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)

1606 John Bulwer, British doctor (d. 1656)

1611 Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)

1641 Dudley North (economist), 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 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)

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 in Economics laureate (d. 2000)

1923 Peter Underwood (parapsychologist), 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 (PQ politician), 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, Minister of External Affairs (India)

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 (footballer, born 1944), Hungarian footballer

1944 Danny Trejo, American actor

1946 John Law (sociologist), English sociologist and academic

1946 Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer

1947 Cheryl Clarke, American writer

1947 Darrell Sweet (musician), 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 in Physics 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 (musician), American singer-songwriter and bass player

1953 Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Makuuchi # 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, List of Speakers of the Parliament of Nauru

1960 Bruce Norris (playwright), playwright

1960 S. Shanmuganathan (Sri Lankan politician), Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)

1961 Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter

1961 Charles Wright (wrestler), American wrestler

1962 Helga Radtke, German long jumper

1963 Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist

1963 David Wilkinson (theologian), 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 (sprinter), American sprinter

1970 Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player

1970 Danielle Spencer (Australian actress), 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 (footballer, born 1981), 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), 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 (singer), 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 García (infielder, born 2000), Dominican-American baseball player

2002 Ryan Gravenberch, Dutch footballer

2004 Salvador Ramos, American mass murderer

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)

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)

1620 William Adams (sailor, born 1564), 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 List of colonial governors 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 (writer), English author and playwright (b. 1775)

1823 Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. )

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)

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 (engineer), American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)

1943 Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)

1943 Nigger (dog), 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 in Physiology or Medicine 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 (actress), 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, created 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 (company) (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 rules footballer), 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 in Physics 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 (runner), American long-distance runner (b. 1932)

Christian feast day:

- Aaron (Copt) (Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)

- 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)

- 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)

Christianity in Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))

Mass graves in Iraq (Iraq)

National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)

Teachers' Day (Malaysia)

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/16 BBC: On This Day]

[https://www.onthisday.com/events/may/16 Historical Events on May 16]