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1787

May 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
  • 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
  • 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
  • 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
  • 1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
  • 1688 – King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
  • 1768 – Rioting occurs in London after John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III.
  • 1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.
  • 1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Second Continental Congress takes place in Philadelphia.
  • 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
  • 1801 – First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
  • 1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
  • 1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.
  • 1849 – Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.
  • 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
  • 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.
  • 1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
  • 1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.
  • 1881 – Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.
  • 1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.
  • 1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
  • 1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.
  • 1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
  • 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.
  • 1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
  • 1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.
  • 1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, Belgium and Luxembourg.Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.
  • 1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
  • 1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.hai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
  • 1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
  • 1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
  • 1967 – The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
  • 1969 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
  • 1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.
  • 1993 – In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.
  • 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.
  • 1996 – A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.
  • 1997 – The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran’s Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.
  • 2002 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
  • 2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 60 feet from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
  • 2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.
  • 2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Births on May 10

  • 874 – Meng Zhixiang, Chinese general and emperor (d. 934)
  • 955 – Al-Aziz Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 996)
  • 1491 – Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (d. 1521)
  • 1604 – Jean Mairet, French author and playwright (d. 1686)
  • 1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair, French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
  • 1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, French economist and politician (d. 1781)
  • 1755 – Robert Gray, American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
  • 1760 – Johann Peter Hebel, German author and poet (d. 1826)
  • 1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
  • 1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
  • 1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
  • 1812 – William Henry Barlow, English engineer (d. 1902)
  • 1813 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
  • 1838 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
  • 1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American publisher and broadcaster (d. 1918)
  • 1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
  • 1847 – Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
  • 1855 – Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
  • 1872 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
  • 1876 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
  • 1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (d. 1967)
  • 1878 – Gustav Stresemann, German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
  • 1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
  • 1886 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
  • 1888 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
  • 1890 – Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
  • 1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
  • 1893 – Tonita Peña, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) artist (d. 1949)
  • 1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
  • 1897 – Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian politician, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Ariel Durant, American historian and author (d. 1981)
  • 1899 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
  • 1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – Hildrus Poindexter, American bacteriologist (d. 1987)
  • 1902 – David O. Selznick, American director and producer (d. 1965)
  • 1903 – Otto Bradfisch, German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
  • 1905 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
  • 1909 – Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (d. 1978)
  • 1911 – Bel Kaufman, American author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1915 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
  • 1916 – Milton Babbitt, American composer and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1918 – T. Berry Brazelton, American pediatrician and author (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – Ella T. Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1981)
  • 1920 – Basil Kelly, Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1920 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (d. 1992)
  • 1923 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan general and politician, President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
  • 1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician, President of Estonia
  • 1928 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Audun Boysen, Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
  • 1929 – George Coe, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and playwright
  • 1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Jean Becker, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1935 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
  • 1937 – Tamara Press, Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
  • 1938 – Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player
  • 1940 – Arthur Alexander, American country-soul singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1940 – Wayne Dyer, American author and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
  • 1944 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Marie-France Pisier, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter
  • 1946 – Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1946 – Dave Mason, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
  • 1949 – Miuccia Prada, Italian fashion designer
  • 1952 – Sly Dunbar, Jamaican drummer
  • 1955 – Mark David Chapman, American murderer
  • 1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1957 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
  • 1958 – Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
  • 1958 – Rick Santorum, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Pennsylvania
  • 1959 – Victoria Rowell, American actress
  • 1959 – Danny Schayes, American basketball player
  • 1959 – Cindy Hyde-Smith, American politician, United States Senator from Mississippi, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
  • 1960 – Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and activist
  • 1960 – Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Nevada, Secretary of State of Nevada
  • 1960 – Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian runner
  • 1963 – Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut
  • 1963 – Debbie Wiseman, English composer and conductor
  • 1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canadian model
  • 1966 – Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper
  • 1967 – Eion Crossan, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1968 – Al Murray, English comedian and television host
  • 1968 – Tatyana Shikolenko, Russian javelin thrower
  • 1969 – Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1969 – John Scalzi, American author and blogger
  • 1970 – Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan-American pianist
  • 1970 – David Weir, Scottish footballer
  • 1971 – Ådne Søndrål, Norwegian speed skater
  • 1972 – Christian Wörns, German footballer
  • 1973 – Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
  • 1973 – Ollie le Roux, South African rugby player
  • 1974 – Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
  • 1975 – Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1975 – Adam Deadmarsh, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer
  • 1981 – Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian basketball player
  • 1981 – Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
  • 1984 – Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1985 – Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Jon Schofield, English canoe racer
  • 1987 – Wilson Chandler, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Salvador Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1990 – Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper
  • 1995 – Missy Franklin, American swimmer1995 – Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer
  • 1996 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player
  • 1996 – Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player

Deaths on May 10

  • 1299 – Theingapati, heir to the Pagan Kingdom
  • 1403 – Katherine Swynford, widow of John of Gaunt
  • 1482 – Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
  • 1493 – Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1433)
  • 1521 – Sebastian Brant, German author (b. 1457)
  • 1566 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (b. 1501)
  • 1569 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (b. 1500)
  • 1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (b. 1596)
  • 1717 – John Hathorne, American merchant and politician (b. 1641)
  • 1726 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1670)
  • 1774 – Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
  • 1787 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (b. 1715)
  • 1794 – Élisabeth of France, French princess and youngest sibling of Louis XVI (b.1764)
  • 1798 – George Vancouver, English navigator and explorer (b. 1757)
  • 1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (b. 1725)
  • 1818 – Paul Revere, American engraver and soldier (b. 1735)
  • 1829 – Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
  • 1849 – Hokusai, Japanese painter and illustrator (b. 1760)
  • 1863 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (b. 1824)
  • 1868 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
  • 1889 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1826)
  • 1891 – Carl Nägeli, Swiss botanist and mycologist (b. 1817)
  • 1897 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino soldier and politician, President of the Philippines (b. 1863)
  • 1910 – Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1826)
  • 1945 – Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
  • 1945 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Yury Olesha, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1899)
  • 1964 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter, illustrator, and set designer (b. 1881)
  • 1965 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1894)
  • 1968 – Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (b. 1929)
  • 1974 – Hal Mohr, American director and cinematographer (b. 1894)
  • 1977 – Joan Crawford, American actress (year of birth disputed)
  • 1982 – Peter Weiss, German playwright and painter (b. 1916)
  • 1988 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1990 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (b. 1916)
  • 1994 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (b. 1942)
  • 1999 – Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator
  • 2000 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
  • 2000 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician, Governor of Himachal Pradesh (b. 1934)
  • 2002 – Kaifi Azmi, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Yves Robert, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
  • 2008 – Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Frank Frazetta, American illustrator and painter (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Horst Faas, German photographer and journalist (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver and designer (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian captain and author (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (b. 1946)
  • 2018 – David Goodall, Australian botanist and ecologist (b. 1914)
  • 2019 – Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Spanish politician and chemist (b. 1951)

Holidays and observances on May 10

  • Children’s Day (Maldives)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus
    • Calepodius
    • Catald
    • Comgall
    • Damien of Molokai
    • Gordianus and Epimachus
    • Job (Roman Catholic Church, pre-1969 calendar)
    • John of Ávila
    • May 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Confederate Memorial Day (North Carolina and South Carolina)
  • Constitution Day (Micronesia)
  • Earliest possible day on which Pentecost can fall, while June 13 is the latest; celebrated 50 days after Easter Day.(Christianity)
  • Golden Spike Day (Promontory, Utah)
  • Mother’s Day (Guatemala, and Mexico)

May 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
  • 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
  • 1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
  • 1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
  • 1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
  • 1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
  • 1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
  • 1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
  • 1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
  • 1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
  • 1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
  • 1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
  • 1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
  • 1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
  • 1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
  • 1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
  • 1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
  • 1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
  • 1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
  • 1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
  • 1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
  • 1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
  • 1930 – The 7.1 Mw  Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
  • 1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
  • 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
  • 1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
  • 1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
  • 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
  • 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
  • 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
  • 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
  • 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
  • 1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
  • 1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
  • 1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
  • 1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
  • 1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
  • 1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
  • 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
  • 1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
  • 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
  • 2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
  • 2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
  • 2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
  • 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.

Births on May 7

  • Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
  • 1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
  • 1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
  • 1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
  • 1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
  • 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
  • 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
  • 1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
  • 1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
  • 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
  • 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
  • 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
  • 1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
  • 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
  • 1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
  • 1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
  • 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
  • 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
  • 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
  • 1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
  • 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
  • 1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
  • 1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
  • 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
  • 1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
  • 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
  • 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
  • 1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
  • 1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
  • 1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
  • 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
  • 1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
  • 1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
  • 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
  • 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
  • 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
  • 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
  • 1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
  • 1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
  • 1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
  • 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
  • 1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
  • 1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
  • 1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
  • 1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
  • 1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
  • 1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
  • 1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
  • 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
  • 1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
  • 1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
  • 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
  • 1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
  • 1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
  • 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
  • 1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
  • 1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
  • 1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
  • 1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
  • 1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
  • 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
  • 1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
  • 1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
  • 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
  • 1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
  • 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
  • 1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
  • 1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
  • 1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
  • 1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
  • 1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
  • 1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
  • 1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
  • 1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
  • 1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
  • 1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
  • 1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
  • 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
  • 1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
  • 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
  • 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
  • 1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
  • 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
  • 1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
  • 1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
  • 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
  • 1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
  • 1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
  • 1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
  • 1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
  • 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
  • 1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
  • 1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
  • 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
  • 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
  • 1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
  • 1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
  • 1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
  • 1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
  • 1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
  • 1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
  • 1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
  • 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
  • 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
  • 1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
  • 1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
  • 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
  • 1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
  • 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
  • 1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
  • 1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
  • 1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
  • 1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
  • 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
  • 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
  • 1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
  • 1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
  • 1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
  • 1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
  • 1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
  • 1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
  • 1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
  • 1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
  • 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
  • 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
  • 1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
  • 1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
  • 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
  • 1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
  • 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
  • 1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
  • 1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
  • 1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
  • 1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
  • 1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
  • 1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
  • 1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player

Deaths on May 7

  • 721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
  • 833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
  • 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
  • 1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
  • 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
  • 1166 – William I of Sicily
  • 1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
  • 1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
  • 1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
  • 1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
  • 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
  • 1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
  • 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
  • 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
  • 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
  • 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
  • 1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
  • 1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
  • 1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
  • 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
  • 1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
  • 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
  • 1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
  • 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
  • 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
  • 1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
  • 1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
  • 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
  • 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
  • 1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
  • 1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
  • 1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
  • 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
  • 1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
  • 1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
  • 1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
  • 1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
  • 1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
  • 1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
  • 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
  • 1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
  • 1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
  • 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
  • 1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
  • 1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
  • 1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
  • 1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
  • 1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
  • 1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
  • 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
  • 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
  • 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish journalist (b. 1956)
  • 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American author and activist (b. 1971)
  • 2005 – Peter Rodino, American captain and politician (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
  • 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American singer and philanthropist (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Isabella Blow, English magazine editor (b. 1958)
  • 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
  • 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader, founded the Nation of Yahweh (b. 1935)
  • 2009 – David Mellor, English designer (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Danny Ozark, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
  • 2011 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – Big George, English songwriter, producer, and radio host (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Sammy Barr, Scottish trade union leader (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Ferenc Bartha, Hungarian economist and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Dennis E. Fitch, American captain and pilot (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1948)
  • 2013 – George Sauer, Jr., American football player (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Dick Welteroth, American baseball player (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Frank DiPascali, American businessman (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – John Dixon, Australian-American author, and illustrator (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on May 7

  • Christian feast day:
    • Agathius of Byzantium
    • Agostino Roscelli
    • Pope Benedict II
    • Flavia Domitilla
    • Gisela of Hungary
    • Harriet Starr Cannon (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • John of Beverley
    • Rose Venerini
    • Stanislaus (Roman Martyrology)
    • May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan)
  • Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam)
  • Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov (Russia, Bulgaria)

May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day, Uncategorized /
  • 224 – The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V effectively ending the Parthian Empire.
  • 357 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnus Magnentius.
  • 1192 – Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne is confirmed by election. The killing is carried out by Hashshashin.
  • 1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
  • 1503 – The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
  • 1611 – Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, the largest Catholic university in the world.
  • 1758 – The Marathas defeat the Afghans in the Battle of Attock and capture the city.
  • 1788 – Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  • 1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly and then sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
  • 1792 – France invades the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium and Luxembourg), beginning the French Revolutionary Wars.
  • 1794 – Sardinians, headed by Giovanni Maria Angioy, start a revolution against Savoy domination, expelling Viceroy Balbiano and his officials from Cagliari, the capital and largest city of the island.
  • 1796 – The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
  • 1869 – Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.
  • 1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
  • 1887 – A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of William I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.
  • 1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in England.
  • 1920 – Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.
  • 1923 – Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.
  • 1930 – The Independence Producers hosted the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.
  • 1941 – The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against Serbs of the Independent State of Croatia.
  • 1944 – World War II: Nine German E-boats attacked US and UK units during Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy landings, killing 946.
  • 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.
  • 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
  • 1948 – Igor Stravinsky conducted the premiere of his American ballet, Orpheus at the New York City Center.
  • 1949 – The Hukbalahap are accused of assassinating former First Lady of the Philippines Aurora Quezon, while she is en route to dedicate a hospital in memory of her late husband; her daughter and ten others are also killed.
  • 1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
  • 1952 – The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.
  • 1952 – The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
  • 1965 – United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: American troops land in the Dominican Republic to “forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship” and to evacuate U.S. Army troops.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.
  • 1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
  • 1970 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to take part in the Cambodian campaign.
  • 1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.
  • 1975 – General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departs for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on victory.
  • 1977 – The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.
  • 1978 – President of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels.
  • 1986 – The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Coral Sea.
  • 1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.
  • 1988 – Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing is blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage rips open in mid-flight.
  • 1993 – A Zambia Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo crashes off the coast of Libreville, Gabon, killing all 30 passengers, which included the entire Zambia national football team.
  • 1994 – Former Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and analyst Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
  • 1996 – Whitewater controversy: President Bill Clinton gives a 4½ hour videotaped testimony for the defense.
  • 1996 – Port Arthur massacre, Tasmania: A gunman, Martin Bryant, opens fire at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.
  • 2004 – CBS News released evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The photographs show rape and abuse from the American troops over Iraqi detainees.

Births on April 28

  • AD 32 – Otho, Roman emperor (d. 69 AD)
  • 1402 – Nezahualcoyotl, Acolhuan philosopher, warrior, poet and ruler (d. 1472)
  • 1442 – Edward IV, king of England (d. 1483)
  • 1545 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (d. 1598)
  • 1573 – Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême, son of Charles IX (d. 1650)
  • 1604 – Joris Jansen Rapelje, Dutch settler in colonial North America (d. 1662)
  • 1623 – Wilhelmus Beekman, Dutch politician (d. 1707)
  • 1630 – Charles Cotton, English poet and author (d. 1687)
  • 1676 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (d. 1751)
  • 1715 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1767)
  • 1758 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831)
  • 1761 – Marie Harel, French cheesemaker (d. 1844)
  • 1765 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
  • 1819 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (d. 1884)
  • 1827 – William Hall, Canadian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1904)
  • 1838 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and scholar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1913)
  • 1848 – Ludvig Schytte, Danish pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1909)
  • 1854 – Hertha Marks Ayrton, Polish-British engineer, mathematician, and physicist. (d. 1923)
  • 1855 – José Malhoa, Portuguese painter (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician, 7th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1933)
  • 1863 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (d. 1929)
  • 1865 – Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1868 – Lucy Booth, English composer (d. 1953)
  • 1868 – Georgy Voronoy, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1908)
  • 1874 – Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1936)
  • 1874 – Sidney Toler, American actor and director (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Nicola Romeo, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1938)
  • 1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor and director (d. 1954)
  • 1886 – Erich Salomon, German-born news photographer (d. 1944)
  • 1886 – Art Shaw, American hurdler (d. 1955)
  • 1888 – Walter Tull, English footballer and soldier (d. 1918)
  • 1889 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1970)
  • 1896 – Na Hye-sok, South Korean journalist, poet, and painter (d. 1948)
  • 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (d. 1963)
  • 1897 – Ye Jianying, Chinese general and politician, Head of State of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Alice Berry, Australian activist (d. 1978)
  • 1900 – Heinrich Müller, German SS officer (d. 1945)
  • 1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – H. B. Stallard, English runner and surgeon (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author and critic (d. 1979)
  • 1906 – Kurt Gödel, Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Ethel Catherwood, American-Canadian high jumper and javelin thrower (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (d. 1974)
  • 1909 – Arthur Võõbus, Estonian-American theologist and orientalist (d. 1988)
  • 1910 – Sam Merwin, Jr., American author (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Lee Falk, American director, producer, and playwright (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Odette Hallowes, French soldier and spy (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Kaneto Shindō, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Rose Murphy, American singer (d. 1989)
  • 1914 – Michel Mohrt, French author, historian (d. 2011)
  • 1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, created Lamborghini (d. 1993)
  • 1917 – Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Rowland Evans, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
  • 1921 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Carolyn Cassady, American author (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian educator and politician, 1st President of Zambia
  • 1925 – T. John Lesinski, American judge and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – John Leonard Thorn, English lieutenant, author, and academic
  • 1926 – James Bama, American artist and illustrator
  • 1926 – Bill Blackbeard, American historian and author (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Harper Lee, American novelist (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Hulusi Sayın, Turkish general (d. 1991)
  • 1928 – Yves Klein, French painter (d. 1962)
  • 1928 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (d. 1997)
  • 1930 – James Baker, American lawyer and politician, 61st United States Secretary of State
  • 1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1933 – Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American neuropharmacologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Lois Duncan, American journalist and author (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Pedro Ramos, Cuban baseball player
  • 1935 – Jimmy Wray, Scottish boxer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (d. 2006)
  • 1937 – Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – John White, Scottish international footballer(d. 1964)
  • 1938 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1941 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1941 – Lucien Aimar, French cyclist
  • 1941 – John Madejski, English businessman and academic
  • 1941 – Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Mike Brearley, English cricketer and psychoanalyst
  • 1943 – Aryeh Bibi, Iraqi-born Israeli politician
  • 1944 – Elizabeth LeCompte, American director and producer
  • 1944 – Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician, 10th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
  • 1944 – Alice Waters, American chef and author
  • 1946 – Nour El-Sherif, Egyptian actor and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Ginette Reno, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1946 – Larissa Grunig, American theorist and activist
  • 1947 – Christian Jacq, French historian and author
  • 1947 – Nicola LeFanu, English composer and academic
  • 1947 – Steve Khan, American jazz guitarist
  • 1948 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1948 – Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1949 – Jeremy Cooke, English lawyer and judge
  • 1949 – Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
  • 1949 – Bruno Kirby, American actor and director (d. 2006)
  • 1950 – Willie Colón, Puerto Rican-American trombonist and producer
  • 1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian, talk show host, and producer
  • 1950 – Steve Rider, English journalist and sportscaster
  • 1951 – Tim Congdon, English economist and politician
  • 1951 – Larry Smith, Canadian football player and politician
  • 1952 – Chuck Leavell, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
  • 1953 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (d. 2003)
  • 1953 – Kim Gordon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1953 – Brian Greenhoff, English footballer and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Timothy Curley, American educator
  • 1954 – Michael P. Jackson, American politician, 3rd Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
  • 1954 – Vic Sotto, Filipino actor-producer, singer-songwriter, comedian and television personality
  • 1954 – Ron Zook, American football player and coach
  • 1955 – Eddie Jobson, English keyboard player and violinist
  • 1955 – Dieter Rubach, German bass player
  • 1956 – Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Wilma Landkroon, Dutch singer
  • 1958 – Hal Sutton, American golfer
  • 1960 – Tom Browning, American baseball player
  • 1960 – Elena Kagan, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
  • 1960 – Phil King, English bass player
  • 1960 – Ian Rankin, Scottish author
  • 1960 – Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strongman and weightlifter (d. 1993)
  • 1960 – Walter Zenga, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Sandrine Dumas, French actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Lloyd Eisler, Canadian figure skater and coach
  • 1963 – Marc Lacroix, Belgian biochemist and academic
  • 1964 – Stephen Ames, Trinidadian golfer
  • 1964 – Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese composer
  • 1964 – Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar, English surgeon and academic
  • 1964 – Barry Larkin, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1964 – L’Wren Scott, American model and fashion designer (d. 2014)
  • 1965 – Jennifer Rardin, American author (d. 2010)
  • 1966 – John Daly, American golfer
  • 1966 – Too Short, American rapper, producer and actor
  • 1967 – Chris White, English engineer and politician
  • 1968 – Howard Donald, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1968 – Andy Flower, South-African-Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
  • 1969 – LeRon Perry Ellis, American basketball player
  • 1970 – Richard Fromberg, Australian tennis player
  • 1970 – Nicklas Lidström, Swedish ice hockey player and scout
  • 1970 – Diego Simeone, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Brad McEwan, Australian journalist
  • 1972 – Violent J, American rapper
  • 1972 – Helena Tulve, Estonian composer
  • 1972 – Jean-Paul van Gastel, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Jorge Garcia, American actor and producer
  • 1973 – Earl Holmes, American football player and coach
  • 1973 – Andrew Mehrtens, South African-New Zealand rugby player
  • 1974 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and producer
  • 1974 – Margo Dydek, Polish basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1974 – Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
  • 1974 – Vernon Kay, English radio and television host
  • 1974 – Dominic Matteo, Scottish footballer and journalist
  • 1975 – Michael Walchhofer, Austrian skier
  • 1976 – Shane Jurgensen, Australian cricketer
  • 1978 – Lauren Laverne, English singer and television host
  • 1978 – Robert Oliveri, American actor
  • 1978 – Nate Richert, American actor
  • 1979 – Scott Fujita, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1980 – Bradley Wiggins, English cyclist
  • 1981 – Jessica Alba, American model and actress
  • 1981 – Pietro Travagli, Italian rugby player
  • 1982 – Nikki Grahame, English model and journalist
  • 1982 – Chris Kaman, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Josh Brookes, Australian motorcycle racer
  • 1983 – David Freese, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Roger Johnson, English footballer
  • 1983 – Graham Wagg, English cricketer
  • 1983 – Thomas Waldrom, New Zealand-English rugby player
  • 1984 – Dmitri Torbinski, Russian footballer
  • 1985 – Lucas Jakubczyk, German sprinter and long jumper
  • 1985 – Deividas Stagniūnas, Lithuanian ice dancer
  • 1986 – Roman Polák, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Jenna Ushkowitz, Korean-American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1987 – Ryan Conroy, Scottish footballer
  • 1987 – Samantha Akkineni, Indian actress and model
  • 1987 – Bradley Johnson, English footballer
  • 1987 – Zoran Tošić, Serbian footballer
  • 1988 – Jonathan Biabiany, French footballer
  • 1988 – Juan Manuel Mata, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Katariina Tuohimaa, Finnish tennis player
  • 1989 – Emil Salomonsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1989 – Kim Sung-kyu, South Korean singer
  • 1990 – Niels-Peter Mørck, Danish footballer
  • 1992 – Blake Bortles, American football player
  • 1992 – DeMarcus Lawrence, American football player
  • 1993 – Craig Garvey, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Eva Samková, Czech snowboarder
  • 1995 – Jonathan Benteke, Belgian footballer
  • 1995 – Melanie Martinez, American singer

Deaths on April 28

  • 224 – Artabanus V of Parthia (b. 191)
  • 948 – Hu Jinsi, Chinese general and prefect
  • 988 – Adaldag, archbishop of Bremen
  • 1109 – Abbot Hugh of Cluny (b. 1024)
  • 1192 – Conrad of Montferrat (b. 1140)
  • 1197 – Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth (b. 1132)
  • 1257 – Shajar al-Durr, sovereign sultana of Egypt
  • 1260 – Luchesius Modestini, founding member of the Third Order of St. Francis
  • 1400 – Baldus de Ubaldis, Italian jurist (b. 1327)
  • 1489 – Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1449)
  • 1533 – Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1461)
  • 1643 – Francisco de Lucena, Portuguese politician (b. 1578)
  • 1710 – Thomas Betterton, English actor and manager (b. 1630)
  • 1716 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (b. 1673)
  • 1726 – Thomas Pitt, English merchant and politician (b. 1653)
  • 1741 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (b. 1668)
  • 1772 – Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician and politician (b. 1737)
  • 1781 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (b. 1723)
  • 1813 – Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (b. 1745)
  • 1816 – Johann Heinrich Abicht, German philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1762)
  • 1841 – Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (b. 1803)
  • 1853 – Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet (b. 1773)
  • 1858 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (b. 1801)
  • 1865 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian-English businessman, founded Cunard Line (b. 1787)
  • 1881 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (b. 1818)
  • 1883 – John Russell, English hunter and dog breeder (b. 1795)
  • 1902 – Cyprien Tanguay, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1819)
  • 1903 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American scientist (b. 1839)
  • 1905 – Fitzhugh Lee, American general and politician, 40th Governor of Virginia (b. 1835)
  • 1925 – Richard Butler, English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
  • 1928 – May Jordan McConnel, Australian trade unionist and suffragist (b. 1860)
  • 1929 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (b. 1879)
  • 1936 – Fuad I of Egypt (b. 1868)
  • 1944 – Mohammed Alim Khan, Manghud ruler (b. 1880)
  • 1944 – Frank Knox, American journalist and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1874)
  • 1945 – Roberto Farinacci, Italian soldier and politician (b. 1892)
  • 1945 – Hermann Fegelein, German general (b. 1906)
  • 1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1883)
  • 1946 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and academic (b. 1870)
  • 1954 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1956 – Fred Marriott, American race car driver (b. 1872)
  • 1957 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
  • 1962 – Bennie Osler, South African rugby player (b. 1901)
  • 1963 – Wilhelm Weber, German gymnast (b. 1880)
  • 1970 – Ed Begley, American actor (b. 1901)
  • 1973 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (b. 1893)
  • 1976 – Richard Hughes, American author and poet (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Ricardo Cortez, American actor (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Sepp Herberger, German footballer and coach (b. 1897)
  • 1978 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (b. 1909)
  • 1980 – Tommy Caldwell, American bass player (b. 1949)
  • 1987 – Ben Linder, American engineer and activist (b. 1959)
  • 1991 – Steve Broidy, American film producer (b. 1905)
  • 1992 – Francis Bacon, Irish painter (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Diva Diniz Corrêa, Brazilian zoologist (b. 1918)
  • 1993 – Jim Valvano, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
  • 1994 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
  • 1996 – Lester Sumrall, American minister, founded LeSEA (b. 1913)
  • 1997 – Ann Petry, American novelist (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 1999 – Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 1999 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1927)
  • 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and manager (b. 1920)
  • 1999 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2000 – Penelope Fitzgerald, English author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (b. 1950)
  • 2002 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Percy Heath, American bassist (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (b. 1971)
  • 2005 – Taraki Sivaram, Sri Lankan journalist and author (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Steve Howe, American baseball player (b. 1958)
  • 2007 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – René Mailhot, Canadian journalist (b. 1942)
  • 2007 – Tommy Newsom, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Bertha Wilson, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and jurist (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina and actress (b. 1939)
  • 2009 – Richard Pratt, Polish-Australian businessman (b. 1934)
  • 2011 – Erhard Loretan, Swiss mountaineer (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and author (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Al Ecuyer, American football player (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Patricia Medina, English actress (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Milan N. Popović, Serbian psychiatrist and author (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Aberdeen Shikoyi, Kenyan rugby player (b. 1985)
  • 2013 – Brad Lesley, American baseball player (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Fredrick McKissack, American author (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Bernie Wood, New Zealand journalist and author (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Barbara Fiske Calhoun, American cartoonist and painter (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – William Honan, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Edgar Laprade, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Idris Sardi, Indonesian violinist and composer (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Ryan Tandy, Australian rugby player (b. 1981)
  • 2015 – Antônio Abujamra, Brazilian actor and director (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Marcia Brown, American author and illustrator (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Michael J. Ingelido, American general (b. 1916)
  • 2016 – Jenny Diski, English author and screenwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2017 – Mariano Gagnon, American Catholic priest and author (b. 1929)
  • 2018 – James Hylton, American race car driver (b. 1934)
  • 2019 – Richard Lugar, American politician (b.1932)
  • 2019 – John Singleton, American film director (b. 1968)

Holidays and observances on April 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aphrodisius and companions
    • Gianna Beretta Molla
    • Kirill of Turov (Orthodox, added to Roman Martyrology in 1969)
    • Louis de Montfort
    • Pamphilus of Sulmona
    • Peter Chanel
    • Vitalis and Valeria of Milan
    • April 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Lawyers’ Day (Odisha, India)
  • Mujahideen Victory Day (Afghanistan)
  • National Heroes Day (Barbados)
  • Restoration of Sovereignty Day (Japan)
  • Sardinia Day (Sardinia)
  • Workers’ Memorial Day and World Day for Safety and Health at Work (international)
    • National Day of Mourning (Canada)

April 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

April 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
  • 1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de’ Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral.
  • 1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown).
  • 1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
  • 1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
  • 1777 – Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces
  • 1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
  • 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France.
  • 1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L’Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.
  • 1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.
  • 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia.
  • 1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded
  • 1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
  • 1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.
  • 1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
  • 1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.
  • 1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden.
  • 1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.
  • 1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.
  • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
  • 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
  • 1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
  • 1956 – SS Ideal X, the world’s first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas.
  • 1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
  • 1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years of dictatorial rule.
  • 1962 – NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
  • 1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
  • 1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
  • 1966 – The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (Very strong). Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.
  • 1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.
  • 1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.
  • 1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world’s first human open fetal surgery.
  • 1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
  • 1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
  • 1989 – The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
  • 1989 – People’s Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests.
  • 1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak’s end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year’s only F5 tornado.
  • 1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
  • 2002 – Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
  • 2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).
  • 2018 – American comedian Bill Cosby is found guilty of sexual assault.

Births on April 26

  • 121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (d. 180)
  • 757 – Hisham I of Córdoba (d. 796)
  • 764 – Al-Hadi, Iranian caliph (d. 786)
  • 1284 – Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (d. 1324)
  • 1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
  • 1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic (d. 1600)
  • 1575 – Marie de’ Medici, queen of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
  • 1647 – William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (d. 1720)
  • 1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
  • 1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer (d. 1754)
  • 1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)
  • 1718 – Esek Hopkins, American commander (d. 1802)
  • 1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)
  • 1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)
  • 1785 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)
  • 1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)
  • 1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer (d. 1863)
  • 1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)
  • 1804 – Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 1876)
  • 1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)
  • 1834 – Charles Farrar Browne, American author (d. 1867)
  • 1856 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
  • 1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (d. 1938)
  • 1876 – Ernst Felle, German rower (d. 1959)
  • 1877 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1950)
  • 1878 – Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)
  • 1879 – Eric Campbell, British actor (d. 1917)
  • 1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
  • 1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
  • 1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (d. 1913)
  • 1889 – Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1951)
  • 1894 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)
  • 1896 – Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Ernst Udet, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
  • 1897 – Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)
  • 1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
  • 1898 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1958)
  • 1900 – Eva Aschoff, German bookbinder and calligrapher (d. 1969)
  • 1900 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)
  • 1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
  • 1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
  • 1905 – Jean Vigo, French director and screenwriter (d. 1934)
  • 1907 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
  • 1909 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
  • 1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1911 – Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (d. 1986)
  • 1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Bernard Malamud, Jewish American novelist and short story writer (d. 1986)
  • 1914 – James Rouse, American real estate developer (d. 1996)
  • 1916 – Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Morris West, Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)
  • 1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (d. 1992)
  • 1917 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower (d. 2019)
  • 1917 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)
  • 1922 – Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (d. 1998)
  • 1925 – Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Frank Hahn, British economist (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Granny Hamner, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster
  • 1931 – Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1931 – John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)
  • 1932 – Shirley Cawley, English long jumper
  • 1932 – Frank D’Rone, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
  • 1933 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer
  • 1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (d. 2005)
  • 1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff, American author and educator
  • 1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter
  • 1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league player (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Claudine Auger, French model and actress (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate
  • 1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
  • 1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor
  • 1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic
  • 1943 – Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals
  • 1944 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (d. 2007)
  • 1945 – Howard Davies, English director and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Dick Johnson, Australian race car driver
  • 1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician
  • 1946 – Ralph Coates, English international footballer (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Marilyn Nelson, American poet and author
  • 1946 – Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer
  • 1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
  • 1951 – John Battle, English politician
  • 1954 – Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player
  • 1954 – Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer
  • 1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician
  • 1956 – Koo Stark, American actress and photographer
  • 1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish race car driver
  • 1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach
  • 1960 – Roger Taylor, English drummer
  • 1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Chris Mars, American artist
  • 1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
  • 1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
  • 1963 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer
  • 1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player
  • 1963 – Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler
  • 1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player
  • 1965 – Susannah Harker, English actress
  • 1965 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian
  • 1967 – Glenn Thomas Jacobs, American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician
  • 1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician
  • 1970 – Dean Austin, English footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States
  • 1970 – Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic
  • 1970 – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian race car driver
  • 1972 – Kiko, Spanish footballer
  • 1972 – Natrone Means, American football player and coach
  • 1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer
  • 1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
  • 1973 – Óscar García Junyent, Spanish footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Joey Jordison, American musician, songwriter, record producer
  • 1975 – Rahul Verma, Indian social worker and activist
  • 1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut
  • 1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
  • 1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author
  • 1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
  • 1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress
  • 1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
  • 1980 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress
  • 1980 – Marlon King, English footballer
  • 1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist
  • 1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor and producer
  • 1981 – Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer
  • 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer
  • 1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German skier (d. 2000)
  • 1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1983 – José María López, Argentinian race car driver
  • 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American soldier
  • 1984 – Emily Wickersham, American actress
  • 1985 – John Isner, American tennis player
  • 1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto, Chilean tennis player
  • 1986 – Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer
  • 1986 – Sean Evans, American YouTuber and producer
  • 1986 – Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner
  • 1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Ben Spina, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Manuel Viniegra, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Gareth Evans, English footballer
  • 1989 – Melvin Ingram, American football player
  • 1990 – Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (d. 2012)
  • 1991 – Lazaros Fotias, Greek footballer
  • 1991 – Peter Handscomb, Australian cricketer
  • 1991 – Will Heard, British singer and songwriter
  • 1991 – Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1991 – Srdjan Pejicic, Canadian/Bosnian basketball player
  • 1991 – Wojciech Pszczolarski, Polish bicycle racer
  • 1992 – Aaron Judge, American baseball player
  • 1994 – Daniil Kvyat, Russian race car driver

Deaths on  April 26

  • 499 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (b. 467)
  • 645 – Richarius, Frankish monk and saint (b. 560)
  • 680 – Muawiyah I, Umayyad caliph (b. 602)
  • 757 – Pope Stephen II (b. 715)
  • 893 – Chen Jingxuan, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 962 – Adalbero I, bishop of Metz
  • 1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
  • 1366 – Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1392 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (b. 1338)
  • 1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
  • 1478 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1453)
  • 1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1465)
  • 1558 – Jean Fernel, French physician (b. 1497)
  • 1686 – Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Swedish statesman and military man (b. 1622)
  • 1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English jurist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1651)
  • 1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish nun and educator, founded the Presentation Sisters (b. 1718)
  • 1789 – Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian general (b. 1721)
  • 1809 – Bernhard Schott, German music publisher (b. 1748)
  • 1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1838)
  • 1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
  • 1895 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian-English author and poet (b. 1860)
  • 1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)
  • 1915 – John Bunny, American actor (b. 1863)
  • 1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (b. 1887)
  • 1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)
  • 1934 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b. 1876)
  • 1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
  • 1944 – Violette Morris, French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1893)
  • 1945 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (b. 1909)
  • 1945 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (b. 1871)
  • 1946 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (b. 1882)
  • 1950 – George Murray Hulbert, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1881)
  • 1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
  • 1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (b. 1868)
  • 1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and author (b. 1882)
  • 1968 – John Heartfield, German illustrator and photographer (b. 1891)
  • 1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (b. 1883)
  • 1970 – Erik Bergman, Swedish minister and author (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, striptease dancer, and writer (b. 1911)
  • 1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress and philanthropist (b. 1902)
  • 1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
  • 1976 – Sid James, South African-English actor (b. 1913)
  • 1976 – Armstrong Sperry, American author and illustrator (b. 1897)
  • 1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer (b. 1893)
  • 1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
  • 1984 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1904)
  • 1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (b. 1911)
  • 1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
  • 1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
  • 1987 – Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (b. 1922)
  • 1987 – John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (b. 1923)
  • 1989 – Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (b. 1911)
  • 1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1904)
  • 1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
  • 1991 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (b. 1901)
  • 1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1931)
  • 1994 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (b. 1923)
  • 1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
  • 1999 – Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1957)
  • 1999 – Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (b. 1961)
  • 2003 – Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2003 – Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (b. 1984)
  • 2003 – Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1904)
  • 2004 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 2005 – Elisabeth Domitien, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (b. 1920)
  • 2010 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – DJ Rashad, American electronic musician, producer and DJ (b. 1979)
  • 2015 – Jayne Meadows, American actress (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (b. 1937)
  • 2017 – Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on April 26

  • Chernobyl disaster related observances:
    • Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy (Belarus)
    • Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes (Russia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Aldobrandesca (or Alda)
    • Franca Visalta
    • Lucidius of Verona
    • Our Lady of Good Counsel
    • Pope Anacletus and Marcellinus
    • Riquier
    • Paschasius Radbertus
    • Peter of Rates (or of Braga)
    • Robert Hunt (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Stephen of Perm, see also Old Permic Alphabet Day
    • Trudpert
    • April 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, United States)
  • Union Day (Tanzania)
  • World Intellectual Property Day

April 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome (traditional date).
  • 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
  • 900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations.
  • 1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II
  • 1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics.
  • 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
  • 1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
  • 1615 – The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta.
  • 1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
  • 1789 – George Washington’s reception at Trenton is hosted by the Ladies of Trenton as he journeys to New York City for his first inauguration.
  • 1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
  • 1802 – Twelve thousand Wahhabis under Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, invaded city of Karbala, killed over three thousand inhabitants, and sacked the city.
  • 1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
  • 1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl.
  • 1821 – Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile.
  • 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
  • 1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.
  • 1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
  • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
  • 1914 – Ypiranga incident: A German arms shipment to Mexico is intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Veracruz.
  • 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
  • 1926 – Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi’a Imams, is leveled to the ground by Wahhabis.
  • 1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
  • 1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 relating to Kashmir conflict is adopted.
  • 1952 – Secretary’s Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) is first celebrated.
  • 1958 – United Airlines Flight 736 collides into a United States Air Force fighter jet near Arden, Nevada in what is now Enterprise, Nevada.
  • 1960 – Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
  • 1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II.
  • 1963 – The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Bahá’í Faith.
  • 1964 – A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed.
  • 1965 – The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
  • 1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
  • 1967 – A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d’état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
  • 1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
  • 1977 – Annie opens on Broadway.
  • 1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
  • 1985 – The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in Arkansas after a two-day government siege.
  • 1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
  • 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
  • 1993 – The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution.
  • 2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.
  • 2010 – The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; it was unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014.
  • 2012 – Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, injuring 116 people.
  • 2014 – The American city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source to the Flint River, beginning the ongoing Flint water crisis which has caused lead poisoning in up to 12,000 people, and 15 deaths from Legionnaires disease, ultimately leading to criminal indictments against 15 people, five of whom have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
  • 2019 – Eight bombs explode at churches, hotels, and other locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday; more than 200 people are killed.

Births on April 21

  • 1132 – Sancho VI, king of Navarre (d. 1194)
  • 1488 – Ulrich von Hutten, German religious reformer (d. 1523)
  • 1523 – Marco Antonio Bragadin, Venetian lawyer and military officer (d. 1571)
  • 1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1619)
  • 1619 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Town (d. 1677)
  • 1630 – Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten, Dutch-English painter (d. 1700)
  • 1631 – Francesco Maidalchini, Catholic cardinal (d. 1700)
  • 1642 – Simon de la Loubère, French mathematician, poet, and diplomat (d. 1729)
  • 1651 – Joseph Vaz, Sri Lankan priest, missionary, and saint (d. 1711)
  • 1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (d. 1719)
  • 1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
  • 1673 – Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1742)
  • 1713 – Louis de Noailles, French general (d. 1793)
  • 1730 – Antonín Kammel, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1788)
  • 1752 – Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait, French engineer, hydrographer, and politician, French Minister of Marine and the Colonies (d. 1807)
  • 1752 – Humphry Repton, English gardener and author (d. 1818)
  • 1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1862)
  • 1775 – Alexander Anderson, Scottish-American illustrator and engraver (d. 1870)
  • 1790 – Manuel Blanco Encalada, Spanish-Chilean admiral and politician, 1st President of Chile (d. 1876)
  • 1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician, 10th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
  • 1811 – Alson Sherman, American merchant and politician, 8th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
  • 1814 – Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, English art collector and philanthropist (d. 1906)
  • 1816 – Charlotte Brontë, Cornish-English novelist and poet (d. 1855)
  • 1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish lieutenant and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
  • 1838 – John Muir, Scottish-American environmentalist and author (d. 1914)
  • 1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1939)
  • 1854 – William Stang, German-American bishop (d. 1907)
  • 1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
  • 1868 – Alfred Henry Maurer, American painter (d. 1932)
  • 1870 – Edwin Stanton Porter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1941)
  • 1874 – Vincent Scotto, French actor and composer (d. 1952)
  • 1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1885 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (d. 1967)
  • 1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)
  • 1889 – Marcel Boussac, French businessman (d. 1980)
  • 1889 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
  • 1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
  • 1892 – Freddie Dixon, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1956)
  • 1893 – Romeo Bertini, Italian runner (d. 1973)
  • 1898 – Maurice Wilson, English soldier, pilot, and mountaineer (d. 1934)
  • 1899 – Randall Thompson, American composer and academic (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – Luis Saslavsky, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1904 – Jean Hélion, French painter (d. 1987)
  • 1904 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (d. 1945)
  • 1905 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – Kemal Satır, Turkish physician and politician (d. 1991)
  • 1912 – Eve Arnold, Russian-American photojournalist (d. 2012)
  • 1912 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
  • 1913 – Norman Parkinson, English photographer (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Angelo Savoldi, Italian-American wrestler and promoter, co-founded International World Class Championship Wrestling (d. 2013)
  • 1915 – Garrett Hardin, American ecologist, author, and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Estella B. Diggs, American businesswoman and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Eddy Christiani, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1919 – Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (d. 1981)
  • 1919 – Licio Gelli, Italian financer (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
  • 1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1922 – Allan Watkins, Welsh-English cricketer (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Ira Louvin, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player (d. 1965)
  • 1925 – Anthony Mason, Australian soldier and judge, 9th Chief Justice of Australia
  • 1925 – John Swinton of Kimmerghame, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms
  • 1926 – Arthur Rowley, English footballer, manager and cricketer (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (d. 1991)
  • 1928 – Jack Evans, Welsh-Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
  • 1930 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2004)
  • 1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
  • 1930 – Dieter Roth, German-Swiss illustrator and sculptor (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Slide Hampton, African-American trombonist and composer
  • 1932 – Elaine May, American actress, comedian, director, and screenwriter
  • 1932 – Angela Mortimer, English tennis player
  • 1933 – Edelmiro Amante, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Easley Blackwood, Jr., American pianist, composer, and educator
  • 1933 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host
  • 1935 – Thomas Kean, American academic and politician, 48th Governor of New Jersey
  • 1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist, psychologist, and author, founded Focus on the Family
  • 1936 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2009)
  • 1937 – Gary Peters, American baseball player
  • 1937 – Ben Zinn, Israeli-born American academic and former international soccer player
  • 1939 – John McCabe, English pianist and composer (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, activist, and author
  • 1939 – Reni Santoni, American actor
  • 1940 – Jacques Caron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1940 – Souleymane Cissé, Malian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1941 – David L. Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma
  • 1942 – Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand politician, 33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1945 – Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Indian cricketer and umpire
  • 1945 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (d. 2017)
  • 1945 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)
  • 1947 – Al Bumbry, American baseball player
  • 1947 – Iggy Pop, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1947 – John Weider, English bass player
  • 1948 – Gary Condit, American businessman and politician
  • 1948 – Paul Davis, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2008)
  • 1948 – Josef Flammer, Swiss ophthalmologist
  • 1948 – Dieter Fromm, German runner
  • 1949 – Patti LuPone, American actress and singer
  • 1950 – Shivaji Satam, Indian actor
  • 1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and producer
  • 1951 – Michael Freedman, American mathematician and academic
  • 1951 – Bob Varsha, American sportscaster
  • 1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1952 – Gerald Early, American author and academic
  • 1952 – Cheryl Gillan, British businesswoman and politician, Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1953 – John Brumby, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Victoria
  • 1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – James Morrison, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Murathan Mungan, Turkish author, poet, and playwright
  • 1955 – Doug Soetaert, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1956 – Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist
  • 1957 – Hervé Le Tellier, French linguist and author
  • 1957 – Jesse Orosco, American baseball player
  • 1957 – Herbert Wetterauer, German painter, sculptor, and author
  • 1958 – Andie MacDowell, American model, actress, and producer
  • 1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese illustrator (d. 2009)
  • 1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author
  • 1959 – Tim Jacobus, American illustrator and painter
  • 1959 – Olga Kuragina, Russian pentathlete
  • 1959 – Arno Pijpers, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1959 – Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
  • 1960 – Julius Korir, Kenyan runner
  • 1961 – Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress
  • 1961 – Carey Hayes, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Chad Hayes, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Neale Marmon, English-German footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1961 – David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (d. 2011)
  • 1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player and coach
  • 1962 – Craig Robinson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Aavo Sarap, Estonian footballer and coach
  • 1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
  • 1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
  • 1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Alex Baumann, Czech-Canadian swimmer
  • 1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-Swedish hurdler
  • 1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Karen Foster, American model and actress
  • 1965 – Gary Grant, American basketball player
  • 1965 – Thomas Helmer, German footballer
  • 1965 – Fiona Kelleghan, American academic, critic and librarian
  • 1967 – Emilio Valle, Cuban hurdler
  • 1968 – Peter van Vossen, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1969 – John Kibowen, Kenyan runner
  • 1969 – Toby Stephens, English actor
  • 1970 – Jeff Anderson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1970 – Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian
  • 1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Axl Rotten, American wrestler (d. 2016)
  • 1971 – Michael Turner, American author and illustrator (d. 2008)
  • 1972 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (d. 2001)
  • 1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
  • 1973 – Steve Backshall, English naturalist, writer, and television presenter
  • 1973 – Jonathan Nsenga, Belgian hurdler and coach
  • 1974 – Maksim Gruznov, Estonian footballer
  • 1974 – Orlando Jordan, American wrestler
  • 1974 – David Peachey, Australian rugby league player
  • 1975 – Danyon Loader, New Zealand swimmer
  • 1976 – Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
  • 1976 – Petero Civoniceva, Fijian-Australian rugby league player
  • 1977 – Gyula Koi, Hungarian scholar and educator
  • 1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
  • 1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
  • 1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer
  • 1978 – Yuliya Pechonkina, Russian hurdler
  • 1979 – Virginie Basselot, French chef
  • 1979 – Tobias Linderoth, French-Swedish footballer and coach
  • 1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
  • 1980 – Jeff Keppinger, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
  • 1981 – Mads Junker, Danish footballer
  • 1982 – Khalif Barnes, American football player
  • 1982 – Micheal Luck, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Carnell Williams, American football player
  • 1983 – Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
  • 1983 – Marco Donadel, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (d. 2020)
  • 1984 – Shayna Fox, American voice actress
  • 1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
  • 1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Rodney Stuckey, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Mirko Valdifiori, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
  • 1987 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Leroy George, Dutch footballer
  • 1987 – Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian singer
  • 1988 – Ricky Berens, American swimmer
  • 1988 – Jencarlos Canela, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Adam Rooney, Irish footballer
  • 1989 – Tatyana McFadden, Russian-American sprinter and skier
  • 1989 – Carlos Muñoz, Chilean footballer
  • 1990 – Aleksandar Prijović, Swiss-born Serbian footballer
  • 1992 – Isco, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Rene Santos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1992 – Joc Pederson, American baseball player
  • 1994 – Mitchell Weiser, German footballer

Deaths on April 21

  • 234 – Emperor Xian of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 181)
  • 586 – Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths
  • 847 – Odgar, Frankish archbishop of Mainz
  • 866 – Bardas, de facto regent of the Byzantine Empire
  • 941 – Bajkam, de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate
  • 1073 – Pope Alexander II
  • 1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Italian-English archbishop and saint (b. 1033)
  • 1136 – Stephen, Count of Tréguier Breton noblemen (b. c. 1058/62)
  • 1142 – Peter Abelard, French philosopher and theologian (b. 1079)
  • 1213 – Maria of Montpellier, Lady of Montpellier, Queen of Aragon (b. 1182)
  • 1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
  • 1400 – John Wittlebury, English politician (b. 1333)
  • 1509 – Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
  • 1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1495)
  • 1574 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
  • 1591 – Sen no Rikyū, Japanese exponent of the tea ceremony (b. 1522)
  • 1650 – Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, Japanese samurai (b. 1607)
  • 1668 – Jan Boeckhorst, Flemish painter (b. c. 1604)
  • 1699 – Jean Racine, French playwright and poet (b. 1639)
  • 1719 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1640)
  • 1720 – Antoine Hamilton, Irish-French soldier and author (b. 1646)
  • 1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., English historian and author (b. 1673)
  • 1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy (b. 1663)
  • 1740 – Thomas Tickell, English poet and author (b. 1685)
  • 1758 – Francesco Zerafa, Maltese architect (b. 1679)
  • 1815 – Joseph Winston, American soldier and politician (b. 1746)
  • 1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
  • 1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
  • 1863 – Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, Irish politician (b. 1782)
  • 1900 – Vikramatji Khimojiraj, Indian ruler (b. 1819)
  • 1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835)
  • 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (b. 1892)
  • 1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
  • 1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet and author (b. 1844)
  • 1932 – Friedrich Gustav Piffl, Bohemian cardinal (b. 1864)
  • 1938 – Muhammad Iqbal, Indian-Pakistani philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
  • 1941 – Fritz Manteuffel, German gymnast (b. 1875)
  • 1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
  • 1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher (b. 1883)
  • 1948 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (b. 1887)
  • 1952 – Leslie Banks, American actor, director and producer (b. 1890)
  • 1954 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (b. 1897)
  • 1956 – Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1895)
  • 1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
  • 1971 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (b. 1907)
  • 1973 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
  • 1973 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1910)
  • 1974 – Chic Harley, American football player (b. 1894)
  • 1977 – Gummo Marx, American vaudevillian and talent agent (b. 1893)
  • 1978 – Sandy Denny, English singer-songwriter (b.1947)
  • 1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American biologist and academic (b. 1877)
  • 1980 – Alexander Oparin, Russian biochemist and academic (b. 1894)
  • 1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet and painter (b. 1928)
  • 1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian-American actor and singer (b. 1902)
  • 1984 – Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian engineer and mountaineer (b. 1943)
  • 1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the monokini (b. 1922)
  • 1985 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian banker and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (b. 1910)
  • 1986 – Marjorie Eaton, American painter and actress (b. 1901)
  • 1986 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1987 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1906)
  • 1989 – James Kirkwood, Jr., American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1924)
  • 1990 – Erté, Russian-French illustrator (b. 1892)
  • 1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-born American engineer and race car driver (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen general and politician, 1st President of Ichkeria (b. 1944)
  • 1996 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1925)
  • 1996 – Jimmy Snyder, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
  • 1998 – Jean-François Lyotard, French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1924)
  • 1999 – Buddy Rogers, American actor (b. 1904)
  • 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933)
  • 2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Gerry Marshall, English race car driver and journalist (b. 1941)
  • 2006 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand commander and pilot (b. 1912)
  • 2006 – T. K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
  • 2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
  • 2009 – Vivian Maier, American photographer (b. 1926)
  • 2010 – Gustav Lorentzen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, seventh President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1920)
  • 2010 – Kanagaratnam Sriskandan, Sri Lankan-English engineer and civil servant (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Catharina Halkes, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Doris Betts, American author and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Charles Colson, American lawyer and activist, founded Prison Fellowship (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Albert Falco, French captain and diver (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Charles Higham, English-American author and poet (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Jerry Toppazzini, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1959)
  • 2013 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian mathematician and astrologer (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, author, and educator (b. 1905)
  • 2013 – Gordon D. Gayle, American general and historian (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Janet Gray Hayes, American politician, 60th Mayor of San Jose (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (b. 1912)
  • 2015 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – John Moshoeu, South African footballer and manager (b. 1965)
  • 2015 – Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Indian politician, Governor of Assam (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters, Canadian general (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Betsy von Furstenberg, German-American actress (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1958)
  • 2017 – Ugo Ehiogu, English footballer (b. 1972)
  • 2018 – Verne Troyer, American actor (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – Nabi Tajima, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest Japanese and Asian person ever, last verified person born in the 19th century (b. 1900)
  • 2019 – Polly Higgins, Scottish barrister, author and environmental lobbyist, (b. 1968)

Holidays and observances April 21

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abdecalas
    • Anastasius Sinaita
    • Anselm of Canterbury
    • Beuno
    • Conrad of Parzham
    • Holy Infant of Good Health
    • Shemon Bar Sabbae
    • Wolbodo
    • April 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Civil Service Day (India)
  • Grounation Day (Rastafari movement)
  • Heroic Defense of Veracruz (Mexico)
  • Kang Pan-sok’s Birthday (North Korea)
  • Kartini Day (Indonesia)
  • Local Self Government Day (Russia)
  • National Tea Day (United Kingdom)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Kenya)
  • San Jacinto Day (Texas)
  • Queen’s Official Birthday (Falkland Islands)
  • Tiradentes’ Day (Brazil)
  • Vietnam Book Day (Vietnam)

April 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 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 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
  • 1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica is laid.
  • 1518 – Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.
  • 1521 – Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.
  • 1689 – Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
  • 1738 – Real Academia de la Historia (“Royal Academy of History”) is founded in Madrid.
  • 1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.
  • 1783 – Three-Fifths Compromise: the first instance of black slaves in the United States of America being counted as three fifths of persons (for the purpose of taxation), in a resolution of the Congress of the Confederation. This was later adopted in the 1787 Constitution.
  • 1831 – The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
  • 1847 – American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.
  • 1857 – “The Spirits Book” by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France.
  • 1864 – Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.
  • 1897 – The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1899 – The St. Andrew’s Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria.
  • 1902 – The 7.5 Mw  Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800–2,000.
  • 1906 – An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.
  • 1909 – Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
  • 1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
  • 1915 – French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
  • 1923 – Yankee Stadium: “The House that Ruth Built” opens.
  • 1925 – The International Amateur Radio Union is formed in Paris.
  • 1930 – The British Broadcasting Corporation announced that “there is no news” in their evening report.
  • 1939 – Robert Menzies, who became Australia’s longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.
  • 1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
  • 1943 – World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.
  • 1945 – Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.
  • 1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
  • 1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act comes into effect.
  • 1949 – The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.
  • 1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
  • 1955 – Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.
  • 1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country’s first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.
  • 1983 – A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.
  • 1987 – The New York Islanders defeat the Washington Capitals 3–2 in Game 7 of their Patrick Division Semifinal series.
  • 1988 – The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.
  • 1996 – In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the United Nations compound at Qana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.
  • 1997 – The Red River flood begins and soon overwhelms the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fire breaks out and spreads in downtown Grand Forks, but high water levels hamper efforts to reach the fire, leading to the destruction of 11 buildings.
  • 1999 – Wayne Gretzky, the National Hockey League’s all-time points scorer, plays his final game at Madison Square Garden as a teammate of the New York Rangers in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky recorded his final career point, an assist, bringing his career point total to 2,857.
  • 2007 – A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.
  • 2013 – A suicide bombing in a Baghdad cafe kills 27 people and injures another 65.
  • 2018 – King Mswati III of Swaziland announces that his country’s name will change to Eswatini.
  • 2019 – A redacted version of the Mueller Report is released to the United States Congress and the public.
  • 2020 – Coronavirus Pandemic: Europe surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.

Births on April 18

  • 359 – Gratian, Roman emperor (d. 383)
  • 588 – K’an II, Mayan ruler (d. 658)
  • 812 – Al-Wathiq, Abbasid caliph (d. 847)
  • 1446 – Ippolita Maria Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1484)
  • 1480 – Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI
  • 1503 – Henry II of Navarre, (d. 1555)
  • 1534 – William Harrison, English clergyman (d. 1593)
  • 1580 – Thomas Middleton, English Jacobean playwright and poet (d. 1627)
  • 1590 – Ahmed I, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1617)
  • 1605 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1674)
  • 1666 – Jean-Féry Rebel, French violinist and composer (d. 1747)
  • 1740 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician (d. 1810)
  • 1759 – Jacques Widerkehr, French cellist and composer (d. 1823)
  • 1771 – Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (d. 1820)
  • 1772 – David Ricardo, British economist and politician (d. 1823)
  • 1794 – William Debenham, English founder of Debenhams (d. 1863)
  • 1797 – Adolphe Thiers, French historian and politician, 2nd President of France (d. 1877)
  • 1813 – James McCune Smith, African-American physician, apothecary, abolitionist, and author (d. 1865)
  • 1819 – Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban lawyer and activist (d. 1874)
  • 1819 – Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1895)
  • 1838 – Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French chemist and academic (d. 1912)
  • 1854 – Ludwig Levy, German architect (d. 1907)
  • 1857 – Clarence Darrow, American lawyer (d. 1938)
  • 1858 – Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian educator and activist, Bharat Ratna Awardee (d. 1962)
  • 1858 – Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and author (d. 1935)
  • 1863 – Count Leopold Berchtold, Austrian-Hungarian politician and diplomat, Joint Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary (d. 1942)
  • 1863 – Linton Hope, English sailor and architect (d. 1920)
  • 1864 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (d. 1916)
  • 1874 – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Croatian author and poet (d. 1938)
  • 1877 – Vicente Sotto, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
  • 1879 – Korneli Kekelidze, Georgian philologist and scholar (d. 1962)
  • 1880 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (d. 1968)
  • 1882 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian ruler (d. 1964)
  • 1882 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (d. 1977)
  • 1884 – Jaan Anvelt, Estonian educator and politician (d. 1937)
  • 1888 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
  • 1889 – Jessie Street, Australian activist (d. 1970)
  • 1892 – Eugene Houdry, French-American mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1962)
  • 1893 – Violette Morris, French shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1944)
  • 1897 – Ardito Desio, Italian geologist and cartographer (d. 2001)
  • 1897 – Per-Erik Hedlund, Swedish skier (d. 1975)
  • 1898 – Patrick Hennessy, Irish soldier and businessman (d. 1981)
  • 1900 – Bertha Isaacs, Bahamian teacher, tennis player, politician and women’s rights activist (d. 1997)
  • 1901 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (d. 1967)
  • 1901 – László Németh, Hungarian dentist, author, and playwright (d. 1975)
  • 1902 – Waldemar Hammenhög, Swedish author (d. 1972)
  • 1902 – Giuseppe Pella, Italian politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1981)
  • 1904 – Pigmeat Markham, African-American comedian, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
  • 1905 – Sydney Halter, Canadian lawyer and businessman (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – George H. Hitchings, American physician and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1907 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Ilario Bandini, Italian businessman and racing driver (d. 1992)
  • 1911 – Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian Jewish-American physicist and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1914 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (d. 2014)
  • 1915 – Joy Davidman, Polish-Ukrainian Jewish American poet and author (d. 1960)
  • 1916 – Carl Burgos, American illustrator (d. 1984)
  • 1916 – Doug Peden, Canadian basketball player (d. 2005)
  • 1917 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1947)
  • 1918 – Gabriel Axel, Danish-French actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – André Bazin, French critic and theorist (d. 1958)
  • 1918 – Shinobu Hashimoto, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, founded CliffsNotes (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – Tony Mottola, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Virginia O’Brien, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
  • 1919 – Esther Afua Ocloo, Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – John F. Wiley, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Jean Richard, French actor and singer (d. 2001)
  • 1922 – Barbara Hale, American actress (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – Lord Kitchener, Trinidadian singer (d. 2000)
  • 1923 – Alfred Bieler, Swiss ice hockey player (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Beryl Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle, English engineer and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Henry Hyde, American commander, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer and author (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Doug Insole, English cricketer (d. 2017)
  • 1927 – Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist, author, and academic (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Polish journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Charles Pasqua, French businessman and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Otto Piene, German sculptor and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Peter Hordern, English soldier and politician
  • 1930 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor and singer
  • 1931 – Bill Miles, American director and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – James Drury, American actor (d. 2020)
  • 1934 – George Shirley, African-American tenor and educator
  • 1935 – Brian Clay, Australian rugby league player (d. 1987)
  • 1935 – Costas Ferris, Egyptian-Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1936 – Roger Graef, American-English criminologist, director, and producer
  • 1936 – Vladimir Hütt, Estonian physicist and philosopher (d. 1997)
  • 1936 – “TV” Tommy Ivo, American actor and drag racer
  • 1937 – Jan Kaplický, Czech architect, designed the Selfridges Building (d. 2009)
  • 1937 – Tatyana Shchelkanova, Russian long jumper and heptathlete (d. 2011)
  • 1937 – Teddy Taylor, Scottish journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1939 – Glen Hardin, American pianist and arranger
  • 1939 – Thomas J. Moyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Joseph L. Goldstein, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Mike Vickers, English guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
  • 1941 – Michael D. Higgins, Irish sociologist and politician, 9th President of Ireland
  • 1942 – Michael Beloff, English lawyer and academic
  • 1942 – Steve Blass, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1942 – Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic
  • 1942 – Jochen Rindt, German-Austrian racing driver (d. 1970)
  • 1944 – Kathy Acker, American author and poet (d. 1997)
  • 1944 – Frances D’Souza, Baroness D’Souza, English academic and politician
  • 1944 – Robert Hanssen, American FBI agent and double agent
  • 1944 – Philip Jackson, Scottish sculptor and photographer
  • 1945 – Bernard Arcand, Canadian anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
  • 1945 – Richard Bausch, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1945 – Robert Bausch, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1946 – Hayley Mills, English actress
  • 1946 – Tommy Shannon, American bass guitarist
  • 1947 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Dorothy Lyman, American actress
  • 1947 – Cindy Pickett, American actress
  • 1947 – Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – James Woods, American actor and producer
  • 1948 – Régis Wargnier, French director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Geoff Bodine, American race car driver
  • 1950 – Paul Callery, Australian footballer
  • 1950 – Tina Chow, American model and jewelry designer (d. 1992)
  • 1950 – Kenny Ortega, American director, producer, and choreographer
  • 1950 – Grigory Sokolov, Russian pianist and composer
  • 1951 – Ricardo Fortaleza, Australian-Filipino boxer and coach
  • 1951 – Pierre Pettigrew, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1953 – Rick Moranis, Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Robert Greenberg, American pianist and composer
  • 1956 – Chris Jones, English footballer
  • 1956 – Eric Roberts, American actor
  • 1957 – Ian Campbell, Australian jumper
  • 1958 – Gabi Delgado-López, Spanish-German singer, co-founder of D.A.F.
  • 1958 – Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian cricketer and coach (d. 1999)
  • 1959 – Susan Faludi, American journalist and author
  • 1959 – Frank Mulholland, Lord Mulholland, Scottish judge, former Solicitor General for Scotland and Lord Advocate
  • 1960 – John Chiedozie, Nigerian international footballer
  • 1960 – Yelena Zhupiyeva-Vyazova, Ukrainian runner
  • 1961 – Kelly Hansen, American singer-songwriter
  • 1961 – Jane Leeves, English actress and dancer
  • 1961 – John Podhoretz, American journalist and author
  • 1962 – Jeff Dunham, American comedian and ventriloquist
  • 1962 – Nick Farr-Jones, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Eric McCormack, Canadian-American actor and producer
  • 1963 – Conan O’Brien, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host
  • 1963 – Phil Simmons, Trinidadian cricketer
  • 1963 – Peter Van Loan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of International Trade
  • 1964 – Niall Ferguson, Scottish historian and academic
  • 1964 – Rithy Panh, Cambodian director and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Valeri Kamensky, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1967 – Maria Bello, American actress and writer
  • 1969 – Keith DeCandido, American author
  • 1969 – Stefan Schwarz, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Robert Změlík, Czech decathlete
  • 1970 – Rico Brogna, American baseball player and coach
  • 1970 – Greg Eklund, American drummer and guitarist
  • 1970 – Saad Hariri, Saudi Arabian-Lebanese businessman and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Lebanon
  • 1970 – François Leroux, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host
  • 1970 – Tatiana Stefanidou, Greek journalist and talk show host
  • 1971 – Oleg Petrov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Graham Rowntree, English rugby player
  • 1971 – David Tennant, Scottish actor
  • 1972 – Rosa Clemente, American journalist and activist
  • 1972 – Eli Roth, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Michael Rutter, English motorcycle racer
  • 1973 – Derrick Brooks, American football player
  • 1973 – Brady Clark, American baseball player
  • 1973 – Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian runner
  • 1974 – Millie Corretjer, Puerto Rican-American actress and singer
  • 1974 – Mark Tremonti, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1976 – Gavin Creel, American actor and singer
  • 1976 – Melissa Joan Hart, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1976 – Andrew Ilie, Romanian-Australian tennis player
  • 1976 – Justin Ross, American politician
  • 1976 – Staffan Strand, Swedish high jumper
  • 1977 – Dan LaCouture, American ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Cindy Taylor, Paraguayan model and actress
  • 1979 – Michael Bradley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1979 – Ethan Cohn, American actor
  • 1979 – Matt Cooper, Australian rugby league player
  • 1979 – Anthony Davidson, English racing driver
  • 1979 – Kourtney Kardashian, American model and businesswoman
  • 1980 – Rabiu Afolabi, Nigerian footballer and manager
  • 1980 – Justin Levens, American mixed martial artist (d. 2008)
  • 1981 – Brian Buscher, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Milan Jovanović, Serbian footballer
  • 1981 – Aldo Ramírez, Colombian footballer
  • 1981 – Audrey Tang, Taiwanese computer scientist and academic
  • 1982 – Ibrahim al-Asiri, Saudi Arabian terrorist
  • 1982 – Greg Camarillo, American football player
  • 1982 – Ricardo Colclough, Canadian-American football player
  • 1982 – Simone Farina, Italian footballer
  • 1982 – Scott Hartnell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Blair Late, American singer-songwriter and journalist
  • 1982 – Darren Sutherland, Irish boxer (d. 2009)
  • 1982 – Marie-Élaine Thibert, Canadian singer
  • 1983 – Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1983 – Reeve Carney, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1984 – Red Bryant, American football player
  • 1984 – America Ferrera, American actress and producer
  • 1985 – Łukasz Fabiański, Polish footballer
  • 1986 – Billy Butler, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Maurice Edu, American soccer player
  • 1986 – Taylor Griffin, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Conrad Logan, Irish footballer
  • 1986 – Efraín Velarde, Mexican footballer
  • 1987 – Brett Deledio, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Danny Guthrie, English footballer
  • 1987 – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, English model and actress
  • 1987 – Samantha Jade, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Ivan Tričkovski, Macedonian footballer
  • 1988 – Andre Frolov, Estonian footballer
  • 1988 – Alexander Hauck, South African-German rugby player
  • 1989 – Jessica Jung, Korean American singer, songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
  • 1990 – Henderson Álvarez, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1990 – Anna van der Breggen, Dutch cyclist
  • 1990 – Jake Howells, English footballer
  • 1990 – Wojciech Szczęsny, Polish footballer
  • 1990 – Junior Torunarigha, Nigerian footballer
  • 1993 – Matt Salisbury, English cricketer
  • 1993 – Nathan Sykes, English singer-songwriter
  • 1995 – Divock Origi, Belgian footballer
  • 1996 – Mariah Bell, American figure skater
  • 1996 – Ioana Ducu, Romanian tennis player
  • 1997 – Matthias Blübaum, German chess grandmaster
  • 1997 – Donny van de Beek, Dutch footballer

Deaths on April 18

  • 727 – Agallianos Kontoskeles, Byzantine commander and rebel leader
  • 850 – Perfectus, Spanish monk and martyr
  • 909 – Dionysius II, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
  • 943 – Fujiwara no Atsutada, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 906)
  • 963 – Stephen Lekapenos, co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire
  • 1161 – Theobald of Bec, French-English archbishop (b. 1090)
  • 1176 – Galdino della Sala, Italian archdeacon and saint
  • 1552 – John Leland, English poet and historian (b. 1502)
  • 1555 – Polydore Vergil, English historian (b. 1470)
  • 1556 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and politician (b. 1495)
  • 1567 – Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (b. 1503)
  • 1587 – John Foxe, English historian and author (b. 1516)
  • 1636 – Julius Caesar, English judge and politician (b. 1557)
  • 1650 – Simonds d’Ewes, English lawyer and politician (b. 1602)
  • 1674 – John Graunt, English demographer and statistician (b. 1620)
  • 1689 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, Welsh judge and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1648)
  • 1732 – Louis Feuillée, French astronomer, geographer, and botanist (b. 1660)
  • 1742 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician (b. 1664)
  • 1763 – Marie-Josephte Corriveau, Canadian murderer (b. 1733)
  • 1794 – Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
  • 1796 – Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1732)
  • 1802 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (b. 1731)
  • 1832 – Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet, French painter (b. 1761)
  • 1859 – Tatya Tope, Indian general (b. 1814)
  • 1864 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and linguist (b. 1832)
  • 1873 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
  • 1898 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (b. 1826)
  • 1906 – Luis Martín, Spanish religious leader, 24th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1846)
  • 1912 – Martha Ripley, American physician (b. 1843)
  • 1917 – Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1858)
  • 1923 – Savina Petrilli, Italian religious leader (b. 1851)
  • 1936 – Milton Brown, American singer and bandleader (b. 1903)
  • 1936 – Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1879)
  • 1938 – George Bryant, American archer (b. 1878)
  • 1942 – Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (b. 1903)
  • 1942 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American heiress, sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (b. 1875)
  • 1943 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (b. 1884)
  • 1945 – John Ambrose Fleming, English physicist and engineer, invented the vacuum tube (b. 1849)
  • 1945 – Ernie Pyle, American journalist and soldier (b. 1900)
  • 1947 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (b. 1887)
  • 1951 – Óscar Carmona, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 11th President of Portugal (b. 1869)
  • 1955 – Albert Einstein, German-American physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1879)
  • 1958 – Maurice Gamelin, Belgian-French general (b. 1872)
  • 1959 – Irving Cummings, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1888)
  • 1959 – Percy Smith, English footballer and manager (b. 1880)
  • 1963 – Meyer Jacobstein, American academic and politician (b. 1880)
  • 1964 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
  • 1965 – Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican engineer (b. 1917)
  • 1967 – Karl Miller, German footballer (b. 1913)
  • 1974 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright, and director (b. 1895)
  • 1986 – Marcel Dassault, French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (b. 1892)
  • 1988 – Pierre Desproges, French journalist and actor (b. 1939)
  • 1988 – Oktay Rıfat Horozcu, Turkish poet and playwright (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Arturo Frondizi, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Argentina (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Brook Berringer, American football player (b. 1973)
  • 1996 – Bernard Edwards, American bass player and producer (b. 1952)
  • 1997 – Edward Barker, English cartoonist (b. 1950)
  • 1998 – Terry Sanford, American lieutenant and politician, 65th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1917)
  • 2002 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian ethnographer and explorer (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
  • 2003 – Edgar F. Codd, English-American soldier, pilot, and computer scientist (b. 1923)
  • 2004 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 2nd President of Fiji (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Sam Mills, American football player and coach (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Mercedes Palomino, Spanish-born Quebec actor and theatre director (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Iccho Itoh, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
  • 2008 – Germaine Tillion, French ethnologist and anthropologist (b. 1907)
  • 2012 – Dick Clark, American television host and producer, founded Dick Clark Productions (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – René Lépine, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – K. D. Wentworth, American author (b. 1951)
  • 2013 – Cordell Mosson, American bass player (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Steuart Pringle, English general (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Goran Švob, Croatian philosopher and author (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Anne Williams, English activist (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Guru Dhanapal, Indian director and producer (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Sanford Jay Frank, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1954)
  • 2014 – Eduard Kosolapov, Russian footballer (b. 1976)
  • 2014 – David McClarty, Northern Irish politician (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Brian Priestman, English conductor and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (b. 1994)
  • 2015 – Roger Lobo, Macanese-Hong Kong businessman and politician (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Erwin Waldner, German footballer (b. 1933)
  • 2016 – Aleah Stanbridge, Swedish singer (b. 1977)
  • 2017 – Vic Albury, Major League pitcher (b. 1947)
  • 2018 – Bruno Sammartino, Italian professional wrestler (b. 1935)
  • 2018 – Dale Winton, British television presenter (b. 1955)
  • 2019 – Lorraine Warren, American paranormal investigator. (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on  April 18

  • Christian feast day:
    • Apollonius the Apologist
    • Corebus
    • Cyril VI of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Eleutherius and Antia
    • Galdino della Sala
    • Molaise of Leighlin
    • Perfectus
    • Plato of Sakkoudion
    • April 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Army Day (Iran)
  • Coma Patients’ Day (Poland)
  • Friend’s Day (Brazil)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Zimbabwe from the United Kingdom in 1980.
  • International Day For Monuments and Sites
  • Invention Day (Japan)
  • Victory over the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of the Ice (Russia)

April 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
  • 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
  • 1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
  • 1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
  • 1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
  • 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
  • 1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
  • 1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
  • 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
  • 1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
  • 1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
  • 1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
  • 1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
  • 1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
  • 1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
  • 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
  • 1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
  • 1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
  • 1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
  • 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
  • 1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
  • 1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
  • 1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
  • 1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
  • 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
  • 1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
  • 2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
  • 2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Births on April 13

  • 1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
  • 1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
  • 1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
  • 1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
  • 1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
  • 1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
  • 1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
  • 1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
  • 1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
  • 1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
  • 1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
  • 1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
  • 1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
  • 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
  • 1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
  • 1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
  • 1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
  • 1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
  • 1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
  • 1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
  • 1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
  • 1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
  • 1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
  • 1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
  • 1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
  • 1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
  • 1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
  • 1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
  • 1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
  • 1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
  • 1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
  • 1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
  • 1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
  • 1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
  • 1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
  • 1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
  • 1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
  • 1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
  • 1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
  • 1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
  • 1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
  • 1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
  • 1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
  • 1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
  • 1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
  • 1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
  • 1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
  • 1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
  • 1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
  • 1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
  • 1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
  • 1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
  • 1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
  • 1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
  • 1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
  • 1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
  • 1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
  • 1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
  • 1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
  • 1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
  • 1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
  • 1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
  • 1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
  • 1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
  • 1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
  • 1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
  • 1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
  • 1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
  • 1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
  • 1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
  • 1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
  • 1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
  • 1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
  • 1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
  • 1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
  • 1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
  • 1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
  • 1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
  • 1940 – Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist
  • 1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Jean-Marc Reiser, French author and illustrator (d. 1983)
  • 1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
  • 1943 – Alan Jones, Australian rugby coach, radio host, and educator
  • 1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
  • 1943 – Tim Krabbé, Dutch journalist and author
  • 1943 – Philip Norman, English journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1944 – Franco Arese, Italian runner
  • 1944 – Charles Burnett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Jack Casady, American bass guitarist
  • 1944 – Susan Davis, Russian-American social worker and politician
  • 1945 – Ed Caruthers, American high jumper
  • 1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
  • 1945 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1979)
  • 1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress and author
  • 1946 – Al Green, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
  • 1947 – Rae Armantrout, American poet and academic
  • 1947 – Mike Chapman, Australian-English songwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Jean-Jacques Laffont, French economist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Yves Landry, Canadian cyclist
  • 1948 – Nam Hae-il, South Korean admiral
  • 1948 – Drago Jančar, Slovenian author and playwright
  • 1948 – Mikhail Shufutinsky, Soviet and Russian singer, actor, TV presenter
  • 1949 – Len Cook, New Zealand-English mathematician and statistician
  • 1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Ricardo Zunino, Argentinian racing driver
  • 1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
  • 1950 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1951 – Leszek Borysiewicz, Welsh immunologist and academic
  • 1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
  • 1951 – Joachim Streich, German footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
  • 1952 – Sam Bush, American mandolin player
  • 1952 – David Drew, English lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Gabrielle Gourdeau, Canadian writer (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish jockey and trainer
  • 1953 – Stephen Byers, English politician
  • 1953 – Dany Laferrière, Haitian-Canadian journalist and author
  • 1954 – Jimmy Destri, American keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Barbara Roche, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Steve Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Muwenda Mutebi II, current King of Buganda Kingdom
  • 1955 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
  • 1955 – Ole von Beust, German lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Hamburg
  • 1956 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand racing driver (d. 2003)
  • 1956 – Alan Devonshire, English footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Edward Forbes Smiley III, American art thief and map dealer
  • 1957 – Amy Goodman, American journalist and author
  • 1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
  • 1960 – Lyn Brown, English social worker and politician
  • 1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., American lawyer and politician, senior senator of Pennsylvania
  • 1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist and manager
  • 1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author
  • 1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian
  • 1964 – John Swinney, Scottish businessman and politician, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
  • 1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinian architect and educator
  • 1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
  • 1966 – Marc Ford, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Dana Barros, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Michael Eisen, American biologist and academic
  • 1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Ted Washington, American football player
  • 1969 – Dirk Muschiol, German footballer
  • 1970 – Monty Brown, American football player and wrestler
  • 1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Nick Garrett, English singer
  • 1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast
  • 1970 – Ricardo Rincón, Mexican-American baseball player
  • 1970 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
  • 1971 – Franck Esposito, French swimmer
  • 1971 – Danie Mellor, Australian painter and sculptor
  • 1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player and golfer
  • 1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
  • 1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Darren Turner, English racing driver
  • 1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canadian snowboarder
  • 1975 – Lou Bega, German singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
  • 1975 – Tatiana Navka, Russian ice dancer
  • 1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech-American ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Glenn Howerton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Margus Tsahkna, Estonian lawyer and politician
  • 1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
  • 1978 – Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
  • 1978 – Keydrick Vincent, American football player
  • 1979 – Gréta Arn, Hungarian tennis player
  • 1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
  • 1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
  • 1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
  • 1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, American independent filmmaker and YouTuber
  • 1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
  • 1982 – Nellie McKay, British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
  • 1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh cyclist
  • 1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jarmo Ahjupera, Estonian footballer
  • 1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Anna Jennings-Edquist, Australian actress, director, and playwright
  • 1985 – Algo Kärp, Estonian skier
  • 1985 – Cody Nickson, American reality television personality
  • 1986 – Michael Bingham, American-English sprinter
  • 1986 – Lorenzo Cain, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Massimiliano Pesenti, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Petteri Koponen, Finnish basketball player
  • 1988 – Allison Williams, American actress and singer
  • 1989 – Ryan Bailey, American sprinter
  • 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampolinist
  • 1989 – Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, Belarusian long jumper
  • 1989 – Josh Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Vladislav Yegin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Anastasija Sevastova, a professional tennis player from Latvia
  • 1991 – Akeem Adams, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1991 – Ulises Dávila, Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Josh Gordon, American football player
  • 1992 – Denis Kudryavtsev, Russian hurdler
  • 1992 – Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
  • 1993 – Tony Wroten, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Ángelo Henríquez, Chilean footballer
  • 1994 – Elvis Merzļikins, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Kyle Walker-Peters, English footballer

Deaths on April 13

  • 548 – Lý Nam Đế, Vietnamese emperor (b. 503)
  • 585 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint
  • 799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and historian (b. 720)
  • 814 – Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate
  • 862 – Donald I, king of the Picts (b. 812)
  • 989 – Bardas Phokas, Byzantine general
  • 1035 – Herbert I, Count of Maine
  • 1093 – Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
  • 1113 – Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (b. c. 1040)
  • 1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
  • 1213 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany
  • 1275 – Eleanor of England (b. 1215)
  • 1367 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (b. 1313)
  • 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
  • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. 1551)
  • 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese samurai (b. 1585)
  • 1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Ottoman prince (b. 1572)
  • 1638 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (b. 1579)
  • 1641 – Richard Montagu, English bishop (b. 1577)
  • 1695 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (b. 1621)
  • 1716 – Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, English admiral and politician (b. 1648)
  • 1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish priest and theologian (b. 1650)
  • 1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French botanist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1763)
  • 1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (b. 1741)
  • 1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
  • 1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (b. 1788)
  • 1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
  • 1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1796)
  • 1868 – Tewodros II of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
  • 1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and author (b. 1813)
  • 1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)
  • 1886 – John Humphrey Noyes, American religious leader, founded the Oneida Community (b. 1811)
  • 1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828)
  • 1899 – James Service, Scottish-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Victoria (b. 1823)
  • 1909 – Whitley Stokes, Anglo-Irish lawyer and scholar (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish-English painter and educator (b. 1835)
  • 1911 – John McLane, Scottish-American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
  • 1911 – George Washington Glick, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
  • 1912 – Takuboku Ishikawa, Japanese poet and author (b. 1886)
  • 1917 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1856)
  • 1918 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
  • 1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician, Mayor of Frankfurt (b. 1866)
  • 1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, Greek politician 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
  • 1938 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1888)
  • 1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1941 – William Twaits, Canadian soccer player (b. 1879)
  • 1942 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch politician (b. 1883)
  • 1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (b. 1879)
  • 1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
  • 1945 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (b. 1874)
  • 1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
  • 1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (b. 1867)
  • 1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch pianist, violinist, and conductor (b. 1901)
  • 1961 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (b. 1935)
  • 1962 – Culbert Olson, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
  • 1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi colonel and politician, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
  • 1966 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (b. 1881)
  • 1966 – Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Nicole Berger, French actress (b. 1934)
  • 1969 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1901)
  • 1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
  • 1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1975 – Larry Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
  • 1975 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian soldier, academic, and politician, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
  • 1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian painter and director (b. 1931)
  • 1978 – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and women’s rights activist (b. 1900)
  • 1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
  • 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer (b. 1934)
  • 1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek physician, author, and poet (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
  • 1988 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor and director (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1992 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
  • 1992 – Daniel Pollock, Australian actor (b. 1968)
  • 1993 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Leila Mackinlay, English author and educator (b. 1910)
  • 1997 – Bryant Bowles, American soldier and activist, founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Alan Cooley, Australian public servant (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and actress (b. 1896)
  • 1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
  • 1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and base jumper (b. 1960)
  • 1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, Estonian-New Zealand chess player and author (b. 1924)
  • 1999 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2000 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – Caron Keating, Northern Irish television host (b. 1962)
  • 2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Phillip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor and director (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2009 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (b. 1954)
  • 2009 – Bruce Snyder, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 2009 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader, convicted rapist and two-time prison escapee (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – William B. Buffum, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Lebanon (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani pilot, academic, and activist (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Shūichi Higurashi, Japanese illustrator (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – David S. Smith, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Sweden (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Robert Wigmore, Cook Islander politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Chi Cheng, American bass player (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Fred Enke, American football player (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentinian-Spanish philosopher and theorist (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Rafał Sznajder, Polish fencer (b. 1972)
  • 2015 – Gerald Calabrese, American basketball player and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
  • 2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and former United States Ambassador to Ireland (b. 1932)
  • 2018 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (b. 1945)
  • 2019 – Neus Català, Anti-fascist activist (b. 1915)
  • 2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on April 13

  • Christian feast day:
    • Hermenegild
    • Blessed Ida of Louvain
    • Pope Martin I
    • April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Jefferson’s Birthday (United States)
  • Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)
  • South and Southeast Asian New Year. (see April 14)
  • Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)
  • Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
  • 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
  • 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
  • 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
  • 1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
  • 1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, an illegitimate son of Peter I of Portugal, is made king John I of Portugal.
  • 1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
  • 1580 – One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
  • 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
  • 1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
  • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
  • 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty.
  • 1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
  • 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.
  • 1812 – British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.
  • 1814 – Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
  • 1830 – Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
  • 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison’s death.
  • 1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.
  • 1861 – First performance of Arthur Sullivan’s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor’s Creek: Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
  • 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.
  • 1869 – Celluloid is patented.
  • 1888 – Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to the State of South Carolina to establish Clemson Agricultural College.
  • 1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
  • 1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
  • 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
  • 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary’s claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability.
  • 1911 – During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).
  • 1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress).
  • 1926 – Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
  • 1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
  • 1930 – At the end of the Salt March, Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.”
  • 1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
  • 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
  • 1945 – World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Slater’s Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
  • 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
  • 1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
  • 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
  • 1968 – In Richmond, Indiana’s downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
  • 1968 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Leadership Election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon after.
  • 1970 – Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
  • 1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
  • 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
  • 1974 – The Swedish pop band ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo”, launching their international career.
  • 1979 – Student protests break out in Nepal.
  • 1984 – Members of Cameroon’s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
  • 1992 – The Bosnian War begins.
  • 1994 – The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
  • 1997 – In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occurs when a group of young people abduct and kidnap a religious family before shooting them dead on a rural suburban road.
  • 1998 – Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
  • 1998 – Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.
  • 2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
  • 2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
  • 2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
  • 2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L’Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
  • 2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
  • 2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
  • 2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.
  • 2017 – U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an “aggression”, adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties.
  • 2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.

Births on April 6

  • 1135 – Maimonides, Jewish philosopher, Torah scholar, physician and astronomer (March 30 also proposed, d. 1204)
  • 1342 – Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa
  • 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
  • 1573 – Margaret of Brunswick-Lüneburg, German noble (d. 1643)
  • 1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria (d. 1649)
  • 1651 – André Dacier, French scholar and academic (d. 1722)
  • 1660 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (d. 1722)
  • 1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician, Governor of Västerbotten County (d. 1742)
  • 1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (d. 1741)
  • 1672 – André Cardinal Destouches, French composer (d. 1749)
  • 1706 – Louis de Cahusac, French playwright and composer (d. 1759)
  • 1708 – Johann Georg Reutter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1772)
  • 1725 – Pasquale Paoli, French soldier and politician (d. 1807)
  • 1726 – Gerard Majella, Italian saint (d. 1755)
  • 1741 – Nicolas Chamfort, French author and playwright (d. 1794)
  • 1766 – Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and educator (d. 1853)
  • 1773 – James Mill, Scottish historian, economist, and philosopher (d. 1836)
  • 1787 – Celestina Cordero, Puerto Rican educator (d. 1862)
  • 1810 – Philip Henry Gosse, English biologist and academic (d. 1888)
  • 1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (d. 1870)
  • 1815 – Robert Volkmann, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1883)
  • 1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian journalist and poet (d. 1870)
  • 1820 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (d. 1910)
  • 1823 – Joseph Medill, Canadian-American publisher and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
  • 1824 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
  • 1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (d. 1898)
  • 1844 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1913)
  • 1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
  • 1852 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (d. 1921)
  • 1855 – Charles Huot, Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
  • 1857 – Arthur Wesley Dow, American painter and photographer (d. 1922)
  • 1860 – René Lalique, French sculptor and jewellery designer (d. 1945)
  • 1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French poet and author (d. 1897)
  • 1864 – William Bate Hardy, English biologist and academic (d. 1934)
  • 1866 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (d. 1931)
  • 1869 – Levon Shant, Armenian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1951)
  • 1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1934)
  • 1881 – Karl Staaf, Swedish pole vaulter and hammer thrower (d. 1953)
  • 1884 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (d. 1927)
  • 1886 – Athenagoras I of Constantinople (d. 1972)
  • 1886 – Walter Dandy, American physician and neurosurgeon (d. 1946)
  • 1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, Indian ruler (d. 1967)
  • 1888 – Hans Richter, Swiss painter, illustrator, and director (d. 1976)
  • 1888 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch engineer and businessman, founded Fokker Aircraft Manufacturer (d. 1939)
  • 1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (d. 1981)
  • 1892 – Lowell Thomas, American journalist and author (d. 1981)
  • 1895 – Dudley Nichols, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1960)
  • 1898 – Jeanne Hébuterne, French painter and author (d. 1920)
  • 1900 – Leo Robin, American composer and songwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist (d. 1925)
  • 1902 – Julien Torma, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
  • 1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (d. 1962)
  • 1903 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1904 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Erwin Komenda, Austrian car designer and engineer (d. 1966)
  • 1908 – Marcel-Marie Desmarais, Canadian preacher, missionary, and author (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – William M. Branham, American minister and theologian (d. 1965)
  • 1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Barys Kit, Belarusian-American rocket scientist (d. 2018)
  • 1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune, American geographer and academic (d. 1993)
  • 1915 – Tadeusz Kantor, Polish director, painter, and set designer (d. 1990)
  • 1916 – Phil Leeds, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Vincent Ellis McKelvey, American geologist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1917 – Leonora Carrington, English-Mexican painter and author (d. 2011)
  • 1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (d. 1982)
  • 1919 – Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician, 11th Greek Minister of Culture (d. 1998)
  • 1920 – Jack Cover, American pilot and physicist, invented the Taser gun (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1921 – Wilbur Thompson, American shot putter (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Gordon Chater, English-Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
  • 1923 – Herb Thomas, American race car driver (d. 2000)
  • 1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American singer and actor (d. 1990)
  • 1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (d. 2000)
  • 1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical minister and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1928 – James Watson, American biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1929 – Willis Hall, English playwright and author (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Joi Lansing, American model, actress and nightclub singer (d. 1972)
  • 1929 – André Previn, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Ram Dass, American author and educator (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1932 – Connie Broden, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor and director (d. 2004)
  • 1933 – Roy Goode, English lawyer and academic
  • 1933 – Tom C. Korologos, American journalist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Belgium
  • 1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Kauai (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)
  • 1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist and wrestler (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian painter, illustrator, and photographer (d. 2008)
  • 1935 – Douglas Hill, Canadian author and critic (d. 2007)
  • 1936 – Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli painter and illustrator
  • 1936 – Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist, biologist, and academic
  • 1937 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1937 – Tom Veivers, Australian cricketer and politician
  • 1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor, singer, and writer
  • 1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician and television host (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Roy Thinnes, American television and film actor
  • 1939 – André Ouellet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1939 – John Sculley, American businessman, co-founded Zeta Interactive
  • 1940 – Homero Aridjis, Mexican journalist, author, and poet
  • 1940 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican-American actor and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1941 – Christopher Allsopp, English economist and academic
  • 1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Hans W. Geißendörfer, German director and producer
  • 1941 – Don Prudhomme, American race car driver and manager
  • 1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian flute player and composer
  • 1942 – Barry Levinson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1942 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-English model, actress, and fashion designer (d. 2017)
  • 1943 – Max Clifford, English journalist and publicist (d. 2017)
  • 1943 – Roger Cook, New Zealand-English journalist and academic
  • 1943 – Ian MacRae, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1943 – Mitchell Melton, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1944 – Felicity Palmer, English operatic soprano
  • 1945 – Rodney Bickerstaffe, English trade union leader (d. 2017)
  • 1945 – Peter Hill, English journalist
  • 1946 – Paul Beresford, New Zealand-English dentist and politician
  • 1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and director
  • 1947 – André Weinfeld, French-American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Mike Worboys, English mathematician and computer scientist
  • 1949 – Alyson Bailes, English academic and diplomat (d. 2016)
  • 1949 – Patrick Hernandez, French singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – Ng Ser Miang, Singaporean athlete, entrepreneur and diplomat
  • 1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1950 – Claire Morissette, Canadian cycling activist (d. 2007)
  • 1950 – Cleo Odzer, American anthropologist and author (d. 2001)
  • 1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1951 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French skier, mountaineer, and pilot (d. 1990)
  • 1951 – Pascal Rogé, French pianist
  • 1951 – Phil Schaap, American jazz disc jockey and historian
  • 1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer-songwriter
  • 1952 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress and author
  • 1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 1992)
  • 1953 – Patrick Doyle, Scottish actor and composer
  • 1953 – Christopher Franke, German-American drummer and songwriter
  • 1955 – Rob Epstein, American director and producer
  • 1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1955 – Cathy Jones, Canadian actress, comedian, and writer
  • 1956 – Michele Bachmann, American lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Normand Corbeil, Canadian composer (d. 2013)
  • 1956 – Mudassar Nazar, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1956 – Lee Scott, English politician
  • 1956 – Sebastian Spreng, Argentinian-American painter and journalist
  • 1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and coach
  • 1957 – Giorgio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
  • 1957 – Maurizio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
  • 1957 – Jaroslava Maxová, Czech soprano and educator
  • 1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian soldier, engineer, and astronaut
  • 1958 – Graeme Base, Australian author and illustrator
  • 1959 – Gail Shea, Canadian politician
  • 1960 – Warren Haynes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Richard Loe, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1960 – John Pizzarelli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1961 – Rory Bremner, Scottish actor and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Peter Jackson, English footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Iris Häussler, German sculptor and academic
  • 1962 – Marco Schällibaum, Swiss footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1963 – Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian economist and politician, 54th President of Ecuador
  • 1965 – Black Francis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Vince Flynn, American author (d. 2013)
  • 1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean-American director and producer
  • 1967 – Julian Anderson, English composer and educator
  • 1967 – Kathleen Barr, Canadian voice actress and singer
  • 1967 – Tanya Byron, English psychologist and academic
  • 1967 – Jonathan Firth, English actor
  • 1968 – Archon Fung, American political scientist, author, and academic
  • 1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player and manager
  • 1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (d. 2002)
  • 1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian race car driver
  • 1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor
  • 1969 – Spencer Wells, American geneticist and anthropologist
  • 1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-German ice hockey player and coach
  • 1970 – Roy Mayorga, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
  • 1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
  • 1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player
  • 1973 – Randall Godfrey, American football player
  • 1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese model and actress
  • 1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
  • 1975 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Hal Gill, American ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Candace Cameron Bure, American actress and talk show panelist
  • 1976 – James Fox, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1976 – Chris Hoke, American football player
  • 1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic bass player
  • 1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese author and educator
  • 1977 – Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player and coach
  • 1978 – Imani Coppola, American singer-songwriter and violinist
  • 1978 – Robert Glasper, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Myleene Klass, Austrian/Filipino-English singer, pianist, and model
  • 1978 – Martín Méndez, Uruguayan bass player and songwriter
  • 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer
  • 1979 – Lord Frederick Windsor, English journalist and financier
  • 1979 – Clay Travis, American sports journalist, blogger, and broadcaster
  • 1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper
  • 1980 – Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish skier
  • 1980 – Antonio Thomas, American wrestler
  • 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
  • 1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player
  • 1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player
  • 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Spanish actor
  • 1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer
  • 1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
  • 1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1983 – James Wade, English darts player
  • 1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer
  • 1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer
  • 1984 – Diana Matheson, Canadian soccer player
  • 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1985 – Sinqua Walls, American basketball player and actor
  • 1986 – Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer
  • 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player
  • 1986 – Goeido Gotaro, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1986 – Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer
  • 1987 – Benjamin Corgnet, French footballer
  • 1987 – Heidi Mount, American model
  • 1987 – Juan Adriel Ochoa, Mexican footballer
  • 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer
  • 1987 – Hilary Rhoda, American model
  • 1988 – Jucilei, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Carlton Mitchell, American football player
  • 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Congolese-English footballer
  • 1988 – Ivonne Orsini, Puerto Rican-American model and television host, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008
  • 1990 – Lachlan Coote, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Charlie McDermott, American actor
  • 1990 – Andrei Veis, Estonian footballer
  • 1992 – Ken, South Korean singer
  • 1992 – Julie Ertz, American soccer player
  • 1994 – Adrián Alonso, Mexican actor
  • 1995 – Darya Lebesheva, Belarusian tennis player
  • 1998 – Peyton List, American actress and model

Deaths on April 6

  • 861 – Prudentius, bishop of Troyes
  • 885 – Saint Methodius, Byzantine missionary and saint (b. 815)
  • 887 – Pei Che, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 943 – Liu Churang, Chinese general and chief of staff (b. 881)
  • 943 – Nasr II, ruler (amir) of the Samanid Empire (b. 906)
  • 1147 – Frederick II, duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
  • 1199 – Richard I, king of England (b. 1157)
  • 1231 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
  • 1250 – Guillaume de Sonnac, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
  • 1252 – Peter of Verona, Italian priest and saint (b. 1206)
  • 1340 – Basil, emperor of Trebizond (Turkey)
  • 1362 – James I, count of La Marche (b. 1319)
  • 1376 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (b. 1310)
  • 1490 – Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490 (b. 1443)
  • 1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
  • 1523 – Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1479)
  • 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (b. 1471)
  • 1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss scholar and politician (b. 1484)
  • 1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish archbishop and academic (b. 1512)
  • 1590 – Francis Walsingham, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1532)
  • 1593 – Henry Barrowe, English Puritan and separatist (b. 1550)
  • 1605 – John Stow, English historian and author (b. 1525)
  • 1621 – Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (b. 1539)
  • 1641 – Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino), Italian painter (b. 1581)
  • 1655 – David Blondel, French minister, historian, and scholar (b. 1591)
  • 1676 – John Winthrop the Younger, English politician, 1st Governor of Connecticut (b. 1606)
  • 1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (b. 1614)
  • 1707 – Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch-English painter (b. 1633)
  • 1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (b. 1690)
  • 1790 – Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
  • 1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Ukrainian-Russian painter and educator (b. 1757)
  • 1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (b. 1802)
  • 1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek philosopher and scholar (b. 1748)
  • 1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian poet, academic, and politician (b. 1763)
  • 1860 – James Kirke Paulding, American author and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1778)
  • 1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (b. 1803)
  • 1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801)
  • 1886 – William Edward Forster, English businessman, philanthropist, and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1818)
  • 1899 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809)
  • 1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician, 6th County Governor of Møre og Romsdal (b. 1849)
  • 1913 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (b. 1835)
  • 1923 – Kabalega, King of Bunyoro (b.1853)
  • 1927 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (b. 1850)
  • 1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (b. 1869)
  • 1944 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (b. 1874)
  • 1947 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (b. 1896)
  • 1950 – Louis Wilkins, American pole vaulter (b. 1882)
  • 1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet and author (b. 1905)
  • 1959 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1895)
  • 1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
  • 1963 – Otto Struve, Ukrainian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1897)
  • 1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
  • 1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882)
  • 1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
  • 1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (b. 1895)
  • 1977 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (b. 1889)
  • 1979 – Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect, designed the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (b. 1893)
  • 1983 – Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Indian General who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949. (b. 1908)
  • 1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920)
  • 1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan banker and politician, 3rd President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
  • 1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (b. 1955)
  • 1995 – Ioannis Alevras, Greek banker and politician, President of Greece (b. 1912)
  • 1996 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (b. 1904)
  • 1998 – Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (b. 1958)
  • 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
  • 1999 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (b. 1908)
  • 2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician, 1st President of Tunisia (b. 1903)
  • 2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer-songwriter (b. 1963)
  • 2003 – David Bloom, American journalist (b. 1963)
  • 2003 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and educator; founded Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (b. 1949)
  • 2003 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, and activist (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Lou Berberet, American baseball player (b. 1929)
  • 2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
  • 2006 – Maggie Dixon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1977)
  • 2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, American soldier and diplomat (b. 1917)
  • 2006 – Stefanos Stratigos, Greek actor and director (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and producer (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Shawn Mackay, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1982)
  • 2010 – Wilma Mankiller, American tribal leader (b. 1945)
  • 2010 – Corin Redgrave, English actor (b. 1939)
  • 2011 – Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Roland Guilbault, American admiral (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter and illustrator (b. 1958)
  • 2012 – Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Sheila Scotter, Australian fashion designer and journalist (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Reed Whittemore, American poet and critic (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Hilda Bynoe, Grenadian physician and politician, 2nd Governor of Grenada (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Bill Guttridge, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Bigas Luna, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2013 – Ottmar Schreiner, German lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Mary Anderson, American actress (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Liv Dommersnes, Norwegian actress (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Mickey Rooney, American soldier, actor, and dancer (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Chuck Stone, American soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Massimo Tamburini, Italian motorcycle designer, co-founded Bimota (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Giovanni Berlinguer, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 2016 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
  • 2017 – Don Rickles, American actor and comedian (b. 1926)
  • 2019 – Michael O’Donnell, British physician, journalist, author and broadcaster (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on April 6

  • Chakri Day, commemorating the establishment of the Chakri dynasty. (Thailand)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach (Lutheran Church).
    • Brychan
    • Eutychius of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Marcellinus of Carthage
    • Pope Celestine I (Catholic Church)
    • Pope Sixtus I
    • April 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
  • National Fisherman Day (Indonesia)
  • New Beer’s Eve (United States)
  • Tartan Day (United States & Canada)

April 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 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)

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