May 18
The May 18 is the 138th day of the Gregorian calendar (the 139th in leap years ), thus remain still 227 days until the end of the year. Even the Roman and the Julian calendar to know May 18 (or Maius ). Dates prior to the Gregorian calendar reform are usually given in the Julian calendar.
Historic anniversaries April · May · June |
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Events
Politics and world events
- 1190 : The Roman-German Emperor Friedrich I. Barbarossa defeats the Rum Seljuks a second time within 11 days on the Third Crusade in the Battle of Iconium .
- 1291 : After a six-week siege , Acre, the last great crusader bastion , falls into the hands of the Muslim Mamluks under Sultan Al-Ashraf Chalil . With that, the Crusades have definitely failed. Henry II , the last king of Jerusalem , flees to Cyprus.
- 1302 : Flemish insurgents carry out a massacre of a quartered French garrison in the city of Bruges , the so-called Bruges morning mass . The hated governor Jacques de Châtillon escapes with some loyal followers.
- 1337 : Beatrice de Bourbon is crowned Queen of Bohemia as the wife of King John of Bohemia in Prague . However, since she was rejected by the nobility, she soon left the country again.
- 1565 : An Ottoman fleet of up to 40,000 men under Piyale Pascha appears off the coast of Malta and begins the unsuccessful siege of the island , which is only defended by around 700 knights and another 8500 Maltese fighters under Jean de la Valette .
- 1595 : The Treaty of Teusina between Sweden and Russia ends the Russo-Swedish War . The Swedish-Russian border will be moved to the east by the treaty.
- 1643 : After the death of her husband Louis XIII. appoints the French regent Anna of Austria Cardinal Jules Mazarin as Prime Minister in France. In doing so, it implements a decision made by the deceased who appointed the chosen one to succeed Cardinal Richelieu, who died on December 4, 1642, to take care of the affairs of state.
- 1693 : During the Palatinate War of Succession , Heidelberg Castle , the residence of the Palatinate electors , is blown up by French troops.
- 1757 : Burmese conquer Hongsawadi , the capital of the Pegu Empire , destroy the place and kill tens of thousands of the Mon people .
- 1792 : Under the pretext of pursuing Russian citizens to protect marches Russia under Catherine II. In the Polish-Lithuanian one to the liberal Constitution of May 3, 1791 to be reversed. The Russo-Polish War ultimately leads to the Second Partition of Poland .
- 1803 : The British government ignores the Peace of Amiens , which ended the Second Coalition War with France , and declares war on the French under Napoleon Bonaparte .
- 1804 : The French Senate passes and proclaims the constitution of the year XII , which creates the basis for the Napoleonic French Empire . Napoleon Bonaparte worked purposefully towards his coronation and a hereditary emperor and attaches great importance to a subsequent referendum on the constitutional amendment.
- 1812 : Just a week after the assassination of the British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval , the death sentence against the assassin John Bellingham is carried out. He is hanged in public.
- 1822 : Agustín de Iturbide is proclaimed Emperor of Mexico . The coronation as Agustín I. takes place on July 21st.
- 1845 : Carlos María Isidro de Borbón renounces his claims to the Spanish throne in favor of his son Carlos Luis , which is why the first Carlist War against Queen Maria Christina and her daughter Isabella II broke out.
- 1848 : As a result of the March Revolution, the Frankfurt National Assembly meets for the first time in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt am Main ; thus for the first time there is a democratically elected parliament for Germany.
- 1863 : General Ulysses S. Grant and his troops reach the city of Vicksburg , Mississippi, during the American Civil War and begin the siege of the city , which he conquers on July 4th.
- 1869 : The split off Ezo Republic under Enomoto Takeaki surrenders to the troops of the Japanese Empire and recognizes the suzerainty of the Japanese Tennō Meiji .
- 1879 : In Switzerland , the ban on the death penalty in the federal constitution is repealed by a referendum .
- 1896 : In his fundamental decision Plessy v. Ferguson declares the Supreme Court of the United States , chaired by Melville W. Fuller, the principle of Separate but equal to be constitutional and thus justifies racial segregation in the southern states of the Union . The judgment is not revised until 1954.
- 1899 : The First Hague Peace Conference , which among others will adopt a convention on the laws and customs of land war , begins.
- 1904 : The kidnapping of the Greek-American bon vivant Ion Perdicaris by rebellious Rif tribes under Ahmed ben Mohammed el-Raisuli in Tangier triggers a crisis between the United States and Morocco .
- 1912 : The daily Pravda , inspired and founded by the Marxist Lenin, appears for the first time in Saint Petersburg , which soon conflicts with the Russian censorship and becomes an organ of the CPSU in 1917 .
- 1930 : At a general assembly of the Heimatschutzverband Niederösterreich held in Korneuburg, the Heimwehr men and other delegates present swear by the pledge read by the Heimwehr leader Richard Steidle , the so-called Korneuburg Oath , and thereby openly commit to fascism . The future Federal Chancellor Julius Raab is also present at this oath.
- 1933 : As part of his New Deal , US President Franklin D. Roosevelt founds the independent government organization Tennessee Valley Authority . The TVA's primary role is to manage hydropower and river regulation facilities on the Tennessee River.
- 1939 : The first female prisoners from the Lichtenburg concentration camp are transferred to the newly built women's concentration camp in Ravensbrück . These prisoners first had to work on the further expansion of the camp and the construction of the housing estate for the SS guards.
- 1941 : The battleship Bismarck of the German Navy leaves with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and several destroyers from Gotenhafen to the company Rhine Exercise in the direction of the Atlantic to support the submarine war in World War II .
- 1943 : The first international conference on world food issues begins in Hot Springs, Virginia , attended by 43 states. As a result, the conference prepares the establishment of an international organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ).
- 1944 : The Italian monastery of Montecassino is captured by Allied troops after more than four months of costly battle in World War II .
- 1947 : The constitution of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate is adopted by 53% of the electorate through a referendum .
- 1948 : The Legislative Yuan , the legislative assembly of the Republic of China , meets in Nanjing for the first time since World War II .
- 1953 : The base of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz , which remained after war damage , is made available for use by Federal President Theodor Heuss as a future memorial to the German unity of the population.
- 1974 : India carries out its first underground atomic bomb test under the code name Operation Smiling Buddha . It becomes the sixth nuclear power .
- 1977 : In Geneva, representatives of 31 states sign the ENMOD convention banning environmentally harmful means of warfare.
- 1980 : Rudolf Kirchschläger , supported jointly by the SPÖ and ÖVP, is re-elected Federal President of Austria with a record result of 79.9% against the FPÖ-supported Willfried Gredler and the right-wing extremist Norbert Burger .
- 1980 : In Gwangju in South Korea , demonstrations and an uprising for more democracy are violently suppressed by the dictatorial regime. In the suppression of the uprising (see Gwangju uprising ), which began on May 18 and ended with a bloodbath on May 27, according to official figures, 154 people died and 4,141 were injured, some seriously.
- 1990 : Theo Waigel and Walter Romberg sign the German-German State Treaty for the formation of a monetary, economic and social union . The contract comes into force on July 1st.
- 1991 : Somaliland unilaterally declares its independence from Somalia after the escalation of the Somali civil war . Despite non-recognition by most of the world's states, a relatively stable democracy developed in the country as a result.
- 1991 : The largest squatting in Swiss history begins in Zurich, that of the Wohlgroth area , which lasted two and a half years .
- 1992 : After several states ratified a constitutional amendment from 1789, the United States archivist confirms that the necessary three-quarters majority for the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution has been achieved .
- 1993 : In a second referendum, the majority of Danes vote for Denmark to join the Maastricht Treaty .
- 2003 : In a referendum, the Swiss population approves the Army XXI reform project for the Swiss Army , which aims to take account of the changed security situation in Central Europe.
- 2009 : Velupillai Prabhakaran , leader of the separatist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ), is killed while fleeing by Sri Lankan soldiers.
- 2019 : Heinz-Christian Strache resigns from the Vice Chancellery of Austria due to the Ibiza affair . Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz declared the end of the coalition of ÖVP and FPÖ and announced new elections for September 2019.
economy
- 1830 : The English inventor Edwin Beard Budding concludes a production contract for the lawnmower he invented , a cylinder mower .
- 1885 : The Bank of Japan issues its first banknotes .
- 1951 : The first Tetra Pak packaging for milk invented by Erik Wallenberg based on an idea by Ruben Rausing is presented to the public in Lund , Sweden .
- 1995 : In Miami, Florida, the German building contractor Jürgen Schneider , who had fled and was wanted on an arrest warrant, was arrested together with his wife Claudia. He has accumulated bank debts of over five billion D-Marks through embellished information .
science and technology
- 44 BC BC : Comet C / -43 K1 ( Comet Caesar ) is discovered in China. In July of the same year he is visible in Rome and is regarded by the people as the deified appearance of the soul of the murdered Gaius Julius Caesar and used by his adopted son Octavianus, who later became Emperor Augustus , for theopolitical propaganda purposes.
- 1967 : The first X-ray binary star is discovered during an experiment with a launched rocket . The pulsar Centaurus X-3 lies in the constellation Centaur .
- 1969 : The US Apollo 10 space mission with astronauts Tom Stafford , John Young and Eugene Cernan on board starts with a Saturn launcher from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to simulate a moon landing. The space flight, dress rehearsal for the planned first manned moon landing, lasts until May 26th.
- 1970 : C / 1970 K1 , a sun-grazing comet from the Kreutz group , is sighted for the first time.
- 1974 : The 646.38 meter high Radio Warsaw transmitter mast in Gąbin , Poland, is completed. The transmitter mast , which was officially put into operation on July 30, was the tallest structure in the world until it collapsed on August 8, 1991 .
- 1990 : The TGV Atlantique sets a world record for rail-bound vehicles at 515.3 km / h, which the V150 will only surpass on April 3, 2007 .
- 2004 : In Bangladesh , the 1.8 km long Lalon Shah Bridge , the first road bridge over the Padma and at the same time one of the largest bridges in the country, is opened to traffic.
- 2015 : The ZDF puts a new broadcast processing system into operation for its channels; since then, all channels that are broadcast under the ZDFvision bouquet can broadcast natively in HD.
Culture
- 1593 : After being accused of torture by his friend Thomas Kyd , the English playwright Christopher Marlowe receives a summons before the Privy Council on suspicion of heresy.
- 1724 : The church cantata Whoever Believes and Is Baptized by Johann Sebastian Bach is premiered on the occasion of the Feast of Ascension in Leipzig.
- 1768 : The comic opera Die Liebe auf dem Lande by Johann Adam Hiller has its world premiere in Leipzig.
- 1894 : The premiere of the opera Rafael by Anton Stepanowitsch Arenski takes place at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow .
- 1895 : The Venice theme park in Vienna's Prater , built by the entrepreneur Gabor Steiner together with the architect Oskar Marmorek , is opened.
- 1897 : The vampire novel Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker is published in London.
- 1940 : The world premiere of the opera Volo di notte by Luigi Dallapiccola based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's second novel Vol de nuit takes place at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence.
- 1961 : The French comic magazine Pilote begins reprinting Asterix et les Goths , which is the first Asterix adventure set outside Gaul.
- 1961 : At the 14th Cannes International Film Festival , Luis Buñuel's feature film Viridiana , which was banned three days later in French-speaking Spain , was awarded the Palme d' Or.
- 1972 : The play The new sorrows of the young W. von Ulrich Plenzdorf based on his montage novel of the same name is premiered in Halle (Saale) .
- 1976 : The first performance of Circus Roncalli , founded by Bernhard Paul and André Heller , takes place on the Hofgartenwiese in Bonn , which then goes on tour.
society
- 1152 : Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Heinrich Plantagenet , eleven years his junior , Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, later King of England , without the consent of her ex-husband and liege lord Louis VII .
- 1927 : In the Bath school massacre in Michigan, USA, 45 people, most of them children, are killed in a bomb attack and another 58 are injured, some seriously. The perpetrator Andrew Kehoe is also killed in the attack.
religion
- 1015 : Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg lays the foundation stone for the construction of a representative cathedral in the diocese of Merseburg in place of the previous Johanneskirche, the future Merseburg Cathedral .
- 1066 : Kuno I von Pfullingen , who was appointed Archbishop of Trier , is attacked with his companion in the night camp in the morning, deported to Ürzig and imprisoned. The reason for the action is the lack of involvement of the citizens, the nobility and the clergy of Trier in the decision made by Emperor Heinrich IV and the resulting resentment. Finally, the Elekt is murdered on June 1st.
- 1743 : With the encyclical Nimiam licentiam ( Excessive Abuse ), Pope Benedict XIV exhorts the Polish brothers, archbishops and bishops to be less accommodating when marriages are annulled.
- 1760 : The Jesuit Church in Mannheim , which according to the art historian Georg Dehio is the most important baroque church in southwest Germany, is consecrated .
- 1986 : The fifth encyclical of Pope John Paul II, entitled Dominum et Vivificantem, deals with the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the world.
nature and environment
- 1966 : The white whale Moby Dick is spotted in the Rhine near Duisburg , which got lost several hundred kilometers upstream.
Disasters
- 1980 : When Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted, the northern summit of the volcano slides , releasing a pyroclastic current that kills 57 people, including volcanologist David A. Johnston .
Minor accidents are listed in the sub-articles of Disaster .
Sports
- 1912 : The American George Horine is the first to cross a height of two meters in a high jump in Palo Alto .
- 1956 : The Swiss Fritz Luchsinger and Ernst Reiss succeed in the first ascent of Lhotse in the Himalayas , the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 meters .
- 1971 : An Austrian mountaineering expedition, consisting of Ronald Fear, Adolf Huber, Adolf Weissensteiner and the Sherpa Jangbu, succeeds in the first ascent of Dhaulagiri II , a 7751 meter high mountain in Nepal .
- 2005 : CSKA Moscow beats Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in the UEFA Cup, becoming the first Russian team to win a football trophy at European level.
Entries of track and field world records can be found under the respective discipline under track and field .
Born
Before the 18th century
- 1048 : Omar Chayyām , Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and poet
- 1452 : Heinrich the Younger von Münsterberg , Bohemian diplomat and writer
- 1474 : Isabella d'Este , Italian Renaissance princess
- 1475 : Alfonso, Infant of Portugal , heir to the throne of all Iberia
- 1533 : Johannes Caselius , German humanist, lawyer and philologist
- 1616 : Johann Jakob Froberger , German composer
- 1654 : Ernst Glück , German theologian and Bible translator
- 1692 : Joseph Butler , English bishop of Durham and Bristol
18th century
- 1710 : Johann II Bernoulli , Swiss mathematician
- 1711 : Rugjer Josip Bošković , Italian-Serbian mathematician and astronomer
- 1716 : Franz Ludwig Pfyffer , Swiss politician and cartographer
- 1728 : Johann Andreas Tafinger , German pedagogue and Protestant theologian
- 1736 : Eiler Christopher von Ahlefeldt , German-Danish bailiff
- 1736 : Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff , architect and architectural theorist, representative of German early classicism
- 1737 : Francesco Arcangeli , Italian murderer
- 1746 : Félix de Azara , Spanish officer, naturalist and surveyor
- 1746 : Johann Werner Streithorst , German Protestant theologian
- 1747 : Johann Christoph Friedrich Schulz , German theologian
- 1757 : Karl Christian von Langsdorf , German-Lithuanian mathematician
- 1767 : Joseph Appel , Austrian numismatist
- 1769 : Karl Friedrich August von Seydewitz , Bavarian major general
- 1770 : Ferdinand Heinrich Lachmann , German educator
- 1772 : Carl von Brühl , general manager of the theaters and museums in Berlin
- 1774 : Johann Christoph Friedrich Schulz , German Protestant theologian
- 1774 : Georg Leonhard Zili , Swiss businessman and banker
- 1777 : Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge , Saxon nobleman and Napoleon's secret agent
- 1778 : Andrew Ure , British medic, professor of natural history and chemistry
- 1781 : David Hazzard , American politician, governor of the state of Delaware
- 1782 : Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow , Prussian general, founder of the Lützow Free Corps
- 1783 : Jabbo Oltmanns , East Frisian mathematician, astronomer and professor of applied mathematics
- 1797 : Friedrich August II. , King of Saxony
19th century
1801-1850
- 1808 : Venancio Flores , President of Uruguay
- 1809 : William Wilson , British-German mechanical engineer, first German engine driver
- 1810 : Ludwig Ofterdinger , German mathematician
- 1810 : Francesco Maria Piave , Italian librettist for Giuseppe Verdi
- 1812 : Adolph Eduard Grube , German zoologist
- 1813 : Ludwig Fick , German anatomist
- 1819 : Julius Hopp , German composer, librettist, arranger and translator
- 1820 : Emil Rittmeyer , Swiss painter
- 1821 : Isabel of Spain , Spanish Infanta
- 1822 : Mathew B. Brady , American photographer and war correspondent
- 1823 : Johannes August Speltz , Frankfurt lawyer and politician
- 1824 : Wilhelm Hofmeister , German botanist and professor
- 1833 : Johann von Säxinger , German medic
- 1834 : Anna Stang , Norwegian women's rights activist
- 1845 : John Beard Allen , American politician
- 1846 : Laura von Oelbermann , German founder and donor
- 1847 : Alexander Bari , Russian engineer and entrepreneur
- 1848 : Hermann Diels , German classical philologist and historian of philosophy
- 1850 : Oliver Heaviside , British mathematician and physicist
- 1850 : Ludwig Stickelberger , Swiss mathematician
1851-1900
- 1851 : James Budd , American politician
- 1852 : Julius Anton Adam , German genre and animal painter and lithographer
- 1852 : Jizchok Leib Perez , Polish writer
- 1856 : Antonio Chiattone , Swiss sculptor
- 1860 : Eero Erkko , Finnish journalist and politician
- 1860 : Mary Wurm , English pianist, composer and music teacher
- 1862 : Hans von Ramsay , German officer and explorer
- 1862 : Theodor Scheinpflug , German-Baltic pastor and Protestant martyr
- 1863 : Ludwig Abel , German Semitist
- 1865 : Traugott von Jagow , German administrative officer and politician, police chief of Berlin
- 1866 : Fritz Ahrberg , German entrepreneur
- 1868 : Ludwig Landmann , German local politician, Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main
- 1868 : Nicholas II , the last Russian tsar
- 1869 : Rupprecht , last Bavarian Crown Prince, son of King Ludwig III. from Bavaria
- 1871 : Fanny Countess zu Reventlow , German writer
- 1872 : Bertrand Russell , English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize winner
- 1875 : Guido Alberto Fano , Italian composer, conductor and pianist
- 1876 : Hermann Müller , German politician and Reich Chancellor
- 1877 : John Victor Bergquist , American composer and organist
- 1879 : Bruno Bielefeld , German painter, etcher and lithographer
- 1879 : Dominique Follacci , French artistic gymnast
- 1880 : Theodor Laurezzari , German rower
- 1882 : Georgi Atanasov , Bulgarian composer and conductor
- 1882 : Eduardo Fabini , Uruguayan composer
- 1883 : Walter Gropius , German architect, founder of the " Bauhaus "
- 1884 : Martin Elsaesser , German architecture professor and church architect
- 1885 : Kurt Löwenstein , German politician
- 1886 : Grigori Borissowitsch Adamow , Russian writer
- 1887 : Ernst Wiechert , German writer
- 1889 : Gunnar Gunnarsson , Icelandic writer
- 1889 : Jacob Levy Moreno , Austrian-American doctor, psychiatrist and sociologist
- 1889 : Thomas Midgley , American chemist and inventor
- 1891 : Rudolf Carnap , American-German philosopher
- 1893 : Friedrich Sieburg , German journalist, writer and literary critic
- 1894 : Edmund Adam , German correspondence chess player and chess official
- 1896 : Ernst Emil Jung , German shipowner
- 1897 : Frank Capra , American film director
- 1898 : Hans Kroll , German diplomat, ambassador to Belgrade, Tokyo and Moscow
- 1899 : Adelmo Melecci , Canadian organist, composer and music teacher
- 1900 : Wolfgang Heinz , German actor
20th century
1901-1925
- 1901 : Robert Ochsenfeld , German physicist
- 1901 : Vincent du Vigneaud , American biochemist
- 1902 : Meredith Willson , American musical and hit composer
- 1904 : Alfred Jäger , Czech-German medic
- 1905 : Leo Barkin , Canadian pianist and music teacher
- 1905 : Theodor Berger , Austrian composer
- 1905 : Erich Zeisl , Austrian composer
- 1906 : Frederick Zimmermann , American double bass player and music teacher
- 1907 : Carl Mydans , American photographer
- 1907 : Clifford Curzon , British pianist
- 1907 : Roger Gilbert-Lecomte , French poet
- 1909 : Alexander Aigner , Austrian university professor
- 1909 : Fred Perry , British table tennis and tennis player
- 1911 : Big Joe Turner , American blues singer
- 1912 : Hermann Langbein , Austrian historian and resistance fighter
- 1912 : Perry Como , American singer
- 1912 : Richard Brooks , American director
- 1912 : Walter Sisulu , South African politician, anti-apartheid fighter
- 1913 : Nicolás Gómez Dávila , Colombian philosopher
- 1913 : Jean de Montrémy , French racing car driver and racing car designer
- 1913 : Charles Trenet , French singer
- 1914 : Pierre Balmain , French fashion designer
- 1914 : Boris Christow , Bulgarian-Italian opera singer
- 1914 : Toulo de Graffenried , Swiss racing driver
- 1915 : Heinz Funk , German film composer
- 1917 : Heinz Raack , German hockey player
- 1918 : Juanito Arteta , Venezuelan trumpeter and arranger
- 1918 : Rafael Colón , Dominican singer and composer
- 1918 : Massimo Girotti , Italian actor
- 1919 : Margot Fonteyn , British dancer
- 1920 : Bedřich Janáček , Czech organist, composer and music teacher
- 1920 : John Paul II , Pope
- 1921 : Witold Silewicz , Polish-Austrian composer and double bass player
- 1922 : Adrian Hoven , Austrian actor
- 1922 : Werner Riepel , German actor, singer and radio play speaker
- 1922 : Kai Winding , American jazz trombonist
- 1924 : Samson François , French pianist and composer
- 1924 : Robert Tronson , British film and television director
- 1925 : Erni Bieler , Austrian jazz and pop singer
- 1925 : Justus Dahinden , Swiss architect and university professor
1926-1950
- 1926 : Hortense Anda-Bührle , Swiss entrepreneur, art collector and patron
- 1926 : Bob Benny , Belgian singer
- 1926 : Kurt Hirschhorn , American human geneticist
- 1927 : Renee Harmon , German actress
- 1927 : Egon Monk , German director
- 1927 : Harvey Carignan , American serial killer
- 1928 : John Abineri , British actor
- 1928 : Klaus Arnold , German sculptor and painter
- 1928 : Rigobert Günther , German ancient historian
- 1928 : Pernell Roberts , American actor
- 1929 : Otto Flimm , German entrepreneur and former president of the ADAC
- 1929 : Roger Matton , Canadian composer and ethnomusicologist
- 1930 : Ana Ariel , Brazilian actress
- 1931 : Claude Bobrowski , French racing car driver
- 1931 : Don Martin , American cartoonist
- 1932 : Dean Tavoularis , American production designer
- 1933 : Bernadette Chirac , French politician
- 1933 : Raúl Iglesias , Cuban pianist and music teacher
- 1934 : Don Bachardy , American artist
- 1935 : Josef Ahammer , Austrian priest
- 1935 : Wolfgang Kermer , German art historian
- 1936 : Melanio Asensio , Spanish athlete
- 1937 : Paul Johnson , American ice hockey player
- 1937 : Jacques Santer , Luxembourg Prime Minister
- 1937 : Schwarz Ferdl , German folk music singer, yodeler, guitarist, lyricist and composer
- 1938 : Erich Arndt , German table tennis player
- 1938 : Jan Málek , Czech composer
- 1939 : Silvana Armenulić , Yugoslav folk singer
- 1939 : Hark Bohm , German director
- 1940 : Anita Kupsch , German actress
- 1941 : Miriam Margolyes , British actress
- 1941 : Mauricio de Narváez , Colombian racing car driver and racing team owner
- 1942 : Massimo Antonelli , Italian film director and conceptual artist
- 1942 : Nobby Stiles , English football player
- 1943 : Jacques-Pierre Amette , French writer
- 1943 : Daniel Frank Austin , American botanist
- 1943 : Helmut Haussmann , German Federal Minister, Member of the Bundestag
- 1943 : Gennadi Sosonko , Dutch chess player
- 1943 : Willy Wimmer , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1944 : James Arthur , Canadian mathematician
- 1944 : Justus Frantz , German pianist and conductor
- 1944 : Albert Hammond , British singer and songwriter
- 1944 : WG Sebald , German writer
- 1945 : Max Mabillard , Swiss journalist
- 1946 : Ray Richards , Australian football player and coach
- 1946 : Kenji Takahashi , Japanese racing car driver
- 1947 : John Bruton , Irish Prime Minister
- 1948 : Yi Mun-yol , South Korean writer
- 1948 : Manuel Werner , German television presenter and restaurant tester
- 1949 : Jim McNeely , American jazz pianist, composer and arranger
- 1949 : Rick Wakeman , British musician
- 1949 : Uschi Eid , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1950 : Mark Mothersbaugh , American musician, composer and singer
- 1950 : Thomas Gottschalk , German television presenter
1951-1975
- 1951 : Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann , German terrorist
- 1951 : Angela Voigt , German athlete, Olympic champion
- 1952 : George Strait , American country singer
- 1952 : Jeana Yeager , American test pilot
- 1953 : Richard Boczkowski , German handball player
- 1953 : Renée Schroeder , Austrian biochemist
- 1954 : Ekkehardt Belle , German actor and voice actor
- 1954 : Rolf Bietmann , German politician
- 1954 : Wreckless Eric , British singer and songwriter
- 1954 : Eric Gerets , Belgian football coach
- 1954 : Han Gyong-si , North Korean weightlifter
- 1954 : Reinhold Heil , German musician
- 1954 : Thomas Sinsel , German handball player
- 1955 : Kjetil Bjerkestrand , Norwegian pianist and film music composer
- 1955 : Chow Yun-Fat , Chinese actor
- 1955 : Carmen Hock-Heyl , German entrepreneur
- 1956 : Tatjana Blacher , German actress
- 1957 : Michael Cretu , Romanian composer and music producer
- 1957 : Frank Plasberg , German journalist and television presenter
- 1957 : Sascha Zeus , German radio presenter
- 1958 : Simon Beresford-Wylie , Australian manager
- 1958 : Ettore Fioravanti , Italian jazz percussionist and band leader
- 1958 : Bruno Marini , Italian saxophonist and Hammond organ player
- 1958 : Toyah Willcox , British singer and actress
- 1959 : Lauren Flanigan , American opera singer
- 1959 : Jörg Pose , German actor
- 1959 : Ranga Yogeshwar , Luxembourg editor and moderator
- 1960 : Brent Ashton , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 : Page Hamilton , American rock singer and guitarist
- 1960 : Yannick Noah , French professional tennis player
- 1961 : Ully Arndt , German comic artist and illustrator
- 1962 : Sandra , German pop singer
- 1962 : John Chabot , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1964 : Karsten Dörr , German actor
- 1964 : Michael Robert Rhein , German singer (In Extremo)
- 1965 : Heiko Burmeister , German handball player and trainer
- 1965 : Ingo Schwichtenberg , drummer in the band Helloween
- 1967 : Heinz-Harald Frentzen , German racing driver
- 1967 : Matthias Haß , German producer, composer and Echo Prize winner
- 1967 : Bob Stephenson , American film actor, producer and screenwriter
- 1968 : Carola Ferstl , German television presenter
- 1968 : Ralf Kelleners , German racing car driver
- 1969 : Sybille Gruner , German handball player
- 1969 : Thekla Krause , German soccer player
- 1969 : Helena Noguerra , Belgian singer, actress and writer
- 1970 : Tina Fey , American author, comedian, and actress
- 1971 : Sebastian Bezzel , German actor
- 1972 : Ingo Pohlmann , German pop musician
- 1972 : Nordin ben Salah , Dutch boxer
- 1973 : Chantal Kreviazuk , Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1973 : Tōru Ukawa , Japanese motorcycle racer
- 1974 : Carolyn Sampson , British singer
- 1975 : Flozell Adams , American football player
- 1975 : Jem , British singer and songwriter
- 1975 : Jack Johnson , American singer
- 1975 : John Higgins , Scottish snooker player
1976-2000
- 1976 : Manuel Ochsenreiter , German journalist
- 1976 : Stéphane Yonnet , French freestyle skier
- 1977 : Elisabeth Auer , Austrian journalist and presenter
- 1978 : Ricardo Carvalho , Portuguese football player
- 1978 : Genis García , Andorran football player
- 1979 : Milivoje Novakovič , Slovenian football player
- 1980 : Ivan Jolić , Bosnian-Herzegovinian football player
- 1980 : Diego Pérez , Uruguayan soccer player
- 1980 : Michaël Llodra , French tennis player
- 1981 : Christa Schäpertöns , German soccer player
- 1982 : Hussein Adilo , Ethiopian marathon runner
- 1983 : Márcio Fernandes , Cape Verdean athlete
- 1984 : Johan Andersson , Swedish ice hockey player
- 1984 : Daniel Baier , German soccer player
- 1984 : Dave Bennett , American jazz clarinetist
- 1984 : Simon Pagenaud , French racing driver
- 1985 : Guðbjörg Gunnarsdóttir , Icelandic football player
- 1985 : Mirka Pigulla , German actress
- 1985 : Oliver Šin , Hungarian painter
- 1986 : Kevin Anderson , South African tennis player
- 1986 : Adam Bałdych , Polish jazz violinist
- 1986 : Sabrina Delannoy , French soccer player
- 1986 : Dalibor Gatarić , German football player
- 1986 : Danijel Gatarić , German football player
- 1986 : Marc Heider , German soccer player
- 1987 : Jaana Ehmcke , German swimmer
- 1987 : Luisana Loreley Lopilato , Argentine actress, singer and model
- 1987 : Kamil Vacek , Czech football player
- 1988 : Megumi Taruno , Japanese badminton player
- 1989 : Stefan Ilsanker , Austrian soccer player
- 1989 : Eugénie Le Sommer , French soccer player
- 1990 : Tore Eikeland , Norwegian politician
- 1990 : Carolin Schmele , German handball player
- 1992 : Emma Klingenberg , Danish orienteer
- 1993 : Stephane Mvibudulu , German-Congolese soccer player
- 1993 : Jessica Watson , Australian sailor
- 1996 : Dzmitryi Assanau , Belarusian boxer
Died
Before the 16th century
- 526 : John I , Pope
- 906 : Waldo , Bishop of Freising
- 978 : Friedrich I , Duke of Upper Lorraine
- 1012 : John II. Crescentius , Roman patrician
- 1090 : Berthold von Rheinfelden , Duke of Swabia
- 1102 : Hugo VI. von Lusignan , Count of La Marche, participant in the 1st Crusade and the 1101 Crusade
- 1102 : Stephan I , Count of Burgundy and crusader
- 1195 : Aszelina von Boulancourt , nun of the Cistercian order
- 1291 : Guillaume de Beaujeu , Grand Master of the Templar Order
- 1291 : Mathieu de Clermont , Knight of the Hospitaller Order
- 1297 : Nicholas Longespée , Bishop of Salisbury
- 1360 : Gerhard , Count von Berg and Ravensberg
- 1401 : Wladislaus II , Hereditary Duke of Opole and royal governor in Poland and Rothreußen, Palatine of Hungary
- 1406 : Balthasar , Margrave of Meissen, Landgrave of Thuringia
- 1408 : Johann IV. , Last count of Habsburg-Laufenburg
- 1410 : Ruprecht I , Roman-German King and Elector of the Palatinate
- 1417 : Ulrich Prustl , Bishop of Brixen
- 1433 : Nikolaus von der Lippe , Mayor of Stralsund
- 1437 : Conrad VII von Soest , Bishop of Regensburg
- 1445 : William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby , English nobleman
- 1450 : Sejong , King of the Korean Joseon Dynasty
- 1468 : Johannes Hartlieb , German doctor, court poet and translator
16th and 17th centuries
- 1525 : Pietro Pomponazzi , Italian humanist and philosopher
- 1550 : Jean de Lorraine , Archbishop of Reims, Lyon and Narbonne
- 1551 : Domenico Beccafumi , Italian painter and sculptor
- 1557 : Johann II , Count Palatine and Duke of Simmern
- 1574 : Albert Hardenberg , German theologian and preacher of the Reformation period
- 1587 : Felix of Cantalice , Italian saint
- 1589 : Charles II , Lord of Monaco
- 1606 : Wolfgang Amling , German theologian
- 1613 : Othmar Reiner , Mayor of St. Gallen
- 1616 : Kanō Naizen , Japanese painter
- 1627 : Valerius Herberger , German Lutheran theologian
- 1634 : Benedikt von Ahlefeldt , heir to Haseldorf, Osterrade, Kluvensiek and monastery provost of Uetersen
- 1635 : Levin Ludwig I. Hahn , member of the Fruit-Bringing Society
- 1675 : Jacques Marquette , French monk and discoverer of the Mississippi
- 1680 : Michael Ludovici , German Lutheran theologian
- 1687 : Claude de Vin des Œillets , mistress of Louis XIV.
18th century
- 1706 : Wolfgang Dientzenhofer , German builder
- 1708 : Arvid Axel Mardefelt , Swedish officer
- 1714 : Ivan Fedosejewitsch Bozis , Russian admiral and one of the founders of the Imperial Russian Navy
- 1718 : Arvid Karlsteen , Swedish medalist, coin maker and miniature painter
- 1720 : Johann Carl Trumler , imperial court stonemason, master builder at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna
- 1721 : David III. , Emperor of Ethiopia
- 1733 : Georg Böhm , German composer
- 1747 : Bernardino Zendrini , Venetian hydraulic engineer, doctor, astronomer and mathematician
- 1756 : Marie Eleonore von Anhalt-Dessau , Princess Radziwiłł and Duchess of Nieswicz and of Olyka
- 1759 : Johann Christian Schmidt , German sculptor
- 1764 : Charles François II. De Montmorency-Luxembourg , Marshal of France
- 1765 : Viktor II. Friedrich , Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
- 1793 : Timur Shah Durrani , second king of Afghanistan of the Durrani dynasty
- 1793 : Johann Gottfried Reyger , last mayor of the Free City Republic of Danzig
- 1795 : Christlieb Ehregott Gellert , German metallurgist and mineralogist
- 1795 : Robert Rogers , British-American officer
- 1799 : Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais , French writer
- 1800 : Alexander Wassiljewitsch Suvorov , Russian generalissimo
19th century
- 1809 : Leopold von Auenbrugger , Austrian physician and librettist
- 1826 : Karl Christian Gottlob Sturm , German agricultural economist
- 1832 : Bonifazio Asioli , Italian music theorist, music teacher, harpsichordist, conductor and composer
- 1837 : Hans Christian Lyngbye , Danish pastor, botanist and editor of the first book in Faroese
- 1839 : Caroline Bonaparte , sister of Napoleon Bonaparte and wife of Joachim Murat
- 1843 : Friedrich Christoph Perthes , German bookseller and publisher
- 1849 : Samuel Amsler , Swiss engraver
- 1853 : Marco Berra , Italian music publisher in Prague
- 1853 : Lionel Kieseritzky , French-Polish chess master
- 1854 : Henry Lemoine , French music publisher and music teacher
- 1856 : Georg Simon von Sina , Austrian banker and entrepreneur
- 1861 : August von Ammon , German ophthalmologist
- 1871 : Eduard Friedrich Weber , German physiologist and doctor
- 1874 : Wilhelm Legrand , Swiss Protestant clergyman
- 1875 : Benedikt von Arx , Swiss politician, notary and judge
- 1884 : Heinrich Göppert , German botanist, paleontologist and professor
- 1892 : John Alexander Anderson , American politician
- 1892 : Marcos Segundo Maturana , Chilean general
- 1895 : Jacob Cramer , Dutch Reformed theologian and church historian
- 1896 : Daniel Pollen , New Zealand Prime Minister
- 1897 : William Evans Arthur , American politician
- 1899 : John F. Potter , American lawyer, judge, and politician
20th century
1901-1950
- 1905 : Henrik Jørgen Huitfeldt-Kaas , Norwegian archivist, heraldist and genealogist
- 1906 : Gaston Frommel , Franco-Swiss Protestant clergyman and university professor
- 1909 : George Meredith , British novelist and poet
- 1909 : Isaac Albéniz , Spanish pianist and composer
- 1910 : Franz Skarbina , German impressionist painter, draftsman, etcher and illustrator
- 1910 : Pauline Viardot-García , French opera singer and pianist
- 1911 : Gustav Mahler , Austrian conductor and composer
- 1912 : Ferdinand von Herff , German-American doctor and surgeon
- 1912 : Marie von Schleinitz , German nobleman and Berlin salonière
- 1912 : Eduard Strasburger , Polish-German botanist
- 1915 : William Throsby Bridges , Australian artillery officer
- 1915 : Wendelin Foerster , Austrian-Czech Romanist
- 1916 : Nicolaas Prins , Dutch old Catholic bishop
- 1918 : Louis Leitz , German industrialist and inventor
- 1921 : Franklin Knight Lane , American politician
- 1922 : Alphonse Laveran , French physician, Nobel Prize winner
- 1925 : August Frickenhaus , German archaeologist
- 1928 : Moritz von Auffenberg , Austro-Hungarian Army and Minister of War
- 1928 : William Dudley Haywood , American trade unionist
- 1931 : Remmer Janssen , German pastor and revival preacher
- 1933 : Otto Merz , German automobile racing driver
- 1941 : Werner Sombart , German sociologist and economist
- 1949 : James Truslow Adams , American historian and writer
1951-2000
- 1951 : Gaspar Agüero y Barreras , Cuban composer and pianist
- 1952 : Rosetter Gleason Cole , American composer
- 1953 : Rudolf Nadolny , German diplomat
- 1955 : Mary McLeod Bethune , American women's and human rights activist
- 1959 : Enrique Guaita , Argentine-Italian soccer player
- 1965 : Eli Cohen , Israeli spy
- 1965 : Willy Westra van Holthe , Dutch football player
- 1966 : Paul Althaus , Protestant theologian
- 1969 : Ludwig Berger , German film director
- 1969 : Prentice Cooper , American politician, governor of Tennessee
- 1971 : Rudi Agte , German soccer player, coach and official
- 1972 : Sidney Franklin , American film director
- 1973 : İbrahim Kaypakkaya , Turkish revolutionary, founder of the TKP / ML party
- 1974 : Adolf Ahrens , German entrepreneur and politician
- 1975 : Leroy Anderson , American composer
- 1975 : Günther Hermann Richard Arndt , German politician
- 1975 : Christian Lahusen , German composer
- 1975 : Aníbal Troilo , Argentine musician and arranger, band leader and composer
- 1976 : Hans Androschin , Austrian cameraman
- 1976 : Lala Aufsberg , German art photographer
- 1978 : Stewart Adams , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 : Karl E. Schedl , Austrian zoologist and forest scientist
- 1980 : Ian Curtis , British singer, guitarist and songwriter
- 1980 : Harry R. Truman , American innkeeper
- 1981 : William Saroyan , American writer
- 1983 : Frank Aiken , Irish politician
- 1983 : Alfred Nau , German politician
- 1984 : Nasuh Akar , Turkish wrestler
- 1985 : Harald Andersson , Swedish athlete
- 1985 : Hermann Schridde , German show jumper
- 1986 : Peter Wehle , Austrian composer, author and cabaret artist
- 1987 : Heðin Brú , Faroese writer
- 1988 : Daniel Lewis James , American writer
- 1989 : Hermann Höcherl , German Federal Minister, Member of the Bundestag
- 1990 : Jill Ireland , British actress
- 1991 : Gerd Achgelis , German aerobatic pilot
- 1991 : Rudolf Nierlich , Austrian ski racer
- 1992 : Marshall Thompson , American actor
- 1993 : Heinrich Albertz , German politician and theologian
- 1995 : Francis Judd Cooke , American composer, organist, pianist, cellist, conductor and music teacher
- 1995 : Alexander Borissowitsch Godunow , Russian ballet dancer
- 1995 : Gustav Lübbe , German publisher (Bastei Lübbe Verlag)
- 1995 : Sabine Sinjen , German actress
- 1996 : Roel D'Haese , Belgian sculptor and graphic artist
- 1997 : Bridgette Andersen , American film actress and model
- 1999 : Betty Robinson , American sprinter, Olympic champion
21st century
- 2002 : Wolfgang Schneiderhan , Austrian violinist
- 2004 : Arnold Orville Beckman , American chemist
- 2004 : Francesco Caroli , Italian artist and clown
- 2004 : Elvin Jones , American musician
- 2004 : Heinz Maria Oeftering , German Manager, President of the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Federal Audit Office
- 2007 : Pierre-Gilles de Gennes , French physicist, Nobel Prize winner
- 2008 : Jonathan James , American hacker
- 2008 : Joseph Pevney , American film director and actor, film producer and screenwriter
- 2009 : Adolf Beck , German politician
- 2009 : Dolla , American rapper
- 2009 : Paul Parin , Swiss ethno-psychoanalyst and writer
- 2010 : Fedja Anzelewski , German art scholar
- 2010 : Shūsaku Arakawa , Japanese painter, graphic artist and architect
- 2010 : Edoardo Sanguineti , Italian writer
- 2012 : Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , German singer
- 2013 : Ernst Klee , German journalist and writer
- 2013 : Lothar Schmid , German publisher and chess player
- 2013 : Alexei Oktjabrinowitsch Balabanow , Russian film director
- 2014 : Hans-Peter Dürr , German physicist and essayist
- 2014 : Gordon Willis , American cinematographer
- 2015 : Gabriele Auenmüller , German opera singer and prompter
- 2016 : Christian Diener , German graphic designer and art director
- 2016 : Fritz Stern , American historian of German origin
- 2017 : Chris Cornell , American singer ( Soundgarden )
- 2017 : Jacque Fresco , American author, self-taught social architect, industrial designer and inventor
- 2018 : Heinz Althöfer , German restorer and art historian
- 2018 : Detlef Kobjela , Sorbian composer
- 2019 : Manfred Burgsmüller , German soccer and American football player
- 2019 : Tetsu Saitō , Japanese double bass player
- 2021 : Charles Grodin , American actor and comedian
Holidays and memorial days
- Church memorial days
- Christian Heinrich Zeller , German educator (Protestant)
- Erik IX. , King and martyr (Roman Catholic, Protestant: ELCA )
The list of days of remembrance and action contains further entries .
Commons : May 18th - Collection of images, videos and audio files