May 15

An accepted version of this page, accepted on 22 April 2016, was based on this revision.

May 15 in recent years
2024 (Wednesday)
2023 (Monday)
2022 (Sunday)
2021 (Saturday)
2020 (Friday)
2019 (Wednesday)
2018 (Tuesday)
2017 (Monday)
2016 (Sunday)
2015 (Friday)

May 15 is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 230 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

495 BC – A newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.
221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
589 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.
1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
1525 – Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire.
1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest. She is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.
1602 – Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first recorded European to see Cape Cod.
1618 – Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
1648 – The Treaty of Westphalia is signed.
1701 – The War of the Spanish Succession begins.
1718 – James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun.
1730 – Hugh Walpole effectively became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1755 – Laredo, Texas is established by the Spaniards.
1776 – American Revolution: The Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
1791 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
1792 – War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia.
1793 – Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5–6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights.
1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.
1800 – King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.
1811 – Paraguay declares independence from Spain.
1817 – Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1836 – Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.
1848 – Serfdom is abolished in the Habsburg Galicia, as a result of the 1848 revolutions. The rest of monarchy followed later in the year.
1849 – Troops of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily.
1850 – The Bloody Island Massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians in Lake County are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry, led by Nathaniel Lyon.
1850 – The Arana-Southern Treaty is ratified, ending "the existing differences" between Great Britain and Argentina.
1851 – The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
1858 – Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca, Georgia ends.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate Army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.
1869 – Women's suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
1891 – Pope Leo XIII defends workers' rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.
1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sinks Japan's battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and Yashima.
1905 – Las Vegas, is founded when 110 acres (0.45 km²), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
1911 – In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.
1911 – Three hundred three Chinese and five Japanese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Francisco I. Madero's brother Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.
1919 – The Winnipeg General Strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
1919 – Greek invasion of Smyrna. During the invasion, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks. Those responsible are punished by the Greek Commander Aristides Stergiades.
1925 – Al-Insaniyyah, the first Arabic communist newspaper, is founded.
1928 – Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy.
1929 – A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
1932 – In an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated.
1934 – Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.
1935 – The Moscow Metro is opened to the public.
1940 – USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.
1940 – World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
1940 – McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
1941 – First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
1941 – Joe DiMaggio begins a 56-game hitting streak.
1942 – World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
1948 – Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
1951 – The Polish cultural attaché in Paris, Czesław Miłosz, asks the French government for political asylum.
1953 – Cubmaster Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, in Manhattan Beach, California, by Pack 280c.
1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
1958 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
1960 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
1963 – Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
1966 – After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ of South Vietnam's ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Tôn Thất Đính, forcing him to abandon his command.
1969 – People's Park: California Governor Ronald Reagan has an impromptu student park owned by University of California at Berkeley fenced off from student anti-war protestors, sparking a riot called Bloody Thursday.
1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals.
1970 – Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green are killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.
1972 – Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
1972 – In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to become President.
1974 – Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
1986 – Elio de Angelis, was killed while testing the Brabham BT55 at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet.
1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.
1988 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdrawal 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
1991 – Édith Cresson becomes France's first female premier.
1997 – The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.
2004 – Arsenal F.C. become the first team in English First Division history to go an entire league campaign unbeaten.
2006 – Cloud Gate was formally dedicated in Chicago's Millennium Park.
2008 – California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
2011 – The first protest of the Anti-austerity movement in Spain (also known as the Indignádos or 15-May Movement) begins in 58 Spanish cities.
2013 – An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.

Births

1397 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (d. 1450)
1531 – Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (d. 1581)
1567 – Claudio Monteverdi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1643)
1608 – René Goupil, French-American missionary and saint (d. 1642)
1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English author and playwright (d. 1762)
1720 – Maximilian Hell, Hungarian priest and astronomer (d. 1792)
1749 – Levi Lincoln, Sr., American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Attorney General (d. 1820)
1759 – Maria Theresia von Paradis, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1824)
1764 – Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, German organist and composer (d. 1827)
1767 – Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1843)
1773 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (d. 1859)
1786 – Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek general and politician (d. 1864)
1808 – Michael William Balfe, Irish composer and conductor (d. 1870)
1817 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1905)
1841 – Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (d. 1912)
1848 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1926)
1854 – Ioannis Psycharis, Ukrainian-French philologist and author (d. 1929)
1856 – L. Frank Baum, American journalist and author (d. 1919)
1856 – Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1917)
1857 – Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer and academic (d. 1911)
1859 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
1862 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (d. 1931)
1863 – Frank Hornby, English businessman and politician, invented Meccano (d. 1936)
1869 – Paul Probst, Swiss target shooter (d. 1945)
1870 – Eddie Morton, American singer (d. 1930)
1874 – Polaire, French singer and actress (d. 1939)
1890 – Katherine Anne Porter, American journalist and author (d. 1980)
1891 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian author and playwright (d. 1940)
1891 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (d. 1971)
1892 – Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral (d. 1977)
1892 – Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (d. 1969)
1894 – Feg Murray, American hurdler and cartoonist (d. 1973)
1895 – Prescott Bush, American captain, banker, and politician (d. 1972)
1895 – William D. Byron, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1941)
1898 – Arletty, French model, actress, and singer (d. 1992)
1899 – Jean-Étienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)
1901 – Xavier Herbert, Australian author (d. 1984)
1901 – Luis Monti, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
1902 – Richard J. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)
1903 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (d. 1998)
1904 – Clifton Fadiman, American game show host and author (d. 1999)
1905 – Joseph Cotten, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1905 – Abraham Zapruder, American businessman, filmed the Zapruder film (d. 1970)
1907 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (d. 1931)
1909 – James Mason, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1909 – Clara Solovera, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
1910 – Constance Cummings, American-English actress (d. 2005)
1911 – Max Frisch, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1991)
1911 – Herta Oberheuser, German physician (d. 1978)
1912 – Arthur Berger, American composer and educator (d. 2003)
1914 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
1914 – Angus MacLean, Canadian farmer and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (d. 2000)
1914 – Norrie Paramor, English composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1979)
1915 – Hilda Bernstein, English-South African author and activist (d. 2006)
1915 – Paul Samuelson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
1915 – Henrik Sandberg, Danish production manager and producer (d. 1993)
1915 – Gus Viseur, Belgian-French accordion player (Quintette du Hot Club de France) (d. 1974)
1916 – Vera Gebuhr, Danish actress (d. 2014)
1918 – Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
1918 – Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (d. 2015)
1918 – Joseph Wiseman, Canadian-American actor (d. 2009)
1920 – Michel Audiard, French director and screenwriter (d. 1985)
1920 – Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Lebanese patriarch
1920 – Louis Siminovitch, Canadian biologist and academic
1922 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (d. 2013)
1922 – Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese nun and author
1923 – Richard Avedon, American sailor and photographer (d. 2004)
1923 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
1924 – Maria Koepcke, German-Peruvian ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1971)
1925 – Bert Bolin, Swedish meteorologist and academic (d. 2007)
1925 – Andrei Eshpai, Russian pianist and composer (d. 2015)
1925 – Mary F. Lyon, English geneticist and biologist (d. 2014)
1925 – Carl Sanders, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 74th Governor of Georgia (d. 2014)
1925 – Roy Stewart, Jamaican-English actor and stuntman (d. 2008)
1926 – Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2006)
1926 – Anthony Shaffer, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1926 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter
1929 – George Selden, American author (d. 1989)
1930 – Jasper Johns, American painter and sculptor
1931 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2013)
1932 – John Barnes, English saxophonist and clarinet player
1935 – Don Bragg, American pole vaulter
1935 – Ted Dexter, Italian-English cricketer
1935 – Akihiro Miwa, Japanese singer, actor, director, composer, and author
1935 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
1936 – Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-American actress and singer
1936 – Wavy Gravy, American clown and activist
1936 – Mart Laga, Estonian basketball player (d. 1977)
1936 – Ralph Steadman, English painter and illustrator
1936 – Paul Zindel, American author, playwright, and educator (d. 2003)
1937 – Madeleine Albright, Czech-American politician and diplomat, 64th United States Secretary of State
1937 – Karin Krog, Norwegian singer
1937 – Trini Lopez, American singer, guitarist, and actor
1937 – Joe Tait, American sportscaster
1938 – Mireille Darc, French actress, director, and screenwriter
1938 – Nancy Garden, American author (d. 2014)
1938 – Diane Nash, American educator and activist
1939 – Dorothy Shirley, English high jumper and educator
1940 – Roger Ailes, American businessman
1940 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
1940 – Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach
1941 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded the Rip Off Press (d. 2006)
1942 – Lois Johnson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1942 – Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian businessman and politician, 10th Vice President of Indonesia
1942 – Doug Lowe, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Tasmania
1942 – K. T. Oslin, American singer-songwriter and actress
1943 – Paul Bégin, Canadian lawyer and politician
1943 – Freddie Perren, American songwriter, producer, and conductor (d. 2004)
1944 – Bill Alter, American police officer and politician
1944 – Ulrich Beck, German sociologist and academic (d. 2015)
1945 – Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
1945 – Michael Dexter, English hematologist and academic
1946 – Aly Bain, Scottish fiddler (The Boys of the Lough)
1946 – Kenichi Mikawa, Japanese singer and television personality
1946 – Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Vietnamese priest and activist
1947 – Graeham Goble, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Little River Band, Mississippi, Travis Wellington Hedge, and Birtles & Goble)
1948 – Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese baseball player
1948 – Brian Eno, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Roxy Music and 801)
1948 – Valentina Gerasimova, Kazakhstani runner
1948 – Kathleen Sebelius, American politician, 44th Governor of Kansas
1949 – George Adams, American basketball player
1949 – Frank L. Culbertson, Jr., American captain, pilot, and astronaut
1949 – Robert Stephen John Sparks, English geologist and academic
1950 – Nicholas Hammond, American-Australian actor and singer
1950 – Keith Mills, English businessman
1951 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (Toto, Angel, and Le Roux) (d. 2014)
1951 – Chris Ham, English political scientist and academic
1951 – Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1952 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1952 – Phil Seymour, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1993)
1953 – George Brett, American baseball player and coach
1953 – Athene Donald, English physicist and academic
1953 – Mike Oldfield, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Sallyangie)
1954 – Suzanne Basso, American murderer (d. 2014)
1954 – Diana Liverman, English-American geographer and academic
1954 – Caroline Thomson, English journalist and broadcaster
1955 – Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (d. 2013)
1955 – Lee Horsley, American actor
1955 – Lia Vissi, Cypriot singer-songwriter and politician
1956 – Andreas Loverdos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Labour
1956 – Dan Patrick, American sportscaster and actor
1956 – Peter Salmon, English television producer
1957 – Meg Gardiner, American-English author and academic
1957 – Juan José Ibarretxe, Spanish politician
1957 – Kevin Von Erich, American football player and wrestler
1958 – Ron Simmons, American football player and wrestler
1959 – Andrew Eldritch, English singer-songwriter (The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisterhood, and SSV)
1959 – Khaosai Galaxy, Thai boxer and politician
1959 – Luis Pérez-Sala, Spanish race car driver
1959 – Beverly Jo Scott, American-Belgian singer-songwriter
1960 – Rob Bowman, American director and producer
1960 – Rhonda Burchmore, Australian actress, singer, and dancer
1960 – R. Kuhaneswaran, Sri Lankan politician
1960 – Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1960 – Greg Wise, English actor and producer
1961 – Katrin Cartlidge, English actress (d. 2002)
1961 – Melle Mel, American rapper (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)
1962 – Lisa Curry, Australian swimmer
1963 – Brenda Bakke, American actress
1964 – Digna Ochoa, Mexican lawyer (d. 2001)
1964 – Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark
1965 – Raí, Brazilian footballer
1965 – André Abujamra, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (Karnak)
1966 – Pete Wiggs, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (Saint Etienne)
1967 – Laura Hillenbrand, American journalist and author
1967 – John Smoltz, American baseball player and sportscaster
1967 – Orlando Zapata, Cuban plumber and activist (d. 2010)
1968 – Cecilia Malmström, Swedish academic and politician, 15th European Commissioner for Trade
1968 – Seth Putnam, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Anal Cunt, Post Mortem, and Siege) (d. 2011)
1968 – Sophie Raworth, English journalist and actress
1969 – Hideki Irabu, Japanese-American baseball player (d. 2011)
1969 – Holly McPeak, American beach volleyball player
1969 – Emmitt Smith, American football player and sportscaster
1970 – Frank de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
1970 – Ronald de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
1970 – Desmond Howard, American football player and sportscaster
1970 – Alison Jackson, English photographer, director, and screenwriter
1970 – Anne Akiko Meyers, American violinist and educator
1970 – Martin Rossiter, Welsh singer-songwriter (Gene)
1970 – Rod Smith, American football player
1970 – Ben Wallace, English captain and politician
1971 – Karin Lušnic, Slovenian tennis player
1971 – Phil Pfister, American weightlifter and strongman
1972 – Danny Alexander, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
1972 – David Charvet, French actor and singer
1972 – Conrad Keely, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead)
1973 – Emilia Tsoulfa, Greek sailor
1974 – Vassilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player and politician
1974 – Matthew Sadler, English chess player and author
1974 – Marko Tredup, German footballer and manager
1974 – Ahmet Zappa, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1975 – Peter Iwers, Swedish bass player (In Flames)
1975 – Ray Lewis, American football player and sportscaster
1975 – Ales Michalevic, Belarusian lawyer and politician
1976 – Torraye Braggs, American basketball player
1976 – Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
1976 – Ryan Leaf, American football player and coach
1976 – Tyler Walker, American baseball player
1978 – Amy Chow, American gymnast and pediatrician
1978 – Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian soccer player
1978 – Caroline Dhavernas, Canadian actress
1978 – Edu Gaspar, Brazilian footballer
1978 – David Krumholtz, American actor and producer
1978 – Krissy Taylor, American model (d. 1995)
1979 – Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
1979 – Daniel Caines, English sprinter
1979 – Chris Masoe, New Zealand rugby player
1979 – Ryan Max Riley, American skier
1979 – Robert Royal, American football player
1979 – Li Yanfeng, Chinese discus thrower
1980 – Josh Beckett, American baseball player
1981 – Patrice Evra, French footballer
1981 – Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
1981 – Zara Phillips, English horse rider
1981 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress and singer
1982 – Alexandra Breckenridge, American actress and photographer
1982 – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican sprinter
1982 – Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer
1982 – Bradford Cox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Deerhunter)
1982 – Tatsuya Fujiwara, Japanese actor
1982 – Rafael Pérez, Dominican baseball player
1982 – Jessica Sutta, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (The Pussycat Dolls)
1984 – Jeff Deslauriers, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian race car driver
1984 – Samantha Noble, Australian actress
1984 – Mr Probz, Dutch singer-songwriter and producer
1985 – Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver
1985 – Justine Robbeson, South African javelin thrower
1986 – Thomas Brown, American football player
1986 – Matías Fernández, Chilean footballer
1986 – Adam Moffat, Scottish footballer
1987 – Doruk Çetin, Turkish actor, director, and producer
1987 – Kévin Constant, French-Guinean footballer
1987 – Mark Fayne, American ice hockey player
1987 – Ersan İlyasova, Turkish basketball player
1987 – Leonardo Mayer, Argentinian tennis player
1987 – Jennylyn Mercado, Filipino singer-songwriter and actress
1987 – Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
1987 – Michael Brantley, American baseball player
1987 – Brian Dozier, American baseball player
1987 – David Adams, American baseball player
1988 – Indrek Kajupank, Estonian basketball player
1988 – Nemanja Nešić, Serbian rower (d. 2012)
1989 – Akina Minami, Japanese model
1989 – Sunny, American-South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Girls' Generation)
1989 – Kiki Vidis, Australian porn actress
1990 – Jordan Eberle, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Lee Jong-hyun, South Korean singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (CNBLUE)
1992 – Clark Beckham, American singer-songwriter
1993 – Mahfizur Rahman Sagor, Bangladeshi swimmer
1995 – Ryosuke Yamamoto, Japanese actor and model

Deaths

392 – Valentinian II, Roman emperor (b. 371)
884 – Pope Marinus I
913 – Hatto I, German archbishop (b. 850)
1036 – Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (b. 1008)
1157 – Yuri Dolgorukiy, Russian prince (b. 1099)
1174 – Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo, Syrian ruler (b. 1118)
1268 – Peter II, Count of Savoy (b. 1203)
1381 – Eppelein von Gailingen, German warrior (b. 1315)
1585 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (b. 1535)
1591 – Dmitry of Uglich (b. 1582)
1609 – Giovanni Croce, Italian composer and educator (b. 1557)
1634 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)
1698 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (b. 1642)
1699 – Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1631)
1700 – John Hale, American minister (b. 1636)
1740 – Ephraim Chambers, English publisher (b. 1680)
1773 – Alban Butler, English priest and hagiographer (b. 1710)
1845 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, Head of State of Costa Rica (b. 1800)
1879 – Gottfried Semper, German architect and educator, designed the Semper Opera House (b. 1803)
1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (b. 1830)
1919 – Hasan Tahsin, Turkish journalist (b. 1888)
1924 – Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
1928 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (b. 1845)
1935 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter and theoretician (b. 1878)
1937 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1864)
1945 – Charles Williams, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1886)
1948 – Edward J. Flanagan, Irish-American priest, founded Boys Town (b. 1886)
1954 – William March, American soldier and author (b. 1893)
1956 – Austin Osman Spare, English painter and magician (b. 1886)
1957 – Keith Andrews, American racing driver (b. 1920)
1957 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1892)
1963 – John Aglionby, English born Bishop of Accra and soldier (b. 1884)
1964 – Vladko Maček, Croatian lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
1965 – Pio Pion, Italian businessman (b. 1887)
1966 – Titien Sumarni, Indonesian actress (b. 1932)
1967 – Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)
1967 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (b. 1892)
1969 – Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1890)
1971 – Tyrone Guthrie, English director, producer, and playwright (b. 1900)
1974 – Paul Gonsalves, American jazz saxiphonist (b.1920)
1978 – Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
1980 – Gordon Prange, American historian and author (b. 1910)
1982 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (b. 1946)
1984 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1912)
1985 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and writer (b. 1947)
1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
1986 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (b. 1915)
1989 – Johnny Green, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
1989 – Luc Lacourcière, Canadian ethnographer and author (b. 1910)
1991 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1956)
1991 – Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Malian ethnologist and author (b. 1901)
1991 – Ronald Lacey, English actor (b. 1935)
1991 – Fritz Riess, German race car driver (b. 1922)
1992 – Barbara Lee, American singer (The Chiffons) (b. 1947)
1992 – Jovy Marcelo, Filipino race car driver (b. 1965)
1993 – Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese poet and diplomat (b. 1933)
1994 – Gilbert Roland, Mexican-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1905)
1995 – Eric Porter, English actor (b. 1928)
1996 – Charles B. Fulton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1910)
1998 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
1998 – Naim Talu, Turkish economist, banker, politician, 15th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1919)
2003 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (Carter Family and The Carter Sisters) (b. 1929)
2005 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (b. 1917)
2006 – Nizar Abdul Zahra, Iraqi footballer (b. 1961)
2007 – Jerry Falwell, American pastor, founded Liberty University (b. 1933)
2007 – Yolanda King, American actress and activist (b. 1955)
2008 – Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1956)
2008 – Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
2008 – Robert Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1960)
2009 – Rodger McFarlane, American soldier, therapist, and activist (b. 1955)
2009 – Bud Tingwell, Australian actor, director, and producer (b. 1923)
2009 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (b. 1964)
2010 – Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (b. 1987)
2010 – Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (b. 1950)
2011 – Barbara Stuart, American actress (b. 1930)
2012 – Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist(b. 1928)
2012 – Jean Craighead George, American author (b. 1919)
2012 – Arno Lustiger, German historian and author (b. 1924)
2012 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1918)
2012 – John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, South African surveyor (b. 1929)
2012 – George Wyllie, Scottish sculptor (b. 1921)
2013 – Paddy Buggy, Irish hurdler (b. 1929)
2013 – Linden Chiles, American actor (b. 1933)
2013 – Robert Hunt, English police officer (b. 1935)
2013 – Albert Lance, Australian-French tenor and actor (b. 1925)
2013 – Billy Raymond, Scottish-Australian television host (b. 1938)
2013 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1946)
2014 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1940)
2014 – Robert J. Flynn, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (b. 1937)
2014 – Greg Hughes, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1939)
2014 – Michael Mence, English cricketer (b. 1944)
2014 – Noribumi Suzuki, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
2015 – Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (b. 1914)
2015 – Jackie Brookner, American sculptor and educator (b. 1945)
2015 – Corey Hill, American mixed martial artist (b. 1978)
2015 – John Stephenson, American actor (b. 1923)
2015 – Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-American football player (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances

Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)
Christian feast day:
- Achillius of Larissa
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church)
- Dymphna
- Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Norway)
- Hilary of Galeata
- Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid.
- Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church)
- Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church)
- Reticius (Roman Catholic Church)
- Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church)
- May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)
Earliest date on which Armed Forces Day (United States) can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Saturday of May.
Earliest date on which Bike-to-Work Day can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Friday of May. (United States)
Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14.
International Day of Families (International)
La Corsa dei Ceri begins on the eve of the feast day of Saint Ubaldo. (Gubbio)
Mercuralia, in honour of Mercury. (Roman Empire)
Nakba Day (Palestinian communities)
Peace Officers Memorial Day (United States)
Army Day (Slovenia)
Teachers' Day (Colombia, Mexico and South Korea)
Argei (Ancient Rome)
Mother's Day (Paraguay)
Republic Day (Lithuania)