[edit]

• 334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
• 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
• 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys the undefended Damietta in Egypt.
• 1176 – The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to murder Saladin near Aleppo.
• 1200 – King John of England and King Philip II of France sign the Treaty of Le Goulet.
• 1246 – Henry Raspe is elected anti-king of the Kingdom of Germany, in opposition to Conrad IV.
• 1254 – Serbian King Stefan Uroš I and the Republic of Venice sign a peace treaty.
• 1370 – Some Jews were executed and others expelled from Brussels, Belgium.
• 1377 – Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
• 1455 – Start of the Wars of the Roses: At the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
• 1629 – Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Danish King Christian IV sign the Treaty of Lübeck to end the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War.
• 1762 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
• 1762 – Trevi Fountain in Rome is officially completed and inaugurated by Pope Clemens XIII.
• 1799 – Napoleon makes a statement in support of re-establishing Jerusalem for the Jews.
• 1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially began as the Corps of Discovery departed from St. Charles, Missouri.
• 1807 – A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
• 1807 – Most of the English town of Chudleigh is destroyed by fire.
• 1809 – On the second and last day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna, Austria), Napoleon I is repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
• 1812 – Action of 22 May 1812: A small French two-frigate squadron comprising Ariane and Andromaque, returning from a commerce raiding campaign in the Atlantic, meets the 74-gun HMS Northumberland while trying the slip to Lorient through the British blockade.
• 1816 – A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs; the rioting spreads to Ely the next day.
• 1819 – The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrived at Liverpool, England, on June 20.
• 1826 – HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
• 1840 – The transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
• 1848 – Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
• 1849 – Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats over obstacles in a river, making him the only U.S. President to ever hold a patent.
• 1856 – Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
• 1858 – The Granadine Confederation (now Colombia and Panama) replaces the Republic of New Granada.
• 1863 – American Civil War: : Union forces begin the Siege of Port Hudson.
• 1864 – American Civil War: After ten weeks, the Union Army's Red River Campaign ends in failure.
• 1871 – The United States Army closes Fort Kearny soon after the First Transcontinental Railroad is completed.
• 1872 – Reconstruction Era: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
• 1885 – Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc de Triomphe during the night.
• 1888 – Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers.
• 1897 – The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames is officially opened
• 1903 – Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
• 1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
• 1915 – Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain other than Mount St. Helens to erupt in the contiguous US during the 20th century.
• 1915 – Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail disaster near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246; the accident is found to be the result of non-standard operating practices during a shift change at a busy junction.
• 1926 – Chiang Kai-shek replaces communists in Kuomintang, China.
• 1927 – Near Xining, China a 8.3 quake caused 200,000 deaths in one of the world's most destructive earthquakes.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
• 1941 – During the Anglo-Iraqi War, British troops take Fallujah.
• 1942 – Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
• 1942 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
• 1942 – Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
• 1943 – Joseph Stalin disbands the Comintern.
• 1945 – United States Army Major Robert B. Staver recommends that the U.S. evacuate German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.
• 1947 – Cold War: In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, the U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs an act into law that will later be called the Truman Doctrine. The act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece, each battling an internal Communist movement.
• 1958 – 1958 riots in Ceylon: This riot is a watershed event in the race relationship of the various ethnic communities of Sri Lanka. The total number of deaths is estimated to be 300, mostly Sri Lankan Tamils.
• 1960 – An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
• 1961 – An earthquake rocks New South Wales.
• 1962 – Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
• 1963 – Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis is shot and dies five days later.
• 1964 – Lyndon B. Johnson launches the Great Society.
• 1967 – Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.
• 1967 – The L'Innovation department store in the center of Brussels, Belgium, burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, resulting in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.
• 1968 – The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
• 1969 – Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon's surface.
• 1972 – Ceylon adopts a new constitution, thus becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1972 – Over 400 women in Derry attack the offices of Official Sinn Féin in Derry, North Ireland, following the shooting of William Best by the Official Irish Republican Army.
• 1980 – Namco releases the highly influential arcade game Pac-Man.
• 1987 – Hashimpura massacre in Meerut, India.
• 1987 – First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
• 1990 – North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
• 1990 – Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.
• 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.
• 1997 – In Italy the Grand Princess was launched at the Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard. It was the world’s largest passenger cruise ship at 109,000 gross tons and was scheduled for interior completion in the spring of 1998.
• 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: A federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal, involving President Bill Clinton.
• 2002 – African-American Civil Rights Movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.
• 2003 – In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
• 2004 – The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado (part of the May 2004 tornado outbreak sequence) which kills one resident, and becomes the widest tornado on record at 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide; a record that wouldn't be broken until the El Reno tornado on May 31, 2013.
• 2005 – A Presidential election is held in Mongolia; the result is a victory for Nambaryn Enkhbayar of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP).
• 2008 – The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an EF4 and an EF5 tornado, between May 22 and May 31, 2008. The tornadoes strike 19 states and one Canadian province.
• 2009 – The Credit CARD Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Barack Obama.
• 2010 – An Air India Express Boeing 737 goes over a cliff and crashes upon landing at Mangalore, India, killing 158 of the 166 people on board. It is the worst crash involving a Boeing 737.
• 2011 – An EF5 tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 162 people and wreaking $2.8 billion worth in damage—the costliest and seventh-deadliest single tornado in U.S. history.
• 2012 – Tokyo Skytree is opened to public. It is the tallest tower in the world (634 m), and the second tallest man-made structure on Earth, after Burj Khalifa (829.8 m).
• 2014 – General Prayut Chan-o-cha of the Royal Thai Armed Forces announces a military coup d'état, following six months of political turmoil.
• 2014 – An explosion occurs in the city of Ürümqi, the capital of China's far-western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, resulting in at least 43 deaths and 91 injuries.
• 2015 – The Republic of Ireland becomes the first nation in the world to legalize gay marriage in a public referendum.

Births[edit]

• 1408 – Annamacharya, Hindu saint (d. 1503)
• 1539 – Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, English earl, politician and diplomat (d. 1621)
• 1558 – Françoise de Cezelli, French soldier (d. 1615)
• 1581 – Archduchess Gregoria Maximiliana of Austria, Austrian noble from House of Hapsburgs (d. 1597)
• 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French soldier and governor (d. 1698)
• 1650 – Richard Brakenburgh, Dutch Golden Age painter (d. 1702)
• 1694 – Daniel Gran, Austrian painter (d. 1757)
• 1700 – Michel-François Dandré-Bardon, French painter and illustrator (d. 1785)
• 1711 – Guillaume du Tillot, French politician (d. 1774)
• 1715 – François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and diplomat (d. 1794)
• 1724 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1772)
• 1733 – Hubert Robert, French painter and educator (d. 1808)
• 1733 – Alexander Monro, Scottish anatomist, physician, and academic (d. 1817)
• 1737 – Tethart Philipp Christian Haag, German-Dutch painter (d. 1812)
• 1748 – Thomas Roberts, Irish painter (d. 1778)
• 1752 – Louis Legendre, French butcher and politician (d. 1797)
• 1762 – Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, English politician (d. 1834)
• 1770 – Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (d. 1840)
• 1772 – Ram Mohan Roy, Indian philosopher and reformer (d. 1833)
• 1783 – William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor, invented the electromagnet and electric motor (d. 1850)
• 1804 – Jonathan Pereira, English pharmacologist (d. 1853)
• 1808 – Gérard de Nerval, French poet and translator (d. 1855)
• 1811 – Giulia Grisi, Italian-German soprano (d. 1869)
• 1811 – Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle, English politician (d. 1864)
• 1813 – Richard Wagner, German composer (d. 1883)
• 1814 – Amalia Lindegren, Swedish painter (d. 1891)
• 1820 – Alexander Fesca, German pianist and composer (d. 1849)
• 1828 – Albrecht von Graefe, German ophthalmologist and academic (d. 1870)
• 1831 – Henry Vandyke Carter, English anatomist and surgeon (d. 1897)
• 1833 – Félix Bracquemond, French painter and etcher (d. 1914)
• 1834 – Niwa Nagakuni, Japanese daimyo (d. 1904)
• 1837 – Guillaume Fouace, French painter (d. 1895)
• 1841 – Hamilton Macallum, Scottish painter (d. 1896)
• 1841 – Catulle Mendès, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1909)
• 1844 – Mary Cassatt, American painter and educator (d. 1926)
• 1846 – Rita Cetina Gutiérrez, Mexican poet, educator, and activist (d. 1908)
• 1848 – Fritz von Uhde, German painter and educator (d. 1911)
• 1849 – Aston Webb, English architect and academic (d. 1930)
• 1850 – Johann Schrammel, Austrian composer (d. 1893)
• 1850 – Hildegard Thorell, Swedish painter (d. 1930)
• 1852 – Émile Sauret, French violinist and composer (d. 1920)
• 1852 – Augustine Podmore Williams, English sailor (d. 1916)
• 1858 – Belmiro de Almeida, Brazilian painter, illustrator, sculptor (d. 1935)
• 1858 – Marion Spielmann, British Victorian art critic and author (d. 1948)
• 1859 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British short story writer (d. 1930)
• 1859 – Tsubouchi Shōyō, Japanese author, playwright, and educator (d. 1935)
• 1864 – Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (d. 1931)
• 1865 – Enric Morera i Viura, Spanish trumpet player, violinist, composer (d. 1942)
• 1867 – Julio Nakpil, Filipino composer and general (d. 1960)
• 1867 – Augusto Valli, Italian realist painter (d. 1945)
• 1868 – Augusto Pestana, Brazilian engineer and politician (d. 1934)
• 1871 – Harold Nelson, English illustrator and engraver (d. 1948)
• 1874 – Daniel François Malan, South African clergyman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1959)
• 1876 – Julius Klinger, Austrian painter and illustrator (d. 1942)
• 1879 – Warwick Armstrong, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 1947)
• 1879 – Jean Cras, French admiral and composer (d. 1932)
• 1879 – Jack White, Irish trade unionist and army organizer (d. 1946)
• 1880 – Francis de Miomandre, French author and translator (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Georges Chennevière, French poet and playwright (d. 1927)
• 1885 – Giacomo Matteotti, Italian lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
• 1885 – Kansuke Naka, Japanese novelist (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Louis Rivier, Swiss painter and stained glass artist (d. 1963)
• 1885 – Soemu Toyoda, Japanese admiral (d. 1957)
• 1887 – Arthur Cravan, Swiss-born pugilist and poet (d. 1918)
• 1887 – Wilhelm Kaisen, German politician (d. 1979)
• 1891 – Johannes R. Becher, German politician, novelist, and poet (d. 1958)
• 1891 – Eddie Edwards, American baseball player and trombonist (d. 1963)
• 1892 – William Roy Hodgson, Australian soldier, politician, diplomat (d. 1958)
• 1894 – Friedrich Pollock, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1970)
• 1897 – Marcelle Meyer, French pianist (d. 1958)
• 1897 – Robert Neumann, German and English-speaking author (d. 1975)
• 1898 – Rito Selvaggi, Italian pianist, composer, conductor, poet (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Binnie Hale, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1984)
• 1900 – Yvonne de Gaulle, French wife of Charles de Gaulle (d. 1979)
• 1900 – Herbert A. Wagner, Austrian scientist (d. 1982)
• 1901 – Maurice J. Tobin, American politician, 6th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1953)
• 1902 – Al Simmons, American baseball player and coach (d. 1956)
• 1902 – David Tennant, British aristocrat and socialite (d. 1968)
• 1903 – Yves Rocard, French physicist and academic (d. 1992)
• 1903 – P. J. Wolfson, American writer and screenwriter (d. 1979)
• 1904 – Uno Lamm, Swedish electrical engineer and inventor (d. 1989)
• 1904 – Anne de Vries, Dutch teacher and author (d. 1964)
• 1905 – Bodo von Borries, German physicist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (d. 1956)
• 1905 – Tom Driberg, British politician (d. 1976)
• 1907 – Martha Angelici, French opera singer (d. 1973)
• 1907 – Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1983)
• 1907 – Eugène Claudius-Petit, French politician (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, producer (d. 1989)
• 1908 – Frank Baker, English author and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Rattana Pestonji, Thai director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer (d. 1970)
• 1908 – Horton Smith. American golfer and captain (d. 1963)
• 1909 – Bob Dyer, American-Australian radio and television host (d. 1984)
• 1909 – Margaret Mee, English illustrator and educator (d. 1988)
• 1911 – Minoru Kawabata, Japanese-American painter and academic (d. 2001)
• 1911 – Anatol Rapoport, Russian-American psychologist and academic (d. 2007)
• 1912 – Herbert C. Brown, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1913 – Rafael Gil, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
• 1913 – William Hawthorne, English engineer and academic (d. 2011)
• 1913 – Dominique Rolin, Belgian author (d. 2012)
• 1914 – Rudi Bass, Austrian graphic artist (d. 2011)
• 1914 – Max Kohnstamm, Dutch historian and diplomat (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Vance Packard, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, bandleader, poet (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian and author (d. 1994)
• 1916 – William C. Brown, American engineer (d. 1999)
• 1917 – George Aratani, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Jean-Louis Curtis, French author (d. 1995)
• 1917 – Georg Tintner, Austrian-Canadian conductor and composer (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Paul Vanden Boeynants, Belgian businessman and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Thomas Gold, Austrian-American astrophysicist and academic (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Jalil Shahnaz, Iranian tar player and composer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Quinn Martin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1987)
• 1922 – John Rowe Townsend, English author and scholar (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Faye Adams, American rhythm and blues singer
• 1923 – Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (d. 1976)
• 1924 – Charles Aznavour, French-Armenian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1924 – Cuddly Dudley, English rock and roll singer (d. 2011)
• 1925 – Jean Tinguely, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1991)
• 1926 – Ramanlal Joshi, Indian literary critic (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor
• 1927 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (d. 2014)
• 1927 – George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1928 – Jackie Cain, American singer (d. 2014)
• 1928 – Serge Doubrovsky, French theorist and author
• 1928 – John Mackenzie, Scottish director and producer (d. 2011)
• 1928 – T. Boone Pickens, American businessman
• 1930 – Kenny Ball, English trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Marisol Escobar, French-American sculptor
• 1930 – Harvey Milk, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1978)
• 1932 – Robert Spitzer, American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1933 – Fred Anderson, Australian-South African rugby league player (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Chen Jingrun, Chinese mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
• 1933 – Gamaliel Onosode, Nigerian businessman and politician (d. 2015)
• 1934 – Don Cupitt, English priest, philosopher, theologian
• 1934 – Peter Nero, American pianist and conductor
• 1935 – Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italian businessman
• 1935 – Louis Marriott, Jamaican actor, director, screenwriter
• 1935 – Billy Rayner, Australian rugby league player (d. 2006)
• 1935 – Desmond Seward, English historian and author
• 1936 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (d. 2014)
• 1936 – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and author (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Facundo Cabral, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
• 1937 – Guy Marchand, French actor and singer
• 1938 – Richard Benjamin, American actor and director
• 1938 – Dieter Dengler, German-American aviator
• 1938 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1939 – Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1940 – Kieth Merrill, American filmmaker
• 1940 – E. A. S. Prasanna, Indian cricketer
• 1940 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
• 1940 – Bernard Shaw, American journalist
• 1941 – Menzies Campbell, Scottish sprinter and politician
• 1942 – Ted Kaczynski, American academic and mathematician turned anarchist and serial murderer
• 1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
• 1943 – David Bernstein, English businessman
• 1943 – Tommy John, American baseball player and manager
• 1943 – Arlene Phillips, English choreographer, theater director, personality
• 1943 – Gesine Schwan, German political scientist and academic
• 1943 – Betty Williams, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 – Vaiko, Indian politician
• 1944 – Lynn Barber, English journalist
• 1944 – John Flanagan, Australian fantasy author
• 1946 – George Best, Northern Irish footballer and manager (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Michael Green, English physicist and academic
• 1946 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (d. 2015)
• 1947 – Mohamed Hashish, Egyptian-born research scientist
• 1947 – Franz Koglmann, Austrian jazz composer
• 1948 – Tomás Sánchez, Cuban painter and engraver
• 1948 – Nedumudi Venu, Indian actor and screenwriter
• 1949 – Cheryl Campbell, English actress
• 1949 – Valentin Inzko, Austrian diplomat
• 1950 – Alekos Alavanos, Greek lawyer and politician
• 1950 – Irène Frain, French novelist and journalist
• 1950 – Bernie Taupin, English singer-songwriter and poet
• 1950 – Bill Whelan, Irish keyboard player, songwriter, producer
• 1953 – Peter Bazalgette, English television producer
• 1953 – Roger Bellon, French composer
• 1953 – Cha Bum-kun, South Korean footballer and manager
• 1953 – Paul Mariner, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1954 – Shuji Nakamura, Japanese-American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1955 – Chalmers Alford, American guitarist (d. 2008)
• 1955 – Jerry Dammers, Indian-English keyboard player and songwriter
• 1955 – Iva Davies, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (Icehouse)
• 1955 – Dale Winton, English radio and television host
• 1957 – Shinji Morisue, Japanese Olympic gymnast
• 1957 – Lisa Murkowski, American lawyer and politician
• 1957 – Natasha Shneider, Russian musician and actress (d. 2008)
• 1957 – Gary Sweet, Australian actor
• 1957 – Seema, Indian actress
• 1958 – Denise Welch, English actress and dancer
• 1959 – David Blatt, American-Israeli basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Olin Browne, American golfer
• 1959 – Linda Emond, American actress
• 1959 – Morrissey, English singer-songwriter and performer (The Smiths)
• 1959 – Kwak Jae-yong, South Korean director and screenwriter
• 1959 – Mehbooba Mufti, Indian politician
• 1959 – Jon Sopel, English journalist
• 1960 – Hideaki Anno, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Sumaira Abdulali, Indian environmentalist
• 1962 – Andrew Magee, American golfer
• 1962 – Brian Pillman, American football player and wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1962 – Andrew Raftery, American printmaker and engraver
• 1962 – Hannah Mary Rothschild, English director and producer
• 1963 – Andrej Blatnik, Slovene author and academic
• 1964 – Mark Christopher Lawrence, American actor and producer
• 1964 – Nigel Murray, English boccia player
• 1964 – Maya Usova, Russian Olympic figure skater
• 1965 – Jay Carney, American journalist, 29th White House Press Secretary
• 1965 – Fanis Christodoulou, Greek basketball player
• 1966 – Johnny Gill, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor
• 1966 – José Mesa, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1966 – Wang Xiaoshuai, Chinese director and screenwriter
• 1967 – MC Eiht, American recording artist
• 1967 – Brooke Smith, American actress
• 1968 – Randy Brown, American basketball player and manager
• 1968 – Brent Geiberger, American golfer
• 1968 – Ma Jun, Chinese environmentalist and journalist
• 1968 – Graham Linehan, Irish comedian, actor, author
• 1968 – Karen Lord, Barbadian author
• 1968 – Simon Rumley, English director and screenwriter
• 1969 – Michael Kelly, American actor
• 1969 – Cathy McMorris Rodgers, American lawyer and politician
• 1970 – Naomi Campbell, English supermodel and actress
• 1970 – Pedro Diniz, Brazilian race car driver
• 1970 – Nadia Khan, Pakistani actress and producer
• 1971 – Raimund Marasigan, Filipino rock musician
• 1972 – Andrus Aug, Estonian cyclist
• 1972 – Max Brooks, American author and screenwriter
• 1972 – Alison Eastwood, American actress
• 1972 – Jaouad Gharib, Moroccan runner
• 1972 – Joana Preiss, French actress
• 1973 – Madhureeta Anand, Indian director, producer, screenwriter
• 1973 – Donell Jones, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor
• 1973 – Danny Tiatto, Australian footballer
• 1974 – Sean Gunn, American actor and screenwriter
• 1974 – Garba Lawal, Nigerian footballer
• 1974 – Henrietta Ónodi, Hungarian Olympic gymnast
• 1974 – Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukrainian politician
• 1975 – Salva Ballesta, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1975 – Tracy Brookshaw, Canadian-American wrestler and referee
• 1975 – Cole Hauser, American actor
• 1975 – Enrique Palacios, Venezuelan model
• 1976 – Cheyenne Carron, French film director, screenwriter, producer
• 1976 – Daniel Erlandsson, Swedish drummer
• 1976 – Christian Vande Velde, American cyclist
• 1977 – Dré Bly, American football player
• 1977 – Tom Chambers, English actor
• 1977 – Pat Smullen, Irish jockey
• 1978 – Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
• 1978 – Katie Price, English model, businesswoman, and author
• 1978 – J. D. Williams, American actor
• 1979 – Delfine Bafort, Belgian fashion model and actress
• 1979 – Vivian Green, American R&B singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Maggie Q, American actress
• 1980 – Nazanin Boniadi, Iranian-born British American actress
• 1980 – Lucy Gordon, English model and actress (d. 2009)
• 1980 – Tommy Smith, English footballer
• 1980 – Rena Tanaka, Japanese actress and television personality
• 1981 – Daniel Bryan, American wrestler
• 1981 – Eric Butorac, American tennis player
• 1981 – Juan Carlo Calma, Filipino visual artist and architect
• 1981 – Bassel Khartabil, Syrian computer programmer and engineer
• 1981 – Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
• 1981 – Mark O'Meley, Australian rugby league player
• 1981 – Sara Pascoe, British writer and comedian
• 1982 – Erin McNaught, Australian model and actress
• 1982 – Apolo Ohno, American speed skater
• 1982 – Hong Yong-jo, North Korean footballer
• 1982 – Kim Mu-yeol, South Korean actor
• 1983 – Antinoos Albanis, Greek actor
• 1983 – John Hopkins, American motorcycle racer
• 1983 – Natasha Kai, American soccer player and Olympic medalist
• 1984 – Irmena Chichikova, Bulgarian actress
• 1984 – Karoline Herfurth, German actress
• 1984 – Didier Ya Konan, Ivorian footballer
• 1984 – Dustin Moskovitz, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook
• 1984 – Keita Nakamura, Japanese mixed martial artist
• 1985 – Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
• 1985 – Mauro Boselli, Argentinian footballer
• 1985 – Tao Okamoto, Japanese model and actress
• 1985 – Stuart Tomlinson, English footballer and wrestler
• 1986 – Julian Edelman, American football player
• 1986 – Matt Jarvis, English footballer
• 1986 – Thanduyise Khuboni, South African footballer
• 1986 – Tatiana Volosozhar, Russian figure skater
• 1987 – Mikhail Aleshin, Russian racing driver
• 1987 – Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
• 1987 – Vladimir Granat, Russian footballer
• 1987 – Andrew Lauterstein, Australian Olympic swimmer
• 1987 – Arturo Vidal, Chilean footballer
• 1988 – Chase Budinger, American basketball player
• 1988 – Heida Reed, Icelandic actress and model
• 1989 – Trevor Reckling, American baseball player
• 1989 – Aurora Ruffino, Italian actress
• 1990 – Alexandra Dowling, English actress
• 1990 – Wyatt Roy, Australian politician
• 1991 – Kyle Bartley, English footballer
• 1991 – Joel Obi, Nigerian footballer
• 1991 – Suho, South Korean singer
• 1992 – Camille Lou, French singer and actress
• 1992 – Chinami Tokunaga, Japanese singer
• 1994 – Florian Luger, Austrian model
• 1996 – Akhil Rabindra, Indian racing driver
• 1999 – Camren Bicondova, American actress

Deaths[edit]

• 192 – Dong Zhuo, Chinese warlord and politician (b. 138)
• 337 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (b. 272)
• 748 – Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 683)
• 1068 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (b. 1025)
• 1455 – Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1406)
• 1455 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English commander (b. 1393)
• 1457 – Rita of Cascia, Italian nun and saint (b. 1381)
• 1490 – Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent, English administrator, nobleman and magnate (b. 1416)
• 1538 – John Forest, English friar and martyr (b. 1471)
• 1540 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian and politician (b. 1483)
• 1553 – Giovanni Bernardi, Italian sculptor and engraver (b. 1495)
• 1602 – Renata of Lorraine (b. 1544)
• 1609 – Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff, Dutch captain (b. 1573)
• 1666 – Gaspar Schott, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1608)
• 1667 – Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
• 1745 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general (b. 1671)
• 1760 – Baal Shem Tov, Polish rabbi and author (b. 1700)
• 1772 – Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian and academic (b. 1687)
• 1795 – Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg, Prussian politician, Foreign Minister of Prussia (b. 1725)
• 1802 – Martha Washington, American wife of George Washington, 1st First Lady of the United States (b. 1731)
• 1851 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist and diplomat (b. 1755)
• 1859 – Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (b. 1810)
• 1861 – Thornsbury Bailey Brown, American soldier (b. 1829)
• 1868 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
• 1885 – Victor Hugo, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1802)
• 1901 – Gaetano Bresci, Italian-American anarchist, assassin of Umberto I of Italy (b. 1869)
• 1910 – Jules Renard, French author and playwright (b. 1864)
• 1932 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Irish playwright, co-founded the Abbey Theatre (b. 1852)
• 1933 – Tsengeltiin Jigjidjav, Mongolian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1894)
• 1938 – William Glackens, American painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
• 1939 – Ernst Toller, German playwright and author (b. 1893)
• 1939 – Jiří Mahen, Czech author and playwright (b. 1882)
• 1947 – Edwin Hedley, American rower (b. 1864)
• 1953 – Bob Wilder, American racing driver (b. 1921)
• 1954 – Chief Bender, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1884)
• 1965 – Christopher Stone, English radio host (b. 1882)
• 1966 – Tom Goddard, English cricketer (b. 1900)
• 1967 – Langston Hughes, American poet, novelist, playwright (b. 1902)
• 1972 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish-English poet and author (b. 1904)
• 1972 – Margaret Rutherford, English actress (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (b. 1900)
• 1975 – Torben Meyer, Danish actor (b. 1884)
• 1982 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (b. 1899)
• 1983 – Albert Claude, Belgian biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1983 – Clara Østø, Danish actress and director (b. 1911)
• 1985 – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American animator, director, and producer (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Umar al-Tilmisani, Egyptian religious leader
• 1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1914)
• 1989 – Steven De Groote, South African pianist and educator (b. 1953)
• 1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (b. 1922)
• 1991 – Shripad Amrit Dange, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1899)
• 1991 – Stan Mortensen, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Zellig Harris, American linguist and academic (b. 1909)
• 1993 – Mieczysław Horszowski, Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1892)
• 1997 – Alfred Hershey, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
• 1997 – Renzo Montagnani, Italian actor (b. 1930)
• 1998 – John Derek, American actor, director, and photographer (b. 1926)
• 1998 – José Enrique Moyal, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1910)
• 2000 – Davie Fulton, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabe-American arts trader (b. 1960)
• 2004 – Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
• 2004 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
• 2005 – Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Julia Randall, American poet and academic (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Heather Crowe, Canadian waitress and activist (b. 1945)
• 2006 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (b. 1945)
• 2007 – Pemba Doma Sherpa, Nepalese mountaineer (b. 1970)
• 2008 – Robert Asprin, American soldier and author (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Martin Gardner, American mathematician, cryptographer, and author (b. 1914)
• 2010 – Lwandile Zwelenkosi Matanzima, South African clan leader (b. 1970)
• 2011 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Muzafar Bhutto, Pakistani politician (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Wesley A. Brown, American lieutenant and engineer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Janet Carroll, American actress and singer (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Shiu-Ying Hu, Chinese botanist and academic (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Flinder Anderson Khonglam, Indian physician and politician, 18th Chief Minister of Meghalaya (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Dave Mann, American-Canadian football player (b. 1932)
• 2012 – John Moores, Jr., English businessman and academic (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Bill Austin, American football player and coach (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Lee Rigby, English soldier and drummer (b. 1987)
• 2013 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Ibragim Todashev, Russian-American mixed martial artist (b. 1985)
• 2014 – Sergio Bustamante, Mexican actor (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Matthew Cowles, American actor and playwright (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Imre Gedővári, Hungarian fencer (b. 1951)
• 2014 – Dragoljub Velimirović, Serbian chess player (b. 1942)
• 2015 – Marques Haynes, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Vladimir Katriuk, Ukrainian-Canadian SS officer (b. 1921)
• 2015 – John Mosley, American football player and coach (b. 1921)
• 2015 – Aminah Robinson, American sculptor and illustrator (b. 1940)

[edit]

• 844 – Battle of Clavijo: The Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.
• 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
• 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
• 1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
• 1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
• 1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
• 1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London, England.
• 1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy in the Battle of Ramillies.
• 1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
• 1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
• 1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
• 1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
• 1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
• 1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• 1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
• 1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
• 1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
• 1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
• 1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.
• 1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
• 1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
• 1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
• 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
• 1945 – World War II: The Flensburg Government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces.
• 1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
• 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.
• 1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China.
• 1958 – The satellite Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
• 1970 – Robert Stephenson's pioneering Britannia Tubular Bridge over the Menai Strait is catastrophically damaged by fire after standing for 120 years.
• 1992 – Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
• 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
• 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
• 2002 – The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
• 2004 – Part of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.
• 2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
• 2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
• 2009 – Former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun commits suicide, jumping from a 45-meter cliff in Bongha, Gimhae, South Korea.
• 2010 – Jamaican police begin a manhunt for drug lord Christopher Coke, after the United States requested his extradition, leading to three days of violence during which at least 73 gunmen, policemen and bystanders are killed.
• 2012 – Adam Lambert became the first openly gay artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts, with his album Trespassing.
• 2013 – The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
• 2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
• 2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.

Births[edit]

• 635 – K'inich Kan B'alam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
• 1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
• 1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
• 1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
• 1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
• 1696 – Johann Caspar Vogler, German organist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
• 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
• 1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
• 1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
• 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
• 1790 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
• 1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
• 1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
• 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
• 1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
• 1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
• 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
• 1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
• 1844 – `Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
• 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
• 1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (d. 1913)
• 1864 – William O'Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
• 1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
• 1867 – John Exley, American rower (d. 1938)
• 1871 – Saint George Ashe, Maltese-English rower (d. 1922)
• 1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
• 1879 – Elizabeth Gunn, New Zealand soldier and pediatrician (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Dezső Lauber, Hungarian tennis player and architect (d. 1966)
• 1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
• 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
• 1883 – Ferenc Talányi, Slovenian journalist and painter (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
• 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
• 1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
• 1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
• 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
• 1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
• 1895 – Billy Smith, English footballer and manager (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
• 1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motor cycle racer (d. 1937)
• 1898 – Scott O'Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
• 1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)
• 1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
• 1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
• 1902 – Frank Buckland, Canadian businessman (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Pran Nath Thapar, Indian general (d. 1975)
• 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
• 1908 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (d. 1984)
• 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)
• 1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor, singer, dancer, and guitarist (d. 1986)
• 1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
• 1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Betty Astell, English actress and screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
• 1912 – John Payne, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1989)
• 1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
• 1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (d. 1981)
• 1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)
• 1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
• 1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
• 1919 – Gayatri Devi, English-Indian wife of Prince Jagat Singh (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Avraham Drori, Polish-Israeli soldier and politician (d. 1964)
• 1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
• 1920 – Helen O'Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
• 1921 – James Blish, American author and critic (d. 1975)
• 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Walter Wolfrum, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Clyde King, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Mac Wiseman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foggy Mountain Boys)
• 1926 – Basil Salvadore D'Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
• 1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African politician (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Bodil Skjånes Dugstad, Norwegian politician
• 1928 – Jeannie Carson, English-American actress and singer
• 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Pauline Julien, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1998)
• 1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
• 1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic
• 1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress and author
• 1931 – Patience Cleveland, American actress (d. 2004)
• 1931 – José da Conceição, Brazilian high jumper (d. 1974)
• 1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
• 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
• 1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
• 1933 – Jean-Louis Lagadec, French footballer and coach (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Robert Moog, American businessman, invented the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Julian Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell, English politician
• 1935 – Paul Gordon Jarvis plant ecologist and professor at the University of Edinburgh
• 1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
• 1936 – John Drury, English priest and author
• 1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
• 1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor and singer
• 1938 – Johnny Ball, English radio and television host
• 1938 – Nobuyuki Katsube, Japanese actor and voice actor
• 1938 – Peter Preston, English journalist and author
• 1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
• 1939 – Jack McCarthy, American poet and author (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Giles Gordon, Scottish author and agent (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
• 1940 – Levan Moseshvili, Georgian basketball player and coach
• 1940 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophnist (d. 2002)
• 1941 – Martin Puryear, American sculptor and painter
• 1942 – Michael Ashburner, English biologist and academic
• 1942 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
• 1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
• 1943 – General Johnson, American singer-songwriter and producer (Chairmen of the Board and The Showmen) (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016)
• 1943 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Alan Walden, American businessman and manager, co-founded Capricorn Records
• 1944 – Alan Bowman, English scholar and academic
• 1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
• 1946 – Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
• 1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer
• 1946 – Stephen Marks, English businessman
• 1946 – Michael Morrison, American pornographic actor, producer, and director (d. 2006)
• 1946 – H. Paul Shuch, American astronomer and engineer
• 1947 – Bernard Comrie, English-American linguist and academic
• 1947 – Ann Hui, Hong Kong actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
• 1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
• 1948 – Reggie Cleveland, Canadian-American baseball player
• 1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
• 1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 93rd President of Peru
• 1949 – Janet Thornton, English biologist and academic
• 1950 – Bruce Hay, Scottish rugby player and engineer (d. 2007)
• 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
• 1951 – Jill E. Barad, American businessperson
• 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
• 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
• 1952 – Anne-Marie David, French singer
• 1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
• 1953 – Dick Stellingwerf, Dutch politician
• 1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor
• 1954 – Hans Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
• 1954 – Michel Roux Jr., English-French chef and author
• 1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
• 1956 – Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby player
• 1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
• 1956 – Albert Voorn, Dutch horse rider
• 1957 – Mark Arnold, American actor
• 1957 – Craig Brown, English journalist and critic
• 1957 – Jimmy McShane, Northern Irish musician (Baltimora) (d. 1995)
• 1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Drew Carey, American actor and game show host
• 1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
• 1958 – François Feldman, French singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Frank Jelinski, German race car driver
• 1958 – Jack Lohman, English historian and curator
• 1959 – Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist and academic
• 1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
• 1959 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian and actor
• 1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor and martial artist
• 1961 – Karen Duffy, American model and actress
• 1962 – Matt Wrack, English firefighter and union leader
• 1963 – Wally Dallenbach Jr., American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
• 1965 – Charlie Hayes, American baseball player
• 1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress and casting director
• 1965 – Woorkeri Raman, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
• 1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player and police officer
• 1965 – Athanasios Skourtopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
• 1965 – Kappei Yamaguchi, Japanese voice actor and singer
• 1966 – Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch television host and producer (d. 2008)
• 1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
• 1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1967 – Luis Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
• 1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
• 1967 – Philip Selway, English drummer and songwriter (Radiohead)
• 1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
• 1969 – Mindi Abair, American saxophonist and composer
• 1970 – Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin of Yitzhak Rabin
• 1970 – Nanette Burstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Matt Flynn, American drummer and producer (Maroon 5 and Gandhi)
• 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
• 1971 – Laurel Holloman, American actress and painter
• 1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
• 1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
• 1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Juan José Padilla, Spanish bullfighter
• 1973 – Mirjam Sterk, Dutch minister and politician
• 1973 – Ron Trent, American DJ and producer
• 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
• 1974 – Ken Jennings, American computer scientist, author, and game show contestant
• 1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
• 1974 – Charlie Young, Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1975 – Darren Styles, English record producer
• 1975 – Kim Sung-soo, South Korean actor and television host
• 1975 – Michiel van den Bos, Dutch DJ and composer
• 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Sinha, Brazilian-Mexican footballer
• 1976 – Kelly Monaco, American model and actress
• 1977 – Annabel Kosten, Dutch swimmer
• 1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
• 1978 – Mike Gonzalez, American baseball player
• 1978 – Carolyn Moos, American basketball player and trainer
• 1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer (Blink-182)
• 1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player
• 1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Martin Giroux, Canadian singer and actor
• 1979 – Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player and coach
• 1980 – Gary Brackett, American football player
• 1980 – Lane Garrison, American actor
• 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Chris Gethard, American actor and screenwriter
• 1981 – Pierre Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1981 – Tim Robinson, American actor and screenwriter
• 1981 – Gwenno Saunders, Welsh singer and dancer (The Pipettes)
• 1982 – Cyrill Gloor, Swiss footballer
• 1982 – Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1983 – Cas Alfonso, Indonesian singer-songwriter and composer
• 1983 – Josh Pace, American basketball player
• 1983 – Heidi Range, English singer-songwriter (Sugababes and Atomic Kitten)
• 1983 – Alex Shelley, American wrestler and singer
• 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
• 1985 – Kanyeria, Kenyan songwriter and producer
• 1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
• 1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
• 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
• 1986 – Angela Martini, Albanian model, Miss Universe Albania 2010
• 1986 – Alice Tait, Australian swimmer
• 1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
• 1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1987 – Bray Wyatt, American wrestler
• 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
• 1988 – Roope Ranta, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1988 – Zachary Wohlman, American boxer
• 1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Italian footballer
• 1989 – Natsuna Watanabe, Japanese actress and model
• 1989 – Sam Webb, British model
• 1990 – Ricardo dos Santos, Brazilian surfer (d. 2015)
• 1990 – Kristína Kučová, Slovak tennis player
• 1990 – Raymond van Schoor, Namibian cricketer (d. 2015)
• 1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player
• 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Olesia Karmi, Finnish figure skater
• 1992 – Jinny Ng, Hong Kong pop singer

Deaths[edit]

• 779 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (b. 727)
• 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
• 1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
• 1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (b. 1320)
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)
• 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466)
• 1524 – Ismail I, Iran ruler (b. 1487)
• 1591 – John Blitheman, English organist and composer (b. 1525)
• 1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)
• 1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
• 1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1622)
• 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
• 1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (b. 1700)
• 1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)
• 1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
• 1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
• 1786 – Maurice, Count de Benyovszky, Hungarian explorer (b. 1746)
• 1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (b. 1772)
• 1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
• 1825 – Gugsa of Yejju
• 1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
• 1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)
• 1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1789)
• 1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)
• 1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (b. 1795)
• 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)
• 1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)
• 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
• 1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)
• 1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
• 1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (b. 1872)
• 1925 – R. A. Jones, English clock and watchmaker (b. 1849)
• 1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
• 1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (b. 1860)
• 1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
• 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)
• 1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (b. 1871)
• 1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1886)
• 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior (b. 1900)
• 1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)
• 1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (b. 1872)
• 1956 – Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
• 1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)
• 1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)
• 1965 – Earl Webb, American baseball player and coach (b. 1897)
• 1966 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)
• 1967 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1878)
• 1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)
• 1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932)
• 1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)
• 1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)
• 1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (b. 1916)
• 1988 – Aya Kitō, Japanese author (b. 1962)
• 1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)
• 1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
• 1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
• 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
• 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
• 1994 – Ray Candy, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1951)
• 1994 – George Metesky, American terrorist (b. 1903)
• 1994 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Olav H. Hauge, Norwegian poet (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)
• 1996 – Tanju Okan, Turkish singer (b. 1938)
• 1997 – Frances E. Nealy, American actress (b. 1918)
• 1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Jean Yanne, French actor and director (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and academic (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Clifford Antone, American businessman (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Ian Copeland, Syrian-American talent agent (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Nigel Anderson, Australian-born English soldier, landowner and politician (b. 1920)
• 2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Princess Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani (b. 1914)
• 2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)
• 2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)
• 2012 – T. Garry Buckley, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 72nd Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Gyula Elek, Hungarian handball player and coach (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, Persian daughter of Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Hal Jackson, American journalist and radio host (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Joseph Lesniewski, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 2012 – William C. Wampler, American soldier and politician (b. 1926)
• 2013 – William Demby, American author (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Hazel Hawke, Australian wife of Bob Hawke, 23rd Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)
• 2013 – James Sisnett, Barbadian super-centenarian (b. 1900)
• 2013 – Luis Zuloaga, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Michael Gottlieb, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Richard Kolitsch, German footballer (b. 1989)
• 2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (b. 1951)
• 2014 – Panagiotis Pikilidis, Greek wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2014 – Elliot Rodger, American spree killer (b. 1991)
• 2015 – Ali Raymi, Yemeni boxing World Champion (b. 1973)
• 2015 – Leo Berman, American businessman and politician (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian sergeant (b. 1975)
• 2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (b. 1933)
• 2015 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1928)

Cannes 2016: Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake wins Palme d'Or

Image copyrightAFP

British director Ken Loach's film I, Daniel Blake has won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival.

It was the 79-year-old's second award for best picture at the festival after 2006's The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Loach attacked the "dangerous project of austerity" as he accepted the award for his film about a middle-aged widower and the UK welfare system. 

Kent-born director Andrea Arnold won the competition's Jury Prize for her road movie American Honey. 

Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan shot both films.

Social campaigner 

It was the 13th time that Loach, a social campaigner for most of his career and the director of more than 50 movies, has competed at the event.

I, Daniel Blake, which stars stand-up comedian Dave Johns in the title role, was written by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty.

It documents what happens when an older man living in Newcastle has a heart attack and can no longer do his job. 

He is declared fit for work, meaning his benefits are stopped, and he begins to go hungry. 

'Dangerous austerity'

Accepting the festival's top prize from actor Mel Gibson, Loach said: "We must give a message of hope, we must say another world is possible..

"The world we live in is at a dangerous point right now. We are in the grip of a dangerous project of austerity driven by ideas that we call neo-liberalism that have brought us to near catastrophe."

Loach told the press conference he was "quietly stunned" to have won the award with "the same little gang" from his first win in 2006.

Asked about his plans for the future, Loach gave nothing away, saying: "When you get very old you're just pleased to see the sunrise the next day, so we'll just take each day as it comes."

Image copyrightJOSS BARRATT

In the film, Johns meets single mother of two Katie, who moves to Newcastle from London.

Cannes judges praised the actors' depictions of the characters who "find themselves in no-man's land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of 'striver and skiver' in modern day Britain".

It was the first film role for Johns, who said he was delighted by the French film prize. 

He said: "Ken made a film 50 years ago called Cathy, Come Home and this is actually in the same vein, saying that people who are on the bottom rung of life, you know are struggling. 

"I'm a stand-up comic. Working with Ken was just absolutely the most amazing thing and this news that we've won the Palme D'Or - I'm just blown away with it."

Loach, whose past films include 1969's Kes, was up against directors including Spanish Oscar-winner Pedro Almodovar, Sean Penn and Paul Verhoeven.

Image copyrightAFP

The Iranian film Forushande (The Salesman) by Asghar Farhadi won two awards at the 69th staging of Cannes - best screenplay, and best actor, won by Shahab Hosseini. 

The Grand Prix went to Juste la Fin du Monde (It's Just the End of the World), directed by Canada's Xavier Dolan, while Philippine soap star Jaclyn Jose won best actress for her role in Brillante Mendoza's Ma' Rosa.

Double win

Andrea Arnold, originally from Dartford, Kent, won the competition's Prix du Jury (Jury Prize).

Image copyrightREUTERS

American Honey, starring Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf, follows a group of wild youths as they travel through US states selling hard luck stories and magazine subscriptions. 

Ben Roberts, director of the BFI Film Fund, said: "What a moment for British cinema, and for two important and humane films with so much to say.

"Bravo to Ken and to Andrea and their collaborators - including the unstoppable Robbie Ryan who shot both films. 

"This is cinema from the heart, and we're grateful that we have an industry that can support such personal, powerful film-making."

Film critic Jason Solomons said Loach's movie cut through the art and experimentation common at Cannes to "speak to the heart". 

"Ken Loach does that with unparalleled skill," he said. "You know it's such an important movie and I'm so glad that it won the Palme D'Or because it gives this movie and its message extra attention that it needs."

UK Labour party MPs, who have opposed the Conservative austerity agenda of welfare cuts, also praised Loach's victory. 

Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle tweeted: "Well done Ken Loach!" while Angela Rayner MP said she was "absolutely made up" for the director.