Births

• 1813 – Richard Wagner, (pictured) German composer (d. 1883)
• 1859 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, British physician and writer (d. 1930)
• 1907 – Sir Laurence Olivier, English actor and director (d. 1989)
• 1927 – George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
• 1942 – Ted Kaczynski, American terrorist
• 1946 – George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
• 1982 – Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater

Deaths

• 337 – Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor (b. 272)
• 1457 – Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (b. 1381)
• 1667 – Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
• 1760 – Israel ben Eliezer, Polish-born mystical rabbi (b. 1700)
• 1885 – Victor Hugo, French author (b. 1802)
• 1967 – Langston Hughes, American writer (b. 1902)
• 1972 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet and writer (b. 1904)