May 10

May 10 is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 235 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 28 BCE – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
• 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, opens a full-scale assault on Jerusalem and attacks the city's Third Wall to the northwest.
• 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
• 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
• 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
• 1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
• 1655 – England, with troops under the command of Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables, annexes Jamaica from Spain.
• 1768 – John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
• 1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
• 1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the Thirteen Colonies begin the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
• 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon I of France wins a decisive victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
• 1801 – First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
• 1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
• 1833 – The desecration of the grave of the viceroy of southern Vietnam Lê Văn Duyệt by Emperor Minh Mạng provokes his adopted son to start a revolt.
• 1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
• 1849 – Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 25 and injuring over 120.
• 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies eight days after he is accidentally shot by his own troops.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Colonel Emory Upton leads a 10-regiment "Attack-in-depth" assault against the Confederate works at The Battle of Spotsylvania, which, though ultimately unsuccessful, would provide the idea for the massive assault against the Bloody Angle on May 12. Upton is slightly wounded but is immediately promoted to Brigadier general.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia.
• 1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
• 1866 – Romania National Holiday 1866-1947, The Modern Monarchy Instauration of the Kingdom of Romania, Carol I of Romania
• 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.
• 1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
• 1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II.
• 1877 – Romania declares itself independent from the Ottoman Empire following the Senate adoption of Mihail Kogălniceanu's Declaration of Independence. Recognized on March 26, 1881 after the end of the Romanian War of Independence.
• 1893 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883.
• 1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded.
• 1908 – Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
• 1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.
• 1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
• 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.
• 1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
• 1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.
• 1940 – World War II: German raids on British shipping convoys and military airfields begin.
• 1940 – World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
• 1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain.
• 1940 – World War II: Invasion of Iceland by the United Kingdom.
• 1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
• 1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.
• 1942 – World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
• 1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
• 1948 – The Republic of China implements "temporary provisions" granting President Chiang Kai-shek extended powers to deal with the Communist uprising; they will remain in effect until 1991.
• 1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
• 1960 – The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
• 1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
• 1969 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
• 1970 – Bobby Orr scores "The Goal" to win the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, for the Boston Bruins' fourth NHL championship in their history.
• 1972 – First flight of the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (a.k.a. "Warthog").
• 1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder in Japan.
• 1979 – The Federated States of Micronesia become self-governing.
• 1981 – François Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic.
• 1993 – In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills 156 workers.
• 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.
• 1997 – A 7.3 M_w earthquake strikes Iran's Khorasan Province, killing 1,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or destroying over 15,000 homes.
• 1997 – The Maeslantkering, a storm surge barrier in the Netherlands that is one of the world's largest moving structures, is opened by Queen Beatrix.
• 2002 – F.B.I. agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
• 2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet (20 meters) from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
• 2008 – An EF4 tornado strikes the Oklahoma–Kansas state line, killing 21 people and injuring over 100.
• 2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people and injuring 400 others
• 2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Births

• 213 – Claudius Gothicus, Roman emperor (d. 270)
• 1002 – Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Iraqi historian and scholar (d. 1071)
• 1265 – Emperor Fushimi of Japan (d. 1317)
• 1604 – Jean Mairet, French author and playwright (d. 1686)
• 1640 – Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1701)
• 1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair, French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
• 1714 – Sophie Charlotte Ackermann, German actress (d. 1792)
• 1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, French economist and politician, French Controller-General of Finances (d. 1781)
• 1755 – Robert Gray, American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
• 1756 – Singu Min, Burmese king (d. 1782)
• 1760 – Johann Peter Hebel, German author and poet (d. 1826)
• 1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
• 1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
• 1775 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, French general (d. 1809)
• 1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
• 1788 – Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1819)
• 1810 – E. Cobham Brewer, English lexicographer and author (d. 1897)
• 1812 – William Henry Barlow, English engineer (d. 1902)
• 1813 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
• 1838 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
• 1840 – Hadzhi Dimitar, Bulgarian warlord (d. 1868)
• 1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American publisher and broadcaster, co-founded Commercial Cable Company (d. 1918)
• 1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
• 1847 – Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
• 1855 – Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
• 1863 – Kaarle Krohn, Finnish historian and academic (d. 1933)
• 1866 – Léon Bakst, Russian painter and costume designer (d. 1924)
• 1872 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
• 1874 – Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, historian, and orientalist (d. 1941)
• 1876 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
• 1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (d. 1967)
• 1878 – Gustav Stresemann, German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
• 1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
• 1886 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
• 1886 – Felix Manalo, Filipino religious leader, founded Iglesia ni Cristo (d. 1963)
• 1886 – Olaf Stapledon, English philosopher and author (d. 1950)
• 1888 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
• 1889 – Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1965)
• 1890 – Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
• 1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
• 1894 – Elvira Popescu, Romanian-French actress and director (d. 1993)
• 1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
• 1895 – Kama Chinen, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 2010)
• 1896 – Alberts Ozoliņš, Latvian weightlifter (d. 1985)
• 1897 – Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian politician, 15th Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
• 1898 – Ariel Durant, American historian and author (d. 1981)
• 1899 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
• 1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
• 1901 – John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
• 1902 – Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1974)
• 1902 – David O. Selznick, American director and producer (d. 1965)
• 1903 – Otto Bradfisch, German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
• 1904 – David Brown, English businessman (d. 1993)
• 1905 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Harilaos Perpessas, Greek composer (d. 1995)
• 1908 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
• 1909 – Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (Carter Family and The Carter Sisters) (d. 1978)
• 1911 – Bel Kaufman, American author and educator (d. 2014)
• 1915 – Monica Dickens, English author (d. 1992)
• 1915 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
• 1916 – Milton Babbitt, American composer and educator (d. 2011)
• 1918 – T. Berry Brazelton, American pediatrician and author
• 1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Basil Kelly, Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist (d. 2012)
• 1922 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress and director (d. 1992)
• 1923 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan general and politician, 3rd President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, 62nd President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
• 1927 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
• 1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician, 3rd President of Estonia
• 1928 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Audun Boysen, Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
• 1929 – George Coe, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and playwright
• 1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter
• 1931 – Ichirō Nagai, Japanese voice actor (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Karthigesu Sivathamby, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 2011)
• 1933 – Barbara Taylor Bradford, English-American author
• 1933 – Françoise Fabian, Algerian-French actress
• 1934 – Kenneth D. Taylor, Canadian diplomat (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
• 1937 – Tamara Press, Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
• 1938 – Jean Becker, French actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1938 – Dang Nhat Minh, Vietnamese director and screenwriter
• 1938 – Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player
• 1938 – Marina Vlady, French actress
• 1940 – Wayne Dyer, American author and educator (d. 2015)
• 1941 – Winfried Bischoff, German-English banker and businessman
• 1942 – Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
• 1942 – Carl Douglas, Jamaican-English singer
• 1942 – Youssouf Sambo Bâ, Nigerien-Burkinabe educator and politician
• 1943 – David Clennon, American actor
• 1944 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1944 – Marie-France Pisier, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
• 1946 – Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and songwriter (10cc, The Mindbenders, and Wax)
• 1946 – Diderik Wagenaar, Dutch composer and theorist
• 1947 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
• 1948 – Meg Foster, American actress
• 1949 – Miuccia Prada, Italian fashion designer
• 1950 – Natalya Bondarchuk, Russian actress and director
• 1952 – Kikki Danielsson, Swedish singer (Wizex, Chips, Kikki, Bettan & Lotta, and Kjell Roos Band)
• 1952 – Sly Dunbar, Jamaican drummer (Sly and Robbie, The Aggrovators, The Upsetters, and The Revolutionaries)
• 1952 – Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1953 – Tito Santana, American wrestler and coach
• 1955 – Mark David Chapman, American murderer
• 1956 – Yves Jacques, Canadian actor
• 1956 – Paige O'Hara, American actress and singer
• 1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
• 1957 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Vicious White Kids, and The Flowers of Romance) (d. 1979)
• 1958 – Tauseef Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer
• 1958 – Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
• 1958 – Vlada Divljan, Serbian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Idoli and Apartchiks) (d. 2015)
• 1958 – Rick Santorum, American lawyer and politician
• 1959 – Victoria Rowell, American actress and dancer
• 1959 – Danny Schayes, American basketball player
• 1960 – Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, humanitarian and activist (U2)
• 1960 – Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, 15th Secretary of State of Nevada
• 1960 – Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian runner
• 1961 – Randy Cunneyworth, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1961 – Blyth Tait, New Zealand horse rider
• 1961 – Johanna ter Steege, Dutch actress
• 1962 – John Ngugi, Kenyan runner
• 1963 – Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut
• 1963 – Debbie Wiseman, English composer and conductor
• 1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canadian model and actress
• 1965 – Rony Seikaly, Lebanese-American basketball player and radio host
• 1966 – Ilian Djevelekov, Bulgarian film director and producer
• 1966 – Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper
• 1967 – Young MC, English-American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1967 – Nobuhiro Takeda, Japanese footballer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Al Murray, English comedian and television host
• 1968 – Erik Palladino, American actor and producer
• 1968 – William Regal, English wrestler and sportscaster
• 1968 – Tatyana Shikolenko, Russian javelin thrower
• 1969 – Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1969 – John Scalzi, American author and blogger
• 1970 – Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan-American pianist
• 1970 – Gina Philips, American actress and producer
• 1970 – Dallas Roberts, American actor
• 1970 – David Weir, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1971 – Adriano Giannini, Italian actor
• 1971 – Monisha Kaltenborn, Indian-Swiss lawyer and businesswoman
• 1971 – Craig Mack, American rapper and producer
• 1971 – Kim Nam-joo, South Korean actress
• 1971 – Ådne Søndrål, Norwegian speed skater
• 1971 – Leslie Stefanson, American model and actress
• 1972 – Radosław Majdan, Polish footballer
• 1973 – Aviv Geffen, Israeli singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Blackfield)
• 1973 – Rüştü Reçber, Turkish footballer
• 1973 – Tora Sudiro, Indonesian actor
• 1974 – Liu Fang, Chinese pipa player
• 1974 – Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
• 1975 – Andrea Anders, American actress
• 1975 – Torbjørn Brundtland, Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer (Röyksopp)
• 1975 – Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
• 1975 – Adam Deadmarsh, Canadian-American ice hockey player
• 1975 – Shin Jung-hwan, South Korean singer and actor (Roo'ra)
• 1976 – Udo Mechels, Belgian singer
• 1976 – Aggeliki Tsiolakoudi, Greek javelin thrower
• 1977 – Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer
• 1977 – Nick Heidfeld, German race car driver
• 1977 – Denise Ho, Hong Kong-Canadian singer and actress
• 1977 – Sergei Nakariakov, Russian trumpet player
• 1978 – Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer
• 1978 – Kenan Thompson, American actor
• 1979 – Lee Hyori, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Fin.K.L)
• 1981 – Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian basketball player
• 1981 – Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
• 1981 – Nicky Whelan, Australian model and actress
• 1983 – Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
• 1984 – Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 – Odette Annable, American actress
• 1985 – Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Jon Schofield, English canoe racer
• 1986 – Emilio Izaguirre, Honduran footballer
• 1987 – Wilson Chandler, American basketball player
• 1987 – Anej Lovrečič, Slovenian footballer
• 1989 – Lindsey Shaw, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1990 – Karmen Pedaru, Estonian model
• 1990 – Lauren Potter, American actress
• 1990 – Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper
• 1991 – Giorgos Machlelis, Greek footballer
• 1992 – Charice Pempengco, Filipino singer-songwriter and actress
• 1993 – Tímea Babos, Hungarian tennis player
• 1993 – Mirai Shida, Japanese actress
• 1995 – Missy Franklin, American swimmer
• 1995 – Yoan Garneau, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1996 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player
• 1996 – Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player
• 2001 – Gosselin sextuplets (Kate Plus 8)
• 2013 – Taufaʻahau Manumataongo of Tonga

Deaths

• 689 – Prince Kusakabe of Japan (b. 662)
• 884 – Ahmad ibn Tulun, ruler of Egypt and Syria (b. 835)
• 1290 – Rudolf II, Duke of Austria (b. 1271)
• 1424 – Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan (b. 1347)
• 1482 – Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
• 1493 – Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1433)
• 1521 – Sebastian Brant, German author (b. 1457)
• 1566 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (b. 1501)
• 1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (b. 1596)
• 1657 – Gustav Horn, Count of Pori (b. 1592)
• 1691 – John Birch, English soldier and politician (b. 1615)
• 1692 – Sarah Osborne, American woman accused of witchcraft (b. 1643)
• 1717 – John Hathorne, American merchant and politician (b. 1641)
• 1721 – Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (b. 1647)
• 1726 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1670)
• 1733 – Barton Booth, English actor (b. 1681)
• 1737 – Emperor Nakamikado of Japan (b. 1702)
• 1774 – Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
• 1775 – Marie Magdalene Charlotte Ackermann, German actress (b. 1757)
• 1775 – Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (b. 1751)
• 1787 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (b. 1715)
• 1798 – George Vancouver, English navigator and explorer (b. 1757)
• 1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (b. 1725)
• 1818 – Paul Revere, American engraver and soldier (b. 1735)
• 1829 – Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
• 1849 – Hokusai, Japanese painter and illustrator (b. 1760)
• 1863 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (b. 1824)
• 1868 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
• 1889 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1826)
• 1897 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino soldier and politician, President of the Philippines (b. 1863)
• 1904 – Andrei Ryabushkin, Russian painter (b. 1861)
• 1910 – Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1826)
• 1945 – Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
• 1945 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1898)
• 1950 – Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian (b. 1883)
• 1955 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer and promoter (b. 1881)
• 1960 – Yury Olesha, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1899)
• 1962 – Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (b. 1879)
• 1964 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter, illustrator, and set designer (b. 1881)
• 1965 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1894)
• 1967 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian race car driver (b. 1935)
• 1968 – Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (b. 1929)
• 1974 – Hal Mohr, American director and cinematographer (b. 1894)
• 1976 – Elias Aslaksen, Norwegian religious leader (b. 1888)
• 1977 – Joan Crawford, American actress (year of birth disputed)
• 1982 – Peter Weiss, German playwright and painter (b. 1916)
• 1988 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and academic (b. 1902)
• 1989 – Dimitar Ilievski-Murato, Macedonian mountaineer (b. 1953)
• 1989 – Woody Shaw, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1944)
• 1990 – Walker Percy, American author and academic (b. 1916)
• 1994 – John Wayne Gacy, American criminal (b. 1942)
• 1999 – Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator (b. 1930)
• 2000 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
• 2000 – Kaneto Shiozawa, Japanese voice actor (b. 1954)
• 2000 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician, 16th Governor of Himachal Pradesh (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Kaifi Azmi, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
• 2002 – Yves Robert, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (b. 1937)
• 2005 – David Wayne, American singer-songwriter (Metal Church, Reverend, and Wayne) (b. 1958)
• 2006 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
• 2006 – Val Guest, English-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (b. 1917)
• 2006 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-American journalist (b. 1922)
• 2008 – Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Jessica Jacobs, Australian actress and singer (b. 1990)
• 2010 – Frank Frazetta, American illustrator and painter (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Horst Faas, German photographer and journalist (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Günther Kaufmann, German actor and singer (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Bernardo Sassetti, Portuguese pianist and composer (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver and designer (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian captain and author (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Félix Agramont Cota, Mexican engineer and politician, 8th Governor of Baja California Sur (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Vincent Dowling, Irish-American actor and director (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Carmen Argibay, Argentinian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Gene Chyzowych, Ukrainian-American soccer player and coach (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Patrick Lucey, American soldier and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Nash the Slash, Canadian violinist (FM) (b. 1948)
• 2015 – Ninad Bedekar, Indian historian, author, and academic (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Jack Body, New Zealand composer and photographer (b. 1944)
• 2015 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (b. 1946)
• 2015 – William T. Cooper, Australian ornithologist and illustrator (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Rachel Rosenthal, French-American actress and dancer (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus
  • Aurelian of Limoges
  • Calepodius
  • Catald
  • Comgall
  • Damien of Molokai
  • Gordianus and Epimachus
  • John of Ávila
  • Solange
  • May 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Children's Day (Maldives)
• Confederate Memorial Day (North Carolina and South Carolina)
• Constitution Day (Micronesia)
• Earliest possible day on which Pentecost can fall, while June 13 is the latest; celebrated seven weeks after Easter Day. (Christianity)
• Flower Festival (Azerbaijan)
• Golden Spike Day (Promontory, Utah)
• Independence Day or King's Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of Romania from the Ottoman Empire in 1877.
• Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances:
  • Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Sark)
• Mother's Day (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada