May 16

Pre-1600

 * 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
 * 1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
 * 1364 – Hundred Years' War: Bertrand du Guesclin and a French army defeat the Anglo-Navarrese army of Charles the Bad at Cocherel.
 * 1426 – Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes King of Ava.
 * 1527 – The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
 * 1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
 * 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
 * 1584 – Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.

1601–1900

 * 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.
 * 1770 – The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France.
 * 1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
 * 1811 – Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom fight an inconclusive battle against the French at the Albuera. It is, in proportion to the numbers involved, the bloodiest battle of the war.
 * 1812 – Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.
 * 1822 – Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
 * 1832 – Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.
 * 1834 – The Battle of Asseiceira is fought; it was the final and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
 * 1842 – The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.
 * 1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, the decisive Union victory by Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Champion Hill drives the Confederate army under John C. Pemberton back towards Vicksburg, Mississippi.
 * 1866 – The United States Congress establishes the nickel.
 * 1868 – The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.
 * 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
 * 1877 – The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.
 * 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
 * 1891 – The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opened in Frankfurt, Germany, featuring the world's first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).

1901–present

 * 1916 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
 * 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
 * 1919 – A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
 * 1920 – In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
 * 1925 – The first modern performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria occurred in Paris.
 * 1929 – In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
 * 1943 – The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
 * 1943 – Operation Chastise is undertaken by RAF Bomber Command with specially equipped Avro Lancasters to destroy the Mohne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley.
 * 1945 – Beginning of the Levant Crisis between Britain and France in Syria. The latter try to quell nationalist protests but backs down after threat of military action by the British.
 * 1951 – The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
 * 1954 – Beginning of the Kengir uprising in the Gulag.
 * 1959 – The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
 * 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
 * 1961 – Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
 * 1966 – The Chinese Communist Party issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
 * 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
 * 1974 – Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
 * 1975 – Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
 * 1988 – A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
 * 1991 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
 * 1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
 * 2003 – In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
 * 2005 – Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
 * 2011 – STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for.
 * 2014 – Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.

Pre-1600

 * 1418 – John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable; d. 1458)
 * 1455 – Wolfgang I of Oettingen, German count (d. 1522)
 * 1542 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (d. 1580)

1601–1900

 * 1606 – John Bulwer, British doctor (d. 1656)
 * 1611 – Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)
 * 1641 – Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691)
 * 1710 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1782)
 * 1718 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1799)
 * 1763 – Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (d. 1829)
 * 1788 – Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (d. 1866)
 * 1801 – William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (d. 1872)
 * 1804 – Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator who founded the first U.S. kindergarten (d. 1894)
 * 1819 – Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (d. 1890)
 * 1821 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (d. 1894)
 * 1824 – Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (d. 1920)
 * 1824  – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (d. 1893)
 * 1827 – Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (d. 1921)
 * 1831 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900)
 * 1859 – Horace Hutchinson, English golfer (d. 1932)
 * 1862 – Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (d. 1940)
 * 1876 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (d. 1948)
 * 1879 – Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (d. 1962)
 * 1882 – Simeon Price, American golfer (d. 1945)
 * 1883 – Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (d. 1986)
 * 1887 – Maria Lacerda de Moura, Brazilian teacher and anarcha-feminist (d. 1945)
 * 1888 – Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971)
 * 1890 – Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (d. 1975)
 * 1892 – Osgood Perkins, American actor (d. 1937)
 * 1894 – Walter Yust, American journalist and writer (d. 1960)
 * 1897 – Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (d. 1994)
 * 1898 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (d. 1980)
 * 1898  – Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1993)
 * 1898  – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 1956)

1901–present

 * 1903 – Charles F. Brannock, American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1992)
 * 1905 – Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982)
 * 1906 – Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (d. 1991)
 * 1906  – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1988)
 * 1906  – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
 * 1906  – Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (d. 1996)
 * 1907 – Bob Tisdall, Irish hurdler (d. 2004)
 * 1909 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (d. 1960)
 * 1909  – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (d. 1997)
 * 1910 – Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (d. 1975)
 * 1910  – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (d. 2014)
 * 1910  – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1972)
 * 1912 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (d. 2008)
 * 1913 – Gordon Chalk, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Queensland (d. 1991)
 * 1913 – Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (d. 1987)
 * 1914 – Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
 * 1915 – Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
 * 1916 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (d. 2009)
 * 1917 – Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (d. 2015)
 * 1917  – James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
 * 1917  – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (d. 1986)
 * 1918 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
 * 1919 – Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (d. 1987)
 * 1919  – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (d. 2004)
 * 1920 – Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967)
 * 1921 – Harry Carey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
 * 1923 – Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (d. 2000)
 * 1923  – Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
 * 1923  – Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014)
 * 1924 – Barbara Bachmann, American microbiologist (d. 1999)
 * 1924  – Dawda Jawara, 1st President of the Gambia (d. 2019)
 * 1925 – Nancy Roman, American astronomer (d. 2018)
 * 1925  – Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (d. 2012)
 * 1925  – Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
 * 1928 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
 * 1929 – Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
 * 1929  – John Conyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
 * 1929  – Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician
 * 1929  – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012)
 * 1930 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 2000)
 * 1931 – Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
 * 1931  – Hana Brady, Jewish-Czech Holocaust victim (d. 1944)
 * 1931  – K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
 * 1931  – Lowell P. Weicker Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut (d. 2023)
 * 1934 – Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author
 * 1934  – Antony Walker, English general (d. 2023)
 * 1935 – Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1936 – Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (d. 2018)
 * 1937 – Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (d. 2015)
 * 1938 – Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
 * 1938  – Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic
 * 1938  – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist (d. 2018)
 * 1939 – Mario Segni, Italian professor and politician
 * 1941 – Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
 * 1942 – David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
 * 1943 – Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
 * 1943  – Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
 * 1943  – Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist
 * 1944 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader
 * 1944  – Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer
 * 1944  – Danny Trejo, American actor
 * 1946 – John Law, English sociologist and academic
 * 1946  – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer
 * 1947 – Cheryl Clarke, American writer
 * 1947  – Darrell Sweet, Scottish drummer (d. 1999)
 * 1947  – Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (d. 2011)
 * 1948 – Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer
 * 1948  – Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author
 * 1948  – Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer
 * 1948 – Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician (d. 2017)
 * 1948  – Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic
 * 1948  – Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist
 * 1949 – Rick Reuschel, American baseball player
 * 1950 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1950  – Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
 * 1950  – Bruce Coville, American author
 * 1951 – Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
 * 1951  – Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1951  – Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian
 * 1953 – Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer
 * 1953  – Peter Onorati, American actor
 * 1953  – Richard Page, American singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1953  – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (d. 2015)
 * 1953  – David Maclean, Scottish politician
 * 1953  – Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic
 * 1954 – Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut
 * 1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
 * 1955  – Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1955  – Hazel O'Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1955  – Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
 * 1955  – Debra Winger, American actress
 * 1956  – Loretta Schrijver, Dutch television host, news anchor
 * 1957 – Joan Benoit, American runner
 * 1957  – Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician
 * 1957  – Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1957  – Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman
 * 1957  – Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
 * 1959 – Mitch Webster, American baseball player
 * 1959  – Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter
 * 1960 – Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
 * 1960  – Bruce Norris, playwright
 * 1960  – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)
 * 1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
 * 1961  – Charles Wright, American wrestler
 * 1962  – Helga Radtke, German long jumper
 * 1963 – Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
 * 1963  – David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic
 * 1964 – John Salley, American basketball player and actor
 * 1964  – Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist
 * 1964  – Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
 * 1965 – Krist Novoselic, American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist
 * 1965  – Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic
 * 1966 – Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter actress
 * 1966  – Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1966  – Thurman Thomas, American football player
 * 1967 – Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach
 * 1967  – Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician
 * 1968 – Ralph Tresvant, American singer and producer
 * 1969 – David Boreanaz, American actor
 * 1969  – Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
 * 1969  – Steve Lewis, American sprinter
 * 1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
 * 1970  – Danielle Spencer, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1971 – Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster
 * 1971  – Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1972 – Christian Califano, French rugby player
 * 1972  – Matthew Hart, New Zealand cricketer
 * 1973 – Tori Spelling, American actress, reality television personality, and author
 * 1974 – Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1974  – Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and rapper
 * 1975 – Tony Kakko, Finnish musician, composer, and vocalist
 * 1975  – Simon Whitfield, Canadian triathlete
 * 1976 – Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
 * 1977 – Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
 * 1977  – Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter
 * 1978 – Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer
 * 1978  – Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer
 * 1980 – Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
 * 1981 – Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer
 * 1982 – Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
 * 1983 – Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
 * 1983  – Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1984 – Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer
 * 1984  – Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1984  – Jensen Lewis, American baseball player
 * 1984  – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
 * 1985 – Anja Mittag, German footballer
 * 1985  – Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer
 * 1985  – Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1986 – Megan Fox, American actress
 * 1986  – Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
 * 1986  – Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect
 * 1987 – Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver
 * 1988 – Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer
 * 1988  – Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
 * 1988  – Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player
 * 1989 – Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model
 * 1990 – Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player
 * 1990  – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor
 * 1990  – Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter
 * 1990  – Omar Strong, American basketball player
 * 1991 – Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player
 * 1991  – Joey Graceffa, American internet celebrity
 * 1991  – Ashley Wagner, American figure skater
 * 1992 – Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1992  – Kirstin Maldonado, American singer and songwriter
 * 1993 – Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete
 * 1993  – Karol Mets, Estonian footballer
 * 1993  – IU, Korean singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1994 – Kathinka von Deichmann, Liechtenstein tennis player
 * 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
 * 1996 – Louisa Chirico, American tennis player
 * 2000 – Luis Garcia, Dominican-American baseball player
 * 2002 – Ryan Gravenberch, Dutch footballer

Pre-1600

 * 290 – Emperor Wu of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 236)
 * 895 – Qian Kuan, Chinese nobleman
 * 934 – Meng Hanqiong, eunuch official of Later Tang
 * 995 – Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (b. 953)
 * 1115 – Lambert of Arras, Flemish bishop
 * 1182 – John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (b. 1132)
 * 1265 – Simon Stock, English-French saint (b. 1165)
 * 1375 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, officer, statesman and poet (b. 1311)
 * 1412 – Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (b. 1388)
 * 1561 – Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (b. 1488)

1601–1900

 * 1620 – William Adams, English sailor and navigator (b. 1564)
 * 1657 – Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (b. 1591)
 * 1667 – Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1607)
 * 1669 – Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (b. 1596)
 * 1691 – Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1640)
 * 1696 – Mariana of Austria, Queen consort of Spain (b. 1634)
 * 1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (b. 1628)
 * 1778 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1718)
 * 1790 – Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (b. 1720)
 * 1818 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (b. 1775)
 * 1823 – Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. c. 1754)
 * 1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768)
 * 1861 – John Stevens Henslow, British priest, geologist and doctoral advisor to Charles Darwin (b. 1796)
 * 1862 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (b. 1796)
 * 1882 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (b. 1799)
 * 1890 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (b. 1843)
 * 1891 – Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1821)

1901–present

 * 1910 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (b. 1856)
 * 1913 – Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (b. 1849)
 * 1920 – Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824)
 * 1926 – Mehmed VI, the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1861)
 * 1936 – Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860)
 * 1938 – Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)
 * 1943 – Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
 * 1943 – Nigger, black labrador retriever belonging to Wing Commander Guy Gibson of the Royal Air Force, and the mascot of No. 617 Squadron.
 * 1944 – George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
 * 1944  – Filip Mișea, Aromanian activist, physician and politician (b. 1873)
 * 1946 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
 * 1947 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
 * 1947  – Kalle Hakala, Finnish politician (b. 1880)
 * 1947  – Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
 * 1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910)
 * 1954 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893)
 * 1955 – James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(b. 1909)
 * 1955  – Manny Ayulo, American race car driver (b. 1921)
 * 1956 – H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (b. 1876)
 * 1957 – Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903)
 * 1961 – George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1881)
 * 1977 – Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (b. 1915)
 * 1979 – A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (b. 1889)
 * 1981 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1922)
 * 1981  – Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (b. 1905)
 * 1984 – Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
 * 1984  – Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1913)
 * 1985 – Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902)
 * 1989 – Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1939)
 * 1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (b. 1925)
 * 1990  – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, creator of The Muppets (b. 1936)
 * 1993 – Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1938)
 * 1994 – Alain Cuny, French actor (b. 1908)
 * 1996 – Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939)
 * 1997 – Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
 * 2002 – Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (b. 1899)
 * 2003 – Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (b. 1930)
 * 2005 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (b. 1915)
 * 2008 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (b. 1913)
 * 2010 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)
 * 2010  – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1918)
 * 2011 – Ralph Barker, English author (b. 1917)
 * 2011  – Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1928)
 * 2011  – Edward Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1932)
 * 2011  – Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
 * 2012 – Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (b. 1952)
 * 2012  – James Abdnor, American soldier and politician (b. 1923)
 * 2012  – Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1936)
 * 2012  – Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (b. 1940)
 * 2012  – Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (b. 1956)
 * 2013 – Angelo Errichetti, American politician (b. 1928)
 * 2013  – Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (b. 1957)
 * 2013  – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1948)
 * 2013  – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
 * 2013  – Paul Shane, British actor and comedian (b. 1940)
 * 2013  – Dick Trickle, American race car driver (b. 1941)
 * 2013  – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (b. 1921)
 * 2014 – Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (b. 1933)
 * 2014  – Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (b. 1932)
 * 2014  – Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (b. 1943)
 * 2014  – Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (b. 1928)
 * 2015 – Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (b. 1973)
 * 2015  – Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1935)
 * 2015  – Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (b. 1928)
 * 2019 – Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (b. 1937)
 * 2019  – Bob Hawke, Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929)
 * 2019  – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (b. 1917)
 * 2021 – Bruno Covas, Brazilian lawyer, politician (b. 1980)
 * 2023 – Norm Green, American long-distance runner (b. 1932)
 * 2024 – Dabney Coleman, American actor (b. 1932)
 * 2024 – Eddie Gossage, American public speaker and businessman (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Aaron (Coptic Church)
 * Abda and Abdjesus, and companions:
 * Abdas of Susa
 * Andrew Bobola
 * Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
 * Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)
 * Gemma Galgani (Passionists Calendar)
 * Germerius
 * Honoratus of Amiens
 * John of Nepomuk
 * Margaret of Cortona
 * Peregrine of Auxerre
 * Simon Stock
 * Ubald (see Saint Ubaldo Day)
 * May 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))
 * Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
 * National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
 * Teachers' Day (Malaysia)