On This Day — May 21
3919 noted people were born and 1944 died on May 21 in our archive, including Andrei Sakharov, Willem Einthoven and Édouard Goursat.
Lists people with a recorded full birth or death date; people known only by year are not included.
Born on May 21
Andrei Sakharov
1921 – 1989
Willem Einthoven
1860 – 1927
Édouard Goursat
1858 – 1936
Armand Hammer
1898 – 1990
Bengt I. Samuelsson
1934 – 2024
Carme Valls i Llobet
b. 1945
Charles Edwin Bessey
1845 – 1915
Chris Harrison
b. 1984
Curtis T. McMullen
b. 1958
David Hestenes
b. 1933
Emile Verhaeren
1855 – 1916
Eric-Jan Wagenmakers
b. 1972
Ermolao Barbaro
1453 – 1493
Ewa Dębska
b. 1967
Frances Theresa Densmore
1867 – 1957
Frank Kameny
1925 – 2011
Franz von Leydig
1821 – 1908
G. S. Maddala
1933 – 1999
Giorgi Ghonghadze
1969 – 2000
Günter Blobel
1936 – 2018
Haleh Afshar
1944 – 2022
Hans Berger
1873 – 1941
Harold Caccia, Baron Caccia
1905 – 1990
Igor Kon
1928 – 2011
Ivan Nikitchuk
1944 – 2023
Jean-Pierre Jouannaud
b. 1947
Juan Andrés Fontaine Talavera
b. 1954
Konstantin Pobedonostsev
1827 – 1907
Krzysztof Bojko
b. 1963
Luc-Olivier Merson
1846 – 1920
Ludwig von Friedeburg
1924 – 2010
Mary Robinson
b. 1944
Mary Verghese
1925 – 1986
Muffy Calder
b. 1958
Oleg Melnichenko
b. 1973
Richard Grant Hiskey
1929 – 2016
Scott Aaronson
b. 1981
Sergei Shoigu
b. 1955
Seth Klarman
b. 1957
Svante Janson
b. 1955
Thomas Brennan Nolan
1901 – 1992
Virginia Haviland
1911 – 1988
Vitaly Naumkin
b. 1945
Walter Homolka
b. 1964
İlber Ortaylı
1947 – 2026
Abdul Taib Mahmud
1936 – 2024
Akiva Vroman
1912 – 1989
Al Franken
b. 1951
Alec Rasizade
b. 1947
Alexander Petrov
b. 1958
Ali Sastroamidjojo
1903 – 1975
Amanda Hendrix
b. 1968
Anthony Grafton
b. 1950
Archduke Eugen of Austria
1863 – 1954
Armand Borel
1923 – 2003
Arthur C. Brooks
b. 1964
Barker Fairley
1887 – 1986
Berlyn Brixner
1911 – 2009
Bernard Bajolet
b. 1949
Bernard Rawlings
1889 – 1962
Bjørn Nørgaard
b. 1947
Bruce Jackson
b. 1936
Bruno Fuligni
b. 1968
Charles Albert Gobat
1843 – 1914
Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford
1893 – 1971
Chough Pyung-ok
1894 – 1960
Christoph Hartmann
b. 1972
Cordula Schubert
b. 1959
Cornelis de Kiewiet
1902 – 1986
Cyrus S. Ching
1876 – 1967
Daniel Barbu
1957 – 2024
David Goldschmidt
b. 1942
David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral
b. 1942
Denis MacShane
b. 1948
Dimitar Stanchov
1863 – 1940
Dmitry Vyatkin
b. 1974
Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg
1844 – 1932
Edmund J. James
1855 – 1925
Edward Hull
1829 – 1917
Egi Kazuyuki
1853 – 1932
Eileen Duggan
1894 – 1972
Elihu Katz
1926 – 2021
Erazim Kohák
1933 – 2020
Erbolat Dosaev
b. 1970
Ernst Messerschmid
b. 1945
Ernst Raupach
1784 – 1852
Eva Giberti
1929 – 2025
Farah Stockman
b. 1974
Felix Gilbert
1905 – 1991
Felix Landau
1910 – 1983
Fernando Alessandri
1897 – 1982
Fred Polak
1907 – 1985
Fred Sherman
1932 – 2013
Frédéric Montenard
1849 – 1926
Gabriele Nebe
b. 1967
Germán Gullón
1945 – 2025
Gertruda Sekaninová-Čakrtová
1908 – 1986
Giorgos Grammatikakis
1939 – 2023
Giuseppe Mercalli
1850 – 1914
Gleb Panfilov
1934 – 2023
Gunn-Vivian Eide
b. 1964
Guy de Rothschild
1909 – 2007
Heinrich Lammasch
1853 – 1920
Heinz Holliger
b. 1939
Herbert Grötzsch
1902 – 1993
Herwig Baier
b. 1965
Ildikó Pécsi
1940 – 2020
Immanuel Bekker
1785 – 1871
Inese Jaunzeme
1932 – 2011
Inomjon Usmonxo‘jayev
1930 – 2017
Ioana Marinescu
b. 1979
James B. Reuter
1916 – 2012
Jean-Baptiste Leblond
b. 1957
Jens Fredrik Schroeter
1857 – 1927
Joanna Cygler
b. 1967
John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst
1772 – 1863
John Cracroft Wilson
1808 – 1881
John E. McDonough
b. 1953
John Hookham Frere
1769 – 1846
John Hubley
1914 – 1977
John Konrads
1942 – 2021
John Leonard Hines
1868 – 1968
Jonathan Guy Jones
b. 1962
Joop Bakker
1921 – 2003
Joyce Ndalichako
b. 1964
Julien Dive
b. 1985
K. N. Ezhuthachan
1911 – 1981
Kari Alitalo
b. 1952
Karl Friedrich von Klöden
1786 – 1856
Kerry Marshall
1940 – 2020
Konstantin Vershinin
1900 – 1973
Konstanty Hrynakowski
1878 – 1938
Krzysztof Kopczyński
b. 1959
Kweku Adoboli
b. 1980
Kåre Schultz
b. 1961
Laura Loomer
b. 1993
Lemn Sissay
b. 1967
Leszek Teleszyński
b. 1947
Lida Barrett
1927 – 2021
Loretta Lynch
b. 1959
Malcolm Fraser
1930 – 2015
Marcel Breuer
1902 – 1981
Marguerite Ross Barnett
1942 – 1992
Marie-Guite Dufay
b. 1949
Masanori Katsu
1879 – 1957
Mathurin Méheut
1882 – 1958
Maurice Andrés
1933 – 2012
Maurice Nadeau
1911 – 2013
Maurice-Yvan Sicard
1910 – 2000
Meindert Fennema
1946 – 2023
Mieczysław Gocuł
b. 1963
Mikhail Gorbanevsky
1953 – 2025
Muhammed Saadulah
1885 – 1955
Nikolay Girs
1820 – 1895
Nils Christoffer Dunér
1839 – 1914
Oleg Reidman
b. 1952
Oleg Salyukov
b. 1955
Omeo Kumar Das
1895 – 1975
Parag Agrawal
b. 1984
Pekka Sammallahti
b. 1947
Peter Lim
b. 1953
Philip Steven Corbet
1929 – 2008
Ralston Paterson
1897 – 1981
Reinhold Tüxen
1899 – 1980
Ricardo Alarcón
1937 – 2022
Richard Caspar Rudolph
1909 – 2003
Riyad Mansour
b. 1947
Robert C. Springer
b. 1942
Robert Creeley
1926 – 2005
Robert Montgomery
1904 – 1981
Roberto Ierusalimschy
b. 1960
Sahraa Karimi
b. 1983
Salomon Glass
1593 – 1656
Sanjay Subrahmanyam
b. 1961
Sir Martin ffolkes, 1st Baronet
1749 – 1821
Stanley Wells
b. 1930
Suzan Kahramaner
1913 – 2006
Tom Marioni
b. 1937
Uroš Krek
1922 – 2008
Urs Widmer
1938 – 2014
Vicki L. Ruiz
b. 1955
Viktoria Vahnier
b. 1981
Vilma Ibarra
b. 1960
Walter Scott Jr.
1931 – 2021
Will Hutton
b. 1950
William Bernard Hickie
1865 – 1950
William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
1790 – 1858
William Newman
1939 – 2019
Yoshiko Wakabayashi
b. 1950
Yury Chaika
b. 1951
19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche
1917 – 2003
Abdulla Yameen
b. 1959
Aditya Chopra
b. 1971
Adolphe Hirsch
1830 – 1901
Adrian Hardiman
1951 – 2016
Ahmed Fakhry
1905 – 1973
Akhilesh Pratap Singh
b. 1960
Albert van Raalte
1890 – 1952
Alex Danson
b. 1985
Alexandru Borza
1887 – 1971
… and 3,719 more
Died on May 21
Aikitu Tanakadate
1856 – 1952
Ana Aslan
1897 – 1988
August Kundt
1839 – 1894
Grigore Moisil
1906 – 1973
Andriy Portnov
1973 – 2025
Augustus Wollaston Franks
1826 – 1897
Bobby Tulloch
1929 – 1996
C. Boyden Gray
1943 – 2023
Carlos Lacerda
1914 – 1977
Christian Jürgensen Thomsen
1788 – 1865
Ernst Zermelo
1871 – 1953
Georges Henri Halphen
1844 – 1889
Giuseppe Belluzzo
1876 – 1952
Graham Webster
1913 – 2001
Günter Gaus
1929 – 2004
Hideyo Noguchi
1876 – 1928
Hugo de Vries
1848 – 1935
Kenneth Clark
1903 – 1983
Louis Ridenour
1911 – 1959
Tahir Teimurovitsch Salakhov
1928 – 2021
Tudor Vianu
1898 – 1964
Umberto Puppini
1884 – 1946
Wilhelm Süss
1895 – 1958
Yevgraf Fyodorov
1853 – 1919
Adolf Pinner
1842 – 1909
Alasdair MacIntyre
1929 – 2025
Alfred Benzon
1855 – 1932
Alma Adamkienė
1927 – 2023
Alphonso Taft
1810 – 1891
António Arnault
1936 – 2018
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
1847 – 1929
Arthur Dinter
1876 – 1948
Barsegh Kanachyan
1885 – 1967
Bartolomeu Cid dos Santos
1931 – 2008
Bernhard von Lindenau
1780 – 1854
Biagio Brugi
1855 – 1934
Carl August Ehrensvärd
1745 – 1800
Charles Woodruff Yost
1907 – 1981
Charles-Louis Havas
1783 – 1858
Chen Mingren
1903 – 1974
Dino Grandi
1895 – 1988
Dorothy Macmillan
1900 – 1966
Dovey Johnson Roundtree
1914 – 2018
Erich Mielke
1907 – 2000
Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy
1847 – 1923
Friedrich Kluge
1856 – 1926
Gaston Planté
1834 – 1889
Geoffrey de Havilland
1882 – 1965
George Antonius
1891 – 1942
George Charles Hawker
1818 – 1895
George Frampton
1860 – 1928
Georges Fabre
1844 – 1911
Gerry Connolly
1950 – 2025
Grigore Cobălcescu
1831 – 1892
Grigori Sokolnikov
1888 – 1939
Géza Lakatos
1890 – 1967
Hans-Adolf Prützmann
1901 – 1945
Henri Maurice Berteaux
1852 – 1911
Herbert Slaught
1861 – 1937
Hidesaburō Ueno
1872 – 1925
Holger Crafoord
1908 – 1982
Ilie Șteflea
1886 – 1946
Irene Emery
1900 – 1981
Ivan Konev
1897 – 1973
Jaime Lusinchi
1924 – 2014
James Franck
1882 – 1964
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
1612 – 1650
Javier Sologuren
1921 – 2004
Jean Alfred Fraissinet
1894 – 1981
Jiří Pernes
1948 – 2025
Joan du Plat Taylor
1906 – 1983
John Garfield
1913 – 1952
John M. Fabian
1939 – 2026
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz
1757 – 1841
Julienne Bušić
1948 – 2026
Jüri Aarma
1951 – 2019
Kan'in Kotohito
1865 – 1945
Kaoru Yosano
1938 – 2017
Karel Lidický
1900 – 1976
Karl Weber
1898 – 1985
Leocadio Marín Rodríguez
1942 – 2024
Lev Nikolaev
1937 – 2011
Margaret Archer
1943 – 2023
Menachem Amir
1930 – 2015
Michael Mayr
1864 – 1922
Miron Polyakin
1895 – 1941
Nurettin Baransel
1897 – 1967
Nāṣir al-Dīn Asad
1922 – 2015
Olha Ilyina
1937 – 2014
Oliver E. Williamson
1932 – 2020
Paul Judge
1949 – 2017
Pierre Dupuy
1896 – 1969
Rajiv Gandhi
1944 – 1991
Ray Kunze
1928 – 2014
Robert Castelli
1949 – 2024
Robert Thomson Leiper
1881 – 1969
Rodolfo Lanciani
1845 – 1929
Simon Vratsian
1882 – 1969
Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet
1864 – 1937
Sverre Klingenberg
1882 – 1958
Tamati Reedy
1936 – 2026
Tamisier
1809 – 1880
Terenzio, Count Mamiani della Rovere
1799 – 1885
Thomas A. Scott
1823 – 1881
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
1443 – 1524
Thomas Warton
1728 – 1790
Torbert Macdonald
1917 – 1976
William Dobinson Halliburton
1860 – 1931
Aase Texmon Rygh
1925 – 2019
Agnelo Rossi
1913 – 1995
Agustín de Cazalla
1510 – 1559
Akhtar Mansour
1968 – 2016
Alan G. Merten
1941 – 2020
Albert G. Jenkins
1830 – 1864
Albert Palmer
1831 – 1887
Albion W. Tourgée
1838 – 1905
Albrecht Schöne
1925 – 2025
Alexander Józef Sulkowski
1695 – 1762
Alexander Roshal
1936 – 2007
Alexander Vertinsky
1889 – 1957
Alfred Briggs Irion
1833 – 1903
Andrea Maria Erba
1930 – 2016
Anne Duguël
1945 – 2015
Annie M.G. Schmidt
1911 – 1995
Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée
1789 – 1874
António Maria Vasco de Melo Silva César e Meneses
1851 – 1923
Archie Carr
1909 – 1987
Barbara Cartland
1901 – 2000
Bertrand d'Eschaud
1556 – 1641
Binyavanga Wainaina
1971 – 2019
Byron Cummings
1860 – 1954
C. Donald Bateman
1932 – 2023
Callcott Reilly
1828 – 1900
Carl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers
1775 – 1852
Carl Wilhelm Scheele
1742 – 1786
Carlo Emilio Gadda
1893 – 1973
Charles A. Boutelle
1839 – 1901
Charles A.R. Dimon
1841 – 1902
Charles Benvignat
1805 – 1877
Charles Henry Herbert Cook
1843 – 1910
Charles Juste de Beauvau, 2nd Prince of Craon and Beauvau
1720 – 1793
Charles L. Capen
1845 – 1927
Charles Valton
1851 – 1918
Chevalier d'Éon
1728 – 1810
Christian I of Denmark
1426 – 1481
Claude Kitchin
1869 – 1923
Clint Walker
1927 – 2018
Connie J. Bonslagel
1885 – 1950
Daniel Buck
1829 – 1905
David Brandt
1946 – 2023
David Pawson
1930 – 2020
David S. Holmes, Jr.
1914 – 1994
DeWitt Menyard
1944 – 2009
Dinesh Mohan
1945 – 2021
Don Jessop
1927 – 2018
Douglas Chamberlain
1931 – 2025
Eduardo de Martino
1838 – 1912
Emmy Damerius-Koenen
1903 – 1987
Enric Marco
1921 – 2022
Eric Hoffer
1902 – 1983
Ernest Graves, Jr.
1924 – 2019
Eugène Follin
1823 – 1867
Everett Smith Beneke
1918 – 2010
Faith Whittlesey
1939 – 2018
Francis Augustine Thill
1893 – 1957
Francis Laking
1847 – 1914
Frank C. Osmers, Jr.
1907 – 1977
Frank D. White
1933 – 2003
Frank L. Young
1860 – 1930
Franz von Suppè
1819 – 1895
Frederic René Coudert
1898 – 1972
Fritz Müller
1822 – 1897
Gavrilo Rodić
1812 – 1890
Gebhard Truchsess of Waldburg
1547 – 1601
Gene Nora Jessen
1937 – 2024
George Charles D'Aguilar
1784 – 1855
George G. McWhorter
1833 – 1891
George de Roerich
1902 – 1960
Gholamreza Hassani
1928 – 2018
Giovanni Goria
1943 – 1994
Giovanni Muzio
1893 – 1982
Gloria Montenegro
1956 – 2025
Gottfried Heinsius
1709 – 1769
Graves B. Erskine
1897 – 1973
Gyula Bartos
1872 – 1954
H. V. McKay
1865 – 1926
Hans Goldschmidt
1861 – 1923
Harold Blair
1924 – 1976
Harold Parfitt
1921 – 2006
Heinz Kamnitzer
1917 – 2001
Helen Clarissa Morgan
1845 – 1914
Henrietta Jex-Blake
1860 – 1953
Henry Balding Lewis
1889 – 1966
Henry James Carr
1849 – 1929
Henry Robert Nicollon des Abbayes
1898 – 1974
Henry VI of England
1421 – 1471
Hermann A. Haus
1925 – 2003
Hieronymus Fabricius
1533 – 1619
Hiroyuki Nagato
1934 – 2011
Huseyn Aliyev
1911 – 1991
… and 1,744 more