1703 – Roemer Vlacq, Dutch admiral, dies in battle
1789 – John Hawkins, English writer (A General History of the Science and Practice of Music; Life of Samuel Johnson), dies at 70
1858 – José de la Riva-Agüero, Peruvian soldier and politician, 1st President of Peru (1823), dies at 75
1994 – Johan Hendrik Weidner, Dutch-American resistance fighter (set up largest WWII underground network to smuggle people out of Nazi territory), dies at 81
2006 – Katherine Dunham, American dancer (Casbah; Stormy Weather), choreographer (Metroplitan opera, 1963; Joplin’s Treemonisha, 1972), and social activist, dies at 96
2015 – Louis Johnson, American rock bassist and vocalist (Brothers Johnson), dies at 60
2020 – Oliver Williamson, American economist (Nobel Prize for Economics 2009), dies at 87
2022 – Marco Cornez, Chilean soccer goalkeeper, (20 caps; FC Deportivo Palestino, Universidad Católica, Everton de Viña del Mar), dies from stomach cancer at 64
2025 – Nol de Ruiter, Dutch football coach (Netherlands, Egypt; FC Utrecht, ADO Den Haag), dies at 85
2025 – Robert Holton, American chemist credited with synthesizing the cancer drug Taxol, dies of emphysema at 81
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 21st May 2026
1910 – Louis Botha becomes the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa
1927 – Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St. Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of the Atlantic
1961 – Governor Patterson declares martial law in Montgomery, Alabama
1966 – American Muhammad Ali TKOs Great Britain’s Henry Cooper in 6th round for heavyweight boxing title
2003 – 38th Academy of Country Music Awards: Toby Keith, Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney win
2012 – 13 people are killed and 22 people injured after a bus falls 80 metres off a cliff in Albania
2017 – Barnum and Bailey Circus performs for the last time at the Nassau Coliseum in NYC after 146 years
2023 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Oak Hill CC: Brooks Koepka claims his third career PGA C’ship and fifth major title by 2 shots over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler
Today in History for 21st May 2026
Historical Events
1260 – Hao Jing, envoy of Mongol leader Kublai Khan imprisoned by order of the high Chancellor of China, Jia Sidao at the Song Dynasty court of Emperor Lizong while attempting to negotiate with the Song
1966 – James Goldman’s stage drama “The Lion in Winter”, starring Robert Preston, Rosemary Harris, and Christopher Walken, closes at the Ambassador Theatre, NYC, after 92 performances, and a Tony Award win for Harris
1968 – WEKW TV channel 52 in Keene, NH (PBS) begins broadcasting
1983 – 108th Preakness: Donald Miller Jr on Deputed Testamony wins in 1:55.4
2017 – IPL Cricket Final, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad: Mumbai Indians beat Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run; Krunal Pandya 47 (38)
Famous Birthdays
1835 – Newton Martin Curtis, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in De Peyster, New York (d. 1910)
1844 – Henri Rousseau, French post-impressionist painter (The Dream, The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope), born in Laval, France (d. 1910)
1921 – Reece “Goose” Tatum, American baseball and basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters; Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame), co-founder of the Harlem Magicians, born in El Dorado, Arkansas (d. 1967)
1947 – Jiggs Kalra, Indian food writer “Czar of Indian cuisine”, born in Punjab region, India (d. 2019)
1974 – Fairuza Balk, American actress (The Craft, Gas Food Lodging), born in Point Reyes, California
Famous Deaths
1886 – Stephen Pearl Andrews, American abolitionist, writer, and individualist anarchist, dies at 74
1980 – Ida Kamińska, Polish stage and screen actress, director, and writer (The Shop on Main Street; Mother Courage and Her Children), dies at 80
1993 – John Holland, American actor (My Fair Lady, Chinatown), dies at 85
1996 – Bobby Tulloch, Scottish ornithologist, and writer (Bobby Tulloch’s Shetland: An islander, his islands and their wildlife), dies at 67
2022 – Marco Cornez, Chilean soccer goalkeeper, (20 caps; FC Deportivo Palestino, Universidad Católica, Everton de Viña del Mar), dies from stomach cancer at 64
Famous Deaths for 20th May 2026
1597 – Dutch commander Matthijs Heldt, dies in battle
1622 – Osman II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1618-22), dies at 17
1925 – Elias Ammons, American politician (Governor of Colorado, 1913-15), who sent the National Guard to settle coalminer strikes, precipitating the Ludlow Massacre, die at 64
1932 – Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, dies at 73
1985 – George Memmoli, American actor (Earl-Hello Larry), dies at 46
1996 – Jack Wyngaard, South African dancer (London City Ballet, 1986-96), dies of a heart attack at 37
2007 – Stanley Miller, American chemist (created ‘primordial soup’ experiment to show how life might have originated on earth), dies at 77
2012 – Robin Gibb, English rock-pop-disco singer-songwriter and producer (Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever), dies from colon and liver cancer at 62
2020 – Emma Amos, American activist and artist (Tightrope, Will You Forget Me), dies of complications of Alzheimer’s disease at 83
2021 – Freddy Marks, English actor, singer and entertainer (Rod, Jane and Freddy), dies of cancer at 71
Historical Events for 20th May 2026
1867 – Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences foundation laid by Queen Victoria in London
1882 – Gotthard rail tunnel between Switzerland and Italy opens
1920 – Mexican President Venustiano Carranza, under attack by American petroleum companies, faces an armed rebellion by right-wing Sonoro triumvirate after nationalizing subsoil rights
1926 – Railway Labor Act became law in USA
1943 – French, British and US victory parade in Tunis, Tunisia
1958 – US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
1992 – India launches its 1st satellite independently
1996 – UN and Iraq agree to Resolution 986, which provides Iraq with the opportunity to sell $1 billion of oil for 90 days for a 180-day trial period; proceeds from the sale would be used for humanitarian purposes
Today in History for 20th May 2026
Historical Events
1942 – US Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve
1969 – US troop capture Hill 937/Hamburger Hill in Vietnam
1972 – “Hard Job Being God” closes at Edison Theater NYC after 6 performances
1984 – Boston’s Roger Clemens beats Twins, 5-4, for his 1st victory
1988 – Howard Stern fans disrupt rival radio station WMMR’s morning DJ John DeBella’s “Louie Louie” parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Famous Birthdays
1843 – Pedro Miguel Marques y Garcia, Spanish violinist and composer, born in Palma, Majorca, Spain (d. 1918)
1902 – Hans Sahl, German American anti-Nazi Jewish writer, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 1993)
1937 – Maria Teresa Horta, Portuguese writer and poet (New Portuguese Letters, My Lady of Me), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 2025)
1942 – Lynn Davies, Welsh athlete (Olympic gold long jump 1964), born in Nantymoel, Wales
1976 – Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
Famous Deaths
1597 – Dutch commander Matthijs Heldt, dies in battle
1782 – Carlo Giovanni Testori, Italian violinist, composer, pedagogue, and musicologist (La musica raggionata), dies at 68
1996 – Jack Wyngaard, South African dancer (London City Ballet, 1986-96), dies of a heart attack at 37
2020 – Stephen A. DiMauro, American thoroughbred racing jockey, trainer, breeder and owner (Eclipse Award 1975; Lady Pitt, Dearly Precious, Nassipour, Wajima), dies from cancer at 87
2025 – Barry Fantoni, British novelist, artist and illustrator for Private Eye magazine, dies of a heart attack at 85
Famous Deaths for 19th May 2026
1895 – Jose Marti y Perez, Cuban poet (Versos sencillos) essayist and politician (fought for independence from Spain), dies fighting the Battle of Dos Rios at 42
1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American World War I fighter pilot and flying ace, dies at 33
1971 – Bernard Wagenaar, Dutch-American composer (3 Songs for Chinese), dies at 76
1993 – Ranga Sohoni, Indian cricket all-rounder (4 Tests, top score 29 no, 2 wickets), dies from a heart attack at 75
1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish road cyclist (Tour de France 1973; Vuelta a España 1970), commits suicide at 48
1997 – Millie, dog of US President George H. W. Bush (Millie’s Book), dies at 12
1999 – James Blades, British classical percussionist, and educator, dies at 97
2002 – John Gorton, Australian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (1968-71), dies at 90
2005 – Henry Corden, American actor and voice artist (b. 1921)
2025 – Alice Notley, American poet (Mysteries of Small Houses, Disobedience), dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at 79
Historical Events for 19th May 2026
1793 – Netherlands captures French island of St Maarten (held until 1795)
1992 – Amy Fisher shoots Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face in an altercation over an affair with her husband, in Massapequa, New York
1993 – Boeing 727 crashes into mountain at Medellín, Colombia, kills 132
1993 – Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,500 for 1st time (3,500.03)
1995 – World’s youngest doctor, Balamurali Ambati, 17, graduates from Mount Sinai
2012 – UEFA Champions League Final, Munich: Chelsea beats Bayern Munich, 4-3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time; Blues’ first title
2013 – Sweden defeats Switzerland to win the 2013 World Ice Hockey Championship
2021 – New York City begins re-opening after 423 days (March 2020) with the COVID-19 death toll at 33,000
Today in History for 19th May 2026
Historical Events
1941 – New Nazi battleship Bismarck leaves Gdynia, Poland
1962 – Indonesian paratroopers land in New Guinea
1974 – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing wins French presidential election
1995 – Emmy 22nd Daytime Award presentation – Susan Lucci loses for 15th time
2018 – Queen Elizabeth II grants the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their marriage
Famous Birthdays
1795 – Johns Hopkins, American financier and philanthropist (founded Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins University), born in Gambrills, Maryland (d. 1873)
1812 – Felix Zollicoffer, American journalist and Confederate Brigadier General who was killed in the Battle of Mill Springs, born in Maury County, Tennessee (d. 1862)
1864 – Carl Akeley, American taxidermist and naturalist who developed the animal mount process and other techniques for museums, born in Clarendon, New York (d. 1926)
1926 – Paul Cooper, American classical music composer, and educator, born in Victoria, Illinois (d. 1996)
1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian novelist (Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra), born in Kasauli, British India
Famous Deaths
1928 – Max Scheler, German philosopher, dies at 53
1994 – Henry Morgan, American comedian and TV panelist (I’ve Got a Secret; Arena), dies of lung cancer at 79
2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
2021 – Lee Evans, American athlete (Olympic gold men’s 400m, 4x400m relay 1968), dies from stroke complications at 74
2025 – Alice Notley, American poet (Mysteries of Small Houses, Disobedience), dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at 79
Famous Deaths for 18th May 2026
1160 – Erik IX Helgi, King of Sweden, dies at ~40
1848 – William Leidesdorff, Mixed-race early Californian businessman, dies at 37
1952 – Rossetter Gleason Cole, American composer (Heroes of Freedom), dies at 86
1955 – Edwin Scharff, German sculptor, and educator, deemed “entartete” (degenerate) by Nazi regime, dies at 68
1959 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, British Antarctic explorer and survivor of the Terra Nova Expedition (The Worst Journey in the World), dies at 73
1961 – Henry O’Neill, American actor (“Lady Killer”; “Nothing But Trouble”), dies at 69
1974 – Tyree Glenn, American jazz and session trombonist and vibraphone player (Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong), dies of cancer at 61
2011 – Leonard Kastle, opera composer, librettist, director (The Passion of Mother Ann), and film maker (The Honeymoon Killers), dies at 82
2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (SWAT), dies at 87
2013 – Colin Webb, British Fleet Street editor and journalist (Press Association), dies at 74