May 21
The May 21 is the 141st day of the Gregorian calendar (the 142nd in leap years ), thus remain still 224 days until the end.
Historic anniversaries April · May · June |
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Events
Politics and world events
- 878 : The city of Syracuse in Sicily is conquered by the Saracens and subsequently becomes a center of Islam in Italy for decades .
- 996 : The 16-year-old Otto III. is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on his Italian march in Rome by Gregory V, who was only appointed Pope on May 3rd .
- 1097 : The army of the First Crusade under Bohemond of Taranto and Godfrey of Bouillon put the Rum-Seljuk relief army of Kılıç Arslan to flight during the siege of Nicaea . Both sides suffer heavy losses in the battle.
- 1358 : In Compiègne , the peasant uprising, called Jacquerie , begins in north-eastern France and lasts until June 10th. The cause is the compulsory labor required and the lack of protection on the part of the nobility from English troops in the Hundred Years' War .
- 1363 : Elisabeth of Pomerania marries Emperor Charles IV in Cracow . She is crowned Queen of Bohemia the following month . The Polish-Bohemian contrast is defused with the marriage.
- 1420 : In the Treaty of Troyes , France's King Charles VI. after his death, a claim to the throne of the English king Heinrich V , which he underpins by marrying Karl's daughter Katharina von Valois . Katharina's brother, the Dauphin Karl , is contractually excluded from the line of succession. He later forms a counter-government in Bourges .
- 1471 : The deposed King Henry VI is in the Tower of London . , the last of the House of Lancaster , killed on the orders of the new King Edward IV .
- 1502 : The Portuguese navigator João da Nova discovers the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic .
- 1542 : The Spanish conqueror Hernando de Soto dies on the banks of the Mississippi . The expedition he led through the south-east of what is now the USA is then canceled, and the remaining members return to Mexico on Spanish territory.
- 1559 : The first car dairy there takes place in Valladolid with 200,000 spectators, including the regent Joan of Spain and Infante Don Carlos . 14 Evangelical Christians, including Antonio Herrezuelo , are burned, and 16 others, including Leonor de Cisnere , are fined.
- 1626 : The religiously motivated Upper Austrian Peasants' War against the Bavarian occupation breaks out. In Peuerbach peasants defeat soldiers of the hated governor Adam von Herberstorff , who let 36 men roll for their lives in the " Frankenburger dice game " on May 15th of the previous year .
- 1674 : The previous Grand Hetman of the Crown, Jan Sobieski , is elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania as the successor to Michael Wiśniowiecki, who died the previous year, after his military successes against the Turks . In his government he is pursuing the goal of consolidating the power of Poland-Lithuania in the Baltic States .
- 1725 : After the death of her husband, Tsar Peter the Great, the Russian Tsarina Catherine I founds the Alexander Nevsky Order .
- 1726 : The murder of the Protestant preacher Hermann Joachim Hahn by the Catholic Franz Laubler in the Saxon residence city of Dresden leads in the next few days to a civil uprising directed against the Catholics of the city.
- 1809 : The two-day battle near Aspern begins, in which Napoleon Bonaparte suffers his first defeat as a general against the Austrian army under Archduke Karl in the fifth coalition war .
- 1813 : The Battle of Bautzen , which began the day before in the course of the wars of liberation between the coalition and the French , ends with the victory of Napoleonic troops over Russians and Prussians under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and Ludwig Adolf Peter zu Sayn-Wittgenstein .
- 1840 : The future governor William Hobson declares New Zealand to be sovereign under the British Crown following the previous Treaty of Waitangi .
- 1856 : Bushwhackers under Sheriff Jones invade Kansas Territory to destroy the presses of the anti-slavery Herald of Freedom and Kansas Free State newspapers . The Free State Hotel , owned by the anti-slavery New England Emigrant Aid Company , also fell victim to the Sack of Lawrence . It is one of many incidents that occurred during the Kansas Bleeding Period .
- 1864 : The end of the Caucasus War begins with the Russian annexation of the North Caucasus and the deportation of the Circassian people. Sochi becomes a symbol of the Russian triumph.
- 1871 : Government troops penetrate downtown Paris and break the rule of the Paris Commune in the “blood week” that follows . Around 30,000 people were killed and around 40,000 imprisoned in the fighting and the mass executions that followed.
- 1879 : The naval battles at Iquique and Punta Gruesa end with a victory for the Peruvian fleet under Miguel Grau Seminario over Chile under Arturo Prat, who is killed in battle. With this, Peru can end the siege of Iquique by Chile. But after the battle with the Huáscar , Peru remains only a larger warship, which ultimately leads to Chile's victory in the saltpeter war .
- 1881 : Nurse and teacher Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. and becomes its first president.
- 1906 : In Helsinki, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland , after ten years of preparation, the Swedish People's Party is founded under the leadership of Axel Lille to represent the interests of the Finland-Swedes .
- 1906 : The German Reichstag changes Article 32 of the Reich Constitution and thus lifts the ban on MP diets.
- 1917 : The Battle of Messines begins near Mesen in West Flanders , a 17-day British bombardment of the German positions with a subsequent large-scale attack shortly before the Third Battle of Flanders in the First World War .
- 1932 : With Alfred Freyberg in the Free State of Anhalt , an NSDAP politician is elected Prime Minister of a country of the German Empire for the first time.
- 1935 : The " Heidelberger Spargelessen ", a series of public statements directed against Adolf Hitler by Heidelberg Corps students , begins.
- 1939 : For the first time, the National Socialists bestow the Mother Cross, which has little advantages . They hope that this Order of Merit will make women more willing to give birth . The first recipient of the Mother's Cross is 61-year-old Louise Weidenfeller.
- 1951 : With the coal and steel co-determination law , the co-determination of employees in the supervisory boards and executive boards of companies in the mining and iron and steel industries in the Federal Republic of Germany is legally stipulated.
- 1970 : The German Chancellor Willy Brandt meets with the Deputy Chairman of the State Council of the GDR , Willi Stoph, in Kassel as part of his new Ostpolitik .
- 1975 : The so-called Stammheim trial against the Red Army faction begins in the courthouse of the Stuttgart penal institution . Andreas Baader , Ulrike Meinhof , Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe are charged with multiple murders and attempted murder .
- 1981 : After his election victory on May 10, François Mitterrand succeeds Valéry Giscard d'Estaing as French President . He is the first socialist president of France in the history of the Fifth Republic .
- 1991 : As rebel troops of the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples are only a few kilometers from the capital Addis Ababa , the Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam flees to Zimbabwe . His successor for a short time will be the previous Vice President Tesfaye Gebre Kidan .
- 1991 : Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is killed in a bomb attack near Madras. The suicide bomber is attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam .
- 1991 : The former head of government of the GDR , Willi Stoph , and the former defense minister Heinz Keßler are arrested at the GDR border because of the shooting orders .
- 1997 : Eleven years after its capital city resolution, the Lower Austrian state parliament moves from Vienna to the newly created government district in St. Pölten .
- 1998 : Indonesian President Suharto resigns after a bloody wave of protests . His successor is Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie , whom he has chosen .
- 2006 : In a referendum, the people of Montenegro narrowly decide in favor of independence from Serbia and Montenegro , which is renamed Serbia on June 5th .
economy
- 1797 : In France all circulating assignats , the paper money used during the French Revolution , are declared invalid.
- 1894 : Queen Victoria officially opened the Manchester Ship Canal , which at that time the 64 kilometers from the sea town in Manchester makes the third largest port in the British Isles.
- 1952 : Queen Juliana hands over the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to its destination in the Netherlands .
science and technology
- 1388 : The Universitas Studii Coloniensis , the old University of Cologne, is founded as one of the oldest universities in the German-speaking area . The initiative for the fourth university in the Holy Roman Empire does not come from the emperor or a prince, as is usual, but from the council of the Free Imperial City of Cologne , which also bears the costs for teaching.
- 1871 : The Rigibahn in Switzerland, built by engineers Niklaus Riggenbach , Ferdinand Adolf Naeff and Olivier Zschokke , the first cogwheel railway in Europe up a mountain, is opened.
- 1927 : After a 33.5 hour solo flight across the Atlantic , Charles Lindbergh lands with his Spirit of St. Louis at Le Bourget Airport in France.
- 1932 : Amelia Earhart has to make an emergency landing on Gallagher's pasture near Londonderry in Northern Ireland after a woman's first solo flight across the Atlantic . She is also the first person to have flown twice over the Atlantic.
- 1946 : In an incident during an experiment with the plutonium core Demon Core in the Los Alamos National Laboratory , the Canadian physicist Louis Slotin is so badly irradiated that he dies of radiation sickness on May 30th .
- 1952 : The first commercial tape drive is introduced with the IBM 726 .
- 1992 : Berlin and Brandenburg sign a state treaty to re-establish the Prussian Academy of Sciences as the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences .
- 2007 : The as museum ship serving Cutty Sark is an allegedly triggered by a vacuum cleaner fire almost completely destroyed. The clipper , lying in a dry dock in Greenwich , is one of the last remaining sailing ships from the 19th century .
Culture
- 1739 : The ballet opera Les Fêtes d'Hébé ou Les Talents lyriques by Jean-Philippe Rameau has its world premiere at the Grand Opéra Paris .
- 1804 : The newly created outside Paris cemetery Père Lachaise is occupied. A girl who died at the age of five is the first to be buried.
- 1865 : The first performance of the lyrical drama The Cid by Peter Cornelius takes place at the Weimar Court Theater .
- 1925 : The premiere of the opera Doktor Faust by Ferruccio Busoni with Robert Burg as Faust and Meta Seinemeyer as Duchess takes place at the Saxon State Theater in Dresden under the direction of Fritz Busch .
- 1938 : Fear and Misery of the Third Reich , a play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht , which the German playwright wrote while in exile in Denmark, premiered in several scenes in Paris.
- 1951 : The 9th Street Art Exhibition , which runs until June 10, begins in a demolished commercial building on 9th Street in New York City . The exhibition shows the new American art of the 20th century, brings together numerous well-known artists and marked the start of the New York avant-garde of the post-war period, which later became known as the New York School .
- 1972 : A confused man damages Michelangelo's Pietà in an act of vandalism in St. Peter's Basilica . The perpetrator hits the sculpture with a hammer .
- 1979 : Elton John is the first western pop star to give a concert in the Soviet Union in Leningrad . In total, he has eight appearances in Leningrad and Moscow until May 28th.
- 2005 : The Launched Coaster Kingda Ka opens in the US Amusement Park Six Flags Great Adventure in the state of New Jersey . It replaces the Top Thrill Dragster as the record holder in the fastest and highest roller coaster in the world.
society
- 1924 : In an attempt to commit the perfect crime, two University of Chicago students , Nathan Leopold Junior and Richard Loeb , lure 14-year-old Bobby Franks into their car and murder him. To fake kidnapping, they then send a ransom note to the victim's family.
- 1936 : Abe Sada is arrested by police in Tokyo . In her handbag are the severed genitals of her lover, whom she strangled three days earlier during an erotic game . The case attracts national attention.
religion
- 1536 : Reformation theologians arrive in Wittenberg for a dispute about questions of interpretation regarding the Lord's Supper . In the days that followed, they came to an agreement in the Wittenberg Agreement .
- 1863 : Groups of former followers of Preacher William Miller form the Seventh-day Adventist Fellowship in Battle Creek , Michigan . The members of the Free Church , referring to the Bible, assume that Jesus Christ will soon return to earth. According to Miller, it was expected in 1844, but it did not materialize, prompting intensive group Bible study.
Disasters
- 1792 : An outbreak of the stratovolcano ounce on the Shimabara Peninsula in Japan triggers a landslide into the ocean. A tsunami ensues that completely destroys the city of Shimabara and kills around 15,000 people.
- 1917 : A major fire breaks out in Atlanta , destroying buildings in 1938 and leaving around 10,000 people homeless. However, there is only one fatality to be mourned.
- 1996 : On the voyage from Bukoba to Mwanza on Lake Victoria in East Africa, the Bukoba line ferry capsizes and sinks, killing between 500 and 1000 people.
- 2003 : A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Algeria, killing 2,266 people. The subsequent tsunami reached the Balearic Islands , but only caused property damage there.
Minor accidents are listed in the sub-articles of Catastrophe .
Sports
- 1904 : In the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques in Paris, the world football association FIFA is founded by seven European football associations on the initiative of Robert Guérin and Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschmann .
- 1911 : The stadium on Grünwalder Strasse in Munich is opened as part of an athletics battle between Munich and Berlin .
- 1967 : In the US, from surfing the windsurfing developed. The American Jim Drake starts his windsurfer Old Yeller consisting of a surfboard and a sail for the first time in Jamaica Bay in New York .
- 1997 : FC Schalke 04 wins the UEFA Cup against Inter Milan in the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. The first leg two weeks earlier in Gelsenkirchen's Park Stadium, Schalke won 1-0. After regular playing time and extra time in the second leg, it was 1-0 for Inter Milan. The Schalke team won 4-1 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.
- 2006 : By winning the 2006 ice hockey world championship in the final against the Czech Republic in Riga, Latvia, the Swedish Tre Kronor team becomes the first national ice hockey team to win the world championship and the Olympic Games in the same year.
Entries of track and field world records can be found under the respective discipline under track and field .
Born
Before the 18th century
- 1382 : Edward Hastings , English knight
- 1422 : Heinrich von Sachsen , prince from the Wettin dynasty
- 1454 : Hermolaus Barbarus , Italian scholastic, poet and humanist
- 1471 : Albrecht Dürer , German painter, draftsman, graphic artist and art writer
- 1476 : Karl von Baden , canon in Strasbourg and Trier
- 1527 : Philip II , King of Spain and Portugal
- 1537 : Jacob Spengler , Mayor of St. Gallen
- 1542 : Johann Wilhelm Stucki , Swiss theologian, philologist and historian
- 1653 : Eleanor of Austria , Queen of Poland and Duchess of Lorraine
- 1688 : Alexander Pope , English writer
18th century
- 1706 : Carl Friedrich Kaltschmied , German medic
- 1708 : Manuel de Guirior , Spanish officer, colonial administrator and viceroy of New Granada and Peru
- 1713 : Andreas Faulhaber , German chaplain and martyr of the County of Glatz
- 1731 : Johann Ernst Heinsius , German painter
- 1732 : Friedrich von Anhalt , Count of Anhalt
- 1736 : Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , British nobleman
- 1736 : Izabela Lubomirska , Polish princess, builder and patron as well as book and art collector
- 1744 : Viktor Amadeus , Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym and Russian general
- 1745 : Johann Conrad Sulzer , Swiss Protestant clergyman
- 1746 : Mary Boyle, Countess of Cork and Orrery , British-Irish Salonnière and Bluestock
- 1759 : Joseph Fouché , French Minister of Police under Napoléon Bonaparte
- 1775 : Lucien Bonaparte , third born of the Bonaparte brothers
- 1776 : Pierre Arnollet , French engineer
- 1778 : Ernst-Wilhelm Arnoldi , German businessman
- 1780 : Elizabeth Fry , British prison reformer
- 1785 : Immanuel Bekker , German classical philologist
- 1786 : Karl Friedrich von Klöden , German historian and geographer
- 1788 : Katharina Pawlowna , Queen of Württemberg
- 1790 : Henri-Louis Empeytaz , Swiss Protestant clergyman
- 1792 : Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis , French mathematician and physicist
- 1793 : Paul de Kock , French writer
- 1799 : Mary Anning , British paleontologist
- 1800 : Anton Nikolaus Martens , provost in Dithmarschen
19th century
1801-1850
- 1801 : Ferdinand Lindheimer , German-American botanist, journalist and publisher
- 1817 : Hermann Lotze , German philosopher
- 1817 : Niklaus Riggenbach , Alsatian engineer and inventor of the rack railway
- 1820 : Nikolai Karlowitsch de Giers , Russian diplomat and foreign minister
- 1826 : Gabriel Hubert Iser , German Imperial Judge
- 1828 : Rudolf Koller , Swiss painter
- 1832 : Hermann Auleb , German lawyer, author and politician
- 1832 : Hudson Taylor , first Christian missionary to venture into the interior of China
- 1834 : August Carl Lange , German architect
- 1843 : Albert Gobat , Swiss lawyer and politician, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1843 : Louis Renault , French lawyer, participant in the Hague Peace Conferences , Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1844 : Henri Rousseau , French painter
1851-1900
- 1851 : Léon Bourgeois , French diplomat, first President of the League of Nations, Nobel Prize winner
- 1853 : Edward Gawler Prior , Canadian politician
- 1855 : Ephraim Adler , German medic
- 1855 : Émile Verhaeren , Belgian poet
- 1856 : José Batlle y Ordóñez , Uruguayan journalist and politician, President
- 1857 : Francisco Aguilar Barquero , President of Costa Rica
- 1859 : Otto Hupp , German graphic artist
- 1860 : Willem Einthoven , Dutch doctor, discoverer of the EKG, Nobel Prize winner
- 1861 : Karl Anrather , Tyrolean painter
- 1864 : David Davies , Australian painter
- 1865 : Meinrad Lienert , Swiss dialect and native poet
- 1868 : Richard Kabisch , Protestant theologian, educator and writer
- 1872 : Henri Jeannin , Franco-German racing driver and entrepreneur
- 1873 : Hans Berger , German neurologist and psychiatrist, inventor of the EEG
- 1873 : Emil Ermatinger , Swiss Germanist
- 1874 : Julius Nuninger , German gymnast
- 1874 : Thomas Swindlehurst , British tug of war
- 1876 : Hermann Wopfner , Austrian historian and folklorist
- 1879 : Karl Felix Wolff , South Tyrolean writer
- 1880 : Tudor Arghezi , Romanian poet
- 1880 : Rudolf von Gutmann , Austrian-Canadian entrepreneur, banker and art collector
- 1881 : Iosif Iser , Romanian painter
- 1882 : Carl Weidemeyer , German artist and architect
- 1884 : Friedrich Oertel , German ancient historian
- 1885 : Otto Antonius , Austrian zoologist and paleontologist
- 1885 : Kurt Beitzen , German naval officer
- 1887 : Walter Aitkenhead , Scottish football player
- 1887 : Olga Oelkers , German fencer
- 1888 : May Aufderheide , American ragtime composer
- 1888 : Evasio Lampiano , Italian racing car driver
- 1888 : Agnes Pechuel-Lösche , German painter and craftswoman
- 1889 : Gérard de Courcelles , French racing car driver
- 1892 : Peter Eng , Austrian caricaturist and animator
- 1895 : Lázaro Cárdenas del Río , President of Mexico
- 1897 : Conrad Felixmüller , German painter
- 1897 : Markus Feldmann , Swiss politician, Federal Councilor and Federal President
- 1898 : Karel Hába , Czech composer
- 1898 : Walter Muschg , Swiss literary historian
- 1899 : Constantin Bobescu , Romanian violinist, composer, conductor and music teacher
- 1899 : Eugène-Nestor de Kermadec , French painter
- 1900 : Josef Ausweger , Austrian politician
20th century
1901-1925
- 1901 : Hermann Andersen , German politician
- 1902 : Marcel Breuer , Hungarian-American architect and designer
- 1904 : Wolfgang Auler , German organist
- 1904 : Robert Montgomery , American actor
- 1904 : Fats Waller , American jazz musician
- 1905 : Edward Lockspeiser , British musicologist, music critic and composer
- 1908 : Watkins Moorman Abbitt , American politician, Congressman for Virginia
- 1908 : Heinz Wehner , German jazz musician
- 1911 : Alfons Müller-Wipperfürth , German entrepreneur
- 1911 : Maurice Nadeau , French writer, literary critic, editor and publisher
- 1912 : Carmelo Cappello , Italian sculptor
- 1912 : Pedro Ortiz Dávila , Puerto Rican singer
- 1914 : Gerhard Funke , German philosopher
- 1914 : Olivier Guimond , Canadian actor
- 1914 : Erich Herrmann , German field handball player
- 1914 : John Hubley , American cartoonist
- 1915 : Gerhard Assmann , German trade union official
- 1915 : Wolfgang Keilig , German officer
- 1916 : Erich Dittmann , German painter, graphic artist and draftsman
- 1916 : Harold Robbins , American writer
- 1916 : Martinus Osendarp , Dutch athlete
- 1917 : Raymond Burr , American actor
- 1920 : Kurt Adel , Austrian literary and linguist
- 1920 : John William Barber , American tuba player
- 1921 : Jean Dewasne , French painter, sculptor and author
- 1921 : Richard Rudolf Klein , German composer
- 1921 : Andrei Dmitrijewitsch Sakharov , Russian physicist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1921 : Adriano Soldini , Swiss educator and writer
- 1922 : Odal von Alten-Nordheim , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1922 : Pio Laghi , Italian cardinal
- 1922 : Albrecht Roser , German puppeteer
- 1923 : Armand Borel , American mathematician
- 1923 : Clarence Gaines , American basketball coach
- 1924 : Peggy Cass , American actress
- 1924 : Alois Derfler , President of the Austrian farmers' union
- 1924 : Robert Parris , American composer and music teacher
- 1924 : Doris Schade , German actress
- 1924 : Ludwig von Friedeburg , German sociologist
- 1925 : Stefan Gierowski , Polish painter
1926-1950
- 1927 : Werner Mangold , German sociologist
- 1928 : Miha Baloh , Slovenian actor
- 1928 : Guido Pedroli , Swiss educator and politician
- 1929 : Charles Wadsworth , American pianist, chamber musician and music teacher
- 1930 : Simon Crosse , British rower
- 1930 : Malcolm Fraser , Australian Prime Minister
- 1931 : Lorenz Specht , German motorcycle athlete
- 1932 : Eugene Hartzell , American composer
- 1932 : Josef Wiese , German baker and confectioner, entrepreneur and inventor
- 1932 : Gabriele Wohmann , German writer
- 1933 : Maurice André , French trumpeter and university professor
- 1933 : Fernand Tavano , French racing car driver
- 1935 : Hisako Matsubara , Japanese writer
- 1936 : Günter Blobel , German-American biologist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1937 : Hans Peter Schmitz , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1938 : Urs Widmer , Swiss writer
- 1939 : David Groh , American actor
- 1939 : Heinz Holliger , Swiss oboist, composer and conductor
- 1940 : Tony Sheridan , British musician
- 1940 : Peter Uhlig , German enduro athlete
- 1941 : Erhard Ahmann , German soccer player and coach
- 1941 : Martin Carthy , British folk singer, guitarist and mandolin player
- 1942 : Ferdinand Ahuis , German theologian
- 1942 : Danny Ongais , American racing car driver
- 1943 : Carlo Andreotti , Italian politician, lawyer and journalist
- 1943 : Jürgen Pooch , German actor
- 1944 : Haleh Afshar , Persian-British professor
- 1944 : Harald Schliemann , German lawyer and politician
- 1944 : Mary Robinson , Irish politician, President of the Republic, UN High Commissioner
- 1945 : Richard Hatch , American actor
- 1945 : Ernst Messerschmid , German physicist and astronaut
- 1946 : Erwin Kostedde , German soccer player
- 1947 : Joachim Kirst , German athlete
- 1948 : Leo Sayer , British singer and songwriter
- 1949 : Stefano Anzi , Italian entrepreneur and ski racer
- 1949 : Arno Hintjens , Belgian singer and musician
1951-1975
- 1951 : Al Franken , American author, comedian, and radio host
- 1951 : Andreas Burckhardt , Swiss politician
- 1952 : Mr. T , American actor
- 1953 : M. Keith Booker , American English scholar, literary scholar and non-fiction author
- 1953 : Albrecht Broemme , President of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief
- 1953 : Ralph Lewin , Swiss politician and economist
- 1955 : Udo Kießling , German ice hockey player
- 1955 : Claudio Lardi , Swiss politician
- 1955 : Milly Quezada , Dominican merengue singer
- 1956 : Wolfgang Puschnig , Austrian jazz musician
- 1956 : Niklaus Starck , Swiss author
- 1958 : Christian Audigier , French fashion designer and entrepreneur
- 1959 : Andreas Trautmann , German soccer player
- 1959 : Nick Cassavetes , American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1960 : Jeffrey Dahmer , American serial killer ("Cannibal of Milwaukee")
- 1960 : Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov , Russian swimmer, Olympic champion
- 1962 : Uwe Rahn , German soccer player
- 1963 : Gilles Apap , French violinist
- 1963 : Anne Koark , British writer and entrepreneur
- 1963 : Kevin Shields , American singer, guitarist and record producer
- 1963 : David Stern , American conductor
- 1964 : Rui Maria de Araújo , East Timorese politician
- 1964 : Elanga Buala , Papua New Guinea athlete
- 1965 : Eva-Maria Admiral , Austrian actress
- 1966 : Tazzjana Ljadouskaja , Belarusian hurdler, Olympic champion
- 1966 : Andrzej Lesiak , Polish football player and coach
- 1967 : Andrei Michailowitsch Antropow , Russian badminton player
- 1967 : Dirk Audehm , German actor, theater director and singer
- 1967 : Lisa Edelstein , American actress
- 1967 : Chris Benoit , Canadian wrestler
- 1969 : Federico Villagra , Argentine rally driver
- 1970 : Brigita Bukovec , Slovenian athlete
- 1971 : Tatjana Gsell , German reality TV participant
- 1972 : Christoph Hartmann , German politician
- 1972 : Brett Tucker , Australian actor and singer
- 1972 : The Notorious BIG , American rap musician
- 1973 : Niels Ruf , German television presenter, author and actor
- 1974 : Claudia Müller , German soccer player
- 1974 : Julia Thurnau , German actress
1976-2000
- 1976 : Julia Abe , German tennis player
- 1976 : Carlo Ljubek , German actor
- 1977 : Kerstin Landsmann , German actress
- 1977 : Bodo Wartke , German cabaret artist and pianist
- 1978 : Briana Banks , American porn actress
- 1978 : Katharina Wagner , German opera director and festival director
- 1979 : Mauricio Ardila , Colombian cyclist
- 1979 : Marion Reiff , Austrian water diver
- 1980 : Kweku Adoboli , Ghanaian investment banker and fraudster
- 1980 : Lasse Kopitz , German ice hockey player
- 1980 : Chris Raab , American actor
- 1981 : Craig Anderson , American ice hockey player
- 1981 : David Appel , Czech ice hockey player
- 1981 : Belladonna , American porn actress
- 1981 : Edson Buddle , American football player
- 1981 : Anna Rogowska , Polish athlete
- 1981 : Max Mutzke , German singer and drummer
- 1983 : Giuseppe Aquaro , Italian football player
- 1983 : Kim-Sarah Brandts , German actress
- 1984 : Julius Jellinek , German voice actor and actor
- 1984 : Ivo Minář , Czech tennis player
- 1984 : Benjamin Schulz , German sports bowler
- 1985 : Mutya Buena , British singer
- 1985 : Mark Cavendish , British cyclist
- 1985 : Sean McIntosh , Canadian racing car driver
- 1986 : Tobias Kamke , German tennis player
- 1986 : Mario Mandžukić , Croatian football player
- 1987 : Maike Jüttendonk , German actress
- 1987 : Pina Kühr , German actress
- 1988 : Muhammed Ali Atam , Turkish soccer player
- 1989 : Ivan Santini , Croatian football player
- 1990 : Tiril Eckhoff , Norwegian biathlete, Olympic champion
- 1990 : Rene Krhin , Slovenian football player
- 1992 : Hutch Dano , American actor
- 1992 : Dylan van Baarle , Dutch cyclist
- 1993 : Ghali Amdouni , Italian rapper of Tunisian descent
- 1994 : Tom Daley , British water diver
- 1997 : Lucas Ribamar , Brazilian soccer player
21st century
- 2001 : Ingeborg Grünwald , Austrian athlete
Died
Before the 17th century
- 252 : Sun Quan , Chinese emperor
- 587 : Yōmei , Emperor of Japan
- 822 : al-Hakam I , Emir of Cordoba
- 987 : Louis the Lazy , King of France
- 991 : Pilgrim , Bishop of Passau
- 995 : Tamba no Yasuyori , Japanese doctor
- 1034 : Ezzo , Count Palatine of Lorraine
- 1075 : Ryksa of Poland , Queen of Hungary
- 1108 : Gerard of Rouen , Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York
- 1254 : Conrad IV , Roman-German king
- 1257 : Roger Weseham , Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
- 1259 : Fulk Basset , Bishop of London
- 1366 : Hemming , Bishop of Turku
- 1381 : Frederick the Strict , son of Frederick the Serious
- 1388 : Kuno II of Falkenstein , Archbishop and Elector of Trier
- 1393 : Robert FitzPayn , English nobleman
- 1416 : Anna von Cilli , Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania
- 1425 : Parisina Malatesta , wife of Margrave Niccolò III. d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio nell'Emilia
- 1458 : Petr Aksamit z Lidéřovic a Kosova , Czech country gentleman and army leader
- 1471 : Henry VI. , King of England
- 1481 : Christian I , King of Denmark
- 1489 : Heinrich V von Rosenberg , Bohemian nobleman
- 1508 : Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney , English nobleman, military man and statesman
- 1512 : Pandolfo Petrucci , ruler of Siena
- 1517 : Bernhart Lachaman the Elder , bell founder from Heilbronn
- 1524 : Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk , English general and courtier
- 1527 : Michael Sattler , personality of the first generation of Anabaptists
- 1542 : Hernando de Soto , Spanish conquistador
- 1543 : Georg Elner , German logician and theologian
- 1554 : Juan de Saavedra , Spanish conquistador
- 1559 : Antonio Herrezuelo , Spanish evangelical martyr
- 1580 : John Thynne , English nobleman and politician
- 1595 : Johann IX. von Haugwitz , Bishop of Meissen
- 1600 : Jacob Horst , German medic
17th and 18th centuries
- 1619 : Girolamo Fabrizio , Italian anatomist and founder of modern embryology
- 1639 : Tommaso Campanella , Italian philosopher, Dominican, poet and politician
- 1647 : Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft , Dutch poet and historian
- 1650 : James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose , Scottish nobleman
- 1666 : Filiberto Lucchese , Italian builder and geodesist
- 1668 : Christoph Delphicus von Dohna , Swedish general and diplomat
- 1668 : Josephus Adjutus , minorite, then Lutheran convert and language teacher
- 1670 : Johan Picardt , German-Dutch pastor, medic and writer
- 1686 : Otto von Guericke , German inventor and politician
- 1701 : Daniel Male , electoral Brandenburg court goldsmith and elder of the guild
- 1703 : Raimund Faltz , Swedish court medalist, wax boss, ivory carver and miniature painter at the Prussian court
- 1704 : Heinrich Elmenhorst , German theologian, hymn poet and librettist
- 1704 : Hermann Werner von Wolff-Metternich zur Gracht , Prince-Bishop of Paderborn
- 1724 : Antonio Salvi , Italian librettist
- 1724 : Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer , British politician
- 1725 : Martin Heinrich Böhme , Prussian court architect in Berlin
- 1725 : Jan van Brouchoven , statesman of the Spanish Netherlands and the Kingdom of Spain
- 1731 : Johann Hübner , German teacher, author of school books and writer
- 1732 : Alvise Mocenigo III. , Doge of Venice
- 1735 : Johann Salomon Brunnquell , German legal scholar
- 1742 : Lars Roberg , Swedish medic
- 1747 : Giovanni Baratta , Italian sculptor
- 1760 : Anna Nitschmann , Moravian song poet, member of the Moravian Brethren
- 1762 : Aleksander Józef Sułkowski , electoral Polish statesman
- 1767 : Anselm Erb , Abbot of the Imperial Abbey of Ottobeuren
- 1767 : Franz Anton Ermeltraut , German painter and court painting inspector at the prince-bishop's court in Würzburg
- 1773 : Heinrich Brockes II , German lawyer and mayor of Lübeck
- 1783 : Claude d'Apchon , French bishop
- 1786 : Carl Wilhelm Scheele , Swedish chemist
- 1787 : Johann Jacob Stahel , German bookseller and printer
19th century
- 1803 : Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Thym , German Reformed theologian and educator
- 1809 : Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg , German officer, Prussian lieutenant general
- 1812 : Joseph Woelfl , Austrian pianist and composer
- 1814 : Ignacio de Asso , Spanish lawyer, diplomat and naturalist
- 1825 : Stepan Ivanovich Dawydow , Russian composer
- 1826 : Georg Friedrich von Reichenbach , German inventor and engineer
- 1829 : Asaf Jah III. , Indian prince
- 1829 : Christoph Gottlieb Bogislav von Barnekow , Prussian forest master and landowner
- 1829 : Peter I , regent of the Principality of Lübeck and the Duchy of Oldenburg and first Grand Duke of Oldenburg
- 1839 : Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths , German teacher and co-founder of gymnastics
- 1843 : Gustav Asverus , German lawyer
- 1848 : Feliks Janiewicz , Polish composer and violinist
- 1850 : Christoph Ammon , German Protestant theologian
- 1854 : Bernhard von Lindenau , German astronomer
- 1860 : Johannes Frederik Fröhlich , Danish composer
- 1861 : Eugen von Mazenod , Catholic saint and founder of the order
- 1865 : Christian Jürgensen Thomsen , Danish archaeologist
- 1868 : Samuel Hebich , German missionary
- 1879 : Arturo Prat , Chilean naval hero, corvette captain and lawyer
- 1883 : Thomas Alexander Scott , American politician
- 1885 : Gawriil Ioakimowitsch Lomakin , Russian composer
- 1887 : Georg Gustav Ludwig August Mylius , German missionary
- 1890 : Eduard von Fransecky , Prussian infantry general
- 1891 : Alphonso Taft , American politician
- 1894 : August Kundt , German physicist
- 1895 : Franz von Suppè , Austrian composer and author
20th century
1901-1950
- 1905 : Émile Jonas , French composer and cantor
- 1911 : Williamina Fleming , American astronomer
- 1919 : Jewgraf Stepanowitsch Fjodorow , Russian crystallographer and mineralogist
- 1920 : Venustiano Carranza , President of Mexico
- 1920 : Hans Paasche , German pacifist
- 1922 : Michael Mayr , Austrian historian and politician
- 1926 : Georgi Catoire , Russian composer
- 1926 : Friedrich Kluge , German linguist
- 1929 : Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery , British statesman
- 1932 : Eduard Endler , German architect
- 1932 : Franz Porten , German opera singer and film director
- 1933 : Guy Bouriat , French racing car driver
- 1935 : Hugo de Vries , Dutch biologist
- 1935 : Jane Addams , feminist and journalist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1941 : George Antonius , Lebanese writer
- 1942 : Arthur Emmerlich , German resistance fighter
- 1942 : Alfred Grünberg , German worker, resistance fighter against National Socialism
- 1943 : Fritz Ausländer , German politician
- 1944 : René Daumal , French writer
- 1944 : Emanuel Larisch , German politician and resistance fighter
- 1944 : Zurab Avalishvili , Georgian historian and politician
- 1945 : Hans Adlhoch , German politician
- 1948 : Artur Dinter , German writer and politician
- 1949 : Klaus Mann , German writer
- 1949 : Antonio Mesa , Dominican singer
- 1950 : Harry L. Davis , American politician
- 1950 : Edgar Herfurth , German newspaper publisher
1951-2000
- 1952 : John Garfield , American actor
- 1953 : Ernst Zermelo , German mathematician
- 1953 : Alfred Benninghoff , German anatomist
- 1956 : Kurt Heinig , German politician and writer, MdR
- 1957 : Johannes Pinsk , German theologian
- 1958 : Erich Langer , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1959 : Ilse Abel , German actress
- 1960 : Adolf Aber , German musicologist and critic
- 1964 : James Franck , German-American physicist
- 1965 : Geoffrey de Havilland , British aviation pioneer and designer
- 1965 : Pierre Goutte , French racing car driver
- 1967 : Robert Grosche , German theologian, cathedral chapter
- 1970 : Gerhard Klein , German film director
- 1971 : Rudolf Henggeler , Swiss Benedictine and historian
- 1972 : Camilio Mayer , German high wire artist
- 1973 : František Bartoš , Czech composer
- 1973 : Carlo Emilio Gadda , Italian writer
- 1973 : Ivan Stepanowitsch Konew , Soviet Marshal
- 1973 : Vaughn Monroe , American singer
- 1976 : Jakob Andreff , Swiss circus clown
- 1978 : Kurt Halbritter , German satirical draftsman and caricaturist
- 1979 : Blue Mitchell , American jazz trumpeter
- 1980 : Ida Kamińska , Polish-Jewish actress
- 1980 : Vivian Langrish , British pianist and music teacher
- 1983 : Franz Adler , American sociologist
- 1983 : Marie Schlei , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1985 : Karl Weber , German lawyer and politician, Member of the Bundestag and Federal Minister
- 1987 : Emmy Damerius-Koenen , German journalist and co-founder of the Democratic Women's Association of Germany (DFD) in the GDR
- 1987 : Ernst Nagelschmitz , German soccer player
- 1988 : Hansi Dujmic , Austrian musician and actor
- 1988 : Sammy Davis sr. , American entertainer
- 1989 : Rolf Apreck , German chamber and opera singer
- 1989 : August Holweg , German local politician, Lord Mayor of Hanover
- 1989 : Tito Colliander , Finnish-Swedish writer
- 1990 : Morris Levy , American record empresario
- 1991 : Rajiv Gandhi , Indian politician
- 1991 : Julián Orbón , Cuban composer
- 1994 : Ralph Miliband , Belgian-British political scientist
- 1995 : Les Aspin , US Secretary of Defense
- 1995 : Annie MG Schmidt , Dutch writer
- 1995 : Nora Minor , Austrian actress
- 1996 : Abu Ubaida al-Banshiri , Egyptian terrorist
- 1996 : Fritz Ligges , German military and show jumping rider and national jumping coach for young people
- 1997 : Jan Paul Nagel , Sorbian composer and Domowina chairman
- 2000 : Barbara Cartland , British writer
- 2000 : Erich Mielke , German politician, Minister for State Security of the GDR
- 2000 : John Gielgud , British actor
21st century
- 2002 : Niki de Saint Phalle , French-Swiss painter and sculptor
- 2003 : Alejandro de Tomaso , Argentine racing driver and president of the sports car manufacturer De Tomaso
- 2006 : Katherine Dunham , American dancer, choreographer and civil rights activist
- 2006 : Billy Walker , American country musician
- 2007 : Clark Adams , American free thinker and atheist
- 2008 : Gilberte Thirion , Belgian racing driver
- 2009 : Robert Müller , German ice hockey player
- 2009 : Jacques Poch , French entrepreneur and racing car driver
- 2010 : Anna-Lena Löfgren , Swedish pop singer
- 2010 : Stan Jones , American football player and coach
- 2012 : Gonzalo Arroyo , Chilean priest and liberation theologian
- 2013 : Christian von Rosenborg , Danish nobleman
- 2013 : Dominique Venner , French historian and writer
- 2014 : Digne Meller Marcovicz , German photographer and photo journalist
- 2014 : Henry Mejía , Honduran soccer player
- 2015 : Juan Molinar Horcasitas , Mexican politician
- 2015 : Twinkle , British singer
- 2016 : Andrea Maria Erba , Italian bishop
- 2016 : Jane Fawcett , British code breaker, opera singer and conservationist
- 2016 : Akhtar Mansur , Afghan Taliban leader
- 2017 : Demetri Betts , American singer, author, model and pastor
- 2017 : Kaoru Yosano , Japanese politician
- 2018 : Max Cohen-Olivar , Moroccan racing car driver
- 2018 : Adam Keel , Swiss painter
- 2019 : Magnus Backes , German art historian and monument conservator
- 2019 : Binyavanga Wainaina , Kenyan writer and journalist
- 2020 : Markus Klaer , German politician
- 2020 : Gerd Strack , German soccer player
- 2020 : Oliver E. Williamson , American economist
Holidays and memorial days
- Church memorial days
- St. Constantine the Great , Roman Emperor (Protestant, Orthodox, Armenian)
- St. Helena , Roman imperial mother (Anglican, Orthodox, Armenian, Protestant: ELCA , LCMS )
- St. Hermann Joseph von Steinfeld , German canon and priest, sexton and patron saint (Catholic)
- Other days of remembrance
- St. Helena Day , national holiday in St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
The list of commemorative and action days contains further entries .
Web links
Commons : May 21st - Collection of images, videos and audio files