Events

• 1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.

• 1513 – Juan Ponce de Leon sets foot on Florida, becoming the first European known to do so.

• 1755 – Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.

• 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.

• 1801 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen – The British destroy the Danish fleet.

• 1810 – Napoleon Bonaparte marries Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.

• 1863 – Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia and demand that the Confederate government release emergency supplies.

• 1865 – American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken – Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.

• 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

• 1900 – The Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.

• 1902 – Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.

• 1902 – "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California.

• 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.

• 1917 – The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from Montana.

• 1930 – Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.

• 1945 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.

• 1956 – As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.

• 1962 – The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.

• 1972 – Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.

• 1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins – North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern half of Quang Tri Province.

• 1973 – Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.

• 1975 – Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

• 1975 – Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It reaches in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.

• 1980 – President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.

• 1982 – Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

• 1984 – Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space.

• 1989 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.

• 1991 – Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.

• 1992 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.

• 2002 – Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.

• 2004 – Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack is thwarted.

• 2006 – Over 60 tornadoes break out; hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed.

Births

• 742 – Charlemagne (d. 814)

• 1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)

• 1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d. 1598)

• 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois, third wife of Philip II of Spain (d. 1568)

• 1565 – Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)

• 1614 – Jahanara Begum Sahib Parents;Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (d. September 16, 1681)

• 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)

• 1653 – Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of Anne of England (d. 1708)

• 1719 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)

• 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer (d. 1798)

• 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (Old style date) (d. 1826)

• 1781 – Bhagwan Swaminarayan, religious leader (d. 1830)

• 1788 – Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862)

• 1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874)

• 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (d. 1875)

• 1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)

• 1827 – William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)

• 1838 – Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)

• 1840 – Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902)

• 1841 – Clément Ader, French aviation pioneer (d. 1926)

• 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1947)

• 1867 – Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925)

• 1869 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928)

• 1875 – Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)

• 1884 – Sir John Squire, British poet, writer, and historian (d. 1958)

• 1891 – Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)

• 1900 – Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942)

• 1902 – Jan Tschichold, German typographer (d. 1974)

• 1903 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian politician (d. 1987)

• 1907 – Luke Appling, American baseball player (d. 1991)

• 1908 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)

• 1910 – Paul Triquet, Canadian military officer (d. 1980)

• 1912 – Herbert Mills, American singer (The Mills Brothers) (d. 1989)

• 1914 – Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)

• 1917 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (d. 2007)

• 1917 – Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989)

• 1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1982)

• 1923 – G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician

• 1923 – Clifford Scott Green, American Federal Judge (d. 2007)

• 1923 – Gloria Henry, American actress

• 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, English author (d. 2008)

• 1926 – Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver, three-time F1 world champion and co-founder of eponymous race team

• 1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer

• 1927 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006)

• 1927 – Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d. 1980)

• 1928 – Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)

• 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d. 1991)

• 1928 – Prof David Robinson, Irish Horticulturist (d. 2004)

• 1932 – Edward Cardinal Egan, Cardinal-Archbishop Emeritus of New York

• 1934 – Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician (d. 2007)

• 1934 – Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (d. 1997)

• 1937 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)

• 1938 – John Larsson, 17th General of The Salvation Army

• 1938 – Whirlaway, American thoroughbred racehorse, 1941 Triple Crown Winner (d. 1953)

• 1938 – Booker Little, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1961)

• 1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)

• 1939 – Lise Thibault, Lieutenant-governor of Quebec

• 1940 – Penelope Keith, English actress

• 1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio personality

• 1942 – Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist session musician

• 1942 – Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef

• 1942 – Roshan Seth, Indian actor

• 1945 – Linda Hunt, American actress

• 1945 – Reggie Smith, American baseball player

• 1945 – Don Sutton, American baseball player

• 1945 – Anne Waldman, American poet

• 1946 – Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist (The Guess Who) (d. 1997)

• 1947 – Emmylou Harris, American singer

• 1947 – Camille Paglia, American feminist writer

• 1948 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer

• 1948 – Joan D. Vinge, American author

• 1949 – Paul Gambaccini, British television presenter

• 1949 – Pamela Reed, American actress

• 1949 – Ron Palillo, American actor

• 1951 – Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer

• 1951 – Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist

• 1952 – Pat Drummond, Australian singer-songwriter

• 1952 – Thierry Le Luron, French humorist (d. 1986)

• 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001)

• 1953 – Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician

• 1953 – David Robinson, American musician

• 1953 – Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)

• 1954 – Allan Davis, Australian diplomat

• 1954 – Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese electropop musician

• 1955 – Michael Stone, British terrorist

• 1957 – Giuliana De Sio, Italian actress

• 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver

• 1959 – Yves Lavandier, French film director

• 1959 – Badou Zaki, Morrocan footballer and manager

• 1960 – Linford Christie, English athlete

• 1960 – Brad Jones, Australian racing driver

• 1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor

• 1961 – Keren Woodward, English singer (Bananarama)

• 1962 – Pierre Carles, French documentarist

• 1962 – Clark Gregg, American actor

• 1962 – Mark Shulman, American children's author

• 1963 – Mike Gascoyne, British engineer

• 1963 – Karl Beattie, English television director and producer

• 1964 – Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player

• 1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality

• 1966 – Bill Romanowski, American football player

• 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English footballer

• 1966 – Garnet Silk, Jamaican singer (d. 1994)

• 1967 – Greg Camp, American musician (Smash Mouth)

• 1967 – Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter

• 1971 – Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player

• 1971 – ZEEBRA, Japanese hip hop artist

• 1972 – Chico Slimani, Moroccoan-British singer

• 1973 – Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican singer, model & actress

• 1974 – Håkan Hellström, Swedish musician

• 1975 – Adam Rodriguez, American actor

• 1976 – Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer

• 1977 – Jelena Abbou, Serbian fitness model

• 1977 – Michael Fassbender, Actor

• 1977 – Aiden Turner, British actor

• 1976 – Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter

• 1978 – John Gall, American baseball player

• 1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5)

• 1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer

• 1980 – Bobby Bones Show, youngest radio DJ in Austin, Texas

• 1980 – Adam Fleming, English reporter

• 1980 – Ricky Hendrick, NASCAR driver and owner (d. 2004)

• 1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer

• 1981 – Bethany Joy Lenz-Galeotti, American actress

• 1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer

• 1982 – Jeremy Bloom, American skier and football player

• 1982 – Bianca Chatfield, Australian netballer

• 1982 – Jack Evans, American professional wrestler

• 1982 – Leyla Milani, Canadian actress and model

• 1983 – Felix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer

• 1983 – Yung Joc, American rapper

• 1983 – Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player

• 1984 – Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress

• 1984 – Ashley Peldon, American actress

• 1985 – Stephane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater

• 1990 – Amy Castle, American actress

Deaths

• 1118 – Baldwin I of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem (b. c. 1058)

• 1272 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1209)

• 1335 – Duke Henry of Carinthia (b. c. 1265)

• 1412 – Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, Spanish traveler and writer

• 1502 – Prince Arthur Tudor, son of Henry VII of England (b. 1486)

• 1507 – Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)

• 1640 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and prominent Latin poet (b. 1595)

• 1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)

• 1657 – Jean-Jacques Olier – French catholic priest, founder of the Society of Saint-Sulpice (b. 1608)

• 1720 – Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647)

• 1742 – James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675)

• 1747 – Johann Jacob Dillenius, German botanist (b. 1684)

• 1754 – Thomas Carte, English historian (b. 1686)

• 1787 – Thomas Gage, British general (b. 1719)

• 1791 – Mirabeau, French statesman (b. 1749)

• 1801 – Thomas Dadford Junior, British canal engineer (b. c. 1761)

• 1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politician and judge (b. 1721)

• 1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German author (b. 1740)

• 1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b. 1776)

• 1845 – Philip Charles Durham, Royal Navy Admiral (b. 1763)

• 1865 – General A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b. 1825)

• 1872 – Samuel Morse, American painter and inventor of the telegraph (b. 1791)

• 1902 – Esther Morris, suffragist and first female American judge (b. 1814)

• 1914 – Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1830)

• 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884)

• 1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1868)

• 1930 – Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876)

• 1936 – Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (b. 1860)

• 1953 – Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (b. 1885)

• 1958 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (b. 1892)

• 1958 – Josei Toda, Japanese second president of the Buddhist association Soka Gakkai (b. 1900)

• 1966 – C. S. Forester, English author (b. 1899)

• 1972 – Franz Halder, German general (b. 1884)

• 1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese Martial Arts Grandmaster (b. 1887)

• 1972 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924)

• 1974 – Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911)

• 1987 – Buddy Rich, American drummer (b. 1917)

• 1992 – Tomisaburo Wakayama, Japanese actor (b. 1929)

• 1992 – Juan Gómez González, Spanish footballplayer (b. 1954)

• 1994 – Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916)

• 1995 – Harvey Penick, American golf instructor (b. 1904)

• 1995 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b. 1908)

• 1998 – Rob Pilatus, American model and entertainer (Milli Vanilli) (b. 1965)

• 2000 – Tommaso Buscetta, Sicilian mafioso and pentito (b. 1928)

• 2001 – Charles Daudelin, Canadian artist (b. 1920)

• 2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972)

• 2003 – Edwin Starr, American singer (b. 1942)

• 2004 – John Argyris, Greek aeronautical engineer (b. 1913)

• 2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)

• 2006 – Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, German wife of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 1913)

• 2007 – Paul Reed, American actor (b. 1909)

• 2008 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

• Malvinas Day in Argentina

• Nature Day or Sizdah be dar in Iran

• Saint Franciscus of Paola