1521 death of Josquin Desprez – Franco-Flemish composer (age c.81); the most famous European composer between Guillaume Dufay and Palestrina; widely considered by music scholars to be the first master of the high Renaissance style of polyphonic vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime.
1611 death of Tomás Luis de Victoria – Spanish composer (age c.62); the most famous composer of 16th century Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus; Victoria was not only a composer, but also an accomplished organist, singer and a Catholic priest.
1886 Rebecca Clarke – English composer and violist (d.1979); stranded in the United States at the outbreak of World War II, settled permanently in New York City; best known for her chamber music featuring the viola.
1886 Eric Coates – English composer and violist (d.1957); his music often used as radio themes: the BBC used his Knightsbridge March (1933) and Calling All Workers (1940); By the Sleepy Lagoon (1930) is still used to introduce the long-running program Desert Island Discs.
1937 first performance of Aaron Copland's El Salon Mexico, in Mexico City with Carlos Chávez conducting.
1940 first performance of Meredith Willson's Symphony No. 2 'The Missions of California' during a San Francisco Symphony concert on Treasure Island conducted by the composer; on the same program was the first performance of Willson's Prelude to ‘The Great Dictator’, based on his score to the Charlie Chapin film, with themes provided by Chaplin himself.