October 4
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| October 4 in recent years |
| 2015 (Sunday) |
| 2014 (Saturday) |
| 2013 (Friday) |
| 2012 (Thursday) |
| 2011 (Tuesday) |
| 2010 (Monday) |
| 2009 (Sunday) |
| 2008 (Saturday) |
| 2007 (Thursday) |
| 2006 (Wednesday) |
October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 88 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 23 – Rebels capture and sack the Chinese capital Chang'an during a peasant rebellion. They kill and decapitate the emperor, Wang Mang, two days later.
- 610 – Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor.
- 1227 – Assassination of Caliph al-Adil.
- 1302 – A peace treaty between the Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice ends the Byzantine–Venetian War (1296–1302).
- 1363 – End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, in one of the largest naval battles in history.
- 1511 – Formation of the Holy League of Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Papal States and the Republic of Venice against France.
- 1535 – The first complete English-language Bible (the Coverdale Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale.
- 1582 – Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.
- 1597 – The first Guale uprising begins against the Spanish missions in Georgia.
- 1636 – The Swedish Army defeats the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock.
- 1693 – Battle of Marsaglia: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
- 1725 – Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.
- 1777 – Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.
- 1779 – The Fort Wilson Riot takes place.
- 1795 – Napoleon Bonaparte first rises to national prominence with a "Whiff of Grapeshot", using cannon to suppress armed counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the French Legislature (National Convention).
- 1824 – Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic.
- 1830 – Creation of the Kingdom of Belgium after separation from the Netherlands.
- 1853 – Crimean War: The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia.
- 1876 – Texas A&M University opens as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, becoming the first public institution of higher education in Texas.
- 1883 – First run of the Orient Express.
- 1883 – First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.
- 1895 – The first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship administered by the United States Golf Association is played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
- 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Broodseinde fought between the British and German armies in Flanders.
- 1918 – An explosion kills more than 100 and destroys the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in Sayreville, New Jersey. Fires and explosions continue for three days forcing massive evacuations and spreading ordnance over a wide area, pieces of which were still being found as of 2007.
- 1927 – Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore.
- 1936 – In the East End of London, marches staged by British fascists and various anti-fascist organizations result in violent clashes between them in what becomes known as the Battle of Cable Street.
- 1940 – Meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini at the Brenner Pass.
- 1941 – Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
- 1943 – World War II: U.S. captures the Solomon Islands from the Japanese.
- 1957 – Space Race: Launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
- 1957 – Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario.
- 1957 – Leave It to Beaver premieres on CBS.
- 1958 – Fifth Republic of France is established.
- 1960 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board.
- 1963 – Hurricane Flora kills 6,000 in Cuba and Haiti.
- 1965 – Pope Paul VI arrives in New York, the first Pope to visit the United States of America and the Western hemisphere.
- 1966 – Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.
- 1967 – Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
- 1974 – Founding of the New Democracy party in Greece.
- 1976 – Official launch of the InterCity 125 high speed train.
- 1983 – Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h), driving Thrust2 at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
- 1985 – The Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, United States.
- 1988 – U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted for fraud.
- 1991 – The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
- 1992 – The Rome General Peace Accords ends a 16-year civil war in Mozambique.
- 1992 – El Al Flight 1862: An El Al Boeing 747-258F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground.
- 1993 – Russian Constitutional Crisis: In Moscow, tanks bombard the White House, a government building that housed the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Boris Yeltsin rally outside.
- 1997 – The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs at the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Loomis, Fargo and Company. A Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation eventually results in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the $17.3 million stolen cash.
- 2001 – NATO confirms invocation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
- 2001 – Siberia Airlines Flight 1812: A Sibir Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. Seventy-eight people are killed.
- 2003 – Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel: Twenty-one Israelis, Jews and Arabs, are killed, and 51 others wounded.
- 2004 – SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight, by being the first private craft to fly into space.
- 2010 – The Ajka plant accident in western Hungary releases about a million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of liquid alumina sludge. Nine people are killed and 122 injured, and the Marcal and Danube rivers are severely contaminated.
Births
- 1160 – Alys of France, Countess of the Vexin (d. 1220)
- 1274 – Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1319)
- 1276 – Margaret of Brabant (d. 1311)
- 1289 – Louis X of France (d. 1316)
- 1331 – James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond, Irish politician, Lord Justice of Ireland (d. 1382)
- 1379 – Henry III of Castile (d. 1406)
- 1515 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (d. 1586)
- 1542 – Robert Bellarmine, Italian cardinal and saint (d. 1621)
- 1550 – Charles IX of Sweden (d. 1611)
- 1562 – Christen Sørensen Longomontanus, Danish astronomer and author (d. 1647)
- 1570 – Péter Pázmány, Hungarian cardinal and philosopher (d. 1637)
- 1585 – Anna of Tyrol (d. 1618)
- 1625 – Jacqueline Pascal, French nun and composer (d. 1661)
- 1626 – Richard Cromwell, English academic and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1712)
- 1657 – Francesco Solimena, Italian painter and illustrator (d. 1747)
- 1720 – Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Italian sculptor and illustrator (d. 1778)
- 1723 – Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist and author (d. 1798)
- 1759 – Louis François Antoine Arbogast, French mathematician and academic (d. 1803)
- 1768 – Francisco José de Caldas, Colombian naturalist, executed by royalists in the war of independence (d. 1816)
- 1787 – François Guizot, French historian and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of France (d. 1874)
- 1793 – Charles Pearson, English lawyer and politician (d. 1862)
- 1807 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Canada East (d. 1864)
- 1814 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (d. 1875)
- 1822 – Rutherford B. Hayes, American general, lawyer, and politician, 19th President of the United States (d. 1893)
- 1835 – Jenny Twitchell Kempton, American opera singer and educator (d. 1921)
- 1836 – Juliette Adam, French author (d. 1936)
- 1841 – Prudente de Morais, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Brazil (d. 1912)
- 1841 – Maria Sophie of Bavaria (d. 1925)
- 1858 – Léon Serpollet, French businessman (d. 1903)
- 1861 – Walter Rauschenbusch, American pastor and theologian (d. 1918)
- 1861 – Frederic Remington, American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1909)
- 1862 – Edward Stratemeyer, American author and publisher (d. 1930)
- 1868 – Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 20th President of Argentina (d. 1942)
- 1874 – John Ellis, English executioner (d. 1932)
- 1876 – Hugh McCrae, Australian actor and author (d. 1958)
- 1877 – Razor Smith, English cricketer (d. 1946)
- 1880 – Damon Runyon, American author and playwright (d. 1946)
- 1881 – Walther von Brauchitsch, German field marshal (d. 1948)
- 1884 – Ramchandra Shukla, Indian historian and author (d. 1941)
- 1884 – Subramaniya Siva, Indian author and activist (d. 1925)
- 1886 – Luis Alberni, Spanish-American actor and singer (d. 1962)
- 1888 – Lucy Tayiah Eads, American tribal chief (d. 1961)
- 1888 – Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1954)
- 1890 – Alan L. Hart, American physician and author (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Osman Cemal Kaygılı, Turkish writer and journalist (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian soldier and politician, 14th Federal Chancellor of Austria (d. 1934)
- 1892 – Hermann Glauert, English aerodynamicist and author (d. 1934)
- 1892 – Robert Lawson, American author and illustrator (d. 1957)
- 1895 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1966)
- 1895 – Richard Sorge, German journalist and spy (d. 1944)
- 1900 – August Mälk, Estonian author and playwright (d. 1987)
- 1903 – Bona Arsenault, Canadian genealogist, historian, and politician (d. 1993)
- 1903 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American physicist and academic, invented the Atanasoff–Berry computer (d. 1995)
- 1903 – Pierre Garbay, French general (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian-German lawyer and general (d. 1946)
- 1907 – Alain Daniélou, French-Swiss historian and academic (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Frankie Crosetti, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1910 – Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, Turkish poet and author (d. 1956)
- 1913 – Martial Célestin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2011)
- 1914 – Jim Cairns, Australian economist and politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Brendan Gill, American journalist and essayist (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Vitaly Ginzburg, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Jan Murray, American comedian, actor, and game show host (d. 2006)
- 1916 – George Sidney, American director and producer (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Violeta Parra, Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
- 1918 – Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1922 – Malcolm Baldrige, Jr., American businessman and politician, 26th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1987)
- 1922 – Shin Kyuk-ho, South Korean-Japanese businessman, founded Lotte Group
- 1922 – Don Lenhardt, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Charlton Heston, American actor and director (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Donald J. Sobol, American soldier and author (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Roger Wood, Belgian-American journalist (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Raymond Watson, American businessman (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Wolf Kahn, American painter and academic
- 1928 – Alvin Toffler, German-American journalist and author
- 1928 – Torben Ulrich, Danish-American tennis player
- 1929 – Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (d. 1968)
- 1929 – John E. Mack, American psychiatrist and author (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Leroy Van Dyke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1931 – Terence Conran, English designer and businessman
- 1931 – Basil D'Oliveira, South African-English cricketer and footballer (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Richard Rorty, American philosopher and author (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Milan Chvostek, Canadian director and producer
- 1933 – German Moreno, Filipino television host and actor (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Ann Thwaite, English author
- 1934 – Sam Huff, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1934 – Dimosthenis Sofianos, Greek journalist and poet
- 1935 – A. W. F. Edwards, mathematical biologist
- 1936 – Charlie Hurley, Irish footballer and manager
- 1936 – Giles Radice, Baron Radice, English politician
- 1937 – Jackie Collins, English-American author and actress (d. 2015)
- 1937 – David Crocker, American philosopher and academic
- 1937 – Gail Gilmore, Canadian-American actress and dancer (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Jim Sillars, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1938 – Kurt Wüthrich, Swiss chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1938 – Norman D. Wilson, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1939 – Ivan Mauger, New Zealand motorcycle racer
- 1940 – Vic Hadfield, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940 – Silvio Marzolini, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1940 – Steve Swallow, American bass player and composer
- 1940 – Alberto Vilar, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1941 – Roy Blount, Jr., American journalist and author
- 1941 – Karen Cushman, American author
- 1941 – Karl Oppitzhauser, Austrian race car driver
- 1941 – Anne Rice, American author
- 1941 – Robert Wilson, American director and playwright
- 1942 – Bernice Johnson Reagon, American singer-songwriter (Sweet Honey in the Rock)
- 1942 – Karl W. Richter, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1967)
- 1942 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Icelandic politician, 24th Prime Minister of Iceland
- 1942 – Christopher Stone, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1943 – H. Rap Brown, American activist
- 1943 – Karl-Gustav Kaisla, Finnish ice hockey player and referee (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Dietmar Mürdter, German footballer
- 1943 – Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2007)
- 1943 – Jimy Williams, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 – Colin Bundy, South African-English historian and academic
- 1944 – Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress (d. 2006)
- 1944 – Eddie Gómez, Puerto Rican bass player (Steps Ahead)
- 1944 – Tony La Russa, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 – John McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith, Scottish educator and politician
- 1945 – Clifton Davis, American singer-songwriter, actor, and minister
- 1946 – Larry Clapp, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Chuck Hagel, American sergeant and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Defense
- 1946 – Michael Mullen, American admiral
- 1946 – Susan Sarandon, American actress
- 1946 – Bridget St John, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Julien Clerc, French singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1947 – Jim Fielder, American bass player (Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Mothers of Invention)
- 1947 – Ann Widdecombe, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
- 1948 – Linda McMahon, American businesswoman and politician
- 1948 – Duke Robillard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Roomful of Blues)
- 1949 – Armand Assante, American actor and producer
- 1949 – Stephen Gyllenhaal, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1950 – Meg Bennett, American actress and screenwriter
- 1951 – Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Kazakh poet and author
- 1951 – Miia Rannikmäe, Estonian chemist
- 1952 – Jody Stephens, American drummer (Big Star and Golden Smog)
- 1953 – Gil Moore, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer (Triumph)
- 1953 – Andreas Vollenweider, Swiss harp player
- 1955 – John Rutherford, Scottish rugby player
- 1955 – Jorge Valdano, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1956 – Lesley Glaister, English author and playwright
- 1956 – Christoph Waltz, Austrian-German actor
- 1957 – Bill Fagerbakke, American actor and singer
- 1957 – Yngve Moe, Norwegian bass player and songwriter (Dance with a Stranger) (d. 2013)
- 1957 – Russell Simmons, American businessman, founded Def Jam Recordings and Phat Farm
- 1958 – Anneka Rice, Welsh radio and television host
- 1959 – Chris Lowe, English singer and keyboard player (Pet Shop Boys)
- 1959 – Tony Meo, English snooker player
- 1959 – Hitonari Tsuji, Japanese author, composer, and director
- 1960 – Joe Boever, American baseball player
- 1960 – Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (d. 2016)
- 1961 – Philippe Russo, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese author and illustrator, created Yu-Gi-Oh!
- 1962 – Carlos Carsolio, Mexican mountaineer
- 1962 – Jon Secada, Cuban-American singer-songwriter
- 1963 – A. C. Green, American basketball player
- 1963 – Koji Ishikawa, Japanese author and illustrator
- 1964 – Peter Florence, English actor, founded the Hay Festival
- 1964 – Sarah Lancashire, English actress and director
- 1964 – Francis Magalona, Filipino rapper, producer, actor, and director (d. 2009)
- 1964 – Yvonne Murray, Scottish runner
- 1965 – Olaf Backasch, German footballer
- 1965 – Skip Heller, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1965 – Micky Ward, American boxer
- 1967 – Liev Schreiber, American actor and director
- 1968 – Richard Hancox, English footballer and manager
- 1968 – Tim Wise, American activist and author
- 1969 – Abraham Benrubi, American actor
- 1971 – Friderika Bayer, Hungarian singer
- 1971 – Darren Middleton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Powderfinger and Drag)
- 1972 – Kurt Thomas, American basketball player
- 1973 – Abyss, American wrestler
- 1974 – Paco León, Spanish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Daniella Deutscher, American actress
- 1975 – Panos Kiamos, Greek singer
- 1975 – Cristiano Lucarelli, Italian footballer and manager
- 1975 – Mohamed Jameel, Maldivian footballer
- 1976 – Mauro Camoranesi, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Elisandro Naressi Roos, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Alicia Silverstone, American actress, producer, and author
- 1976 – Ueli Steck, Swiss mountaineer and rock climber
- 1976 – Craig Robert Young, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1977 – Richard Reed Parry, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre)
- 1978 – Phillip Glasser, American actor and producer
- 1978 – Kei Horie, Japanese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1978 – Kyle Lohse, American baseball player
- 1979 – Stefan Booth, English actor and singer
- 1979 – Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress and producer
- 1979 – Björn Phau, German tennis player
- 1979 – Adam Voges, Australian cricketer
- 1979 – Caitriona Balfe, Irish actress and model
- 1980 – Me'Lisa Barber, American sprinter
- 1980 – Sarah Fisher, American race car driver
- 1980 – Mellisa Hollingsworth, Canadian skeleton racer
- 1980 – James Jones, American basketball player
- 1980 – Tomáš Rosický, Czech footballer
- 1981 – Shaura, Japanese singer (Moi dix Mois)
- 1981 – Justin Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Tony Gwynn, Jr., American baseball player
- 1982 – Jered Weaver, American baseball player
- 1983 – Dan Clarke, English race car driver
- 1983 – Ai Maeda, Japanese actress and singer
- 1983 – Marios Nicolaou, Cypriot footballer
- 1983 – Chansi Stuckey, American football player
- 1983 – Kurt Suzuki, American baseball player
- 1983 – Tatsuya Ueda, Japanese singer and actor (KAT-TUN)
- 1984 – Lena Katina, Russian singer-songwriter (t.A.T.u. and Neposedi)
- 1984 – Álvaro Parente, Portuguese race car driver
- 1984 – Karolina Tymińska, Polish heptathlete
- 1985 – Shontelle, Barbadian singer-songwriter
- 1985 – Thorsten Wiedemann, German rugby player
- 1987 – Rawez Lawan, Swedish footballer
- 1987 – Will Puddy, English footballer
- 1987 – Marina Weisband, German politician
- 1988 – Melissa Benoist, American actress and singer
- 1988 – Caner Erkin, Turkish footballer
- 1988 – Evgeni Krasnopolski, Israeli figure skater
- 1988 – Derrick Rose, American basketball player
- 1989 – Dakota Johnson, American model and actress
- 1989 – Lil Mama, American rapper, dancer, and actress
- 1990 – Signy Aarna, Estonian footballer
Deaths
- 1052 – Vladimir of Novgorod (b. 1020)
- 1250 – Herman VI, Margrave of Baden (b. 1226)
- 1305 – Emperor Kameyama of Japan (b. 1249)
- 1582 – Teresa of Ávila, Spanish nun and saint (b. 1515)
- 1597 – Sarsa Dengel, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1550)
- 1646 – Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English courtier and politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1586)
- 1660 – Francesco Albani, Italian painter (b. 1578)
- 1661 – Jacqueline Pascal, French nun and composer (b. 1625)
- 1669 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1606)
- 1680 – Pierre-Paul Riquet, French engineer, designed the Canal du Midi (b. 1609)
- 1743 – John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish commander and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey (b. 1678)
- 1749 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (b. 1711)
- 1754 – Tanacharison, American tribal chief (b. 1700)
- 1821 – John Rennie the Elder, Scottish engineer, designed the Waterloo Bridge (b. 1761)
- 1827 – Grigorios Zalykis, Greek-French lexicographer and scholar (b. 1785)
- 1851 – Manuel Godoy, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1767)
- 1852 – James Whitcomb, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Indiana (b. 1795)
- 1859 – Karl Baedeker, German publisher, founded Baedeker (b. 1801)
- 1864 – Joseph Montferrand, Canadian logger and strongman (b. 1802)
- 1867 – Francis Xavier Seelos, German-American priest and missionary (b. 1819)
- 1871 – Sarel Cilliers, South African spiritual leader and preacher (b. 1801)
- 1890 – Catherine Booth, English theologian and saint, co-founded The Salvation Army (b. 1829)
- 1903 – Otto Weininger, Austrian philosopher and author (b. 1880)
- 1904 – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor, designed the Statue of Liberty (b. 1834)
- 1904 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (b. 1847)
- 1910 – Sergey Muromtsev, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1850)
- 1935 – Jean Béraud, French painter and academic (b. 1849)
- 1935 – Marie Gutheil-Schoder, German soprano, actress, and director (b. 1874)
- 1943 – Irena Iłłakowicz, German-Polish lieutenant (b. 1906)
- 1944 – Al Smith, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Governor of New York (b. 1873)
- 1946 – Barney Oldfield, American race car driver and actor (b. 1878)
- 1947 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
- 1951 – Henrietta Lacks, American medical patient (b. 1920)
- 1951 – Willie Moretti, Italian-American gangster (b. 1894)
- 1955 – Alexander Papagos, Greek general and politician, 152nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1883)
- 1958 – Ida Wüst, German actress and screenwriter (b. 1884)
- 1961 – Benjamin, Russian metropolitan (b. 1880)
- 1963 – Alar Kotli, Estonian architect (b. 1904)
- 1969 – Natalino Otto, Italian singer and actor (b. 1912)
- 1970 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (Big Brother and the Holding Company) (b. 1943)
- 1974 – Anne Sexton, American poet and author (b. 1928)
- 1975 – Joan Whitney Payson, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1903)
- 1977 – José Ber Gelbard, Argentinian activist and politician (b. 1917)
- 1981 – Freddie Lindstrom, American baseball player and coach (b. 1905)
- 1982 – The Amazing Criswell, American psychic and actor (b. 1907)
- 1982 – Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1932)
- 1982 – Stefanos Stefanopoulos, Greek politician, 165th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1898)
- 1989 – Secretariat, American race horse (b. 1970)
- 1989 – Graham Chapman, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 1990 – Alyn Ainsworth, English singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1924)
- 1990 – Avis Bunnage, English actress (b. 1923)
- 1990 – Mārtiņš Zīverts, Latvian playwright (b. 1903)
- 1991 – J. Frank Wilson, American singer (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) (b. 1941)
- 1992 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1936)
- 1994 – Danny Gatton, American guitarist (b. 1945)
- 1996 – Larry Gene Bell, American murderer (b. 1949)
- 1997 – Otto Ernst Remer, German general (b. 1912)
- 1997 – Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese game designer, created Game Boy (b. 1941)
- 1998 – S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian and academic (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Erik Brødreskift, Norwegian drummer (Immortal and Borknagar) (b. 1969)
- 1999 – Bernard Buffet, French painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
- 1999 – Art Farmer, American trumpet player and composer (The Jazztet) (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 32nd Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
- 2001 – Blaise Alexander, American race car driver (b. 1976)
- 2001 – John Collins, American guitarist (b. 1913)
- 2001 – Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (b. 1917)
- 2002 – André Delvaux, Belgian-Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Sid McMath, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Gordon Cooper, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Rio Diaz, Filipino model, actress, and politician (b. 1959)
- 2005 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American lawyer and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Tom Bell, English actor (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Qassem Al-Nasser, Jordanian general (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Gerhard Kaufhold, German footballer (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Günther Rall, German general and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Mercedes Sosa, Argentinian singer and activist (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Norman Wisdom, English singer-songwriter, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Doris Belack, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2012 – David Atkinson, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwean historian and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Daphne Slater, English actress (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Tom Stannage, Australian footballer, historian, and academic (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Erhard Wunderlich, German handball player (b. 1956)
- 2013 – John Cloudsley-Thompson, Pakistani-English commander (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Akira Miyoshi, Japanese composer (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Diana Nasution, Indonesian singer (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Võ Nguyên Giáp, Vietnamese general and politician, 3rd Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1911)
- 2013 – Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Konrad Boehmer, German-Dutch composer and educator (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Hugo Carvana, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1959)
- 2014 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Jewel Joseph Newman, American sergeant and politician (b. 1921)
- 2015 – William A. Culpepper, American general, lawyer, and judge (b. 1916)
- 2015 – Edida Nageswara Rao, Indian director and producer (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Dave Pike, American vibraphone player and songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Neal Walk, American basketball player (b. 1948)
Holidays and observances
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