On this day · Gemini

May 22 birthdays

299 notable historical figures were born on May 22, and 183 died on this day. Everyone born on May 22 is a Gemini.

18% of May 22 birthdays work in Arts & Music, more than any other field. More come from United States (66) than any other country.

Born on May 22

• Laurence Olivier (1907 to 1989. English actor and director (1907–1989))
• George Best (1946 to 2005. Northern Irish footballer (1946–2005))
• Novak Djokovic (born 1987. Serbian tennis player (born 1987))
• Ted Kaczynski (1942 to 2023. American domestic terrorist (1942–2023))
• Morrissey (born 1959. English singer (born 1959))
• Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 to 1930. British writer and physician (1859–1930))
• Richard Wagner (1813 to 1883. German composer (1813–1883))
• Ram Mohan Roy (1772 to 1833. Indian reformer and writer (1772–1833))
• Hergé (1907 to 1983. Belgian cartoonist (1907–1983))
• Shuji Nakamura (born 1954. Japanese–American electronics engineer (born 1954))
• Naomi Campbell (born 1970. British model (born 1970))
• Symon Petliura (1879 to 1926. Ukrainian military leader (1879–1926))
• Arseniy Yatsenyuk (born 1974. Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016)
• D. F. Malan (1874 to 1959. Prime Minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954)
• Peter Matthiessen (1927 to 2014. American novelist)
• Gérard de Nerval (1808 to 1855. French writer, poet, essayist and translator (1808–1855))
• Peter Turchin (born 1957. Russian-American scientist (born 1957))
• Seema (born 1957. Indian actress)
• Vaiko (born 1944. Indian politician (born 1944))
• Myeongjong of Joseon (1534 to 1567. King of Joseon from 1545 to 1567)
• Paul Vanden Boeynants (1919 to 2001. Belgian politician)
• Facundo Cabral (1937 to 2011. Musical artist)
• Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (1539 to 1621. English nobleman (1539–1621))
• Antonia San Juan (born 1961. Spanish actress, director and screenwriter)
• Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (1770 to 1840. Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg from 1820 to 1829)
• Marisol Escobar (1930 to 2016. Venezuelan American sculptor (1930–2016))
• Kevin Penkin (born 1992. Australian composer)
• Christopher R. Browning (born 1944. American historian of the Holocaust)
• Vera Drew (born 1989. Film and television editor and director)
• Hubert Robert (1733 to 1808. French painter (1733–1808))
• Michael Green (physicist) (born 1946. British physicist)
• Harvey Milk (1930 to 1978. American gay rights activist (1930–1978))
• Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis (1792 to 1843. French mathematician, mechanical engineer, and scientist)
• Betty Williams (1943 to 2020. Northern Irish peace activist and Nobel laureate)
• Herbert C. Brown (1912 to 2004. American chemist (1912–2004))
• Sultan Ali Keshtmand (1935 to 2026. Afghan politician (1935–2026))
• George Andrew Olah (1927 to 2017. Hungarian-American chemist (1927–2017))
• Charles Aznavour (1924 to 2018. French singer and songwriter (1924–2018))
• Yoaz Hendel (born 1975. Israeli historian and politician (born 1975))
• Tom McCarthy (novelist) (born 1969. English writer and artist (born 1969))
• Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne (1724 to 1772. French explorer and cartographer (1724–1772))
• Anatol Rapoport (1911 to 2007. Russian-born American mathematical psychologist (1911–2007))
• Arthur Cravan (1887 to 1918. French poet, Dadaist and boxer)
• Johannes R. Becher (1891 to 1958. German politician, novelist and poet (1891–1958))
• David H. Levy (born 1948. Canadian-American astronomer and writer (born 1948))
• Kurmanjan Datka (1811 to 1907. Kyrgyz politician (1811–1907))
• Suniti Choudhury (1917 to 1988. Indian nationalist (1917–1988))
• Maurice J. Tobin (1901 to 1953. American politician (1901–1953))
• George H. Heilmeier (1936 to 2014. American engineer and businessman (1936-2014))
• Al-Shaykh al-Mufid (948 to 1022. Iraqi Twelver Shia theologian (c. 948–1022))
• Aston Webb (1849 to 1930. English architect (1849–1930))
• Peter Bazalgette (born 1953. British television executive (born 1953))
• Duff Twysden (1891 to 1938. British socialite)
• Léon Kengo wa Dondo (born 1935. Congolese 1st state commissioner)
• Prince Leopold, Count of Syracuse (1813 to 1860. Count of Syracuse)
• Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle (1811 to 1864. British politician)
• Friedrich Pollock (1894 to 1970. German social scientist and philosopher)
• Josephine Diebitsch Peary (1863 to 1955. American explorer (1863–1955))
• Lisa Murkowski (born 1957. American attorney and politician (born 1957))
• Momčilo Perišić (born 1944. Serbian former general (born 1944))

Died on May 22

• Constantine the Great (272 to 337. Roman emperor from 306 to 337)
• Victor Hugo (1802 to 1885. French writer and politician (1802–1885))
• Langston Hughes (1902 to 1967. American writer and social activist (1901–1967))
• Sher Shah Suri (1486 to 1545. Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 to 1545)
• Rita of Cascia (1381 to 1457. 15th-century Italian Augustinian nun and saint)
• Cecil Day-Lewis (1904 to 1972. Irish-born British poet (1904–1972))
• Thurl Ravenscroft (1914 to 2005. American actor (1914–2005))
• Dong Zhuo (139 to 192. 2nd-century Chinese military general and warlord)
• Louis V (967 to 987. King of West Francia from 979 to 987)
• Martin Gardner (1914 to 2010. American mathematics and science writer (1914–2010))
• Laskarina Bouboulina (1771 to 1825. Greek naval commander (1771–1825))
• Alessandro Manzoni (1785 to 1873. Italian poet and novelist (1785–1873))
• Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (1810 to 1859. King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 to 1859)
• Alexander VII (1599 to 1667. Head of the Catholic Church from 1655 to 1667)
• Claude McKay (1889 to 1948. Jamaican American writer and poet (1890–1948))
• Constantine X Doukas (1006 to 1067. Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067)
• Joseph Brooks (songwriter) (1938 to 2011. American director and composer (1938–2011))
• Ahmad Shah of Pahang (1930 to 2019. Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1979 to 1984)
• Cevdet Sunay (1899 to 1982. President of Turkey from 1966 to 1973)
• Francesco Guicciardini (1483 to 1540. Italian writer, historian, and politician (1483–1540))
• Peter Lamborn Wilson (1945 to 2022. American political writer, poet, and essayist (1945–2022))
• Empress Genshō (680 to 748. Empress of Japan from 715 to 724)
• Alfredo Palacio (1939 to 2025. President of Ecuador from 2005 to 2007)
• Blanche of England (1392 to 1409. English princess (1392–1409))
• Jovan Vladimir (990 to 1016. Prince of Duklja from c. 1000 to 1016 (c.990–1016))
• Philip Roth (1933 to 2018. American novelist (1933–2018))
• Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt (1752 to 1782. Duchess Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
• Renata of Lorraine (1544 to 1602. Duchess of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597)
• Albert Memmi (1920 to 2020. French writer (1920–2020))
• Archduchess Marie Caroline of Austria (1801 to 1832. Crown Princess of Saxony)

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