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April 23 in History
- 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
- 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik’nal and sacking the city.
- 711 – Dagobert III succeeds his father King Childebert III as King of the Franks.
- 1014 – Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
- 1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England.
- 1343 – St. George’s Night Uprising commences in the Duchy of Estonia.
- 1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St. George’s Day.
- 1516 – The Munich Reinheitsgebot (regarding the ingredients of beer) takes effect in all of Bavaria.
- 1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
- 1635 – The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston.
- 1655 – The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later.
- 1660 – Treaty of Oliva is established between Sweden and Poland.
- 1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
- 1815 – The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
- 1879 – Fire burns down the second main building and dome of the University of Notre Dame, which prompts the construction of the third, and current, Main Building with its golden dome.
- 1914 – First baseball game at Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park, in Chicago.
- 1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
- 1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara. The assembly denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution.
- 1927 – Cardiff City defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, the only time it has been won by a team not based in England.
- 1935 – The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
- 1940 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
- 1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz: German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
- 1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler’s designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich. Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels advise Hitler that the telegram is treasonous.
- 1946 – Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
- 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
- 1951 – Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
- 1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
- 1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) a manned spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
- 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
- 1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
- 1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
- 1999 – NATO bombs the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia, as part of their aerial campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 2005 – The first ever YouTube video, titled “Me at the zoo”, was published by co-founder Jawed Karim.
- 2013 – At least 28 people are killed and more than 70 are injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq.
- 2018 – A vehicle-ramming attack kills 10 people and injures 16 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.
- 2019 – The 2019 Hpakant jade mine collapse in Myanmar kills four miners and two rescuers.
Births on April 23
- 1141 (probable) – Malcolm IV of Scotland (d. 1165)
- 1185 – Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
- 1408 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (d. 1462)
- 1420 – George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia (d. 1471)
- 1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1505)
- 1464 – Robert Fayrfax, English Renaissance composer (d. 1521)
- 1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (d. 1558)
- 1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1565)
- 1500 – Johann Stumpf, Swiss writer (d. 1576)
- 1512 – Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, Chancellor of the University of Oxford (d. 1580)
- 1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
- 1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
- 1621 – William Penn, English admiral and politician (d. 1670)
- 1628 – Johannes Hudde, Dutch mathematician and politician (d. 1704)
- 1661 – Issachar Berend Lehmann, German-Jewish banker, merchant and diplomat (d. 1730)
- 1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer and conductor (d. 1797)
- 1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi and author (d. 1797)
- 1744 – Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (d. 1770)
- 1748 – Félix Vicq-d’Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
- 1791 – James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
- 1792 – Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
- 1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and author (d. 1856)
- 1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
- 1812 – Frederick Whitaker, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
- 1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, 7th Illinois Secretary of State (d. 1861)
- 1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, Italian-French historian and scholar (d. 1853)
- 1818 – James Anthony Froude, English historian, novelist, biographer and editor (d. 1894)
- 1819 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1901)
- 1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
- 1856 – Granville Woods, American inventor and engineer (d. 1910)
- 1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
- 1858 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
- 1860 – Justinian Oxenham, Australian public servant (d. 1932)
- 1861 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (d. 1936)
- 1861 – John Peltz, American baseball player and manager (d. 1906)
- 1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
- 1867 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (d. 1925)
- 1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1942)
- 1882 – Albert Coates, English composer and conductor (d. 1953)
- 1888 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
- 1893 – Frank Borzage, American actor and director (d. 1952)
- 1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author and director (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Folke Jansson, American general (d. 1965)
- 1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1898 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
- 1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (d. 1982)
- 1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1959)
- 1900 – Joseph Green, Polish-American actor and director (d. 1996)
- 1901 – E. B. Ford, English biologist and geneticist (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1903 – Guy Simonds, English-Canadian general (d. 1974)
- 1904 – Clifford Bricker, Canadian long-distance runner (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Louis Muhlstock, Polish-Canadian painter (d. 2001)
- 1904 – Duncan Renaldo, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1907 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (d. 1977)
- 1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor, designed the Wotruba Church (d. 1975)
- 1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator and director (d. 2006)
- 1910 – Sheila Scott Macintyre, Scottish mathematician (d. 1960)
- 1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1913 – Diosa Costello, Puerto Rican-American entertainer, producer and club owner (d. 2013)
- 1915 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer, academic, and businessman (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Yiannis Moralis, Greek painter and educator (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Sinah Estelle Kelley, American chemist (d. 1982)
- 1917 – Dorian Leigh, American model (d. 2008)
- 1917 – Tony Lupien, American baseball player and coach (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Maurice Druon, French author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Oleg Penkovsky, Russian colonel (d. 1963)
- 1920 – Eric Grant Yarrow, 3rd Baronet, English businessman (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Cleto Bellucci, Italian archbishop (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Dolph Briscoe, American lieutenant and politician, 41st Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
- 1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player and scout (d. 2019)
- 1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer and bandleader (d. 2007)
- 1926 – J.P. Donleavy, American-Irish novelist and playwright (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (d. 1990)
- 1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (d. 2014)
- 1929 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (d. 2020)
- 1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
- 1932 – Jim Fixx, American runner and author (d. 1984)
- 1933 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 2011)
- 1934 – George Canseco, Filipino composer and producer (d. 2004)
- 1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
- 1937 – Victoria Glendinning, English author and critic
- 1937 – David Mills, English cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Barry Shepherd, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
- 1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican director and screenwriter
- 1939 – Bill Hagerty, English journalist
- 1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
- 1939 – Ray Peterson, American pop singer (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Michael Copps, American academic and politician
- 1940 – Dale Houston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
- 1940 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer and actress
- 1941 – Arie den Hartog, Dutch road bicycle racer (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Finnish journalist and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Finland
- 1941 – Michael Lynne, American film producer, co-founded New Line Cinema
- 1941 – Ed Stewart, English radio and television host (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (d. 2016)
- 1942 – Sandra Dee, American model and actress (d. 2005)
- 1943 – Gail Goodrich, American basketball player and coach
- 1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
- 1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
- 1944 – Jean-François Stévenin, French actor and director
- 1946 – Blair Brown, American actress
- 1946 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Robert Burgess, English sociologist and academic
- 1947 – Glenn Cornick, English bass player (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Irish civil rights leader and politician
- 1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Serge Thériault, Canadian actor
- 1949 – Paul Collier, English economist and academic
- 1949 – David Cross, English violinist
- 1949 – John Miles, British rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
- 1950 – Rowley Leigh, English chef and journalist
- 1950 – Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Sac and Fox Nation Native American politician
- 1951 – Martin Bayerle, American treasure hunter
- 1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
- 1953 – James Russo, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Stephen Dalton, English air marshal
- 1954 – Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist
- 1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
- 1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
- 1955 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2008)
- 1957 – Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer, and art director
- 1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress and comedian (d. 2014)
- 1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic composer and producer
- 1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1959 – Unity Dow, Botswanan judge, author, and rights activist
- 1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
- 1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 1991)
- 1960 – Barry Douglas, Irish pianist and conductor
- 1960 – Léo Jaime, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1960 – Claude Julien, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
- 1961 – Pierluigi Martini, Italian race car driver
- 1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor and producer
- 1962 – Shaun Spiers, English businessman and politician
- 1963 – Paul Belmondo, French race car driver
- 1963 – Robby Naish, American windsurfer
- 1964 – Gianandrea Noseda, Italian pianist and conductor
- 1965 – Leni Robredo, Filipina human rights lawyer, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
- 1966 – Jörg Deisinger, German bass player
- 1966 – Matt Freeman, American bass player
- 1966 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (d. 1999)
- 1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
- 1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
- 1968 – Bas Haring, Dutch philosopher, writer, television presenter and professor.
- 1968 – Ken McRae, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, Oklahoma City bombing co-perpetrator (d. 2001)
- 1969 – Martín López-Zubero, American-Spanish swimmer and coach
- 1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
- 1970 – Egemen Bağış, Turkish politician, 1st Minister of European Union Affairs
- 1970 – Dennis Culp, American singer-songwriter and trombonist
- 1970 – Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league player and manager
- 1970 – Hans Välimäki, Finnish chef and author
- 1970 – Tayfur Havutçu, Turkish international footballer and manager
- 1971 – Uli Herzner, German-American fashion designer
- 1972 – Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet and playwright
- 1972 – Peter Dench, English photographer and journalist
- 1972 – Amira Medunjanin, singer from Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 1973 – Patrick Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Carlos Dengler, American bass player
- 1974 – Michael Kerr, New Zealand-German rugby player
- 1975 – Bobby Shaw, American football player
- 1976 – Aaron Dessner, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1977 – John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor
- 1977 – David Kidwell, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
- 1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – John Oliver, English comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1977 – Kal Penn, Indian-American actor
- 1977 – Bram Schmitz, Dutch cyclist
- 1977 – Lee Young-pyo, South Korean international footballer
- 1978 – Gezahegne Abera, Ethiopian runner
- 1979 – Barry Hawkins, English snooker player
- 1979 – Jaime King, American actress and model
- 1979 – Joanna Krupa, Polish-American model and television personality
- 1979 – Samppa Lajunen, Finnish skier
- 1982 – Tony Sunshine, American singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Leon Andreasen, Danish international footballer
- 1983 – Daniela Hantuchová, Slovak tennis player
- 1983 – Ian Henderson, English rugby league player
- 1984 – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player
- 1984 – Jesse Lee Soffer, American actor
- 1985 – Angel Locsin, Filipino actress, producer, and fashion designer
- 1986 – Sven Kramer, Dutch speed skater
- 1986 – Alysia Montaño, American runner
- 1986 – Rafael Fernandes, Brazilian baseball player
- 1987 – Michael Arroyo, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1987 – John Boye, Ghanaian footballer
- 1987 – Emily Fox, American basketball player
- 1988 – Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
- 1988 – Alistair Brownlee, English triathlete
- 1988 – Signe Ronka, Canadian figure skater
- 1988 – Lenka Wienerová, Slovak tennis player
- 1989 – Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
- 1990 – Rui Fonte, Portuguese footballer, winger
- 1990 – Dev Patel, English actor
- 1991 – Nathan Baker, English footballer
- 1991 – Caleb Johnson, American singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Paul Vaughan, Australian-Italian rugby league player
- 1994 – Patrick Olsen, Danish footballer
- 1994 – Song Kang, South Korean actor
- 1995 – Gigi Hadid, American fashion model and television personality
- 1997 – Zach Apple, American swimmer
Deaths on April 23
- 303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and martyr (b. 275)
- 711 – Childebert III, Frankish king (b. 670)
- 725 – Wihtred of Kent (b. 670)
- 871 – Æthelred of Wessex (b. 837)
- 915 – Yang Shihou, Chinese general
- 944 – Wichmann the Elder, Saxon nobleman
- 990 – Ekkehard II, Swiss monk and abbot
- 997 – Adalbert of Prague, Czech bishop, missionary, and saint (b. 956)
- 1014 – Brian Boru, Irish king (b. 941)
- 1014 – Domnall mac Eimín, Mormaer of Mar
- 1016 – Æthelred the Unready, English son of Edgar the Peaceful (b. 968)
- 1124 – Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
- 1151 – Adeliza of Louvain (b. 1103)
- 1170 – Minamoto no Tametomo, Japanese samurai (b. 1139)
- 1196 – Béla III of Hungary (b. c.1148)
- 1200 – Zhu Xi, Chinese philosopher (b. 1130)
- 1217 – Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
- 1262 – Aegidius of Assisi, companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
- 1307 – Joan of Acre (b. 1272)
- 1400 – Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford, English politician and nobleman (b. c. 1338)
- 1407 – Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
- 1501 – Domenico della Rovere, Catholic cardinal (b. 1442)
- 1554 – Gaspara Stampa, Italian poet (b. 1523)
- 1605 – Boris Godunov, Russian ruler (b. 1551)
- 1616 – William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (b. 1564)
- 1625 – Maurice, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
- 1695 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet and author (b. 1621)
- 1702 – Margaret Fell, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1614)
- 1781 – James Abercrombie, Scottish general and politician (b. 1706)
- 1784 – Solomon I of Imereti (b. 1735)
- 1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and author (b. 1741)
- 1794 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
- 1827 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (b. 1780)
- 1839 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (b. 1768)
- 1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet and author (b. 1770)
- 1889 – Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly, French author and critic (b. 1808)
- 1895 – Carl Ludwig, German physician and physiologist (b. 1815)
- 1905 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (b. 1823)
- 1907 – Alferd Packer, American prospector (b. 1842)
- 1915 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887)
- 1936 – Teresa de la Parra, French-Venezuelan author (b. 1889)
- 1951 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (b. 1883)
- 1951 – Charles G. Dawes, American banker and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1959 – Bak Jungyang, Korean politician
- 1965 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (b. 1891)
- 1966 – George Ohsawa, Japanese founder of the Macrobiotic diet (b. 1893)
- 1981 – Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and author (b. 1897)
- 1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
- 1984 – Red Garland, American pianist (b. 1923)
- 1985 – Sam Ervin, American lawyer and politician (b. 1896)
- 1985 – Frank Farrell, Australian rugby league player and policeman (b. 1916)
- 1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1922)
- 1986 – Otto Preminger, Ukrainian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1906)
- 1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
- 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Tanka Prasad Acharya, Nepalese politician, 27th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1912)
- 1993 – Cesar Chavez, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers (b. 1927)
- 1995 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1895)
- 1995 – Howard Cosell, American lawyer and journalist (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Riho Lahi, Estonian journalist (b. 1904)
- 1995 – John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (b. 1904)
- 1996 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (b. 1913)
- 1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian-English author and actress (b. 1899)
- 1997 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1918)
- 1998 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 172nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1907)
- 1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928)
- 1998 – Thanassis Skordalos, Greek singer-songwriter and lyra player (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Herman Veenstra, Dutch water polo player (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Robert Farnon, Canadian-English trumpet player, composer and conductor (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Al Grassby, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1928)
- 2005 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
- 2005 – Romano Scarpa, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player, coach and educator (b. 1934)
- 2006 – Phil Walden, American record producer and manager, co-founder of Capricorn Records (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Paul Erdman, Canadian-American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Peter Randall, English sergeant (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (b. 1931)
- 2010 – Peter Porter, Australian-born British poet (b. 1929)
- 2011 – James Casey, English comedian, radio scriptwriter and producer (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Tom King, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill, English businessman and politician (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of State (b. 1924)
- 2011 – John Sullivan, English screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Lillemor Arvidsson, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 34th Governor of Gotland (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Billy Bryans, Canadian drummer, songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Chris Ethridge, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Raymond Thorsteinsson, Canadian geologist and paleontologist (b. 1921)
- 2012 – LeRoy T. Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Bob Brozman, American guitarist (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Tony Grealish, English footballer (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Antonio Maccanico, Italian banker and politician (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Frank W. J. Olver, English-American mathematician and academic (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist and scholar (b. 1907)
- 2014 – Benjamín Brea, Spanish-Venezuelan saxophonist, clarinet player, and conductor (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Michael Glawogger, Austrian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1959)
- 2014 – Jaap Havekotte, Dutch speed skater and producer of ice skates (b. 1912)
- 2014 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
- 2014 – F. Michael Rogers, American general (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Patric Standford, English composer and educator (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Ray Jackson, Australian activist (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Pierre Claude Nolin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Canadian Senate (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Jim Steffen, American football player (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Francis Tsai, American author and illustrator (b. 1967)
- 2016 – Inge King, German-born Australian sculptor (b. 1915)
- 2016 – Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai politician, Prime Minister from 1995–1996 (b. 1932)
- 2019 – Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, American soprano singer and presenter (b.1983)
Holidays and observances on April 23
- Castile and León Day (Castile and León)
- Christian feast day:
- Adalbert of Prague
- Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus
- George
- Blessed Giles of Assisi
- Gerard of Toul
- Ibar of Beggerin (Meath)
- Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church)
- April 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which the first day of Children’s Day can fall, while April 29 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday of April. (Colombia)
- Independence Day (Conch Republic, Key West, Florida)
- International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
- Khongjom Day (Manipur)
- National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Turkey and Northern Cyprus)
- Navy Day (China)
- St George’s Day (England) and its related observances:
- Canada Book Day (Canada)
- La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia, Spain)
- World Book Day
- UN English Language Day (United Nations)
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April 20 in History
- 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
- 1453 – Three Genoese galleys and a Byzantine blockade runner fight their way through an Ottoman blockading fleet a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier begins his first voyage to what is today the east coast of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador.
- 1535 – The sun dog phenomenon is observed over Stockholm, as later depicted in the famous painting Vädersolstavlan.
- 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
- 1657 – Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
- 1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
- 1689 – Deposed monarch James II of England lays siege to Derry.
- 1752 – Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).
- 1770 – The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
- 1789 – George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.
- 1792 – France declares war against the “King of Hungary and Bohemia”, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
- 1800 – The Septinsular Republic is established.
- 1809 – Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
- 1810 – The governor of Caracas, Venezuela declares independence from Spain.
- 1818 – The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.
- 1828 – René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter (and the first to return from) Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing.
- 1836 – U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
- 1862 – Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.
- 1865 – Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX’s yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
- 1876 – The April Uprising begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War.
- 1884 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus.
- 1898 – U.S. President William McKinley signed a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.
- 1902 – Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
- 1908 – Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
- 1912 – Opening day for baseball’s Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and Fenway Park in Boston.
- 1914 – Nineteen men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a Colorado coal-miners’ strike.
- 1916 – The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings.
- 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
- 1922 – The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR.
- 1939 – Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday’s celebrations in Germany
- 1945 – World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
- 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
- 1945 – Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.
- 1946 – The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
- 1961 – Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
- 1968 – English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial “Rivers of Blood” speech.
- 1972 – Apollo program: Apollo 16 lunar module, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the moon.
- 1998 – Air France Flight 422 crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board.
- 1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
- 2007 – Johnson Space Center shooting: William Phillips with a handgun barricade himself in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.
- 2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
- 2010 – The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
- 2012 – One hundred twenty-seven people are killed when a plane crashes in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan.
- 2013 – A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Lushan County, Ya’an, in China’s Sichuan province, killing more than 150 people and injuring thousands.
- 2015 – Ten people are killed in a bomb attack on a convoy carrying food supplies to a United Nations compound in Garowe in the Somali region of Puntland.
Births on April 20
- 1494 – Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)
- 1544 – Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (d. 1602)
- 1586 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (d. 1617)
- 1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1654)
- 1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (d. 1704)
- 1650 – William Bedloe, English spy (d. 1680)
- 1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
- 1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (d. 1781)
- 1727 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian minister and diplomat (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (d. 1826)
- 1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831)
- 1772 – William Lawless, Irish revolutionary and French general (d. 1824)
- 1808 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (d. 1873)
- 1816 – Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (d. 1895)
- 1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (d. 1893)
- 1826 – Dinah Craik, English author and poet (d. 1887)
- 1836 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist and academic (d. 1895)
- 1839 – Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (d. 1914)
- 1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (d. 1916)
- 1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (d. 1931)
- 1851 – Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (d. 1918)
- 1851 – Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (d. 1923)
- 1860 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (d. 1933)
- 1871 – Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
- 1873 – James Harcourt, English character actor (d. 1951)
- 1875 – Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (d. 1909)
- 1879 – Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (d. 1944)
- 1882 – Holland Smith, American general (d. 1967)
- 1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
- 1884 – Oliver Kirk, American boxer (d. 1960)
- 1884 – Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (d. 1915)
- 1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (d. 1996)
- 1889 – Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (d. 1918)
- 1889 – Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (d. 1918)
- 1889 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (d. 1960)
- 1890 – Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
- 1890 – Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (d. 1965)
- 1891 – Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1971)
- 1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1983)
- 1895 – Emile Christian, American trombonist and composer (d. 1973)
- 1895 – Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (d. 1972)
- 1896 – Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1952)
- 1899 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
- 1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Miran Bux, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (d. 2010)
- 1908 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (d. 2002)
- 1910 – Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (d. 1961)
- 1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (d. 1986)
- 1913 – Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (d. 1976)
- 1913 – Roger Rochard, French runner (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943)
- 1920 – Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, Governor of Cross River State (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Ronald Speirs, American colonel (d. 2007)
- 1920 – John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (d. 2000)
- 1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer
- 1924 – Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic
- 1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Elena Verdugo, American actress (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
- 1927 – K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1928 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish international footballer (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Harry Agganis, American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
- 1929 – Bobby Hollander, American film director, actor, and magazine publisher (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
- 1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician
- 1932 – Myriam Bru, French actress
- 1933 – Kristaq Dhamo, Albanian actor and film director
- 1936 – Lisa Davis, English and American former child and adult actress
- 1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician
- 1936 – Christopher Robinson, English organist and conductor
- 1937 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
- 1937 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (d. 2002)
- 1937 – George Takei, American actor
- 1938 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter
- 1938 – Manfred Kinder, German runner
- 1938 – Peter Snow, British historian and journalist
- 1938 – Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
- 1939 – Elspeth Ballantyne, Australian actress
- 1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter
- 1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
- 1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter
- 1940 – James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Ryan O’Neal, American actor
- 1942 – Giles Henderson, English lawyer and academic
- 1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish journalist and author
- 1943 – Alan Beith, English academic and politician
- 1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director
- 1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American model and actress (d. 1971)
- 1944 – Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1999)
- 1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor and director
- 1945 – Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer
- 1945 – Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma
- 1945 – Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (d. 2003)
- 1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and head coach, 1966 Heisman Trophy winner
- 1946 – Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor
- 1946 – Julien Poulin, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (d. 1982)
- 1947 – Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician
- 1947 – David Leland, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author
- 1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor
- 1948 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (d. 2015)
- 1949 – Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress
- 1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian-Mexican figure skater and painter (d. 2015)
- 1949 – Massimo D’Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
- 1950 – Steve Erickson, American author and critic
- 1950 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
- 1950 – N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
- 1951 – Louise Jameson, English actress
- 1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)
- 1952 – Louka Katseli, Greek economist and politician
- 1952 – Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball player and coach
- 1952 – Eric Pickles, English politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
- 1953 – Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author
- 1955 – Donald Pettit, American engineer and astronaut
- 1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice
- 1956 – Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor
- 1956 – Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician
- 1956 – Georgie Glen, Scottish actress
- 1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
- 1959 – Perry Haddock, Australian rugby league player
- 1960 – Debbie Flintoff-King, Australian hurdler and coach
- 1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
- 1961 – Nicholas Lyndhurst, English actor
- 1961 – Paul Usher, English actor
- 1963 – Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian race car driver
- 1963 – Rachel Whiteread, English sculptor
- 1964 – Crispin Glover, American actor
- 1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor and director
- 1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
- 1965 – Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician, Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism
- 1965 – Léa Fazer, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actress
- 1965 – Adrián Fernández, Mexican race car driver
- 1965 – Rebecca Lacey, English actress
- 1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher and academic
- 1966 – David Filo, American businessman, co-founded Yahoo!
- 1966 – Vincent Riendeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer and songwriter
- 1967 – Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
- 1968 – Julia Morris, Australian entertainer
- 1968 – Yelena Välbe, Russian skier and manager
- 1968 – Roman Virastyuk, Ukrainian shot putter
- 1969 – Felix Baumgartner, Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper
- 1969 – Will Hodgman, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Tasmania
- 1970 – Sarantuya, Mongolian soprano
- 1970 – Avishai Cohen, Israeli singer-songwriter and bassist
- 1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor
- 1971 – Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer, physiologist, and academic
- 1971 – Allan Houston, American basketball player and manager
- 1971 – Nikos Kyzeridis, Greek footballer
- 1972 – Lê Huỳnh Đức, Vietnamese footballer, coach, and manager
- 1972 – Carmen Electra, American model and actress
- 1972 – Željko Joksimović, Serbian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1972 – Stephen Marley, American singer, guitarist, and producer
- 1972 – Julia Peng, Taiwanese singer
- 1973 – Isabel dos Santos, Angolan businesswoman and first African woman billionaire
- 1973 – Lamond Murray, American basketball player
- 1974 – Adrian Ilie, Romanian footballer
- 1974 – Julie Fernandez, English actress and model
- 1974 – Urmas Paet, Estonian journalist and politician, 26th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1975 – Killer Mike, American rapper and activist
- 1976 – Aldo Bobadilla, Paraguayan footballer
- 1976 – Shay Given, Irish footballer and manager
- 1976 – Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Ismail Rasheed, Maldivian actor
- 1976 – Georgina Rylance, English actress
- 1979 – Stian Barsnes-Simonsen, Norwegian actor and television host
- 1979 – Ludovic Magnin, Swiss footballer and coach
- 1979 – Nate Marquardt, American mixed martial artist
- 1980 – Gunta Baško, Latvian basketball player
- 1980 – Sunaina Sunaina, Indian weightlifter
- 1980 – Jasmin Wagner, German singer and actress
- 1982 – Jacqueline Govaert, Dutch singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1982 – Dario Knežević, Croatian footballer
- 1983 – Danny Granger, American basketball player
- 1983 – Miranda Kerr, Australian model
- 1983 – Joanne King, Irish actress
- 1984 – Nelson Évora, Ivorian-Portuguese triple jumper
- 1984 – Bárbara Lennie, Spanish actress
- 1984 – Edixon Perea, Colombian footballer
- 1984 – Jenna Shoemaker, American triathlete
- 1985 – Curt Hawkins, American wrestler
- 1985 – Brent Seabrook, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Chun Woo-hee, South Korean actress
- 1988 – Brandon Belt, American baseball player
- 1989 – Cally-Jo, English fine artist and tattoo artist
- 1989 – Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014
- 1989 – Carlos Valdes, Colombian-American actor and singer
- 1990 – Luhan, Chinese singer and actor
- 1990 – Abby Mavers, English actress
- 1992 – Kristian Álvarez, Mexican footballer
- 1992 – Marko Meerits, Estonian footballer
- 1995 – Damian McKenzie, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1995 – Jean Marie Dongou, Cameroonian footballer
- 1997 – Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, German tennis player
- 1998 – Zachary Claman DeMelo, Canadian racing driver
Deaths on April 20
- 689 – Cædwalla, king of Wessex (b. 659)
- 767 – Taichō, Japanese monk (b. 682)
- 888 – Xi Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 862)
- 1099 – Peter Bartholomew (b. 1061)
- 1164 – Antipope Victor IV
- 1176 – Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English-Irish politician, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (b. 1130)
- 1248 – Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (b. 1206)
- 1284 – Hōjō Tokimune, regent of Japan (b. 1251)
- 1314 – Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
- 1322 – Simon Rinalducci, Italian Augustinian friar
- 1521 – Zhengde, Chinese emperor (b. 1491)
- 1534 – Elizabeth Barton, English nun and martyr (b. 1506)
- 1558 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (b. 1485)
- 1643 – Christoph Demantius, German composer and poet (b. 1567)
- 1703 – Lancelot Addison, English clergyman and educator (b. 1632)
- 1769 – Chief Pontiac, American tribal leader (b. 1720)
- 1831 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (b. 1764)
- 1873 – William Tite, English architect, designed the Royal Exchange (b. 1798)
- 1874 – Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1817)
- 1881 – William Burges, English architect and designer (b. 1827)
- 1886 – Charles-François-Frédéric, marquis de Montholon-Sémonville, French general and diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (b. 1814)
- 1887 – Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Greek-Egyptian politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1826)
- 1899 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (b. 1820)
- 1902 – Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet and educator (b. 1833)
- 1912 – Bram Stoker, Anglo-Irish novelist and critic, created Count Dracula (b. 1847)
- 1918 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
- 1927 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1866)
- 1929 – Prince Henry of Prussia (b. 1862)
- 1931 – Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, Scottish-English fencer and businessman (b. 1862)
- 1932 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1858)
- 1935 – John Cameron, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1872)
- 1935 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (b. 1863)
- 1942 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, 6th State Elder of Estonia (b. 1870)
- 1944 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and pilot (b. 1917)
- 1945 – Erwin Bumke, Polish-German jurist and politician (b. 1874)
- 1946 – Mae Busch, Australian actress (b. 1891)
- 1947 – Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
- 1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
- 1961 – Ado Vabbe, Estonian painter (b. 1892)
- 1967 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1896)
- 1968 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (b. 1877)
- 1969 – Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian Ustaše official and concentration camp administrator (b. 1914)
- 1980 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1924)
- 1982 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (b. 1892)
- 1986 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (b. 1916)
- 1991 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
- 1991 – Don Siegel, American director and producer (b. 1912)
- 1992 – Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (b. 1922)
- 1992 – Benny Hill, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 1993 – Cantinflas, Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Milovan Đilas, Yugoslav communist, politician, theorist and author (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Trần Văn Trà, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Casualties of the Columbine High School massacre:
- Cassie Bernall, American student (b. 1981)
- Eric Harris, American student and murderer (b. 1981)
- Dylan Klebold, American student and murderer (b. 1981)
- Rachel Scott, American student, inspired the Rachel’s Challenge (b. 1981)
- 1999 – Rick Rude, American wrestler (b. 1958)
- 2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
- 2002 – Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
- 2003 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
- 2003 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Lizzy Mercier Descloux, French musician, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, writer and painter (b. 1956)
- 2005 – Fumio Niwa, Japanese journalist and author (b. 1904)
- 2007 – Andrew Hill, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Monica Lovinescu, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1923)
- 2010 – Dorothy Height, American educator and activist (b. 1912)
- 2011 – Tim Hetherington, English photographer and journalist (b. 1970)
- 2012 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Mithat Bayrak, Turkish wrestler and trainer (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Neville Wran, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Victoria Wood, British comedian, actress and writer (b. 1953)
- 2017 – Cuba Gooding Sr., American singer and actor (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Avicii, Swedish DJ, and musician (b. 1989)
- 2019 – Jacqueline Saburido, Venezuelan activist (b. 1978)
Holidays and observances on April 20
- 420 (cannabis culture) (International)
- Christian feast day:
- Agnes of Montepulciano
- Beuno
- Hugh of Anzy le Duc
- Johannes Bugenhagen (Lutheran)
- Marcellinus of Gaul (Embrun)
- Blessed Oda of Brabant
- Pope Anicetus
- Theotimos
- April 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- UN Chinese Language Day (United Nations)
-
April 19 in History
- AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso’s plot to kill Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.
- 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria).
- 797 – Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded. Shortly after, Constantine dies of his wounds; Irene proclaims herself basileus.
- 1506 – The Lisbon Massacre begins, in which accused Jews are being slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.
- 1529 – Beginning of the Protestant Reformation: After the Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms.
- 1539 – The Treaty of Frankfurt between Protestants and the Holy Roman Emperor is signed.
- 1608 – In Ireland: O’Doherty’s Rebellion is launched by the Burning of Derry.
- 1677 – The French army captures the town of Cambrai held by Spanish troops.
- 1713 – With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inheritable by a female; his daughter and successor, Maria Theresa was not born until 1717.
- 1770 – Captain James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sights the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
- 1770 – Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI of France in a proxy wedding.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.
- 1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic’s recognition of the United States as an independent government. The house which he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands becomes the first American embassy.
- 1809 – An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition. On the same day the Austrian main army is defeated by a First French Empire Corps led by Louis-Nicolas Davout at the Battle of Teugen-Hausen in Bavaria, part of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
- 1810 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.
- 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel signs his preliminary “Note on the Theory of Diffraction” (deposited on the following day). The document ends with what we now call the Fresnel integrals.
- 1839 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and guarantees its neutrality.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861: A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
- 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
- 1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
- 1942 – World War II: In Poland, the Majdan-Tatarski ghetto is established, situated between the Lublin Ghetto and a Majdanek subcamp.
- 1943 – World War II: In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins, after German troops enter the Warsaw Ghetto to round up the remaining Jews.
- 1943 – Albert Hofmann deliberately doses himself with LSD for the first time, three days after having discovered its effects on April 16.
- 1956 – Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.
- 1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.
- 1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
- 1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
- 1971 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for conspiracy in the Tate–LaBianca murders.
- 1973 – The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in the German town of Bad Münstereifel.
- 1975 – India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in orbit from Kapustin Yar, Russia.
- 1984 – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
- 1985 – Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas; the CSA surrenders two days later.
- 1987 – The Simpsons first appear as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, first starting with Good Night.
- 1989 – A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
- 1993 – The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian building in Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. 76 Davidians, including eighteen children under the age of ten, died in the fire.
- 1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 people including 19 children under the age of six.
- 1999 – The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.
- 2000 – Air Philippines Flight 541 crashes in Samal, Davao del Norte, killing all 131 people on board.
- 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected to the papacy and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
- 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.
- 2020 – A killing spree in Nova Scotia, Canada, leaves 22 people and the perpetrator dead, making it the deadliest rampage in the country’s history.
Births on April 19
- 1452 – Frederick IV, King of Naples (d. 1504)
- 1593 – Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1647)
- 1603 – Michel Le Tellier, French politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1685)
- 1613 – Christoph Bach, German musician (d. 1661)
- 1633 – Willem Drost, Dutch painter (d. 1659)
- 1655 – George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (d. 1718)
- 1658 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German husband of Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (d. 1716)
- 1665 – Jacques Lelong, French author (d. 1721)
- 1686 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (d. 1750)
- 1715 – James Nares, English organist and composer (d. 1783)
- 1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
- 1734 – Karl von Ordóñez, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1786)
- 1757 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (d. 1833)
- 1758 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish admiral (d. 1831)
- 1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (d. 1858)
- 1787 – Deaf Smith, American soldier (d. 1837)
- 1793 – Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)
- 1806 – Sarah Bagley, American labor organizer (d. 1889)
- 1814 – Louis Amédée Achard, French journalist and author (d. 1875)
- 1832 – José Echegaray, Spanish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- 1835 – Julius Krohn, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1888)
- 1863 – Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (d. 1940)
- 1872 – Alice Salomon, German social reformer (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Sydney Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1967)
- 1874 – Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
- 1877 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American engineer, invented the outboard motor (d. 1934)
- 1879 – Arthur Robertson, Scottish runner (d. 1957)
- 1882 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (d. 1954)
- 1883 – Henry Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1938)
- 1883 – Richard von Mises, Austrian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1953)
- 1885 – Karl Tarvas, Estonian architect (d. 1975)
- 1889 – Otto Georg Thierack, German jurist and politician (d. 1946)
- 1891 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (d. 1974)
- 1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer and educator (d. 1983)
- 1894 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, Japanese super-centenarian, oldest verified man ever (d. 2013)
- 1898 – Constance Talmadge, American actress and producer (d. 1973)
- 1899 – George O’Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1899 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (d. 1968)
- 1900 – Iracema de Alencar, Brazilian film actress (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Richard Hughes, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (d. 1991)
- 1900 – Rhea Silberta, Yiddish songwriter and singing teacher (d. 1959)
- 1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (d. 1957)
- 1907 – Alan Wheatley, English actor (d. 1991)
- 1908 – Irena Eichlerówna, Polish actress (d. 1990)
- 1912 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1913 – Ken Carpenter, American discus thrower and coach (d. 1984)
- 1917 – Sven Hassel, Danish-German soldier and author (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Sol Kaplan, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
- 1920 – Gene Leis, American guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1993)
- 1920 – Marvin Mandel, American lawyer and politician, 56th Governor of Maryland (d. 2015)
- 1920 – John O’Neil, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Marian Winters, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1921 – Anna Lee Aldred, American jockey (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Leon Henkin, American logician (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Roberto Tucci, Italian Jesuit leader, cardinal, and theologian (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Erich Hartmann, German colonel and pilot (d. 1993)
- 1922 – David Smith, politician in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe (d. 1996)
- 1925 – John Kraaijkamp, Sr., Dutch actor (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (d. 1997)
- 1928 – John Horlock, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Azlan Shah of Perak, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Walter Stewart, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
- 1932 – Fernando Botero, Colombian painter and sculptor
- 1933 – Dickie Bird, English cricketer and umpire
- 1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American model and actress (d. 1967)
- 1933 – Philip Lavallin Wroughton, English captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
- 1934 – Dickie Goodman, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1989)
- 1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian, and pianist (d. 2002)
- 1935 – Justin Francis Rigali, American cardinal
- 1936 – Wilfried Martens, Belgian politician, 60th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Jack Pardee, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Antonio Carluccio, Italian-English chef and author (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
- 1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino politician, 13th President of the Philippines
- 1938 – Stanley Fish, American theorist, author, and scholar
- 1939 – E. Clay Shaw, Jr., American accountant, judge, and politician (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1941 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author
- 1941 – Michel Roux, French-English chef and author (d. 2020)
- 1941 – Bobby Russell, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
- 1942 – Bas Jan Ader, Dutch-American photographer and director (d. 1975)
- 1942 – Alan Price, English keyboard player, singer, and composer
- 1942 – Jack Roush, American businessman, founded Roush Fenway Racing
- 1942 – Maarten van den Bergh, American-Dutch businessman
- 1943 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (d. 2014)[28]
- 1943 – Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish businessman
- 1944 – Keith Erickson, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1944 – James Heckman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1944 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2016)[29]
- 1946 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
- 1946 – Tim Curry, English actor[30]
- 1947 – Murray Perahia, American pianist and conductor
- 1947 – Wilfrid Stevenson, Baron Stevenson of Balmacara, English civil servant
- 1947 – Yan Pascal Tortelier, French violinist and conductor
- 1947 – Mark Volman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio host and author (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Rick Miller, American baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Paloma Picasso, French-Spanish fashion designer
- 1949 – Larry Walters, American truck driver and pilot (d. 1993)
- 1950 – Julia Cleverdon, English businesswoman and philanthropist
- 1951 – Barry Brown, American actor and playwright (d. 1978)
- 1951 – Jóannes Eidesgaard, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
- 1952 – Alexis Argüello, Nicaraguan boxer and politician (d. 2009)
- 1952 – Tony Plana, Cuban-American actor and director
- 1952 – Michael Trend, English journalist and politician
- 1953 – Rod Morgenstein, American drummer
- 1953 – Sara Simeoni, Italian high jumper
- 1953 – Ruby Wax, British-based American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Trevor Francis, English footballer and manager
- 1954 – Bob Rock, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1956 – Sue Barker, English tennis player and journalist
- 1956 – Randy Carlyle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1956 – Anne Glover, Scottish biologist and academic
- 1957 – Tony Martin, English singer-songwriter
- 1957 – Mukesh Ambani, Indian businessman, chairman of Reliance Industries and currently the richest man in Asia[31][32]
- 1958 – Steve Antin, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Stevie B, American singer-songwriter and record producer
- 1958 – Denis O’Brien, Irish businessman, founded BT Ireland
- 1958 – Vytautas Šapranauskas, Lithuanian actor (d. 2013)
- 1958 – Keith Shine, British academic and educator
- 1959 – Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, English activist
- 1959 – Teofisto Guingona III, Filipino lawyer and politician
- 1959 – Donald Markwell, Australian sociologist and academic
- 1960 – Nicoletta Braschi, Italian actress and producer
- 1960 – Ara Gevorgyan, Armenian pianist, composer, and producer
- 1960 – Roger Merrett, Australian footballer and coach
- 1960 – John Schweitz, American basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Frank Viola, American baseball player and coach[33]
- 1961 – Alan Kirschenbaum, American producer and writer (d. 2012)
- 1961 – Albert Martinez, Filipino actor, director, and producer
- 1961 – Spike Owen, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Al Unser Jr., American race car driver
- 1964 – Gordon Marshall, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1964 – Kim Weaver, American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
- 1965 – Natalie Dessay, French soprano and actress
- 1965 – Suge Knight, American record producer, co-founded Death Row Records
- 1966 – Véronique Gens, French soprano and actress
- 1966 – David La Haye, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Paul Reiffel, Australian cricketer and umpire
- 1966 – El Samurai, Japanese wrestler
- 1967 – Philippe Saint-André, French rugby player and coach
- 1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress and activist
- 1968 – Arshad Warsi, Indian film actor and producer
- 1969 – Andrew Carnie, Canadian-American linguist, author, and academic
- 1969 – Susan Polgar, Hungarian-American chess player
- 1970 – Luis Miguel, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
- 1970 – Kelly Holmes, English runner
- 1970 – Abelardo Fernández, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Brendon Burns, Australian comedian, podcaster, writer and author
- 1971 – Scott McCord, Canadian voice actor
- 1972 – Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
- 1972 – Jeff Wilkins, American football player
- 1973 – George Gregan, Zambian-Australian rugby player and coach
- 1973 – Alessio Scarpi, Italian footballer
- 1975 – Jason Gillespie, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1975 – Jussi Jääskeläinen, Finnish footballer
- 1976 – Ruud Jolie, Dutch guitarist
- 1976 – Scott Padgett, American basketball player, coach, and radio host
- 1976 – Kim Young-oh, South Korean author and illustrator
- 1977 – Joe Beimel, American baseball player
- 1977 – Anju Bobby George, Indian long jumper
- 1977 – Lucien Mettomo, Cameroonian footballer
- 1977 – Dennys Reyes, Mexican baseball player
- 1977 – Jonny Storm, English wrestler and trainer
- 1978 – James Franco, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1978 – Gabriel Heinze, Argentinian footballer
- 1978 – Amanda Sage, American-Austrian painter and educator
- 1979 – Rocky Bernard, American football player
- 1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress
- 1979 – Zhao Junzhe, Chinese footballer
- 1980 – Jason Blaine, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Robyn Regehr, Brazilian-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor and producer
- 1981 – Ryuta Hara, Japanese footballer
- 1981 – Martin Havlát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1981 – James Hibberd, English cricketer
- 1981 – Troy Polamalu, American football player
- 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
- 1982 – Joseph Hagerty, American gymnast
- 1982 – Filip Jícha, Czech handball player
- 1982 – Samuel C. Morrison, Jr., Liberian-American journalist, producer, and screenwriter
- 1982 – Rocco Sabato, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Ignacio Serricchio, Argentinian-American actor
- 1982 – Sitiveni Sivivatu, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Alberto Callaspo, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1983 – Zach Duke, American baseball player
- 1983 – Joe Mauer, American baseball player
- 1983 – Patrick Platins, German footballer
- 1983 – Curtis Thigpen, American baseball player
- 1984 – Christopher Pearce, English cricketer
- 1985 – Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer
- 1985 – David Cavazos, Mexican singer-songwriter
- 1985 – Sabrina Jalees, Canadian comedian, dancer, actress, presenter, and writer
- 1985 – Jan Zimmermann, German footballer
- 1986 – Pascal Angan, Beninese footballer
- 1986 – Candace Parker, American basketball player
- 1986 – Gabe Pruitt, American basketball player
- 1986 – Will Thursfield, English-Australian footballer
- 1987 – Luigi Giorgi, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Joe Hart, English footballer
- 1987 – Daniel Schuhmacher, German singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
- 1987 – Lauren Wilson, Canadian figure skater
- 1988 – Enrique Esqueda, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Dominik Mader, German footballer
- 1989 – Daisuke Watabe, Japanese footballer
- 1989 – Genoveva Añonma, Equatoguinean footballer
- 1990 – Jackie Bradley, Jr., American baseball player
- 1990 – Kim Chiu, Filipino actress, singer, and dancer[34]
- 1990 – Héctor Herrera, Mexican footballer
- 1990 – Ayaka Takahashi, Japanese badminton player
- 1991 – Steve Cook, English footballer
Deaths April 19
- 843 – Judith of Bavaria, Frankish empress
- 1012 – Ælfheah of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint (b. 954)
- 1013 – Hisham II, Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (b. 966)
- 1044 – Gothelo I, duke of Lorraine
- 1054 – Leo IX, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1002)
- 1321 – Gerasimus I, patriarch of Constantinople
- 1390 – Robert II, king of Scotland (b. 1316)
- 1405 – Thomas West, 1st Baron West, English nobleman (b. 1335)[35]
- 1431 – Adolph III, count of Waldeck (b. 1362)
- 1560 – Philip Melanchthon, German theologian and reformer (b. 1497)
- 1567 – Michael Stifel, German monk and mathematician (b. 1487)
- 1578 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1530)
- 1588 – Paolo Veronese, Italian painter (b. 1528)
- 1608 – Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, English poet, playwright, and politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1536)
- 1618 – Thomas Bastard, English priest and author (b. 1566)
- 1619 – Jagat Gosain, Mughal empress (b. 1573)[36]
- 1629 – Sigismondo d’India, Italian composer (b. 1582)
- 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, king of Sweden and Poland (b. 1566)
- 1686 – Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra, Spanish historian and playwright (b. 1610)
- 1689 – Christina, queen of Sweden (b. 1626)
- 1733 – Elizabeth Hamilton, countess of Orkney (b. 1657)
- 1739 – Nicholas Saunderson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1682)
- 1768 – Canaletto, Italian painter and etcher (b. 1697)
- 1776 – Jacob Emden, German rabbi and author (b. 1697)
- 1791 – Richard Price, Welsh-English preacher and philosopher (b. 1723)
- 1813 – Benjamin Rush, American physician and educator (b. 1745)
- 1824 – Lord Byron, English-Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1788)
- 1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1765)
- 1833 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, Bahamian-English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1756)
- 1840 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (b. 1777)
- 1854 – Robert Jameson, Scottish mineralogist and academic (b. 1774)
- 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, English journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Charles Darwin, English biologist and theorist (b. 1809)
- 1893 – Martin Körber, Estonian-German pastor, composer, and conductor (b. 1817)
- 1901 – Alfred Horatio Belo, American publisher, founded The Dallas Morning News (b. 1839)
- 1906 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- 1906 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (b. 1850)
- 1909 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (b. 1836)
- 1914 – Charles Sanders Peirce, American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1839)
- 1915 – Thomas Playford II, English-Australian politician, 17th Premier of South Australia (b. 1837)
- 1916 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer, designed the Shay locomotive (b. 1839)
- 1926 – Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov, Russian-Swiss statistician and theorist (b. 1874)
- 1930 – Georges-Casimir Dessaulles, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
- 1937 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English cartographer and politician (b. 1856)
- 1937 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist and zoologist (b. 1865)
- 1941 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
- 1949 – Ulrich Salchow, Danish-Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
- 1950 – Ernst Robert Curtius, French-German philologist and scholar (b. 1886)
- 1955 – Jim Corbett, British-Indian colonel, hunter, and author (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Beardsley Ruml, American economist and statistician (b. 1894)
- 1961 – Max Hainle, German swimmer (b. 1882)
- 1967 – Konrad Adenauer, German politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1971 – Luigi Piotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1913)
- 1975 – Percy Lavon Julian, American chemist and academic (b. 1899)
- 1987 – Hugh Brannum, American vocalist, arranger, and composer (b. 1910)
- 1989 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (b. 1905)
- 1992 – Frankie Howerd, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1917)
- 1993 – David Koresh, American religious leader (b. 1959)
- 1993 – George S. Mickelson, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, philosopher, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian-German SS officer (b. 1919)
- 2000 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr.. American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1912)
- 2002 – Reginald Rose, American writer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Indian-English caliph (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Norris McWhirter, English author and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (b. 1925)
- 2004 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (b. 1922)[37]
- 2005 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor and author (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (b. 1946)
- 2006 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (b. 1932)
- 2008 – John Marzano, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Alfonso López Trujillo, Colombian cardinal (b. 1935)
- 2009 – J. G. Ballard, English novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (b. 1946)[38]
- 2012 – Leopold David de Rothschild, English financier and philanthropist (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Greg Ham, Australian saxophonist, songwriter, and actor (b. 1953)
- 2012 – Levon Helm, American singer-songwriter, drummer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and actor (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
- 2013 – Sivanthi Adithan, Indian businessman (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Allan Arbus, American actor and photographer (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Mike Denness, Scottish-English cricketer and referee (b. 1940)
- 2013 – François Jacob, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
- 2013 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Al Neuharth, American journalist, author, and publisher, founded USA Today (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Lindy Berry, American football player (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Ian McIntyre, Scottish journalist and producer (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Frits Thors, Dutch journalist (b. 1909)
- 2015 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (b. 1919)
- 2015 – William Price Fox, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (b. 1924)[39]
- 2015 – Tom McCabe, Scottish social worker and politician (b. 1954)[40]
- 2015 – Oktay Sinanoğlu, Italian-Turkish chemist and academic (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician (b. 1918)[41]
- 2016 – Milt Pappas, American baseball player (b. 1939)[42]
- 2017 – Aaron Hernandez, American football player (b. 1989)[43]
Holidays and observances on April 19
- Christian feast day:
- Ælfheah of Canterbury (Anglican, Catholic)
- Conrad of Ascoli
- Emma of Lesum
- Expeditus
- George of Antioch
- Olaus and Laurentius Petri (Lutheran)
- Pope Leo IX
- Ursmar
- April 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which First Day of Summer or Sumardagurinn fyrsti can fall, while April 25 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18. (Iceland)
- Army Day (Brazil)
- Beginning of the Independence Movement (Venezuela)
- Bicycle Day[44]
- Dutch-American Friendship Day (United States)
- Holocaust Remembrance Day (Poland)
- Indian Day (Brazil)
- King Mswati III’s birthday (Eswatini)
- Landing of the 33 Patriots Day (Uruguay)
- Patriots’ Day (Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin, United States)
-
April 11 in History
- 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
- 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
- 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix win the Battle of Ravenna.
- 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
- 1689 – William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain.
- 1713 – War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.
- 1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
- 1809 – An incomplete British victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Basque Roads results in the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier.
- 1814 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
- 1856 – Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker’s filibusters are holed up.
- 1868 – Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
- 1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
- 1881 – Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
- 1908 – SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
- 1909 – The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
- 1921 – Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
- 1945 – World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
- 1951 – Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
- 1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
- 1955 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
- 1957 – United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
- 1961 – The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
- 1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
- 1964 – Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected President by the National Congress.
- 1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.
- 1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
- 1968 – Assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement.
- 1970 – Apollo 13 is launched.
- 1976 – The Apple I is created.
- 1977 – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
- 1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
- 1981 – A massive riot in Brixton, south London results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
- 1986 – FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
- 1987 – The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
- 1990 – Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
- 1993 – Four hundred fifty prisoners rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continued to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
- 2001 – The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
- 2002 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
- 2002 – Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the Presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
- 2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran’s claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
- 2007 – Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
- 2011 – An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
- 2012 – A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake was VII (Very strong). Ten were killed, twelve were injured, and a non-destructive tsunami was observed on the island of Nias.
- 2018 – An Ilyushin Il-76 which was owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.
Births on April 11
- 145 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 211)
- 1184 – William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
- 1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
- 1357 – John I of Portugal (d. 1433)
- 1370 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
- 1374 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (d. 1398)
- 1493 – George I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1531)
- 1591 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
- 1592 – John Eliot, English lawyer and politician (d. 1632)
- 1644 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1724)
- 1658 – James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish peer (d. 1712)
- 1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer and conductor (d. 1738)
- 1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
- 1721 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
- 1722 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1771)
- 1749 – Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (d. 1803)
- 1755 – James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (d. 1824)
- 1770 – George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
- 1794 – Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1865)
- 1798 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1854)
- 1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
- 1825 – Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1864)
- 1827 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (d. 1890)
- 1854 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
- 1856 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1903)
- 1859 – Stefanos Thomopoulos, Greek historian and author (d. 1939)
- 1862 – William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1938)
- 1862 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (d. 1948)
- 1864 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (d. 1943)
- 1866 – Bernard O’Dowd, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1953)
- 1867 – Mark Keppel, American educator (d. 1928)
- 1869 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (d. 1943)
- 1871 – Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (d. 1940)
- 1873 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
- 1876 – Paul Henry, Irish painter (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (d. 1940)
- 1879 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (d. 1935)
- 1887 – Jamini Roy, Indian painter (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (d. 1971)
- 1896 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1967)
- 1899 – Percy Lavon Julian, African-American chemist and academic (d. 1975)
- 1900 – Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet (d. 1930)
- 1904 – K. L. Saigal, Indian singer and actor (d. 1947)
- 1905 – Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (d. 1937)
- 1906 – Dale Messick, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
- 1907 – Paul Douglas, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1908 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
- 1908 – Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (d. 1997)
- 1910 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (d. 1996)
- 1912 – John Levy, American bassist and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, American mathematician (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian-Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1916 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (d. 2001)
- 1917 – David Westheimer, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Richard Wainwright, English soldier and politician (d. 2003)
- 1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
- 1920 – William Royer, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Jack Rayner, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Arved Viirlaid, Estonian-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2015)
- 1923 – George J. Maloof, Sr., American businessman (d. 1980)
- 1924 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist and politician (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Yuriy Lituyev, Russian hurdler and commander (d. 2000)
- 1925 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
- 1925 – Viktor Masing, Estonian botanist and ecologist (d. 2001)
- 1925 – Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman, founded Quebecor (d. 1997)
- 1926 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Karl Rebane, Estonian physicist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Lokesh Chandra, Indian historian
- 1928 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist
- 1928 – Edwin Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Nicholas F. Brady, American businessman and politician, 68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1930 – Walter Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (d. 1997)
- 1931 – Lewis Jones, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1932 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
- 1933 – Tony Brown, American journalist and academic
- 1934 – Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Ron Pember, English actor, director and playwright
- 1935 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1936 – Brian Noble, English bishop (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Jill Gascoine, English actress and author
- 1938 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Michael Deaver, American politician, Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Reatha King, American chemist and businesswoman
- 1939 – Luther Johnson, American singer and guitarist
- 1939 – Louise Lasser, American actress
- 1940 – Col Firmin, Australian politician (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Thomas Harris, American author and screenwriter
- 1940 – Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (d. 1998)
- 1941 – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and author
- 1941 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Hattie Gossett, American writer
- 1942 – James Underwood, English pathologist and academic
- 1943 – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, English businessman and politician
- 1943 – Harley Race, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2019)
- 1944 – Peter Barfuß, German footballer
- 1944 – John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1945 – John Krebs, Baron Krebs, English zoologist and academic
- 1946 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1946 – Bob Harris, English journalist and radio host
- 1947 – Lev Bulat, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Uli Edel, German director and screenwriter
- 1947 – Frank Mantooth, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
- 1947 – Michael T. Wright, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
- 1949 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
- 1951 – Paul Fox, English singer and guitarist (d. 2007)
- 1952 – Nancy Honeytree, American singer and guitarist
- 1952 – Indira Samarasekera, Sri Lankan engineer and academic
- 1952 – Peter Windsor, English-Australian journalist and sportscaster
- 1953 – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
- 1953 – Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
- 1954 – Abdullah Atalar, Turkish engineer and academic
- 1954 – Aleksandr Averin, Azerbaijani cyclist and coach
- 1954 – Francis Lickerish, English guitarist and composer
- 1954 – David Perrett, Scottish psychologist and academic
- 1954 – Ian Redmond, English biologist and conservationist
- 1954 – Willie Royster, American baseball player (d. 2015)
- 1955 – Kevin Brady, American lawyer and politician
- 1955 – Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
- 1955 – Micheal Ray Richardson, American basketball player and coach
- 1958 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1958 – Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Russian sprinter
- 1959 – Pierre Lacroix, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1959 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-American lawyer and judge
- 1959 – Zahid Maleque, Bangladeshi politician
- 1960 – Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
- 1961 – Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
- 1961 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1961 – Nobuaki Kakuda, Japanese martial artist
- 1962 – Franck Ducheix, French fencer
- 1962 – Mark Lawson, English journalist and author
- 1963 – Billy Bowden, New Zealand cricketer and umpire
- 1963 – Waldemar Fornalik, Polish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Elizabeth Smylie, Australian tennis player
- 1964 – Steve Azar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – John Cryer, English journalist and politician
- 1964 – Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist
- 1964 – Bret Saberhagen, American baseball player and coach
- 1964 – Patrick Sang, Kenyan runner
- 1966 – Steve Scarsone, American baseball player and manager
- 1966 – Shin Seung-hun, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1968 – Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
- 1969 – Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Michael von Grünigen, Swiss skier
- 1970 – Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1970 – Delroy Pearson, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1971 – John Leech, English politician
- 1971 – Oliver Riedel, German bass player
- 1972 – Balls Mahoney, American wrestler (d. 2016)
- 1972 – Allan Théo, French singer
- 1972 – Jason Varitek, American baseball player and manager
- 1973 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
- 1973 – Olivier Magne, French rugby player
- 1974 – Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
- 1974 – Ashot Danielyan, Armenian weightlifter
- 1974 – David Jassy, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Zöe Lucker, English actress
- 1974 – Tom Thacker, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1974 – Trot Nixon, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Olga Hostáková, Czech tennis player
- 1975 – Walid Soliman, Tunisian author and translator
- 1976 – Kelvim Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1977 – Ivonne Teichmann, German runner
- 1978 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1979 – Malcolm Christie, English footballer
- 1979 – Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
- 1979 – Josh Server, American actor
- 1980 – Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
- 1980 – Mark Teixeira, American baseball player
- 1981 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
- 1981 – Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Veronica Pyke, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Ian Bell, English cricketer
- 1982 – Peeter Kümmel, Estonian skier
- 1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian skier
- 1983 – Rubén Palazuelos, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch race car driver
- 1984 – Kelli Garner, American actress
- 1984 – Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
- 1985 – Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
- 1985 – Will Minson, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Sarodj Bertin, Haitian model and human rights lawyer
- 1986 – Dai Greene, Welsh hurdler
- 1986 – Lena Schöneborn, German pentathlete
- 1987 – Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Leland Irving, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Torrin Lawrence, American sprinter (d. 2014)
- 1989 – Zola Jesus, American singer
- 1990 – Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1990 – Thulani Serero, South African footballer
- 1991 – Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Brennan Poole, American racing driver
- 1996 – Dele Alli, English international footballer
- 1997 – Georgia Bohl, Australian swimmer
- 1997 – Miriam Kolodziejová, a Czech tennis player
Deaths on April 11
- 618 – Yang Guang, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 569)
- 678 – Donus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 610)
- 924 – Herman I, chancellor and archbishop of Cologne
- 1034 – Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine emperor (b. 968)
- 1077 – Anawrahta, king of Burma and founder of the Pagan Empire (b. 1014)
- 1079 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków (b. 1030)
- 1165 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia
- 1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172)
- 1447 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)
- 1512 – Gaston de Foix, French military commander (b. 1489)
- 1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel leader (b. 1521)
- 1587 – Thomas Bromley, English lord chancellor (b. 1530)
- 1609 – John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, English noble (b. 1533)
- 1612 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian and author (b. 1535)
- 1612 – Edward Wightman, English minister and martyr (b. 1566)
- 1626 – Marino Ghetaldi, Ragusan mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
- 1712 – Richard Simon, French priest and critic (b. 1638)
- 1723 – John Robinson, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1650)
- 1783 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Polish-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1718)
- 1798 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet and academic (b. 1725)
- 1856 – Juan Santamaría, Costa Rican soldier (b. 1831)
- 1861 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (b. 1824)
- 1873 – Edward Canby, American general (b. 1817)
- 1890 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (b. 1808)
- 1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (b. 1862)
- 1894 – Constantin Lipsius, German architect and theorist (b. 1832)
- 1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (b. 1830)
- 1902 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1818)
- 1903 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (b. 1878)
- 1906 – James Anthony Bailey, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1847)
- 1906 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
- 1908 – Henry Bird, English chess player and author (b. 1829)
- 1916 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
- 1918 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect and urban planner (b. 1841)
- 1926 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and academic (b. 1849)
- 1939 – Kurtdereli Mehmet, Turkish wrestler (b. 1864)
- 1953 – Kid Nichols, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1954 – Paul Specht, American violinist and bandleader (b. 1895)
- 1958 – Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter and educator (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Rosa Grünberg, Swedish actress (b. 1878)
- 1962 – Ukichiro Nakaya, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1900)
- 1962 – George Poage, American hurdler and educator (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Thomas Farrell, American general (b. 1891)
- 1967 – Donald Sangster, Jamaican lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1911)
- 1970 – Cathy O’Donnell, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1970 – John O’Hara, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1905)
- 1974 – Ernst Ziegler, German actor (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1977 – Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, Indian author and activist (b. 1921)
- 1980 – Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Turkish journalist and producer (b. 1935)
- 1981 – Caroline Gordon, American author and critic (b. 1895)
- 1983 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1910)
- 1985 – Bunny Ahearne, Irish-born English businessman (b. 1900)
- 1985 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (b. 1898)
- 1985 – Enver Hoxha, Albanian educator and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1903)
- 1987 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (b. 1919)
- 1990 – Harold Ballard, Canadian businessman (b. 1903)
- 1991 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
- 1991 – Bruno Hoffmann. German glass harp player (b. 1913)
- 1992 – James Brown, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
- 1992 – Eve Merriam, American author and poet (b. 1916)
- 1992 – Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter, sculptor, and engraver (b. 1920)
- 1996 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (b. 1988)
- 1997 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (b. 1899)
- 1997 – Wang Xiaobo, contemporary Chinese novelist and essayist (b. 1952)
- 1999 – William H. Armstrong, American author and educator (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945)
- 2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh-English actor (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Cecil Howard Green, English-American geophysicist and businessman, founded Texas Instruments (b. 1900)
- 2005 – André François, Romanian-French cartoonist, painter, and sculptor (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (b. 1907)
- 2006 – June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)
- 2006 – DeShaun Holton, American rapper and actor (b. 1973)
- 2007 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Loïc Leferme, French diver (b. 1970)
- 2007 – Janet McDonald, American lawyer and author (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Ronald Speirs, Scottish-American colonel (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Merlin German, American sergeant (b. 1985)
- 2009 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress and singer (b. 1914)
- 2009 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (b. 1927)
- 2010 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (b. 1981)
- 2012 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Roger Caron, Canadian criminal and author (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Tippy Dye, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Hal McKusick, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Agustin Roman, American bishop (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Don Blackman, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Grady Hatton, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Thomas Hemsley, English actor and singer (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Gilles Marchal, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Jonathan Winters, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Edna Doré, English actress (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Bill Henry, American baseball player (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Myer S. Kripke, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Sergey Nepobedimy, Russian engineer (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Jimmy Gunn, American football player (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1952)
- 2015 – François Maspero, French journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Hanut Singh, Indian general (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Tekena Tamuno, Nigerian historian and academic (b. 1932)
- 2017 – J. Geils, American singer and guitarist (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (b. 1945)
- 2020 – John Horton Conway, English mathematician (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances on April 11
- Christian feast day:
- Antipas of Pergamum (Greek Orthodox Church)
- Gemma Galgani
- Godeberta
- Guthlac of Crowland
- George Selwyn (Anglicanism)
- Stanislaus of Szczepanów
- April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Second Battle of Rivas. (Costa Rica)
- International Louie Louie Day
- World Parkinson’s Day
-
April 9 in History
- 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
- 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite Christological position.
- 537 – Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.
- 1241 – Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.
- 1288 – Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.
- 1388 – Despite being outnumbered 16 to 1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.
- 1413 – Henry V is crowned King of England.
- 1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
- 1454 – The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years.
- 1511 – St John’s College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.
- 1585 – The expedition organised by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony.
- 1609 – Eighty Years’ War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.
- 1609 – Philip III of Spain issues the decree of the “Expulsion of the Moriscos”.
- 1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
- 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of the Saintes begins.
- 1784 – The Treaty of Paris, ratified by the United States Congress on January 14, 1784, is ratified by King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ending the American Revolutionary War. Copies of the ratified documents are exchanged on May 12, 1784.
- 1860 – On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
- 1909 – The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
- 1914 – Mexican Revolution: One of the world’s first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.
- 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Verdun: German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
- 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
- 1918 – World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.
- 1937 – The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
- 1939 – African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
- 1940 – Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends. An Indian Ocean raid by Japan’s 1st Air Fleet sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire.
- 1945 – Execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, anti-Nazi dissident and spy, by the Nazi regime.
- 1945 – World War II: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
- 1945 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
- 1947 – The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
- 1947 – The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court’s 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
- 1947 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 22 relating to Corfu Channel incident is adopted.
- 1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán’s assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia.
- 1948 – Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
- 1952 – Hugo Ballivián’s government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines
- 1957 – The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis.
- 1959 – Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States’ first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the “Mercury Seven”.
- 1960 – Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg.
- 1961 – The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations.
- 1965 – Astrodome opens. First indoor baseball game is played.
- 1967 – The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
- 1969 – The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.
- 1975 – The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
- 1976 – The EMD F40PH diesel locomotive enters revenue service with Amtrak.
- 1980 – The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.
- 1981 – The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it.
- 1989 – Tbilisi massacre: an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
- 1990 – An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR.
- 1990 – Thirteen thousand members of the Dene and Métis tribes sign a land claim agreement for 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 sq mi) in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic.
- 1991 – Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1992 – A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: The Battle of Košare begins.
- 2003 – Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.
- 2005 – Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall.
- 2009 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
- 2013 – A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.
- 2013 – At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča.
- 2014 – A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
- 2017 – The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place.
- 2017 – After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Airlines flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh is forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to major criticism of United Airlines.
Births on April 9
- 1285 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Emperor Renzong of Yuan (d. 1320)
- 1458 – Camilla Battista da Varano, Italian saint (d. 1524)
- 1498 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (d. 1550)
- 1586 – Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1665)
- 1597 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (d. 1670)
- 1598 – Johann Crüger, Sorbian-German composer and theorist (d. 1662)
- 1624 – Henrik Rysensteen, Dutch military engineer (d. 1679)
- 1627 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (d. 1693)
- 1634 – Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau (d. 1696)
- 1648 – Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1720)
- 1649 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1685)
- 1654 – Samuel Fritz, Czech Jesuit missionary to South America (d. 1725?)
- 1680 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright (d. 1754)
- 1686 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1721)
- 1691 – Johann Matthias Gesner, German scholar and academic (d. 1761)
- 1717 – Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1750)
- 1770 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist and academic (d. 1831)
- 1773 – Étienne Aignan, French author and academic (d. 1824)
- 1794 – Theobald Boehm, German flute player and composer (d. 1881)
- 1802 – Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (d. 1884)
- 1806 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, English engineer, designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge (d. 1859)
- 1807 – James Bannerman, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1868)
- 1821 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic (d. 1867)
- 1830 – Eadweard Muybridge, English photographer and cinematographer (d. 1904)
- 1835 – Leopold II of Belgium (d. 1909)
- 1835 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (d. 1913)
- 1846 – Paolo Tosti, Italian-English composer and educator (d. 1916)
- 1848 – Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz, Spanish Augustinian Recollect priest and saint (d. 1906)
- 1865 – Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician (d. 1937)
- 1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Polish-American mathematician and engineer (d. 1923)
- 1867 – Chris Watson, Chilean-Australian journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1941)
- 1867 – Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor, discus thrower, and shot putter (d. 1932)
- 1872 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (d. 1912)
- 1880 – Jan Letzel, Czech architect (d. 1925)
- 1882 – Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Otz Tollen, German actor (d. 1965)
- 1883 – Frank King, American cartoonist (d. 1969)
- 1887 – Konrad Tom, Polish actor, writer, singer, and director (d. 1957)
- 1888 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American talent manager (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (d.1967)
- 1893 – Victor Gollancz, English publisher, founded Victor Gollancz Ltd (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian linguist, author, and scholar (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Mance Lipscomb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
- 1895 – Michel Simon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1975)
- 1897 – John B. Gambling, American radio host (d. 1974)
- 1898 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach (d. 1965)
- 1898 – Paul Robeson, American singer, actor, and activist (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
- 1901 – Jean Bruchési, Canadian historian and author (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Paul Willis, American actor and director (d. 1960)
- 1902 – Théodore Monod, French explorer and scholar (d. 2000)
- 1903 – Ward Bond, American actor (d. 1960)
- 1904 – Sharkey Bonano, American singer, trumpet player, and bandleader (d. 1972)
- 1905 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (d. 1995)
- 1906 – Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (d. 1996)
- 1906 – Antal Doráti, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Hugh Gaitskell, British politician and leader of the Labour Party (d. 1963)
- 1906 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (d. 1980)
- 1909 – Robert Helpmann, Australian dancer, actor, and choreographer (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Daniel Johnson Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)
- 1916 – Julian Dash, American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1974)
- 1916 – Heinz Meyer, German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) during World War II (d. 1987)
- 1916 – Bill Leonard, American journalist (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Johannes Bobrowski, German songwriter and poet (d. 1965)
- 1917 – Ronnie Burgess, Welsh international footballer left-half and manager (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Jørn Utzon, Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House (d. 2008)
- 1919 – J. Presper Eckert, American engineer, invented the ENIAC (d. 1995)
- 1921 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Yitzhak Navon, Israeli politician (d. 2015)
- 1921 – Frankie Thomas, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Carl Amery, German author and activist (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Leonard Levy, American historian and author (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Arthur Shaw, English professional footballer (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Virginia Gibson, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Art Kane, American photographer (d. 1995)
- 1926 – Gerry Fitt, Northern Irish soldier and politician; British life peer (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founded Playboy Enterprises (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Tiny Hill, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Tom Lehrer, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and mathematician
- 1929 – Sharan Rani Backliwal, Indian sarod player and scholar (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist (d. 1993)
- 1929 – Paule Marshall, American author and academic (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist and author (d. 2014)
- 1930 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Jim Fowler, American zoologist and television host (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, founded McCain Foods (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1991)
- 1932 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Peter Moores, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor and producer
- 1933 – René Burri, Swiss photographer and journalist (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Fern Michaels, American author
- 1933 – Richard Rose, American political scientist and academic
- 1933 – Gian Maria Volonté, Italian actor (d. 1994)
- 1934 – Bill Birch, New Zealand surveyor and politician, 38th New Zealand Minister of Finance
- 1934 – Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (d. 1962)
- 1934 – Mariya Pisareva, Russian high jumper
- 1935 – Aulis Sallinen, Finnish composer and academic
- 1935 – Avery Schreiber, American actor and comedian (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Jerzy Maksymiuk, Polish pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1936 – Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist author, attempted murderer (d. 1988)
- 1937 – Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
- 1937 – Marty Krofft, Canadian screenwriter and producer
- 1937 – Valerie Singleton, English television and radio host
- 1938 – Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian businessman and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2010)
- 1939 – Michael Learned, American actress
- 1940 – Hans-Joachim Reske, German sprinter
- 1940 – Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Kay Adams, American singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Brandon deWilde, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1942 – Margo Smith, American singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Leila Khaled, Palestinian activist
- 1943 – Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Joe Brinkman, American baseball player and umpire
- 1944 – Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg, German shot putter
- 1945 – Steve Gadd, American drummer and percussionist[9]
- 1946 – Nate Colbert, American baseball player[10]
- 1946 – Alan Knott, English cricketer[11]
- 1946 – Sara Parkin, Scottish activist and politician[12]
- 1946 – David Webb, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1947 – Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Italian economist and academic
- 1948 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress and politician
- 1948 – Michel Parizeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1948 – Patty Pravo, Italian singer
- 1949 – Tony Cragg, English sculptor
- 1952 – Robert Clark, American author
- 1952 – Bruce Robertson, New Zealand rugby player
- 1952 – Tania Tsanaklidou, Greek singer and actress
- 1953 – John Howard, English singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1953 – Hal Ketchum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Stephen Paddock, American mass murderer responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting (d. 2017)
- 1954 – Ken Kalfus, American journalist and author
- 1954 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
- 1954 – Iain Duncan Smith, British soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- 1955 – Yamina Benguigui, Algerian-French director and politician
- 1955 – Joolz Denby, English poet and author
- 1956 – Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1956 – Nigel Shadbolt, English computer scientist and academic
- 1956 – Vahur Sova, Estonian architect
- 1956 – Marina Zoueva, Russian ice dancer and coach
- 1957 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer and architect (d. 2011)
- 1957 – Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer
- 1957 – Jamie Redfern, English-born Australian television presenter, and pop singer
- 1958 – Tony Sibson, English boxer
- 1958 – Nigel Slater, English food writer and author
- 1959 – Bernard Jenkin, English businessman and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
- 1960 – Jaak Aab, Estonian educator and politician, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
- 1961 – Mark Kelly, Irish keyboard player
- 1961 – Kirk McCaskill, Canadian-American baseball and hockey player
- 1962 – John Eaves, American production designer and illustrator
- 1962 – Ihor Podolchak, Ukrainian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Imran Sherwani, English field hockey player
- 1962 – Jeff Turner, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1963 – Marc Jacobs, American-French fashion designer
- 1963 – Joe Scarborough, American journalist, lawyer, and politician
- 1964 – Rob Awalt, German-American football player
- 1964 – Juliet Cuthbert, Jamaican sprinter
- 1964 – Peter Penashue, Canadian businessman and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
- 1964 – Margaret Peterson Haddix, American author
- 1964 – Rick Tocchet, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Helen Alfredsson, Swedish golfer
- 1965 – Paulina Porizkova, Czech-born Swedish-American model and actress
- 1965 – Jeff Zucker, American businessman
- 1966 – John Hammond, English weather forecaster
- 1966 – Cynthia Nixon, American actress
- 1967 – Natascha Engel, German-English translator and politician
- 1967 – Sam Harris, American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist
- 1968 – Jay Chandrasekhar, American actor, comedian, writer and director
- 1969 – Barnaby Kay, English actor
- 1969 – Linda Kisabaka, German runner
- 1970 – Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1971 – Peter Canavan, Irish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Leo Fortune-West, English footballer and manager
- 1971 – Austin Peck, American actor
- 1971 – Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
- 1972 – Bernard Ackah, German-Japanese martial artist and kick-boxer
- 1972 – Siiri Vallner, Estonian architect
- 1974 – Megan Connolly, Australian actress (d. 2001)
- 1974 – Jenna Jameson, American actress and pornographic performer
- 1975 – Robbie Fowler, English footballer and manager
- 1975 – David Gordon Green, American director and screenwriter
- 1976 – Kyle Peterson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1977 – Gerard Way, American singer-songwriter and comic book writer
- 1978 – Kousei Amano, Japanese actor
- 1978 – Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
- 1978 – Rachel Stevens, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1979 – Jeff Reed, American football player
- 1979 – Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
- 1980 – Sarah Ayton, English sailor
- 1980 – Luciano Galletti, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Albert Hammond Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1981 – A. J. Ellis, American baseball player
- 1981 – Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
- 1981 – Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
- 1981 – Eric Harris, American mass murderer, responsible for the Columbine High School massacre (d. 1999)
- 1982 – Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
- 1982 – Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
- 1982 – Kathleen Munroe, Canadian-American actress
- 1983 – Ryan Clark, Australian actor
- 1984 – Habiba Ghribi, Tunisian runner[13]
- 1984 – Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
- 1984 – Óscar Razo, Mexican footballer
- 1985 – Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer
- 1985 – David Robertson, American baseball player
- 1986 – Mike Hart, American football player
- 1986 – Leighton Meester, American actress
- 1987 – Kassim Abdallah, French-Comorian footballer
- 1987 – Graham Gano, American football player
- 1987 – Craig Mabbitt, American singer
- 1987 – Jesse McCartney, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1987 – Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jazmine Sullivan, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Michel Alves Baroni, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Jeremy Metcalfe, English racing driver
- 1989 – Danielle Kahle, American figure skater
- 1990 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
- 1990 – Ryan Williams, American football player
- 1991 – Ryan Kelly, American basketball player
- 1991 – Mary Killman, American synchronized swimmer
- 1992 – Joshua Ledet, American singer
- 1994 – Joey Pollari, American actor
- 1995 – Domagoj Bošnjak, Croatian basketball player
- 1995 – Robert Bauer, German-Kazakhstani footballer
- 1996 – Jayden Brailey, Australian rugby league player[14]
- 1996 – Giovani Lo Celso, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder[15]
- 1998 – Elle Fanning, American actress[16]
- 1999 – Montero Lamar Hill, American rapper[17]
- 2000 – Jackie Evancho, American singer[18]
Deaths on April 9
- 585 BC – Jimmu, emperor of Japan (b. 711 BC)
- AD 93 – Yuan An, Chinese scholar and politician
- 436 – Tan Daoji, Chinese general and politician
- 491 – Zeno, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 425)
- 682 – Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, Egyptian politician, Governor of Egypt (b. 616)
- 715 – Constantine, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 664)
- 1024 – Benedict VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 980)
- 1137 – William X, duke of Aquitaine (b. 1099)
- 1241 – Henry II, High Duke of Poland (b. 1196)
- 1283 – Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (b. 1261)
- 1327 – Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, Scottish nobleman (ca. 1296)
- 1483 – Edward IV, king of England (b. 1442)
- 1484 – Edward of Middleheim, prince of Wales (b. 1473)
- 1550 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (b. 1516)[19]
- 1553 – François Rabelais, French monk and scholar (b. 1494)
- 1557 – Mikael Agricola, Finnish priest and scholar (b. 1510)
- 1626 – Francis Bacon, English jurist and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1561)
- 1654 – Matei Basarab, Romanian prince (b. 1588)
- 1693 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (b. 1618)
- 1747 – Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1667)
- 1754 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (b. 1679)
- 1761 – William Law, English priest and theologian (b. 1686)
- 1768 – Sarah Fielding, English author (b. 1710)
- 1804 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1732)
- 1806 – William V, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (b. 1748)
- 1872 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (b. 1794)
- 1876 – Charles Goodyear, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828)
- 1889 – Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist and academic (b. 1786)
- 1909 – Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (b. 1840)
- 1915 – Raymond Whittindale, English rugby player (b. 1883)
- 1917 – James Hope Moulton, English philologist and scholar (b. 1863)
- 1922 – Hans Fruhstorfer, German entomologist and explorer (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857)
- 1936 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1855)
- 1940 – Mrs Patrick Campbell, English actress (b. 1865)
- 1944 – Yevgeniya Rudneva, Ukrainian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1920)
- 1945 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (b. 1906)
- 1945 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (b. 1887)
- 1945 – Johann Georg Elser, German carpenter (b. 1903)
- 1945 – Hans Oster, German general (b. 1887)
- 1945 – Karl Sack, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1896)
- 1945 – Hans von Dohnányi, Austrian-German lawyer and jurist (b. 1902)
- 1948 – George Carpenter, Australian 5th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1872)
- 1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Colombian Minister of National Education (b. 1903)
- 1951 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (b. 1862)
- 1953 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (b. 1877)
- 1953 – C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and television host (b. 1891)
- 1953 – Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
- 1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (b. 1867)
- 1961 – Zog I of Albania (b. 1895)
- 1963 – Eddie Edwards, American trombonist (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Xul Solar, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
- 1970 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish-American illustrator and animator (b. 1896)
- 1976 – Dagmar Nordstrom, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1903)
- 1976 – Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
- 1976 – Renato Petronio, Italian rower (b. 1891)
- 1978 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed Portmeirion (b. 1883)
- 1980 – Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric and philosopher (b. 1935)
- 1982 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1896)
- 1988 – Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
- 1988 – Hans Berndt, German footballer (b. 1913)
- 1988 – Dave Prater, American singer (b. 1937)
- 1991 – Forrest Towns, American hurdler and coach (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, American rabbi and philosopher (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Richard Condon, American author and publicist (b. 1915)
- 1997 – Mae Boren Axton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1998 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (b. 1953)
- 1999 – Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Nigerien general and politician, President of Niger (b. 1949)
- 2001 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2002 – Pat Flaherty, American race car driver (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Leopold Vietoris, Austrian soldier, mathematician, and academic (b. 1891)
- 2003 – Jerry Bittle, American cartoonist (b. 1949)
- 2006 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, manager (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and poet (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (b. 1907)
- 2009 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (b. 1986)
- 2010 – Zoltán Varga, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2011 – Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri, Bahraini journalist (b. 1971)
- 2011 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Malcolm Thomas, Welsh rugby player and cricketer (b. 1929)
- 2013 – David Hayes, American sculptor and painter (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Greg McCrary, American football player (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Mordechai Mishani, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
- 2013 – McCandlish Phillips, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Gil Askey, American trumpet player, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Chris Banks, American football player (b. 1973)
- 2014 – Rory Ellinger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Norman Girvan, Jamaican economist, academic, and politician (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Aelay Narendra, Indian politician (b. 1946)
- 2014 – A. N. R. Robinson, Trinbagonian politician, 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Serbian author (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Paul Almond, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Margaret Rule, British marine archaeologist (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Nina Companeez, French director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Alexander Dalgarno, English physicist and academic (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Ivan Doig, American journalist and author (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, Chinese-American academic (b. 1909)
- 2016 – Duane Clarridge, American spy (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Will Smith, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2017 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, writer, and satirist (b. 1948)
Holidays and observances on April 9
- Christian feast day:
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Anglicanism, Lutheranism)
- Gaucherius
- Materiana
- Waltrude
- April 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Anniversary of the German Invasion of Denmark (Denmark)
- Baghdad Liberation Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Bataan Day or Araw ng Kagitingan (Philippines)
- Constitution Day (Kosovo)
- Day of National Unity (Georgia)
- Day of the Finnish Language (Finland)
- Feast of the Second Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
- Martyr’s Day (Tunisia)
- National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (United States)
- Remembrance for Haakon Sigurdsson (The Troth)
- Vimy Ridge Day (Canada)
-
April 8 in History
- 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
- 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
- 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
- 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
- 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
- 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
- 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
- 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
- 1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
- 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
- 1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
- 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
- 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
- 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
- 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
- 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
- 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
- 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
- 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
- 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
- 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
- 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
- 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
- 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
- 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
- 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
- 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
- 1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
- 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
- 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
- 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
- 1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
- 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
- 1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
- 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
- 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
- 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
- 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
- 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
- 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
- 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
- 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
- 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
- 1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
- 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
- 1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
- 1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
- 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
- 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
- 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
- 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
- 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
- 2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
- 2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
- 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.
Births on April 8
- 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
- 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
- 1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
- 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
- 1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
- 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
- 1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
- 1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
- 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
- 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
- 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
- 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
- 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
- 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
- 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
- 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
- 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
- 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
- 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
- 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
- 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
- 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
- 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
- 1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
- 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
- 1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
- 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
- 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
- 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
- 1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
- 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
- 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
- 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
- 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
- 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
- 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
- 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
- 1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
- 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
- 1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
- 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
- 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
- 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
- 1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
- 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
- 1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
- 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
- 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
- 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
- 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
- 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
- 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
- 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
- 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
- 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
- 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
- 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
- 1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
- 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
- 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
- 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
- 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
- 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
- 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
- 1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
- 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
- 1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
- 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
- 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
- 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
- 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
- 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
- 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
- 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
- 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
- 1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
- 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
- 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
- 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
- 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
- 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
- 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
- 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
- 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
- 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
- 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
- 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
- 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
- 1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
- 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
- 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
- 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
- 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
- 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
- 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
- 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
- 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
- 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
- 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
- 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
- 1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
- 1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
- 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
- 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
- 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
- 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
- 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
- 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
- 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
- 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
- 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
- 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
- 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
- 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
- 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
- 1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
- 1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
- 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
- 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
- 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
- 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
- 1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
- 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
- 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
- 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
- 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
- 1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
- 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
- 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
- 1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
- 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
- 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
- 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
- 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
- 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
- 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
- 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
- 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
- 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
- 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
- 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
- 1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
- 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
- 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
- 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
- 1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
- 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
- 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
- 1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
- 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
- 1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
- 1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player
Deaths on April 8
- 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
- 622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
- 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
- 894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
- 944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
- 956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
- 967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
- 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
- 1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
- 1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
- 1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
- 1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
- 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
- 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
- 1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
- 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
- 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
- 1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
- 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
- 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
- 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
- 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (b. 1624)
- 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1641)
- 1709 – Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen, German nobleman (b. 1641)
- 1725 – John Wise, American minister (b. 1652)
- 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
- 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
- 1860 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian statesman and reformer (b.1791)
- 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
- 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
- 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1838)
- 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (b. 1850)
- 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist, academic, and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1848)
- 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
- 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
- 1936 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- 1936 – Božena Benešová, Czech poet and novelist (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (b. 1862)
- 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek guitarist and composer (b. 1880)
- 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
- 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
- 1959 – Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (b. 1913)
- 1961 – Joseph Carrodus, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
- 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
- 1969 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian astronomer (b. 1900)
- 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
- 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Breece D’J Pancake, American short story writer (b. 1952)
- 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
- 1983 – Isamu Kosugi, Japanese actor and director (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
- 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American pianist and composer (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
- 1991 – Per Ohlin, Swedish musician (b. 1969)
- 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1993 – Marian Anderson, American operatic singer (b. 1897)
- 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
- 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
- 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 1996 – Mick Young, Australian politician (b. 1936)
- 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
- 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
- 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter (b. 1937)
- 2004 – Werner Schumacher, German actor (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Onna White, Canadian choreographer and dancer (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author and poet (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Kazuo Shiraga, Japanese painter (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Richard de Mille, American Scientologist, author, investigative journalist, and psychologist (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
- 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player and coach (b. 1961)
- 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
- 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Rayson Huang, Hong Kong chemist and academic (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (b. 1987)
- 2015 – David Laventhol, American journalist and publisher (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (b. 1936)
Holidays and observances on April 8
- Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, “Flower Festival” (Japan)
- Christian feast day:
- Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Constantina
- Julie Billiart of Namur
- Perpetuus
- Walter of Pontoise
- William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
- April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
- International Romani Day
-
April 7 in History
- 451 – Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.
- 529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
- 611 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico.
- 1141 – Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title ‘Lady of the English’.
- 1348 – Charles University is founded in Prague.
- 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
- 1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
- 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion, BWV 245, at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
- 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67).
- 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward.
- 1788 – American pioneers to the Northwest Territory establish Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
- 1789 – Selim III became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
- 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
- 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
- 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year.
- 1829 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
- 1831 – Emperor Pedro I of Brazil resigns. He goes to his native Portugal to become King Pedro IV.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
- 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist.
- 1890 – Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
- 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
- 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
- 1922 – The United States Secretary of the Interior leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms.
- 1927 – The first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
- 1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
- 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
- 1943 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches.
- 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.
- 1945 – World War II: The battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by American aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
- 1945 – World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
- 1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
- 1949 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway; it would run for 1,925 performances and win ten Tony Awards.
- 1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his “domino theory” speech during a news conference.
- 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
- 1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
- 1964 – A bulldozer kills Rev. Bruce W. Klunder, a civil rights activist, during a school segregation protest in Cleveland, Ohio, sparking a riot.
- 1965 – Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate against the termination of the Colville tribe in Washington DC.
- 1968 – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.
- 1969 – The Internet’s symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.
- 1971 – President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization.
- 1976 – Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party (UK) after being arrested for faking his own death.
- 1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
- 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
- 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.
- 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
- 1989 – Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
- 1990 – Iran–Contra affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
- 1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people.
- 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
- 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy.
- 1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
- 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
- 2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched.
- 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.
- 2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
- 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
- 2017 – A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people, killing five people and injuring fifteen others.
Births on April 7
- 1206 – Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1253)
- 1330 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English nobleman (d. 1352)
- 1470 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1498)
- 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
- 1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)
- 1613 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
- 1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (d. 1730)
- 1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1721)
- 1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
- 1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
- 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (d. 1800)
- 1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist, entomologist, and mycologist (d. 1806)
- 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846)
- 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
- 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher and author (d. 1837)
- 1780 – William Ellery Channing, American preacher and theologian (d. 1842)
- 1803 – James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
- 1803 – Flora Tristan, French author and activist (d. 1844)
- 1811 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1881)
- 1817 – Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (d. 1881)
- 1848 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (d. 1930)
- 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player and coach (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (d. 1951)
- 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (d. 1953)
- 1870 – Gustav Landauer, Jewish-German theorist and activist (d. 1919)
- 1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (d. 1927)
- 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
- 1874 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (d. 1939)
- 1876 – Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1945)
- 1882 – Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (d. 1971)
- 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
- 1883 – Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (d. 1966)
- 1884 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (d. 1963)
- 1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1971)
- 1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Paul Berth, Danish footballer (d. 1969)
- 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (d. 1998)
- 1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (d. 1958)
- 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
- 1895 – John Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (d. 1942)
- 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
- 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (d. 1974)
- 1897 – Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
- 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (d. 1975)
- 1900 – Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (d. 1984)
- 1902 – Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (d. 1941)
- 1903 – M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (d. 1978)
- 1913 – Louise Currie, American actress (d. 2013)
- 1913 – Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
- 1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1977)
- 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
- 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American author (d. 1958)
- 1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
- 1922 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper
- 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1928 – James White, Northern Irish author and educator (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
- 1930 – Jane Priestman, English interior designer
- 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1989)
- 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
- 1932 – Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
- 1937 – Charlie Thomas, American singer
- 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California
- 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
- 1938 – Iris Johansen, American author
- 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (d. 1977)
- 1939 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (d. 1992)
- 1940 – Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
- 1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
- 1941 – Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator
- 1941 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer
- 1943 – Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager
- 1944 – Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist
- 1944 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
- 1944 – Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor
- 1944 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany
- 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
- 1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Gerry Cottle, English businessman
- 1945 – Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic
- 1945 – Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author
- 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (d. 2018)
- 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer
- 1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
- 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner and educator (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
- 1946 – Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate
- 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer
- 1947 – Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (d. 2020)
- 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
- 1948 – John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer
- 1949 – Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana
- 1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary
- 1951 – Bruce Gary, American drummer (d. 2006)
- 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic
- 1952 – Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete
- 1952 – Gilles Valiquette, Canadian actor, singer, and producer
- 1952 – Dennis Hayden, American actor
- 1953 – Santa Barraza, American mixed media artist
- 1953 – Douglas Kell, English biochemist and academic
- 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Tony Dorsett, American football player
- 1955 – Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
- 1955 – Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist
- 1956 – Annika Billström, Swedish businesswoman and politician, 16th Mayor of Stockholm
- 1956 – Christopher Darden, American lawyer and author
- 1956 – Georg Werthner, Austrian decathlete
- 1957 – Kim Kap-soo, South Korean actor
- 1957 – Thelma Walker, British politician
- 1958 – Brian Haner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Hindrek Kesler, Estonian architect
- 1960 – Buster Douglas, American boxer and actor
- 1960 – Sandy Powell, English costume designer
- 1961 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player and actor
- 1961 – Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
- 1961 – Brigitte van der Burg, Tanzanian-Dutch geographer and politician
- 1962 – Jon Cruddas, English lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Andrew Hampsten, American cyclist
- 1963 – Jaime de Marichalar, Spanish businessman
- 1963 – Nick Herbert, English businessman and politician, Minister for Policing
- 1963 – Dave Johnson, American decathlete and educator
- 1964 – Jace Alexander, American actor and director
- 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand-Australian actor
- 1964 – Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Bill Bellamy, American comedian, actor, and producer
- 1965 – Rozalie Hirs, Dutch composer and poet
- 1965 – Alison Lapper, English painter and photographer
- 1965 – Nenad Vučinić, Serbian-New Zealand basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Richard Gomez, Filipino actor and politician
- 1966 – Zvika Hadar, Israeli entertainer
- 1966 – Béla Mavrák, Hungarian tenor singer
- 1966 – Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
- 1967 – Artemis Gounaki, Greek-German singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Bodo Illgner, German footballer
- 1967 – Simone Schilder, Dutch tennis player
- 1968 – Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer and sportscaster
- 1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist
- 1968 – Vasiliy Sokov, Russian triple jumper
- 1969 – Ricky Watters, American football player
- 1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist and educator
- 1971 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (d. 2008)
- 1971 – Victor Kraatz, German-Canadian figure skater
- 1972 – Tim Peake, British astronaut
- 1973 – Marco Delvecchio, Italian footballer
- 1973 – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence
- 1973 – Carole Montillet, French skier
- 1973 – Christian O’Connell, British radio DJ and presenter
- 1973 – Brett Tomko, American baseball player
- 1975 – Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1975 – Ronde Barber, American football player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Tiki Barber, American football player and journalist
- 1975 – Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
- 1975 – John Cooper, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1975 – Simon Woolford, Australian rugby league player
- 1976 – Kevin Alejandro, American actor and producer
- 1976 – Martin Buß, German high jumper
- 1976 – Jessica Lee, English lawyer and politician
- 1976 – Aaron Lohr, American actor
- 1976 – Barbara Jane Reams, American actress
- 1976 – Gang Qiang, Chinese anchor
- 1978 – Jo Appleby, English soprano
- 1978 – Duncan James, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1978 – Lilia Osterloh, American tennis player
- 1979 – Adrián Beltré, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1979 – Patrick Crayton, American football player
- 1979 – Pascal Dupuis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1980 – Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer
- 1980 – Tetsuji Tamayama, Japanese actor
- 1981 – Hitoe Arakaki, Japanese singer
- 1981 – Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
- 1981 – Vanessa Olivarez, American singer-songwriter, and actress
- 1981 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
- 1982 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
- 1982 – Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler
- 1982 – Kelli Young, English singer
- 1983 – Hamish Davidson, Australian musician
- 1983 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
- 1983 – Jon Stead, English footballer
- 1983 – Jakub Smrž, Czech motorcycle rider
- 1983 – Janar Talts, Estonian basketball player
- 1984 – Hiroko Shimabukuro, Japanese singer
- 1985 – KC Concepcion, Filipino actress and singer
- 1985 – Humza Yousaf, Scottish politician
- 1986 – Brooke Brodack, American comedian
- 1986 – Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist
- 1986 – Andi Fraggs, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1986 – Christian Fuchs, Austrian footballer
- 1987 – Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete
- 1987 – Jamar Smith, American football player
- 1988 – Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Ed Speleers, English actor and producer
- 1989 – Alexa Demara, American actress, model and writer
- 1989 – Franco Di Santo, Argentinian footballer
- 1989 – Mitchell Pearce, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Teddy Riner, French judoka
- 1990 – Nickel Ashmeade, Jamaican sprinter
- 1990 – Anna Bogomazova, Russian-American kick-boxer, martial artist, and wrestler
- 1990 – Sorana Cîrstea, Romanian tennis player
- 1990 – Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer
- 1991 – Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer
- 1991 – Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter
- 1992 – Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast
- 1992 – Guilherme Negueba, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Ichinojō Takashi, Mongolian sumo wrestler
- 1994 – Johanna Allik, Estonian figure skater
- 1994 – Aaron Gray, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Emerson Hyndman, American international soccer player[5]
- 1997 – Rafaela Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
Deaths on April 7
- AD 30 – Jesus Christ, (possible date of the crucifixion) (b. circa 4 BC)
- 821 – George the Standard-Bearer, archbishop of Mytilene (b. c. 776)
- 924 – Berengar I of Italy (b. 845)
- 1206 – Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
- 1340 – Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia (b. 1308)
- 1498 – Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
- 1499 – Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (b. 1442)
- 1501 – Minkhaung II, king of Ava (b. 1446)
- 1606 – Edward Oldcorne, English martyr (b. 1561)
- 1614 – El Greco, Greek-Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1541)
- 1638 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese daimyō (b. 1576)
- 1651 – Lennart Torstensson, Swedish field marshal and engineer (b. 1603)
- 1658 – Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic and philosopher (b. 1595)
- 1661 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English commander and politician (b. 1604)
- 1663 – Francis Cooke, English-American settler (b. 1583)
- 1668 – William Davenant, English poet and playwright (b. 1606)
- 1719 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint, founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (b. 1651)
- 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705)
- 1747 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b. 1676)
- 1761 – Thomas Bayes, English minister and mathematician (b. 1701)
- 1766 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
- 1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and director (b. 1715)
- 1782 – Taksin, Thai king (b. 1734)
- 1789 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1725)
- 1789 – Petrus Camper, Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (b. 1722)
- 1801 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (b. 1724)
- 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (b. 1743)
- 1811 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
- 1823 – Jacques Charles, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1746)
- 1833 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Lithuanian composer and politician (b. 1775)
- 1836 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (b. 1756)
- 1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (b. 1777)
- 1850 – William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
- 1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher (b. 1781)
- 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist, activist, and politician (b. 1825)
- 1879 – Begum Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (b. 1820)
- 1885 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (b. 1804)
- 1889 – Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese soldier and politician (b. 1823)
- 1889 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician and president, 1872-1876 (b. 1823)
- 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810)
- 1917 – Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer and playwright (b. 1861)
- 1918 – David Kolehmainen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1885)
- 1918 – George E. Ohr, American potter (b. 1857)
- 1920 – Karl Binding, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1841)
- 1922 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1855)
- 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1873)
- 1932 – Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1938 – Suzanne Valadon, French painter (b. 1865)
- 1939 – Joseph Lyons, Australian educator and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
- 1943 – Jovan Dučić, Serbian-American poet and diplomat (b. 1871)
- 1943 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (b. 1859)
- 1947 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863)
- 1949 – John Gourlay, Canadian soccer player (b. 1872)
- 1950 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1883)
- 1955 – Theda Bara, American actress (b. 1885)
- 1956 – Fred Appleby, English runner (b. 1879)
- 1960 – Henri Guisan, Swiss general (b. 1874)
- 1965 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
- 1966 – Walt Hansgen, American race car driver (b. 1919)
- 1968 – Edwin Baker, Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (b. 1936)
- 1972 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (b. 1929)
- 1972 – Abeid Karume, Tanzanian politician, 1st President of Zanzibar (b. 1905)
- 1981 – Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (b. 1935)
- 1981 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver and journalist (b. 1948)
- 1984 – Frank Church, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1924)
- 1985 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (b. 1888)
- 1986 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist (b. 1912)
- 1990 – Ronald Evans, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1991 – Memduh Ünlütürk, Turkish general (b. 1913)
- 1992 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Antonis Tritsis, Greek high jumper and politician, 71st Mayor of Athens (b. 1937)
- 1994 – Lee Brilleaux, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
- 1994 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer, manager, and politician (b. 1923)
- 1994 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (b. 1909)
- 1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan chemist, academic, and politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
- 1995 – Philip Jebb, English architect and politician (b. 1927)
- 1997 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1923)
- 1997 – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1935)
- 1998 – Alex Schomburg, Puerto Rican-American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
- 1999 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
- 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
- 2001 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
- 2002 – John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French pianist and author (b. 1903)
- 2003 – David Greene, English-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
- 2004 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (b. 1901)
- 2005 – Cliff Allison, English race car driver (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Melih Kibar, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1951)
- 2007 – Johnny Hart, American author and illustrator (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese journalist and author (b. 1915)
- 2009 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (b. 1984)
- 2012 – Satsue Mito, Japanese zoologist and academic (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (b. 1930)
- 2012 – David E. Pergrin, American colonel and engineer (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani politician (b. 1959)
- 2012 – Mike Wallace, American television news journalist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Marty Blake, American businessman (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Les Blank, American director and producer (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Andy Johns, English-American record producer (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Lilly Pulitzer, American fashion designer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Irma Ravinale, Italian composer and educator (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Mickey Rose, American screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Carl Williams, American boxer (b. 1959)
- 2014 – George Dureau, American painter and photographer (b. 1930)
- 2014 – James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
- 2014 – V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (b. 1952)
- 2014 – John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (b. 1931)
- 2014 – George Shuffler, American guitarist (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Tim Babcock, American soldier and politician, 16th Governor of Montana (b. 1919)
- 2015 – José Capellán, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1981)
- 2015 – Stan Freberg, American puppeteer, voice actor, and singer (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Richard Henyekane, South African footballer (b. 1983)
- 2015 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Blackjack Mulligan, American professional wrestler (b. 1942)
- 2019 – Seymour Cassel, American actor (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances on April 7
- Christian feast days:
- Aibert of Crespin
- Blessed Alexander Rawlins
- Blessed Edward Oldcorne and Blessed Ralph Ashley
- Blessed Notker the Stammerer
- Brynach
- Hegesippus
- Henry Walpole
- Hermann Joseph
- Jean-Baptiste de La Salle
- Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (Eastern Orthodox Church, Episcopal Church (USA))
- April 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Flag Day (Slovenia)
- Genocide Memorial Day (Rwanda), and its related observance:
- International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (United Nations)
- Motherhood and Beauty Day (Armenia)
- National Beer Day (United States)
- Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day (Tanzania)
- Women’s Day (Mozambique)
- World Health Day (International observance)
-
April 3 in History
- 686 – Maya king Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ assumes the crown of Calakmul.
- 801 – King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months.
- 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
- 1077 – The first Parliament of Friuli is created.
- 1559 – The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.
- 1860 – The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1882 – American Old West: Robert Ford kills Jesse James.
- 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design.
- 1888 – The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.
- 1895 – The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
- 1922 – Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1933 – First flight over Mount Everest, by the British Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.
- 1936 – Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the baby son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
- 1946 – Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- 1948 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- 1948 – In Jeju Province, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins, known as the Jeju uprising.
- 1955 – The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl against obscenity charges.
- 1956 – Hudsonville–Standale tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
- 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. He was assassinated the next day.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to “Vietnamize” the war effort.
- 1973 – Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
- 1974 – The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
- 1975 – Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
- 1980 – US Congress restores a federal trust relationship with the 501 members of the Shvwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and the Indian Peaks and Cedar City bands of the Paiute people of Utah.
- 1981 – The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
- 1989 – The US Supreme Court upholds the jurisdictional rights of tribal courts under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in Mississippi Choctaw Band v. Holyfield.
- 1996 – Suspected “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski is captured at his Montana cabin in the United States.
- 1997 – The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
- 2000 – United States v. Microsoft Corp.: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.
- 2004 – Islamic terrorists involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
- 2007 – Conventional-Train World Speed Record: A French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record.
- 2008 – ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, files for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceases all operations.
- 2008 – Texas law enforcement cordons off the FLDS’s YFZ Ranch. Eventually, 533 women and children will be taken into state custody.
- 2009 – Jiverly Antares Wong opens fire at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.
- 2010 – Apple Inc. released the first generation iPad, a tablet computer.
- 2013 – More than 50 people die in floods resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2016 – The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
- 2017 – A bomb explodes in the St Petersburg metro system, killing 14 and injuring several more people.
- 2018 – YouTube headquarters shooting.
Births on April 3
- 1016 – Xing Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1055)
- 1151 – Igor Svyatoslavich, Russian prince (d. 1202)
- 1438 – John III of Egmont, Dutch nobleman (d. 1516)
- 1529 – Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1581)
- 1540 – Maria de’ Medici, Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. (d. 1557)
- 1593 – George Herbert, English poet (d. 1633)
- 1639 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
- 1643 – Charles V, duke of Lorraine (d. 1690)
- 1682 – Valentin Rathgeber, German organist and composer (d. 1750)
- 1693 – George Edwards, English ornithologist and entomologist (d. 1773)
- 1715 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (d. 1787)
- 1764 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (d. 1831)
- 1769 – Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat (d. 1835)
- 1770 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (d. 1843)
- 1778 – Pierre Bretonneau, French doctor who performed the first successful tracheotomy (d. 1862)
- 1781 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (d. 1830)
- 1782 – Alexander Macomb, American general (d. 1841)
- 1783 – Washington Irving, American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian (d. 1859)
- 1791 – Anne Lister, English diarist, mountaineer, and traveller (d.1840)
- 1798 – Charles Wilkes, American admiral, geographer, and explorer (d.1877)
- 1807 – Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer (d. 1877)
- 1814 – Lorenzo Snow, American religious leader, 5th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1901)
- 1822 – Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author (d. 1909)
- 1823 – George Derby, American lieutenant and journalist (d. 1861)
- 1823 – William M. Tweed, American politician (d. 1878)
- 1826 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (d. 1900)
- 1837 – John Burroughs, American botanist and author (d. 1921)
- 1842 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (d. 1864)
- 1848 – Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and captain (d. 1879)
- 1858 – Jacob Gaudaur, Canadian rower (d. 1937)
- 1860 – Frederik van Eeden, Dutch psychiatrist and author (d. 1932)
- 1864 – Emil Kellenberger, Swiss target shooter (d. 1943)
- 1875 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (d. 1956)
- 1876 – Margaret Anglin, Canadian actress, director, and producer (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Tomáš Baťa, Czech businessman, founded Bata Shoes (d. 1932)
- 1880 – Otto Weininger, Jewish-Austrian philosopher and author (d. 1903)
- 1881 – Alcide De Gasperi, Italian journalist and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1954)
- 1882 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1952)
- 1883 – Ikki Kita, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1937)
- 1885 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
- 1885 – Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 1954)
- 1885 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (d. 1944)
- 1885 – St John Philby, English colonial and explorer (d. 1960)
- 1886 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (d. 1953)
- 1887 – Ōtori Tanigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 24th Yokozuna (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Nishizō Tsukahara, Japanese admiral (d. 1966)
- 1888 – Neville Cardus, English author and critic (d. 1975)
- 1888 – Thomas C. Kinkaid, American admiral (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1949)
- 1893 – Leslie Howard, English actor (d. 1943)
- 1895 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American composer and educator (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Zez Confrey, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
- 1897 – Joe Kirkwood Sr., Australian golfer (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general (d. 1989)
- 1898 – David Jack, English footballer and manager (d. 1958)
- 1898 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (d. 1967)
- 1900 – Camille Chamoun, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Lebanon (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Albert Walsh, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1958)
- 1903 – Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Indian social reformer and freedom fighter (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (d. 1999)
- 1904 – Sally Rand, American dancer (d. 1979)
- 1904 – Russel Wright, American furniture designer (d. 1976)
- 1905 – Robert Sink, American general (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Stanislaw Ulam, Polish-American mathematician and academic (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Ted Hook, Australian public servant (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Nanette Bordeaux, Canadian-American actress (d. 1956)
- 1911 – Michael Woodruff, English-Scottish surgeon and academic (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-English author (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Per Borten, Norwegian politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1914 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2016)
- 1915 – İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish physician and academic (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Cliff Gladwin, English cricketer (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Louis Guglielmi, Catalan composer (d. 1991)
- 1918 – Mary Anderson, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (d. 2015)
- 1919 – Clairette Oddera, French-Canadian actress and singer (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Stan Freeman, American composer and conductor (d. 2001)
- 1920 – Yoshibayama Junnosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 43rd Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1921 – Robert Karvelas, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Jan Sterling, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Yevhen Bulanchyk, Ukrainian hurdler (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (d. 1945)
- 1925 – Tony Benn, English pilot and politician, Secretary of State for Industry (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Alex Grammas, American baseball player, manager, and coach (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Gus Grissom, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1927 – Wesley A. Brown, American general and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Don Gibson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Emmett Johns, Canadian priest, founded Dans la Rue (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Jennifer Paterson, English chef and television personality (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi engineer and architect, co-designed the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center (d. 1982)
- 1929 – Poul Schlüter, Danish lawyer and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1930 – Lawton Chiles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Wally Moon, American baseball player and coach (d. 2018)
- 1931 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Bob Dornan, American politician
- 1933 – Rod Funseth, American golfer (d. 1985)
- 1934 – Pamela Allen, New Zealand children’s writer and illustrator
- 1934 – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist
- 1934 – Jim Parker, American football player (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Harold Vick, American saxophonist and flute player (d. 1987)
- 1938 – Jeff Barry, American singer-songwriter, and producer
- 1938 – Phil Rodgers, American golfer (d. 2018)
- 1939 – François de Roubaix, French composer (d. 1975)
- 1939 – Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Paul Craig Roberts, American economist and politician
- 1941 – Jan Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Philippé Wynne, American soul singer (d. 1984)
- 1942 – Marsha Mason, American actress
- 1942 – Wayne Newton, American singer
- 1942 – Billy Joe Royal, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
- 1943 – Jonathan Lynn, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Hikaru Saeki, Japanese admiral, the first female star officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
- 1944 – Peter Colman, Australian biologist and academic
- 1944 – Tony Orlando, American singer
- 1945 – Doon Arbus, American author and journalist
- 1945 – Bernie Parent, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – Catherine Spaak, French actress
- 1946 – Nicholas Jones, English actor
- 1946 – Dee Murray, English bass player (d. 1992)
- 1946 – Hanna Suchocka, Polish lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1947 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Arlette Cousture, Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch academic, politician, and diplomat, 11th Secretary General of NATO
- 1948 – Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German footballer
- 1948 – Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexican economist and politician, 53rd President of Mexico
- 1949 – Lyle Alzado, American football player and actor (d. 1992)
- 1949 – A. C. Grayling, English philosopher and academic
- 1949 – Richard Thompson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan cricketer and economist
- 1951 – Brendan Barber, English trade union leader
- 1951 – Annette Dolphin, British academician and educator
- 1951 – Mitch Woods, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1952 – Mike Moore, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Sandra Boynton, American author and illustrator
- 1953 – Wakanohana Kanji II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 56th Yokozuna
- 1953 – James Smith, American boxer
- 1953 – Craig Taubman, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1954 – Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer
- 1954 – K. Krishnasamy, Indian physician and politician
- 1956 – Kalle Kulbok, Estonian politician
- 1956 – Boris Miljković, Serbian director and producer
- 1956 – Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor
- 1956 – Ray Combs, American game show host (d. 1996)
- 1958 – Alec Baldwin, American actor, comedian, producer and television host
- 1958 – Adam Gussow, American scholar, musician, and memoirist
- 1958 – Francesca Woodman, Jewish-American photographer (d. 1981)
- 1959 – David Hyde Pierce, American actor and activist
- 1960 – Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 – Tim Crews, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1961 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- 1962 – Dave Miley, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 – Mike Ness, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Jaya Prada, Indian actress and politician
- 1963 – Les Davidson, Australian rugby league player
- 1963 – Ricky Nixon, Australian footballer and manager
- 1963 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1964 – Marco Ballotta, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Nigel Farage, English politician
- 1964 – Claire Perry, English banker and politician
- 1964 – Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist and manager
- 1964 – Andy Robinson, English rugby player and coach
- 1964 – Jay Weatherill, Australian politician, 45th Premier of South Australia
- 1965 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist (d. 2000)
- 1966 – John de Vries, Australian race car driver
- 1967 – Cat Cora, American chef and author
- 1967 – Pervis Ellison, American basketball player
- 1967 – Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Cristi Puiu, Romanian director and screenwriter
- 1967 – Mark Skaife, Australian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1968 – Sebastian Bach, Bahamian-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1968 – Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Jamie Hewlett, English director and performer
- 1968 – Tomoaki Kanemoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1969 – Rodney Hampton, American football player
- 1969 – Peter Matera, Australian footballer and coach
- 1969 – Ben Mendelsohn, Australian actor
- 1969 – Lance Storm, Canadian wrestler and trainer
- 1971 – Vitālijs Astafjevs, Latvian footballer and manager
- 1971 – Emmanuel Collard, French race car driver
- 1971 – Picabo Street, American skier
- 1972 – Jennie Garth, American actress and director
- 1972 – Catherine McCormack, English actress
- 1972 – Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
- 1973 – Nilesh Kulkarni, Indian cricketer
- 1973 – Adam Scott, American actor
- 1974 – Marcus Brown, American basketball player
- 1974 – Drew Shirley, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1974 – Lee Williams, Welsh model and actor
- 1975 – Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1975 – Aries Spears, American comedian and actor
- 1975 – Yoshinobu Takahashi, Japanese baseball player
- 1975 – Koji Uehara, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 – Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player
- 1978 – Matthew Goode, English actor
- 1978 – Tommy Haas, German-American tennis player
- 1978 – John Smit, South African rugby player
- 1979 – Simon Black, Australian footballer and coach
- 1980 – Andrei Lodis, Belarusian footballer
- 1980 – Megan Rohrer, American pastor and transgender activist
- 1981 – Aaron Bertram, American trumpet player
- 1981 – DeShawn Stevenson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Jared Allen, American football player
- 1982 – Iain Fyfe, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Ben Foster, English footballer
- 1983 – Stephen Weiss, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer
- 1984 – Maxi López, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Jari-Matti Latvala, Finnish race car driver
- 1985 – Leona Lewis, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1986 – Amanda Bynes, American actress
- 1986 – Stephanie Cox, American soccer player
- 1986 – Annalisa Cucinotta, Italian cyclist
- 1986 – Sergio Sánchez Ortega, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Rachel Bloom, American actress, writer, and producer
- 1987 – Jay Bruce, American baseball player
- 1987 – Yileen Gordon, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jason Kipnis, American baseball player
- 1987 – Martyn Rooney, English sprinter
- 1987 – Julie Sokolow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1988 – Kam Chancellor, American football player
- 1988 – Brandon Graham, American football player
- 1988 – Peter Hartley, English footballer
- 1988 – Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Romain Alessandrini, French footballer
- 1989 – Israel Folau, Australian rugby player and footballer
- 1989 – Joel Romelo, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Thisara Perera, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1990 – Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer
- 1990 – Madison Brengle, American tennis player
- 1990 – Sotiris Ninis, Greek footballer
- 1990 – Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian actress and singer
- 1991 – Hayley Kiyoko, American actress and singer
- 1992 – Simone Benedetti, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Yuliya Yefimova, Russian swimmer
- 1993 – Pape Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
- 1994 – Kodi Nikorima, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Mayo Hibi, Japanese tennis player
- 1997 – Gabriel Jesus, Brazilian footballer
- 1998 – Paris Jackson, American actress, model and singer
Deaths on April 3
- 963 – William III, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 915)
- 1153 – al-Adil ibn al-Sallar, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
- 1171 – Philip of Milly, seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1120)
- 1203 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1187)
- 1253 – Saint Richard of Chichester
- 1287 – Pope Honorius IV (b. 1210)
- 1325 – Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saint (b. 1238)
- 1350 – Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1295)
- 1538 – Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1480)
- 1545 – Antonio de Guevara, Spanish chronicler and moralist (b. 1481)
- 1606 – Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1563)
- 1630 – Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English noble (b. c. 1593)
- 1680 – Shivaji, Indian emperor, founded the Maratha Empire (b. 1630)
- 1682 – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1618)
- 1691 – Jean Petitot, French-Swiss painter (b. 1608)
- 1695 – Melchior d’Hondecoeter, Dutch painter (b. 1636)
- 1717 – Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician and academic (b. 1640)
- 1728 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (b. 1662)
- 1792 – George Pocock, English admiral (b. 1706)
- 1804 – Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest, historian, and author (b. 1727)
- 1827 – Ernst Chladni, German physicist and academic (b. 1756)
- 1838 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician and author (b. 1780)
- 1844 – Edward Bigge, English cleric, 1st Archdeacon of Lindisfarne (b. 1807)
- 1846 – William Braine, English soldier and explorer (b. 1814)
- 1849 – Juliusz Słowacki, Polish-French poet and playwright (b. 1809)
- 1868 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and surgeon (b. 1796)
- 1882 – Jesse James, American criminal and outlaw (b. 1847)
- 1897 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (b. 1833)
- 1901 – Richard D’Oyly Carte, English composer and talent agent (b. 1844)
- 1902 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (b. 1814)
- 1930 – Emma Albani, Canadian-English operatic soprano (b. 1847)
- 1936 – Richard Hauptmann, German-American murderer (b. 1899)
- 1941 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Pál Teleki, Hungarian academic and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1879)
- 1943 – Conrad Veidt, German actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
- 1946 – Masaharu Homma, Japanese general (b. 1887)
- 1950 – Kurt Weill, German-American composer and pianist (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Carter G. Woodson, American historian, author, and journalist, founded Black History Month (b. 1875)
- 1951 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian poet and playwright (b. 1890)
- 1952 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish minister and politician (b. 1866)
- 1957 – Ned Sparks, Canadian-American actor (b. 1883)
- 1958 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (b. 1891)
- 1962 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer and educator (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Avigdor Hameiri, Israeli author (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Joseph Valachi, American gangster (b. 1904)
- 1972 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (b. 1892)
- 1975 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (b. 1933)
- 1976 – David M. Dennison, American physicist and academic (b. 1900)
- 1976 – Claude-Henri Grignon, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Winston Sharples, American composer (b. 1909)
- 1981 – Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Warren Oates, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1983 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 1986 – Peter Pears, English tenor and educator (b. 1910)
- 1987 – Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- 1988 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (b. 1904)
- 1993 – Pinky Lee, American television host (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Frank Wells, American businessman (b. 1932)
- 1995 – Alfred J. Billes, Canadian businessman, co-founded Canadian Tire (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician and academic (b. 1900)
- 1999 – Lionel Bart, English composer (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Geoffrey Walsh, Canadian general (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Terence McKenna, American botanist and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2000 – Dina Abramowicz, Librarian and YIVO and Yiddish language expert (b. 1909)
- 2005 – François Gérin, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Nina Wang, Chinese businesswoman (b. 1937)
- 2008 – Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian footballer (b. 1983)
- 2012 – Mingote, Spanish cartoonist and journalist (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Richard Descoings, French civil servant (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Govind Narain, Indian politician, 8th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Chief Jay Strongbow, American wrestler (b. 1928)
- 2012 – José María Zárraga, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Fred Kida, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Prince Michael of Prussia (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Jovan Pavlović, Serbian metropolitan (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Sarah Brady, American activist and author (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Bob Burns, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Shmuel Wosner, Austrian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Joe Medicine Crow, American anthropologist, historian, and author (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Koji Wada, Japanese singer and songwriter (b. 1974)
- 2017 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian Classical Vocalist (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances on April 3
- Christian feast day:
- Agape, Chionia, and Irene
- Burgundofara
- Luigi Scrosoppi
- Richard of Chichester
- April 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
-
March 27 in History
- 1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
- 1329 – Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
- 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reaches the northern end of The Bahamas on his first voyage to Florida.
- 1625 – Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
- 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1794 – The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
- 1809 – Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.
- 1814 – War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
- 1836 – Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacres 342 Texas POWs at Goliad, Texas.
- 1866 – President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.
- 1871 – The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
- 1884 – A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
- 1886 – Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
- 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River.
- 1915 – Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life.
- 1918 – The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
- 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war’s first major Chinese victory over Japan.
- 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.
- 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
- 1945 – World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan’s ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers.
- 1958 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.
- 1964 – The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
- 1975 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
- 1977 – Tenerife airport disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). Sixty-one survived on the Pan Am flight. This is the deadliest aviation accident in history.
- 1980 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
- 1980 – Silver Thursday: A steep fall in silver prices, resulting from the Hunt Brothers attempting to corner the market in silver, leads to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.
- 1981 – The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.
- 1986 – A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people.
- 1990 – The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.
- 1993 – Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China.
- 1993 – Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.
- 1998 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: An American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is shot down by a Yugoslav SAM, the first and only Nighthawk to be lost in combat.
- 2000 – A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others.
- 2002 – Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel.
- 2002 – Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors; 19 other people are injured.
- 2004 – HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
- 2009 – The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.
- 2014 – Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.
- 2015 – Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead.
- 2016 – A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
- 2020 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO.
Births on March 27
- 972 – Robert II, king of France (d. 1031)
- 1401 – Albert III, duke of Bavaria (d. 1460)
- 1416 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded Order of the Minims (d. 1507)
- 1546 – Johannes Piscator, German theologian (d. 1625)
- 1627 – Stephen Fox, English politician (d. 1716)
- 1676 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
- 1679 – Domenico Lalli, Italian poet and librettist (d. 1741)
- 1681 – Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish-Italian cardinal (d. 1760)
- 1702 – Johann Ernst Eberlin, German organist and composer (d. 1762)
- 1710 – Joseph Abaco, Belgian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
- 1712 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and author (d. 1779)
- 1714 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian historian and theologian (d. 1795)
- 1724 – Jane Colden, American botanist and author (d. 1766)
- 1745 – Lindley Murray, American-English Quaker and grammarian (d. 1826)
- 1746 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (d. 1767)
- 1746 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican-French lawyer and politician (d. 1785)
- 1765 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1841)
- 1781 – Alexander Vostokov, Estonian-Russian philologist and academic (d. 1864)
- 1784 – Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian philologist, orientalist, and author (d. 1842)
- 1785 – Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
- 1797 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1863)
- 1801 – Alexander Barrow, American lawyer and politician (d. 1846)
- 1802 – Charles-Mathias Simons, German-Luxembourger jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1874)
- 1809 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French engineer, urban planner, and politician (d. 1891)
- 1811 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (d. 1880)
- 1814 – Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, anthologist, and author (d. 1889)
- 1820 – Edward Augustus Inglefield, English admiral and explorer (d. 1894)
- 1822 – Henri Murger, French novelist and poet (d. 1861)
- 1824 – Virginia Minor, American women’s suffrage activist (d. 1894)
- 1839 – John Ballance, Irish-New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1893)
- 1843 – George Frederick Leycester Marshall, English colonel and entomologist (d. 1934)
- 1844 – Adolphus Greely, American general and explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1935)
- 1845 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
- 1845 – Jakob Sverdrup, Norwegian bishop and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (d. 1899)
- 1847 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
- 1851 – Ruperto Chapí, Spanish composer, co-founded Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (d. 1909)
- 1851 – Vincent d’Indy, French composer and educator (d. 1931)
- 1852 – Jan van Beers, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1927)
- 1854 – Giovanni Battista Grassi, Italian physician, zoologist, and entomologist (d. 1925)
- 1855 – William Libbey, American target shooter, colonel, mountaineer, geographer, geologist, and archaeologist (d. 1927)
- 1857 – Karl Pearson, English mathematician, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1936)
- 1859 – George Giffen, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1927)
- 1860 – Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (d. 1924)
- 1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)
- 1862 – Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (d. 1938)
- 1863 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1933)
- 1866 – John Allan, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Victoria (d. 1936)
- 1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946)
- 1869 – James McNeill, Irish politician, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1938)
- 1869 – J. R. Clynes, English trade unionist and politician, Home Secretary (d. 1949)
- 1871 – Heinrich Mann, German author and poet (d. 1950)
- 1871 – Joseph G. Morrison, American captain and Nazarene minister (d. 1939)
- 1871 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician, Minister of Labour (d. 1948)
- 1875 – Albert Marquet, French painter (d. 1947)
- 1877 – Oscar Grégoire, Belgian water polo player and swimmer (d. 1947)
- 1878 – Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (d. 1947)
- 1879 – Sándor Garbai, Hungarian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1947)
- 1879 – Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1929)
- 1879 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourger-American painter and photographer (d. 1973)
- 1881 – Arkady Averchenko, Russian playwright and satirist (d. 1925)
- 1882 – Thomas Graham Brown, Scottish mountaineer and physiologist (d. 1965)
- 1883 – Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)
- 1884 – Gordon Thomson, English rower and lieutenant (d. 1953)
- 1885 – Julio Lozano Díaz, Honduran accountant and politician, 40th President of Honduras (d. 1957)
- 1885 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (d. 1961)
- 1886 – Sergey Kirov, Russian politician (d. 1934)
- 1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
- 1886 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect, designed IBM Plaza and Seagram Building (d. 1969)
- 1887 – Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (d. 1932)
- 1888 – George Alfred Lawrence Hearne, English-South African cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1889 – Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (d. 1974)
- 1889 – Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (d. 1979)
- 1890 – Harald Julin, Swedish swimmer and water polo player (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (d. 1974)
- 1891 – Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian novelist and playwright (d. 1974)
- 1891 – Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Belarusian-Lithuanian architect, journalist, and diplomat, created the Flag of Belarus (d. 1959)
- 1892 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
- 1892 – Thorne Smith, American author (d. 1934)
- 1893 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (d. 1947)
- 1893 – G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1981)
- 1893 – George Beranger, Australian-American actor and director (d. 1973)
- 1894 – René Fonck, French colonel and pilot (d. 1953)
- 1895 – Roland Leighton, English soldier and poet (d. 1915)
- 1897 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1958)
- 1897 – Fred Keating, American magician, stage and film actor (d. 1961)
- 1899 – Francis Ponge, French poet and author (d. 1988)
- 1899 – Herbert Arthur Stuart, German-Swiss physicist and academic (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (d. 1983)
- 1901 – Carl Barks, American illustrator and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1901 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
- 1901 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1901 – Kenneth Slessor, Australian journalist and poet (d. 1971)
- 1902 – Sidney Buchman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
- 1902 – Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998)
- 1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1950)
- 1905 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1935)
- 1905 – Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German general (d. 1980)
- 1905 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (d. 1980)
- 1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 1969)
- 1909 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Ben Webster, American saxophonist (d. 1973)
- 1909 – Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1937)
- 1910 – Ai Qing, Chinese poet and author (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (d. 1965)
- 1912 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Theodor Dannecker, German SS officer (d. 1945)
- 1914 – Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Colin Rowe, English-American architect, theorist and academic (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Phil Chess, Czech-American record producer, co-founded Chess Records (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Harold Nicholas, American actor and dancer (d. 2000)
- 1922 – Dick King-Smith, English author (d. 2011)
- 1922 – Stefan Wul, French author and surgeon (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (d. 2007)
- 1923 – Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Louis Simpson, Jamaican-American poet, translator, and academic (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
- 1924 – Ian Black, Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and lawn bowls player (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Frank O’Hara, American writer (d. 1966)
- 1927 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Jean Dotto, French cyclist (d. 2000)
- 1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1929 – Reg Evans, Australian actor (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Daniel Spoerri, Romanian-Swiss photographer, writer and artist
- 1931 – David Janssen, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1980)
- 1932 – Junior Parker, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1971)
- 1932 – Bailey Olter, Micronesian politician, 3rd President of the Federated States of Micronesia (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Lê Văn Hưng, South Vietnamese Brigadier general (d. 1975)
- 1934 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist, author, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest and missionary (d. 1981)
- 1935 – Julian Glover, English actor
- 1936 – Malcolm Goldstein, American violinist and composer
- 1937 – Alan Hawkshaw, English keyboard player and songwriter
- 1939 – Jay Kim, South Korean-American engineer and politician
- 1939 – Cale Yarborough, American race car driver and businessman
- 1940 – Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver
- 1940 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright
- 1941 – Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Slovakia
- 1941 – Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
- 1942 – Michael Jackson, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1942 – John Sulston, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1942 – Michael York, English actor
- 1943 – Mike Curtis, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
- 1944 – Jesse Brown, American marine and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Bryan Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1946 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Oliver Friggieri, Maltese author, critic, poet and philosopher
- 1947 – Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot
- 1947 – Walt Mossberg, American journalist
- 1948 – Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Tony Banks, English keyboardist and songwriter
- 1950 – Petros Efthymiou, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs
- 1950 – Maria Ewing, African-American soprano
- 1950 – Chris Stewart, English musician and author
- 1950 – Terry Yorath, Welsh international footballer, Midfielder and international manager
- 1951 – Andrei Kozyrev, Belgian-Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Russia
- 1952 – Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier
- 1952 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
- 1953 – Herman Ponsteen, Dutch cyclist
- 1954 – Gerard Batten, English lawyer and politician
- 1955 – Patrick McCabe, Irish writer
- 1955 – Mariano Rajoy, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
- 1955 – Susan Neiman, Jewish American-German philosopher and author
- 1956 – Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong activist and politician
- 1956 – Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier
- 1957 – Kostas Vasilakakis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1957 – Stephen Dillane, English actor
- 1958 – Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer
- 1959 – Andrew Farriss, Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist
- 1960 – Hans Pflügler, German footballer
- 1960 – Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1961 – Ellery Hanley, English rugby league player and coach
- 1961 – Tony Rominger, Swiss professional cyclist
- 1962 – Jann Arden, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Brett French, Australian rugby league player
- 1962 – Rob Hollink, Dutch poker player
- 1962 – John O’Farrell, English journalist and author
- 1962 – Brad Wright, American-Spanish basketball player
- 1962 – Kevin J. Anderson, American science fiction writer
- 1963 – Cory Blackwell, American basketball player
- 1963 – Randall Cunningham, American football player, coach, and pastor
- 1963 – Filippos Sachinidis, Greek-Canadian economist and politician
- 1963 – Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist
- 1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
- 1963 – Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter
- 1965 – Gregor Foitek, Swiss race car driver
- 1966 – Žarko Paspalj, Serbian basketball player
- 1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress
- 1968 – Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete
- 1969 – Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Pauley Perrette, American actress
- 1970 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
- 1970 – Derek Aucoin, Canadian baseball player
- 1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1970 – Brent Fitz, Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and recording artist
- 1970 – Jarrod McCracken, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1970 – Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
- 1970 – Uwe Rosenberg, German game designer, created Bohnanza
- 1971 – David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
- 1971 – Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
- 1972 – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
- 1972 – Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler
- 1973 – Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer
- 1974 – Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager
- 1974 – George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer
- 1974 – Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer
- 1975 – Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player
- 1975 – Kim Felton, Australian golfer
- 1975 – Jeff Palmer, American gay porn actor and singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1975 – Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager
- 1976 – Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania
- 1976 – Danny Fortson, American basketball player
- 1976 – Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer
- 1977 – Vítor Meira, Brazilian race car driver
- 1978 – Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer
- 1978 – Marius Bakken, Norwegian runner
- 1978 – Amélie Cocheteux, French tennis player
- 1979 – Tom Palmer, English rugby union player
- 1979 – Mohsen Moeini, Iranian author and director
- 1979 – Imran Tahir, Pakistani-South African cricketer
- 1979 – Jennifer Wilson, Zimbabwean-South African field hockey player
- 1980 – Sean Ryan, American football player
- 1980 – Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player
- 1980 – Maksim Shevchenko, Kazakhstani footballer
- 1981 – Terry McFlynn, Irish footballer
- 1981 – Akhil Kumar, Indian boxer
- 1981 – Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish runner
- 1981 – Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner
- 1982 – Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer
- 1983 – Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter
- 1983 – Vasily Koshechkin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer
- 1984 – Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australian rugby player
- 1984 – Ben Franks, Australian-born New Zealand rugby player
- 1984 – Brett Holman, Australian footballer
- 1985 – Dustin Byfuglien, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Danny Vukovic, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Manuel Neuer, German footballer
- 1987 – Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer
- 1987 – Samuel Francis, Nigerian-Qatari sprinter
- 1987 – Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Buster Posey, American baseball player
- 1988 – Jessie J, English singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer
- 1988 – Brenda Song, American actress
- 1988 – Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer
- 1988 – Holliday Grainger, English actress
- 1989 – Matt Harvey, American baseball player
- 1989 – Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player
- 1990 – Erdin Demir, Swedish-Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Ben Hunt, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer
- 1990 – Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer
- 1990 – Kimbra, New Zealand musician
- 1990 – Brodha V, Indian Rapper and Music Producer
- 1992 – Marc Muniesa, Spanish footballer
- 1995 – Bill Tuiloma, New Zealand footballer
Deaths on March 27
- 710 – Rupert of Salzburg, Austrian bishop and saint (b. 660)
- 853 – Haymo of Halberstadt, German bishop and author (b. 778)
- 913 – Du Xiao, chancellor of Later Liang
- 913 – Zhang empress of Later Liang
- 916 – Alduin I, Frankish nobleman
- 965 – Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (born c. 890)
- 973 – Hermann Billung, Frankish lieutenant (b. 900)
- 1045 – Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara’i, Fatimid vizier
- 1184 – Giorgi III, King of Georgia
- 1248 – Maud Marshal, English countess (b. 1192)
- 1350 – Alfonso XI of Castile (b. 1312)
- 1378 – Pope Gregory XI (b. 1336)
- 1462 – Vasily II of Moscow (b. 1415)
- 1472 – Janus Pannonius, Hungarian bishop and poet (b. 1434)
- 1482 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1457)
- 1564 – Lütfi Pasha, Turkish historian and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1488)
- 1572 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian polymath (b. c. 1523)
- 1598 – Theodor de Bry, Belgian-German engraver, goldsmith, and publisher (b. 1528)
- 1613 – Sigismund Báthory (b. 1573)
- 1615 – Margaret of Valois (b. 1553)
- 1621 – Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian cardinal (b. 1554)
- 1624 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (b. 1578)
- 1625 – James VI and I of the United Kingdom (b. 1566)
- 1635 – Robert Naunton, English politician (b. 1563)
- 1676 – Bernardino de Rebolledo, Spanish poet, soldier, and diplomat (b. 1597)
- 1679 – Abraham Mignon, Dutch painter (b. 1640)
- 1697 – Simon Bradstreet, English businessman and politician, 20th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1603)
- 1729 – Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1679)
- 1757 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1717)
- 1770 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (b. 1696)
- 1848 – Gabriel Bibron, French zoologist and herpetologist (b. 1805)
- 1849 – Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, Irish-Canadian politician, 35th Governor General of Canada (b. 1776)
- 1850 – Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer and banker (b. 1797)
- 1864 – Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist and academic (b. 1800)
- 1869 – James Harper, American publisher and politician, 65th Mayor of New York City (b. 1795)
- 1875 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, Peruvian soldier and politician, President of Peru (b. 1808)
- 1875 – Edgar Quinet, French historian and academic (b. 1803)
- 1878 – George Gilbert Scott, English architect, designed the Albert Memorial and St Mary’s Cathedral (b. 1811)
- 1886 – Henry Taylor, English poet and playwright (b. 1800)
- 1889 – John Bright, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1811)
- 1890 – Carl Jacob Löwig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
- 1898 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and activist (b. 1817)
- 1900 – Joseph A. Campbell, American businessman, founded the Campbell Soup Company (b. 1817)
- 1910 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American ichthyologist, zoologist, and engineer (b. 1835)
- 1913 – Richard Montgomery Gano, American minister, physician, and general (b. 1830)
- 1918 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (b. 1838)
- 1918 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (b. 1881)
- 1921 – Harry Barron, English general and politician, 16th Governor of Western Australia (b. 1847)
- 1922 – Nikolay Sokolov, Russian composer and educator (b. 1859)
- 1923 – James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (b. 1842)
- 1925 – Carl Neumann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1832)
- 1926 – Kick Kelly, American baseball player, manager, and umpire (b. 1856)
- 1926 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887)
- 1927 – Joe Start, American baseball player and manager (b. 1842)
- 1927 – Klaus Berntsen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1844)
- 1928 – Leslie Stuart, English organist and composer (b. 1863)
- 1931 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (b. 1867)
- 1934 – Francis William Reitz, South African lawyer and politician, 5th State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1844)
- 1938 – William Stern, German-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1871)
- 1940 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)
- 1942 – Julio González, Catalan sculptor and painter (b. 1876)
- 1943 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1882)
- 1945 – Vincent Hugo Bendix, American engineer and businessman, founded Bendix Corporation (b. 1881)
- 1945 – Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1866)
- 1946 – Karl Groos, German psychologist and philosopher (b. 1861)
- 1949 – Elisheva Bikhovski, Israeli-Russian poet (b. 1888)
- 1952 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (b. 1894)
- 1956 – Évariste Lévi-Provençal, French orientalist and historian (b. 1894)
- 1958 – Leon C. Phillips, American lawyer and politician, 11th Governor of Oklahoma (b. 1890)
- 1960 – Gregorio Marañón, Spanish physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1887)
- 1967 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
- 1968 – Vladimir Seryogin, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1922)
- 1973 – Mikhail Kalatozov, Georgian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1903)
- 1974 – Eduardo Santos, Colombian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1888)
- 1975 – Arthur Bliss, English conductor and composer (b. 1891)
- 1976 – Georg August Zinn, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Hesse (b. 1901)
- 1977 – Shirley Graham Du Bois, American author, playwright, and composer (b. 1896)
- 1977 – Diana Hyland, American actress (b. 1936)
- 1977 – Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch airline pilot (b. 1927)
- 1978 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded the White Spot (b. 1902)
- 1978 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey (b. 1922)
- 1978 – Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1920)
- 1980 – Steve Fisher, American author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
- 1981 – Jakob Ackeret, Swiss engineer and academic (b. 1898)
- 1982 – Fazlur Khan, Bangladeshi-American engineer and architect, designed the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower (b. 1929)
- 1987 – William Bowers, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Charles Willeford, American author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
- 1989 – May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
- 1989 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (b. 1898)
- 1990 – Percy Beard, American hurdler and coach (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
- 1992 – Colin Gibson, English footballer (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Lang Hancock, Australian businessman (b. 1909)
- 1992 – James E. Webb, American colonel and politician, 16th Under Secretary of State (b. 1906)
- 1993 – Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (b. 1900)
- 1994 – Elisabeth Schmid, German archaeologist and osteologist (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Lawrence Wetherby, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1908)
- 1995 – René Allio, French director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 1997 – Lane Dwinell, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Ella Maillart, Swiss skier, sailor, field hockey player, and photographer (b. 1903)
- 1998 – David McClelland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1917)
- 1999 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (b. 1946)
- 2000 – George Allen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942)
- 2002 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
- 2002 – Dudley Moore, English actor (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 2003 – Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1926)
- 2004 – Robert Merle, French author (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Dan Curtis, American director and producer (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish author (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Rudolf Vrba, Czech Holocaust survivor and educator (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (b. 1962)
- 2007 – Nancy Adams, New Zealand botanist and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Dick Giordano, American illustrator (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Clement Arrindell, Nevisian judge and politician, 1st Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (b. 1931)
- 2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist and feminist (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (b. 1920)
- 2014 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense and first United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Johnny Helms, American trumpet player, bandleader, and educator (b. 1935)
- 2015 – T. Sailo, Indian soldier and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on March 27
- Christian feast day:
- Alexander, a Pannonian soldier, martyred in 3rd century.
- Amador of Portugal
- Augusta of Treviso
- Charles Henry Brent (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh
- John of Egypt
- Philetus
- Romulus of Nîmes, a Benedictine abbot, martyred c. 730.
- Rupert of Salzburg
- Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia
- March 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Armed Forces Day (Myanmar)
- International whisk(e)y day
- World Theatre Day (International)
-
March 26 in History
- 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
- 1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
- 1351 – Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
- 1484 – William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop’s Fables.
- 1552 – Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
- 1636 – Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
- 1697 – Safavid government troops take control of Basra
- 1812 – An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
- 1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
- 1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
- 1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
- 1871 – The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
- 1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
- 1913 – First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
- 1915 – The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
- 1917 – World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
- 1922 – The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
- 1931 – Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
- 1931 – Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
- 1934 – The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
- 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
- 1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
- 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
- 1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
- 1958 – The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
- 1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
- 1970 – South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
- 1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
- 1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
- 1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- 1981 – Social Democratic Party (UK) is founded as a party.
- 1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
- 1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
- 1997 – Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven’s Gate mass suicides.
- 1998 – During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
- 2005 – Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
- 2010 – The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors. After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.
- 2017 – Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.
Births on March 26
- 1031 – Malcolm III, king of Scotland (d. 1093)
- 1516 – Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and zoologist (d. 1565)
- 1554 – Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne (d. 1611)
- 1584 – John II, duke of Zweibrücken (d. 1635)
- 1633 – Mary Beale, British artist (d. 1699)
- 1634 – Domenico Freschi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1710)
- 1656 – Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist (d. 1725)
- 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia (d. 1757)
- 1698 – Prokop Diviš, Czech priest, scientist and inventor (d. 1765)
- 1749 – William Blount, American politician (d. 1800)
- 1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American-French physicist and politician, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1814)
- 1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator (d. 1838)
- 1794 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (d. 1872)
- 1804 – David Humphreys Storer, American physician and academic (d. 1891)
- 1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)
- 1829 – Théodore Aubanel, French poet (d. 1886)
- 1842 – Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, French occultist (d. 1909)
- 1850 – Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary (d. 1898)
- 1852 – Élémir Bourges, French author (d. 1925)
- 1854 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (d. 1925)
- 1856 – William Massey, Irish-New Zealand farmer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1925)
- 1857 – Théodore Tuffier, French surgeon (d. 1929)
- 1859 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (d. 1936)
- 1859 – Adolf Hurwitz, Jewish German-Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
- 1860 – André Prévost, French tennis player (d. 1919)
- 1866 – Fred Karno, English producer and manager (d. 1941)
- 1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
- 1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)
- 1874 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1875 – Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1922)
- 1875 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (d. 1965)
- 1876 – William of Wied, prince of Albania (d. 1945)
- 1876 – Kate Richards O’Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (d. 1965)
- 1879 – Waldemar Tietgens, German rower (d. 1917)
- 1881 – Guccio Gucci, Italian fashion designer, founded Gucci (d. 1953)
- 1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss politician (d. 1940)
- 1884 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (d. 1969)
- 1884 – Georges Imbert, French chemical engineer and inventor (d. 1950)
- 1886 – Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist (d. 1948)
- 1893 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic, and diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany (d. 1978)
- 1893 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (d. 1964)
- 1894 – Viorica Ursuleac, Ukrainian-Romanian soprano and actress (d. 1985)
- 1895 – Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper (d. 1967)
- 1898 – Rudolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Puma SE (d. 1974)
- 1898 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)
- 1904 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author (d. 1987)
- 1904 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
- 1904 – Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer (d. 1947)
- 1905 – Monty Berman, English cinematographer and producer (d. 2006)
- 1905 – André Cluytens, Belgian-French conductor and director (d. 1967)
- 1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
- 1906 – Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet player and composer (d. 1981)
- 1907 – Azellus Denis, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Mahadevi Varma, Indian poet and activist (d. 1987)
- 1908 – Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1971)
- 1909 – Chips Rafferty, Australian actor (d. 1971)
- 1910 – K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 10th Sri Lankan Minister of Justice (d. 2002)
- 1911 – Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 2001)
- 1911 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (d. 1960)
- 1911 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, Jewish Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar (d. 2010)
- 1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1995)
- 1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter (d. 1989)
- 1915 – Hwang Sun-won, North Korean author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1916 – Bill Edrich, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1986)
- 1916 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (d. 1986)
- 1917 – Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1919 – Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1919 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1965)
- 1920 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer and journalist (d. 2012)
- 1922 – William Milliken, American politician, 44th Governor of Michigan (d. 2019)
- 1922 – Oscar Sala, Italian-Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Guido Stampacchia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
- 1923 – Gert Bastian, German general and politician (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Vesta Roy, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2002)
- 1925 – Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician (d. 2020)
- 1925 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (d. 2010)
- 1925 – James Moody, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Harold Chapman, English photographer
- 1929 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
- 1929 – Edwin Turney, American businessman, co-founded Advanced Micro Devices (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Sandra Day O’Connor, American lawyer and jurist
- 1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Leroy Griffith, American businessman
- 1932 – James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Tinto Brass, Italian director and screenwriter
- 1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
- 1934 – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer (d. 2002)
- 1937 – Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
- 1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter
- 1937 – James Lee, Canadian businessman and politician, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
- 1938 – Norman Ackroyd, English painter and illustrator
- 1938 – Anthony James Leggett, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – James Caan, American actor and singer
- 1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1941 – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic
- 1941 – Lella Lombardi, Italian racing driver (d. 1992)
- 1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
- 1943 – Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of the Interior
- 1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist and author
- 1944 – Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1945 – Paul Bérenger, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius
- 1945 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast and coach (d. 2004)
- 1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor and singer
- 1946 – Alain Madelin, French politician, French Minister of Finance
- 1947 – Subhash Kak, Indian-American professor and author
- 1947 – John Rowles, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1948 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist and educator
- 1948 – Richard Tandy, English pianist and keyboard player (Electric Light Orchestra)
- 1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1949 – Jon English, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2016)
- 1949 – Rudi Koertzen, South African cricketer and umpire
- 1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer
- 1949 – Fran Sheehan, American bass player
- 1949 – Patrick Süskind, German author and screenwriter
- 1949 – Ernest Lee Thomas, American actor
- 1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1950 – Graham Barlow, English cricketer
- 1950 – Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer
- 1950 – Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
- 1951 – Željko Pavličević, Croatian professional basketball coach and former professional player
- 1951 – Carl Wieman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
- 1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island
- 1953 – Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor
- 1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner
- 1954 – Clive Palmer, Australian businessman and politician
- 1954 – Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels
- 1954 – Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright (d. 2008)
- 1956 – Charly McClain, American country singer
- 1956 – Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul
- 1957 – Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality
- 1957 – Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author
- 1957 – Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist
- 1958 – Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
- 1960 – Marcus Allen, American football player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer
- 1960 – Graeme Rutjes, Australian-Dutch footballer
- 1961 – William Hague, English historian and politician, First Secretary of State
- 1962 – Richard Coles, English pianist, saxophonist, and priest
- 1962 – Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Yuri Gidzenko, Russian pilot and cosmonaut
- 1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Eric Allan Kramer, American-Canadian actor
- 1963 – Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese author
- 1964 – Martin Bella, Australian rugby league player
- 1964 – Martin Donnelly, Irish racing driver
- 1964 – Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
- 1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Trey Azagthoth, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
- 1966 – Michael Imperioli, American actor and screenwriter
- 1967 – Jason Chaffetz, American politician
- 1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
- 1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 – James Iha, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
- 1970 – Paul Bosvelt, Dutch footballer
- 1970 – Jelle Goes, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1970 – Thomas Kyparissis, Greek footballer
- 1970 – Martin McDonagh, English-born Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director
- 1971 – Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist
- 1971 – Martyn Day, Scottish politician
- 1971 – Erick Morillo, Colombian-American DJ and producer
- 1971 – Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Paul Williams, English footballer and manager
- 1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
- 1972 – Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
- 1973 – Larry Page, American computer scientist and businessman, co-founder of Google
- 1973 – T. R. Knight, American actor
- 1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player
- 1974 – Vadimas Petrenko, Lithuanian footballer
- 1974 – Michael Peca, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1976 – Amy Smart, American actress and former model
- 1976 – Alex Varas, Chilean footballer
- 1976 – Eirik Verås Larsen, Norwegian sprint kayaker
- 1977 – Kevin Davies, English footballer
- 1977 – Bianca Kajlich, American actress
- 1977 – Sylvain Grenier, Canadian wrestler
- 1978 – Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player
- 1979 – Nacho Novo, Spanish footballer
- 1979 – Ben Blair, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- 1979 – Hiromi Uehara, Japanese pianist and composer
- 1979 – Pierre Womé, Cameroonian footballer
- 1979 – Juliana Paes, Brazilian actress
- 1980 – Margaret Brennan, American journalist
- 1980 – Son Ho-young, South Korean singer
- 1980 – Richie Wellens, English footballer
- 1981 – Sébastien Centomo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Baruch Dego, Ethiopian-Israeli footballer
- 1981 – Massimo Donati, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Josh Wilson, American baseball player
- 1982 – Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Brendan Ryan, American baseball player
- 1982 – Nate Kaeding, American football player
- 1983 – Andreas Hinkel, German footballer
- 1983 – Floriana Lima, American actress
- 1983 – Roman Bednář, Czech footballer
- 1983 – Mike Mondo, American wrestler
- 1984 – Jimmy Howard, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Drew Mitchell, Australian rugby player
- 1984 – Felix Neureuther, German skier
- 1984 – Marco Stier, German footballer
- 1984 – Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1984 – Sara Jean Underwood, American model, television host, and actress
- 1985 – Keira Knightley, English actress
- 1985 – Matt Grevers, American swimmer
- 1985 – Jonathan Groff, American actor and singer
- 1985 – Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1986 – Maxime Biset, Belgian footballer
- 1986 – Rob Kearney, Irish rugby player
- 1986 – Emma Laine, Finnish tennis player
- 1987 – Kim Dong-suk, South Korean footballer
- 1987 – Jermichael Finley, American football player
- 1987 – Steven Fletcher, Scottish footballer
- 1989 – Simon Kjær, Danish footballer
- 1990 – Choi Woo-shik, South Korean actor
- 1990 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2016)
- 1990 – Yuya Takaki, Japanese idol, singer, dancer, model and actor
- 1990 – Xiumin, South Korean singer and actor, member of South Korean boy band EXO
- 1991 – Matt Davidson, American baseball player
- 1992 – Nina Agdal, Danish model
- 1992 – Stoffel Vandoorne, Belgian racing driver
- 1994 – Jed Wallace, English footballer
- 1996 – Zane Musgrove, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Kathryn Bernardo, Filipino actress
- 1998 – Satoko Miyahara, Japanese figure skater
- 2003 – Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and social media personality
Deaths on March 26
- 752 – Pope-elect Stephen
- 809 – Ludger, Frisian missionary
- 903 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese poet
- 908 – Ai, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 892)
- 922 – Mansur Al-Hallaj, Persian mystic and poet (b. 858)
- 929 – Wang Du, Chinese warlord and governor (jiedushi)
- 973 – Guntram (“the Rich”), Frankish nobleman
- 983 – ‘Adud al-Dawla, Iranian ruler (b. 936)
- 1091 – Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Andalusian poet
- 1130 – Sigurd the Crusader, Norwegian king (b. 1090)
- 1132 – Geoffrey of Vendôme, French cardinal and theologian (b. 1065)
- 1212 – Sancho I of Portugal (b. 1154)
- 1242 – William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle
- 1324 – Marie de Luxembourg, Queen of France (b. 1304)
- 1326 – Alessandra Giliani, anatomist (b. c. 1307)
- 1402 – David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (b. 1378)
- 1437 – Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, Scottish nobleman and regicide
- 1517 – Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer (b. 1450)
- 1535 – Georg Tannstetter, Austrian mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (b. 1482)
- 1546 – Thomas Elyot, English scholar and diplomat (b. 1490)
- 1566 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish organist and composer (b. 1510)
- 1625 – Giambattista Marini, Italian poet (b. 1569)
- 1649 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
- 1679 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish historian and author (b. 1621)
- 1697 – Godfrey McCulloch, Scottish politician (b. 1640)
- 1726 – John Vanbrugh, English playwright and architect, designed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard (b. 1664)
- 1772 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author and politician (b. 1704)
- 1776 – Samuel Ward, American jurist and politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (b. 1725)
- 1780 – Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (b. 1713)
- 1793 – John Mudge, English physician and engineer (b. 1721)
- 1797 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (b. 1726)
- 1814 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician and politician (b. 1738)
- 1827 – Ludwig van Beethoven, German pianist and composer (b. 1770)
- 1858 – John Addison Thomas, American lieutenant, engineer, and politician, 3rd United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1811)
- 1862 – Uriah P. Levy, American commander (b. 1792)
- 1881 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general and activist (b. 1800)
- 1885 – Anson Stager, American general and businessman, co-founded Western Union (b. 1825)
- 1888 – Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar (b. 1837)
- 1892 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (b. 1819)
- 1902 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African colonialist, businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (b. 1853)
- 1905 – Maurice Barrymore, American actor (b. 1849)
- 1910 – Auguste Charlois, French astronomer (b. 1864)
- 1920 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon and lexicographer (b. 1834)
- 1923 – Sarah Bernhardt, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1844)
- 1926 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1852)
- 1932 – Henry M. Leland, American machinist, inventor, engineer, automotive entrepreneur and founded of Cadillac and Lincoln (b. 1843)
- 1934 – John Biller, American jumper and discus thrower (b. 1877)
- 1940 – Wilhelm Anderson, German-Estonian astrophysicist (b. 1880)
- 1940 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (b. 1873)
- 1942 – Jimmy Burke, American baseball player and manager (b. 1874)
- 1942 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (b. 1862)
- 1945 – David Lloyd George, English-Welsh lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1863)
- 1951 – James F. Hinkle, American banker and politician, 6th Governor of New Mexico (b. 1864)
- 1954 – Charles Perrin, French rower (b. 1875)
- 1957 – Édouard Herriot, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
- 1958 – Phil Mead, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1887)
- 1959 – Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (b. 1888)
- 1966 – Victor Hochepied, French swimmer (b. 1883)
- 1969 – John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (b. 1937)
- 1973 – Noël Coward, English playwright, actor, and composer (b. 1899)
- 1973 – Johnny Drake, American football player (b. 1916)
- 1979 – Beauford Delaney, American-French painter (b. 1901)
- 1979 – Jean Stafford, American author and academic (b. 1915)
- 1980 – Roland Barthes, French linguist and critic (b. 1915)
- 1983 – Anthony Blunt, English historian and spy (b. 1907)
- 1984 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea (b. 1922)
- 1987 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
- 1987 – Walter Abel, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1990 – Halston, American fashion designer (b. 1932)
- 1992 – Barbara Frum, American-Canadian journalist and radio host (b. 1937)
- 1993 – Louis Falco, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1942)
- 1995 – Eazy-E, American rapper and producer (b. 1964)
- 1996 – Edmund Muskie, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 58th United States Secretary of State (b. 1914)
- 1996 – David Packard, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1912)
- 2000 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Randy Castillo, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1950)
- 2003 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American sociologist and politician, 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Jan Sterling, American actress (b. 1921)
- 2005 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Frederick Rotimi Williams, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
- 2006 – Anil Biswas, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Paul Dana, American racing driver (b. 1975)
- 2006 – Nikki Sudden, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
- 2008 – Robert Fagles, American poet and academic (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Manuel Marulanda, Colombian rebel leader (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Shane McConkey, Canadian skier and BASE jumper (b. 1969)
- 2009 – Arne Bendiksen, Norwegian singer and composer (b. 1926)
- 2010 – Charles Ryskamp, American art collector and curator (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Roger Abbott, English-Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1946)
- 2011 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
- 2011 – Diana Wynne Jones, English author (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Sisto Averno, American football player (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Michael Begley, Irish carpenter and politician (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Thomas M. Cover, American theorist and academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – David Craighead, American organist and educator (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Manik Godghate, Indian poet and educator (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Helmer Ringgren, Swedish theologian and academic (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Tom Boerwinkle, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Krzysztof Kozłowski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Interior (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Dave Leggett, American baseball player (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1964)
- 2014 – Roger Birkman, American psychologist and author (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Dick Guidry, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Marcus Kimball, Baron Kimball, English politician (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Dinkha IV, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Friedrich L. Bauer, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Jim Harrison, American novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1937)
- 2018 – Fabrizio Frizzi, Italian television presenter (b. 1958)
Holidays and observances on March 26
- Christian feast days:
- Castulus
- Emmanuel and companions
- Felicitas
- Harriet Monsell (Church of England)
- Larissa
- Ludger
- Richard Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
- March 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day and National Day (Bangladesh), celebrates the declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
- Martyr’s Day or Day of Democracy (Mali)
- Prince Kūhiō Day (Hawaii, United States)
- Purple Day (Canada and United States)
- Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (Eastern Christianity)