491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix win the Battle of Ravenna.
1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
1689 – William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain.
1713 – War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.
1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
1809 – An incomplete British victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Basque Roads results in the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier.
1814 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
1856 – Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker’s filibusters are holed up.
1868 – Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
1881 – Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
1908 – SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
1909 – The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
1921 – Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
1945 – World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
1951 – Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
1955 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
1957 – United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
1961 – The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
1964 – Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected President by the National Congress.
1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.
1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
1968 – Assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement.
1970 – Apollo 13 is launched.
1976 – The Apple I is created.
1977 – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
1981 – A massive riot in Brixton, south London results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
1986 – FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
1987 – The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
1990 – Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
1993 – Four hundred fifty prisoners rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continued to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
2001 – The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
2002 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
2002 – Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the Presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran’s claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
2007 – Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
2011 – An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
2012 – A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake was VII (Very strong). Ten were killed, twelve were injured, and a non-destructive tsunami was observed on the island of Nias.
2018 – An Ilyushin Il-76 which was owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.
Births on April 11
145 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 211)
1184 – William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
1357 – John I of Portugal (d. 1433)
1370 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
1374 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (d. 1398)
1493 – George I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1531)
1591 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
1592 – John Eliot, English lawyer and politician (d. 1632)
1644 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1724)
1658 – James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish peer (d. 1712)
1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer and conductor (d. 1738)
1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
1721 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
1722 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1771)
1749 – Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (d. 1803)
1755 – James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (d. 1824)
1770 – George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
1794 – Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1865)
1798 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1854)
1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
1825 – Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1864)
1827 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (d. 1890)
1854 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
1856 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1903)
1859 – Stefanos Thomopoulos, Greek historian and author (d. 1939)
1862 – William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1938)
1862 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (d. 1948)
1864 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (d. 1943)
1866 – Bernard O’Dowd, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1953)
1867 – Mark Keppel, American educator (d. 1928)
1869 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (d. 1943)
1871 – Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (d. 1940)
1873 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
1876 – Paul Henry, Irish painter (d. 1958)
1876 – Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (d. 1940)
1879 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (d. 1935)
1887 – Jamini Roy, Indian painter (d. 1972)
1893 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (d. 1971)
1896 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1967)
1899 – Percy Lavon Julian, African-American chemist and academic (d. 1975)
1900 – Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (d. 1989)
1903 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet (d. 1930)
1904 – K. L. Saigal, Indian singer and actor (d. 1947)
1905 – Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (d. 1937)
1906 – Dale Messick, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
1907 – Paul Douglas, American actor (d. 1959)
1908 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
1908 – Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1997)
1908 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (d. 1992)
1908 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (d. 1997)
1910 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (d. 1996)
1912 – John Levy, American bassist and businessman (d. 2012)
1913 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (d. 2006)
1914 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer (d. 1987)
1914 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
1914 – Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, American mathematician (d. 1988)
1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian-Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1983)
1916 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (d. 2001)
1917 – David Westheimer, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2005)
1918 – Richard Wainwright, English soldier and politician (d. 2003)
1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (d. 2015)
1920 – Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
1920 – William Royer, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
1921 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998)
1921 – Jack Rayner, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
1922 – Arved Viirlaid, Estonian-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2015)
1923 – George J. Maloof, Sr., American businessman (d. 1980)
1924 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist and politician (d. 2014)
1925 – Yuriy Lituyev, Russian hurdler and commander (d. 2000)
1925 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
1925 – Viktor Masing, Estonian botanist and ecologist (d. 2001)
1925 – Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman, founded Quebecor (d. 1997)
1926 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (d. 2014)
1926 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2011)
1926 – Karl Rebane, Estonian physicist and academic (d. 2007)
1927 – Lokesh Chandra, Indian historian
1928 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist
1928 – Edwin Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
1928 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
1930 – Nicholas F. Brady, American businessman and politician, 68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
1930 – Walter Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2018)
1930 – Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (d. 1997)
1931 – Lewis Jones, Welsh rugby player and coach
1932 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
1933 – Tony Brown, American journalist and academic
1934 – Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
1934 – Ron Pember, English actor, director and playwright
1935 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
1936 – Brian Noble, English bishop (d. 2019)
1937 – Jill Gascoine, English actress and author
1938 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
1938 – Michael Deaver, American politician, Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
1938 – Reatha King, American chemist and businesswoman
1939 – Luther Johnson, American singer and guitarist
1939 – Louise Lasser, American actress
1940 – Col Firmin, Australian politician (d. 2013)
1940 – Thomas Harris, American author and screenwriter
1940 – Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (d. 1998)
1941 – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and author
1941 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (d. 2015)
1942 – Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014)
1942 – Hattie Gossett, American writer
1942 – James Underwood, English pathologist and academic
1943 – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, English businessman and politician
1943 – Harley Race, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2019)
1944 – Peter Barfuß, German footballer
1944 – John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1945 – John Krebs, Baron Krebs, English zoologist and academic
1946 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (d. 2015)
1946 – Bob Harris, English journalist and radio host
1947 – Lev Bulat, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 2016)
1947 – Uli Edel, German director and screenwriter
1947 – Frank Mantooth, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
1947 – Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
1947 – Michael T. Wright, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
1949 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (d. 2011)
1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
1951 – Paul Fox, English singer and guitarist (d. 2007)
1952 – Nancy Honeytree, American singer and guitarist
1952 – Indira Samarasekera, Sri Lankan engineer and academic
1952 – Peter Windsor, English-Australian journalist and sportscaster
1953 – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
1953 – Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
1954 – Abdullah Atalar, Turkish engineer and academic
1954 – Aleksandr Averin, Azerbaijani cyclist and coach
1954 – Francis Lickerish, English guitarist and composer
1954 – David Perrett, Scottish psychologist and academic
1954 – Ian Redmond, English biologist and conservationist
1954 – Willie Royster, American baseball player (d. 2015)
1955 – Kevin Brady, American lawyer and politician
1955 – Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
1955 – Micheal Ray Richardson, American basketball player and coach
1958 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
1958 – Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Russian sprinter
1959 – Pierre Lacroix, Canadian ice hockey player
1959 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-American lawyer and judge
1959 – Zahid Maleque, Bangladeshi politician
1960 – Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
1961 – Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
1961 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
1961 – Nobuaki Kakuda, Japanese martial artist
1962 – Franck Ducheix, French fencer
1962 – Mark Lawson, English journalist and author
1963 – Billy Bowden, New Zealand cricketer and umpire
1963 – Waldemar Fornalik, Polish footballer and manager
1963 – Elizabeth Smylie, Australian tennis player
1964 – Steve Azar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – John Cryer, English journalist and politician
1964 – Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist
1964 – Bret Saberhagen, American baseball player and coach
1964 – Patrick Sang, Kenyan runner
1966 – Steve Scarsone, American baseball player and manager
1966 – Shin Seung-hun, South Korean singer-songwriter
1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
1968 – Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
1969 – Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer-songwriter
1969 – Michael von Grünigen, Swiss skier
1970 – Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
1970 – Delroy Pearson, English singer-songwriter and producer
1971 – John Leech, English politician
1971 – Oliver Riedel, German bass player
1972 – Balls Mahoney, American wrestler (d. 2016)
1972 – Allan Théo, French singer
1972 – Jason Varitek, American baseball player and manager
1973 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
1973 – Olivier Magne, French rugby player
1974 – Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
1974 – Ashot Danielyan, Armenian weightlifter
1974 – David Jassy, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Zöe Lucker, English actress
1974 – Tom Thacker, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1974 – Trot Nixon, American baseball player and sportscaster
1975 – Olga Hostáková, Czech tennis player
1975 – Walid Soliman, Tunisian author and translator
1976 – Kelvim Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
1977 – Ivonne Teichmann, German runner
1978 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007)
1979 – Malcolm Christie, English footballer
1979 – Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
1979 – Josh Server, American actor
1980 – Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
1980 – Mark Teixeira, American baseball player
1981 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
1981 – Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Veronica Pyke, Australian cricketer
1982 – Ian Bell, English cricketer
1982 – Peeter Kümmel, Estonian skier
1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian skier
1983 – Rubén Palazuelos, Spanish footballer
1983 – Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch race car driver
1984 – Kelli Garner, American actress
1984 – Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
1985 – Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
1985 – Will Minson, Australian footballer
1986 – Sarodj Bertin, Haitian model and human rights lawyer
1986 – Dai Greene, Welsh hurdler
1986 – Lena Schöneborn, German pentathlete
1987 – Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
1987 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter
1988 – Leland Irving, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Torrin Lawrence, American sprinter (d. 2014)
1989 – Zola Jesus, American singer
1990 – Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Greek footballer
1990 – Thulani Serero, South African footballer
1991 – Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
1991 – Brennan Poole, American racing driver
1996 – Dele Alli, English international footballer
1997 – Georgia Bohl, Australian swimmer
1997 – Miriam Kolodziejová, a Czech tennis player
Deaths on April 11
618 – Yang Guang, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 569)
678 – Donus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 610)
924 – Herman I, chancellor and archbishop of Cologne
1034 – Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine emperor (b. 968)
1077 – Anawrahta, king of Burma and founder of the Pagan Empire (b. 1014)
1079 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków (b. 1030)
1165 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia
1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172)
1447 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)
1512 – Gaston de Foix, French military commander (b. 1489)
1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel leader (b. 1521)
1587 – Thomas Bromley, English lord chancellor (b. 1530)
1609 – John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, English noble (b. 1533)
1612 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian and author (b. 1535)
1612 – Edward Wightman, English minister and martyr (b. 1566)
1626 – Marino Ghetaldi, Ragusan mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
1712 – Richard Simon, French priest and critic (b. 1638)
1723 – John Robinson, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1650)
1783 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Polish-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1718)
1798 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet and academic (b. 1725)
1856 – Juan Santamaría, Costa Rican soldier (b. 1831)
1861 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (b. 1824)
1873 – Edward Canby, American general (b. 1817)
1890 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (b. 1808)
1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (b. 1862)
1894 – Constantin Lipsius, German architect and theorist (b. 1832)
1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (b. 1830)
1902 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1818)
1903 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (b. 1878)
1906 – James Anthony Bailey, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1847)
1906 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
1908 – Henry Bird, English chess player and author (b. 1829)
1916 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
1918 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect and urban planner (b. 1841)
1926 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and academic (b. 1849)
823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I.
919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army.
1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.
1242 – During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
1536 – Royal Entry of Charles V into Rome: The last Roman triumph.
1566 – Two hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Seventeen Provinces.
1609 – Daimyō (Lord) Shimazu Tadatsune of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
1614 – In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
1621 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.
1710 – The Statute of Anne receives the royal assent establishing the Copyright law of the United Kingdom.
1722 – The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
1792 – United States President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
1795 – Peace of Basel between France and Prussia is made.
1818 – In the Battle of Maipú, Chile’s independence movement, led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
1879 – Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
1900 – Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.
1904 – The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh and Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
1915 – Boxing challenger Jess Willard knocks out Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
1922 – The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
1932 – Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
1933 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.
1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
1943 – World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.
1944 – World War II: Two hundred seventy inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
1945 – Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.
1946 – Soviet troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm.
1946 – A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.
1949 – A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
1951 – Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
1956 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
1956 – In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Ceylon.
1957 – In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.
1958 – Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
1969 – Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
1971 – In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
1976 – In China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident.
1977 – The US Supreme Court rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the Sioux people’s reservation thereby destroyed the tribe’s jurisdictional authority over the area in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip.
1986 – Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany.
1991 – An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
1992 – Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
1992 – Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War.
1998 – In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world.
1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
2000 – UEFA Cup semi-final violence: Four Galatasaray fans are arrested for the stabbings to death of two Leeds United fans.
2009 – North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
2010 – Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
Births on April 5
1170 – Isabella of Hainault (d. 1190)
1219 – Wonjong of Goryeo, 24th ruler of Goryeo (d. 1274)
1279 – Al-Nuwayri, Egyptian Muslim historian (d. 1333)
1288 – Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (d. 1336)
1315 – James III of Majorca (d. 1349)
1365 – William II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1417)
1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, Italian wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1510)
1521 – Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (d. 1570)
1523 – Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer and diplomat (d. 1596)
1533 – Giulio della Rovere, Italian Catholic Cardinal (d. 1578)
1539 – George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1603)
1549 – Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, (d. 1597)
1568 – Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644)
1588 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (d. 1679)
1591 – Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (d. 1634)
1595 – John Wilson, English composer and educator (d. 1674)
1604 – Charles IV (d. 1675)
1616 – Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1661)
1622 – Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1703)
1649 – Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (d. 1721)
1656 – Nikita Demidov, Russian industrialist (d. 1725)
1664 – Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, French noblewoman and Princess of Epinoy (d. 1748)
1674 – Margravine Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, (d. 1748)
1691 – Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1768)
1692 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (d. 1730)
1719 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician, Lord Marshal of Sweden (d. 1794)
1726 – Benjamin Harrison V, American politician, planter and merchant (d. 1791)
1727 – Pasquale Anfossi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1797)
1729 – Frederick Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1809)
1730 – Jean Baptiste Seroux d’Agincourt, French archaeologist and historian (d. 1814)
1732 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter and etcher (d. 1806)
1735 – Franziskus Herzan von Harras, Czech Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1804)
1739 – Philemon Dickinson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1809)
1752 – Sébastien Érard, French instrument maker (d. 1831)
1761 – Sybil Ludington, American heroine of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1839)
1769 – Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1839)
1773 – José María Coppinger, governor of Spanish East Florida (d. 1844)
1773 – Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, (d. 1839)
1777 – Marie Jules César Savigny, French zoologist (d. 1851)
1782 – Wincenty Krasiński, Polish nobleman (d. 1858)
1784 – Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1859)
1788 – Franz Pforr, German painter (d. 1812)
1793 – Casimir Delavigne, French poet and dramatist (d. 1843)
1793 – Felix de Muelenaere, Belgian politician (d. 1862)
1795 – Henry Havelock, British general (d. 1857)
1799 – Jacques Denys Choisy, Swiss clergyman and botanist (d. 1859)
1801 – Félix Dujardin, French biologist (d. 1860)
1801 – Vincenzo Gioberti, Italian philosopher, publicist and politician (d. 1852)
1804 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (d. 1881)
1809 – Karl Felix Halm, German scholar and critic (d. 1882)
1810 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, British East India Company army officer and politician (d. 1895)
1811 – Jules Dupré, French painter (d. 1889)
1814 – Felix Lichnowsky, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1848)
1822 – Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye, Belgian economist (d. 1892)
1827 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon and academic (d. 1912)
1832 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (d. 1893)
1834 – Prentice Mulford, American humorist and author (d. 1891)
1834 – Wilhelm Olbers Focke, German medical doctor and botanist (d. 1922)
1834 – Frank R. Stockton, American writer and humorist (d. 1902)
1835 – Vítězslav Hálek, Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. (d. 1874)
1837 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (d. 1909)
1839 – Robert Smalls, African-American ship’s pilot, sea captain, and politician (d. 1915)
1840 – Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (d. 1911)
1842 – Hans Hildebrand, Swedish archaeologist (d. 1913)
1845 – Friedrich Sigmund Merkel, German anatomist and histopathologist (d. 1919)
1845 – Jules Cambon, French diplomat (d. 1935)
1846 – Sigmund Exner, Austrian physiologist (d. 1926)
1846 – Henry Wellesley, British peer and politician (d. 1900)
1848 – Thure de Thulstrup, American illustrator (d. 1930)
1848 – Ulrich Wille, Swiss army general (d. 1925)
1850 – Enrico Mazzanti, Italian engineer and cartoonist (d. 1910)
1852 – Émile Billard, French sailor (d. 1930)
1852 – Walter W. Winans, American marksman and sculptor (d. 1920)
1852 – Franz Eckert, German composer and musician (d. 1916)
1856 – Booker T. Washington, African-American educator, essayist and historian (d. 1915)
1857 – Alexander of Battenberg (d. 1893)
1858 – Washington Atlee Burpee, Canadian businessman, founded Burpee Seeds (d. 1915)
1859 – Reinhold Seeberg, German theologian (d. 1935)
1860 – Harry S. Barlow, British tennis player (d. 1917)
1862 – Louis Ganne, French conductor (d. 1923)
1862 – Leo Stern, English cellist (d. 1904)
1863 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1950)
1867 – Ernest Lewis, British tennis player (d. 1930)
1869 – Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1942)
1869 – Albert Roussel, French composer (d. 1937)
1870 – Motobu Chōki, Japanese karateka (d. 1944)
1871 – Stanisław Grabski, Polish economist and politician (d. 1949)
1872 – Samuel Cate Prescott, American microbiologist and chemist (d. 1962)
1873 – Joseph Rheden, Austrian astronomer (d. 1946)
1874 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French Cardinal of the Catholic Church (d. 1949)
1874 – Manuel María Ponce Brousset, President of Peru (d. 1966)
1878 – Albert Champion, French cyclist (d. 1927)
1878 – Georg Misch, German philosopher (d. 1965)
1878 – Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (d. 1964)
1879 – Arthur Berriedale Keith, Scottish lawyer (d. 1944)
1879 – Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, German naval officer and author (d. 1956)
1880 – Eric Carlberg, Swedish Army officer, diplomat, shooter, fencer and modern pentathlete (d. 1963)
1880 – Vilhelm Carlberg, Swedish Army officer and shooter (d. 1970)
1882 – Song Jiaoren, Chinese revolutionary (d. 1913)
1882 – Natalia Sedova, 2nd wife of Leon Trotsky (d. 1962)
1883 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (d. 1950)
1884 – Ion Inculeț, Bessarabian academic and politician, President of Moldova (d. 1940)
1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian composer (d. 1978)
1886 – Gotthelf Bergsträsser, German linguist (d. 1933)
1886 – Frederick Lindemann, British physicist (d. 1957)
1886 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (d. 1933)
1887 – William Cowhig, British gymnast (d. 1964)
1889 – Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Brazilian martial artist (d. 1981)
1890 – Karl Kirk, Danish gymnast (d. 1955)
1890 – William Moore, British track and field athlete (d. 1956)
1891 – Arnold Jackson, English runner, soldier, and lawyer (d. 1972)
1891 – Laura Vicuña, Chilean nun (d. 1904)
1892 – Raymond Bonney, American ice hockey player (d. 1964)
1893 – Frithjof Andersen, Norwegian wrestler (d. 1975)
1893 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (d. 1973)
1894 – Lawrence Dale Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation (d. 1956)
1894 – Hans Hüttig, German SS officer (d. 1980)
1894 – Carl Rudolf Florin, Swedish botanist (d. 1965)
1895 – Mike O’Dowd, American boxer (d. 1957)
1896 – Einar Lundborg, Swedish aviator (d. 1931)
1897 – Hans Schuberth, German politician (d. 1976)
1899 – Alfred Blalock, American surgeon and academic (d. 1964)
1900 – Herbert Bayer, Austrian-American graphic designer, painter, and photographer (d. 1985)
1900 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1928)
1900 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (d. 1967)
1901 – Curt Bois, German actor (d. 1991)
1901 – Chester Bowles, American diplomat and ambassador (d. 1986)
1901 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (d. 1981)
1901 – Doggie Julian, American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach (d. 1967)
1902 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-American rabbi (d. 1994)
1903 – Marion Aye, American actress (d. 1951)
1904 – Richard Eberhart, American poet and academic (d. 2005)
1906 – Albert Charles Smith, American botanist (d. 1999)
1906 – Fernando Germani, Italian organist (d. 1998)
1906 – Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer (d. 1952)
1907 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Thai jurist (d. 2002)
1908 – Bette Davis, American actress (d. 1989)
1908 – Kurt Neumann, German director (d. 1958)
1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1986)
1908 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1989)
1909 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer, co-founded Eon Productions (d. 1996)
1909 – Giacomo Gentilomo, Italian film director and painter (d. 2001)
1909 – Károly Sós, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1991)
1909 – Erwin Wegner, German hurdler (d. 1945)
1910 – Sven Andersson, Swedish politician (d. 1987)
1910 – Oronzo Pugliese, Italian football manager (d. 1990)
1911 – Hedi Amara Nouira, Tunisian politician (d. 1993)
1911 – Johnny Revolta, American golfer (d. 1991)
1912 – Jehan Buhan, French fencer (d. 1999)
1912 – Habib Elghanian, Iranian businessman (d. 1979)
1912 – Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist (d. 1975)
1912 – Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (d. 2000)
1912 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
1912 – John Le Mesurier, English actor (d. 1983)
1912 – István Örkény, Hungarian author and playwright (d. 1979)
1912 – Bill Roberts, English sprinter and soldier (d. 2001)
1913 – Antoni Clavé, Catalan artist (d. 2005)
1913 – Nicolas Grunitzky, 2nd President of Togo (d. 1969)
1913 – Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (d. 1958)
1914 – Felice Borel, Italian footballer (d. 1993)
1916 – Gregory Peck, American actor, political activist, and producer (d. 2003)
1917 – Robert Bloch, American author (d. 1994)
1917 – Frans Gommers, Belgian footballer (d. 1996)
1919 – Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2018)
1920 – Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)
1920 – Arthur Hailey, English-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2004)
1920 – Alfonso Thiele, Turkish-Italian race car driver (d. 1986)
1920 – John Willem Gran, Swedish bishop (d. 2008)
1921 – Christopher Hewett, English actor and theatre director (d. 2001)
1922 – Tom Finney, English footballer (d. 2014)
1922 – Harry Freedman, Polish-Canadian horn player, composer, and educator (d. 2005)
1922 – Andy Linden, American race car driver (d. 1987)
1922 – Gale Storm, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
1923 – Ernest Mandel, German-born Belgian Marxist economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist (d. 1995)
1923 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (d. 1995)
1923 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (d. 2001)
1924 – Igor Borisov, Soviet rower (d. before 2005)
1925 – Janet Rowley, American human geneticist (d. 2013)
1925 – Pierre Nihant, Belgian cyclist (d. 1993)
1926 – Roger Corman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1926 – Liang Yusheng, Chinese writer (d. 2009)
1927 – Thanin Kraivichien, Thai lawyer and politician
1927 – Arne Hoel, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2006)
1928 – Enzo Cannavale, Italian actor (d. 2011)
1928 – Tony Williams, American singer (d. 1992)
1929 – Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and painter (d. 2008)
1929 – Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1929 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor and producer (d. 2001)
1929 – Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (d. 1967)
1929 – Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, Iranian wrestler
1930 – Mary Costa, American singer and actress
1930 – Pierre Lhomme, French director of photography (d. 2019)
1931 – Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1931 – Héctor Olivera, Argentine director, producer and screenwriter
1933 – Feridun Buğeker, Turkish footballer (d. 2014)
1933 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (d. 2005)
1933 – Barbara Holland, American author (d. 2010)
1933 – K. Kailasapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and academic (d. 1982)
1934 – John Carey, English author and critic
1934 – Roman Herzog, German lawyer and politician, 7th President of Germany (d. 2017)
1934 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (d. 2014)
1934 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2000)
1935 – Giovanni Cianfriglia, Italian actor
1935 – Peter Grant, English talent manager (d. 1995)
1935 – Donald Lynden-Bell, English astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 2018)
1935 – Frank Schepke, German rower (d. 2017)
1936 – Ronnie Bucknum, American race car driver (d. 1992)
1936 – Glenn Jordan, American director and producer
1936 – Dragoljub Minić, Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster (d. 2005)
1937 – Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and author
1937 – Jean-Pierre Petit, French scientist
1937 – Colin Powell, American general and politician, 65th United States Secretary of State
1937 – Andrzej Schinzel, Polish mathematician
1937 – Arie Selinger, Israeli volleyball player and manager
1937 – Juan Vicente Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer (d. 2012)
1938 – Colin Bland, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (d. 2018)
1938 – Mal Colston, Australian educator and politician (d. 2003)
1938 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
1938 – Natalya Kustinskaya, Soviet actress (d. 2012)
1939 – Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania (d. 2011)
1939 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
1939 – Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, Prime Minister of Yemen
1939 – Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
1939 – David Winters, English-American actor, choreographer and producer (d. 2019)
1940 – Tommy Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1940 – Gilles Proulx, Canadian journalist, historian, and radio host
1941 – Michael Moriarty, American-Canadian actor
1941 – Dave Swarbrick, English singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2016)
1942 – Allan Clarke, English singer-songwriter
1942 – Pascal Couchepin, Swiss politician
1942 – Juan Gisbert Sr., Spanish tennis player
1942 – Peter Greenaway, Welsh director and screenwriter
1943 – Dean Brown, Australian politician, 41st Premier of South Australia
1943 – Max Gail, American actor and director
1943 – Fighting Harada, Japanese boxer
1943 – Miet Smet, Belgian politician
1943 – Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (d. 2018)
1944 – Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress and director
1944 – János Martonyi, Hungarian politician
1944 – Evan Parker, British musician
1944 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (d. 2014)
1944 – Willy Planckaert, Belgian cyclist
1944 – Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rican physician and politician, 7th Governor of Puerto Rico
1944 – Peter T. King, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
1945 – Ove Bengtson, Swedish tennis player
1945 – Steve Carver, American director and producer
1945 – Cem Karaca, Turkish musician (d. 2004)
1945 – Tommy Smith, English footballer (d. 2019)
1946 – Jane Asher, English actress
1946 – Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer
1946 – Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
1946 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler
1947 – Đurđica Bjedov, Yugoslav swimmer
1947 – Willy Chirino, Cuban-American musician
1947 – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Filipino academic and politician, 14th President of the Philippines
1947 – Ramón Mifflin, Peruvian footballer
1947 – Virendra Sharma, Indian-English lawyer and politician
1948 – Pierre-Albert Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
1948 – Dave Holland, English drummer (d. 2018)
1948 – Roy McFarland, English footballer and manager
1949 – Stanley Dziedzic, American wrestler
1949 – Larry Franco, American film producer
1949 – Judith Resnik, Ukrainian-American engineer and astronaut (d. 1986)
1950 – Ann C. Crispin, American writer (d. 2013)
1950 – Franklin Chang Díaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American astronaut and physicist
1950 – Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1950 – Toshiko Fujita, Japanese actress, singer and narrator (d. 2018)
1950 – Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor
1951 – Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter
1951 – Yevgeniy Gavrilenko, Belarusian hurdler
1951 – Nedim Gürsel, Turkish writer
1951 – Dean Kamen, American inventor and businessman, founded Segway Inc.
1951 – Dave McArtney, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1951 – Ubol Ratana, Thai Princess
1952 – Alfie Conn, Scottish international footballer, midfielder
1952 – John C. Dvorak, American author and editor
1952 – Sandy Mayer, American tennis player
1952 – Dennis Mortimer, English footballer
1952 – Mitch Pileggi, American actor
1953 – Frank Gaffney, American journalist and radio host
1953 – Keiko Han, Japanese actress
1953 – Tae Jin-ah, South Korean singer
1953 – Raleb Majadele, Israeli politician
1953 – Ian Swales, English accountant and politician
1954 – Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist and radio host
1954 – Peter Case, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Mohamed Ben Mouza, Tunisian footballer
1954 – Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Yoshiichi Watanabe, Japanese footballer
1955 – Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Ricardo Ferrero, Argentine footballer (d. 2015)
1955 – Christian Gourcuff, French footballer and manager
1955 – Anthony Horowitz, English author and screenwriter
1955 – Bernard Longley, English prelate
1955 – Akira Toriyama, Japanese illustrator
1955 – Takayoshi Yamano, Japanese footballer
1956 – Diamond Dallas Page, American wrestler and actor
1956 – Leonid Fedun, Russian businessman
1956 – Reid Ribble, American politician
1957 – Sebastian Adayanthrath, Indian bishop
1957 – Karin Roßley, German hurdler
1958 – Henrik Dettmann, Finnish basketball coach
1958 – Ryoichi Kawakatsu, Japanese footballer
1958 – Johan Kriek, South African-American tennis player
1958 – Daniel Schneidermann, French journalist
1958 – Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan lawyer and journalist (d. 2009)
1959 – Paul Chung, Hong Kong actor and host (d. 1989)
1960 – Asteris Koutoulas, Romanian-German record producer, manager, and author
1960 – Larry McCray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1960 – Hiromi Taniguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
1960 – Adnan Terzić, Bosnian politician
1961 – Andrea Arnold, English filmmaker and actress
1961 – Anna Caterina Antonacci, Italian soprano
1961 – Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahraini-Danish human rights activist
1961 – Lisa Zane, American actress and singer
1962 – Lana Clarkson, American actress and model (d. 2003)
1962 – Sara Danius, Swedish scholar of literature and aesthetics
1962 – Richard Gough, Swedish born Scottish international footballer
AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus’.
1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d’Italia.
1849 – President-Elect Zachary Taylor and Vice President-Elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.
1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
1882 – Britain’s first electric trams run in east London.
1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.
1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
1966 – In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles’ John Lennon declares that the band is “more popular than Jesus now”.
1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley’s Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
1990 – American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.
2018 – Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
2019 – The Indian Attack submarine was spotted by the Pakistan Navy.
2020 – Former Daredevil Nik Wallenda is the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.
Births on March 4
895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the Later Han Dynasty (d. 948)
977 – Al-Musabbihi, Fatimid historian and official (d. 1030)
1188 – Blanche of Castile, French queen consort (d. 1252)
1394 – Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorer (d. 1460)
1484 – George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
1502 – Elisabeth of Hesse, princess of Saxony (d. 1557)
1519 – Hindal Mirza, Mughal emperor (d. 1551)
1526 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (d. 1596)
1602 – Kanō Tan’yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
1634 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish philosopher (d. 1689)
1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
1729 – Anne d’Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
1760 – William Payne, English painter (d. 1830)
1760 – Hugh Ronalds, British nurseryman who cultivated and documented 300 varieties of apples (d. 1833)
1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849)
1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875)
1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
1826 – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
1826 – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, senior United States Army officer (d. 1955)
1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
1875 – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
1877 – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
1877 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
1883 – Robert Emmett Keane, American actor (d. 1981)
1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
1884 – Lee Shumway, American actor (d. 1959)
1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
1888 – Emma Richter, German paleontologist (d. 1956)
1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
1889 – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
1893 – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
1897 – Lefty O’Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
1899 – Peter Illing, Austrian born, British film and television actor (d. 1966)
1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
1901 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
1903 – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
1904 – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
1906 – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
1907 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (d. 1964)
1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
1908 – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
1910 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
1912 – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
1914 – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist (d. 2017)
1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator (d. 2017)
1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
1921 – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
1922 – Dina Pathak, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
1923 – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic (d. 2018)
1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic (d. 2019)
1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and race car driver (d. 2018)
1926 – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (d. 2018)
1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
1926 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
1927 – Robert Orben, American magician and author
1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
1929 – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
1931 – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician (d. 2019)
1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
1932 – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
1932 – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic (d. 2019)
1934 – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
1936 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
1936 – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
1937 – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
1937 – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
1937 – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2017)
1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
1938 – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
1938 – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
1938 – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
1939 – Robert Shaye, American film producer
1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
1940 – David Plante, American novelist
1941 – John Hancock, American film and television actor (d. 1992)
1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1941 – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general
1942 – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
1942 – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
1942 – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer and politician
1942 – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
1944 – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
1946 – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian born US filmmaker
1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter and film producer
1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
1947 – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
1948 – Mike Moran, English musician, songwriter and record producer
1948 – Jean O’Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2015)
1948 – Shakin’ Stevens, British singer-songwriter
1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
1950 – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
1951 – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1951 – Peter O’Sullivan, Welsh international footballer, winger
1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
1951 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
1952 – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
1952 – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
1953 – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
1953 – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
1953 – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
1953 – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American novelist and short story writer
1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
1954 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Korean American author (d. 1982)
1954 – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author (d. 2017)
1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor and author
1957 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
1958 – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
1958 – Tina Smith, American politician, junior senator of Minnesota
1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
1959 – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
1960 – Chonda Pierce, American comedian
1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
1961 – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
1962 – Paul Canoville, English footballer
1962 – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player (d. 2016)
1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
1965 – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1965 – John Murphy British film composer
1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
1966 – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
1966 – Helmut Mayer, Austrian skier
1966 – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
1966 – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
1967 – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1967 – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1967 – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
1967 – Sam Taylor-Johnson, English filmmaker and photographer
1967 – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
1967 – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
1968 – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
1969 – Wayne Collins, English footballer, midfielder
1969 – Annie Yi, Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer
1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
1970 – Will Keen, English actor
1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
1971 – Emily Bazelon, American journalist
1971 – Jason Croot, English actor and director
1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
1971 – Geraldine O’Rawe, Northern Irish actress
1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
1972 – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
1972 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and record producer
1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
1972 – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
1973 – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
1973 – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
1973 – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
1973 – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
1974 – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
1974 – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1974 – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
1974 – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
1975 – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
1975 – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
1977 – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
1980 – Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter
1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
1980 – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
1980 – Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter
1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
1982 – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
1982 – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
1982 – Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer
1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
1983 – Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director
1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
1983 – Drew Houston, American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur
1984 – Josh Bowman, English actor
1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
1984 – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
1984 – Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer
1984 – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
1985 – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist
1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
1986 – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
1986 – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
1986 – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
1987 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
1988 – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner
1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
1990 – Draymond Green, American basketball player
1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
1992 – Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder
1992 – Bernd Leno, German footballer
1992 – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
1993 – Richard Peniket, English footballer
1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
1994 – AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer
1995 – Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter
1995 – Bill Milner, English actor
1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer
2002 – Jacob Hopkins, American actor
Deaths on March 4
306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
561 – Pelagius I, pope of the Catholic Church
934 – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 873)
1172 – Stephen III, king of Hungary (b. 1147)
1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
1238 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
1238 – Yuri II, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1189)
1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1261)
1314 – Jakub Świnka, Polish priest and archbishop
1371 – Jeanne d’Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
1496 – Sigismund, archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
1710 – Louis III, duke of Bourbon (b. 1668)
1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)