

2011 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (b. 1949)

2011 – Bill Clements, American soldier and politician, 42nd Governor of Texas (b. 1917)

2011 – Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 14th President of Hungary (b. 1931)

2012 – Mark Minkov, Russian composer (b. 1944)

2012 – Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)

2012 – Jim Unger, English-Canadian illustrator (b. 1937)

2012 – Doc Watson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)

2013 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (b. 1940)

2013 – Françoise Blanchard, French actress (b. 1954)

2013 – Andrew Greeley, American priest, sociologist, and author (b. 1928)

2013 – Mulgrew Miller, American pianist and composer (b. 1955)

2013 – Henry Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian physician and activist (b. 1923)

2013 – Franca Rame, Italian actress and playwright (b. 1928)

2013 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (b. 1949)

2013 – Wali-ur-Rehman, Pakistani commander (b. 1970)

2014 – Christine Charbonneau, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1943)

2014 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (b. 1939)

2014 – Peter Glaser, Czech-American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)

2014 – Miljenko Prohaska, Croatian composer and conductor (b. 1925)

2014 – Herman Rattliff, American businessman and politician (b. 1926)

2014 – William M. Roth, American businessman (b. 1916)

2015 – Henry Carr, American football player and sprinter (b. 1942)

2015 – Doris Hart, American tennis player (b. 1925)

2015 – Betsy Palmer, American actress (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

Army Day (Argentina)

Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahá'í Faith) (Only if Bahá'í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21 of the Gregorian calendar)

Christian feast day:

Bona of Pisa

Maximin of Trier

Pope Alexander of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Theodosia of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Helena Dragaš (Saint Hypomone; Eastern Orthodox Church)

Ursula Ledóchowska

May 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Democracy Day (Nigeria)

Earliest day on which Feast of the Sacred Heart can fall, while July 2 is the latest; celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (International)

Oak Apple Day (England), and its related observance:

Castleton Garland Day (Castleton)

Statehood Day (Rhode Island and Wisconsin)

Veterans Day (Sweden)

World Digestive Health Day

May 29 – June 1 Ludi Fabarici (Ancient Rome)