Skip to content
-
July 25 in History
- 306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.
- 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.
- 677 – Climax of the Siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in a three-day assault on the city walls.
- 864 – The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings.
- 1137 – Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Prince Louis, later King Louis VII of France, at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux.
- 1139 – Battle of Ourique: The Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques who is proclaimed King of Portugal.
- 1261 – The city of Constantinople is recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.
- 1278 – The naval Battle of Algeciras takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in a victory for the Emirate of Granada and the Maranid Dynasty over the Kingdom of Castile.
- 1467 – The Battle of Molinella: The first battle in Italy in which firearms are used extensively.
- 1536 – Sebastián de Belalcázar on his search of El Dorado founds the city of Santiago de Cali.
- 1538 – The city of Guayaquil is founded by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana and given the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil.
- 1547 – Henry II of France is crowned.
- 1554 – Mary I marries Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral.
- 1567 – Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela.
- 1593 – Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.
- 1603 – James VI of Scotland is crowned king of England (James I of England), bringing the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.
- 1609 – The English ship Sea Venture, en route to Virginia, is deliberately driven ashore during a storm at Bermuda to prevent its sinking; the survivors go on to found a new colony there.
- 1693 – Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Mexico.
- 1722 – Dummer’s War begins along the Maine-Massachusetts border.
- 1755 – British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians.
- 1759 – French and Indian War: In Western New York, British forces capture Fort Niagara from the French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
- 1783 – American Revolutionary War: The war’s last action, the Siege of Cuddalore, is ended by a preliminary peace agreement.
- 1788 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).
- 1792 – The Brunswick Manifesto is issued to the population of Paris promising vengeance if the French royal family is harmed.
- 1797 – Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain).
- 1799 – At Abu Qir in Egypt, Napoleon I of France defeats 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha.
- 1814 – War of 1812: An American attack on Canada is repulsed.
- 1824 – Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua.
- 1837 – The first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated in London by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone.
- 1853 – Joaquin Murrieta, the famous Californio bandit known as the “Robin Hood of El Dorado”, is killed.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
- 1866 – The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank.
- 1868 – The Wyoming Territory is established.
- 1869 – The Japanese daimyōs begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 17, 1869).
- 1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War begins when the Japanese fire upon a Chinese warship.
- 1898 – In the Puerto Rican Campaign, the United States seizes Puerto Rico from Spain.
- 1908 – Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in kombu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it.
- 1909 – Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover, England, United Kingdom in 37 minutes.
- 1915 – RFC Captain Lanoe Hawker becomes the first British pursuit aviator to earn the Victoria Cross.
- 1917 – Sir Robert Borden introduces the first income tax in Canada as a “temporary” measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).
- 1925 – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established.
- 1934 – The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt.
- 1940 – General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.
- 1942 – The Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the German occupation.
- 1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by the Grand Council of Fascism and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio.
- 1944 – World War II: Operation Spring is one of the bloodiest days for the First Canadian Army during the war.
- 1946 – Nuclear weapons testing: Operation Crossroads: An atomic bomb is detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll.
- 1956 – Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.
- 1957 – The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed, under President Habib Bourguiba.
- 1958 – The African Regroupment Party (PRA) holds its first congress in Cotonou.
- 1961 – Cold War: In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
- 1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the “Vietnamization” of the war.
- 1973 – Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched.
- 1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.
- 1978 – Puerto Rican police shoot two nationalists in the Cerro Maravilla murders.
- 1978 – Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
- 1979 – Another section of the Sinai Peninsula is peacefully returned by Israel to Egypt.
- 1983 – Black July: Thirty-seven Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners.
- 1984 – Salyut 7 cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to perform a space walk.
- 1993 – Israel launches a massive attack against Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call the Seven-Day War.
- 1993 – The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 1994 – Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, that formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948.
- 1995 – A gas bottle explodes in Saint Michel station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network). Eight are killed and 80 wounded.
- 1996 – In a military coup in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.
- 2000 – Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 113 people.
- 2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s first female president.
- 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.
- 2018 – As-Suwayda attacks: Coordinated attacks occur in Syria.
- 2019 – National extreme heat records set this day in the UK, Belgium and Germany during the July 2019 European heatwave.
Births on July 25
- 975 – Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg (d. 1018)
- 1016 – Casimir I the Restorer, duke of Poland (d. 1058)
- 1109 – Afonso I, king of Portugal (d. 1185)
- 1165 – Ibn Arabi, Andalusian Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher (d. 1240)
- 1261 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
- 1291 – Hawys Gadarn, Welsh noblewoman (d. 1353)
- 1336 – Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1404)
- 1394 – James I, king of Scotland (d. 1437)
- 1404 – Philip I, Duke of Brabant (d. 1430)
- 1421 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (d. 1461)
- 1450 – Jakob Wimpfeling, Renaissance humanist (d. 1528)
- 1486 – Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1547)
- 1498 – Hernando de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza (d. 1575)
- 1532 – Alphonsus Rodriguez, Jesuit lay brother and saint (d. 1617)
- 1556 – George Peele, English translator, poet, and dramatist (d. 1596)
- 1562 – Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord (d. 1611)
- 1573 – Christoph Scheiner, German astronomer and Jesuit (d. 1650)
- 1581 – Brian Twyne, English archivist (d. 1644)
- 1605 – Theodore Haak, German scholar (d. 1690)
- 1633 – Joseph Williamson, English politician (d. 1701)
- 1654 – Agostino Steffani, Italian composer and diplomat (d. 1728)
- 1657 – Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer (d. 1714)
- 1658 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish general (d. 1703)
- 1683 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch playwright and poet (d. 1756)
- 1750 – Henry Knox, American general and politician, 1st United States Secretary of War (d. 1806)
- 1753 – Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, French-Spanish captain and politician, 10th Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (d. 1810)
- 1797 – Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1889)
- 1806 – Maria Weston Chapman, American abolitionist (d. 1885)
- 1839 – Francis Garnier, French captain and explorer (d. 1873)
- 1844 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, sculptor, and photographer (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Paul Langerhans, German pathologist, physiologist and biologist (d. 1888)
- 1848 – Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English lieutenant and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1930)
- 1857 – Frank J. Sprague, American naval officer and inventor (d. 1934)
- 1865 – Jac. P. Thijsse, Dutch botanist and conservationist (d. 1945)
- 1866 – Frederick Blackman, English physiologist and academic (d. 1947)
- 1867 – Max Dauthendey, German author and painter (d. 1918)
- 1867 – Alexander Rummler, American painter (d. 1959)
- 1869 – Platon, Estonian bishop and saint (d. 1919)
- 1870 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (d. 1966)
- 1875 – Jim Corbett, Indian hunter, environmentalist, and author (d. 1955)
- 1878 – Masaharu Anesaki, Japanese philosopher and scholar (d. 1949)
- 1882 – George S. Rentz, American commander (d. 1942)
- 1883 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1947)
- 1886 – Edward Cummins, American golfer (d. 1926)
- 1894 – Walter Brennan, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1894 – Gavrilo Princip, Bosnian Serb revolutionary (d. 1918)
- 1895 – Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, Danish actress (d. 1968)
- 1896 – Jack Perrin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1967)
- 1896 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (d. 1952)
- 1901 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (d. 1993)
- 1901 – Mohammed Helmy, Egyptian physician and Righteous Among the Nations (d.1982)
- 1901 – Lila Lee, American actress and singer (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Eric Hoffer, American philosopher and author (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss novelist, playwright, and memoirist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Georges Grignard, French race car driver (d. 1977)
- 1905 – Denys Watkins-Pitchford, English author and illustrator (d. 1990)
- 1906 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1970)
- 1908 – Bill Bowes, English cricketer (d. 1987)
- 1908 – Ambroise-Marie Carré, French priest and author (d. 2004)
- 1908 – Jack Gilford, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1914 – Woody Strode, American football player and actor (d. 1994)
- 1915 – S. U. Ethirmanasingham, Sri Lankan businessman and politician
- 1915 – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1916 – Lucien Saulnier, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
- 1917 – Fritz Honegger, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (d. 1986)
- 1920 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist, chemist, and academic (d. 1958)
- 1921 – Adolph Herseth, American soldier and trumpet player (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (d. 1965)
- 1923 – Estelle Getty, American actress (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Edgar Gilbert, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (d. 1984)
- 1924 – Scotch Taylor, South African cricketer and hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Benny Benjamin, American R&B drummer (The Funk Brothers) (d. 1969)
- 1925 – Jerry Paris, American actor and director (d. 1986)
- 1925 – Dick Passwater, American race car driver
- 1925 – Jutta Zilliacus, Finnish journalist and politician
- 1926 – Whitey Lockman, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2009)
- 1926 – Bernard Thompson, British television producer and director (d. 1998)
- 1926 – Beatriz Segall, Brazilian actress (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Midge Decter, American journalist and author
- 1927 – Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician, 10th Governor of Punjab (d. 2000)
- 1927 – Jean-Marie Seroney, Kenyan activist and politician (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (d. 1988)
- 1928 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Judd Buchanan, Canadian businessman and politician, 36th Canadian Minister of Public Works
- 1929 – Somnath Chatterjee, Indian lawyer and politician, 14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1995)
- 1930 – Murray Chapple, New Zealand cricketer and manager (d. 1985)
- 1930 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian actress and singer (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and criminologist (d. 1990)
- 1930 – Herbert Scarf, American economist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress
- 1931 – James Butler, English sculptor and educator
- 1932 – Paul J. Weitz, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Don Ellis, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1978)
- 1934 – Claude Zidi, French director and screenwriter
- 1935 – Barbara Harris, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2017)
- 1935 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (d. 2009)
- 1935 – John Robinson, American football player and coach
- 1935 – Larry Sherry, American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Lars Werner, Swedish lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Gerry Ashmore, English race car driver
- 1936 – Glenn Murcutt, English-Australian architect and academic
- 1937 – Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, English archaeologist and academic
- 1940 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Manny Charlton, Spanish-born Scottish rock musician and songwriter
- 1941 – Nate Thurmond, American basketball player (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Emmett Till, American lynching victim (d. 1955)
- 1942 – Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Jim McCarty, English singer and drummer
- 1943 – Erika Steinbach, Polish-German politician
- 1944 – Sally Beauman, English journalist and author (d. 2016)
- 1946 – José Areas, Nicaraguan drummer
- 1946 – Nicole Farhi, French fashion designer and sculptor
- 1946 – John Gibson, American radio host
- 1946 – Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer
- 1946 – P. Selvarasa, Sri Lankan politician
- 1946 – Ljupka Dimitrovska, Macedonian-Croatian pop singer (d. 2016)
- 1948 – Steve Goodman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
- 1950 – Mark Clarke, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1951 – Jack Thompson, American lawyer and activist
- 1951 – Verdine White, American bass player and producer
- 1952 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese architect, designed the Estádio Municipal de Braga
- 1953 – Joseph A. Tunzi, Chicago based author, foremost expert on Elvis Presley
- 1953 – Robert Zoellick, American banker and politician, 14th United States Deputy Secretary of State
- 1954 – Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, and producer
- 1954 – Sheena McDonald, Scottish journalist
- 1954 – Walter Payton, American football player and race car driver (d. 1999)
- 1954 – Jochem Ziegert, German footballer and manager
- 1955 – Iman, Somalian-English model and actress
- 1955 – Randall Bewley, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1956 – Andy Goldsworthy, English-Scottish sculptor and photographer
- 1956 – Frances Arnold, American scientist and engineer
- 1957 – Mark Hunter, English politician
- 1957 – Steve Podborski, Canadian skier
- 1958 – Alexei Filippenko, American astrophysicist and academic
- 1958 – Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1959 – Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1959 – Geoffrey Zakarian, American chef and author
- 1960 – Alain Robidoux, Canadian snooker player
- 1960 – Justice Howard, American photographer
- 1960 – Māris Martinsons, Latvian film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor
- 1962 – Carin Bakkum, Dutch tennis player
- 1962 – Doug Drabek, American baseball player and coach
- 1963 – Denis Coderre, Canadian politician, 44th Mayor of Montreal
- 1963 – Julian Hodgson, Welsh chess player
- 1964 – Anne Applebaum, American journalist and author
- 1964 – Tony Granato, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1964 – Breuk Iversen, American designer and journalist
- 1965 – Marty Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Illeana Douglas, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Dale Shearer, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Daryl Halligan, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Maureen Herman, American bass player
- 1966 – Diana Johnson, English politician
- 1967 – Matt LeBlanc, American actor and producer
- 1967 – Ruth Peetoom, Dutch minister and politician
- 1967 – Tommy Skjerven, Norwegian footballer and referee
- 1968 – Rudi Bryson, South African cricketer
- 1968 – Shi Tao, Chinese journalist and poet
- 1969 – Jon Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Annastacia Palaszczuk, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Queensland
- 1971 – Roger Creager, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Tracy Murray, American basketball player
- 1971 – Billy Wagner, American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – David Penna, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Dani Filth, English singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Kevin Phillips, English footballer
- 1973 – Igli Tare, Albanian footballer
- 1974 – Lauren Faust, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Julia Laffranque, Estonian lawyer and judge
- 1974 – Kenzo Suzuki, Japanese rugby player and wrestler
- 1975 – Jody Craddock, English footballer and coach
- 1975 – Jean-Claude Darcheville, Guianan-French footballer
- 1975 – El Zorro, Mexican wrestler
- 1975 – Brian Gibson, American bass player
- 1975 – Evgeni Nabokov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Marcos Assunção, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Jovica Tasevski-Eternijan, Macedonian poet and critic
- 1976 – Javier Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1977 – Kenny Thomas, American basketball player
- 1978 – Gerard Warren, American football player
- 1978 – Louise Brown, first human to be born via IVF
- 1979 – Ali Carter, English snooker player
- 1979 – Tom Lungley, English cricketer and umpire
- 1980 – Shawn Riggans, American baseball player
- 1980 – Toni Vilander, Finnish race car driver
- 1980 – David Wachs, American actor and producer
- 1980 – Scott Waldrom, New Zealand rugby player
- 1981 – Conor Casey, American soccer player
- 1981 – Constantinos Charalambidis, Cypriot footballer
- 1981 – Yūichi Komano, Japanese footballer
- 1981 – Mac Lethal, American rapper and producer
- 1981 – Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1982 – Brad Renfro, American actor and musician (d. 2008)
- 1982 – Jason Dundas, Australian TV host
- 1983 – Nenad Krstić, Serbian basketball player
- 1984 – Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Greek basketball player
- 1985 – James Lafferty, American actor and athlete
- 1985 – Nelson Piquet Jr., Brazilian race car driver
- 1985 – Hugo Rodallega, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Abraham Gneki Guié, Ivorian footballer
- 1986 – Hulk, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Richard Bachman, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Mitchell Burgzorg, Dutch footballer and rapper
- 1987 – Fernando, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Jax Jones, English DJ, singer and songwriter
- 1987 – Eran Zahavi, Israeli footballer
- 1988 – John Goossens, Dutch footballer
- 1988 – Tom Hiariej, Dutch footballer
- 1988 – Stacey Kemp, English skater
- 1988 – Paulinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Anthony Stokes, Irish footballer
- 1989 – Natalia Vieru, Russian basketball player
- 1990 – Thodoris Karapetsas, Greek footballer
- 1991 – Toni Duggan, English footballer
- 1992 – Sergei Simonov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
- 1997 – Nat Butcher, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on July 25
- 306 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman emperor (b. 250)
- 885 – Ragenold, margrave of Neustria
- 1011 – Ichijō, emperor of Japan (b. 980)
- 1190 – Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem
- 1409 – Martin I, king of Sicily (b. 1376)
- 1471 – Thomas à Kempis, German priest and mystic
- 1472 – Charles of Artois, French nobleman (b. 1394)
- 1492 – Innocent VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1432)
- 1564 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1503)
- 1572 – Isaac Luria, Ottoman rabbi and mystic (b. 1534)
- 1608 – Pomponio Nenna, Italian composer (b. 1556)
- 1616 – Andreas Libavius, German physician and chemist (b. 1550)
- 1643 – Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, English general and politician (b. 1584)
- 1681 – Urian Oakes, English-American minister and educator (b. 1631)
- 1790 – Johann Bernhard Basedow, German educator and reformer (b. 1723)
- 1790 – William Livingston, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Jersey (b. 1723)
- 1791 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician (b. 1735)
- 1794 – André Chénier, Greek-French poet and author (b. 1762)
- 1794 – Jean-Antoine Roucher, French poet and author (b. 1745)
- 1794 – Friedrich von der Trenck, Prussian adventurer and author (b. 1726)
- 1826 – Kondraty Ryleyev, Russian poet and publisher (b. 1795)
- 1831 – Maria Szymanowska, Polish composer and pianist (b. 1789)
- 1834 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
- 1842 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French physician and surgeon (b. 1766)
- 1843 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and engineer (b. 1766)
- 1861 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1805)
- 1865 – James Barry, English soldier and surgeon (b. 1799)
- 1887 – John Taylor, American religious leader, 3rd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1808)
- 1934 – François Coty, French businessman, founded Coty, Inc. (b. 1874)
- 1934 – Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician, 14th Chancellor of Austria (b. 1892)
- 1942 – Fred Englehardt, American triple jumper (b. 1879)
- 1952 – Herbert Murrill, English organist and composer (b. 1909)
- 1958 – Otto Lasanen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1891)
- 1959 – Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Polish-born Irish rabbi and author (b. 1888)
- 1962 – Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 9th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1879)
- 1963 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist and academic (b. 1877)
- 1966 – Frank O’Hara, American poet and critic (b. 1926)
- 1967 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Egyptian-Greek painter (b. 1878)
- 1971 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
- 1971 – Leroy Robertson, American composer and educator (b. 1896)
- 1973 – Amy Jacques Garvey, Jamaican-American journalist and activist (b. 1895)
- 1973 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1882)
- 1980 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1938)
- 1981 – Rosa A. González, Puerto Rican nurse, author, feminist, and activist (b. 1889)
- 1982 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (b. 1892)
- 1984 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1913)
- 1984 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
- 1986 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (b. 1903)
- 1988 – Judith Barsi, American child actress (b. 1978)
- 1989 – Steve Rubell, American businessman, co-owner of Studio 54 (b. 1943)
- 1991 – Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet politician (b. 1893)
- 1992 – Alfred Drake, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
- 1997 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (b. 1912)
- 1998 – Evangelos Papastratos, Greek businessman, co-founded Papastratos (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Abdel Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher and poet (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Ludwig Bölkow, German engineer (b. 1912)
- 2003 – John Schlesinger, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2004 – John Passmore, Australian philosopher and academic (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Albert Mangelsdorff, German trombonist (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Ezra Fleischer, Romanian-Israeli poet and philologist (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Bernd Jakubowski, German footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2008 – Jeff Fehring, Australian footballer (b. 1955)
- 2008 – Tracy Hall, American chemist and academic (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Randy Pausch, American computer scientist and educator (b. 1960)
- 2009 – Vernon Forrest, American boxer (b. 1971)
- 2009 – Stanley Middleton, English author (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Harry Patch, English soldier (b. 1898)
- 2011 – Michael Cacoyannis, Cypriot-Greek director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2012 – B. R. Ishara, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Barry Langford, English director and producer (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Greg Mohns, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Franz West, Austrian painter and sculptor (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Walter De Maria, American sculptor, illustrator, and composer (b. 1935)
- 2013 – William J. Guste, American lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Bel Kaufman, German-American author and academic (b. 1911)
- 2014 – Richard Larter, Australian painter and illustrator (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Jacques Andreani, French diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (b. 1929)
- 2015 – R. S. Gavai, Indian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor of Kerala (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Bob Kauffman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Sergio Marchionne, Italian-Canadian businessman(b. 1952)
- 2019 – Beji Caid Essebsi , 4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Tunisia (b. 1926)
Holidays and observances on July 25
- Christian feast day:
- Anne (Eastern Christianity)
- Christopher (Western Christianity)
- Cucuphas
- Glodesind
- James the Great (Western Christianity)
- John I Agnus
- Julian of Le Mans (translation)
- Magnerich of Trier
- July 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Dominican Republic)
- Earliest day on which National Tree Planting Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Australia)
- Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Russia)
- Guanacaste Day (Costa Rica)
- National Baha’i Day (Jamaica)
- National Day of Galicia (Galicia)
- Puerto Rico Constitution Day (Puerto Rico)
- Republic Day (Tunisia)
-
June 4 in History
- 1411 – King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries.
- 1561 – The steeple of St Paul’s, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning and is never rebuilt.
- 1615 – Siege of Osaka: Forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
- 1745 – Battle of Hohenfriedberg: Frederick the Great’s Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the War of the Austrian Succession.
- 1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada, taken from the Acadians.
- 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
- 1784 – Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres altitude (estimated).
- 1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
- 1802 – King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
- 1812 – Following Louisiana’s admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
- 1825 – General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, speaks at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States.
- 1855 – Major Henry C. Wayne departs New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
- 1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
- 1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
- 1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
- 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.
- 1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
- 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V’s horse at The Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness, and dies four days later.
- 1916 – World War I: Russia opens the Brusilov Offensive with an artillery barrage of Austro-Hungarian lines in Galicia.
- 1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
- 1919 – Women’s rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
- 1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
- 1928 – The President of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin, is assassinated by Japanese agents.
- 1932 – Marmaduke Grove and other Chilean military officers lead a coup d’état establishing the short-lived Socialist Republic of Chile.
- 1939 – The Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
- 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: British forces complete evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. The Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- 1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
- 1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505: The first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
- 1944 – World War II: The United States Fifth Army captures Rome, although much of the German Fourteenth Army is able to withdraw to the north.
- 1961 – Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.
- 1967 – Seventy-two people are killed when a Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashes at Stockport in England.
- 1970 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1975 – The Governor of California Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act into law, the first law in the U.S. giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights.
- 1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
- 1983 – Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshals in Medina, North Dakota on February 13, is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff, after a four-month manhunt.
- 1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
- 1988 – Three cars on a train carrying hexogen to Kazakhstan explode in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 and injuring about 1,500.
- 1989 – Ali Khamenei is elected as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death and funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
- 1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests are suppressed in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army, with between 241 and 1,000 dead (an unofficial estimate).
- 1989 – Solidarity’s victory in the first (somewhat) free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm and begins the Autumn of Nations.
- 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
- 1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 37 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
- 1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2010 – Falcon 9 Flight 1 is the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.
Births on June 4
- 1394 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
- 1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
- 1563 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith (d. 1624)
- 1604 – Claudia de’ Medici, Italian daughter of Christina of Lorraine (d. 1648)
- 1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian captain (d. 1733)
- 1694 – François Quesnay, French economist and physician (d. 1774)
- 1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and businessman (d. 1776)
- 1738 – George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1820)
- 1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scottish soldier, designed the Ferguson rifle (d. 1780)
- 1754 – Miguel de Azcuénaga, Argentinian soldier (d. 1833)
- 1754 – Franz Xaver von Zach, Slovak astronomer and academic (d. 1832)
- 1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist and academic (d. 1856)
- 1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect, designed Victoria Park (d. 1871)
- 1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1897)
- 1829 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (d. 1903)
- 1854 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (d. 1916)
- 1860 – Alexis Lapointe, Canadian runner (d. 1924)
- 1861 – William Propsting, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1937)
- 1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish journalist and politician (d. 1952)
- 1867 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and politician, 6th President of Finland (d. 1951)
- 1873 – Nictzin Dyalhis, American author (d.1942)
- 1877 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
- 1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English author and illustrator (d. 1964)
- 1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
- 1885 – Arturo Rawson, Argentinian general and politician, 26th President of Argentina (d. 1952)
- 1887 – Tom Longboat, Canadian runner and soldier (d. 1949)
- 1889 – Beno Gutenberg, German-American seismologist (d. 1960)
- 1903 – Yevgeny Mravinsky, Russian conductor (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Bhagat Puran Singh, Indian publisher, environmentalist, and philanthropist (d. 1992)
- 1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian journalist and politician (d. 1944)
- 1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
- 1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
- 1910 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (d. 1999)
- 1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Modibo Keïta, Malian educator and politician, 1st President of Mali (d. 1977)
- 1915 – Nils Kihlberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director (d. 1965)
- 1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 2014)
- 1917 – Robert Merrill, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
- 1921 – Milan Komar, Slovenian-Argentinian philosopher and academic (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
- 1923 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese karateka (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
- 1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor and director (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American who was the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world during his lifetime (d. 1958)
- 1926 – Ain Kaalep, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor
- 1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-American therapist and author
- 1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek lawyer and politician, 5th President of Greece
- 1930 – George Chesworth, English air marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Moray (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Morgana King, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Gustav Nossal, Austrian-Australian biologist and academic
- 1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1932 – Oliver Nelson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1975)
- 1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand author and playwright (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Monica Dacon, Vincentian educator and politician, 6th Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- 1934 – Daphne Sheldrick, Kenyan-British conservationist and author (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Colette Boky, Canadian soprano and actress
- 1935 – Berhanu Dinka, Ethiopian economist and diplomat (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Vince Camuto, American fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (d. 2015)
- 1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
- 1937 – Freddy Fender, American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, Canadian-American businessman and publisher, founded Boston Properties
- 1938 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
- 1939 – Jeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo, Anglo-Irish peer (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Denis de Belleval, Canadian civil servant and politician
- 1939 – Henri Pachard, American director and producer (d. 2008)
- 1939 – George Reid, Scottish journalist and politician, 2nd Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
- 1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Slovak-Austrian bishop
- 1941 – Kenneth G. Ross, Australian playwright and screenwriter
- 1942 – Louis Reichardt, American mountaineer
- 1942 – Bill Rowe, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1943 – John Burgess, Australian radio and television host
- 1943 – Sandra Haynie, American golfer
- 1943 – Tom Jaine, English author
- 1944 – Roger Ball, Scottish saxophonist and songwriter
- 1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1945 – Anthony Braxton, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
- 1945 – Daniel Topolski, English rower and coach (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
- 1947 – Viktor Klima, Austrian businessman and politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria
- 1948 – Bob Champion, English jockey
- 1948 – Sandra Post, Canadian golfer and sportscaster
- 1948 – Jürgen Sparwasser, German footballer and manager
- 1949 – Gabriel Arcand, Canadian actor
- 1949 – Mark B. Cohen, American lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Raymond Dumais, Canadian bishop (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Leigh Kennedy, American author
- 1951 – Bronisław Malinowski, Polish runner (d. 1981)
- 1951 – Melanie Phillips, English journalist and author
- 1951 – Wendy Pini, American author and illustrator
- 1951 – David Yip, English actor and playwright
- 1952 – Bronisław Komorowski, Polish historian and politician, 5th President of Poland
- 1952 – Dambudzo Marechera, Zimbabwean author and poet (d. 1987)
- 1953 – Linda Lingle, American journalist and politician, 6th Governor of Hawaii
- 1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 1979)
- 1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese businessman, founded Huser
- 1953 – Paul Samson, English guitarist and producer (d. 2002)
- 1954 – Raphael Ravenscroft, English saxophonist and composer (d. 2014)
- 1954 – Kazuhiro Yamaji, Japanese actor and voice actor
- 1955 – Val McDermid, Scottish author
- 1955 – Mary Testa, American singer and actress
- 1956 – Keith David, American actor
- 1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist and author
- 1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
- 1956 – Joyce Sidman, American author and poet
- 1957 – Neil McNab, Scottish footballer
- 1959 – Juan Camacho, Bolivian runner
- 1959 – Georgios Voulgarakis, Greek politician, 21st Greek Minister for Culture
- 1960 – Miloš Đelmaš, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1960 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch, American author
- 1960 – Paul Taylor, American guitarist and keyboard player
- 1960 – Bradley Walsh, English television presenter, comedian, singer and former footballer
- 1961 – El DeBarge, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungarian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary
- 1962 – Krzysztof Hołowczyc, Polish race car driver
- 1962 – Zenon Jaskuła, Polish cyclist
- 1962 – John P. Kee, American singer-songwriter and pastor
- 1962 – Junius Ho, Hong Kong solicitor and politician
- 1963 – Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1963 – Jim Lachey, American football player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Xavier McDaniel, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
- 1964 – Kōji Yamamura, Japanese animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
- 1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player and preacher
- 1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian soprano and actress
- 1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2017)
- 1966 – Bill Wiggin, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
- 1967 – Robert S. Kimbrough, American colonel and astronaut
- 1968 – Roger Lim, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Niurka Montalvo, Cuban-Spanish long jumper
- 1968 – Al B. Sure!, American R&B singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
- 1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-American actor and comedian
- 1970 – Deborah Compagnoni, Italian skier
- 1970 – Richie Hawtin, English-Canadian DJ and producer
- 1970 – Dave Pybus, English bass player and songwriter
- 1970 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish-Swedish actress and model
- 1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese soldier and politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 1971 – Mike Lee, American lawyer and politician
- 1971 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese director and composer
- 1971 – Karl Martin Sinijärv, Estonian journalist and poet
- 1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor and producer
- 1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey defenseman
- 1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Mikey Whipwreck, American wrestler and trainer
- 1974 – Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, Indian chef (d. 2012)
- 1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Andrew Gwynne, English lawyer and politician
- 1974 – Janette Husárová, Slovak tennis player
- 1974 – Buddy Wakefield, American poet and author
- 1975 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor
- 1975 – Henry Burris, American football player
- 1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist
- 1975 – Dinanath Ramnarine, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1975 – Alex Wharf, English cricketer
- 1976 – Kasey Chambers, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Alexei Navalny, Russian lawyer and politician
- 1976 – Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
- 1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
- 1977 – Roman Miroshnichenko, Ukrainian guitarist and composer
- 1977 – Roland G. Fryer Jr., American economist and professor
- 1978 – Robin Lord Taylor, American actor
- 1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
- 1979 – Daniel Vickerman, South African-Australian rugby player (d. 2017)
- 1980 – François Beauchemin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
- 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
- 1982 – Abel Kirui, Kenyan runner
- 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American-Canadian football player
- 1983 – Romaric, Ivorian footballer
- 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
- 1983 – Olha Saladuha, Ukrainian triple jumper
- 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese actress
- 1984 – Ian White, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Leon Botha, South African painter and DJ (d. 2011)
- 1985 – Anna-Lena Grönefeld, German tennis player
- 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
- 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
- 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
- 1987 – Luisa Zissman, English businesswoman
- 1987 – Mollie King, English singer-songwriter and model
- 1988 – Matt Bartkowski, American ice hockey defenseman
- 1988 – Kimberley Busteed, Australian model
- 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Paweł Fajdek, Polish hammer thrower
- 1990 – Zac Farro, American singer and drummer
- 1990 – Evan Spiegel, American Internet entrepreneur
- 1991 – Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Matt McIlwrick, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Ben Stokes, New Zealand-English cricketer
- 1993 – Jonathan Huberdeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995 – Shiori Tamai, Japanese singer
- 1999 – Kim So-hyun, South Korean actress
- 2004 – Mackenzie Ziegler, American dancer, singer, actress and model
Deaths on June 4
- 756 – Shōmu, Japanese emperor (b. 701)
- 863 – Charles, archbishop of Mainz
- 895 – Li Xi, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- 946 – Guaimar II (Gybbosus), Lombard prince
- 956 – Muhammad III of Shirvan, Muslim ruler
- 1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 990)
- 1102 – Władysław I Herman, Polish nobleman (b. c. 1044)
- 1134 – Magnus I of Sweden (b. 1106)
- 1135 – Emperor Huizong of Song (b. 1082)
- 1206 – Adela of Champagne (b. 1140)
- 1246 – Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1188)
- 1257 – Przemysł I of Greater Poland (b. 1221)
- 1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b.c. 1368)
- 1453 – Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, Byzantine commander
- 1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian historian and author (b. 1392)
- 1472 – Nezahualcoyotl, Aztec poet (b. 1402)
- 1585 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (b. 1526)
- 1608 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (b. 1563)
- 1622 – Péter Révay, Hungarian soldier and historian (b. 1568)
- 1647 – Canonicus, Grand Chief Sachem of the Narragansett (b. 1565)
- 1663 – William Juxon, English archbishop and academic (b. 1582)
- 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (b. 1725)
- 1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1750)
- 1809 – Nicolai Abildgaard, Danish neoclassical and history painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1743)
- 1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (b. 1795)
- 1872 – Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1798)
- 1875 – Eduard Mörike, German pastor and poet (b. 1804)
- 1876 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1830)
- 1922 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (b. 1864)
- 1925 – Margaret Murray Washington, American Academic (b. 1865)
- 1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian-English cricketer and coach (b. 1853)
- 1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
- 1929 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (b. 1881)
- 1931 – Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of the Hejaz (b. 1853/54)
- 1933 – Ahmet Haşim, Turkish poet and author (b. 1884)
- 1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (b. 1900)
- 1941 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (b. 1859)
- 1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer and politician (b. 1904)
- 1951 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (b. 1874)
- 1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (b. 1881)
- 1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
- 1967 – Linda Eenpalu, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
- 1971 – György Lukács, Hungarian historian and philosopher (b. 1885)
- 1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
- 1973 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1917)
- 1981 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (b. 1897)
- 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
- 1990 – Stiv Bators, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
- 1992 – Carl Stotz, American businessman, founded Little League Baseball (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Bernard Evslin, American writer (b. 1922)
- 1994 – Derek Leckenby, English musician (b. 1943)
- 1997 – Ronnie Lane, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
- 1998 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (b. 1903)
- 2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 42nd President of Peru (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1934)
- 2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1937)
- 2007 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (b. 1933)
- 2010 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (b. 1910)
- 2011 – Juan Francisco Luis, Virgin Islander sergeant and politician, 23rd Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1940)
- 2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer (b. 1953)
- 2012 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect, designed the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Guatemalan cardinal (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Herb Reed, American violinist (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Walt Arfons, American race car driver (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Joey Covington, American drummer (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Hermann Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer, handball player, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Will Wynn, American football player (b. 1949)
- 2014 – George Ho, American-Hong Kong businessman (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Sydney Templeman, Baron Templeman, English lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Marguerite Patten, English economist and author (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Leonid Plyushch, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Jabe Thomas, American race car driver (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Anne Warburton, British academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Denmark (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Carmen Pereira, Bissau-Guinean politician (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances on June 4
- Birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim & Flag Day celebration of the Finnish Defence Forces (Finland)
- Christian feast day:
- Filippo Smaldone
- Francis Caracciolo
- Optatus
- Petroc of Cornwall
- Quirinus of Sescia
- Saturnina
- June 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Emancipation Day or Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of serfdom in Tonga by King George Tupou in 1862, and the independence of Tonga from the British protectorate in 1970. (Tonga)
- Flag Day (Estonia)
- International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (International)
- National Unity Day (Hungary)
- Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Memorial Day (International)
-
May 30 in History
- AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometers.
- 1381 – Beginning of the Peasants’ Revolt in England.
- 1416 – The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
- 1431 – Hundred Years’ War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. The Roman Catholic Church remembers this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.
- 1434 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: Effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeat and almost annihilate Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
- 1510 – During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
- 1536 – King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
- 1539 – In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
- 1574 – Henry III becomes King of France.
- 1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
- 1631 – Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
- 1635 – Thirty Years’ War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
- 1642 – From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
- 1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
- 1814 – The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
- 1815 – The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
- 1834 – Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing “all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses” from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of “The Friar-Killer”.
- 1842 – John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
- 1845 – The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
- 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
- 1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
- 1876 – Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
- 1883 – In New York City, a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge killed twelve people.
- 1899 – Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
- 1911 – At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
- 1913 – The Treaty of London is signed, ending the First Balkan War; Albania becomes an independent nation.
- 1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
- 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
- 1925 – May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
- 1937 – Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
- 1941 – World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
- 1942 – World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
- 1948 – A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
- 1958 – Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
- 1959 – The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
- 1961 – The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
- 1963 – A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam’s National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
- 1966 – Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
- 1967 – The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
- 1968 – Charles de Gaulle reappears publicly after his flight to Baden-Baden, Germany, and dissolves the French National Assembly by a radio appeal. Immediately after, less than one million of his supporters march on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is the turning point of May 1968 events in France.
- 1971 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
- 1972 – The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
- 1972 – In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
- 1974 – The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
- 1979 – Downeast Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
- 1975 – European Space Agency is established.
- 1982 – Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
- 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
- 1990 – Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
- 1998 – The 6.5 Mw Afghanistan earthquake shook the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
- 1998 – Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
- 2003 – Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
- 2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
- 2008 – TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport, killing five people.
- 2012 – Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
- 2013 – Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
- 2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed rocket to launch from the United States since 2011.
Births on May 30
- 1010 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1063)
- 1201 – Theobald IV, count of Champagne (d. 1253)
- 1423 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1461)
- 1464 – Barbara of Brandenburg, Bohemian queen (d. 1515)
- 1580 – Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza (d. 1634)
- 1599 – Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (d. 1667)
- 1623 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (d. 1686)
- 1686 – Antonina Houbraken, Dutch illustrator (d. 1736)
- 1718 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1793)
- 1719 – Roger Newdigate, English politician (d. 1806)
- 1757 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1844)
- 1768 – Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty, French general (d. 1815)
- 1797 – Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, German mineralogist and geologist (d. 1873)
- 1800 – Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, French cardinal (d. 1883)
- 1814 – Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (d. 1876)
- 1814 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894)
- 1819 – William McMurdo, English general (d. 1894)
- 1820 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (d. 1890)
- 1835 – Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1913)
- 1844 – Félix Arnaudin, French poet and photographer (d. 1921)
- 1845 – Amadeo I, Spanish king (d. 1890)
- 1846 – Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (d. 1920)
- 1862 – Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Azerbaijani philosopher and poet (d. 1911)
- 1869 – Grace Andrews, American mathematician (d. 1951)
- 1874 – Ernest Duchesne, French physician (d. 1912)
- 1875 – Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (d. 1944)
- 1879 – Colin Blythe, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1917)
- 1879 – Konstantin Ramul, Estonian psychologist and academic (d. 1975)
- 1881 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Wyndham Halswelle, English runner and soldier (d. 1915)
- 1883 – Sandy Pearce, Australian rugby league player (d. 1930)
- 1884 – Siegmund Glücksmann, German soldier and politician (d. 1942)
- 1885 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1942)
- 1886 – Laurent Barré, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1964)
- 1886 – Randolph Bourne, American theorist and author (d. 1918)
- 1887 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 1964)
- 1887 – Emil Reesen, Danish pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1964)
- 1890 – Roger Salengro, French soldier and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (d. 1972)
- 1894 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (d. 1956)
- 1896 – Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1986)
- 1898 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1899 – Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1936)
- 1901 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (d. 1969)
- 1901 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Stepin Fetchit, American actor and dancer (d. 1985)
- 1903 – Countee Cullen, American poet and author (d. 1946)
- 1906 – Bruno Gröning, German mystic and author (d. 1959)
- 1907 – Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and academic (d. 2008)
- 1908 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1908 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (d. 1997)
- 1909 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (d. 1988)
- 1909 – Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Harry Bernstein, English-American journalist and author (d. 2011)
- 1912 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Erich Bagge, German physicist and academic (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Millicent Selsam, American author and academic (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Joseph Stein, American playwright and author (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (d. 1979)
- 1915 – Len Carney, English footballer and soldier (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Justin Catayée, French soldier and politician (d. 1962)
- 1916 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (d. 2000)
- 1918 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (d. 2007)
- 1919 – René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (d. 1969)
- 1920 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (d. 1989)
- 1922 – Hal Clement, American author and educator (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Anthony Dryden Marshall, American CIA officer and diplomat (d. 2014)
- 1925 – John Henry Marks, English physician and author
- 1926 – Johnny Gimble, American country/western swing musician (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Joan Birman, American mathematician
- 1927 – Clint Walker, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Billy Wilson, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1993)
- 1928 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Georges Gilson, French archbishop
- 1930 – Mark Birley, English businessman, founded Annabel’s (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Robert Ryman, American painter (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Larry Silverstein, American real estate magnate
- 1932 – Ray Cooney, English actor and playwright
- 1932 – Pauline Oliveros, American accordion player and composer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Ivor Richard, Baron Richard, Welsh politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (d. 2019)
- 1934 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Ruta Lee, Canadian-American actress and dancer
- 1935 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Keir Dullea, American actor
- 1937 – Christopher Haskins, Anglo-Irish businessman, life peer, and British politician
- 1937 – Rick Mather, American-English architect (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Billie Letts, American author and educator (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1939 – Dieter Quester, Austrian race car driver
- 1939 – Tim Waterstone, Scottish businessman, founded Waterstones
- 1940 – Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Gilles Villemure, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1942 – John Gladwin, English bishop
- 1942 – Carole Stone, English journalist and author
- 1943 – Anders Michanek, Swedish motorcycle racer
- 1943 – Gale Sayers, American football player and philanthropist
- 1944 – Lenny Davidson, English guitarist and songwriter (The Dave Clark Five)
- 1944 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (d. 2000)
- 1944 – Stav Prodromou, Greek-American engineer and businessman
- 1945 – Gladys Horton, American singer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Allan Chapman, English historian and author
- 1946 – Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
- 1947 – Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer
- 1948 – Johan De Muynck, Belgian former professional road racing cyclist
- 1948 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
- 1948 – David Thorpe, Australian rules footballer
- 1949 – P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball player and coach
- 1949 – Paul Coleridge, English lawyer and judge
- 1949 – Bob Willis, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2019)
- 1950 – Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
- 1950 – Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
- 1950 – Joshua Rozenberg, English lawyer, journalist, and author
- 1951 – Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
- 1951 – Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
- 1951 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
- 1952 – Daniel Grodnik, American screenwriter and producer
- 1952 – Kerry Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and sportscaster
- 1953 – Jim Hunter, Canadian skier
- 1953 – Colm Meaney, Irish actor
- 1955 – Topper Headon, English drummer and songwriter (The Clash)
- 1955 – Jacqueline McGlade, English-Canadian biologist, ecologist, and academic
- 1955 – Caroline Swift, English lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
- 1956 – Tim Lucas, American author, screenwriter, and critic
- 1957 – Michael Clayton, Australian golfer
- 1958 – Eugene Belliveau, Canadian football player
- 1958 – Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2019)
- 1958 – Steve Israel, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1958 – Ted McGinley, American actor
- 1959 – Phil Brown, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1959 – Randy Ferbey, Canadian curler
- 1959 – Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician
- 1961 – Harry Enfield, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Bob Yari, Iranian-American director and producer
- 1962 – Kevin Eastman, American author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- 1962 – Richard Fuller, English lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Tim Loughton, English businessman and politician
- 1962 – Tonya Pinkins, American actress and singer
- 1963 – Michel Langevin, Canadian drummer and songwriter
- 1963 – Élise Lucet, French journalist
- 1963 – Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
- 1964 – Wynonna Judd, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1964 – Andrea Montermini, Italian race car driver
- 1964 – Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1965 – Troy Coker, Australian rugby player
- 1965 – Billy Donovan, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Iginio Straffi, Italian animator and producer, founded Rainbow S.r.l.
- 1966 – Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
- 1966 – Stephen Malkmus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Tim Burgess, English singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Rechelle Hawkes, Australian hockey player
- 1967 – Sven Pipien, German-American bass player
- 1968 – Jason Kenney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 40th Canadian Minister of National Defence
- 1968 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen, sentenced to life in prison related to September 11 attacks
- 1969 – Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Paul Grayson, English rugby player and coach
- 1971 – Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Jiří Šlégr, Czech ice hockey player and politician
- 1971 – Adrian Vowles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1972 – Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Big L, American rapper (d. 1999)
- 1974 – Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
- 1974 – CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
- 1974 – David Wilkie, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
- 1975 – Brian Fair, American singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Andy Farrell, English rugby player and coach
- 1975 – Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
- 1976 – Radoslav Nesterović, Slovenian-Greek basketball player
- 1976 – Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player and coach
- 1976 – Margaret Okayo, Kenyan runner
- 1977 – Rachael Stirling, English actress
- 1977 – Federico Vilar, Argentinian-Italian footballer
- 1979 – Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Clint Bowyer, American race car driver
- 1979 – Francis Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Steven Gerrard, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
- 1980 – Ilona Korstin, Russian basketball player
- 1980 – Ryōgo Narita, Japanese author
- 1981 – Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
- 1981 – Ahmad Elrich, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Remy Ma, American rapper
- 1981 – Lars Møller Madsen, Danish handball player
- 1981 – Hisanori Takada, Japanese footballer
- 1982 – Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (d. 2007)
- 1982 – James Simpson-Daniel, English rugby player
- 1984 – Sham Kwok Fai, Hong Kong footballer
- 1984 – Matt Maguire, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Alexander Sulzer, German ice hockey player
- 1985 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (d. 2013)
- 1985 – Igor Lewczuk, Polish footballer
- 1985 – Aaron Volpatti, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Nikolay Bodurov, Bulgarian international footballer, centre-back
- 1989 – Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
- 1989 – Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1990 – Andrei Loktionov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Jonathan Fox, English swimmer
- 1992 – Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
- 1992 – Danielle Harold, English actress
- 1994 – Scott Laughton, Canadian ice hockey player
Deaths on May 30
- 531 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)
- 727 – Hubertus, bishop Liège
- 947 – Ma Xifan, king of Chu (b. 899)
- 1035 – Baldwin IV, count of Flanders (b. 980)
- 1159 – Władysław II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia (b. 1105)
- 1252 – Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (b. 1199)
- 1347 – John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, English peer (b. 1290)
- 1376 – Joan of Ponthieu, Dame of Epernon, French noblewoman
- 1416 – Jerome of Prague, Czech martyr and theologian (b. 1379)
- 1431 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (b. 1412)
- 1434 – Prokop the Great, Czech general (b. 1380)
- 1469 – Lope de Barrientos, Castilian bishop (b. 1389)
- 1472 – Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg (b. 1416)
- 1574 – Charles IX of France (b. 1550)
- 1593 – Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1564)
- 1606 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (executed) (b. 1563)
- 1640 – Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (b. 1577)
- 1696 – Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1638)
- 1670 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (b. 1597)
- 1712 – Andrea Lanzani, Italian painter (b. 1645)
- 1718 – Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch-English general (b. 1670)
- 1744 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (b. 1688)
- 1770 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (b. 1703)
- 1778 – Voltaire, French philosopher and author (b. 1694)
- 1778 – José de la Borda, French/Spanish mining magnate in colonial Mexico (b. ca. 1700)
- 1829 – Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial, French general (b. 1774)
- 1832 – James Mackintosh, Scottish historian, jurist, and politician (b. 1765)
- 1855 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman, (b. 1777)
- 1892 – Mary Hannah Gray Clarke, American author, correspondent, and poet (b. 1835)
- 1865 – John Catron, American lawyer and judge (b. 1786)
- 1901 – Victor D’Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1841)
- 1911 – Milton Bradley, American businessman, founded the Milton Bradley Company (b. 1836)
- 1912 – Wilbur Wright, American pilot and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1867)
- 1918 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher and theorist (b. 1856)
- 1925 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (b. 1876)
- 1926 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1864)
- 1934 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)
- 1939 – Floyd Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Prajadhipok, Thai king (b. 1893)
- 1946 – Louis Slotin, Canadian physicist and chemist (b. 1910)
- 1947 – Georg von Trapp, Austrian captain (b. 1880)
- 1948 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (b. 1874)
- 1949 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French cardinal (b. 1874)
- 1951 – Hermann Broch, Austrian-American author (b. 1886)
- 1953 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (b. 1886)
- 1955 – Bill Vukovich, American race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1957 – Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (b. 1921)
- 1960 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
- 1961 – Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
- 1964 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian king (b. 1882)
- 1964 – Eddie Sachs, American race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1964 – Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1898)
- 1965 – Louis Hjelmslev, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1899)
- 1967 – Claude Rains, English-American actor (b. 1889)
- 1967 – Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- 1971 – Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (b. 1886)
- 1975 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (b. 1951)
- 1975 – Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss-born French actor (b. 1895)
- 1976 – Max Carey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
- 1976 – Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain (b. 1902)
- 1978 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1909)
- 1980 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (b. 1942)
- 1981 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
- 1981 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
- 1982 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded his own eponymous fashion brand (b. 1940)
- 1993 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1914)
- 1994 – Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
- 1994 – Marcel Bich, Italian-French businessman, co-founded Société Bic (b. 1914)
- 1994 – Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (b. 1955)
- 1995 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (b. 1912)
- 1995 – Lofty England, English-Austrian engineer (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (b. 1951)
- 1996 – Léon-Étienne Duval, French cardinal (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (b. 1961)
- 1999 – Kalju Lepik, Estonian poet and author (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Tex Beneke, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general and historian (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Gérald Leblanc, Acadian poet (b. 1945)
- 2005 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1958)
- 2005 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and stenographer (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Shohei Imamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2006 – David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist and academic (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Robert Sterling, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian-French actor and director (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (b. 1907)
- 2007 – Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (b. 1927)
- 2009 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Susanna Haapoja, Finnish politician (b. 1966)
- 2009 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian commander and politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Isikia Savua, Fijian police officer and diplomat (b. 1952)
- 2011 – Saleem Shahzad, Pakistani journalist (b. 1970)
- 2011 – Marek Siemek, Polish philosopher and historian (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
- 2012 – John Fox, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Andrew Huxley, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Gerhard Pohl, German economist and politician (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Jayalath Jayawardena, Sri Lankan physician and politician (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Larry Jones, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Hienadz Buraukin, Belarusian poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Joan Lorring, British actress (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (b. 1969)
- 2015 – Joël Champetier, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1957)
- 2015 – L. Tom Perry, American religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1953)
- 2016 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1950)
- 2019 – Jason Marcano, Trinidadian footballer (b. 1983)
Holidays and observances on May 30
- Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
- Canary Islands Day (Spain)
- Christian feast day:
- Earliest day on which Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary can fall, while July 3 is the latest; celebrated 20 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
- Ferdinand III of Castile
- Isaac of Dalmatia
- Joan of Arc
- Joseph Marello
- May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)
- Mother’s Day (Nicaragua)
- Statehood Day (Croatia)
-
April 28 in history
- 224 – The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V effectively ending the Parthian Empire.
- 357 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnus Magnentius.
- 1192 – Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne is confirmed by election. The killing is carried out by Hashshashin.
- 1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
- 1503 – The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
- 1611 – Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, the largest Catholic university in the world.
- 1758 – The Marathas defeat the Afghans in the Battle of Attock and capture the city.
- 1788 – Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly and then sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
- 1792 – France invades the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium and Luxembourg), beginning the French Revolutionary Wars.
- 1794 – Sardinians, headed by Giovanni Maria Angioy, start a revolution against Savoy domination, expelling Viceroy Balbiano and his officials from Cagliari, the capital and largest city of the island.
- 1796 – The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
- 1869 – Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.
- 1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
- 1887 – A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of William I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.
- 1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in England.
- 1920 – Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.
- 1923 – Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.
- 1930 – The Independence Producers hosted the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.
- 1941 – The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against Serbs of the Independent State of Croatia.
- 1944 – World War II: Nine German E-boats attacked US and UK units during Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy landings, killing 946.
- 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.
- 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
- 1948 – Igor Stravinsky conducted the premiere of his American ballet, Orpheus at the New York City Center.
- 1949 – The Hukbalahap are accused of assassinating former First Lady of the Philippines Aurora Quezon, while she is en route to dedicate a hospital in memory of her late husband; her daughter and ten others are also killed.
- 1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
- 1952 – The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.
- 1952 – The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
- 1965 – United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: American troops land in the Dominican Republic to “forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship” and to evacuate U.S. Army troops.
- 1967 – Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.
- 1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to take part in the Cambodian campaign.
- 1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.
- 1975 – General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departs for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on victory.
- 1977 – The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.
- 1978 – President of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels.
- 1986 – The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Coral Sea.
- 1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.
- 1988 – Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing is blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage rips open in mid-flight.
- 1993 – A Zambia Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo crashes off the coast of Libreville, Gabon, killing all 30 passengers, which included the entire Zambia national football team.
- 1994 – Former Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and analyst Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
- 1996 – Whitewater controversy: President Bill Clinton gives a 4½ hour videotaped testimony for the defense.
- 1996 – Port Arthur massacre, Tasmania: A gunman, Martin Bryant, opens fire at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.
- 2004 – CBS News released evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The photographs show rape and abuse from the American troops over Iraqi detainees.
Births on April 28
- AD 32 – Otho, Roman emperor (d. 69 AD)
- 1402 – Nezahualcoyotl, Acolhuan philosopher, warrior, poet and ruler (d. 1472)
- 1442 – Edward IV, king of England (d. 1483)
- 1545 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (d. 1598)
- 1573 – Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême, son of Charles IX (d. 1650)
- 1604 – Joris Jansen Rapelje, Dutch settler in colonial North America (d. 1662)
- 1623 – Wilhelmus Beekman, Dutch politician (d. 1707)
- 1630 – Charles Cotton, English poet and author (d. 1687)
- 1676 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (d. 1751)
- 1715 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1767)
- 1758 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831)
- 1761 – Marie Harel, French cheesemaker (d. 1844)
- 1765 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
- 1819 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (d. 1884)
- 1827 – William Hall, Canadian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1904)
- 1838 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and scholar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1913)
- 1848 – Ludvig Schytte, Danish pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1909)
- 1854 – Hertha Marks Ayrton, Polish-British engineer, mathematician, and physicist. (d. 1923)
- 1855 – José Malhoa, Portuguese painter (d. 1933)
- 1863 – Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician, 7th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1933)
- 1863 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (d. 1929)
- 1865 – Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist and academic (d. 1940)
- 1868 – Lucy Booth, English composer (d. 1953)
- 1868 – Georgy Voronoy, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1908)
- 1874 – Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1936)
- 1874 – Sidney Toler, American actor and director (d. 1947)
- 1876 – Nicola Romeo, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1938)
- 1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor and director (d. 1954)
- 1886 – Erich Salomon, German-born news photographer (d. 1944)
- 1886 – Art Shaw, American hurdler (d. 1955)
- 1888 – Walter Tull, English footballer and soldier (d. 1918)
- 1889 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1970)
- 1896 – Na Hye-sok, South Korean journalist, poet, and painter (d. 1948)
- 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (d. 1963)
- 1897 – Ye Jianying, Chinese general and politician, Head of State of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Alice Berry, Australian activist (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Heinrich Müller, German SS officer (d. 1945)
- 1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1992)
- 1901 – H. B. Stallard, English runner and surgeon (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author and critic (d. 1979)
- 1906 – Kurt Gödel, Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1978)
- 1906 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (d. 1999)
- 1908 – Ethel Catherwood, American-Canadian high jumper and javelin thrower (d. 1987)
- 1908 – Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster (d. 1981)
- 1908 – Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (d. 1974)
- 1909 – Arthur Võõbus, Estonian-American theologist and orientalist (d. 1988)
- 1910 – Sam Merwin, Jr., American author (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Lee Falk, American director, producer, and playwright (d. 1999)
- 1912 – Odette Hallowes, French soldier and spy (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Kaneto Shindō, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Rose Murphy, American singer (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Michel Mohrt, French author, historian (d. 2011)
- 1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, created Lamborghini (d. 1993)
- 1917 – Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Rowland Evans, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Carolyn Cassady, American author (d. 2013)
- 1923 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian educator and politician, 1st President of Zambia
- 1925 – T. John Lesinski, American judge and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (d. 1996)
- 1925 – John Leonard Thorn, English lieutenant, author, and academic
- 1926 – James Bama, American artist and illustrator
- 1926 – Bill Blackbeard, American historian and author (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Harper Lee, American novelist (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Hulusi Sayın, Turkish general (d. 1991)
- 1928 – Yves Klein, French painter (d. 1962)
- 1928 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (d. 1997)
- 1930 – James Baker, American lawyer and politician, 61st United States Secretary of State
- 1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
- 1933 – Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American neuropharmacologist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Lois Duncan, American journalist and author (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Pedro Ramos, Cuban baseball player
- 1935 – Jimmy Wray, Scottish boxer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1937 – John White, Scottish international footballer(d. 1964)
- 1938 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (d. 1995)
- 1941 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1941 – Lucien Aimar, French cyclist
- 1941 – John Madejski, English businessman and academic
- 1941 – Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Mike Brearley, English cricketer and psychoanalyst
- 1943 – Aryeh Bibi, Iraqi-born Israeli politician
- 1944 – Elizabeth LeCompte, American director and producer
- 1944 – Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician, 10th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
- 1944 – Alice Waters, American chef and author
- 1946 – Nour El-Sherif, Egyptian actor and producer (d. 2015)
- 1946 – Ginette Reno, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1946 – Larissa Grunig, American theorist and activist
- 1947 – Christian Jacq, French historian and author
- 1947 – Nicola LeFanu, English composer and academic
- 1947 – Steve Khan, American jazz guitarist
- 1948 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1948 – Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
- 1949 – Jeremy Cooke, English lawyer and judge
- 1949 – Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
- 1949 – Bruno Kirby, American actor and director (d. 2006)
- 1950 – Willie Colón, Puerto Rican-American trombonist and producer
- 1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian, talk show host, and producer
- 1950 – Steve Rider, English journalist and sportscaster
- 1951 – Tim Congdon, English economist and politician
- 1951 – Larry Smith, Canadian football player and politician
- 1952 – Chuck Leavell, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
- 1953 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (d. 2003)
- 1953 – Kim Gordon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1953 – Brian Greenhoff, English footballer and coach (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Timothy Curley, American educator
- 1954 – Michael P. Jackson, American politician, 3rd Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
- 1954 – Vic Sotto, Filipino actor-producer, singer-songwriter, comedian and television personality
- 1954 – Ron Zook, American football player and coach
- 1955 – Eddie Jobson, English keyboard player and violinist
- 1955 – Dieter Rubach, German bass player
- 1956 – Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Wilma Landkroon, Dutch singer
- 1958 – Hal Sutton, American golfer
- 1960 – Tom Browning, American baseball player
- 1960 – Elena Kagan, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
- 1960 – Phil King, English bass player
- 1960 – Ian Rankin, Scottish author
- 1960 – Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strongman and weightlifter (d. 1993)
- 1960 – Walter Zenga, Italian footballer and manager
- 1963 – Sandrine Dumas, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Lloyd Eisler, Canadian figure skater and coach
- 1963 – Marc Lacroix, Belgian biochemist and academic
- 1964 – Stephen Ames, Trinidadian golfer
- 1964 – Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese composer
- 1964 – Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar, English surgeon and academic
- 1964 – Barry Larkin, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1964 – L’Wren Scott, American model and fashion designer (d. 2014)
- 1965 – Jennifer Rardin, American author (d. 2010)
- 1966 – John Daly, American golfer
- 1966 – Too Short, American rapper, producer and actor
- 1967 – Chris White, English engineer and politician
- 1968 – Howard Donald, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1968 – Andy Flower, South-African-Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
- 1969 – LeRon Perry Ellis, American basketball player
- 1970 – Richard Fromberg, Australian tennis player
- 1970 – Nicklas Lidström, Swedish ice hockey player and scout
- 1970 – Diego Simeone, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1971 – Brad McEwan, Australian journalist
- 1972 – Violent J, American rapper
- 1972 – Helena Tulve, Estonian composer
- 1972 – Jean-Paul van Gastel, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1973 – Jorge Garcia, American actor and producer
- 1973 – Earl Holmes, American football player and coach
- 1973 – Andrew Mehrtens, South African-New Zealand rugby player
- 1974 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and producer
- 1974 – Margo Dydek, Polish basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1974 – Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
- 1974 – Vernon Kay, English radio and television host
- 1974 – Dominic Matteo, Scottish footballer and journalist
- 1975 – Michael Walchhofer, Austrian skier
- 1976 – Shane Jurgensen, Australian cricketer
- 1978 – Lauren Laverne, English singer and television host
- 1978 – Robert Oliveri, American actor
- 1978 – Nate Richert, American actor
- 1979 – Scott Fujita, American football player and sportscaster
- 1980 – Bradley Wiggins, English cyclist
- 1981 – Jessica Alba, American model and actress
- 1981 – Pietro Travagli, Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Nikki Grahame, English model and journalist
- 1982 – Chris Kaman, American basketball player
- 1983 – Josh Brookes, Australian motorcycle racer
- 1983 – David Freese, American baseball player
- 1983 – Roger Johnson, English footballer
- 1983 – Graham Wagg, English cricketer
- 1983 – Thomas Waldrom, New Zealand-English rugby player
- 1984 – Dmitri Torbinski, Russian footballer
- 1985 – Lucas Jakubczyk, German sprinter and long jumper
- 1985 – Deividas Stagniūnas, Lithuanian ice dancer
- 1986 – Roman Polák, Czech ice hockey player
- 1986 – Jenna Ushkowitz, Korean-American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1987 – Ryan Conroy, Scottish footballer
- 1987 – Samantha Akkineni, Indian actress and model
- 1987 – Bradley Johnson, English footballer
- 1987 – Zoran Tošić, Serbian footballer
- 1988 – Jonathan Biabiany, French footballer
- 1988 – Juan Manuel Mata, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Katariina Tuohimaa, Finnish tennis player
- 1989 – Emil Salomonsson, Swedish footballer
- 1989 – Kim Sung-kyu, South Korean singer
- 1990 – Niels-Peter Mørck, Danish footballer
- 1992 – Blake Bortles, American football player
- 1992 – DeMarcus Lawrence, American football player
- 1993 – Craig Garvey, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Eva Samková, Czech snowboarder
- 1995 – Jonathan Benteke, Belgian footballer
- 1995 – Melanie Martinez, American singer
Deaths on April 28
- 224 – Artabanus V of Parthia (b. 191)
- 948 – Hu Jinsi, Chinese general and prefect
- 988 – Adaldag, archbishop of Bremen
- 1109 – Abbot Hugh of Cluny (b. 1024)
- 1192 – Conrad of Montferrat (b. 1140)
- 1197 – Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth (b. 1132)
- 1257 – Shajar al-Durr, sovereign sultana of Egypt
- 1260 – Luchesius Modestini, founding member of the Third Order of St. Francis
- 1400 – Baldus de Ubaldis, Italian jurist (b. 1327)
- 1489 – Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1449)
- 1533 – Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1461)
- 1643 – Francisco de Lucena, Portuguese politician (b. 1578)
- 1710 – Thomas Betterton, English actor and manager (b. 1630)
- 1716 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (b. 1673)
- 1726 – Thomas Pitt, English merchant and politician (b. 1653)
- 1741 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (b. 1668)
- 1772 – Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician and politician (b. 1737)
- 1781 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (b. 1723)
- 1813 – Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (b. 1745)
- 1816 – Johann Heinrich Abicht, German philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1762)
- 1841 – Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (b. 1803)
- 1853 – Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet (b. 1773)
- 1858 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (b. 1801)
- 1865 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian-English businessman, founded Cunard Line (b. 1787)
- 1881 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (b. 1818)
- 1883 – John Russell, English hunter and dog breeder (b. 1795)
- 1902 – Cyprien Tanguay, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1819)
- 1903 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American scientist (b. 1839)
- 1905 – Fitzhugh Lee, American general and politician, 40th Governor of Virginia (b. 1835)
- 1925 – Richard Butler, English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
- 1928 – May Jordan McConnel, Australian trade unionist and suffragist (b. 1860)
- 1929 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (b. 1879)
- 1936 – Fuad I of Egypt (b. 1868)
- 1944 – Mohammed Alim Khan, Manghud ruler (b. 1880)
- 1944 – Frank Knox, American journalist and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1874)
- 1945 – Roberto Farinacci, Italian soldier and politician (b. 1892)
- 1945 – Hermann Fegelein, German general (b. 1906)
- 1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1883)
- 1946 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and academic (b. 1870)
- 1954 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1956 – Fred Marriott, American race car driver (b. 1872)
- 1957 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
- 1962 – Bennie Osler, South African rugby player (b. 1901)
- 1963 – Wilhelm Weber, German gymnast (b. 1880)
- 1970 – Ed Begley, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1973 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (b. 1893)
- 1976 – Richard Hughes, American author and poet (b. 1900)
- 1977 – Ricardo Cortez, American actor (b. 1900)
- 1977 – Sepp Herberger, German footballer and coach (b. 1897)
- 1978 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (b. 1909)
- 1980 – Tommy Caldwell, American bass player (b. 1949)
- 1987 – Ben Linder, American engineer and activist (b. 1959)
- 1991 – Steve Broidy, American film producer (b. 1905)
- 1992 – Francis Bacon, Irish painter (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Diva Diniz Corrêa, Brazilian zoologist (b. 1918)
- 1993 – Jim Valvano, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
- 1996 – Lester Sumrall, American minister, founded LeSEA (b. 1913)
- 1997 – Ann Petry, American novelist (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (b. 1923)
- 1999 – Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 1999 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1927)
- 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and manager (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (b. 1925)
- 2000 – Penelope Fitzgerald, English author and poet (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (b. 1950)
- 2002 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Percy Heath, American bassist (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (b. 1971)
- 2005 – Taraki Sivaram, Sri Lankan journalist and author (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Steve Howe, American baseball player (b. 1958)
- 2007 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2007 – René Mailhot, Canadian journalist (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Tommy Newsom, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Bertha Wilson, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and jurist (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina and actress (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Richard Pratt, Polish-Australian businessman (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Erhard Loretan, Swiss mountaineer (b. 1959)
- 2012 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and author (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Al Ecuyer, American football player (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Patricia Medina, English actress (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Milan N. Popović, Serbian psychiatrist and author (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Aberdeen Shikoyi, Kenyan rugby player (b. 1985)
- 2013 – Brad Lesley, American baseball player (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Fredrick McKissack, American author (b. 1939)
- 2013 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2013 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Bernie Wood, New Zealand journalist and author (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Barbara Fiske Calhoun, American cartoonist and painter (b. 1919)
- 2014 – William Honan, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Edgar Laprade, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Idris Sardi, Indonesian violinist and composer (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Ryan Tandy, Australian rugby player (b. 1981)
- 2015 – Antônio Abujamra, Brazilian actor and director (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Marcia Brown, American author and illustrator (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Michael J. Ingelido, American general (b. 1916)
- 2016 – Jenny Diski, English author and screenwriter (b. 1947)
- 2017 – Mariano Gagnon, American Catholic priest and author (b. 1929)
- 2018 – James Hylton, American race car driver (b. 1934)
- 2019 – Richard Lugar, American politician (b.1932)
- 2019 – John Singleton, American film director (b. 1968)
Holidays and observances on April 28
- Christian feast day:
- Aphrodisius and companions
- Gianna Beretta Molla
- Kirill of Turov (Orthodox, added to Roman Martyrology in 1969)
- Louis de Montfort
- Pamphilus of Sulmona
- Peter Chanel
- Vitalis and Valeria of Milan
- April 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Lawyers’ Day (Odisha, India)
- Mujahideen Victory Day (Afghanistan)
- National Heroes Day (Barbados)
- Restoration of Sovereignty Day (Japan)
- Sardinia Day (Sardinia)
- Workers’ Memorial Day and World Day for Safety and Health at Work (international)
- National Day of Mourning (Canada)
-
April 25 in History
- 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
- 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire.
- 799 – After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection.
- 1134 – The name Zagreb was mentioned for the first time in the Felician Charter relating to the establishment of the Zagreb Bishopric around 1094.
- 1607 – Eighty Years’ War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
- 1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming dynasty China, commits suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
- 1707 – A coalition of Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal is defeated by a Franco-Spanish army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.
- 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
- 1792 – “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
- 1804 – The western Georgian kingdom of Imereti accepts the suzerainty of the Russian Empire.
- 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
- 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War.
- 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
- 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Marks’ Mills.
- 1882 – French and Vietnamese troops clashed in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seized the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
- 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.
- 1915 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops, begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
- 1916 – Anzac Day is commemorated for the first time on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove.
- 1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class “A” League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East.
- 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.
- 1940 – Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands is approved by the British occupation government.
- 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.
- 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two.
- 1945 – Liberation Day (Italy): The Nazi occupation army surrenders and leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolves and Benito Mussolini is captured after trying to escape. This day was set as a public holiday to celebrate the Liberation of Italy.
- 1945 – United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
- 1945 – The last German troops retreat from Finland’s soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military acts of Second World War end in Finland.
- 1951 – Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.
- 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” describing the double helix structure of DNA.
- 1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
- 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.
- 1960 – The United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
- 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and establishes a democratic government.
- 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
- 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
- 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
- 1983 – Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
- 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto’s orbit.
- 1986 – Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.
- 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.
- 1990 – Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto is killed while testing an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring in Germany.
- 2004 – The March for Women’s Lives brings between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.
- 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.
- 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.
- 2007 – Boris Yeltsin’s funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.
- 2015 – Nearly 9,100 are killed after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.
Births on April 25
- 1214 – Louis IX of France (d. 1270)
- 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)
- 1284 – Edward II of England (d. 1327)
- 1287 – Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1330)
- 1502 – Georg Major, German theologian and academic (d. 1574)
- 1529 – Francesco Patrizi, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1597)
- 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1658)
- 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, English soldier and politician (d. 1679)
- 1666 – Johann Heinrich Buttstett, German organist and composer (d. 1727)
- 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect and politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (d. 1753)
- 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and author (d. 1776)
- 1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer (d. 1797)
- 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (d. 1786)
- 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French general (d. 1847)
- 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist and academic (d. 1850)
- 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)
- 1843 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
- 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1925)
- 1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer and educator (d. 1927)
- 1851 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish author, critic, and academic (d. 1901)
- 1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, American engineer and inventor (d. 1940)
- 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English ornithologist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1933)
- 1868 – John Moisant, American pilot and engineer (d. 1910)
- 1871 – Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (d. 1926)
- 1872 – C. B. Fry, English cricketer, footballer, educator, and politician (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Howard Garis, American author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children’s stories (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
- 1874 – Ernest Webb, English-Canadian race walker (d. 1937)
- 1876 – Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (d. 1958)
- 1878 – William Merz, American gymnast and triathlete (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (d. 1976)
- 1887 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and critic (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (d. 1980)
- 1896 – Fred Haney, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Mary Miles Minter, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1987)
- 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (d. 1986)
- 1906 – William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)
- 1909 – William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (d. 1985)
- 1910 – Arapeta Awatere, New Zealand interpreter, military leader, politician, and murderer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1912 – Earl Bostic, African-American saxophonist (d. 1965)
- 1913 – Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (d. 1944)
- 1914 – Ross Lockridge Jr., American author and academic (d. 1948)
- 1915 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1916 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Jean Lucas, French racing driver (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Graham Payn, South African-born English actor and singer (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French-American astronomer and academic (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano and actress (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Finn Helgesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, English astronomer and academic
- 1923 – Melissa Hayden, Canadian ballerina (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Albert King, African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, composer, director, and playwright (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, English trade union leader and businessman
- 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German comedian and journalist (d. 1986)
- 1925 – Louis O’Neil, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Johnny Craig, American author and illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Patricia Castell, Argentine actress (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper, shot putter, and discus thrower (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Godfrey Milton-Thompson, English admiral and surgeon (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Peter Schulz, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Hamburg (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1980)
- 1931 – David Shepherd, English painter and author (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, African-American basketball player and minister (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower and politician (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
- 1933 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1935 – Bob Gutowski, American pole vaulter (d. 1960)
- 1935 – Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (d. 2000)
- 1938 – Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch painter and graphic designer
- 1939 – Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer and manager
- 1939 – Michael Llewellyn-Smith, English academic and diplomat
- 1939 – Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, English historian and academic
- 1939 – Veronica Sutherland, English academic and British diplomat
- 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor and director
- 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Jon Kyl, American lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1944 – Len Goodman, English dancer
- 1944 – Mike Kogel, German singer-songwriter
- 1944 – Stephen Nickell, English economist and academic
- 1944 – Bruce Ponder, English geneticist and cancer researcher
- 1945 – Stu Cook, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1945 – Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author
- 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress
- 1946 – Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland
- 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1947 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
- 1948 – Mike Selvey, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwanese politician, 39th Premier of the Republic of China
- 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentinian footballer and race car driver
- 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance
- 1949 – James Fenton, English poet, journalist and literary critic
- 1950 – Donnell Deeny, Northern Irish lawyer and judge
- 1950 – Steve Ferrone, English drummer
- 1950 – Peter Hintze, German politician (d. 2016)
- 1950 – Valentyna Kozyr, Ukrainian high jumper
- 1951 – Ian McCartney, Scottish politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist and composer
- 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Jacques Santini, French footballer and coach
- 1953 – Ron Clements, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer
- 1953 – Anthony Venables, English economist, author, and academic
- 1954 – Melvin Burgess, English author
- 1954 – Randy Cross, American football player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Róisín Shortall, Irish educator and politician
- 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer
- 1955 – Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks
- 1956 – Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar
- 1957 – Theo de Rooij, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Misha Glenny, British journalist
- 1959 – Paul Madden, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia
- 1959 – Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director
- 1959 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Paul Baloff, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1960 – Robert Peston, English journalist
- 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian director, producer, and critic
- 1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American journalist and author
- 1961 – Miran Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1962 – Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1963 – Joy Covey, American businesswoman (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Dave Martin, English footballer
- 1963 – David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Bernd Müller, German footballer and manager
- 1963 – Paul Wassif, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor, voice artist, comedian and producer
- 1964 – Andy Bell, English singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Eric Avery, American bass player and songwriter
- 1965 – Mark Bryant, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – John Henson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Diego Domínguez, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1966 – Femke Halsema, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician
- 1966 – Darren Holmes, American baseball player and coach
- 1966 – Erik Pappas, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Angel Martino, American swimmer
- 1968 – Vitaliy Kyrylenko, Ukrainian long jumper
- 1968 – Thomas Strunz, German footballer
- 1969 – Joe Buck, American sportscaster
- 1969 – Martin Koolhoven, Dutch director and screenwriter
- 1969 – Jon Olsen, American swimmer
- 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer
- 1970 – Jason Lee, American skateboarder, actor, comedian and producer
- 1971 – Sara Baras, Spanish dancer
- 1971 – Brad Clontz, American baseball player
- 1973 – Carlota Castrejana, Spanish triple jumper
- 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer
- 1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis player
- 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player
- 1976 – Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player
- 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach
- 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress and producer
- 1977 – Matthew West, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1978 – Matt Walker, English swimmer
- 1980 – Ben Johnston, Scottish drummer and songwriter
- 1980 – James Johnston, Scottish bass player and songwriter
- 1980 – Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television host
- 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer
- 1980 – Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player
- 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
- 1981 – Dwone Hicks, American football player
- 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
- 1981 – John McFall, English sprinter
- 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier
- 1982 – Brian Barton, American baseball player
- 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer
- 1982 – Marco Russo, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Johnathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, American football player
- 1984 – Robert Andino, American baseball player
- 1984 – Isaac Kiprono Songok, Kenyan runner
- 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver
- 1986 – Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Thin Seng Hon, Cambodian Paralympic athlete
- 1986 – Gwen Jorgensen, American triathlete
- 1986 – Claudia Rath, German heptathlete
- 1987 – Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
- 1987 – Jay Park, American-South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player
- 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Canadian skier
- 1989 – Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player
- 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the highest-ranking spiritual leaders in Tibet
- 1990 – Jean-Éric Vergne, French racing driver
- 1990 – Taylor Walker, Australian footballer
- 1991 – Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer
- 1993 – Alex Bowman, American race car driver
- 1993 – Daniel Norris, American baseball player
- 1994 – Omar McLeod, Jamaican hurdler
- 1995 – Lewis Baker, English footballer
- 1996 – Mack Horton, Australian swimmer
- 1997 – Julius Ertlthaler, Austrian footballer
Deaths on April 25
- 501 – Rusticus, saint and archbishop of Lyon (b. 455)
- 775 – Smbat VII Bagratuni, Armenian prince
- 775 – Mushegh VI Mamikonian, Armenian prince
- 908 – Zhang Wenwei, Chinese chancellor
- 1074 – Herman I, Margrave of Baden
- 1077 – Géza I of Hungary (b. 1040)
- 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
- 1217 – Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
- 1228 – Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem (b. 1212)
- 1243 – Boniface of Valperga, Bishop of Aosta
- 1264 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, medieval English nobleman; Earl of Winchester (b. 1195)
- 1295 – Sancho IV of Castile (b. 1258)
- 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
- 1397 – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, English nobleman
- 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian author, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)
- 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
- 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet and author (b. 1520)
- 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)
- 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and songwriter (b. 1544)
- 1605 – Naresuan, Siamese King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (b. c. 1555)
- 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (b. 1611)
- 1660 – Henry Hammond, English cleric and theologian (b. 1605)
- 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter and educator (b. 1610)
- 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1701)
- 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French minister, physicist, and academic (b. 1700)
- 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
- 1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1781)
- 1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1783)
- 1875 – 12th Dalai Lama (b. 1857)
- 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)
- 1890 – Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1830)
- 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (b. 1811)
- 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)
- 1892 – Karl von Ditmar, Estonian-German geologist and explorer (b. 1822)
- 1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and educator (b. 1839)
- 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1862)
- 1913 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (b. 1859)
- 1915 – Frederick W. Seward, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
- 1919 – Augustus D. Juilliard, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1836)
- 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
- 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (b. 1878)
- 1941 – Salih Bozok, Turkish commander and politician (b. 1881)
- 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (b. 1858)
- 1944 – George Herriman, American cartoonist (b. 1880)
- 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player (b. 1859)
- 1944 – William Stephens, American engineer and politician, 24th Governor of California (b. 1859)
- 1945 – Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (b. 1903)
- 1961 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (b. 1875)
- 1970 – Anita Louise, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1972 – George Sanders, English actor (b. 1906)
- 1973 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-American actress (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Gustavo R. Vincenti, Maltese architect and developer (b. 1888)
- 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (b.1947)
- 1976 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (b. 1906)
- 1976 – Markus Reiner, Israeli engineer and educator (b. 1886)
- 1982 – John Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
- 1983 – William S. Bowdern, American priest and author (b. 1897)
- 1988 – Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Roger Troutman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1951)
- 2000 – Lucien Le Cam, French mathematician and statistician (b. 1924)
- 2000 – David Merrick, American director and producer (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (b. 1956)
- 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (b. 1971)
- 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan runner (b. 1966)
- 2004 – Thom Gunn, English-American poet and academic (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Jim Barker, American politician (b. 1935)
- 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent member of parliament (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Alan Ball Jr., English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Bobby Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player, composer, and radio host (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Dorothy Provine, American actress and singer (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Poly Styrene, British musician (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Gerry Bahen, Australian footballer (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Denny Jones, American rancher and politician (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina and educator (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Brian Adam, Scottish biochemist and politician (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
- 2013 – György Berencsi, Hungarian virologist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Rick Camp, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Dan Heap, Canadian priest and politician (b. 1925)
- 2014 – William Judson Holloway Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1968)
- 2014 – Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Jim Fanning, American-Canadian baseball player and manager (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and novelist (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Mike Phillips, American basketball player (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Madeeha Gauhar, Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women’s rights activist (b. 1956)
- 2019 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on April 25
- Anniversary of the First Cabinet of Kurdish Government (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
- Arbor Day (Germany)
- Christian feast day:
- Giovanni Battista Piamarta
- Major Rogation (Western Christianity)
- Mark the Evangelist
- Maughold
- Philo and Agathopodes
- Anianus of Alexandria
- April 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- DNA Day
- Flag Day (Faroe Islands)
- Freedom Day (Portugal)
- Liberation Day (Italy)
- Liberation Day (South Georgia)
- Military Foundation Day (North Korea)
- Parental Alienation Awareness Day
- Red Hat Society Day
- Sinai Liberation Day (Egypt)
- World Malaria Day
-
April 16 in History
- AD 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
- 1346 – Stefan Dušan, “the Mighty”, is crowned Emperor of the Serbs at Skopje, his empire occupying much of the Balkans.
- 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.
- 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
- 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland.After the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
- 1780 – Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg founds the University of Münster.
- 1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor: Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
- 1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush–Bagot Treaty, limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
- 1847 – Shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand Wars.
- 1853 – The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opens the first passenger rail in India, from Bori Bunder to Thane.
- 1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle at Lee’s Mills in Virginia.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.
- 1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg Campaign, gunboats commanded by acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg.
- 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
- 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
- 1910 – The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time.
- 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
- 1917 – Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia, from exile in Switzerland.
- 1919 – Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of “prayer and fasting” in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier.
- 1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
- 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
- 1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
- 1941 – World War II: The Italian-German Tarigo convoy is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
- 1941 – World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 is effected.
- 1943 – Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.
- 1944 – World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
- 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
- 1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
- 1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine.
- 1947 – An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
- 1947 – Bernard Baruch first applies the term “Cold War” to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
- 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
- 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1990 – “Doctor Death”, Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
- 2001 – India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
- 2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.
- 2007 – Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho guns down 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.
- 2012 – The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.
- 2012 – The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced, it was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.
- 2013 – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.
- 2013 – The 2013 Baga massacre is started when Boko Haram militants engage government soldiers in Baga.
- 2014 – The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities.
Births on April 16
- 1435 – Jan II the Mad, Duke of Żagań (1439–1449 and 1461–1468 and again in 1472) (d. 1504)
- 1488 – Jungjong of Joseon (d. 1544)
- 1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1557)
- 1516 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (d. 1550)
- 1569 – John Davies, English poet and lawyer (d. 1626)
- 1635 – Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter (d. 1681)
- 1646 – Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect, designed the Château de Dampierre and Grand Trianon (d. 1708)
- 1660 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (d. 1753)
- 1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, First Lord of the Treasury (d. 1715)
- 1682 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (d. 1744)
- 1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German organist and composer (d. 1778)
- 1728 – Joseph Black, French-Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1799)
- 1730 – Henry Clinton, English general and politician (d. 1795)
- 1755 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
- 1786 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician, 4th Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (d. 1847)
- 1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, English field marshal and politician (d. 1888)
- 1808 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1864)
- 1821 – Ford Madox Brown, French-English soldier and painter (d. 1893)
- 1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1852)
- 1826 – Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet, British politician (d. 1891)
- 1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet and bookseller (d. 1879)
- 1839 – Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì, Italian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1908)
- 1834 – Charles Lennox Richardson, English merchant (d. 1862)
- 1844 – Anatole France, French journalist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
- 1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss-Austrian architect, designed the Federal Palace of Switzerland (d. 1906)
- 1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (d. 1919)
- 1851 – Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 3rd Solicitor General of Sri Lanka (d. 1930)
- 1864 – Rose Talbot Bullard, American medical doctor and professor (d. 1915)
- 1865 – Harry Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
- 1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1918)
- 1867 – Wilbur Wright, American inventor (d. 1912)
- 1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1909)
- 1874 – Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (d. 1936)
- 1878 – R. E. Foster, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1914)
- 1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)
- 1884 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, journalist, and politician (d. 1963)
- 1885 – Leó Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)
- 1886 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek-American football player and javelin thrower (d. 1957)
- 1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
- 1888 – Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (d. 1940)
- 1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1977)
- 1890 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1954)
- 1890 – Gertrude Chandler Warner, American author and educator (d. 1979)
- 1891 – Dorothy P. Lathrop, American author and illustrator (d. 1980)
- 1892 – Howard Mumford Jones, American author, critic, and academic (d. 1980)
- 1893 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1968)
- 1893 – John Norton, American hurdler (d. 1979)
- 1895 – Ove Arup, English-Danish engineer and businessman, founded Arup (d. 1988)
- 1896 – Robert Henry Best, American journalist (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Árpád Weisz, Hungarian footballer (d. 1944)
- 1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (d. 1988)
- 1900 – Polly Adler, Russian-American madam and author (d. 1962)
- 1903 – Paul Waner, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
- 1904 – Fifi D’Orsay, Canadian-American vaudevillian, actress, and singer (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
- 1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (d. 1964)
- 1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (d. 1947)
- 1908 – Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman and activist (d. 2004)
- 1908 – Ray Ventura, French jazz bandleader (d. 1979)
- 1910 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
- 1911 – Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Les Tremayne, English actor (d. 2003)
- 1914 – John Hodiak, American actor (d. 1955)
- 1915 – Robert Speck, Canadian politician, 1st Mayor of Mississauga (d. 1972)
- 1916 – Behçet Necatigil, Turkish author, poet, and translator (d. 1979)
- 1917 – Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Dick Gibson, English racing driver (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Hsuan Hua, Chinese-American monk and author (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish actor, comedian, and writer (d. 2002)
- 1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Thomas Willmore, English geometer and academic (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Ananda Dassanayake, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (d. 1986)
- 1921 – Arlin M. Adams, American lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
- 1921 – Wolfgang Leonhard, German historian and author (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Kingsley Amis, English novelist, poet, and critic (d. 1995)
- 1922 – John Christopher, English author (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Lawrence N. Guarino, American colonel (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Warren Barker, American composer (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Arch A. Moore Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of West Virginia (d. 2015)
- 1924 – John Harvey-Jones, English academic and businessman (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (d. 1976)
- 1924 – Madanjeet Singh, Indian diplomat, author, and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Edie Adams, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
- 1927 – Rolf Schult, German actor (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Dick Lane, American football player and soldier (d. 2002)
- 1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
- 1929 – Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist and ecologist (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)
- 1930 – Doug Beasy, Australian footballer and educator (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and composer (d. 2003)
- 1932 – Maury Meyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Marcos Alonso Imaz, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Joan Bakewell, English journalist and author
- 1933 – Perry Botkin Jr., American composer, arranger and musician
- 1933 – Vera Krepkina, Russian long jumper
- 1933 – Ike Pappas, American journalist and actor (d. 2008)
- 1934 – Vince Hill, English singer-songwriter
- 1934 – Robert Stigwood, Australian producer and manager (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Barrie Unsworth, Australian politician, 36th Premier of New South Wales
- 1934 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Lennart Risberg, Swedish boxer (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
- 1936 – Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Gert Potgieter, South African hurdler and coach
- 1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player
- 1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1939 – John Amabile, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer and record producer (d. 1999)
- 1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian academic and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Transport
- 1940 – David Holford, Barbadian cricketer
- 1940 – Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
- 1940 – Joan Snyder, American painter
- 1940 – Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, English banker and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom
- 1941 – Allan Segal, American director and producer (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball pitcher
- 1942 – Sir Frank Williams, English businessman, founded the Williams F1 Racing Team
- 1943 – Lonesome Dave Peverett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
- 1943 – Petro Tyschtschenko, Austrian-German businessman
- 1943 – John Watkins, Australian cricketer
- 1945 – Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician
- 1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
- 1946 – Ernst Bakker, Dutch politician (d. 2014)
- 1946 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (d. 2015)
- 1946 – R. Carlos Nakai, American flute player
- 1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach
- 1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1948 – Reg Alcock, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Canadian President of the Treasury Board (d. 2011)
- 1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1950 – Colleen Hewett, Australian singer and actress
- 1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian author and photographer
- 1951 – David Nutt, English psychiatrist and academic
- 1952 – Bill Belichick, American football player and coach
- 1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor and director
- 1952 – Esther Roth-Shahamorov, Israeli sprinter and hurdler
- 1952 – Billy West, American voice actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian
- 1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer-songwriter and politician
- 1953 – Jay O. Sanders, American actor
- 1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
- 1954 – John Bowe, Australian racing driver
- 1954 – Mike Zuke, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
- 1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 1956 – David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1956 – T Lavitz, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (d. 2010)
- 1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- 1957 – Patricia De Martelaere, Belgian philosopher, author, and academic (d. 2009)
- 1958 – Tim Flach, English photographer and director
- 1958 – Ulf Wakenius, Swedish guitarist
- 1959 – Alison Ramsay, English-Scottish field hockey player and lawyer
- 1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
- 1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer and manager
- 1961 – Jarbom Gamlin, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (d. 2014)
- 1961 – Linda Ruth Williams, British film studies academic
- 1962 – Anna Dello Russo, Italian journalist
- 1962 – Douglas Elmendorf, American economist and politician
- 1962 – Ian MacKaye, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American singer
- 1964 – David Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
- 1964 – Dave Pirner, American singer, songwriter and producer
- 1964 – Esbjörn Svensson, Swedish pianist (d. 2008)
- 1965 – Yves-François Blanchet, Canadian politician
- 1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Jarle Vespestad, Norwegian drummer
- 1966 – Jeff Varner, American newscaster and reality television personality
- 1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager
- 1968 – Rüdiger Stenzel, German runner
- 1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish skier
- 1969 – Fernando Viña, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Dero Goi, German singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
- 1971 – Cameron Blades, Australian rugby player
- 1971 – Selena, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (d. 1995)
- 1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
- 1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Belarusian tennis player
- 1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish-American tennis player
- 1972 – Tracy K. Smith, American poet and educator
- 1973 – Akon, Senegalese-American singer, rapper and songwriter
- 1973 – Charlotta Sörenstam, Swedish golfer
- 1973 – Teddy Cobeña, Spanish-Ecuadorian expressionist and representational sculptor
- 1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player
- 1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor and musician
- 1976 – Kelli O’Hara, American actress and singer
- 1977 – Freddie Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
- 1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch racing driver
- 1979 – Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter
- 1979 – Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player
- 1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Maya Dunietz, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1981 – Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player
- 1982 – Gina Carano, American mixed martial artist and actress
- 1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
- 1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
- 1983 – Marié Digby, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball player
- 1984 – Teddy Blass, American composer and producer
- 1984 – Claire Foy, English actress
- 1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
- 1984 – Paweł Kieszek, Polish footballer
- 1984 – Kerron Stewart, Jamaican sprinter
- 1985 – Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player
- 1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
- 1986 – Paul di Resta, Scottish racing driver
- 1986 – Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player
- 1986 – Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast
- 1987 – Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player
- 1987 – Aaron Lennon, English international footballer
- 1988 – Kyle Okposo, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Reggie Jackson, American basketball player
- 1990 – Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
- 1990 – Tony McQuay, American sprinter
- 1990 – Travis Shaw, American baseball player
- 1991 – Nolan Arenado, American baseball player
- 1991 – Kim Kyung-jung, South Korean footballer
- 1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
- 1993 – Chance the Rapper, American rapper
- 1994 – Albert Almora, American baseball player
- 1994 – Will Fuller, American football player
- 2002 – Sadie Sink, American actress
Deaths on April 16
- AD 69 – Otho, Roman emperor (b. AD 32)
- 665 – Fructuosus of Braga, French archbishop and saint
- 1090 – Sikelgaita, duchess of Apulia (b. c. 1040)
- 1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev (b. 1050)
- 1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, regent of Sicily, mother of Roger II of Sicily, queen of Baldwin I of Jerusalem
- 1198 – Frederick I, Duke of Austria (b. 1175)
- 1234 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (b. 1191)
- 1375 – John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1347)
- 1496 – Charles II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1489)
- 1587 – Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (b. 1497)
- 1640 – Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (b. 1579)
- 1645 – Tobias Hume, Scottish soldier, viol player, and composer (b. 1569)
- 1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English poet and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire (b. 1628)
- 1689 – Aphra Behn, English author and playwright (b. 1640)
- 1742 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (b. 1672)
- 1756 – Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (b. 1677)
- 1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer and educator (b. 1719)
- 1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French mathematician, cosmologist, and author (b. 1707)
- 1828 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and illustrator (b. 1746)
- 1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (b. 1763)
- 1850 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (b. 1761)
- 1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1805)
- 1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint (b. 1844)
- 1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist and chemist (b. 1845)
- 1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (b. 1875)
- 1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (b. 1888)
- 1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish-English author (b. 1812)
- 1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1838)
- 1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American businessman and politician (b. 1841)
- 1925 – Stefan Nerezov, Bulgarian general (b. 1867)
- 1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founded Henry Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
- 1928 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (b. 1900)
- 1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, philosopher, and activist (b. 1894)
- 1935 – Panait Istrati, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1884)
- 1937 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American military engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (b. 1870)
- 1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and manager (b. 1874)
- 1941 – Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, English economist and civil servant (b. 1880)
- 1942 – Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1878)
- 1942 – Denis St. George Daly, Irish polo player (b. 1862)
- 1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver and engineer (b. 1884)
- 1947 – Rudolf Höss, German SS officer (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1905)
- 1950 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (b. 1867)
- 1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish engineer and politician (b. 1872)
- 1958 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist and academic (b. 1920)
- 1960 – Mihály Fekete, Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director (b. 1884)
- 1961 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1912)
- 1965 – Francis Balfour, English soldier and colonial administrator (b. 1884)
- 1965 – Sydney Chaplin, English actor, comedian, brother of Charlie Chaplin (b. 1885)
- 1966 – Eric Lambert, Australian author (b. 1918)
- 1968 – Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1885)
- 1969 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator and painter (b. 1904)
- 1970 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (b. 1892)
- 1970 – Péter Veres, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Defence (b. 1897)
- 1972 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1972 – Frank O’Connor, Australian public servant (b. 1894)
- 1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor and educator (b. 1929)
- 1978 – Lucius D. Clay, American officer and military governor in occupied Germany (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Morris Stoloff, American composer (b. 1898)
- 1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1988 – Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian commander, founded Fatah (b. 1935)
- 1988 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (b. 1954)
- 1989 – Jocko Conlan, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Kaoru Ishikawa Japanese author and educator (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)
- 1989 – Hakkı Yeten, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1910)
- 1991 – David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1992 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy and activist (b. 1915)
- 1992 – Andy Russell, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
- 1994 – Paul-Émilien Dalpé, Canadian labor unionist (b. 1919)
- 1994 – Ralph Ellison, American novelist and critic (b. 1913)
- 1996 – Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (b. 1917)
- 1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek-Swiss businessman (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician (b. 1921)
- 1997 – Roland Topor, French actor, director, and painter (b. 1938)
- 1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentinian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
- 1998 – Marie-Louise Meilleur, Canadian super-centenarian (b. 1880)
- 1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1946)
- 2001 – Robert Osterloh, American actor (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Michael Ritchie, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2001 – Alec Stock, English footballer and manager (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Ruth Fertel, American businesswoman, founded Ruth’s Chris Steak House (b. 1927)
- 2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English horticulturalist and author (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
- 2007 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1962)
- 2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Chandrabose Suthaharan, Sri Lankan journalist
- 2008 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general and convicted war criminal (b. 1949)
- 2010 – Daryl Gates, American police officer, created the D.A.R.E. Program (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Gerry Alexander, Jamaican cricketer and veterinarian (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Allan Blakeney, Canadian scholar and politician, 10th Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Sol Saks, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Sári Barabás, Hungarian soprano (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Marian Biskup, Polish author and academic (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and conductor (b. 1938)
- 2012 – George Kunda, Zambian lawyer and politician, 11th Vice-President of Zambia (b. 1956)
- 2012 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish businessman (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Carlo Petrini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Charles Bruzon, Gibraltarian politician (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Ali Kafi, Algerian colonel and politician (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Siegfried Ludwig, Austrian politician, 18th Governor of Lower Austria (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Pentti Lund, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
- 2013 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (b. 1909)
- 2013 – Pat Summerall, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Ernst Florian Winter, Austrian-American historian and political scientist (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Attaphol Buspakom, Thai footballer and manager (b. 1962)
- 2015 – Oles Buzina, Ukrainian journalist and author (b. 1969)
- 2015 – Stanislav Gross, Czech lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (b. 1969)
- 2016 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
- 2018 – Harry Anderson, American actor and magician (b. 1952)
- 2018 – Jim Caine, British jazz pianist (b. 1926)
Holidays and observances on April 16
- Christian feast day:
- Benedict Joseph Labre
- Bernadette Soubirous
- Drogo
- Fructuosus of Braga
- Isabella Gilmore (Church of England)
- Martyrs of Zaragoza
- Molly Brant (Konwatsijayenni) (Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church)
- Turibius of Astorga
- April 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Birthday of José de Diego (Puerto Rico, United States)
- Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (Denmark)
- Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C., United States)
- Foursquare Day (International observance)
- Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Hungary)
- National Healthcare Decisions Day (United States)
- Remembrance of Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Wasan (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- World Voice Day
-
April 10 in History
- 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
- 837 – Halley’s Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
- 1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded the title “Great Treasure Prince of Dharma”.
- 1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
- 1606 – The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
- 1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.
- 1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz.
- 1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.
- 1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years.
- 1816 – The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.
- 1821 – Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.
- 1826 – The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year’s siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
- 1858 – After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
- 1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.
- 1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.
- 1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
- 1868 – At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.
- 1872 – The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.
- 1875 – India: Arya Samaj is founded in Mumbai by Swami Dayananda Saraswati to propagate his goal of social reform.
- 1887 – On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.
- 1912 – RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on her maiden and only voyage.
- 1916 – The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.
- 1919 – Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
- 1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.
- 1938 – The 1938 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for a single list of Nazi candidates and the recent annexation of Austria.
- 1939 – Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.’s “Big Book”, is first published.
- 1941 – World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia.
- 1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.
- 1957 – The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.
- 1963 – One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.
- 1968 – The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died.
- 1970 – Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
- 1971 – Ping-pong diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit.
- 1972 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Sun Bin’s lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
- 1973 – Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.
- 1979 – Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
- 1988 – The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan.
- 1991 – Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.
- 1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.
- 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland.
- 2009 – President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.
- 2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries.
- 2016 – The Paravur temple accident in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu, kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
- 2016 – An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, shakes up India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
- 2019 – Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, located in the centre of the M87 galaxy.
Births on April 10
- 401 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (d. 450)
- 1018 – Nizam al-Mulk, Persian scholar and vizier (d. 1092)
- 1472 – Margaret of York, English princess (d. 1472)
- 1480 – Philibert II, duke of Savoy (d. 1504)
- 1487 – William I, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1559)
- 1512 – James V, king of Scotland (d. 1542)
- 1579 – Augustus II, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1666)
- 1583 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and jurist (d. 1645)
- 1603 – Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark (d. 1647)
- 1651 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician, physicist, and physician (d. 1708)
- 1656 – René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, French-Canadian settler, founded Rimouski (d. 1718)
- 1704 – Benjamin Heath, English scholar and author (d. 1766)
- 1707 – Michel Corrette, French organist, composer, and author (d. 1795)
- 1713 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (d. 1788)
- 1755 – Samuel Hahnemann, German-French physician and academic (d. 1843)
- 1762 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1834)
- 1769 – Jean Lannes, French marshal (d. 1809)
- 1778 – William Hazlitt, English essayist and critic (d. 1830)
- 1794 – Matthew C. Perry, English-Scottish American commander (d. 1858)
- 1806 – Juliette Drouet, French actress (d. 1883)
- 1806 – Leonidas Polk, Scottish-American general and bishop (d. 1884)
- 1827 – Lew Wallace, American general, lawyer, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (d. 1905)
- 1829 – William Booth, English minister, founded The Salvation Army (d. 1912)
- 1847 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-American journalist, publisher, and politician, founded Pulitzer, Inc. (d. 1911)
- 1864 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (d. 1932)
- 1865 – Jack Miner, American-Canadian farmer, hunter, and environmentalist (d. 1944)
- 1867 – George William Russell, Irish author, poet, and painter (d. 1935)
- 1868 – George Arliss, English actor and playwright (d. 1946)
- 1868 – Asriel Günzig, Moravian rabbi (d. 1931)
- 1873 – Kyösti Kallio, Finnish farmer, banker, and politician, 4th President of Finland (d. 1940)
- 1875 – George Clawley, English footballer (d. 1920)
- 1877 – Alfred Kubin, Austrian author and illustrator (d. 1959)
- 1879 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (d. 1939)
- 1879 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (d. 1921)
- 1880 – Frances Perkins, American sociologist, academic, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1965)
- 1880 – Montague Summers, English clergyman and author (d. 1948)
- 1886 – Johnny Hayes, American runner and trainer (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentinian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
- 1889 – Louis Rougier, French philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1982)
- 1891 – Frank Barson, English footballer and coach (d. 1968)
- 1893 – Otto Steinböck, Austrian zoologist (d. 1969)
- 1894 – Ben Nicholson, British painter (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Prafulla Chandra Sen, Indian accountant and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Arnold Orville Beckman, American chemist, inventor, and philanthropist (d. 2004)
- 1901 – Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, Indian economist (d. 1971)
- 1903 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (d. 1970)
- 1906 – Steve Anderson, American hurdler (d. 1988)
- 1910 – Margaret Clapp, American scholar and academic (d. 1974)
- 1910 – Helenio Herrera, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
- 1910 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and publisher, founded the Monthly Review (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs for France (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Boris Kidrič, Austrian-Slovenian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovenia (d. 1953)
- 1913 – Stefan Heym, German-American soldier and author (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Jack Badcock, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
- 1915 – Harry Morgan, American actor and director (d. 2011)
- 1915 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (d. 2014)
- 1916 – Lee Jung-seob, Korean painter (d. 1956)
- 1917 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
- 1919 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Chuck Connors, American baseball player and actor (d. 1992)
- 1921 – Jake Warren, Canadian soldier and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Sheb Wooley, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Roger Gaillard, Haitian historian and author (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Jane Kean, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Floyd Simmons, American decathlete and actor (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Sid Tickridge, English footballer (d. 1997)
- 1923 – John Watkins, South African cricketer
- 1924 – Kenneth Noland, American soldier and painter (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Linda Goodman, American astrologer and author (d. 1995)
- 1925 – Angelo Poffo, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Junior Samples, American comedian (d. 1983)
- 1927 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican-American actress (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (d. 1959)
- 1929 – Liz Sheridan, American actress
- 1929 – Max von Sydow, Swedish-French actor (d. 2020)
- 1930 – Claude Bolling, French pianist, composer, and actor
- 1930 – Dolores Huerta, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers
- 1931 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical vocalist (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Delphine Seyrig, Swiss/Alsatian French actress (d. 1990)
- 1932 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Rokusuke Ei, Japanese composer and author (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Helen McElhone, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
- 1934 – David Halberstam, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1935 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (d. 1961)
- 1935 – Patrick Garland, English actor and director (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Peter Hollingworth, Australian bishop, 23rd Governor General of Australia
- 1936 – John Howell, English long jumper
- 1936 – John Madden, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1936 – Bobby Smith, American singer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Bella Akhmadulina, Soviet and Russian poet, short story writer, and translator (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Don Meredith, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2010)
- 1939 – Claudio Magris, Italian scholar, author, and translator
- 1940 – Gloria Hunniford, British radio and television host
- 1941 – Harold Long, Canadian politician (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Paul Theroux, American novelist, short story writer, and travel writer
- 1942 – Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Ian Callaghan, English footballer
- 1942 – Stuart Dybek, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
- 1943 – Andrzej Badeński, Polish-German sprinter (d. 2008)
- 1943 – Margaret Pemberton, English author
- 1945 – Kevin Berry, Australian swimmer (d. 2006)
- 1946 – David Angell, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Bob Watson, American baseball player and manager
- 1946 – Adolf Winkelmann, German director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1947 – David A. Adler, American author and educator
- 1947 – Bunny Wailer, Jamaican singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1948 – Mel Blount, American football player
- 1949 – Daniel Mangeas, French banker and sportscaster
- 1949 – Eric Troyer, American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist
- 1950 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player and manager
- 1950 – Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (d. 1992)
- 1951 – David Helvarg, American journalist and activist
- 1952 – Narayan Rane, Indian politician, 16th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- 1952 – Masashi Sada, Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, novelist, actor, and producer
- 1952 – Steven Seagal, American actor, producer, and martial artist
- 1953 – David Moorcroft, English runner and businessman
- 1953 – Pamela Wallin, Swedish-Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
- 1954 – Paul Bearer, American wrestler and manager (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Anne Lamott, American author and educator
- 1954 – Peter MacNicol, American actor
- 1954 – Juan Williams, Panamanian-American journalist and author
- 1955 – Lesley Garrett, English soprano and actress
- 1956 – Carol V. Robinson, English chemist and academic
- 1957 – Aliko Dangote, Nigerian businessman, founded Dangote Group
- 1957 – John M. Ford, American author and poet (d. 2006)
- 1957 – Steve Gustafson, Spanish-American bass player
- 1957 – Rosemary Hill, English historian and author
- 1958 – Bob Bell, Northern Irish engineer
- 1958 – Yefim Bronfman, Uzbek-American pianist
- 1958 – Brigitte Holzapfel, German high jumper
- 1959 – Babyface, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1959 – Yvan Loubier, Canadian economist and politician
- 1959 – Brian Setzer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Steve Bisciotti, American businessman, co-founded Allegis Group
- 1960 – Katrina Leskanich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Terry Teagle, American basketball player
- 1961 – Nicky Campbell, Scottish broadcaster and journalist
- 1961 – Joe Cole, American roadie and author (d. 1991)
- 1961 – Carole Goble, English computer scientist and academic
- 1961 – Mark Jones, American basketball player
- 1962 – Steve Tasker, American football player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Warren DeMartini, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1963 – Jeff Gray, American baseball player and coach
- 1963 – Doris Leuthard, Swiss lawyer and politician, 162nd President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1965 – Tim Alexander, American drummer and songwriter
- 1966 – Steve Claridge, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1967 – Donald Dufresne, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1967 – David Rovics, American singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Metin Göktepe, Turkish photographer and journalist (d. 1996)
- 1968 – Orlando Jones, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Steve Glasson, Australian lawn bowler
- 1969 – Ekaterini Koffa, Greek sprinter
- 1970 – Enrico Ciccone, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Leonard Doroftei, Romanian-Canadian boxer
- 1970 – Kenny Lattimore, American singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Q-Tip, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1971 – Brad William Henke, American football player and actor
- 1971 – Indro Olumets, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1971 – Al Reyes, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1972 – Ian Harvey, Australian cricketer
- 1972 – Priit Kasesalu, Estonian computer programmer, co-created Skype
- 1972 – Gordon Buchanan, Scottish film maker
- 1973 – Guillaume Canet, French actor and director
- 1973 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1973 – Aidan Moffat, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Christopher Simmons, Canadian-American graphic designer, author, and academic
- 1974 – Eric Greitens, American soldier, author and politician
- 1974 – Petros Passalis, Greek footballer
- 1975 – Chris Carrabba, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1975 – Terrence Lewis, Indian dancer and choreographer
- 1975 – David Harbour, American actor
- 1976 – Clare Buckfield, English actress
- 1976 – Yoshino Kimura, Japanese actress and singer
- 1976 – Sara Renner, Canadian skier
- 1977 – Stephanie Sheh, Taiwanese-American voice actress, director, and producer
- 1978 – Sir Christus, Finnish guitarist
- 1979 – Iván Alonso, Uruguayan footballer
- 1979 – Kenyon Coleman, American football player
- 1979 – Rachel Corrie, American author and activist (d. 2003)
- 1979 – Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
- 1979 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, English singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Peter Kopteff, Finnish footballer
- 1980 – Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player and model
- 1980 – Charlie Hunnam, English actor
- 1980 – Shao Jiayi, Chinese footballer
- 1980 – Kasey Kahne, American race car driver
- 1980 – Bryce Soderberg, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1981 – Laura Bell Bundy, American actress and singer
- 1981 – Liz McClarnon, English singer and dancer
- 1981 – Michael Pitt, American actor, model and musician
- 1981 – Alexei Semenov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Andre Ethier, American baseball player
- 1982 – Chyler Leigh, American actress and singer
- 1983 – Jamie Chung, American actress
- 1983 – Andrew Dost, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1983 – Ryan Merriman, American actor
- 1983 – Hannes Sigurðsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1984 – Faustina Agolley, Australian television host
- 1984 – Jeremy Barrett, American figure skater
- 1984 – Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – David Obua, Ugandan footballer
- 1984 – Damien Perquis, French-Polish footballer
- 1984 – Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Barkhad Abdi, Somali-American actor and director
- 1985 – Willo Flood, Irish footballer
- 1985 – Jesús Gámez, Spanish footballer
- 1985 – Dion Phaneuf, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Olivia Borlée, Belgian sprinter
- 1986 – Fernando Gago, Argentine footballer
- 1986 – Corey Kluber, American baseball pitcher
- 1986 – Vincent Kompany, Belgian footballer
- 1986 – Tore Reginiussen, Norwegian footballer
- 1987 – Shay Mitchell, Canadian actress and model
- 1987 – Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
- 1988 – Chris Heston, American baseball pitcher
- 1988 – Kareem Jackson, American football player
- 1988 – Haley Joel Osment, American actor
- 1990 – Ben Amos, English footballer
- 1990 – Andile Jali, South African footballer
- 1990 – Ricky Leutele, Australian-Samoan rugby league player
- 1990 – Maren Morris, American singer
- 1990 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor
- 1991 – AJ Michalka, American actress and singer
- 1992 – Jack Buchanan, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Sadio Mané, Senegalese footballer
- 1992 – Daisy Ridley, English actress
- 1993 – Sofia Carson, American singer and actress
- 1994 – Siobhan Hunter, Scottish footballer
- 1995 – Ian Nelson, American actor
- 1996 – Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australian tennis player
- 1996 – Audrey Whitby, American actress
- 1998 – Anna Pogorilaya, Russian figure skater
- 2001 – Ky Baldwin, Australian singer and actor
- 2001 – Noa Kirel, Israeli singer
Deaths on April 10
- 879 – Louis the Stammerer, king of West Francia (b. 846)
- 943 – Landulf I, prince of Benevento and Capua
- 948 – Hugh of Arles, king of Italy
- 1008 – Notker of Liège, French bishop (b. 940)
- 1216 – Eric X, king of Sweden (b. 1180)
- 1282 – Ahmad Fanakati, chief minister under Kublai Khan
- 1309 – Elisabeth von Rapperswil, Swiss countess (b. 1261)
- 1362 – Maud, English noblewoman (b. 1339)
- 1500 – Michael Tarchaniota Marullus, Greek scholar and poet
- 1533 – Frederick I, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1471)
- 1545 – Costanzo Festa, Italian composer
- 1585 – Gregory XIII, Pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1502)
- 1598 – Jacopo Mazzoni, Italian philosopher (b. 1548)
- 1599 – Gabrielle d’Estrées, French mistress of Henry IV of France (b. 1571)
- 1601 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish soldier and poet (b. 1562)
- 1619 – Thomas Jones, English-Irish archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Ireland (b. 1550)
- 1640 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1578)
- 1644 – William Brewster, English official and pilgrim leader (b. 1566)
- 1646 – Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (b. 1576)
- 1667 – Jan Marek Marci, Czech physician and author (b. 1595)
- 1704 – William Egon of Fürstenberg, German cardinal (b. 1629)
- 1756 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (b. 1661)
- 1760 – Jean Lebeuf, French historian and author (b. 1687)
- 1786 – John Byron, English admiral and politician, 24th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1723)
- 1806 – Horatio Gates, English-American general (b. 1727)
- 1813 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1736)
- 1823 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher and academic (b. 1757)
- 1871 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1789)
- 1904 – Isabella II, Spanish queen (b. 1830)
- 1909 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (b. 1837)
- 1919 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general (b. 1879)
- 1920 – Moritz Cantor, German mathematician and historian (b. 1829)
- 1931 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (b. 1883)
- 1935 – Rosa Campbell Praed, Australian novelist (b. 1851)
- 1938 – King Oliver, American cornet player and bandleader (b. 1885)
- 1942 – Carl Schenstrøm, Danish actor and director (b. 1881)
- 1943 – Andreas Faehlmann, Estonian-German sailor and engineer (b. 1898)
- 1945 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch printer and typographer (b. 1882)
- 1947 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant and author (b. 1887)
- 1950 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1876)
- 1954 – Auguste Lumière, French director and producer (b. 1862)
- 1954 – Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1888)
- 1955 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1881)
- 1958 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (b. 1928)
- 1960 – André Berthomieu, French director and screenwriter (b. 1903)
- 1962 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1886)
- 1962 – Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish artist and musician (b. 1940)
- 1965 – Lloyd Casner, American race car driver, founded Casner Motor Racing Division (b. 1928)
- 1965 – Linda Darnell, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1966 – Evelyn Waugh, English soldier, novelist, journalist and critic (b. 1903)
- 1968 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian lieutenant and politician (b. 1899)
- 1969 – Harley Earl, American businessman (b. 1893)
- 1975 – Walker Evans, American photographer (b. 1903)
- 1975 – Marjorie Main, American actress (b. 1890)
- 1978 – Hjalmar Mäe, Estonian politician (b. 1901)
- 1979 – Nino Rota, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1911)
- 1980 – Kay Medford, American actress and singer (b. 1919)
- 1981 – Howard Thurman, American author, philosopher and civil rights activist (b. 1899)
- 1983 – Issam Sartawi, Palestinian activist (b. 1935)
- 1985 – Zisis Verros, Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle (b. 1880)
- 1986 – Linda Creed, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
- 1991 – Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)
- 1991 – Martin Hannett, English guitarist and producer (b. 1948)
- 1991 – Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
- 1992 – Sam Kinison, American comedian and actor (b. 1953)
- 1993 – Chris Hani, South African activist and politician (b. 1942)
- 1994 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1924)
- 1995 – Morarji Desai, Indian politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (b. 1896)
- 1997 – Michael Dorris, American author and academic (b. 1945)
- 1998 – Seraphim of Athens, Greek archbishop (b. 1913)
- 1999 – Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, German-American biochemist and physician (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Jean Vander Pyl, American actress and voice artist (b. 1919)
- 2000 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Larry Linville, American actor (b. 1939)
- 2003 – Little Eva, American singer (b. 1943)
- 2004 – Jacek Kaczmarski, Polish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (b. 1957)
- 2004 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist, founded Sabancı Holding (b. 1933)
- 2005 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Scott Gottlieb, American drummer (b. 1970)
- 2005 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978)
- 2005 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Charles Philippe Leblond, French-Canadian biologist and academic (b. 1910)
- 2007 – Dakota Staton, American singer (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Deborah Digges, American poet and educator (b. 1950)
- 2010 – Casualties in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash included:
- Ryszard Kaczorowski, Polish soldier and politician, 6th President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1919)
- Maria Kaczyńska, Polish economist, First Lady of Poland (b. 1942)
- Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (b. 1949)
- Anna Walentynowicz, Ukrainian-Polish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Raymond Aubrac, French engineer and activist (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Barbara Buchholz, German theremin player and composer (b. 1959)
- 2012 – Lili Chookasian, Armenian-American operatic singer (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Luis Aponte Martínez, Puerto Rican cardinal (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Akin Omoboriowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Lorenzo Antonetti, Italian cardinal (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Raymond Boudon, French sociologist and academic (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (b. 1911)
- 2013 – Robert Edwards, English physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Olive Lewin, Jamaican anthropologist, musicologist, and author (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Gordon Thomas, English cyclist (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Dominique Baudis, French journalist and politician (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Richard Hoggart, English author and academic (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (b. 1916)
- 2015 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Rose Francine Rogombé, Gabonese lawyer and politician, President of Gabon (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Peter Walsh, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Australian Minister for Finance (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Howard Marks, Welsh cannabis smuggler, writer, and legalisation campaigner (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances on April 10
- Christian feast day:
- Fulbert of Chartres
- James, Azadanus and Abdicius
- Mikael Agricola (Lutheran)
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Episcopal Church)
- William of Ockham (Anglicanism)
- William Law (Anglicanism)
- April 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the Builder (Azerbaijan)
- Feast of the Third Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
- Siblings Day (International observance)
- World Homeopathy Day
-
April 5 in History
- 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
- 1962 – Arild Monsen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1962 – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian businessman and politician, 1st President of Kalmykia
- 1963 – Arthur Adams, American comic book artist and writer
- 1964 – Neil Eckersley, British judoka
- 1964 – Vakhtang Iagorashvili, Soviet modern pentathlete
- 1964 – Levon Julfalakyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler
- 1964 – Marius Lăcătuș, Romanian footballer and coach
- 1965 – Aykut Kocaman, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Lang Tzu-yun, Taiwanese actress
- 1965 – Elizabeth McIntyre, American freestyle skier
- 1965 – Svetlana Paramygina, Belarusian biathlete
- 1966 – Yoon Hyun, South Korean judoka
- 1966 – Mike McCready, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1967 – Troy Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
- 1967 – Franck Silvestre, French footballer
- 1967 – Erland Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
- 1967 – Laima Zilporytė, Soviet cyclist
- 1968 – Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1969 – Dinos Angelidis, Greek basketball player
- 1969 – Viatcheslav Djavanian, Russian cyclist
- 1969 – Pontus Kåmark, Swedish footballer
- 1969 – Pavlo Khnykin, Ukrainian swimmer
- 1969 – Tomislav Piplica, Bosnian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Ravindra Prabhat, Indian writer and journalist
- 1970 – Soheil Ayari, French race car driver
- 1970 – Valérie Bonneton, French actress
- 1970 – Diamond D, American hip hop producer
- 1970 – Petar Genov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster
- 1970 – Thea Gill, Canadian actress
- 1970 – Miho Hatori, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Irina Timofeyeva, Russian long-distance runner
- 1971 – Dong Abay, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Austin Berry, Costa Rican footballer
- 1971 – Simona Cavallari, Italian actress
- 1971 – Victoria Hamilton, English actress
- 1971 – Nelson Parraguez, Chilean footballer
- 1971 – Kim Soo-nyung, South Korean archer
- 1972 – Krista Allen, American actress
- 1972 – Nima Arkani-Hamed, American-Canadian theoretical physicist
- 1972 – Tom Coronel, Dutch race car driver
- 1972 – Paul Okon, Australian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and director (d. 2019)
- 1972 – Junko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
- 1973 – Élodie Bouchez, French-American actress
- 1973 – Lidia Trettel, Italian snowboarder
- 1973 – Pharrell Williams, American singer, songwriter and rapper
- 1974 – Sandra Bagarić, Croatian opera singer and actress
- 1974 – Julien Boutter, French tennis player
- 1974 – Katja Holanti, Finnish biathlete
- 1974 – Oleg Khodkov, Russian handball player
- 1974 – Ariel López, Argentine footballer
- 1974 – Lukas Ridgeston, Slovak actor and director
- 1974 – Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
- 1975 – Sarah Baldock, English organist and conductor
- 1975 – John Hartson, Welsh footballer and coach
- 1975 – Juicy J, American rapper and producer
- 1975 – Serhiy Klymentiev, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Caitlin Moran, English journalist, author, and critic
- 1975 – Marcos Vales, Spanish footballer
- 1975 – Shammond Williams, American basketball player and coach
- 1976 – Luis de Agustini, Uruguayan footballer
- 1976 – Péter Biros, Hungarian water polo player
- 1976 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
- 1976 – Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka
- 1976 – Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer and coach
- 1976 – Natascha Ragosina, Russian boxer
- 1976 – Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer
- 1976 – Valeria Straneo, Italian long-distance runner
- 1976 – Indrek Tobreluts, Estonian biathlete
- 1976 – Anouska van der Zee, Dutch cyclist
- 1977 – Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player
- 1977 – Trevor Letowski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1977 – Daniel Majstorović, Swedish footballer
- 1978 – Dwain Chambers, British track sprinter
- 1978 – Marcone Amaral Costa, Qatari footballer
- 1978 – Tarek El-Said, Egyptian footballer
- 1978 – Jairo Patiño, Colombian footballer
- 1978 – Sohyang, South Korean singer
- 1978 – Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
- 1978 – Arnaud Tournant, French cyclist
- 1978 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
- 1978 – Günther Weidlinger, Austrian long-distance runner
- 1979 – Vlada Avramov, Serbian footballer
- 1979 – Josh Boone, American screenwriter and director
- 1979 – Song Dae-nam, South Korean judoka
- 1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer
- 1979 – Imany, French singer
- 1979 – Barel Mouko, Congolese footballer
- 1979 – Cesare Natali, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer
- 1979 – Alexander Resch, German luger
- 1979 – Andrius Velička, Lithuanian footballer
- 1979 – Dante Wesley, American football player
- 1979 – Chen Yanqing, Chinese weightlifter
- 1980 – Matt Bonner, American basketball player
- 1980 – Alberta Brianti, Italian tennis player
- 1980 – Rafael Cavalcante, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1980 – David Chocarro, Argentinian baseball player and actor
- 1980 – Mike Glumac, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Mario Kasun, Croatian basketball player
- 1980 – Lee Jae-won, South Korean DJ and singer
- 1980 – Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer
- 1980 – Rasmus Quist Hansen, Danish rower
- 1980 – Odlanier Solís, Cuban boxer
- 1981 – Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter
- 1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2006)
- 1981 – Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete
- 1981 – Marissa Nadler, American musician
- 1981 – Tom Riley, English actor and producer
- 1981 – Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer
- 1981 – Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
- 1982 – Hayley Atwell, English-American actress
- 1982 – Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
- 1982 – Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
- 1982 – Matt Pickens, American soccer player
- 1982 – Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver
- 1982 – Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete
- 1982 – Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist
- 1982 – Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer
- 1983 – Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer
- 1983 – Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1983 – Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player
- 1983 – Yohann Sangaré, French basketball player
- 1983 – Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier
- 1983 – Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player
- 1984 – Marshall Allman, American actor
- 1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian
- 1984 – Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete
- 1984 – Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
- 1984 – Darija Jurak, Croatian tennis player
- 1984 – Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer
- 1984 – Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist
- 1984 – Shin Min-a, South Korean actress
- 1984 – Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress
- 1984 – Peter Penz, Austrian luger
- 1984 – Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer
- 1984 – Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer
- 1984 – Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer
- 1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
- 1984 – Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model
- 1985 – Daniel Congré, French footballer
- 1985 – Erwin l’Ami, Dutch chess player
- 1985 – Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete
- 1985 – Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist
- 1985 – Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer
- 1985 – Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster
- 1985 – Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist
- 1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model and actress
- 1986 – Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler
- 1986 – Diego Chará, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author and actress
- 1986 – Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete
- 1986 – Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer
- 1986 – Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer
- 1987 – Max Grün, German footballer
- 1987 – Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player
- 1987 – Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete
- 1987 – Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer
- 1987 – Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer
- 1988 – Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer
- 1988 – Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player
- 1988 – Quade Cooper, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
- 1988 – Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player
- 1988 – Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer
- 1988 – Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player
- 1988 – Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer
- 1988 – Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager
- 1988 – Jon Kwang-ik, North Korean footballer
- 1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
- 1988 – Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Pape Sy, French basketball player
- 1988 – Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete
- 1989 – Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer
- 1989 – Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer
- 1989 – Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter
- 1989 – Freddie Fox, English actor
- 1989 – Emre Güral, Turkish footballer
- 1989 – Justin Holiday, American basketball player
- 1989 – Rachel Homan, Canadian curler
- 1989 – Lily James, English actress
- 1989 – Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater
- 1989 – Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer
- 1989 – Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress
- 1989 – Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler
- 1990 – Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player
- 1990 – Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer
- 1990 – Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer
- 1990 – Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer
- 1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer
- 1990 – Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer
- 1990 – Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist
- 1990 – Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player
- 1990 – Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer
- 1991 – Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer
- 1991 – Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer
- 1991 – Joël Mall, Swiss footballer
- 1991 – Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1992 – Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer
- 1992 – Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer
- 1992 – Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer
- 1993 – Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer
- 1993 – Maya DiRado, American swimmer
- 1993 – Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer
- 1993 – Scottie Wilbekin, American-born naturalized Turkish basketball player
- 1994 – Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player
- 1994 – Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer
- 1994 – Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer
- 1995 – Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player
- 1995 – Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer
- 1995 – Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer
- 1995 – Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer
- 1996 – Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver
- 1996 – Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer
- 1997 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
- 1998 – Jeremy Olson
- 1999 – Andrea Buwalda
- 2000 – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Indian actor
- 2001 – Thylane Blondeau, French model and actress
Deaths on April 5
- 517 – Timothy I, Byzantine patriarch
- 582 – Eutychius, Byzantine patriarch
- 584 – Ruadán of Lorrha, Irish abbot
- 828 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine patriarch
- 902 – Al-Mu’tadid, Abbasid caliph
- 1168 – Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1104)
- 1183 – Ramon Berenguer III, Spanish count of Cerdanya and Provence
- 1205 – Isabella I of Jerusalem, queen regent of Jerusalem (b. 1172)
- 1258 – Juliana of Liège, Belgian canoness and saint
- 1308 – Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian baron and oligarch
- 1325 – Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron of Monthermer and Earl of Gloucester (b. c.1270)
- 1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1350)
- 1431 – Bernard I, margrave of Baden-Baden (b. 1364)
- 1512 – Lazzaro Bastiani, Italian painter (b. 1429)
- 1534 – Jan Matthys, Dutch anabaptist reformer
- 1594 – Catherine of Palma, Spanish nun (b. 1533)
- 1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
- 1626 – Anna Koltovskaya, Russian tsarina
- 1673 – François Caron, Belgian-French explorer and politician, 8th Governor of Formosa (b. 1600)
- 1674 – George Frederick, prince of Nassau-Siegen (b. 1606)
- 1679 – Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, French princess (b. 1619)
- 1684 – William Brouncker, English mathematician (b. 1620)
- 1684 – Karl Eusebius, prince of Liechtenstein (b. 1611)
- 1693 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, French noblewoman (b. 1627)
- 1693 – Philip William August, German nobleman (b. 1668)
- 1695 – George Savile, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1633)
- 1697 – Charles XI, king of Sweden (b. 1655)
- 1704 – Christian Ulrich I, German nobleman and Duke of Württemberg-Oels (b. 1652)
- 1708 – Christian Heinrich, German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern (b. 1661)
- 1709 – Roger de Piles, French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat (b. 1635)
- 1712 – Jan Luyken, Dutch poet, illustrator and engraver (b. 1649)
- 1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
- 1723 – Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect, sculptor and historian (b. 1656)
- 1735 – William Derham, English minister and philosopher (b. 1657)
- 1751 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (b. 1676)
- 1765 – Edward Young, English poet and author (b. 1683)
- 1767 – Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1685)
- 1768 – Egidio Forcellini, Italian philologist (b. 1688)
- 1769 – Marc-Antoine Laugier, Jesuit priest (b. 1713)
- 1794 – Georges Danton, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (b. 1759)
- 1794 – François Chabot, French politician (b. 1756)
- 1794 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1760)
- 1794 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, dramatist, poet and politician (b. 1750)
- 1794 – Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French judge and politician (b. 1759)
- 1794 – Pierre Philippeaux, French lawyer (b. 1754)
- 1794 – François Joseph Westermann, French general (b. 1751)
- 1799 – Johann Christoph Gatterer, German historian (b. 1727)
- 1804 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)
- 1808 – Johann Georg Wille, German engraver (b. 1715)
- 1830 – Richard Chenevix, Irish chemist and playwright (b. 1774)
- 1831 – Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, Belgian entomologist (b. 1797)
- 1842 – Shah Shujah Durrani, 5th Emir of Afghanistan (b. 1785)
- 1852 – Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, (b. 1800)
- 1861 – Ferdinand Joachimsthal, German mathematician (b. 1818)
- 1862 – Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Dutch artist (b. 1803)
- 1865 – Manfredo Fanti, Italian general (b. 1806)
- 1866 – Thomas Hodgkin, British physician (b. 1798)
- 1868 – Karel Purkyně, Czech painter (b. 1834)
- 1871 – Paolo Savi, Italian geologist and ornithologist (b. 1798)
- 1872 – Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier, French astronomer (b. 1812)
- 1873 – Milivoje Blaznavac, Serbian soldier and politician (b. 1824)
- 1882 – Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play, (b. 1806)
- 1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
- 1891 – Johann Hermann Bauer, (b. 1861)
- 1900 – Joseph Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (b. 1822)
- 1900 – Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877 (b. 1832)
- 1901 – Angelo Messedaglia, Italian social scientist and statistician (b. 1820)
- 1902 – Hans Ernst August Buchner, German bacteriologist (b. 1850)
- 1904 – Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (b. 1830)
- 1904 – Frances Power Cobbe, Irish writer (b. 1822)
- 1906 – Eastman Johnson, American painter (b. 1824)
- 1914 – Bernard Borggreve, German forestry scientist (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Maksim Kovalevsky, Russian sociologist (b. 1851)
- 1918 – George Tupou II, King of Tonga (b. 1874)
- 1918 – Paul Vidal de La Blache, French geographer (b. 1845)
- 1920 – Laurent Marqueste, French sculptor (b. 1848)
- 1921 – Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (b. 1862)
- 1921 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish-Jewish writer and translator (b. 1853)
- 1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and businessman (b. 1866)
- 1924 – Victor Hensen, German zoologist (b. 1835)
- 1928 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1890)
- 1928 – Viktor Oliva, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1861)
- 1929 – Francis Aidan Gasquet, English Benedictine monk (b. 1846)
- 1929 – Ludwig von Sybel, German archeologist (b. 1846)
- 1932 – María Blanchard, Spanish painter (b. 1881)
- 1933 – Earl Derr Biggers, American novelist and playwright (b. 1884)
- 1933 – Hjalmar Mellin, Finnish mathematician and functional theorist (b. 1854)
- 1934 – Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, playwright, songwriter and fascist intellectual (b. 1860)
- 1934 – Jiro Sato, Japanese tennis player (b. 1908)
- 1935 – Achille Locatelli, Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1856)
- 1935 – Emil Młynarski, Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue (b. 1870)
- 1935 – Franz von Vecsey, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1893)
- 1936 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (b. 1884)
- 1937 – Gustav Adolf Deissmann, (b. 1866)
- 1937 – José Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (b. 1858)
- 1938 – Helena Westermarck, Finnish artist and writer (b. 1857)
- 1938 – Verner Lehtimäki, Finnish revolutionary (b. 1890)
- 1940 – Charles Freer Andrews, English-Indian priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1871)
- 1940 – Robert Maillart, Swiss civil engineer (b. 1872)
- 1940 – Jay O’Brien, American bobsledder (b. 1883)
- 1940 – Song Zheyuan, Chinese general (b. 1885)
- 1941 – Parvin E’tesami, Persian poet (b. 1907)
- 1941 – Nigel Gresley, Scottish-English engineer (b. 1876)
- 1941 – Franciszek Kleeberg, Polish general (b. 1888)
- 1945 – Heinrich Borgmann, German officer (b. 1912)
- 1945 – Karl-Otto Koch, German SS officer (b. 1897)
- 1946 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (b. 1898)
- 1947 – Bernhard Pankok, German painter, artist and architect (b. 1872)
- 1947 – Elis Strömgren, Swedish-Danish astronomer (b. 1870)
- 1948 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American socialite and philanthropist (b. 1874)
- 1949 – Erich Zeigner, Prime Minister of Saxony (b. 1886)
- 1950 – Hiroshi Yoshida, Japanese painter (b. 1876)
- 1952 – Agnes Morton, British tennis player (b.
- 1954 – Princess Märtha of Sweden, (b. 1901)
- 1954 – Claude Delvincourt, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
- 1956 – William Titt, British gymnast (b. 1881)
- 1958 – Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria, (b. 1884)
- 1958 – Ásgrímur Jónsson, Icelandic painter (b. 1876)
- 1958 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian writer (b. 1877)
- 1961 – Nikolai Kryukov, Russian composer (b. 1908)
- 1962 – Boo Kullberg, Swedish gymnast (b. 1889)
- 1963 – Jacobus Oud, Dutch architect (b. 1890)
- 1964 – James Chapin, American ornithologist (b. 1889)
- 1964 – Aloïse Corbaz, Swiss artist (b. 1886)
- 1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (b. 1880)
- 1965 – Pedro Sernagiotto, Italian-Brazilian footballer (b. 1908)
- 1965 – Sándor Szalay, Hungarian figure skater (b. 1893)
- 1967 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (b. 1891)
- 1967 – Johan Falkberget, Norwegian author (b. 1879)
- 1967 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
- 1967 – Herbert Johnston, British runner (b. 1902)
- 1968 – Félix Couchoro, Togolese writer (b. 1900)
- 1968 – Lajos Csordás, Hungarian footballer
- 1968 – Giuseppe Paris, Italian gymnast (b. 1895)
- 1969 – Alberto Bonucci, Italian actor and director (b. 1918)
- 1969 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician (b. 1917)
- 1969 – Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian SS officer (b. 1903)
- 1970 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (b. 1877)
- 1970 – Alfred Sturtevant, American geneticist and academic (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Karl von Spreti, German diplomat (b. 1907)
- 1971 – José Cubiles, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Brian Donlevy, American actor and producer (b. 1901)
- 1973 – David Murray, British race car driver (b. 1909)
- 1973 – Isabel Jewell, American actress and singer (b. 1907)
- 1973 – Alla Tarasova, Russian ballerina (b. l898)
- 1974 – Bino Bini, Italian fencer (b. 1900)
- 1974 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (b. 1882)
- 1975 – Tell Berna, American middle and long-distance runner (b. 1891)
- 1975 – Victor Marijnen, Dutch politician (b. 1917)
- 1975 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
- 1975 – Harold Osborn, American track and fielder (b. 1899)
- 1976 – Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (b. 1905)
- 1976 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian surgeon and academic (b. 1891)
- 1976 – Harry Wyld, British cyclist (b. 1900)
- 1977 – Carlos Prío Socarrás, President of Cuba, (b. 1903)
- 1977 – Yuri Zavadsky, Russian actor and director (b. 1894)
- 1981 – Émile Hanse, Belgian footballer (b. 1892)
- 1981 – Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Pinchus Kremegne, French artist (b. 1890)
- 1982 – Abe Fortas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1910)
- 1984 – Hans Lunding, Danish military officer (b. 1899)
- 1984 – Giuseppe Tucci, Italian scholar of oriental cultures (b. 1894)
- 1986 – Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (b. 1903)
- 1987 – Leabua Jonathan, 2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (b. 1920)
- 1989 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (b. 1895)
- 1989 – Karel Zeman, Czech director, artist, production designer and animator (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (b. 1947)
- 1991 – Jay Miller, American basketball player (b. 1943)
- 1991 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (b. 1915)
- 1991 – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L’Isle (b. 1909)
- 1991 – John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1925)
- 1992 – Takeshi Inoue, Japanese footballer (b. 1928)
- 1992 – Molly Picon, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1992 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (b. 1918)
- 1993 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (b. 1974)
- 1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967)
- 1995 – Nicolaas Cortlever, Dutch chess player (b. 1915)
- 1995 – Emilio Greco, Italian sculptor and engraver (b. 1913)
- 1995 – Christian Pineau, French Resistance fighter (b. 1904)
- 1996 – Charlene Holt, American actress (b. 1928)
- 1997 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Frederick Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (b. 1911)
- 1998 – Cozy Powell, English drummer (b. 1947)
- 1999 – Giulio Einaudi, Italian book publisher (b. 1912)
- 2000 – Heinrich Müller, Austrian footballer (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Aldo Olivieri, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Layne Staley, American singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
- 2002 – Kim Won-gyun, North Korean composer and politician (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Keizo Morishita, Japanese painter (b. 1944)
- 2004 – Fernand Goyvaerts, Belgian footballer (b. 1938)
- 2004 – Sławomir Rawicz, Polish lieutenant (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
- 2005 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Robert Borg, American military officer and equestrian (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Chung Nam-sik, South Korean footballer (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and educator (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Yevgeny Seredin, Russian swimmer (b. 1958)
- 2006 – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (b. 1908)
- 2007 – Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Mark St. John, American guitarist (b. 1956)
- 2007 – Thomas Stoltz Harvey, American pathologist (b. 1912)
- 2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (b. 1923)
- 2009 – I. J. Good, British mathematician (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (b. 1935)
- 2011 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer
- 2012 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Barney McKenna, Irish musician (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (b. 1927)
- 2014 – John Pinette, American comedian (b. 1964)
- 2014 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (b. 1936)
- 2016 – Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (b. 1936)
- 2017 – Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (b. 1929)
- 2017 – Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Paul O’Neill, American rock composer and producer (b. 1956)
- 2017 – Tim Parnell, British race car driver (b. 1932)
- 2017 – Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (b. 1947)
- 2017 – Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (b. 1942)
- 2017 – Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (b. 1958)
- 2018 – Isao Takahata, Japanese director (b. 1935)
- 2019 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist (b. 1927)[16]
Holidays and observances on April 5
- Christian feast day:
- Albert of Montecorvino
- Derfel Gadarn
- Æthelburh of Kent
- Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
- Juliana of Liège
- Maria Crescentia Höss
- Blessed Mariano de la Mata
- Pandita Mary Ramabai (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Ruadhán of Lorrha
- Vincent Ferrer
- April 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Cold Food Festival, held on April 4 if it is a leap year (China); and its related observances:
- Earliest day on which Sham el-Nessim can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after the Orthodox Easter (Egypt)
- Children’s Day (Palestinian territories)
- Sikmogil (South Korea)
- National Maritime Day is observed in India, in commemoration of the first voyage of SS Loyalty of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1919.
-
March 30 in History
- 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro-Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
- 1282 – The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
- 1296 – Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
- 1699 – Guru Gobind Singh establishes the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
- 1815 – Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation which would later inspire Italian unification.
- 1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is “depolarized” by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.
- 1822 – The Florida Territory is created in the United States.
- 1841 – The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens.
- 1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.
- 1844 – One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
- 1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
- 1856 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
- 1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium.
- 1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece.
- 1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
- 1870 – Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction.
- 1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empire.
- 1899 – German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.
- 1912 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
- 1918 – Outburst of bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate.
- 1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h).
- 1940 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.
- 1944 – World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria.
- 1944 – Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war.
- 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna; Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.
- 1949 – Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
- 1959 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
- 1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
- 1976 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day.
- 1979 – Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
- 1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.
- 1982 – Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
- 2002 – 2002 Lyon car attack takes place.
- 2009 – Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan.
- 2017 – SpaceX conducts the world’s first reflight of an orbital class rocket.
Births on March 30
- 892 – Shi Jingtang, founder of the Later Jin Dynasty (d. 942)
- 1135 – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (April 6 also proposed, d. 1204)
- 1326 – Ivan II of Moscow (d. 1359)
- 1432 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (d. 1481)
- 1510 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer and organist (d. 1566)
- 1551 – Salomon Schweigger, German theologian (d. 1622)
- 1606 – Vincentio Reinieri, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1647)
- 1632 – John Proctor, farmer hanged for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials (d. 1692)
- 1640 – John Trenchard, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1695)
- 1727 – Tommaso Traetta, Italian composer and educator (d. 1779)
- 1746 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and sculptor (d. 1828)
- 1750 – John Stafford Smith, English organist and composer (d. 1836)
- 1793 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1877)
- 1805 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist and botanist (d. 1887)
- 1811 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (d. 1899)
- 1820 – Anna Sewell, English author (d. 1878)
- 1820 – James Whyte, Scottish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1882)
- 1844 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (d. 1896)
- 1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (d. 1890)
- 1853 – Arnoldo Sartorio, German composer, pianist, and teacher (d. 1936)
- 1857 – Léon Charles Thévenin, French engineer (d. 1926)
- 1858 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (d. 1941)
- 1863 – Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1930)
- 1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
- 1874 – Charles Lightoller, English 2nd officer on the RMS Titanic (d. 1952)
- 1874 – Josiah McCracken, American hammer thrower, shot putter, and football player (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
- 1875 – Thomas Xenakis, Greek-American gymnast (d. 1942)
- 1879 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (d. 1954)
- 1880 – Seán O’Casey, Irish dramatist, playwright, and memoirist (d. 1964)
- 1882 – Melanie Klein, Jewish Austrian-English psychologist and author (d. 1960)
- 1888 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-born cartoonist (d. 1957)
- 1891 – Chunseong, Korean monk, writer and philosopher (d. 1977)
- 1892 – Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Fortunato Depero, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1960)
- 1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972)
- 1892 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (d. 1918)
- 1892 – Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (d. 1968)
- 1894 – Tommy Green, English race walker (d. 1975)
- 1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Aircraft Company (d. 1977)
- 1895 – Jean Giono, French author and poet (d. 1970)
- 1895 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (d. 1975)
- 1895 – Charlie Wilson, English footballer (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Indian author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
- 1902 – Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (d. 2007)
- 1902 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and composer (d. 1969)
- 1903 – Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Ripper Collins, American baseball player and coach (d. 1970)
- 1905 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (d. 1927)
- 1905 – Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper and academic (d. 1998)
- 1905 – Albert Pierrepoint, English hangman (d. 1992)
- 1907 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (d. 1940)
- 1911 – Ekrem Akurgal, Turkish archaeologist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Jack Cowie, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Marc Davis, American animator (d. 2000)
- 1913 – Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (d. 2012)
- 1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson I, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1948)
- 1915 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2015)
- 1917 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1995)
- 1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (d. 1996)
- 1919 – Robin M. Williams, New Zealand mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
- 1921 – André Fontaine, French historian and journalist (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Turhan Bey, American actor (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Arthur Wightman, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet and playwright (d. 1986)
- 1926 – Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman, founded IKEA (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Wally Grout, Australian cricketer (d. 1968)
- 1928 – Robert Badinter, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice
- 1928 – Colin Egar, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2008)
- 1928 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and educator (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Richard Dysart, American actor (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
- 1929 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (d. 2012)
- 1930 – John Astin, American actor
- 1930 – Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1933 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Paul Crouch, American broadcaster, co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and academic, designed Haas House (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Karl Berger, German pianist and composer
- 1935 – Willie Galimore, American football player (d. 1964)
- 1935 – Gordon Mumma, American composer
- 1937 – Warren Beatty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1937 – Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth, English businessman
- 1938 – John Barnhill, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer, founded the World Economic Forum
- 1940 – Norman Gifford, English cricketer
- 1940 – Jerry Lucas, American basketball player and educator
- 1940 – Hans Ragnemalm, Swedish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Graeme Edge, English singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1941 – Ron Johnston, English geographer and academic
- 1941 – Wasim Sajjad, Pakistani lawyer and politician, President of Pakistan
- 1941 – Bob Smith, American soldier and politician
- 1942 – Ruben Kun, Nauruan lawyer and politician, 14th President of Nauru (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Tane Norton, New Zealand rugby player
- 1942 – Kenneth Welsh, Canadian actor
- 1943 – Jay Traynor, American pop and doo-wop singer (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Mark Wylea Erwin, American businessman and diplomat
- 1944 – Brian Wilshire, Australian radio host
- 1945 – Eric Clapton, English guitarist and singer-songwriter
- 1947 – Dick Roche, Irish politician, Minister of State for European Affairs
- 1947 – Terje Venaas, Norwegian bassist
- 1948 – Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham, English computer programmer and politician
- 1948 – Eddie Jordan, Irish racing driver and team owner, founded Jordan Grand Prix
- 1948 – Mervyn King, English economist and academic
- 1948 – Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, American rock singer
- 1949 – Liza Frulla, Canadian talk show host and politician, 3rd Minister of Canadian Heritage
- 1949 – Dana Gillespie, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1949 – Naomi Sims, American model and author (d. 2009)
- 1950 – Janet Browne, English-American historian and academic
- 1950 – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor
- 1950 – Grady Little, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1950 – Warren Snowdon, Australian educator and politician, 39th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
- 1951 – Paul Da Vinci, English singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Stuart Dryburgh, English-New Zealand cinematographer
- 1952 – Peter Knights, Australian footballer and coach
- 1955 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1956 – Bill Butler, Scottish educator and politician
- 1956 – Juanito Oiarzabal, Spanish mountaineer
- 1956 – Shahla Sherkat, Iranian journalist and author
- 1957 – Marie-Christine Koundja, Chadian author and diplomat
- 1957 – Paul Reiser, American actor and comedian
- 1958 – Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor and stand-up comedian
- 1958 – Joey Sindelar, American golfer
- 1959 – Martina Cole, English television host and author
- 1960 – Laurie Graham, Canadian skier
- 1960 – Bill Johnson, American skier (d. 2016)
- 1961 – Mike Thackwell, New Zealand racing driver
- 1961 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1999)
- 1962 – Mark Begich, American politician
- 1962 – MC Hammer, American rapper and actor
- 1962 – Gary Stevens, English international footballer, defender and manager
- 1963 – Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Mongolian journalist and politician, 4th President of Mongolia
- 1963 – Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer and conductor
- 1963 – Panagiotis Tsalouchidis, Greek footballer
- 1964 – Vlado Bozinovski, Macedonian-Australian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Piers Morgan, English journalist and talk show host
- 1966 – Efstratios Grivas, Greek chess player and author
- 1966 – Dmitry Volkov, Russian swimmer
- 1966 – Leonid Voloshin, Russian triple jumper
- 1967 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and coach (d. 2008)
- 1967 – Richard Hutten, Dutch furniture designer
- 1967 – Julie Richardson, New Zealand tennis player
- 1968 – Celine Dion, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Troy Bayliss, Australian motorcycle racer
- 1970 – Tobias Hill, English poet and author
- 1970 – Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian food/agriculture researcher and author
- 1971 – Mari Holden, American cyclist
- 1971 – Mark Consuelos, American actor and television personality
- 1972 – Mili Avital, Israeli-American actress
- 1972 – Emerson Thome, Brazilian footballer and scout
- 1972 – Karel Poborský, Czech footballer
- 1973 – Adam Goldstein, American keyboard player, DJ, and producer (d. 2009)
- 1973 – Jan Koller, Czech footballer
- 1973 – Kareem Streete-Thompson, Caymanian-American long jumper
- 1974 – Martin Love, Australian cricketer
- 1975 – Paul Griffen, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
- 1976 – Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter
- 1976 – Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish politician, Minister for Education of Denmark
- 1977 – Abhishek Chaubey, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1978 – Paweł Czapiewski, Polish runner
- 1978 – Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach
- 1978 – Bok van Blerk, South African singer-songwriter and actor
- 1979 – Norah Jones, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1979 – Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Ukrainian footballer
- 1980 – Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer
- 1981 – Jammal Brown, American football player
- 1981 – Andrea Masi, Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Mark Hudson, English footballer
- 1982 – Philippe Mexès, French footballer
- 1982 – Javier Portillo, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Jason Dohring, American actor
- 1983 – Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer
- 1984 – Mario Ančić, Croatian tennis player
- 1984 – Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player
- 1985 – Giacomo Ricci, Italian racing driver
- 1986 – Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Trent Barreta, American wrestler
- 1987 – Calum Elliot, Scottish footballer
- 1987 – Kwok Kin Pong, Hong Kong footballer
- 1987 – Marc-Édouard Vlasic, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Will Matthews, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 – Thanasis Papazoglou, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Richard Sherman, American football player
- 1988 – Larisa Yurkiw, Canadian alpine skier
- 1989 – Chris Sale, American baseball player
- 1989 – João Sousa, Portuguese tennis player
- 1990 – Thomas Rhett, American country music singer and songwriter
- 1990 – Michal Březina, Czech figure skater
- 1992 – Palak Muchhal, Indian playback singer
- 1993 – Anitta, Brazilian singer and entertainer
- 1994 – Jetro Willems, Dutch footballer
- 1997 – Cha Eun-woo, South Korean singer and actor, A member of the South Korean boy band, Astro
- 1998 – Kalyn Ponga, Australian rugby league player
- 2000 – Colton Herta, American race car driver
Deaths on March 30
- 116 – Quirinus of Neuss, Roman martyr and saint
- 365 – Ai of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 341)
- 943 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 889)
- 987 – Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (b. 960)
- 1180 – Al-Mustadi, Caliph (b. 1142)
- 1202 – Joachim of Fiore, Italian mystic and theologian (b. 1135)
- 1465 – Isabella of Clermont, queen consort of Naples (b. c. 1424)
- 1472 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (b. 1435)
- 1486 – Thomas Bourchier, English cardinal (b. 1404)
- 1526 – Konrad Mutian, German humanist (b. 1471)
- 1540 – Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, German cardinal (b. 1469)
- 1559 – Adam Ries, German mathematician and academic (b. 1492)
- 1587 – Ralph Sadler, English politician, Secretary of State for England (b. 1507)
- 1662 – François le Métel de Boisrobert, French poet and playwright (b. 1592)
- 1689 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish atheist and philosopher (b. 1634)
- 1707 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French general and engineer (b. 1633)
- 1764 – Pietro Locatelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1695)
- 1783 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist and physician (b. 1718)
- 1804 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1718)
- 1806 – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (b. 1757)
- 1830 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1763)
- 1840 – Beau Brummell, English-French fashion designer (b. 1778)
- 1842 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (b. 1755)
- 1864 – Louis Schindelmeisser, German clarinet player, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
- 1873 – Bénédict Morel, Austrian-French psychiatrist and physician (b. 1809)
- 1879 – Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (b. 1815)
- 1886 – Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian judge and politician, 6th Premier of Quebec (b. 1838)
- 1896 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1832)
- 1912 – Karl May, German author (b. 1842)
- 1925 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and author (b. 1861)
- 1935 – Romanos Melikian, Armenian composer (b. 1883)
- 1936 – Conchita Supervía, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1895)
- 1940 – Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet Scottish soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1876)
- 1943 – Jan Bytnar, Polish lieutenant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1921)
- 1943 – Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish sergeant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1920)
- 1945 – Béla Balogh, Hungarian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- 1949 – Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
- 1949 – Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricketer (b. 1909)
- 1950 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
- 1952 – Jigme Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1905)
- 1955 – Harl McDonald, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1899)
- 1956 – Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English author and poet (b. 1875)
- 1959 – Daniil Andreyev, Russian mystic and poet (b. 1906)
- 1959 – John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (b. 1894)
- 1959 – Riccardo Zanella, Italian politician (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Joseph Haas, German composer and educator (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Philibert Jacques Melotte, English astronomer (b. 1880)
- 1963 – Aleksandr Gauk, Russian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
- 1964 – Nella Larsen, American nurse and author (b. 1891)
- 1965 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
- 1966 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (b. 1902)
- 1966 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
- 1966 – Erwin Piscator, German director and producer (b. 1893)
- 1967 – Frank Thorpe, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
- 1967 – Jean Toomer, American poet and novelist (b. 1894)
- 1969 – Lucien Bianchi, Belgian racing driver (b. 1934)
- 1970 – Heinrich Brüning, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1885)
- 1972 – Mahir Çayan, Turkish politician (b. 1946)
- 1972 – Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator (b. 1890)
- 1973 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish pilot and politician (b. 1903)
- 1973 – Yves Giraud-Cabantous, French racing driver (b. 1904)
- 1975 – Peter Bamm, German journalist and author (b. 1897)
- 1977 – Levko Revutsky, Ukrainian composer and educator (b. 1889)
- 1978 – George Paine, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
- 1978 – Memduh Tağmaç, Turkish general (b. 1904)
- 1979 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (b. 1916)
- 1979 – Ray Ventura, French pianist and bandleader (b. 1908)
- 1981 – DeWitt Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader’s Digest (b. 1889)
- 1984 – Karl Rahner, German-Austrian priest and theologian (b. 1904)
- 1985 – Harold Peary, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
- 1986 – James Cagney, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
- 1986 – John Ciardi, American poet and etymologist (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Edgar Faure, French historian and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1908)
- 1990 – Harry Bridges, Australian-born American activist and trade union leader (b. 1901)
- 1992 – Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist and academic (b. 1919)
- 1993 – S. M. Pandit, Indian painter (b. 1916)
- 1993 – Richard Diebenkorn, American painter (b. 1922)
- 1995 – Rozelle Claxton, American pianist (b. 1913)
- 1995 – Tony Lock, English-Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1929)
- 1995 – Paul A. Rothchild, American record producer (b. 1935)
- 1996 – Hugh Falkus, English pilot and author (b. 1917)
- 1996 – Ryoei Saito, Japanese businessman (b. 1916)
- 2000 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (b. 1915)
- 2002 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
- 2002 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and lyricist (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Michael Jeter, American actor (b. 1952)
- 2003 – Valentin Pavlov, Russian banker and politician, 11th Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (b. 1937)
- 2004 – Alistair Cooke, English-American journalist and author (b. 1908)
- 2004 – Hubert Gregg, English actor and director (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Michael King, New Zealand historian and author (b. 1945)
- 2004 – Timi Yuro, American singer and songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2005 – Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Milton Green, American hurdler and soldier (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Fred Korematsu, American political activist (b. 1919)
- 2005 – O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and illustrator (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian (b. 1968)
- 2006 – Red Hickey, American football player and coach (b. 1917)
- 2006 – John McGahern, Irish author and educator (b. 1934)
- 2007 – John Roberts, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician, 46th Secretary of State for Canada (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Roland Fraïssé, French mathematical logician (b. 1920)
- 2008 – David Leslie, Scottish racing driver (b. 1953)
- 2008 – Richard Lloyd, English racing driver (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Dith Pran, Cambodian-American photographer and journalist (b. 1942)
- 2010 – Jaime Escalante, Bolivian-American educator (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Martin Sandberger, German SS officer (b. 1911)
- 2012 – Janet Anderson Perkin, Canadian baseball player and curler (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Aquila Berlas Kiani, Indian-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Francesco Mancini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Granville Semmes, American businessman, founded 1-800-Flowers (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Leonid Shebarshin, Russian KGB officer (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Bobby Parks, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
- 2013 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Edith Schaeffer, Chinese-Swiss religious leader and author, co-founded L’Abri (b. 1914)
- 2013 – Bob Turley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Ray Hutchison, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Kate O’Mara, English actress (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Roger Slifer, American author, illustrator, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1921)
- 2018 – Bill Maynard, English actor (b. 1928)
- 2020 – Bill Withers, American musician (b. 1938)
Holidays and observances on March 30
- Christian feast day:
- Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy
- Blessed Maria Restituta Kafka
- John Climacus
- Mamertinus of Auxerre
- Quirinus of Neuss
- Thomas Son Chasuhn, Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy (part of The Korean Martyrs)
- Tola of Clonard
- March 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which the first day of Hocktide can fall, while April 3 is the latest; observed on the second Monday after Easter. (Hungerford, England; popular in medieval England)
- Land Day (Palestine)
- National Doctors’ Day (United States)
- Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
- School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)
-
March 28 in History
- AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
- 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Didius Julianus.
- 364 – Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
- 1566 – The foundation stone of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
- 1737 – The Marathas under Baji Rao I attack and defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Delhi.
- 1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
- 1794 – Allies under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeat French forces at Le Cateau.
- 1795 – Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
- 1801 – Treaty of Florence is signed, ending the war between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Naples.
- 1802 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid ever to be discovered.
- 1809 – Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the Battle of Medellín.
- 1814 – War of 1812: In the Battle of Valparaíso, two American naval vessels are captured by two Royal Navy vessels of equal strength.
- 1842 – First concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Otto Nicolai.
- 1854 – Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.
- 1860 – First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.
- 1862 – American Civil War: In the Battle of Glorieta Pass, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of the New Mexico Territory. The battle began on March 26.
- 1871 – The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
- 1883 – Tonkin Campaign: French victory in the Battle of Gia Cuc.
- 1910 – Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.
- 1920 – Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
- 1933 – The Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool is believed to be the first airliner lost to sabotage when a passenger sets a fire on board.
- 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.
- 1941 – World War II: Britain’s Mediterranean Fleet sinks three heavy cruisers and two destroyers of Italy’s Regia Marina.
- 1942 – World War II: A British combined force permanently disables the Louis Joubert Lock in Saint-Nazaire in order to keep the German battleship Tirpitz away from the mid-ocean convoy lanes.
- 1946 – Cold War: The United States Department of State releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
- 1951 – First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mạo Khê, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.
- 1959 – The State Council of the People’s Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.
- 1968 – Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is killed by military police at a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students.
- 1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
- 1970 – An earthquake strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killing 1,086 and injuring 1,260.
- 1978 – The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
- 1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial meltdown.
- 1979 – The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan’s government by 1 vote, precipitating a general election.
- 1990 – United States President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
- 1994 – In South Africa, African National Congress security guards kill dozens of Inkatha Freedom Party protesters.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in Izbica.
- 2003 – In a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.
- 2005 – An earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.
- 2006 – Massive protests are mounted against France’s First Employment Contract law, meant to reduce youth unemployment.
Births of March 28
- 931 – Liu Chengyou, emperor of Later Han (d. 951)
- 1097 – Atsiz, Abbasid caliph (d. 1156)
- 1416 – Jodha of Mandore, Ruler of Marwar (d. 1489)
- 1468 – Charles I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1490)
- 1472 – Fra Bartolomeo, Italian painter (d. 1517)
- 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
- 1515 – Teresa of Ávila, Spanish nun and saint (d. 1582)
- 1522 – Albert the Warlike, German prince (d. 1557)
- 1527 – Isabella Markham, English courtier (d. 1579)
- 1591 – William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English earl (d. 1668)
- 1592 – John Amos Comenius, Czech bishop and educator (d. 1670)
- 1599 – Witte de With, Dutch captain (d. 1658)
- 1613 – Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang of China (d. 1688)
- 1621 – Heinrich Schwemmer, German composer and educator (d. 1696)
- 1638 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch botanist and anatomist (d. 1731)
- 1652 – Samuel Sewall, English judge (d. 1730)
- 1725 – Andrew Kippis, English minister and author (d. 1795)
- 1727 – Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, (d. 1777)
- 1743 – Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, Russian academic and politician (d. 1810)
- 1750 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 1816)
- 1760 – Thomas Clarkson, English activist (d. 1846)
- 1773 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (d. 1844)
- 1793 – Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist (d. 1864)
- 1795 – Georg Heinrich Pertz, German historian and author (d. 1876)
- 1806 – Thomas Hare, English lawyer and political scientist (d. 1891)
- 1811 – John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (d. 1860)
- 1815 – Arsène Houssaye, French author and poet (d. 1896)
- 1818 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (d. 1902)
- 1819 – Joseph Bazalgette, English architect and engineer, designed the Hammersmith Bridge and Battersea Bridge (d. 1891)
- 1828 – Melchior Anderegg, Swiss mountain guide (d. 1914)
- 1832 – Henry D. Washburn, American politician, general and explorer (d. 1871)
- 1836 – Frederick Pabst, German-American brewer, founded the Pabst Brewing Company (d. 1904)
- 1840 – Emin Pasha, German-Jewish Egyptian physician and politician (d. 1892)
- 1847 – Gyula Farkas, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1930)
- 1849 – James Darmesteter, French historian and author (d. 1894)
- 1850 – Kyrle Bellew, English theatre actor (d. 1911)
- 1851 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese academic and politician, 3rd President of Portugal (d. 1944)
- 1862 – Aristide Briand, French politician, Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
- 1866 – Jimmy Ross, Scottish footballer (d. 1902)
- 1868 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch-Swiss conductor (d. 1951)
- 1873 – John Geiger, American rower (d. 1956)
- 1878 – Abraham Walkowitz, Russian-American painter (d. 1965)
- 1879 – Terence MacSwiney, Irish republican politician and hunger striker; Lord Mayor of Cork (d. 1920)
- 1881 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (d. 1918)
- 1884 – Angelos Sikelianos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Gustave Mesny, French general (d. 1945)
- 1890 – Paul Whiteman, American violinist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1967)
- 1892 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1892 – Tom Maguire, Irish general (d. 1993)
- 1893 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-American businessman (d. 1971)
- 1894 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (d. 1941)
- 1895 – Ángela Ruiz Robles, Spanish teacher, writer and inventor, pioneer of the electronic book (d. 1975)
- 1895 – Christian Herter, American politician, 53rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1966)
- 1895 – Donald Grey Barnhouse, American pastor and theologian (d. 1960)
- 1895 – Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader, 12th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1985)
- 1897 – Sepp Herberger, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Tillie Voss, American football player (d. 1975)
- 1899 – Gussie Busch, American businessman (d. 1989)
- 1899 – Harold B. Lee, American religious leader, 11th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Buck Shaw, American football player and coach (d. 1977)
- 1900 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (d. 2004)
- 1902 – Flora Robson, English actress (d. 1984)
- 1902 – Jaromír Vejvoda, Czech fiddler and composer (d. 1988)
- 1903 – Rudolf Serkin, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1991)
- 1904 – Isabel Cuchí Coll, Puerto Rican author and journalist (d. 1993)
- 1905 – Pandro S. Berman, American production manager and producer (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Marlin Perkins, American zoologist and television host (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2002)
- 1906 – Robert Allen, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1906 – Dorothy Knowles, South African-English author, fencer and academic (d. 2010)
- 1907 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (d. 2005)
- 1907 – Norrey Ford, English author (d. 1985)
- 1907 – Irving Paul Lazar, American lawyer and talent agent (d. 1993)
- 1909 – Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr., American librarian and art collector (d. 2001)
- 1910 – Jimmie Dodd, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1910 – Ingrid of Sweden, (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (d. 1998)
- 1912 – A. Bertram Chandler, English-Australian author (d. 1984)
- 1912 – Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (d. 1943)
- 1913 – Kazuo Taoka, Japanese crime boss (d. 1981)
- 1913 – Toko Shinoda, Japanese artist
- 1914 – Edward Anhalt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Bohumil Hrabal, Czech author (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Kenneth Richard Norris, Australian entomologist and academic (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Edmund Muskie, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 58th United States Secretary of State (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Everett Ruess, American explorer, poet, and painter (d. 1934)
- 1915 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Claude Bertrand, Canadian neurosurgeon and scholar (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Edward Amy, Canadian soldier (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Tom Brooks, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Eileen Crofton, British physician and author (d. 2010)
- 1919 – Vic Raschi, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
- 1921 – Harold Agnew, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor and author (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Herschel Grynszpan, German assassin of Ernst vom Rath (d. 1960)
- 1921 – Walter Neugebauer, Croatian-German author and illustrator (d. 1992)
- 1922 – Neville Bonner, Australian politician (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Grace Hartigan, American painter and educator (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Joey Maxim, American boxer and actor (d. 2001)
- 1922 – B. Neminathan, Sri Lankan politician
- 1923 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Thad Jones, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1986)
- 1924 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Fred Flanagan, Australian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Russian actor (d. 1994)
- 1925 – Dorothy DeBorba, American child actress (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Polly Umrigar, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Theo Colborn, American zoologist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Vina Mazumdar, Indian academic and activist (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political activist and analyst; 10th United States National Security Advisor (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Alexander Grothendieck, German-French mathematician and theorist (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Paul England, Australian race car driver and engineer (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Elizabeth Bainbridge, English soprano
- 1933 – Tete Montoliu, Spanish pianist (d. 1997)
- 1933 – Frank Murkowski, American soldier, banker, and politician, 8th Governor of Alaska
- 1934 – Lester R. Brown, American environmentalist, founded the Earth Policy Institute and Worldwatch Institute
- 1934 – Laurie Taitt, Guyanese-English hurdler (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Frank Judd, Baron Judd, English politician, Secretary of State for International Development
- 1935 – Michael Parkinson, English journalist and author
- 1935 – Józef Szmidt, Polish triple jumper
- 1936 – Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian novelist, playwright, and essayist Nobel Prize laureate
- 1938 – Hans-Jürgen Bäsler, German footballer (d. 2002)
- 1939 – Dov Frohman, Israeli electrical engineer and business executive
- 1940 – Tony Barber, English-Australian television host
- 1940 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and coach (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Daniel Dennett, American philosopher and academic
- 1942 – Kitanofuji Katsuaki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 52nd Yokozuna
- 1942 – Neil Kinnock, Welsh politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
- 1942 – Mike Newell, English director and producer
- 1942 – Samuel Ramey, American opera singer
- 1942 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and coach
- 1943 – Richard Eyre, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress
- 1944 – Rick Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1944 – Ken Howard, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Rodrigo Duterte, Filipino politician, 16th President of the Philippines
- 1945 – Johnny Famechon, French-Australian boxer
- 1945 – Björn Hamilton, Swedish engineer and politician
- 1946 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (d. 2014)
- 1946 – Henry Paulson, American banker and politician, 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1946 – Alejandro Toledo, Peruvian economist and politician, 48th President of Peru
- 1947 – Greg Thompson, Canadian educator and politician, 25th Minister of Veterans Affairs (d. 2019)
- 1948 – John Evan, English keyboard player and songwriter
- 1948 – Janice Lynde, American actress
- 1948 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
- 1948 – Milan Williams, American keyboard player (d. 2006)
- 1949 – Ronnie Ray Smith, American sprinter (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Keith Ashfield, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
- 1952 – Tony Brise, English race car driver (d. 1975)
- 1953 – Melchior Ndadaye, Burundian banker and politician, 4th President of Burundi (d. 1993)
- 1953 – Rosemary Ashe, British actress and singer
- 1954 – Donald Brown, American pianist and educator
- 1955 – John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice, Northern Irish psychiatrist and politician, 1st Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
- 1955 – Reba McEntire, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1956 – Susan Ershler, American mountaineer and author
- 1957 – Harvey Glance, American sprinter and coach
- 1958 – Edesio Alejandro, Cuban composer
- 1958 – Elisabeth Andreassen, Swedish-Norwegian singer
- 1958 – Bart Conner, American gymnast and sportscaster
- 1958 – Curt Hennig, American wrestler, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2003)
- 1959 – Laura Chinchilla, Costa Rican politician, President of Costa Rica
- 1959 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1959 – Chris Myers, American journalist and sportscaster
- 1960 – Chris Barrie, British actor and comedian
- 1960 – José Maria Neves, Cape Verdeian politician, Prime Minister of Cape Verde
- 1960 – Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French-Belgian author and playwright
- 1961 – Byron Scott, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
- 1962 – Simon Bazalgette, English businessman
- 1963 – Jan Masiel, Polish politician
- 1964 – Karen Lumley, English politician
- 1966 – Cheryl James, American rapper and actress
- 1967 – John Ziegler, German-American radio host and director
- 1968 – Iris Chang, Chinese-American journalist and author (d. 2004)
- 1968 – Nasser Hussain, Indian-English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1968 – Colin Brazier, English journalist
- 1969 – Rodney Atkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1969 – Brett Ratner, American director and producer
- 1970 – Vince Vaughn, American actor
- 1970 – Jennifer Weiner, American journalist and author
- 1971 – Christianne Meneses Jacobs, Nicaraguan-American journalist and educator
- 1971 – Orfeh, American singer, songwriter and actress
- 1972 – Nick Frost, English actor and screenwriter
- 1972 – Keith Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
- 1973 – Björn Kuipers, Dutch footballer and referee
- 1975 – Fabrizio Gollin, Italian race car driver
- 1975 – Kate Gosselin, American television personality
- 1975 – Iván Helguera, Spanish footballer
- 1975 – Shanna Moakler, American model
- 1976 – Dave Keuning, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Lauren Weisberger, American author
- 1978 – Nathan Cayless, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1979 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer and media personality
- 1980 – Cho Seung-woo, South Korean actor
- 1980 – David Lee, English footballer
- 1980 – Rasmus Seebach, Danish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1980 – Luke Walton, American basketball player
- 1981 – Lindsay Frimodt, American fashion model
- 1981 – Edwar Ramírez, American baseball player
- 1981 – Julia Stiles, American actress
- 1983 – Ladji Doucouré, French sprinter and hurdler
- 1984 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi actor
- 1984 – Christopher Samba, Congolese footballer
- 1984 – Nikki Sanderson, English actress
- 1985 – Stefano Ferrario, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Sauli Koskinen, Finnish TV host and entertainer
- 1985 – Steve Mandanda, French footballer
- 1985 – Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss tennis player
- 1986 – Bowe Bergdahl, American sergeant
- 1986 – Lady Gaga, American singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and actress
- 1986 – J-Kwon, American rapper
- 1986 – Amaia Salamanca, Spanish actress
- 1986 – Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
- 1987 – Jean-Paul Adela, Seychellois footballer
- 1987 – Yohan Benalouane, French-Tunisian footballer
- 1987 – Simeon Jackson, Canadian soccer player
- 1987 – Kagney Linn Karter, American pornographic actress
- 1987 – Yotam Solomon, Israeli/American fashion designer
- 1987 – Mary Kate Wiles, American actress
- 1988 – Ryan Kalish, American baseball player
- 1988 – Lacey Turner, English actress
- 1989 – Afrikan Boy, English rapper
- 1989 – David Goodwillie, Scottish footballer
- 1989 – Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
- 1989 – Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
- 1989 – Marek Suchý, Czech footballer
- 1990 – Zac Clarke, Australian footballer
- 1990 – Zoella (Zoe Sugg), English Youtuber
- 1991 – Amy Bruckner, American actress
- 1991 – Lisa-Maria Moser, Austrian tennis player
- 1991 – Marie-Philip Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Ondřej Palát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1992 – Sergi Gómez, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Lucho Ayala, Filipino actor
- 1994 – Jackson Wang, Hong Kong rapper
- 1995 – Jonathan Drouin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1996 – Matt Renshaw, English-Australian cricketer
- 2004 – Anna Shcherbakova, Russian figure skater (two-time Russian National Champion – ’19 & ’20)
Deaths of March 28
- 193 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (b. 126)
- 741 – Hatsusebe, Japanese princess
- 965 – Arnulf I, count of Flanders
- 966 – Flodoard, Frankish canon and chronicler
- 1072 – Ordulf, Duke of Saxony (b. 1022)
- 1134 – Saint Stephen Harding, founder of the Cistercian order
- 1239 – Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b. 1180)
- 1241 – Valdemar II of Denmark (b. 1170)
- 1254 – William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (b. 1193)
- 1285 – Pope Martin IV (b. 1220)
- 1346 – Venturino of Bergamo, Dominican preacher (b. 1304)
- 1461 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford (b. 1435)
- 1563 – Heinrich Glarean, Swiss poet and theorist (b. 1488)
- 1566 – Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian historian and diplomat (b. 1486)
- 1583 – Magnus, Duke of Holstein (b. 1540)
- 1584 – Ivan the Terrible, Russian king (b. 1530)
- 1687 – Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b. 1596)
- 1794 – Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1743)
- 1818 – Antonio Capuzzi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1755)
- 1865 – Petrus Hofman Peerlkamp, Dutch scholar and critic (b. 1786)
- 1866 – Solomon Foot, American lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
- 1868 – James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1797)
- 1870 – George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
- 1874 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish-German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1795)
- 1881 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1839)
- 1893 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (b. 1824)
- 1900 – Piet Joubert, South African soldier and politician (b. 1831 or 1834)
- 1910 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (b. 1838)
- 1917 – Albert Pinkham Ryder, American painter (b. 1847)
- 1923 – Charles Hubbard, American archer (b. 1849)
- 1927 – Joseph-Médard Émard, Canadian archbishop (b. 1853)
- 1929 – Katharine Lee Bates, American poet and songwriter (b. 1859)
- 1929 – Lomer Gouin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Quebec (b. 1861)
- 1934 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and educator (b. 1891)
- 1941 – Marcus Hurley, American basketball player and cyclist (b. 1883)
- 1941 – Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian police officer (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1882)
- 1942 – Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1910)
- 1943 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1873)
- 1944 – Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author (b. 1869)
- 1947 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b. 1897)
- 1949 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (b. 1889)
- 1953 – Jim Thorpe, American football player and coach (b. 1887)
- 1958 – W. C. Handy, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1873)
- 1962 – Hugo Wast, Argentinian author and screenwriter (b. 1883)
- 1963 – Antonius Bouwens, Dutch target shooter (b. 1876)
- 1965 – Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (b. 1888)
- 1965 – Jack Hoxie, American actor (b. 1885)
- 1969 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and politician, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Robert Hunter, American golfer (b. 1886)
- 1972 – Donie Bush, American baseball player, manager, and team owner (b. 1887)
- 1974 – Arthur Crudup, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1905)
- 1974 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (b. 1905)
- 1974 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (b. 1891)
- 1976 – Richard Arlen, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1907)
- 1980 – Dick Haymes, Argentinian-American actor and singer (b. 1918)
- 1982 – William Giauque, Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- 1984 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (b. 1914)
- 1985 – Marc Chagall, Russian-French painter and poet (b. 1887)
- 1986 – Virginia Gilmore. American actress (b. 1919)
- 1987 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1905)
- 1992 – Nikolaos Platon, Greek archaeologist and academic (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Scott Cunningham, American author (b. 1956)
- 1994 – Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright and critic (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Franco Gasparri, Italian actor (b. 1948)
- 2000 – Anthony Powell, English soldier and author (b. 1905)
- 2001 – Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Peter Ustinov, English-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Moura Lympany, English-Monacan pianist (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Robin Spry, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
- 2006 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Vethathiri Maharishi, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Charles Schepens, Belgian-American ophthalmologist and author (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Caspar Weinberger, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)
- 2009 – Maurice Jarre, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 2010 – June Havoc, American actress, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
- 2011 – Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – John Arden, English author and playwright (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Alexander Arutiunian, Armenian pianist and composer (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Harry Crews, American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Addie L. Wyatt, African American labor leader (b. 1924)
- 2013 – George E. P. Box, English-American statistician and educator (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Manuel García Ferré, Spanish-Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Art Malone, American race car driver (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Hugh McCracken, American guitarist, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Heinz Patzig, German footballer and manager (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Bob Teague, American college football star and television news-reporter (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Gus Triandos, American baseball player and scout (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Lorenzo Semple, Jr., American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Avraham Yaski, Israeli architect and academic (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Chuck Brayton, American baseball player and coach (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Joseph Cassidy, Canadian-English priest and academic (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Miroslav Ondříček, Czech cinematographer (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Gene Saks, American actor and director (b. 1921)
- 2016 – James Noble, American actor (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances on March 28
- Christian feast day:
- Stephen Harding
- Guntram
- Priscus
- Pope Sixtus III
- Tuotilo
- March 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of Sen no Rikyū (Schools of Japanese tea ceremony)
- Serfs Emancipation Day (Tibet)
- Teachers’ Day (Czech Republic and Slovakia)