On this day · Gemini

May 21 birthdays

297 notable historical figures were born on May 21, and 171 died on this day. Everyone born on May 21 is a Gemini.

16% of May 21 birthdays work in Politics, more than any other field. More come from United States (74) than any other country.

Born on May 21

• Philip II of Spain (1527 to 1598. 16th-century European king)
• Albrecht Dürer (1471 to 1528. German artist and theorist (1471–1528))
• Alexander Pope (1688 to 1744. English poet (1688–1744))
• Mary Robinson (born 1944. President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997)
• Mengistu Haile Mariam (born 1937. Leader of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991)
• Mary Anning (1799 to 1843. British fossil collector and palaeontologist (1799–1847))
• Robert Montgomery (actor) (1904 to 1981. American actor (1904–1981))
• Malcolm Fraser (1930 to 2015. Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983)
• Henri Rousseau (1844 to 1910. French painter (1844–1910))
• Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (1864 to 1945. Crown Princess of Austria (1864–1945))
• Lázaro Cárdenas (1895 to 1970. President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940)
• Fats Waller (1904 to 1943. American jazz pianist and composer (1904–1943))
• Joseph Fouché (1759 to 1820. French statesman, revolutionary and police chief (1763–1820))
• Marcel Breuer (1902 to 1981. Hungarian-American architect and designer (1902–1981))
• Lucien (1775 to 1840. French politician and diplomat (1775–1840))
• Empress Suiko (554 to 628. Empress of Japan from 592 to 628)
• Miriam Toews (born 1964. Canadian writer (born 1964))
• Lord Leopold Mountbatten (1889 to 1922. British noble and army officer)
• Glenn Curtiss (1878 to 1930. American aviator and industrialist (1878–1930))
• Arthur Russell (1951 to 1992. American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician)
• Marc Ribot (born 1954. American guitarist and composer (born 1954))
• Jeffrey Dahmer (1960 to 1994. American serial killer (1960–1994))
• The Notorious B.I.G. (1972 to 1997. American rapper (1972–1997))
• Princess Sophie of Sweden (1801 to 1865. Grand Duchess of Baden from 1830 to 1852)
• Tudor Arghezi (1880 to 1967. Romanian writer and political figure (1880–1967))
• Willem Einthoven (1860 to 1927. Dutch physiologist (1860–1927))
• Pedro Eugenio Aramburu (1903 to 1970. Dictator of Argentina from 1955 to 1958)
• Frank Kameny (1925 to 2011. American gay rights activist (1925–2011))
• Johnny Majors (1935 to 2020. American football player and coach (1935–2020))
• Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863 to 1954. Archduke of Austria and a Prince of Hungary and Bohemia)
• José Batlle y Ordóñez (1856 to 1929. Uruguayan politician (1856–1929))
• Eleonora Maria of Austria (1653 to 1697. Queen of Poland (1670–1673), Duchess of Lorraine (1678–1690))
• DJ Aqeel (born 1977. Popular Indian DJ, singer and composer)
• Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford (1893 to 1971. Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1893–1971))
• Robert Creeley (1926 to 2005. American poet (1926–2005))
• Curtis T. McMullen (born 1958. American mathematician (born 1958))
• Matt Wieters (born 1986. American baseball player (born 1986))
• Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813 to 1843. Minister in the Church of Scotland (1813–1843))
• Stephen Allen Benson (1816 to 1865. 2nd President of Liberia from 1856 to 1864)
• Sharad Joshi (1931 to 1991. Indian poet and writer (1931–1991))
• Ben Hardaway (1895 to 1957. American film director (1895–1957))
• Émile Verhaeren (1855 to 1916. Belgian poet (1855–1916))
• Günter Blobel (1936 to 2018. German-American biologist (1936–2018))
• Sergei Shoigu (born 1955. Russian politician (born 1955))
• Michael Crick (born 1958. English broadcaster, journalist and author (born 1958))
• Heinz Holliger (born 1939. Swiss composer, oboist, and conductor (born 1939))
• Nii Amaa Ollennu (1906 to 1986. Ghanaian jurist and politician (1906–1986))
• Tom Daley (born 1994. English diver (born 1994))
• Maria Innocentia Hummel (1909 to 1946. German Franciscan sister (1909–1946))
• Aaron Aaronsohn (1876 to 1919. Jewish agronomist, botanist, and Zionist activist (1876–1919))
• Louis Renault (jurist) (1843 to 1918. French jurist and Nobel Prize recipient (1843–1918))
• Roberto Ierusalimschy (born 1960. Brazilian computer scientist (born 1960))
• Chris Benoit (1967 to 2007. Canadian professional wrestler (1967–2007))
• Charles Paul de Kock (1793 to 1871. French novelist)
• Ali Sastroamidjojo (1903 to 1975. Indonesian statesman and diplomat (1903–1975))
• Arno (singer) (1949 to 2022. Belgian singer (1949–2022))
• Giuseppe Mercalli (1850 to 1914. Italian volcanologist and priest (1850–1914))
• Susan Coyle (born 1970. Australian army officer (born 1970))
• Giulio Alberoni (1664 to 1752. Italian cardinal and statesman (1664–1752))
• Nikifor (1895 to 1968. Lemko painter (1895–1968))

Died on May 21

• Rajiv Gandhi (1944 to 1991. Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989)
• Henry VI of England (1421 to 1471. King of England (1422–61, 1470–71))
• Hernando de Soto (1500 to 1542. Spanish explorer and conquistador (c.1479–1542))
• Alasdair MacIntyre (1929 to 2025. Scottish-American philosopher (1929–2025))
• Barbara Cartland (1901 to 2000. English writer and media personality (1901–2000))
• Niki de Saint Phalle (1930 to 2002. French plastician, painter and sculptor)
• Venustiano Carranza (1859 to 1920. President of Mexico from 1914 to 1920)
• Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847 to 1929. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895)
• Christian I of Denmark (1426 to 1481. Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union (1426–1481))
• Dino Grandi (1895 to 1988. Italian politician (1895–1988))
• Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742 to 1786. Swedish German chemist who discovered oxygen (1742–1786))
• Kalaivani Rajaratnam (1968 to 1991. Suicide bomber in Sri Lanka)
• Conrad IV (1228 to 1254. 13th century King of Germany, Sicily, and Jerusalem)
• James Franck (1882 to 1964. German–American physicist (1882–1964))
• Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (1661 to 1724. British statesman (1661–1724))
• Williamina Fleming (1857 to 1911. Scottish astronomer (1857–1911))
• Alejandro Rey (1930 to 1987. American actor and television director (1930–1987))
• Sunderlal Bahuguna (1927 to 2021. Indian environmental activist (1927–2021))
• Christopher Smart (1722 to 1771. English poet (1722–1771))
• Wang Anshi (1021 to 1086. Chinese Song dynasty politician (1021–1086))
• Jaime Lusinchi (1924 to 2014. President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989)
• Hugo de Vries (1848 to 1935. Dutch botanist (1848–1935))
• Emperor Yōmei (540 to 587. Emperor of Japan from 585 to 587)
• Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (1784 to 1806. First wife of Ferdinand VII (1784–1806))
• Tukojirao Holkar III (1890 to 1978. Maharaja of Indore from 1903 to 1926)
• Al-Hakam I (771 to 822. Emir of Córdoba from 796 to 822)
• Rosemary Radford Ruether (1936 to 2022. American theologian (1936–2022))
• Ana Aslan (1897 to 1988. Romanian biologist and physician of Armenian origin)
• Annie M.G. Schmidt (1911 to 1995. Dutch writer (1911–1995))
• Gregorio Luperón (1839 to 1897. Dominican revolutionary and politician (1839–1897))

Explore the day before or after: May 20 · May 22. Or find who shares your exact birthday.