May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 229 days remain until the end of the year.

• 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
• 1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.^[1]
• 1364 – Hundred Years' War: Bertrand du Guesclin and a French army defeat the Anglo-Navarrese army of Charles the Bad at Cocherel.^[2]
• 1426 – Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes King of Ava.^[3]
• 1527 – The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
• 1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
• 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.^[4]
• 1584 – Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.

• 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.
• 1770 – The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France.^[5]
• 1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
• 1811 – Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom fight an inconclusive battle against the French at the Albuera.^[6] It is, in proportion to the numbers involved, the bloodiest battle of the war.^[7]
• 1812 – Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.^[8]
• 1822 – Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
• 1832 – Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.^[9][10]
• 1834 – The Battle of Asseiceira is fought; it was the final and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
• 1842 – The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.^[11]
• 1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, the decisive Union victory by Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Champion Hill drives the Confederate army under John C. Pemberton back towards Vicksburg, Mississippi.^[12]
• 1866 – The United States Congress establishes the nickel.^[13]
• 1868 – The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.^[14]
• 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
• 1877 – The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.^[15]
• 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
• 1891 – The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opened in Frankfurt, Germany, featuring the world's first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).

• 1916 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
• 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
• 1919 – A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
• 1920 – In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
• 1925 – The first modern performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria occurred in Paris.^[16]
• 1929 – In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
• 1943 – Operation Chastise is undertaken by RAF Bomber Command with specially equipped Avro Lancasters to destroy the Mohne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley.^[17]
• 1945 – Beginning of the Levant Crisis between Britain and France in Syria. The latter try to quell nationalist protests but backs down after threat of military action by the British.^[18]
• 1951 – The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
• 1954 – Beginning of the Kengir uprising in the Gulag.^[19]
• 1959 – The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.^[20]
• 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
• 1961 – Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
• 1966 – The Chinese Communist Party issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
• 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
• 1974 – Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
• 1975 – Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.^[21][22]
• 1988 – A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
• 1991 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
• 1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
• 2003 – In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
• 2005 – Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
• 2011 – STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
• 2014 – Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.

• 1418 – John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable;^[23] 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)^[24]
• 1641 – Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691)^[25]
• 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)^[26]
• 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 Palmer 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)^[27]
• 1862 – Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (d. 1940)
• 1876 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (d. 1948)^[28]
• 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)^[29]
• 1888 – Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971)
• 1890 – Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (d. 1975)^[30]
• 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)^[31]
• 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 laureate (d. 2000)
• 1923 – Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Barbara Bachmann, American microbiologist (d. 1999)^[32]
• 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, Canadian academic and politician
• 1929 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012)
• 1929 – K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2024)
• 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 – 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, Hungarian footballer
• 1944 – Friedrich Schorlemmer, German Protestant theologian (d. 2024)^[33]
• 1944 – Danny Trejo, American actor
• 1946 – John Law, English sociologist and academic
• 1946 – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer
• 1947 – Cheryl Clarke, American writer^[34]
• 1947 – Darrell Sweet, 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 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, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1953 – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th 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, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
• 1960 – Bruce Norris, playwright^[35]
• 1960 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)
• 1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
• 1961 – Charles Wright, American wrestler
• 1962 – Helga Radtke, German long jumper
• 1963 – Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
• 1963 – David Wilkinson, 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^[36]
• 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, American sprinter
• 1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
• 1970 – Danielle Spencer, 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^[37]
• 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
• 1979 – Michael Oberlechner, Austrian politician^[38]
• 1980 – Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
• 1981 – Ricardo Costa, 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
• 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, Korean singer-songwriter and actress^[39][40]
• 1994 – Kathinka von Deichmann, Liechtenstein tennis player^[41][42]
• 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
• 1996 – Louisa Chirico, American tennis player^[43]
• 2000 – Luis Garcia, Dominican-American baseball player^[44]
• 2002 – Ryan Gravenberch, Dutch footballer^[45]

• 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)
• 1115 – Lambert of Arras, Flemish bishop^[46]
• 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, 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 Colonial Governor 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, English author and playwright (b. 1775)
• 1823 – Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. c. 1754)^[47]
• 1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768)
• 1861 – John Stevens Henslow, British priest, geologist and doctoral advisor to Charles Darwin (b. 1796)^[48]
• 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, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)
• 1943 – Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
• 1943 – Nigger, black labrador retriever belonging to Wing Commander Guy Gibson of the Royal Air Force, and the mascot of No. 617 Squadron.^[49]
• 1944 – George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
• 1944 – Filip Mișea, Aromanian activist, physician and politician (b. 1873)^[50]
• 1946 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
• 1947 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
• 1947 – Kalle Hakala, Finnish politician (b. 1880)^[51]
• 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, 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, creator of 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 (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 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 laureate (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Paul Shane, British actor and comedian (b. 1940)^[52]
• 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)^[53]
• 2019 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (b. 1917) ^[54]
• 2021 – Bruno Covas, Brazilian lawyer, politician (b. 1980) ^[55]
• 2023 – Norm Green, American long-distance runner (b. 1932)^[56]
• 2024 – Dabney Coleman, American actor (b. 1932)^[57]
• 2024 – Eddie Gossage, American public speaker and businessman (b. 1958)^[58]

• Christian feast day:
  • Aaron (Coptic Church)
  • 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 Calendar)
  • 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)
• Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))
• Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
• National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
• Teachers' Day (Malaysia)

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on May 16