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

On This Day / admin

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 M_w  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 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized.
1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II.
1362 – Kaunas Castle falls to the Teutonic Order after a month-long siege.
1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices.
1521 – Trial of Martin Luther over his teachings begins during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. Initially intimidated, he asks for time to reflect before answering and is given a stay of one day.
1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in the Americas.
1797 – Citizens of Verona begin an unsuccessful eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces.
1861 – The state of Virginia’s secession convention votes to secede from the United States, later becoming the eighth state to join the Confederate States of America.
1863 – American Civil War: Grierson’s Raid begins: Troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins: Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
1869 – Morelos is admitted as the 27th state of Mexico.
1876 – Catalpa rescue: The rescue of six Fenian prisoners from Fremantle Prison in Western Australia.
1895 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the “right to free contract” is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.
1912 – Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.
1941 – World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
1942 – French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress.
1944 – Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People’s Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.
1945 – World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces.
1946 – The last French troops are withdrawn from Syria.
1951 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom’s first National Park.
1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
1969 – Communist Party of Czechoslovakia chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
1970 – Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
1971 – The Provisional Government of Bangladesh is formed.
1975 – The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
1978 – Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking a communist coup d’état in Afghanistan.
1982 – Constitution Act, 1982 Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
1992 – The Katina P is deliberately run aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
2006 – A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates an explosive device in a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing 11 people and injuring 70.
2013 – An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, kills 15 people and injures 160 others.
2014 – NASA’s Kepler space telescope confirms the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star.

Births on April 17

44 – Pope Evaristus (d. 107)
1277 – Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1320)
1455 – Andrea Gritti, Doge of Venice (d. 1538)
1497 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador, conquered northern Chile (d. 1553)
1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
1586 – John Ford, English poet and playwright (d. 1639)
1598 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (d. 1671)
1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (d. 1700)
1635 – Edward Stillingfleet, British theologian and scholar (d. 1699)
1676 – Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
1683 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (d. 1729)
1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician (d. 1767)
1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
1741 – Samuel Chase, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1811)
1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French academic and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1828)
1756 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian commander (d. 1805)
1766 – Collin McKinney, American surveyor, merchant, and politician (d. 1861)
1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer (d. 1868)
1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician and academic (d. 1840)
1814 – Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist and academic (d. 1888)
1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English architect and philanthropist (d. 1876)
1820 – Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter and inventor of baseball (d. 1892)
1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1900)
1837 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (d. 1913)
1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French businessman and politician, 53rd Prime Minister of France (d. 1911)
1849 – William R. Day, American jurist and politician, 36th United States Secretary of State (d. 1923)
1852 – Cap Anson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1922)
1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1940)
1865 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (d. 1939)
1866 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (d. 1927)
1875 – Aleksander Tõnisson, Estonian general and politician, 5th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1941)
1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (d. 1961)
1878 – Demetrios Petrokokkinos, Greek tennis player (d. 1942)
1879 – Henri Tauzin, French hurdler (d. 1918)
1882 – Artur Schnabel, Jewish-Polish pianist and composer (d. 1951)
1888 – Herms Niel, German soldier, trombonist, and composer (d. 1954)
1891 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (d. 1965)
1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American soldier and author (d. 1948)
1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish-American ventriloquist (d. 1999)
1897 – Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian philosopher and educator (d. 1981)
1897 – Thornton Wilder, American novelist and playwright (d. 1975)
1897 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (d. 1983)
1899 – Aleksander Klumberg, Estonian decathlete and coach (d. 1958)
1903 – Nicolas Nabokov, Russian-American composer and educator (d. 1978)
1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (d. 1976)
1903 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (d. 1975)
1905 – Louis Jean Heydt, American journalist and actor (d. 1960)
1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
1906 – Sidney Garfield, American physician, co-founded Kaiser Permanente (d. 1984)
1909 – Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (d. 1996)
1910 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister of Defence (d. 1990)
1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter and producer (d. 1999)
1910 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer and manager (d. 1997)
1911 – Hervé Bazin, French author and poet (d. 1996)
1911 – Lester Rodney, American soldier and journalist (d. 2009)
1912 – Marta Eggerth, Jewish-Hungarian-American actress and singer (d. 2013)
1914 – George Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
1914 – Mac Raboy, American illustrator (d. 1967)
1915 – Martin Clemens, Scottish soldier (d. 2009)
1915 – Joe Foss, American general and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (d. 2003)
1915 – Regina Ghazaryan, Armenian painter (d. 1999)
1916 – Win Maung, 3rd President of Union of Myanmar (d. 1989)
1916 – A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan educator and politician (d. 1981)
1916 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, world’s first female prime minister (d. 2000)
1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2016)
1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2012)
1920 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (d. 2016)
1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
1923 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (d. 2014)
1923 – Gianni Raimondi, Italian lyric tenor (d. 2008)
1923 – Harry Reasoner, American soldier and journalist (d. 1991)
1924 – Kenneth Norman Jones, Australian public servant
1924 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (d. 2013)
1925 – René Moawad, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 13th President of Lebanon (d. 1989)
1926 – Joan Lorring, British actress (d. 2014)
1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2004)
1927 – Margot Honecker, East German politician and First Lady (d. 2016)
1928 – Victor Lownes, American businessman (d. 2017)
1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
1928 – Heinz Putzl, Austrian fencer
1928 – Fabien Roy, Canadian accountant and politician
1929 – James Last, German-American bassist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2015)
1930 – Chris Barber, English trombonist and bandleader
1931 – John Barrett, English tennis player and sportscaster
1931 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (d. 2012)
1934 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
1934 – Peter Morris, Australian-English surgeon and academic
1935 – Bud Paxson, American broadcaster, founded Home Shopping Network and Pax TV (d. 2015)
1937 – Ronald Hamowy, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2012)
1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German engineer and businessman (d. 2019)
1938 – Ben Barnes, American businessman and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
1938 – Doug Lewis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 41st Canadian Minister of Justice
1938 – Ronald H. Miller, American theologian, author, and academic (d. 2011)
1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, American theorist and author (d. 1988)
1939 – Robert Miller, American art dealer (d. 2011)
1940 – Eric Dancer, English businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon
1940 – Billy Fury, English singer-songwriter (d. 1983)
1940 – John McCririck, English journalist (d. 2019)
1940 – Chuck Menville, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1992)
1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano and actress
1940 – Agostino Vallini, Italian cardinal and vicar general of Rome
1941 – Lagle Parek, Estonian architect and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
1942 – Buster Williams, American jazz bassist
1943 – Richard Allen Epstein, American lawyer, author, and academic
1946 – Clare Francis, English sailor and author
1947 – Nigel Emslie, Lord Emslie, Scottish lawyer and judge
1947 – Richard Field, English lawyer and judge
1947 – Sherrie Levine, American photographer
1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player, coach, and manager
1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech pianist, composer, and producer
1948 – Alice Harden, American educator and politician (d. 2012)
1948 – Pekka Vasala, Finnish runner
1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress
1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player and businessman
1952 – Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (d. 2016)
1952 – Pierre Guité, Canadian ice hockey player
1952 – John McColl, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian commander (d. 2000)
1952 – John Robertson, Scottish businessman and politician
1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
1954 – Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler and actor (d. 2015)
1954 – Michael Sembello, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Todd Lickliter, American basketball player and coach
1955 – Pete Shelley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
1955 – Mike Stroud, English physician and explorer
1956 – Colin Tyre, Lord Tyre, Scottish lawyer and judge
1957 – Teri Austin, Canadian actress
1957 – Afrika Bambaataa, American disc jockey
1957 – Nick Hornby, English novelist, essayist, lyricist, and screenwriter
1957 – Julia Macur, English lawyer and judge
1957 – Frank McDonough, British historian
1958 – Laslo Babits, Canadian javelin thrower (d. 2013)
1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
1959 – Jimmy Mann, Canadian ice hockey player
1959 – Li Meisu, Chinese shot putter
1960 – Vladimir Polyakov, Russian pole vaulter
1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor union leader
1961 – Norman Cowans, Jamaican-English cricketer
1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player and sportscaster
1961 – Bella Freud, English fashion designer
1962 – Paul Nicholls, English jockey and trainer
1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer-songwriter and producer
1964 – Rachel Notley, Canadian politician
1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
1966 – Vikram, Indian actor and singer
1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player and coach
1967 – Ian Jones, New Zealand rugby player
1967 – Barnaby Joyce, Australian politician, 17th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
1967 – Liz Phair, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1968 – Julie Fagerholt, Danish fashion designer
1968 – Phil Henderson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
1968 – Eric Lamaze, Canadian jockey
1968 – Roger Twose, New Zealand cricketer
1968 – Richie Woodhall, English boxer and trainer
1970 – Redman, American rapper, producer, and actor
1971 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player and sportscaster
1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
1972 – Yuichi Nishimura, Japanese footballer and referee
1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Katrin Koov, Estonian architect
1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketball player and sportscaster
1973 – Theo Ratliff, American basketball player
1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer and fashion designer
1975 – Heidi Alexander, English politician
1975 – Travis Roy, American ice hockey player
1976 – Maurice Wignall, Jamaican hurdler and long jumper
1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
1977 – Frederik Magle, Danish composer, organist, and pianist
1978 – Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer, German skier
1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress
1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Marija Šestak, Serbian-Slovenian triple jumper
1980 – Fabián Vargas, Colombian footballer
1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer, boxer, and manager
1981 – Jenny Meadows, English runner
1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer-songwriter
1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
1981 – Chris Thompson, English runner
1981 – Zhang Yaokun, Chinese footballer
1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Chuck Kobasew, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player
1983 – Roberto Jiménez, Peruvian footballer
1983 – Andrea Marcato, Italian rugby player
1984 – Pablo Sebastián Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
1984 – Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
1984 – Raffaele Palladino, Italian footballer
1985 – Rooney Mara, American actress
1985 – Luke Mitchell, Australian actor and model
1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
1986 – Romain Grosjean, French race car driver
1988 – Takahiro Moriuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
1989 – Paraskevi Papachristou, Greek triple jumper
1989 – Avi Kaplan, singer and songwriter
1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
1992 – Lachlan Maranta, Australian rugby league footballer
1994 – Alanna Goldie, Canadian fencer
1996 – Lorna Fitzgerald, British actress

Deaths on April 17

485 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (b. 412)
617 – Donnán of Eigg, Irish priest and saint
648 – Xiao, empress of the Sui Dynasty
744 – Al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph (b. 706)
818 – Bernard of Italy, Frankish king (b. 797)
858 – Benedict III, pope of the Catholic Church
1071 – Manuel Komnenos, Byzantine military commander (b. c. 1045)
1080 – Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
1111 – Robert of Molesme, Christian saint and abbot (b. 1027)
1298 – Árni Þorláksson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1237)
1321 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1259)
1331 – Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford, English nobleman (b. 1257)
1344 – Constantine II, King of Armenia
1355 – Marin Falier, Doge of Venice (b. 1285)
1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
1539 – George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
1574 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (b. 1500)
1669 – Antonio Bertali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1605)
1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk-born Native American saint (b. 1656)
1695 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1651)
1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (b. 1626)
1711 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
1713 – David Hollatz, Polish pastor and theologian (b. 1648)
1764 – Johann Mattheson, German lexicographer and composer (b. 1681)
1790 – Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, publisher, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (b. 1706)
1799 – Richard Jupp, English surveyor and architect (b. 1728)
1840 – Hannah Webster Foster, American journalist and author (b. 1758)
1843 – Samuel Morey, American engineer (b. 1762)
1882 – George Jennings, English engineer and plumber, invented the Flush toilet (b. 1810)
1888 – E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and journalist (b. 1821)
1892 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
1921 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese journalist, author, and philosopher (b. 1860)
1923 – Laurence Ginnell, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1852)
1930 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1863)
1933 – Kote Marjanishvili, Georgian director and playwright (b. 1872)
1936 – Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch lawyer and politician, 28th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1873)
1942 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
1944 – J. T. Hearne, English cricketer and coach (b. 1867)
1944 – Dimitrios Psarros, Greek lieutenant, founded the National and Social Liberation (b. 1893)
1946 – Juan Bautista Sacasa, Nicaraguan medical doctor, politician and 20th President of Nicaragua (b. 1874)
1948 – Suzuki Kantarō, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1868)
1954 – Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Romanian lawyer and politician, Romanian Minister of Justice (b. 1900)
1960 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
1961 – Elda Anderson, American physicist and health researcher (b. 1899)
1967 – Red Allen, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
1975 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (b. 1888)
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
1977 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (b. 1913)
1983 – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1939)
1984 – Claude Provost, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1933)
1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, English publisher (b. 1901)
1987 – Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1923)
1988 – Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-American sculptor and educator (b. 1900)
1990 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (b. 1936)
1993 – Turgut Özal, Turkish engineer and politician, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American psychologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
1995 – Frank E. Resnik, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1928)
1996 – Piet Hein, Danish poet and mathematician (b. 1905)
1997 – Chaim Herzog, Israeli general, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of Israel (b. 1918)
1998 – Linda McCartney, American photographer, activist, and musician (b. 1941)
2003 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (b. 1930)
2003 – H. B. Bailey, American race car driver (b. 1936)
2003 – John Paul Getty, Jr., American-English philanthropist (b. 1932)
2003 – Earl King, American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter (b. 1934)
2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek businessman (b. 1910)
2004 – Edmond Pidoux, Swiss author and poet (b. 1908)
2006 – Jean Bernard, French physician and haematologist (b. 1907)
2006 – Scott Brazil, American director and producer (b. 1955)
2006 – Henderson Forsythe, American actor (b. 1917)
2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress, singer, socialite and game show panelist (b. 1910)
2008 – Aimé Césaire, Caribbean-French poet and politician (b. 1913)
2008 – Danny Federici, American organist and accordion player (b. 1950)
2011 – Eric Gross, Austrian-Australian pianist and composer (b. 1926)
2011 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (b. 1940)
2011 – Robert Vickrey, American artist and author (b. 1926)
2012 – Leila Berg, English journalist and author (b. 1917)
2012 – J. Quinn Brisben, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
2012 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (b. 1948)
2012 – Nityananda Mohapatra, Indian journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1912)
2012 – Jonathan V. Plaut, American rabbi and author (b. 1942)
2012 – Stanley Rogers Resor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1917)
2013 – Carlos Graça, São Toméan politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (b. 1931)
2013 – Bi Kidude, Tanzanian Taarab singer (b. ≈1910)
2013 – Yngve Moe, Norwegian bass player and songwriter (b. 1957)
2013 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1934)
2014 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
2014 – Bernat Klein, Serbian-Scottish fashion designer and painter (b. 1922)
2014 – Wojciech Leśnikowski, Polish–American architect and academic (b. 1938)
2014 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (b. 1940)
2015 – Robert P. Griffin, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1923)
2015 – Scotty Probasco, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
2015 – Jeremiah J. Rodell, American general (b. 1921)
2015 – A. Alfred Taubman, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
2016 – Chyna, American wrestler (b. 1969)
2016 – Doris Roberts, American actress (b. 1925)
2018 – Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States (b. 1925)
2018 – Carl Kasell, American radio personality (b. 1934)
2019 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances on April 17

Christian feast day:
- Kateri Tekakwitha (Canada)
- Stephen Harding
- April 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Store Bededag or General Prayer Day can fall, while May 13 is the latest; observed on the 4th Friday after Easter. (Denmark)
Evacuation Day (Syria), celebrates the recognition of the independence of Syria from France in 1946.
FAO Day (Iraq)
Flag Day (American Samoa)
Malbec World Day
Women’s Day (Gabon)
World Hemophilia Day

April 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

43 BC – Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Caesar’s assassin Decimus Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, but is then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Aulus Hirtius.
AD 69 – Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome.
AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, surrounds the Jewish capital with four Roman legions.
193 – Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).
966 – After his marriage to the Christian Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.
972 – Co-Emperor Otto II, a son of Otto I (the Great), marries the Byzantine princess Theophanu. She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII at Rome.
1028 – Henry III, son of Conrad, is elected King of Germany.
1205 – Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders.
1294 – Temür, grandson of Kublai, is elected Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty with the reigning titles Oljeitu and Chengzong.
1341 – Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V, Marquess of Saluzzo.
1434 – The foundation stone of Nantes Cathedral, France is laid.
1471 – In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne.
1561 – A celestial phenomenon is reported over Nuremberg, described as an aerial battle.
1639 – Imperial forces are defeated by the Swedes at the Battle of Chemnitz. The Swedish victory prolongs the Thirty Years’ War and allows them to advance into Bohemia.
1699 – Khalsa: The Sikh religion was formalised as the Khalsa – the brotherhood of Warrior-Saints – by Guru Gobind Singh in northern India, in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.
1775 – The first abolition society in North America is established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage is organized in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
1816 – Bussa, a slave in British-ruled Barbados, leads a slave rebellion and is killed. For this, he is remembered as the first national hero of Barbados.
1828 – Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
1849 – Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Lajos Kossuth as its leader.
1865 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln died the next day.
1865 – U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked at home by Lewis Powell.
1881 – The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight is fought in El Paso, Texas.
1890 – The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C.
1894 – The first ever commercial motion picture house opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films.
1900 – The Exposition Universelle begins.
1902 – James Cash Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
1906 – The Azusa Street Revival opens and will launch Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.
1908 – Hauser Dam, a steel dam on the Missouri River in Montana, U.S., fails, sending a surge of water 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m) high downstream.
1909 – A massacre is organized by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian population of Cilicia.
1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 (sinks morning of April 15th).
1927 – The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, reaches Greenly Island, Canada – the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
1931 – The Spanish Cortes deposes King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the Second Spanish Republic.
1935 – The Black Sunday dust storm, considered one of the worst storms of the Dust Bowl, swept across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring areas.
1939 – The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press.
1940 – World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway in preparation for a larger force to arrive two days later.
1941 – World War II: German general Erwin Rommel attacks Tobruk.
1944 – Bombay explosion: A massive explosion in Bombay harbor kills 300 and causes economic damage valued then at 20 million pounds.
1945 – Razing of Friesoythe: The 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division deliberately destroyed the German town of Friesoythe on the orders of Major General Christopher Vokes.
1958 – The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a female dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.
1967 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma overthrows President of Togo Nicolas Grunitzky and installs himself as the new president, a title he would hold for the next 38 years.
1978 – Tbilisi Demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
1981 – STS-1: The first operational Space Shuttle, Columbia completes its first test flight.
1986 – The heaviest hailstones ever recorded (1 kilogram (2.2 lb)) fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.
1988 – The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.
1988 – In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
1991 – The Republic of Georgia introduces the post of President after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
1994 – In a U.S. friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people.
1999 – NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees. Yugoslav officials say 75 people were killed.
1999 – A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.
2002 – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country’s military.
2003 – The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
2003 – U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the MS Achille Lauro in 1985.
2005 – The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.
2006 – Twin blasts triggered by crude bombs during Asr prayer in Jama Masjid, Delhi injure 13 people.
2010 – Nearly 2,700 are killed in a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
2014 – Twin bomb blasts in Abuja, Nigeria, kill at least 75 people and injures 141 others.
2014 – Two hundred seventy-six schoolgirls are abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria.
2016 – In Japan, the foreshock of Kumamoto earthquakes occurs.

Births on April 14

1126 – Averroes, Spanish physician and philosopher (d. 1198)
1204 – Henry I, king of Castile (d. 1217)
1331 – Jeanne-Marie de Maille, French Roman Catholic saint (d. 1414)
1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d. 1598)
1572 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1632)
1578 – Philip III of Spain (d. 1621)
1629 – Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1695)
1668 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (d. 1741)
1678 – Abraham Darby I, English iron master (d. 1717)
1709 – Charles Collé, French playwright and songwriter (d. 1783)
1714 – Adam Gib, Scottish minister and author (d. 1788)
1738 – William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1809)
1741 – Emperor Momozono of Japan (d. 1762)
1769 – Barthélemy Catherine Joubert, French general (d. 1799)
1773 – Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, French politician, 6th Prime Minister of France (d. 1854)
1788 – David G. Burnet, American politician, 2nd Vice-President of Texas (d. 1870)
1800 – John Appold, English engineer (d. 1865)
1812 – George Grey, Portuguese-New Zealand soldier, explorer, and politician, 11th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1898)
1814 – Dimitri Kipiani, Georgian publicist and author (d. 1887)
1819 – Harriett Ellen Grannis Arey, American educator, author, editor, and publisher (d. 1901)
1827 – Augustus Pitt Rivers, English general, ethnologist, and archaeologist (d. 1900)
1852 – Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton, Australian biologist (d. 1941)
1854 – Martin Lipp, Estonian pastor and poet (d. 1923)
1857 – Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (d. 1944)
1865 – Alfred Hoare Powell, English architect, and designer and painter of pottery (d. 1960)
1866 – Anne Sullivan, American educator (d. 1936)
1868 – Peter Behrens, German architect, designed the AEG turbine factory (d. 1940)
1870 – Victor Borisov-Musatov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1905)
1870 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1929)
1872 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-English scholar and translator (d. 1953)
1876 – Cecil Chubb, English barrister and one time owner of Stonehenge (d. 1934)
1881 – Husain Salaahuddin, Maldivian poet and scholar (d. 1948)
1882 – Moritz Schlick, German-Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1936)
1886 – Ernst Robert Curtius, German philologist and scholar (d. 1956)
1886 – Árpád Tóth, Hungarian poet and translator (d. 1928)
1889 – Arnold J. Toynbee, English historian and academic (d. 1975)
1891 – B. R. Ambedkar, Indian economist, jurist, and politician, 1st Indian Minister of Law and Justice (d. 1956)
1891 – Otto Lasanen, Finnish wrestler (d. 1958)
1892 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1962)
1892 – V. Gordon Childe, Australian archaeologist and philologist (d. 1957)
1892 – Claire Windsor, American actress (d. 1972)
1902 – Sylvio Mantha, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
1903 – Henry Corbin, French philosopher and academic (d. 1978)
1903 – Ruth Svedberg, Swedish discus thrower and triathlete (d. 2002)
1904 – John Gielgud, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2000)
1905 – Elizabeth Huckaby, American author and educator (d. 1999)
1905 – Georg Lammers, German sprinter (d. 1987)
1905 – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French author and activist (d. 1999)
1906 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (d. 1975)
1907 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (d. 1971)
1912 – Robert Doisneau, French photographer and journalist (d. 1994)
1912 – Georg Siimenson, Estonian footballer (d. 1978)
1913 – Jean Fournet, French conductor (d. 2008)
1916 – Don Willesee, Australian telegraphist and politician, 29th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 2003)
1917 – Valerie Hobson, English actress (d. 1998)
1917 – Marvin Miller, American baseball executive (d. 2012)
1918 – Mary Healy, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
1919 – Shamshad Begum, Pakistani-Indian singer (d. 2013)
1919 – K. Saraswathi Amma, Indian author and playwright (d. 1975)
1920 – Ivor Forbes Guest, English lawyer, historian, and author (d. 2018)
1921 – Thomas Schelling, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
1922 – Audrey Long, American actress (d. 2014)
1923 – Roberto De Vicenzo, Argentinian golfer (d. 2017)
1924 – Shorty Rogers, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1994)
1924 – Joseph Ruskin, American actor and producer (d. 2013)
1924 – Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, English philosopher, and academic (d. 2019)
1925 – Abel Muzorewa, Zimbabwean minister and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia (d. 2010)
1925 – Rod Steiger, American soldier and actor (d. 2002)
1926 – Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author (d. 2013)
1926 – Frank Daniel, Czech director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1996)
1926 – Gloria Jean, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
1926 – Liz Renay, American actress and author (d. 2007)
1927 – Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
1927 – Dany Robin, French actress and singer (d. 1995)
1929 – Gerry Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1929 – Inez Andrews, African-American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
1930 – Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (d. 2013)
1930 – Arnold Burns, American lawyer and politician, 21st United States Deputy Attorney General (d. 2013)
1930 – René Desmaison, French mountaineer (d. 2007)
1930 – Bradford Dillman, American actor and author (d. 2018)
1931 – Geoffrey Dalton, English admiral
1931 – Paul Masnick, Canadian ice hockey player
1932 – Bill Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of British Columbia (d. 2015)
1932 – Atef Ebeid, Egyptian academic and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2014)
1932 – Loretta Lynn, American singer-songwriter and musician
1932 – Cameron Parker, Scottish businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire
1933 – Paddy Hopkirk, Northern Irish racing driver
1933 – Boris Strugatsky, Russian author (d. 2012)
1933 – Yuri Oganessian, Armenian-Russian nuclear physicist
1934 – Fredric Jameson, American philosopher and theorist
1935 – Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton, English table tennis player, swimmer, and politician
1935 – John Oliver, English bishop
1935 – Erich von Däniken, Swiss historian and author
1936 – Arlene Martel, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
1936 – Bobby Nichols, American golfer
1936 – Frank Serpico, American-Italian soldier, police officer and lecturer
1937 – Efi Arazi, Israeli businessman, founded the Scailex Corporation (d. 2013)
1937 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (d. 2012)
1938 – Mahmud Esad Coşan, Turkish author and academic (d. 2001)
1940 – Julie Christie, English actress and activist
1940 – David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes, English archbishop and academic
1940 – Richard Thompson, English physician and academic
1941 – Pete Rose, American baseball player and manager
1942 – Valeriy Brumel, Soviet high jumper (d. 2003)
1942 – Valentin Lebedev, Russian engineer and astronaut
1942 – Björn Rosengren, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister of Enterprise and Innovation
1944 – John Sergeant, English journalist
1945 – Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, Samoan economist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Samoa
1945 – Ritchie Blackmore, English guitarist and songwriter
1945 – Roger Frappier, Canadian producer, director and screenwriter
1946 – Mireille Guiliano, French-American author
1946 – Michael Sarris, Cypriot economist and politician, Cypriot Minister of Finance
1946 – Knut Kristiansen, Norwegian pianist and orchestra leader
1947 – Dominique Baudis, French journalist and politician (d. 2014)
1947 – Bob Massie, Australian cricketer
1948 – Berry Berenson, American model, actress, and photographer (d. 2001)
1948 – Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Justice
1949 – Dave Gibbons, English author and illustrator
1949 – DeAnne Julius, American-British economist and academic
1949 – Chris Langham, English actor and screenwriter
1949 – Chas Mortimer, English motorcycle racer
1949 – John Shea, American actor and director
1950 – Francis Collins, American physician and geneticist
1950 – Péter Esterházy, Hungarian author (d. 2016)
1951 – Milija Aleksic, English footballer (d. 2012)
1951 – José Eduardo González Navas, Spanish politician
1951 – Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist, conductor, and educator
1951 – Elizabeth Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, English politician
1952 – Kenny Aaronson, American bass player
1952 – Mickey O’Sullivan, Irish footballer and manager
1952 – David Urquhart, Scottish bishop
1954 – Sue Hill, English pathologist and civil servant
1954 – Katsuhiro Otomo, Japanese director, screenwriter, and illustrator
1956 – Boris Šprem, Croatian lawyer and politician, 8th President of Croatian Parliament (d. 2012)
1957 – Lothaire Bluteau, Canadian actor
1957 – Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor
1958 – Peter Capaldi, Scottish actor
1959 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (d. 2015)
1959 – Marie-Thérèse Fortin, Canadian actress
1960 – Brad Garrett, American actor and comedian
1960 – Myoma Myint Kywe, Burmese historian and journalist
1960 – Osamu Sato, Japanese graphic artist, programmer, and composer
1960 – Tina Rosenberg, American journalist and author
1960 – Pat Symcox, South African cricketer
1961 – Robert Carlyle, Scottish actor and director
1961 – Daniel Clowes, American cartoonist and screenwriter
1962 – Guillaume Leblanc, Canadian athlete
1964 – Brian Adams, American wrestler (d. 2007)
1964 – Jeff Andretti, American race car driver
1964 – Greg Battle, American-Canadian football player
1964 – Stuart Duncan, American bluegrass musician
1964 – Jeff Hopkins, Welsh international footballer and manager
1964 – Gina McKee, English actress
1965 – Tom Dey, American director and producer
1965 – Alexandre Jardin, French author
1965 – Craig McDermott, Australian cricketer and coach
1966 – André Boisclair, Canadian lawyer and politician
1966 – Jan Boklöv, Swedish ski jumper
1966 – David Justice, American baseball player and sportscaster
1966 – Greg Maddux, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1967 – Nicola Berti, Italian international footballer
1967 – Steve Chiasson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1999)
1967 – Alain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Barrett Martin, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1967 – Julia Zemiro, French-Australian actress, comedian, singer and writer
1968 – Anthony Michael Hall, American actor
1969 – Brad Ausmus, American baseball player and manager
1969 – Martyn LeNoble, Dutch-American bass player
1969 – Vebjørn Selbekk, Norwegian journalist
1970 – Steve Avery, American baseball player
1970 – Shizuka Kudō, Japanese singer and actress
1971 – Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
1971 – Carlos Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
1971 – Gregg Zaun, American baseball player and sportscaster
1972 – Paul Devlin, English-Scottish footballer and manager
1972 – Roberto Mejía, Dominican baseball player
1972 – Dean Potter, American rock climber and BASE jumper (d. 2015)
1973 – Roberto Ayala, Argentinian footballer
1973 – Adrien Brody, American actor
1973 – Hidetaka Suehiro, Japanese video game director and writer
1973 – David Miller, American tenor
1974 – Da Brat, American rapper
1975 – Lita, American wrestler
1975 – Luciano Almeida, Brazilian footballer
1975 – Avner Dorman, Israeli-American composer and academic
1975 – Anderson Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer
1976 – Christian Älvestam, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1976 – Georgina Chapman, English model, actress, and fashion designer, co-founded Marchesa
1976 – Anna DeForge, American basketball player
1976 – Kyle Farnsworth, American baseball player
1976 – Nadine Faustin-Parker, Hatian hurdler
1976 – Jason Wiemer, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Nate Fox, American basketball player (d. 2014)
1977 – Martin Kaalma, Estonian footballer
1977 – Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress and producer
1977 – Rob McElhenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1978 – Roland Lessing, Estonian biathlete
1979 – Iain Balshaw, English rugby player
1979 – Rebecca DiPietro, American wrestler and model
1979 – Marios Elia, Cypriot footballer
1979 – Ross Filipo, New Zealand rugby player
1979 – Noé Pamarot, French footballer
1979 – Patrick Somerville, American novelist and short story writer
1979 – Kerem Tunçeri, Turkish basketball player
1980 – Win Butler, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1980 – Jeremy Smith, New Zealand rugby league player
1981 – Mustafa Güngör, German rugby player
1981 – Amy Leach, English director and producer
1982 – Uğur Boral, Turkish footballer
1982 – Larissa França, Brazilian volleyball player
1983 – Simona La Mantia, Italian triple jumper
1983 – James McFadden, Scottish footballer
1983 – William Obeng, Ghanaian-American football player
1983 – Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Georgian basketball player
1984 – Blake Costanzo, American football player
1984 – Charles Hamelin, Canadian speed skater
1984 – Harumafuji Kōhei, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 70th Yokozuna
1984 – Adán Sánchez, American-Mexican musician (d. 2004)
1984 – Tyler Thigpen, American football player
1985 – Grant Clitsome, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Matt Derbyshire, English footballer
1986 – Goran Gogić, Serbian footballer (d. 2015)
1987 – Michael Baze, American jockey (d. 2011)
1987 – Erwin Hoffer, Austrian footballer
1987 – Wilson Kiprop, Kenyan runner
1987 – Korina Perkovic, German tennis player
1988 – Roberto Bautista Agut, Spanish tennis player
1988 – Eric Gryba, Canadian ice hockey defenseman
1988 – Eliška Klučinová, Czech heptathlete
1988 – Vasileios Pliatsikas, Greek footballer
1988 – Brad Sinopoli, Canadian football player
1989 – Joe Haden, American football player
1990 – Markus Smarzoch, German footballer
1992 – Frederik Sørensen, Danish footballer
1996 – Abigail Breslin, American actress

Deaths on April 14

911 – Pope Sergius III, pope of the Roman Catholic Church
1070 – Gerard, Duke of Lorraine (b. c. 1030)
1099 – Conrad, Bishop of Utrecht (b. before 1040)
1132 – Mstislav I of Kiev (b. 1076)
1279 – Bolesław the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland (b. 1224)
1322 – Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere, English soldier and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1275)
1345 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of The United Kingdom (b. 1287)
1424 – Lucia Visconti, English countess (b. 1372)
1433 – Lidwina, Dutch saint (b. 1380)
1471 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, English commander and politician (b. 1428)
1471 – John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (b. 1431)
1480 – Thomas de Spens, Scottish statesman and prelate (b. c. 1415)
1488 – Girolamo Riario, Lord of Imola and Forli (b. 1443)
1574 – Louis of Nassau (b. 1538)
1578 – James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, English husband of Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1534)
1587 – Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (b. 1548)
1599 – Henry Wallop, English politician (b. 1540)
1609 – Gasparo da Salò, Italian violin maker (b. 1540)
1662 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English politician (b. 1582)
1682 – Avvakum, Russian priest and saint (b. 1620)
1721 – Michel Chamillart, French politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1652)
1740 – Lady Catherine Jones, English philanthropist (b.1672)
1759 – George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer (b. 1685)
1785 – William Whitehead, English poet and playwright (b. 1715)
1792 – Maximilian Hell, Slovak-Hungarian astronomer and priest (b. 1720)
1843 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1801)
1864 – Charles Lot Church, American-Canadian politician (b. 1777)
1888 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (b. 1824)
1910 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1856)
1911 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1880)
1911 – Henri Elzéar Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 4th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1836)
1912 – Henri Brisson, French politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (b. 1835)
1914 – Hubert Bland, English activist, co-founded the Fabian Society (b. 1855)
1916 – Gina Krog, Norwegian suffragist and women’s rights activist (b. 1847)
1917 – L. L. Zamenhof, Polish physician and linguist, created Esperanto (b. 1859)
1919 – Auguste-Réal Angers, Canadian judge and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1837)
1925 – John Singer Sargent, American painter (b. 1856)
1930 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Georgian-Russian actor, playwright, and poet (b. 1893)
1931 – Richard Armstedt, German philologist, historian, and educator (b. 1851)
1935 – Emmy Noether, German-American mathematician and academic (b. 1882)
1938 – Gillis Grafström, Swedish figure skater and architect (b. 1893)
1943 – Yakov Dzhugashvili, Georgian-Russian lieutenant (b. 1907)
1950 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian guru and philosopher (b. 1879)
1951 – Al Christie, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
1962 – M. Visvesvaraya, Indian engineer and scholar (b. 1860)
1963 – Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian monk and historian (b. 1893)
1964 – Tatyana Afanasyeva, Russian-Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1876)
1964 – Rachel Carson, American biologist and author (b. 1907)
1968 – Al Benton, American baseball player (b. 1911)
1969 – Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, Spanish actress (b. 1900)
1975 – Günter Dyhrenfurth, German-Swiss mountaineer, geologist, and explorer (b. 1886)
1975 – Fredric March, American actor (b. 1897)
1976 – José Revueltas, Mexican author and activist (b. 1914)
1978 – Joe Gordon, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
1978 – F. R. Leavis, English educator and critic (b. 1895)
1983 – Pete Farndon, English bassist (The Pretenders) (b. 1952)
1983 – Gianni Rodari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1920)
1986 – Simone de Beauvoir, French novelist and philosopher (b. 1908)
1990 – Thurston Harris, American singer (b. 1931)
1990 – Olabisi Onabanjo, Nigerian politician, 3rd Governor of Ogun State (b. 1927)
1992 – Irene Greenwood, Australian radio broadcaster and feminist and peace activist (b. 1898)
1994 – Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Pakistani chemist and scholar (b. 1897)
1995 – Burl Ives, American actor, folk singer, and writer (b. 1909)
1999 – Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1911)
1999 – Anthony Newley, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
1999 – Bill Wendell, American television announcer (b. 1924)
2000 – Phil Katz, American computer programmer, co-created the zip file format (b. 1962)
2000 – August R. Lindt, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
2000 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer (b. 1918)
2001 – Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (b. 1939)
2001 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
2003 – Jyrki Otila, Finnish politician (b. 1941)
2004 – Micheline Charest, English-Canadian television producer, co-founded the Cookie Jar Group (b. 1953)
2006 – Mahmut Bakalli, Kosovo politician (b. 1936)
2007 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1924)
2007 – Don Ho, American singer and ukulele player (b. 1930)
2007 – René Rémond, French historian and economist (b. 1918)
2008 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
2008 – Ollie Johnston, American animator and voice actor (b. 1912)
2009 – Maurice Druon, French author (b. 1918)
2010 – Israr Ahmed, Pakistani theologian and scholar (b. 1932)
2010 – Alice Miller, Polish-French psychologist and author (b. 1923)
2010 – Peter Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1962)
2011 – Jean Gratton, Canadian Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1924)
2012 – Émile Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1919)
2012 – Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor (b. 1924)
2012 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (b. 1986)
2013 – Efi Arazi, Israeli businessman, founded the Scailex Corporation (b. 1937)
2013 – Colin Davis, English conductor and educator (b. 1927)
2013 – R. P. Goenka, Indian businessman, founded RPG Group (b. 1930)
2013 – George Jackson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
2013 – Armando Villanueva, Peruvian politician, 121st Prime Minister of Peru (b. 1915)
2013 – Charlie Wilson, American politician (b. 1943)
2014 – Nina Cassian, Romanian poet and critic (b. 1924)
2014 – Crad Kilodney, American-Canadian author (b. 1948)
2014 – Wally Olins, English businessman and academic (b. 1930)
2014 – Mick Staton, American soldier and politician (b. 1940)
2015 – Klaus Bednarz, German journalist and author (b. 1942)
2015 – Mark Reeds, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
2015 – Percy Sledge, American singer (b. 1940)
2015 – Roberto Tucci, Italian cardinal and theologian (b. 1921)
2019 – Bibi Andersson, Swedish actress (b.1935)

Holidays and observances on April 14

Ambedkar Jayanti (India)
Black Day (South Korea)
Christian feast day:
- Anthony, John, and Eustathius
- Bénézet
- Henry Beard Delany (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Domnina of Terni
- Lidwina
- Peter González
- Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus
- April 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Commemoration of Anfal Genocide Against the Kurds (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Day of Mologa (Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia)
Day of the Georgian language (Georgia)
Dhivehi Language Day (Maldives)
N’Ko Alphabet Day (Mande speakers)
Pan American Day (several countries in The Americas)
South and Southeast Asian New Year, celebrated on the sidereal vernal equinox. (see April 13):
- Assamese New Year, or Bohag Bihu (India’s Assam Valley)
- Bengali New Year, or Pohela Boishakh (Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal state)
- Burmese New Year, or Thingyan (Myanmar)
- Hindu and Sikh New Year, or Vaisakhi (Punjab region)
- Khmer New Year, or Chol Chnam Thmey (Cambodia)
- Lao New Year, or Pi Mai Lao (Laos)
- Mahl New Year, or Alathu Aharudhuvas (Maldives and India’s Lakshadweep and Kerala state)
- Maithili New Year, or Jude Sheetal (Mithila region)
- Malayali New Year, or Vishu (India’s Kerala state)
- Nepali New Year, or Navabarsha / Vaishak Ek (Nepal)
- Oriya/Odia New Year, or Pana Sankranti (India’s Odisha state)
- Sinhalese New Year, or Aluth Avurudhu (Sri Lanka)
- Tamil New Year, or Puthandu (India’s Tamil Nadu state)
- Thai New Year, or Songkran, celebrated from 13 to 15 April (Thailand)
- Tuluva New Year, or Bisu (India’s Karnataka state)
The first day of Takayama Spring Festival (Takayama, Gifu, Japan)
Youth Day (Angola)

April 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York.
1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír who flees to Poland.
1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships.
1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
1807 – The Froberg mutiny ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli.
1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse.
1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Sumter. The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
1862 – American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw).
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
1910 – SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
1927 – Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
1927 – Rocksprings, Texas was hit by an F5 tornado that destroyed 235 of the 247 buildings in the town and killed 72 townspeople and injured 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history.
1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed.
1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt’s death.
1945 – World War II: The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reached Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.
1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
1961 – Cold War: Space Race: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1.
1963 – The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.
1970 – Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.
1980 – The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed.
1980 – Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport, in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed.
1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.
1983 – Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
1990 – Jim Gary’s “Twentieth Century Dinosaurs” exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
1992 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland; the resort and its park’s name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.
2002 – A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104.
2007 – A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
2009 – Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.
2010 – Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28.
2013 – Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.
2014 – The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

Births on April 12

811 – Muhammad al-Jawad, the ninth Imam of Shia Islam (d. 835)
959 – En’yū, emperor of Japan (d. 991)
1116 – Richeza of Poland, queen of Sweden and Grand Princess of Minsk (d. 1156)
1432 – Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)
1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace and St. Peter’s Basilica (d. 1546)
1484 – Maharana Sangram Singh, Rana of Mewar (d. 1527)
1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (d. 1574)
1526 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (d. 1585)
1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier and politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1604)
1577 – Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
1612 – Simone Cantarini, Italian painter and engraver (d. 1648)
1639 – Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician (d. 1712)
1656 – Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian (d. 1738)
1705 – William Cookworthy, English minister and pharmacist (d. 1780)
1710 – Caffarelli, Italian actor and singer (d. 1783)
1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (d. 1796)
1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)
1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)
1724 – Lyman Hall, American physician, clergyman, and politician, 16th Governor of Georgia (d. 1790)
1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (d. 1836)
1777 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
1792 – John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English soldier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1840)
1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (d. 1847)
1796 – George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1855)
1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)
1816 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (d. 1903)
1823 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian playwright and translator (d. 1886)
1839 – Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (d. 1888)
1845 – Gustaf Cederström, Swedish painter (d. 1933)
1851 – José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican soldier and poet (d. 1880)
1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer and author (d. 1928)
1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1939)
1856 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English mountaineer, cartographer, and politician (d. 1937)
1863 – Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (d. 1895)
1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d. 1918)
1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1941)
1874 – William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1940)
1880 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1911)
1883 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer and educator (d. 1976)
1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player, cricketer, and sailor (d. 1959)
1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
1884 – Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
1885 – Robert Delaunay, French painter (d. 1941)
1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor and director (d. 1918)
1888 – Dan Ahearn, Irish-American long jumper and police officer (d. 1942)
1888 – Cecil Kimber, English automobile engineer (d. 1945)
1892 – Henry Darger, American writer and artist (d. 1973)
1894 – Dorothy Cumming, Australian-American actress (d. 1983)
1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)
1898 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
1901 – Lowell Stockman, American farmer and politician (d. 1962)
1902 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, 36th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
1907 – Zawgyi, Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic (d. 1990)
1907 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (d. 2003)
1908 – Ida Pollock, English author and painter (d. 2013)
1908 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot and general (d. 2006)
1910 – Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018)
1910 – Irma Rapuzzi, French politician (d. 2018)
1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)
1912 – Frank Dilio, Canadian businessman (d. 1997)
1912 – Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988)
1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist (d. 2013)
1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (d. 2013)
1916 – Beverly Cleary, American author
1916 – Russell Garcia, American-New Zealander composer and conductor (d. 2011)
1916 – Benjamin Libet, American neuropsychologist and academic (d. 2007)
1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer and actress (d. 1999)
1917 – Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978)
1917 – Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015)
1919 – István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian composer and educator (d. 2012)
1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)
1921 – Robert Cliche, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1978)
1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (d. 1980)
1923 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2004)
1924 – Raymond Barre, French economist and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
1924 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician and academic (d. 2003)
1924 – Curtis Turner, American race car driver (d. 1970)
1925 – Evelyn Berezin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2018)
1925 – Ned Miller, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
1925 – Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1926 – Jane Withers, American actress
1927 – Thomas Hemsley, English baritone (d. 2013)
1927 – Alvin Sargent, two-time Academy-Award-winning American screenwriter (d. 2019)
1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor
1928 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (d. 2013)
1929 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
1929 – Mukhran Machavariani, Georgian poet and educator (d. 2010)
1930 – John Landy, Australian runner and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria
1930 – Bryan Magee, English philosopher and politician (d. 2019)
1930 – Manuel Neri, American sculptor and painter
1930 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (d. 2006)
1931 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (d. 1995)
1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 5th Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2005)
1932 – Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)
1932 – Tiny Tim, American singer and ukulele player (d. 1996)
1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 2018)
1934 – Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer and manager (d. 2017)
1936 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011)
1936 – Kennedy Simmonds, Kittitian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
1937 – Dennis Banks, American author and activist (d. 2017)
1937 – Igor Volk, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English director and playwright
1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach
1940 – Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)
1940 – Herbie Hancock, American pianist, composer, and bandleader
1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)
1942 – Bill Bryden, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter
1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentinian race car driver and politician
1942 – Jacob Zuma, South African politician, 4th President of South Africa
1943 – Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician, 16th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
1944 – Lisa Jardine, English historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1944 – John Kay, German-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1945 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (d. 2006)
1946 – Ed O’Neill, American actor and comedian
1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO
1947 – Roy M. Anderson, English epidemiologist, zoologist, and academic
1947 – Martin Brasier, English palaeontologist, biologist, and academic (d. 2014)
1947 – Alex Briley, American disco singer
1947 – Tom Clancy, American historian and author (d. 2013)
1947 – Woody Johnson, American businessman and philanthropist
1947 – Dan Lauria, American actor
1947 – David Letterman, American comedian and talk show host
1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television host and producer (d. 2008)
1948 – Joschka Fischer, German academic and politician
1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian footballer, manager, and coach
1949 – Scott Turow, American lawyer and author
1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman
1950 – David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1950 – Joyce Banda, Malawian politician, 4th president of Malawi
1950 – Nick Sackman, English composer and educator
1951 – Tom Noonan, American actor
1952 – Reuben Gant, American football player
1952 – Leicester Rutledge, New Zealand rugby player
1952 – Gary Soto, American poet, novelist, and memoirist
1952 – Ralph Wiley, American journalist (d. 2004)
1953 – Tanino Liberatore, Italian author and illustrator
1954 – John Faulkner, Australian educator and politician, 52nd Australian Minister for Defence
1954 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician (d. 2015)
1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Fabian Hamilton, English graphic designer, engineer, and politician
1956 – Andy Garcia, Cuban-American actor, director, and producer
1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer-songwriter and actor
1957 – Greg Child, Australian mountaineer and author
1957 – Vince Gill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 – Tama Janowitz, American novelist and short story writer
1958 – Will Sergeant, English guitarist
1958 – Klaus Tafelmeier, German javelin thrower
1958 – Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler
1959 – Howard Stableford, English radio and television host
1961 – Corrado Fabi, Italian racing driver
1961 – Charles Mann, American football player and sportscaster
1961 – Magda Szubanski, English-Australian actress, comedian and writer
1962 – Art Alexakis, American singer-songwriter and musician
1962 – Carlos Sainz, Spanish racing driver
1962 – Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial artist and wrestler, founded Hustle
1963 – Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and author
1964 – Chris Fairclough, English footballer and coach
1965 – Amy Ray, American folk-rock singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer
1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor and director
1965 – Chi Onwurah, English politician
1965 – Gervais Rufyikiri, Burundian politician
1965 – Mihai Stoica, Romanian footballer and manager
1966 – Nils-Olav Johansen, Norwegian guitarist and singer
1966 – Lorenzo White, American football player
1967 – Sarah Cracknell, English singer-songwriter
1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
1968 – Toby Gad, German songwriter and producer
1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Jörn Lenz, German footballer and manager
1969 – Lucas Radebe, South African footballer and sportscaster
1969 – Michael Jackson, American football player and politician (d. 2017)
1970 – Sylvain Bouchard, Canadian speed skater
1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor
1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer
1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player and sportscaster
1973 – J. Scott Campbell, American author and illustrator
1973 – Ryan Kisor, American trumpet player and composer
1973 – Antonio Osuna, Mexican-American baseball player
1973 – Christian Panucci, Italian footballer and manager
1974 – Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (d. 2006)
1974 – Bryan Fletcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1974 – Roman Hamrlík, Czech ice hockey player
1974 – Marley Shelton, American actress
1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
1976 – Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner
1976 – Brad Miller, American basketball player
1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer
1977 – Sarah Monahan, Australian actress
1977 – Jason Price, Welsh footballer
1977 – Glenn Rogers, Australian-Scottish cricketer
1978 – Guy Berryman, Scottish bass player and producer
1978 – Scott Crary, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1978 – Svetlana Lapina, Russian high jumper
1978 – Robin Walker, English businessman and politician
1979 – Claire Danes, American actress
1979 – Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast
1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress
1979 – Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer
1979 – Lee Soo-young, South Korean singer
1980 – Sara Head, Welsh Paralympic table tennis champion
1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter
1981 – Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russian runner
1981 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer
1981 – Tulsi Gabbard, American politician
1981 – Grant Holt, English footballer and professional wrestler
1981 – Hisashi Iwakuma, Japanese baseball pitcher
1983 – Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player
1983 – Luke Kibet, Kenyan runner
1984 – Aleksey Dmitrik, Russian high jumper
1985 – Brennan Boesch, American baseball player
1985 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer
1986 – Brad Brach, American baseball pitcher
1986 – Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer
1986 – Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player
1986 – Jonathan Pitroipa, Burkinabé footballer
1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
1987 – Shawn Gore, Canadian football player
1987 – Josh McCrone, Australian rugby league player
1987 – Luiz Adriano, Brazilian professional footballer
1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist
1988 – Ricardo Gabriel Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
1988 – Stephen Brogan, English footballer
1988 – Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer
1988 – Jessie James Decker, American singer-songwriter
1989 – Bethan Dainton, Welsh rugby union player
1989 – Miguel Ángel Ponce, American-Mexican footballer
1989 – Ádám Hanga, Hungarian basketball player
1989 – Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian-American ice dancer
1989 – Valentin Stocker, Swiss footballer
1990 – Francesca Halsall, English swimmer
1990 – Hiroki Sakai, Japanese footballer
1991 – Torey Krug, American ice hockey player
1991 – Lionel Carole, French professional footballer
1991 – Oliver Norwood, English born Northern Irish international footballer
1991 – Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player
1991 – Jazz Richards, Welsh international footballer
1992 – Chad le Clos, South African swimmer
1993 – Jordan Archer, English-Scottish footballer
1993 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player
1994 – Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer
1994 – Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress
1994 – Oh Sehun, South Korean musician
1994 – Eric Bailly, Ivorian professional footballer
1994 – Guido Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
1995 – Pedro Cachín, Argentine tennis player
1996 – Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player

Deaths on April 12

45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general and politician (b. 75 BC)
352 – Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church
434 – Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople
901 – Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI
1125 – Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065)
1167 – Charles VII, king of Sweden (b. c. 1130)
1212 – Vsevolod the Big Nest, Grand Prince of Vladimir (b. 1154)
1256 – Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (b. c. 1217)
1443 – Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364)
1500 – Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (b. 1440)
1530 – Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (b. 1462)
1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)
1555 – Joanna of Castile (b. 1479)
1675 – Richard Bennett, English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)
1687 – Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619)
1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627)
1748 – William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685)
1782 – Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698)
1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719)
1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
1814 – Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726)
1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730)
1850 – Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788)
1866 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801)
1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795)
1878 – William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
1879 – Richard Taylor, American general (b. 1826)
1885 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1817)
1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)
1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842)
1906 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836)
1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821)
1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)
1937 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852)
1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)
1943 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889)
1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
1953 – Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880)
1962 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1923)
1966 – Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (b. 1910)
1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899)
1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886)
1973 – Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894)
1975 – Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (b. 1906)
1977 – Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894)
1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913)
1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (b. 1914)
1983 – Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (b. 1906)
1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalyst (b. 1903)
1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897)
1988 – Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (b. 1927)
1988 – Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903)
1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936)
1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
1992 – Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (b. 1911)
1997 – George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
1998 – Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915)
1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921)
2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908)
2004 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925)
2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936)
2008 – Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (b. 1920)
2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923)
2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)
2010 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (b. 1916)
2010 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945)
2011 – Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (b. 1962)
2012 – Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934)
2012 – Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
2013 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (b. 1928)
2013 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964)
2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962)
2013 – Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934)
2013 – Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961)
2013 – Ya’akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946)
2014 – Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947)
2014 – Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960)
2014 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990)
2014 – Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
2014 – Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953)
2015 – Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924)
2015 – Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950)
2015 – Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916)
2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)
2016 – Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925)
2016 – Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (b. 1930)
2017 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (b. 1959)
2020 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (b. 1983)

Holidays and observances on April 12

Children’s Day (Bolivia)
Christian feast day:
- Adoniram Judson (Episcopal Church)
- Alferius
- Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso
- Erkembode
- Pope Julius I
- Teresa of the Andes
- Zeno of Verona
- April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
- Cosmonautics Day (Russia)
- International Day of Human Space Flight
- Yuri’s Night (International observance)
Halifax Day (North Carolina)
National Redemption Day (Liberia)

April 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix win the Battle of Ravenna.
1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
1689 – William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain.
1713 – War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.
1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
1809 – An incomplete British victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Basque Roads results in the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier.
1814 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
1856 – Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker’s filibusters are holed up.
1868 – Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
1881 – Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
1908 – SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
1909 – The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
1921 – Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
1945 – World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
1951 – Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
1955 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
1957 – United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
1961 – The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
1964 – Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected President by the National Congress.
1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.
1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
1968 – Assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement.
1970 – Apollo 13 is launched.
1976 – The Apple I is created.
1977 – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
1981 – A massive riot in Brixton, south London results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
1986 – FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
1987 – The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
1990 – Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
1993 – Four hundred fifty prisoners rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continued to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
2001 – The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
2002 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
2002 – Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the Presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran’s claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
2007 – Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
2011 – An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
2012 – A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake was VII (Very strong). Ten were killed, twelve were injured, and a non-destructive tsunami was observed on the island of Nias.
2018 – An Ilyushin Il-76 which was owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.

Births on April 11

145 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 211)
1184 – William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
1357 – John I of Portugal (d. 1433)
1370 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
1374 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (d. 1398)
1493 – George I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1531)
1591 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
1592 – John Eliot, English lawyer and politician (d. 1632)
1644 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1724)
1658 – James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish peer (d. 1712)
1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer and conductor (d. 1738)
1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
1721 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
1722 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1771)
1749 – Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (d. 1803)
1755 – James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (d. 1824)
1770 – George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
1794 – Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1865)
1798 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1854)
1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
1825 – Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1864)
1827 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (d. 1890)
1854 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
1856 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1903)
1859 – Stefanos Thomopoulos, Greek historian and author (d. 1939)
1862 – William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1938)
1862 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (d. 1948)
1864 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (d. 1943)
1866 – Bernard O’Dowd, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1953)
1867 – Mark Keppel, American educator (d. 1928)
1869 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (d. 1943)
1871 – Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (d. 1940)
1873 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
1876 – Paul Henry, Irish painter (d. 1958)
1876 – Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (d. 1940)
1879 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (d. 1935)
1887 – Jamini Roy, Indian painter (d. 1972)
1893 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (d. 1971)
1896 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1967)
1899 – Percy Lavon Julian, African-American chemist and academic (d. 1975)
1900 – Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (d. 1989)
1903 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet (d. 1930)
1904 – K. L. Saigal, Indian singer and actor (d. 1947)
1905 – Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (d. 1937)
1906 – Dale Messick, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
1907 – Paul Douglas, American actor (d. 1959)
1908 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
1908 – Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1997)
1908 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (d. 1992)
1908 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (d. 1997)
1910 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (d. 1996)
1912 – John Levy, American bassist and businessman (d. 2012)
1913 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (d. 2006)
1914 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer (d. 1987)
1914 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
1914 – Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, American mathematician (d. 1988)
1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian-Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1983)
1916 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (d. 2001)
1917 – David Westheimer, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2005)
1918 – Richard Wainwright, English soldier and politician (d. 2003)
1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (d. 2015)
1920 – Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
1920 – William Royer, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
1921 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998)
1921 – Jack Rayner, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
1922 – Arved Viirlaid, Estonian-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2015)
1923 – George J. Maloof, Sr., American businessman (d. 1980)
1924 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist and politician (d. 2014)
1925 – Yuriy Lituyev, Russian hurdler and commander (d. 2000)
1925 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
1925 – Viktor Masing, Estonian botanist and ecologist (d. 2001)
1925 – Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman, founded Quebecor (d. 1997)
1926 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (d. 2014)
1926 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2011)
1926 – Karl Rebane, Estonian physicist and academic (d. 2007)
1927 – Lokesh Chandra, Indian historian
1928 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist
1928 – Edwin Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
1928 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
1930 – Nicholas F. Brady, American businessman and politician, 68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
1930 – Walter Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2018)
1930 – Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (d. 1997)
1931 – Lewis Jones, Welsh rugby player and coach
1932 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
1933 – Tony Brown, American journalist and academic
1934 – Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
1934 – Ron Pember, English actor, director and playwright
1935 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
1936 – Brian Noble, English bishop (d. 2019)
1937 – Jill Gascoine, English actress and author
1938 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
1938 – Michael Deaver, American politician, Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
1938 – Reatha King, American chemist and businesswoman
1939 – Luther Johnson, American singer and guitarist
1939 – Louise Lasser, American actress
1940 – Col Firmin, Australian politician (d. 2013)
1940 – Thomas Harris, American author and screenwriter
1940 – Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (d. 1998)
1941 – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and author
1941 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (d. 2015)
1942 – Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014)
1942 – Hattie Gossett, American writer
1942 – James Underwood, English pathologist and academic
1943 – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, English businessman and politician
1943 – Harley Race, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2019)
1944 – Peter Barfuß, German footballer
1944 – John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1945 – John Krebs, Baron Krebs, English zoologist and academic
1946 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (d. 2015)
1946 – Bob Harris, English journalist and radio host
1947 – Lev Bulat, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 2016)
1947 – Uli Edel, German director and screenwriter
1947 – Frank Mantooth, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
1947 – Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
1947 – Michael T. Wright, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
1949 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (d. 2011)
1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
1951 – Paul Fox, English singer and guitarist (d. 2007)
1952 – Nancy Honeytree, American singer and guitarist
1952 – Indira Samarasekera, Sri Lankan engineer and academic
1952 – Peter Windsor, English-Australian journalist and sportscaster
1953 – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
1953 – Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
1954 – Abdullah Atalar, Turkish engineer and academic
1954 – Aleksandr Averin, Azerbaijani cyclist and coach
1954 – Francis Lickerish, English guitarist and composer
1954 – David Perrett, Scottish psychologist and academic
1954 – Ian Redmond, English biologist and conservationist
1954 – Willie Royster, American baseball player (d. 2015)
1955 – Kevin Brady, American lawyer and politician
1955 – Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
1955 – Micheal Ray Richardson, American basketball player and coach
1958 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
1958 – Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Russian sprinter
1959 – Pierre Lacroix, Canadian ice hockey player
1959 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-American lawyer and judge
1959 – Zahid Maleque, Bangladeshi politician
1960 – Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
1961 – Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
1961 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
1961 – Nobuaki Kakuda, Japanese martial artist
1962 – Franck Ducheix, French fencer
1962 – Mark Lawson, English journalist and author
1963 – Billy Bowden, New Zealand cricketer and umpire
1963 – Waldemar Fornalik, Polish footballer and manager
1963 – Elizabeth Smylie, Australian tennis player
1964 – Steve Azar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – John Cryer, English journalist and politician
1964 – Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist
1964 – Bret Saberhagen, American baseball player and coach
1964 – Patrick Sang, Kenyan runner
1966 – Steve Scarsone, American baseball player and manager
1966 – Shin Seung-hun, South Korean singer-songwriter
1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
1968 – Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
1969 – Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer-songwriter
1969 – Michael von Grünigen, Swiss skier
1970 – Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
1970 – Delroy Pearson, English singer-songwriter and producer
1971 – John Leech, English politician
1971 – Oliver Riedel, German bass player
1972 – Balls Mahoney, American wrestler (d. 2016)
1972 – Allan Théo, French singer
1972 – Jason Varitek, American baseball player and manager
1973 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
1973 – Olivier Magne, French rugby player
1974 – Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
1974 – Ashot Danielyan, Armenian weightlifter
1974 – David Jassy, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Zöe Lucker, English actress
1974 – Tom Thacker, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1974 – Trot Nixon, American baseball player and sportscaster
1975 – Olga Hostáková, Czech tennis player
1975 – Walid Soliman, Tunisian author and translator
1976 – Kelvim Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
1977 – Ivonne Teichmann, German runner
1978 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007)
1979 – Malcolm Christie, English footballer
1979 – Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
1979 – Josh Server, American actor
1980 – Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
1980 – Mark Teixeira, American baseball player
1981 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
1981 – Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Veronica Pyke, Australian cricketer
1982 – Ian Bell, English cricketer
1982 – Peeter Kümmel, Estonian skier
1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian skier
1983 – Rubén Palazuelos, Spanish footballer
1983 – Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch race car driver
1984 – Kelli Garner, American actress
1984 – Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
1985 – Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
1985 – Will Minson, Australian footballer
1986 – Sarodj Bertin, Haitian model and human rights lawyer
1986 – Dai Greene, Welsh hurdler
1986 – Lena Schöneborn, German pentathlete
1987 – Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
1987 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter
1988 – Leland Irving, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Torrin Lawrence, American sprinter (d. 2014)
1989 – Zola Jesus, American singer
1990 – Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Greek footballer
1990 – Thulani Serero, South African footballer
1991 – Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
1991 – Brennan Poole, American racing driver
1996 – Dele Alli, English international footballer
1997 – Georgia Bohl, Australian swimmer
1997 – Miriam Kolodziejová, a Czech tennis player

Deaths on April 11

618 – Yang Guang, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 569)
678 – Donus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 610)
924 – Herman I, chancellor and archbishop of Cologne
1034 – Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine emperor (b. 968)
1077 – Anawrahta, king of Burma and founder of the Pagan Empire (b. 1014)
1079 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków (b. 1030)
1165 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia
1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172)
1447 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)
1512 – Gaston de Foix, French military commander (b. 1489)
1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel leader (b. 1521)
1587 – Thomas Bromley, English lord chancellor (b. 1530)
1609 – John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, English noble (b. 1533)
1612 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian and author (b. 1535)
1612 – Edward Wightman, English minister and martyr (b. 1566)
1626 – Marino Ghetaldi, Ragusan mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
1712 – Richard Simon, French priest and critic (b. 1638)
1723 – John Robinson, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1650)
1783 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Polish-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1718)
1798 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet and academic (b. 1725)
1856 – Juan Santamaría, Costa Rican soldier (b. 1831)
1861 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (b. 1824)
1873 – Edward Canby, American general (b. 1817)
1890 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (b. 1808)
1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (b. 1862)
1894 – Constantin Lipsius, German architect and theorist (b. 1832)
1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (b. 1830)
1902 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1818)
1903 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (b. 1878)
1906 – James Anthony Bailey, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1847)
1906 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
1908 – Henry Bird, English chess player and author (b. 1829)
1916 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
1918 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect and urban planner (b. 1841)
1926 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and academic (b. 1849)
1939 – Kurtdereli Mehmet, Turkish wrestler (b. 1864)
1953 – Kid Nichols, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
1954 – Paul Specht, American violinist and bandleader (b. 1895)
1958 – Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter and educator (b. 1875)
1960 – Rosa Grünberg, Swedish actress (b. 1878)
1962 – Ukichiro Nakaya, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1900)
1962 – George Poage, American hurdler and educator (b. 1880)
1967 – Thomas Farrell, American general (b. 1891)
1967 – Donald Sangster, Jamaican lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1911)
1970 – Cathy O’Donnell, American actress (b. 1923)
1970 – John O’Hara, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1905)
1974 – Ernst Ziegler, German actor (b. 1894)
1977 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900)
1977 – Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, Indian author and activist (b. 1921)
1980 – Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Turkish journalist and producer (b. 1935)
1981 – Caroline Gordon, American author and critic (b. 1895)
1983 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (b. 1904)
1984 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1910)
1985 – Bunny Ahearne, Irish-born English businessman (b. 1900)
1985 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (b. 1898)
1985 – Enver Hoxha, Albanian educator and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1908)
1987 – Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1903)
1987 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (b. 1919)
1990 – Harold Ballard, Canadian businessman (b. 1903)
1991 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
1991 – Bruno Hoffmann. German glass harp player (b. 1913)
1992 – James Brown, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
1992 – Eve Merriam, American author and poet (b. 1916)
1992 – Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter, sculptor, and engraver (b. 1920)
1996 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (b. 1988)
1997 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (b. 1899)
1997 – Wang Xiaobo, contemporary Chinese novelist and essayist (b. 1952)
1999 – William H. Armstrong, American author and educator (b. 1911)
2000 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945)
2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh-English actor (b. 1921)
2003 – Cecil Howard Green, English-American geophysicist and businessman, founded Texas Instruments (b. 1900)
2005 – André François, Romanian-French cartoonist, painter, and sculptor (b. 1915)
2005 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (b. 1907)
2006 – June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)
2006 – DeShaun Holton, American rapper and actor (b. 1973)
2007 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (b. 1922)
2007 – Loïc Leferme, French diver (b. 1970)
2007 – Janet McDonald, American lawyer and author (b. 1954)
2007 – Ronald Speirs, Scottish-American colonel (b. 1920)
2007 – Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1922)
2008 – Merlin German, American sergeant (b. 1985)
2009 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress and singer (b. 1914)
2009 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (b. 1912)
2009 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (b. 1927)
2010 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (b. 1948)
2011 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (b. 1981)
2012 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1916)
2012 – Roger Caron, Canadian criminal and author (b. 1938)
2012 – Tippy Dye, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
2012 – Hal McKusick, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player (b. 1924)
2012 – Agustin Roman, American bishop (b. 1928)
2013 – Don Blackman, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1953)
2013 – Grady Hatton, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
2013 – Thomas Hemsley, English actor and singer (b. 1927)
2013 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist (b. 1916)
2013 – Gilles Marchal, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
2013 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (b. 1925)
2013 – Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect (b. 1923)
2013 – Jonathan Winters, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1925)
2014 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (b. 1926)
2014 – Edna Doré, English actress (b. 1921)
2014 – Bill Henry, American baseball player (b. 1927)
2014 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1944)
2014 – Myer S. Kripke, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1914)
2014 – Sergey Nepobedimy, Russian engineer (b. 1921)
2014 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
2015 – Jimmy Gunn, American football player (b. 1948)
2015 – Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1952)
2015 – François Maspero, French journalist and author (b. 1932)
2015 – Hanut Singh, Indian general (b. 1933)
2015 – Tekena Tamuno, Nigerian historian and academic (b. 1932)
2017 – J. Geils, American singer and guitarist (b. 1946)
2017 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (b. 1945)
2020 – John Horton Conway, English mathematician (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances on April 11

Christian feast day:
- Antipas of Pergamum (Greek Orthodox Church)
- Gemma Galgani
- Godeberta
- Guthlac of Crowland
- George Selwyn (Anglicanism)
- Stanislaus of Szczepanów
- April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Second Battle of Rivas. (Costa Rica)
International Louie Louie Day
World Parkinson’s Day

April 11 – 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 / admin

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

On This Day / admin

823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I.
919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army.
1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.
1242 – During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
1536 – Royal Entry of Charles V into Rome: The last Roman triumph.
1566 – Two hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Seventeen Provinces.
1609 – Daimyō (Lord) Shimazu Tadatsune of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
1614 – In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
1621 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.
1710 – The Statute of Anne receives the royal assent establishing the Copyright law of the United Kingdom.
1722 – The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
1792 – United States President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
1795 – Peace of Basel between France and Prussia is made.
1818 – In the Battle of Maipú, Chile’s independence movement, led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
1879 – Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
1900 – Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.
1904 – The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh and Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
1915 – Boxing challenger Jess Willard knocks out Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
1922 – The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
1932 – Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
1933 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.
1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
1943 – World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.
1944 – World War II: Two hundred seventy inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
1945 – Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.
1946 – Soviet troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm.
1946 – A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.
1949 – A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
1951 – Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
1956 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
1956 – In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Ceylon.
1957 – In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.
1958 – Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
1969 – Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
1971 – In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
1976 – In China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident.
1977 – The US Supreme Court rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the Sioux people’s reservation thereby destroyed the tribe’s jurisdictional authority over the area in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip.
1986 – Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany.
1991 – An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
1992 – Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
1992 – Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War.
1998 – In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world.
1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
2000 – UEFA Cup semi-final violence: Four Galatasaray fans are arrested for the stabbings to death of two Leeds United fans.
2009 – North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
2010 – Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.

Births on April 5

1170 – Isabella of Hainault (d. 1190)
1219 – Wonjong of Goryeo, 24th ruler of Goryeo (d. 1274)
1279 – Al-Nuwayri, Egyptian Muslim historian (d. 1333)
1288 – Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (d. 1336)
1315 – James III of Majorca (d. 1349)
1365 – William II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1417)
1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, Italian wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1510)
1521 – Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (d. 1570)
1523 – Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer and diplomat (d. 1596)
1533 – Giulio della Rovere, Italian Catholic Cardinal (d. 1578)
1539 – George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1603)
1549 – Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, (d. 1597)
1568 – Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644)
1588 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (d. 1679)
1591 – Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (d. 1634)
1595 – John Wilson, English composer and educator (d. 1674)
1604 – Charles IV (d. 1675)
1616 – Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1661)
1622 – Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1703)
1649 – Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (d. 1721)
1656 – Nikita Demidov, Russian industrialist (d. 1725)
1664 – Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, French noblewoman and Princess of Epinoy (d. 1748)
1674 – Margravine Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, (d. 1748)
1691 – Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1768)
1692 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (d. 1730)
1719 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician, Lord Marshal of Sweden (d. 1794)
1726 – Benjamin Harrison V, American politician, planter and merchant (d. 1791)
1727 – Pasquale Anfossi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1797)
1729 – Frederick Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1809)
1730 – Jean Baptiste Seroux d’Agincourt, French archaeologist and historian (d. 1814)
1732 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter and etcher (d. 1806)
1735 – Franziskus Herzan von Harras, Czech Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1804)
1739 – Philemon Dickinson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1809)
1752 – Sébastien Érard, French instrument maker (d. 1831)
1761 – Sybil Ludington, American heroine of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1839)
1769 – Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1839)
1773 – José María Coppinger, governor of Spanish East Florida (d. 1844)
1773 – Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, (d. 1839)
1777 – Marie Jules César Savigny, French zoologist (d. 1851)
1782 – Wincenty Krasiński, Polish nobleman (d. 1858)
1784 – Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1859)
1788 – Franz Pforr, German painter (d. 1812)
1793 – Casimir Delavigne, French poet and dramatist (d. 1843)
1793 – Felix de Muelenaere, Belgian politician (d. 1862)
1795 – Henry Havelock, British general (d. 1857)
1799 – Jacques Denys Choisy, Swiss clergyman and botanist (d. 1859)
1801 – Félix Dujardin, French biologist (d. 1860)
1801 – Vincenzo Gioberti, Italian philosopher, publicist and politician (d. 1852)
1804 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (d. 1881)
1809 – Karl Felix Halm, German scholar and critic (d. 1882)
1810 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, British East India Company army officer and politician (d. 1895)
1811 – Jules Dupré, French painter (d. 1889)
1814 – Felix Lichnowsky, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1848)
1822 – Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye, Belgian economist (d. 1892)
1827 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon and academic (d. 1912)
1832 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (d. 1893)
1834 – Prentice Mulford, American humorist and author (d. 1891)
1834 – Wilhelm Olbers Focke, German medical doctor and botanist (d. 1922)
1834 – Frank R. Stockton, American writer and humorist (d. 1902)
1835 – Vítězslav Hálek, Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. (d. 1874)
1837 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (d. 1909)
1839 – Robert Smalls, African-American ship’s pilot, sea captain, and politician (d. 1915)
1840 – Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (d. 1911)
1842 – Hans Hildebrand, Swedish archaeologist (d. 1913)
1845 – Friedrich Sigmund Merkel, German anatomist and histopathologist (d. 1919)
1845 – Jules Cambon, French diplomat (d. 1935)
1846 – Sigmund Exner, Austrian physiologist (d. 1926)
1846 – Henry Wellesley, British peer and politician (d. 1900)
1848 – Thure de Thulstrup, American illustrator (d. 1930)
1848 – Ulrich Wille, Swiss army general (d. 1925)
1850 – Enrico Mazzanti, Italian engineer and cartoonist (d. 1910)
1852 – Émile Billard, French sailor (d. 1930)
1852 – Walter W. Winans, American marksman and sculptor (d. 1920)
1852 – Franz Eckert, German composer and musician (d. 1916)
1856 – Booker T. Washington, African-American educator, essayist and historian (d. 1915)
1857 – Alexander of Battenberg (d. 1893)
1858 – Washington Atlee Burpee, Canadian businessman, founded Burpee Seeds (d. 1915)
1859 – Reinhold Seeberg, German theologian (d. 1935)
1860 – Harry S. Barlow, British tennis player (d. 1917)
1862 – Louis Ganne, French conductor (d. 1923)
1862 – Leo Stern, English cellist (d. 1904)
1863 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1950)
1867 – Ernest Lewis, British tennis player (d. 1930)
1869 – Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1942)
1869 – Albert Roussel, French composer (d. 1937)
1870 – Motobu Chōki, Japanese karateka (d. 1944)
1871 – Stanisław Grabski, Polish economist and politician (d. 1949)
1872 – Samuel Cate Prescott, American microbiologist and chemist (d. 1962)
1873 – Joseph Rheden, Austrian astronomer (d. 1946)
1874 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French Cardinal of the Catholic Church (d. 1949)
1874 – Manuel María Ponce Brousset, President of Peru (d. 1966)
1878 – Albert Champion, French cyclist (d. 1927)
1878 – Georg Misch, German philosopher (d. 1965)
1878 – Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (d. 1964)
1879 – Arthur Berriedale Keith, Scottish lawyer (d. 1944)
1879 – Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, German naval officer and author (d. 1956)
1880 – Eric Carlberg, Swedish Army officer, diplomat, shooter, fencer and modern pentathlete (d. 1963)
1880 – Vilhelm Carlberg, Swedish Army officer and shooter (d. 1970)
1882 – Song Jiaoren, Chinese revolutionary (d. 1913)
1882 – Natalia Sedova, 2nd wife of Leon Trotsky (d. 1962)
1883 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (d. 1950)
1884 – Ion Inculeț, Bessarabian academic and politician, President of Moldova (d. 1940)
1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian composer (d. 1978)
1886 – Gotthelf Bergsträsser, German linguist (d. 1933)
1886 – Frederick Lindemann, British physicist (d. 1957)
1886 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (d. 1933)
1887 – William Cowhig, British gymnast (d. 1964)
1889 – Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Brazilian martial artist (d. 1981)
1890 – Karl Kirk, Danish gymnast (d. 1955)
1890 – William Moore, British track and field athlete (d. 1956)
1891 – Arnold Jackson, English runner, soldier, and lawyer (d. 1972)
1891 – Laura Vicuña, Chilean nun (d. 1904)
1892 – Raymond Bonney, American ice hockey player (d. 1964)
1893 – Frithjof Andersen, Norwegian wrestler (d. 1975)
1893 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (d. 1973)
1894 – Lawrence Dale Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation (d. 1956)
1894 – Hans Hüttig, German SS officer (d. 1980)
1894 – Carl Rudolf Florin, Swedish botanist (d. 1965)
1895 – Mike O’Dowd, American boxer (d. 1957)
1896 – Einar Lundborg, Swedish aviator (d. 1931)
1897 – Hans Schuberth, German politician (d. 1976)
1899 – Alfred Blalock, American surgeon and academic (d. 1964)
1900 – Herbert Bayer, Austrian-American graphic designer, painter, and photographer (d. 1985)
1900 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1928)
1900 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (d. 1967)
1901 – Curt Bois, German actor (d. 1991)
1901 – Chester Bowles, American diplomat and ambassador (d. 1986)
1901 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (d. 1981)
1901 – Doggie Julian, American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach (d. 1967)
1902 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-American rabbi (d. 1994)
1903 – Marion Aye, American actress (d. 1951)
1904 – Richard Eberhart, American poet and academic (d. 2005)
1906 – Albert Charles Smith, American botanist (d. 1999)
1906 – Fernando Germani, Italian organist (d. 1998)
1906 – Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer (d. 1952)
1907 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Thai jurist (d. 2002)
1908 – Bette Davis, American actress (d. 1989)
1908 – Kurt Neumann, German director (d. 1958)
1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1986)
1908 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1989)
1909 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer, co-founded Eon Productions (d. 1996)
1909 – Giacomo Gentilomo, Italian film director and painter (d. 2001)
1909 – Károly Sós, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1991)
1909 – Erwin Wegner, German hurdler (d. 1945)
1910 – Sven Andersson, Swedish politician (d. 1987)
1910 – Oronzo Pugliese, Italian football manager (d. 1990)
1911 – Hedi Amara Nouira, Tunisian politician (d. 1993)
1911 – Johnny Revolta, American golfer (d. 1991)
1912 – Jehan Buhan, French fencer (d. 1999)
1912 – Habib Elghanian, Iranian businessman (d. 1979)
1912 – Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist (d. 1975)
1912 – Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (d. 2000)
1912 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
1912 – John Le Mesurier, English actor (d. 1983)
1912 – István Örkény, Hungarian author and playwright (d. 1979)
1912 – Bill Roberts, English sprinter and soldier (d. 2001)
1913 – Antoni Clavé, Catalan artist (d. 2005)
1913 – Nicolas Grunitzky, 2nd President of Togo (d. 1969)
1913 – Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (d. 1958)
1914 – Felice Borel, Italian footballer (d. 1993)
1916 – Gregory Peck, American actor, political activist, and producer (d. 2003)
1917 – Robert Bloch, American author (d. 1994)
1917 – Frans Gommers, Belgian footballer (d. 1996)
1919 – Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2018)
1920 – Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)
1920 – Arthur Hailey, English-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2004)
1920 – Alfonso Thiele, Turkish-Italian race car driver (d. 1986)
1920 – John Willem Gran, Swedish bishop (d. 2008)
1921 – Christopher Hewett, English actor and theatre director (d. 2001)
1922 – Tom Finney, English footballer (d. 2014)
1922 – Harry Freedman, Polish-Canadian horn player, composer, and educator (d. 2005)
1922 – Andy Linden, American race car driver (d. 1987)
1922 – Gale Storm, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
1923 – Ernest Mandel, German-born Belgian Marxist economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist (d. 1995)
1923 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (d. 1995)
1923 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (d. 2001)
1924 – Igor Borisov, Soviet rower (d. before 2005)
1925 – Janet Rowley, American human geneticist (d. 2013)
1925 – Pierre Nihant, Belgian cyclist (d. 1993)
1926 – Roger Corman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1926 – Liang Yusheng, Chinese writer (d. 2009)
1927 – Thanin Kraivichien, Thai lawyer and politician
1927 – Arne Hoel, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2006)
1928 – Enzo Cannavale, Italian actor (d. 2011)
1928 – Tony Williams, American singer (d. 1992)
1929 – Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and painter (d. 2008)
1929 – Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1929 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor and producer (d. 2001)
1929 – Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (d. 1967)
1929 – Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, Iranian wrestler
1930 – Mary Costa, American singer and actress
1930 – Pierre Lhomme, French director of photography (d. 2019)
1931 – Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1931 – Héctor Olivera, Argentine director, producer and screenwriter
1933 – Feridun Buğeker, Turkish footballer (d. 2014)
1933 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (d. 2005)
1933 – Barbara Holland, American author (d. 2010)
1933 – K. Kailasapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and academic (d. 1982)
1934 – John Carey, English author and critic
1934 – Roman Herzog, German lawyer and politician, 7th President of Germany (d. 2017)
1934 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (d. 2014)
1934 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2000)
1935 – Giovanni Cianfriglia, Italian actor
1935 – Peter Grant, English talent manager (d. 1995)
1935 – Donald Lynden-Bell, English astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 2018)
1935 – Frank Schepke, German rower (d. 2017)
1936 – Ronnie Bucknum, American race car driver (d. 1992)
1936 – Glenn Jordan, American director and producer
1936 – Dragoljub Minić, Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster (d. 2005)
1937 – Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and author
1937 – Jean-Pierre Petit, French scientist
1937 – Colin Powell, American general and politician, 65th United States Secretary of State
1937 – Andrzej Schinzel, Polish mathematician
1937 – Arie Selinger, Israeli volleyball player and manager
1937 – Juan Vicente Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer (d. 2012)
1938 – Colin Bland, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (d. 2018)
1938 – Mal Colston, Australian educator and politician (d. 2003)
1938 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
1938 – Natalya Kustinskaya, Soviet actress (d. 2012)
1939 – Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania (d. 2011)
1939 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
1939 – Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, Prime Minister of Yemen
1939 – Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
1939 – David Winters, English-American actor, choreographer and producer (d. 2019)
1940 – Tommy Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1940 – Gilles Proulx, Canadian journalist, historian, and radio host
1941 – Michael Moriarty, American-Canadian actor
1941 – Dave Swarbrick, English singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2016)
1942 – Allan Clarke, English singer-songwriter
1942 – Pascal Couchepin, Swiss politician
1942 – Juan Gisbert Sr., Spanish tennis player
1942 – Peter Greenaway, Welsh director and screenwriter
1943 – Dean Brown, Australian politician, 41st Premier of South Australia
1943 – Max Gail, American actor and director
1943 – Fighting Harada, Japanese boxer
1943 – Miet Smet, Belgian politician
1943 – Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (d. 2018)
1944 – Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress and director
1944 – János Martonyi, Hungarian politician
1944 – Evan Parker, British musician
1944 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (d. 2014)
1944 – Willy Planckaert, Belgian cyclist
1944 – Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rican physician and politician, 7th Governor of Puerto Rico
1944 – Peter T. King, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
1945 – Ove Bengtson, Swedish tennis player
1945 – Steve Carver, American director and producer
1945 – Cem Karaca, Turkish musician (d. 2004)
1945 – Tommy Smith, English footballer (d. 2019)
1946 – Jane Asher, English actress
1946 – Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer
1946 – Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
1946 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler
1947 – Đurđica Bjedov, Yugoslav swimmer
1947 – Willy Chirino, Cuban-American musician
1947 – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Filipino academic and politician, 14th President of the Philippines
1947 – Ramón Mifflin, Peruvian footballer
1947 – Virendra Sharma, Indian-English lawyer and politician
1948 – Pierre-Albert Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
1948 – Dave Holland, English drummer (d. 2018)
1948 – Roy McFarland, English footballer and manager
1949 – Stanley Dziedzic, American wrestler
1949 – Larry Franco, American film producer
1949 – Judith Resnik, Ukrainian-American engineer and astronaut (d. 1986)
1950 – Ann C. Crispin, American writer (d. 2013)
1950 – Franklin Chang Díaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American astronaut and physicist
1950 – Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1950 – Toshiko Fujita, Japanese actress, singer and narrator (d. 2018)
1950 – Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor
1951 – Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter
1951 – Yevgeniy Gavrilenko, Belarusian hurdler
1951 – Nedim Gürsel, Turkish writer
1951 – Dean Kamen, American inventor and businessman, founded Segway Inc.
1951 – Dave McArtney, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1951 – Ubol Ratana, Thai Princess
1952 – Alfie Conn, Scottish international footballer, midfielder
1952 – John C. Dvorak, American author and editor
1952 – Sandy Mayer, American tennis player
1952 – Dennis Mortimer, English footballer
1952 – Mitch Pileggi, American actor
1953 – Frank Gaffney, American journalist and radio host
1953 – Keiko Han, Japanese actress
1953 – Tae Jin-ah, South Korean singer
1953 – Raleb Majadele, Israeli politician
1953 – Ian Swales, English accountant and politician
1954 – Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist and radio host
1954 – Peter Case, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Mohamed Ben Mouza, Tunisian footballer
1954 – Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Yoshiichi Watanabe, Japanese footballer
1955 – Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Ricardo Ferrero, Argentine footballer (d. 2015)
1955 – Christian Gourcuff, French footballer and manager
1955 – Anthony Horowitz, English author and screenwriter
1955 – Bernard Longley, English prelate
1955 – Akira Toriyama, Japanese illustrator
1955 – Takayoshi Yamano, Japanese footballer
1956 – Diamond Dallas Page, American wrestler and actor
1956 – Leonid Fedun, Russian businessman
1956 – Reid Ribble, American politician
1957 – Sebastian Adayanthrath, Indian bishop
1957 – Karin Roßley, German hurdler
1958 – Henrik Dettmann, Finnish basketball coach
1958 – Ryoichi Kawakatsu, Japanese footballer
1958 – Johan Kriek, South African-American tennis player
1958 – Daniel Schneidermann, French journalist
1958 – Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan lawyer and journalist (d. 2009)
1959 – Paul Chung, Hong Kong actor and host (d. 1989)
1960 – Asteris Koutoulas, Romanian-German record producer, manager, and author
1960 – Larry McCray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1960 – Hiromi Taniguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
1960 – Adnan Terzić, Bosnian politician
1961 – Andrea Arnold, English filmmaker and actress
1961 – Anna Caterina Antonacci, Italian soprano
1961 – Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahraini-Danish human rights activist
1961 – Lisa Zane, American actress and singer
1962 – Lana Clarkson, American actress and model (d. 2003)
1962 – Sara Danius, Swedish scholar of literature and aesthetics
1962 – Richard Gough, Swedish born Scottish international footballer
1962 – Arild Monsen, Norwegian cross-country skier
1962 – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian businessman and politician, 1st President of Kalmykia
1963 – Arthur Adams, American comic book artist and writer
1964 – Neil Eckersley, British judoka
1964 – Vakhtang Iagorashvili, Soviet modern pentathlete
1964 – Levon Julfalakyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler
1964 – Marius Lăcătuș, Romanian footballer and coach
1965 – Aykut Kocaman, Turkish footballer and manager
1965 – Lang Tzu-yun, Taiwanese actress
1965 – Elizabeth McIntyre, American freestyle skier
1965 – Svetlana Paramygina, Belarusian biathlete
1966 – Yoon Hyun, South Korean judoka
1966 – Mike McCready, American guitarist and songwriter
1967 – Troy Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1967 – Franck Silvestre, French footballer
1967 – Erland Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
1967 – Laima Zilporytė, Soviet cyclist
1968 – Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1969 – Dinos Angelidis, Greek basketball player
1969 – Viatcheslav Djavanian, Russian cyclist
1969 – Pontus Kåmark, Swedish footballer
1969 – Pavlo Khnykin, Ukrainian swimmer
1969 – Tomislav Piplica, Bosnian footballer and manager
1969 – Ravindra Prabhat, Indian writer and journalist
1970 – Soheil Ayari, French race car driver
1970 – Valérie Bonneton, French actress
1970 – Diamond D, American hip hop producer
1970 – Petar Genov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster
1970 – Thea Gill, Canadian actress
1970 – Miho Hatori, Japanese singer-songwriter
1970 – Irina Timofeyeva, Russian long-distance runner
1971 – Dong Abay, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Austin Berry, Costa Rican footballer
1971 – Simona Cavallari, Italian actress
1971 – Victoria Hamilton, English actress
1971 – Nelson Parraguez, Chilean footballer
1971 – Kim Soo-nyung, South Korean archer
1972 – Krista Allen, American actress
1972 – Nima Arkani-Hamed, American-Canadian theoretical physicist
1972 – Tom Coronel, Dutch race car driver
1972 – Paul Okon, Australian footballer and manager
1972 – Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and director (d. 2019)
1972 – Junko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
1973 – Élodie Bouchez, French-American actress
1973 – Lidia Trettel, Italian snowboarder
1973 – Pharrell Williams, American singer, songwriter and rapper
1974 – Sandra Bagarić, Croatian opera singer and actress
1974 – Julien Boutter, French tennis player
1974 – Katja Holanti, Finnish biathlete
1974 – Oleg Khodkov, Russian handball player
1974 – Ariel López, Argentine footballer
1974 – Lukas Ridgeston, Slovak actor and director
1974 – Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
1975 – Sarah Baldock, English organist and conductor
1975 – John Hartson, Welsh footballer and coach
1975 – Juicy J, American rapper and producer
1975 – Serhiy Klymentiev, Ukrainian ice hockey player
1975 – Caitlin Moran, English journalist, author, and critic
1975 – Marcos Vales, Spanish footballer
1975 – Shammond Williams, American basketball player and coach
1976 – Luis de Agustini, Uruguayan footballer
1976 – Péter Biros, Hungarian water polo player
1976 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
1976 – Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka
1976 – Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
1976 – Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer and coach
1976 – Natascha Ragosina, Russian boxer
1976 – Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer
1976 – Valeria Straneo, Italian long-distance runner
1976 – Indrek Tobreluts, Estonian biathlete
1976 – Anouska van der Zee, Dutch cyclist
1977 – Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player
1977 – Trevor Letowski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1977 – Daniel Majstorović, Swedish footballer
1978 – Dwain Chambers, British track sprinter
1978 – Marcone Amaral Costa, Qatari footballer
1978 – Tarek El-Said, Egyptian footballer
1978 – Jairo Patiño, Colombian footballer
1978 – Sohyang, South Korean singer
1978 – Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
1978 – Arnaud Tournant, French cyclist
1978 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
1978 – Günther Weidlinger, Austrian long-distance runner
1979 – Vlada Avramov, Serbian footballer
1979 – Josh Boone, American screenwriter and director
1979 – Song Dae-nam, South Korean judoka
1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer
1979 – Imany, French singer
1979 – Barel Mouko, Congolese footballer
1979 – Cesare Natali, Italian footballer
1979 – Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer
1979 – Alexander Resch, German luger
1979 – Andrius Velička, Lithuanian footballer
1979 – Dante Wesley, American football player
1979 – Chen Yanqing, Chinese weightlifter
1980 – Matt Bonner, American basketball player
1980 – Alberta Brianti, Italian tennis player
1980 – Rafael Cavalcante, Brazilian mixed martial artist
1980 – David Chocarro, Argentinian baseball player and actor
1980 – Mike Glumac, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Mario Kasun, Croatian basketball player
1980 – Lee Jae-won, South Korean DJ and singer
1980 – Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer
1980 – Rasmus Quist Hansen, Danish rower
1980 – Odlanier Solís, Cuban boxer
1981 – Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter
1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2006)
1981 – Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter
1981 – Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete
1981 – Marissa Nadler, American musician
1981 – Tom Riley, English actor and producer
1981 – Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer
1981 – Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
1982 – Hayley Atwell, English-American actress
1982 – Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
1982 – Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
1982 – Matt Pickens, American soccer player
1982 – Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver
1982 – Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete
1982 – Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist
1982 – Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer
1983 – Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer
1983 – Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
1983 – Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player
1983 – Yohann Sangaré, French basketball player
1983 – Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier
1983 – Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player
1984 – Marshall Allman, American actor
1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian
1984 – Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete
1984 – Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player
1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
1984 – Darija Jurak, Croatian tennis player
1984 – Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer
1984 – Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist
1984 – Shin Min-a, South Korean actress
1984 – Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress
1984 – Peter Penz, Austrian luger
1984 – Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer
1984 – Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer
1984 – Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer
1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
1984 – Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model
1985 – Daniel Congré, French footballer
1985 – Erwin l’Ami, Dutch chess player
1985 – Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete
1985 – Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist
1985 – Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer
1985 – Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster
1985 – Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist
1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model and actress
1986 – Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler
1986 – Diego Chará, Colombian footballer
1986 – Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author and actress
1986 – Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete
1986 – Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer
1986 – Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer
1986 – Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer
1987 – Max Grün, German footballer
1987 – Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player
1987 – Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete
1987 – Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer
1987 – Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer
1988 – Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer
1988 – Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player
1988 – Quade Cooper, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
1988 – Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player
1988 – Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer
1988 – Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player
1988 – Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer
1988 – Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager
1988 – Jon Kwang-ik, North Korean footballer
1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
1988 – Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Pape Sy, French basketball player
1988 – Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete
1989 – Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer
1989 – Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer
1989 – Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter
1989 – Freddie Fox, English actor
1989 – Emre Güral, Turkish footballer
1989 – Justin Holiday, American basketball player
1989 – Rachel Homan, Canadian curler
1989 – Lily James, English actress
1989 – Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater
1989 – Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer
1989 – Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress
1989 – Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler
1990 – Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player
1990 – Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer
1990 – Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer
1990 – Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer
1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer
1990 – Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer
1990 – Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist
1990 – Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player
1990 – Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer
1990 – Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer
1991 – Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer
1991 – Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer
1991 – Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer
1991 – Joël Mall, Swiss footballer
1991 – Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
1992 – Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer
1992 – Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer
1992 – Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer
1993 – Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer
1993 – Maya DiRado, American swimmer
1993 – Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer
1993 – Scottie Wilbekin, American-born naturalized Turkish basketball player
1994 – Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player
1994 – Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer
1994 – Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer
1995 – Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player
1995 – Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer
1995 – Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer
1995 – Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer
1996 – Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver
1996 – Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer
1997 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
1998 – Jeremy Olson
1999 – Andrea Buwalda
2000 – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Indian actor
2001 – Thylane Blondeau, French model and actress

Deaths on April 5

517 – Timothy I, Byzantine patriarch
582 – Eutychius, Byzantine patriarch
584 – Ruadán of Lorrha, Irish abbot
828 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine patriarch
902 – Al-Mu’tadid, Abbasid caliph
1168 – Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1104)
1183 – Ramon Berenguer III, Spanish count of Cerdanya and Provence
1205 – Isabella I of Jerusalem, queen regent of Jerusalem (b. 1172)
1258 – Juliana of Liège, Belgian canoness and saint
1308 – Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian baron and oligarch
1325 – Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron of Monthermer and Earl of Gloucester (b. c.1270)
1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1350)
1431 – Bernard I, margrave of Baden-Baden (b. 1364)
1512 – Lazzaro Bastiani, Italian painter (b. 1429)
1534 – Jan Matthys, Dutch anabaptist reformer
1594 – Catherine of Palma, Spanish nun (b. 1533)
1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
1626 – Anna Koltovskaya, Russian tsarina
1673 – François Caron, Belgian-French explorer and politician, 8th Governor of Formosa (b. 1600)
1674 – George Frederick, prince of Nassau-Siegen (b. 1606)
1679 – Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, French princess (b. 1619)
1684 – William Brouncker, English mathematician (b. 1620)
1684 – Karl Eusebius, prince of Liechtenstein (b. 1611)
1693 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, French noblewoman (b. 1627)
1693 – Philip William August, German nobleman (b. 1668)
1695 – George Savile, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1633)
1697 – Charles XI, king of Sweden (b. 1655)
1704 – Christian Ulrich I, German nobleman and Duke of Württemberg-Oels (b. 1652)
1708 – Christian Heinrich, German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern (b. 1661)
1709 – Roger de Piles, French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat (b. 1635)
1712 – Jan Luyken, Dutch poet, illustrator and engraver (b. 1649)
1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
1723 – Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect, sculptor and historian (b. 1656)
1735 – William Derham, English minister and philosopher (b. 1657)
1751 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (b. 1676)
1765 – Edward Young, English poet and author (b. 1683)
1767 – Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1685)
1768 – Egidio Forcellini, Italian philologist (b. 1688)
1769 – Marc-Antoine Laugier, Jesuit priest (b. 1713)
1794 – Georges Danton, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (b. 1759)
1794 – François Chabot, French politician (b. 1756)
1794 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1760)
1794 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, dramatist, poet and politician (b. 1750)
1794 – Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French judge and politician (b. 1759)
1794 – Pierre Philippeaux, French lawyer (b. 1754)
1794 – François Joseph Westermann, French general (b. 1751)
1799 – Johann Christoph Gatterer, German historian (b. 1727)
1804 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)
1808 – Johann Georg Wille, German engraver (b. 1715)
1830 – Richard Chenevix, Irish chemist and playwright (b. 1774)
1831 – Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, Belgian entomologist (b. 1797)
1842 – Shah Shujah Durrani, 5th Emir of Afghanistan (b. 1785)
1852 – Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, (b. 1800)
1861 – Ferdinand Joachimsthal, German mathematician (b. 1818)
1862 – Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Dutch artist (b. 1803)
1865 – Manfredo Fanti, Italian general (b. 1806)
1866 – Thomas Hodgkin, British physician (b. 1798)
1868 – Karel Purkyně, Czech painter (b. 1834)
1871 – Paolo Savi, Italian geologist and ornithologist (b. 1798)
1872 – Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier, French astronomer (b. 1812)
1873 – Milivoje Blaznavac, Serbian soldier and politician (b. 1824)
1882 – Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play, (b. 1806)
1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
1891 – Johann Hermann Bauer, (b. 1861)
1900 – Joseph Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (b. 1822)
1900 – Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877 (b. 1832)
1901 – Angelo Messedaglia, Italian social scientist and statistician (b. 1820)
1902 – Hans Ernst August Buchner, German bacteriologist (b. 1850)
1904 – Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (b. 1830)
1904 – Frances Power Cobbe, Irish writer (b. 1822)
1906 – Eastman Johnson, American painter (b. 1824)
1914 – Bernard Borggreve, German forestry scientist (b. 1836)
1916 – Maksim Kovalevsky, Russian sociologist (b. 1851)
1918 – George Tupou II, King of Tonga (b. 1874)
1918 – Paul Vidal de La Blache, French geographer (b. 1845)
1920 – Laurent Marqueste, French sculptor (b. 1848)
1921 – Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (b. 1862)
1921 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish-Jewish writer and translator (b. 1853)
1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and businessman (b. 1866)
1924 – Victor Hensen, German zoologist (b. 1835)
1928 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1890)
1928 – Viktor Oliva, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1861)
1929 – Francis Aidan Gasquet, English Benedictine monk (b. 1846)
1929 – Ludwig von Sybel, German archeologist (b. 1846)
1932 – María Blanchard, Spanish painter (b. 1881)
1933 – Earl Derr Biggers, American novelist and playwright (b. 1884)
1933 – Hjalmar Mellin, Finnish mathematician and functional theorist (b. 1854)
1934 – Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, playwright, songwriter and fascist intellectual (b. 1860)
1934 – Jiro Sato, Japanese tennis player (b. 1908)
1935 – Achille Locatelli, Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1856)
1935 – Emil Młynarski, Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue (b. 1870)
1935 – Franz von Vecsey, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1893)
1936 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (b. 1884)
1937 – Gustav Adolf Deissmann, (b. 1866)
1937 – José Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (b. 1858)
1938 – Helena Westermarck, Finnish artist and writer (b. 1857)
1938 – Verner Lehtimäki, Finnish revolutionary (b. 1890)
1940 – Charles Freer Andrews, English-Indian priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1871)
1940 – Robert Maillart, Swiss civil engineer (b. 1872)
1940 – Jay O’Brien, American bobsledder (b. 1883)
1940 – Song Zheyuan, Chinese general (b. 1885)
1941 – Parvin E’tesami, Persian poet (b. 1907)
1941 – Nigel Gresley, Scottish-English engineer (b. 1876)
1941 – Franciszek Kleeberg, Polish general (b. 1888)
1945 – Heinrich Borgmann, German officer (b. 1912)
1945 – Karl-Otto Koch, German SS officer (b. 1897)
1946 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (b. 1898)
1947 – Bernhard Pankok, German painter, artist and architect (b. 1872)
1947 – Elis Strömgren, Swedish-Danish astronomer (b. 1870)
1948 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American socialite and philanthropist (b. 1874)
1949 – Erich Zeigner, Prime Minister of Saxony (b. 1886)
1950 – Hiroshi Yoshida, Japanese painter (b. 1876)
1952 – Agnes Morton, British tennis player (b.
1954 – Princess Märtha of Sweden, (b. 1901)
1954 – Claude Delvincourt, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
1956 – William Titt, British gymnast (b. 1881)
1958 – Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria, (b. 1884)
1958 – Ásgrímur Jónsson, Icelandic painter (b. 1876)
1958 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian writer (b. 1877)
1961 – Nikolai Kryukov, Russian composer (b. 1908)
1962 – Boo Kullberg, Swedish gymnast (b. 1889)
1963 – Jacobus Oud, Dutch architect (b. 1890)
1964 – James Chapin, American ornithologist (b. 1889)
1964 – Aloïse Corbaz, Swiss artist (b. 1886)
1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (b. 1880)
1965 – Pedro Sernagiotto, Italian-Brazilian footballer (b. 1908)
1965 – Sándor Szalay, Hungarian figure skater (b. 1893)
1967 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (b. 1891)
1967 – Johan Falkberget, Norwegian author (b. 1879)
1967 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
1967 – Herbert Johnston, British runner (b. 1902)
1968 – Félix Couchoro, Togolese writer (b. 1900)
1968 – Lajos Csordás, Hungarian footballer
1968 – Giuseppe Paris, Italian gymnast (b. 1895)
1969 – Alberto Bonucci, Italian actor and director (b. 1918)
1969 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician (b. 1917)
1969 – Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian SS officer (b. 1903)
1970 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (b. 1877)
1970 – Alfred Sturtevant, American geneticist and academic (b. 1891)
1970 – Karl von Spreti, German diplomat (b. 1907)
1971 – José Cubiles, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1894)
1972 – Brian Donlevy, American actor and producer (b. 1901)
1973 – David Murray, British race car driver (b. 1909)
1973 – Isabel Jewell, American actress and singer (b. 1907)
1973 – Alla Tarasova, Russian ballerina (b. l898)
1974 – Bino Bini, Italian fencer (b. 1900)
1974 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (b. 1882)
1975 – Tell Berna, American middle and long-distance runner (b. 1891)
1975 – Victor Marijnen, Dutch politician (b. 1917)
1975 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
1975 – Harold Osborn, American track and fielder (b. 1899)
1976 – Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (b. 1905)
1976 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian surgeon and academic (b. 1891)
1976 – Harry Wyld, British cyclist (b. 1900)
1977 – Carlos Prío Socarrás, President of Cuba, (b. 1903)
1977 – Yuri Zavadsky, Russian actor and director (b. 1894)
1981 – Émile Hanse, Belgian footballer (b. 1892)
1981 – Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
1981 – Pinchus Kremegne, French artist (b. 1890)
1982 – Abe Fortas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1910)
1984 – Hans Lunding, Danish military officer (b. 1899)
1984 – Giuseppe Tucci, Italian scholar of oriental cultures (b. 1894)
1986 – Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (b. 1903)
1987 – Leabua Jonathan, 2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho (b. 1914)
1988 – Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (b. 1920)
1989 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (b. 1895)
1989 – Karel Zeman, Czech director, artist, production designer and animator (b. 1910)
1991 – Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (b. 1947)
1991 – Jay Miller, American basketball player (b. 1943)
1991 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (b. 1915)
1991 – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L’Isle (b. 1909)
1991 – John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1925)
1992 – Takeshi Inoue, Japanese footballer (b. 1928)
1992 – Molly Picon, American actress (b. 1898)
1992 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (b. 1918)
1993 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (b. 1974)
1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967)
1995 – Nicolaas Cortlever, Dutch chess player (b. 1915)
1995 – Emilio Greco, Italian sculptor and engraver (b. 1913)
1995 – Christian Pineau, French Resistance fighter (b. 1904)
1996 – Charlene Holt, American actress (b. 1928)
1997 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
1998 – Frederick Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (b. 1911)
1998 – Cozy Powell, English drummer (b. 1947)
1999 – Giulio Einaudi, Italian book publisher (b. 1912)
2000 – Heinrich Müller, Austrian footballer (b. 1909)
2000 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (b. 1914)
2001 – Aldo Olivieri, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
2002 – Layne Staley, American singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
2002 – Kim Won-gyun, North Korean composer and politician (b. 1917)
2003 – Keizo Morishita, Japanese painter (b. 1944)
2004 – Fernand Goyvaerts, Belgian footballer (b. 1938)
2004 – Sławomir Rawicz, Polish lieutenant (b. 1915)
2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
2005 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
2005 – Robert Borg, American military officer and equestrian (b. 1913)
2005 – Chung Nam-sik, South Korean footballer (b. 1917)
2006 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and educator (b. 1927)
2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
2006 – Yevgeny Seredin, Russian swimmer (b. 1958)
2006 – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1923)
2007 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (b. 1923)
2007 – Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (b. 1908)
2007 – Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (b. 1922)
2007 – Mark St. John, American guitarist (b. 1956)
2007 – Thomas Stoltz Harvey, American pathologist (b. 1912)
2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (b. 1923)
2009 – I. J. Good, British mathematician (b. 1916)
2010 – Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (b. 1935)
2011 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist (b. 1925)
2011 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (b. 1937)
2012 – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (b. 1935)
2012 – Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer
2012 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (b. 1923)
2012 – Barney McKenna, Irish musician (b. 1939)
2012 – Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (b. 1934)
2013 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (b. 1921)
2013 – Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1924)
2014 – Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (b. 1920)
2014 – Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (b. 1939)
2014 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (b. 1927)
2014 – John Pinette, American comedian (b. 1964)
2014 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (b. 1947)
2015 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (b. 1949)
2015 – Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (b. 1936)
2016 – Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (b. 1936)
2017 – Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (b. 1943)
2017 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (b. 1929)
2017 – Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (b. 1926)
2017 – Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (b. 1931)
2017 – Paul O’Neill, American rock composer and producer (b. 1956)
2017 – Tim Parnell, British race car driver (b. 1932)
2017 – Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (b. 1947)
2017 – Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (b. 1942)
2017 – Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (b. 1958)
2018 – Isao Takahata, Japanese director (b. 1935)
2019 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist (b. 1927)^[16]

Holidays and observances on April 5

Christian feast day:
- Albert of Montecorvino
- Derfel Gadarn
- Æthelburh of Kent
- Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
- Juliana of Liège
- Maria Crescentia Höss
- Blessed Mariano de la Mata
- Pandita Mary Ramabai (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Ruadhán of Lorrha
- Vincent Ferrer
- April 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Cold Food Festival, held on April 4 if it is a leap year (China); and its related observances:
Earliest day on which Sham el-Nessim can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after the Orthodox Easter (Egypt)
Children’s Day (Palestinian territories)
Sikmogil (South Korea)
National Maritime Day is observed in India, in commemoration of the first voyage of SS Loyalty of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1919.

April 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

On the Roman calendar, this was known as the day before the nones of April (Latin: Prid. Non. Apr.).

April 4 in History

503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
1147 – Moscow is mentioned for the first time in the historical record, when it is named as a meeting place for two princes.
1268 – A five-year Byzantine–Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
1460 – Basel University is founded.
1581 – Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
1609 – Moriscos are expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia.
1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of Great Britain promises, among other things, a general pardon to all royalists for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.
1721 – Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
1768 – In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
1796 – Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture.
1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.
1818 – The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time).
1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President.
1850 – A large part of the English village of Cottenham burns to the ground in suspicious circumstances.
1850 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city.
1859 – Bryant’s Minstrels debut “Dixie” in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg.
1873 – The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.
1875 – Vltava, composed by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and also known by its German name Die Moldau, premiered in Prague.
1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
1905 – In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala.
1913 – First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
1925 – The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany.
1933 – U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather.
1939 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
1944 – World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.
1945 – World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
1945 – World War II: American troops capture Kassel.
1945 – World War II: Soviet troops liberate Hungary from German occupation and occupy the country themselves.
1949 – Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1958 – The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.
1960 – France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.
1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
1965 – The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft is unveiled.
1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church.
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
1968 – A.E.K. Athens B.C. becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated.
1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.
1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1975 – Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people.
1979 – Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
1981 – Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.
1983 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.
1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
1990 – The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress.
1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
1994 – Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
2009 – France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO.
2013 – More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India.
2020 – China holds a National day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak.

Births on April 4

188 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
1436 – Amalia of Saxony, Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut (d. 1501)
1490 – Vojtěch I of Pernstein, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1534)
1492 – Ambrosius Blarer, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (d. 1564)
1572 – William Strachey, English author (d. 1621)
1586 – Richard Saltonstall, English diplomat (d. 1661)
1593 – Edward Nicholas, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1669)
1640 – Gaspar Sanz, Spanish guitarist, composer, and priest (d. 1710)
1646 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (d. 1715)
1648 – Grinling Gibbons, Dutch-English sculptor (d. 1721)
1676 – Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, Italian composer (d. 1760)
1688 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1768)
1718 – Benjamin Kennicott, English theologian and scholar (d. 1783)
1752 – Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, Italian composer (d. 1837)
1760 – Juan Manuel Olivares, Venezuelan organist and composer (d. 1797)
1762 – Stephen Storace, English actor and composer (d. 1796)
1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement (d. 1810)
1780 – Edward Hicks, American minister and painter (d. 1849)
1785 – Bettina von Arnim, German author, illustrator, and composer (d. 1859)
1792 – Thaddeus Stevens, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
1802 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (d. 1887)
1818 – Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American author and poet (d. 1883)
1819 – Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (d. 1868)
1826 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (d. 1901)
1829 – Owen Suffolk, Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author
1835 – John Hughlings Jackson, English physician and neurologist (d. 1911)
1842 – Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1891)
1843 – William Henry Jackson, American painter and photographer (d. 1942)
1846 – Comte de Lautréamont, Uruguayan-French poet and educator (d. 1870)
1851 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (d. 1931)
1853 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet, novelist, and critic (d. 1915)
1868 – Philippa Fawcett, English mathematician and educator (d. 1948)
1869 – Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (d. 1958)
1875 – Pierre Monteux, Sephardic Jewish French-American viola player and conductor (d. 1964)
1876 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter and poet (d. 1958)
1878 – Stylianos Lykoudis, Greek admiral and historian (d. 1958)
1879 – Gustav Goßler, German rower (d. 1940)
1884 – James Alberione, Italian priest, founded the Society of St. Paul (d. 1971)
1884 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (d. 1943)
1886 – Frank Luther Mott, American historian and journalist (d. 1964)
1888 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
1888 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish historian and academic (d. 1975)
1889 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
1892 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (d. 1967)
1895 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (d. 1991)
1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1955)
1897 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1975)
1898 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (d. 1940)
1899 – Hillel Oppenheimer, German-Israeli botanist and academic (d. 1971)
1902 – Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, French journalist and author (d. 1969)
1902 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American author and poet (d. 1935)
1905 – Eugène Bozza, French composer and conductor (d. 1991)
1905 – Erika Nõva, Estonian architect and engineer (d. 1987)
1906 – Bea Benaderet, Turkish-Jewish Irish-American television, radio, and voice actress (d. 1968)
1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995)
1907 – Robert Askin, Australian sergeant and politician, 32nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1981)
1910 – Đặng Văn Ngữ, Vietnamese physician and academic (d. 1967)
1911 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer (d. 1992)
1913 – Dave Brown, Australian rugby league player (d. 1974)
1913 – Rosemary Lane, American actress and singer (d. 1974)
1913 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
1913 – Jules Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Governor General of Canada (d. 1980)
1913 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983)
1914 – Richard Coogan, American actor (d. 2014)
1914 – Marguerite Duras, French novelist, screenwriter, and director (d. 1996)
1914 – David W. Goodall, Australian ecologist and botanist (d. 2018)
1915 – Louis Archambault, Canadian sculptor (d. 2003)
1916 – Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian general and politician, 10th President of Serbia (d. 2005)
1916 – Mickey Owen, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)
1916 – David White, American actor (d. 1990)
1918 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English soldier and politician, Leader of the House of Lords (d. 2007)
1920 – Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (d. 2014)
1920 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Greek patriarch (d. 2012)
1921 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (d. 2015)
1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
1923 – Peter Vaughan, English actor (d. 2016)
1923 – Gene Reynolds, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2020)
1924 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (d. 2009)
1924 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
1925 – Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
1925 – Frank Truitt, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
1925 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1979)
1925 – Emmett Williams, American poet and author (d. 2007)
1926 – Mildred Fay Jefferson, American physician and activist (d. 2010)
1926 – Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (d. 2014)
1927 – Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
1928 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (d. 2014)
1928 – Estelle Harris, American actress and comedian
1928 – Jimmy Logan, Scottish actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
1928 – Monty Norman, English singer-songwriter and producer
1929 – Humbert Allen Astredo, American actor (d. 2016)
1930 – Netty Herawaty, Indonesian actress (d. 1989)
1931 – James Dickens, English politician (d. 2013)
1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence officer
1931 – Catherine Tizard, New Zealand politician, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand
1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records and J Records
1932 – Richard Lugar, American lieutenant and politician, 44th Mayor of Indianapolis (d. 2019)
1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
1932 – Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American author
1932 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and producer (d. 1986)
1933 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
1933 – Brian Hewson, English runner
1933 – Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (d. 2020)
1934 – Helen Hanft, American actress (d. 2013)
1934 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (d. 1996)
1935 – Geoff Braybrooke, English-New Zealand soldier and politician (d. 2013)
1935 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (d. 2011)
1935 – Trevor Griffiths, English playwright and educator
1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American businessman and academic (d. 1989)
1939 – JoAnne Carner, American golfer
1939 – Darlene Hooley, American educator and politician
1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer (d. 2018)
1940 – Richard Attwood, English race car driver
1940 – Sharon Sheeley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
1942 – Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
1942 – Kitty Kelley, American journalist and biographer
1942 – Elizabeth Levy, American author
1944 – Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician
1944 – Mary Kenny, Irish journalist, author, and playwright
1944 – Bob McDill, American country music songwriter
1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Nelson Prudêncio, Brazilian triple jumper and educator (d. 2012)
1944 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (d. 2013)
1945 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French-German educator and politician
1945 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress (d. 2010)
1946 – Colin Coates, Australian speed skater
1946 – Dave Hill, English guitarist
1946 – Katsuaki Satō, Japanese martial artist and coach
1946 – György Spiró, Hungarian author and playwright
1946 – Bubba Wyche, American football player and coach
1947 – Wiranto, Indonesian general and politician
1947 – Ray Fosse, American baseball player and sportscaster
1947 – Eliseo Soriano, Filipino minister and television host
1948 – Abdullah Öcalan, Turkish activist
1948 – Berry Oakley, American bass player (d. 1972)
1948 – Richard Parsons, American lawyer and businessman
1948 – Dan Simmons, American author
1948 – Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
1948 – Pick Withers, English drummer
1949 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican-American singer (d. 1999)
1949 – Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese-American mathematician and academic
1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress and director
1951 – John Hannah, American football player and coach
1952 – Rosemarie Ackermann, German high jumper
1952 – Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2010)
1952 – Gregg Hansford, Australian race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1995)
1952 – Cherie Lunghi, English actress and dancer
1952 – Karen Magnussen, Canadian figure skater and coach
1952 – Gary Moore, Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2011)
1952 – Villy Søvndal, Danish educator and politician, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs
1953 – Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician
1953 – Henry Fotheringham, South African cricketer
1953 – Simcha Jacobovici, Canadian director, producer, journalist, and author
1953 – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician, 31st Lord Mayor of Belfast
1953 – Chen Yi, Chinese violinist and composer
1956 – Evelyn Hart, Canadian ballerina
1956 – Tom Herr, American baseball player and manager
1956 – David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer
1957 – Paul Downton, English cricketer
1957 – Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter
1957 – Graeme Kelling, Scottish guitarist (d. 2004)
1957 – Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese singer and trumpet player
1958 – Peter Baltes, German bass player
1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
1958 – Rodney Eade, Australian footballer and coach
1959 – Phil Morris, American actor and screenwriter
1960 – Jonathan Agnew, English cricketer and sportscaster
1960 – Jane Eaglen, English soprano
1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-Australian actor and producer
1960 – Godknows Igali, Nigerian diplomat, civil servant and technocrat
1961 – Hildi Santo-Tomas, American interior decorator
1962 – Craig Adams, English bass player and songwriter
1962 – Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politician
1963 – A. Michael Baldwin, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1963 – Jack Del Rio, American football player and coach
1963 – Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1963 – Jane McDonald, English singer and broadcaster
1963 – Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host
1964 – Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach
1964 – Dr. Chud, American drummer and singer
1964 – Anthony Clark, American actor
1964 – David Cross, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1964 – Paul Parker, England international footballer, right-back and TV pundit
1964 – Đặng Thân, Vietnamese writer and poet
1965 – Vinny Burns, English guitarist and producer
1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1966 – Nancy McKeon, American actress
1966 – Mike Starr, American bass player (d. 2011)
1966 – Christos Tsekos, Greek basketball player
1967 – Edith Masai, Kenyan-German runner
1967 – George Mavrotas, Greek water polo player and politician
1968 – Jesús Rollán, Spanish water polo player (d. 2006)
1969 – Piotr Anderszewski, Polish pianist and composer
1969 – Karren Brady, English journalist and businesswoman
1970 – Georgios Amanatidis, Greek footballer and manager
1970 – Greg Garcia, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1970 – Barry Pepper, Canadian actor and producer
1970 – Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player
1970 – Josh Todd, American singer-songwriter and actor
1970 – Yelena Yelesina, Russian high jumper
1971 – Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1971 – Malik Yusef, American actor, producer, and poet
1971 – John Zandig, American wrestler and promoter
1972 – Jim Dymock, Australian rugby league player and coach
1972 – Jill Scott, American singer-songwriter and actress
1972 – Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish bass player
1973 – Chris Banks, American football player (d. 2014)
1973 – David Blaine, American magician and producer
1973 – Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
1973 – Peter Hoekstra, Dutch footballer and coach
1973 – Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete and coach
1973 – Kelly Price, American singer-songwriter
1975 – Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman
1975 – Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish skier
1975 – Joyce Giraud, Puerto Rican-American model, television actress and producer, Miss Puerto Rico 1994
1975 – Pamela Ribon, American actress, screenwriter, and author
1975 – Miranda Lee Richards, American singer-songwriter
1975 – Scott Rolen, American baseball player
1975 – Kevin Weekes, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1976 – Nathan Blacklock, Australian rugby player
1976 – Sébastien Enjolras, French race car driver (d. 1997)
1976 – Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, Brazilian footballer
1976 – James Roday, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1977 – Stephan Bonnar, American mixed martial artist
1977 – Keith Bulluck, American football player and sportscaster
1977 – Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1977 – Stephen Mulhern, English magician and television host
1977 – Omarr Smith, American football player and coach
1978 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player and scout
1978 – Alan Mahon, Irish footballer
1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
1979 – Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress
1979 – Andy McKee, American guitarist
1979 – Maksim Opalev, Russian canoeist
1980 – Johnny Borrell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1980 – Trevor Moore, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1980 – Eric Steinbach, American football player
1980 – Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver
1981 – Currensy, American rapper
1981 – Eduardo Luís Carloto, Brazilian footballer
1981 – Casey Daigle, American baseball player
1981 – Anna Pyatykh, Russian triple jumper
1981 – Ned Vizzini, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1982 – Justin Cook, American voice actor and producer
1982 – Magnus Lindgren, Swedish chef (d. 2012)
1983 – Evgeny Artyukhin, Russian ice hockey player
1983 – Eric Andre, American comedian
1983 – Ben Gordon, American basketball player
1983 – Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Natalie Pike, Scottish-English model and actress
1983 – Amanda Righetti, American actress
1984 – Sean May, American basketball player
1984 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer
1985 – Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player
1985 – Dudi Sela, Israeli tennis player
1985 – Ricardo Vilar, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Eunhyuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
1986 – Cameron Barker, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Maurice Manificat, French skier
1986 – Aiden McGeady, Scottish-born Irish footballer
1986 – Alexander Tettey, Norwegian footballer
1987 – Sami Khedira, German footballer
1987 – McDonald Mariga, Kenyan footballer
1987 – Cameron Maybin, American baseball player
1987 – Marcos Vellidis, Greek footballer
1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
1988 – Frank Fielding, English footballer
1989 – Vurnon Anita, Dutch footballer
1989 – Steven Finn, English cricketer
1989 – Chris Herd, Australian footballer
1991 – Yui Koike, Japanese singer and actress
1991 – Justin O’Neill, Australian rugby league player
1991 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress and singer
1991 – Marlon Stöckinger, Filipino race car driver
1992 – Lucy May Barker, English actress and singer
1992 – Christina Metaxa, Cypriot singer-songwriter
1992 – Ricky Dillon, American youtuber and singer
1993 – Samir Carruthers, English footballer
1993 – Frank Kaminsky, American basketball player
1994 – Shunsuke Nishikawa, Japanese actor
1994 – Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer and actress
1996 – Austin Mahone, American singer-songwriter and actor

Deaths on April 4

397 – Ambrose, Roman archbishop and saint (b. 338)
636 – Isidore of Seville, Spanish archbishop and saint (b. 560)
814 – Plato of Sakkoudion, Byzantine monk and saint (b. 735)
896 – Formosus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 816)
911 – Liu Yin, Chinese warlord and governor (b. 874)
931 – Kong Xun, Chinese official and governor (b. 884)
968 – Abu Firas al-Hamdani, Arab prince and poet (b. 932)
991 – Reginold, bishop of Eichstätt
1284 – Alfonso X, king of Castile and León (b. 1221)
1292 – Nicholas IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1227)
1406 – Robert III, king of Scotland (b.1337)
1483 – Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (b. c. 1405)
1536 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
1538 – Elena Glinskaya, Grand Princess and regent of Russia
1588 – Frederick II, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1534)
1596 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (b. 1533)
1609 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist, mycologist, and academic (b. 1526)
1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1550)
1643 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1583)
1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish field marshal (b. 1580)
1743 – Daniel Neal, English historian and author (b. 1678)
1761 – Théodore Gardelle, Swiss painter (b. 1722)
1766 – John Taylor, English librarian and scholar (b. 1704)
1774 – Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist, playwright and poet (b. 1728)
1792 – James Sykes, American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
1807 – Jérôme Lalande, French astronomer and academic (b. 1732)
1817 – André Masséna, French general (b. 1758)
1841 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)
1846 – Solomon Sibley, American lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Detroit (b. 1769)
1861 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (b. 1785)
1863 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (b. 1790)
1864 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American commander and paleontologist (b. 1808)
1870 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
1874 – Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
1875 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (b. 1837)
1878 – Richard M. Brewer, American criminal (b. 1850)
1879 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist and meteorologist (b. 1803)
1883 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (b. 1791)
1890 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (b. 1820)
1890 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (b. 1812)
1912 – Charles Brantley Aycock, American lawyer and politician, 50th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1859)
1912 – Isaac K. Funk, American minister, lexicographer, and publisher, co-founded Funk & Wagnalls (b. 1839)
1919 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)
1919 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1908)
1923 – John Venn, English mathematician and philosopher, created the Venn diagram (b. 1834)
1929 – Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (b. 1844)
1931 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (b. 1853)
1932 – Wilhelm Ostwald, Latvian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
1933 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (b. 1842)
1941 – Emine Nazikedâ Kadınefendi, the first wife and chief consort of Sultan Mehmed VI (b. 1866)
1944 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (b. 1878)^[14]
1951 – George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)
1953 – Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)
1957 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian historian and diplomat (b. 1909)
1958 – Johnny Stompanato, American soldier and bodyguard (b. 1925)
1961 – Harald Riipalu, Estonian military commander (b. 1912)
1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
1967 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (b. 1901)
1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1898)
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated)(b. 1929)
1972 – Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., American pastor and politician (b. 1908)
1972 – Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and academic (b. 1902)
1976 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish engineer and theorist (b. 1889)
1977 – Andrey Dikiy, Ukrainian-American journalist, historian, and politician (b. 1893)
1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (b. 1928)
1979 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
1980 – Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1917)
1983 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1899)
1983 – Bernard Vukas, Croatian football player, played for 1953 FIFA’s “Rest of the World” team against England at Wembley (b. 1927)
1984 – Oleg Antonov, Russian-Ukrainian engineer and businessman, founded Antonov (b. 1906)
1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (b. 1891)
1987 – C. L. Moore, American author and academic (b. 1911)
1987 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan guru, poet, and scholar (b. 1939)
1987 – Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1911)
1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (b. 1911)
1991 – H. John Heinz III, American soldier and politician (b. 1938)
1991 – Graham Ingels, American illustrator (b. 1915)
1992 – Yvette Brind’Amour, Canadian actress and director (b. 1918)
1992 – Jack Hamilton, Australian footballer (b. 1928)
1992 – Arthur Russell, American singer-songwriter and cellist (b. 1951)
1993 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American game designer, invented Scrabble (b. 1899)
1993 – Douglas Leopold, Canadian radio and television host (b. 1947)
1995 – Kenny Everett, English radio and television host (b. 1944)
1995 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (b. 1915)
1996 – Barney Ewell, American runner and long jumper (b. 1918)
1996 – Boone Guyton, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1913)
1997 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (b. 1900)
1997 – Alparslan Türkeş, Turkish colonel and politician, 39th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1917)
1999 – Lucille Lortel, American actress, artistic director and producer (b. 1900)
1999 – Early Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1920)
2001 – Liisi Oterma, Finnish astronomer (b. 1915)
2001 – Ed Roth, American illustrator and engineer (b. 1932)
2001 – Maury Van Vliet, American-Canadian academic (b. 1913)
2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
2004 – Briek Schotte, Belgian cyclist and coach (b. 1919)
2005 – Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
2007 – Bob Clark, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
2007 – Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
2008 – Francis Tucker, South African race car driver (b. 1923)
2009 – Maxine Cooper, American actress, activist and photographer (b. 1924)
2011 – Scott Columbus, American drummer (b. 1956)
2011 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (b. 1958)
2012 – A. Dean Byrd, American psychologist and academic (b. 1948)
2012 – Anne Karin Elstad, Norwegian author and educator (b. 1938)
2012 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
2012 – Dubravko Pavličić, Croatian footballer (b. 1967)
2012 – Roberto Rexach Benítez, American-Puerto Rican academic and politician, 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico (b. 1929)
2013 – Bengt Blomgren, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
2013 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
2013 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (b. 1925)
2013 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1928)
2013 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1933)
2013 – Noboru Yamaguchi, Japanese author (b. 1972)
2014 – İsmet Atlı, Turkish wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
2014 – Wayne Henderson, American trombonist and producer (b. 1939)
2014 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean soldier and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1953)
2014 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1943)
2014 – Curtis Bill Pepper, American journalist and author (b. 1917)
2014 – Muhammad Qutb, Egyptian author and academic (b. 1919)
2015 – Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
2015 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
2015 – Donald N. Levine, American sociologist and academic (b. 1931)
2015 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (b. 1931)
2016 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances on April 4

Children’s Day (Hong Kong, Taiwan)
Christian feast day:
- Benedict the Moor
- Gaetano Catanoso
- Isidore of Seville
- Martin Luther King Jr. (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Reginald Heber (Anglican Church of Canada)
- Tigernach of Clones
- April 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France (1960).
Peace Day (Angola)^[15]
One of the possible days for Qingming Festival.

April 4 – 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 / admin

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)

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

On This Day

April 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sights land in what is now the United States state of Florida.
1755 – Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.
1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.
1800 – The Treaty of Constantinople establishes the Septinsular Republic, the first autonomous Greek state since the Fall of the Byzantine Empire.
1801 – French Revolutionary Wars: The British capture the Danish fleet.
1851 – Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.
1863 – American Civil War: The largest in a series of Southern bread riots occurs in Richmond, Virginia.
1865 – American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia.
1885 – Canadian Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, killing nine.
1900 – The United States Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.
1902 – Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, Saint Petersburg.
1902 – “Electric Theatre”, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.
1911 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country’s first national census.
1912 – The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.
1917 – World War I: United States President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
1921 – The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.
1930 – After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
1956 – As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.
1964 – The Soviet Union launches Zond 1.
1972 – Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.
1973 – Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
1975 – Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
1976 – Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.
1979 – A Soviet bio-warfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock.
1980 – United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act.
1982 – Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
1986 – Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist, best known for the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door”, announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987.
1989 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
1989 – ASUS corporation is founded.
1991 – Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.
1992 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
1992 – Forty-two civilians are massacred in the town of Bijeljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2002 – Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated.
2004 – Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted.
2006 – Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed.
2012 – A mass shooting at Oikos University in California leaves seven people dead and three injured.
2014 – A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood army base in Texas, with four dead, including the gunman, and 16 others injured.
2015 – Gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya, killing at least 148 people and wounding 79 others.
2015 – Four men steal items worth up to £200 million from an underground safe deposit facility in London’s Hatton Garden area in what has been called the “largest burglary in English legal history.”

Births on April 2

742 – Charlemagne, Frankish king (d. 814)
1473 – John Corvinus, Hungarian noble (d. 1504)
1545 – Elisabeth of Valois (d. 1568)
1565 – Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)
1586 – Pietro Della Valle, Italian traveler (d. 1652)
1602 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Franciscan abbess (d. 1665)
1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
1647 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German-Dutch botanist and illustrator (d. 1717)
1653 – Prince George of Denmark (d. 1708)
1696 – Francesca Cuzzoni, Italian operatic soprano (d. 1778)
1719 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)
1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian explorer and author (d. 1798)
1788 – Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet and author (d. 1862)
1788 – Wilhelmine Reichard, German balloonist (d. 1848)
1789 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (d. 1871)
1792 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (d. 1840)
1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and academic (d. 1874)
1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1875)
1814 – Henry L. Benning, American general and judge (d. 1875)
1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)
1827 – William Holman Hunt, English soldier and painter (d. 1910)
1835 – Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer (d. 1907)
1838 – Léon Gambetta, French lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of France (d. 1882)
1840 – Émile Zola, French novelist, playwright, journalist (d. 1902)
1841 – Clément Ader, French engineer, designed the Ader Avion III (d. 1926)
1842 – Dominic Savio, Italian Catholic saint, adolescent student of Saint John Bosco (d. 1857)
1861 – Iván Persa, Slovenian priest and author (d. 1935)
1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
1869 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928)
1875 – Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (d. 1940)
1875 – William Donne, English cricketer and captain (d. 1942)
1884 – J. C. Squire, English poet, author, and historian (d. 1958)
1891 – Jack Buchanan, Scottish entertainer (d. 1957)
1891 – Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor, and poet (d. 1976)
1891 – Tristão de Bragança Cunha, Indian nationalist and anti-colonial activist from Goa (d. 1958)
1896 – Johnny Golden, American golfer (d. 1936)
1898 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (d. 1990)
1898 – Chiungtze C. Tsen, Chinese mathematician (d. 1940)
1900 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1942)
1900 – Anis Fuleihan, Cypriot-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1970)
1900 – Alfred Strange, English footballer (d. 1978)
1902 – Jan Tschichold, German-Swiss graphic designer and typographer (d. 1974)
1903 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1987)
1906 – Alphonse-Marie Parent, Canadian priest and educator (d. 1970)
1907 – Harald Andersson, American-Swedish discus thrower (d. 1985)
1907 – Luke Appling, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
1908 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
1910 – Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1980)
1910 – Chico Xavier, Brazilian spiritual medium (d. 2002)
1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
1919 – Delfo Cabrera, Argentinian runner and soldier (d. 1981)
1920 – Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and civil servant (d. 2004)
1920 – Jack Stokes, English animator and director (d. 2013)
1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
1922 – John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (d. 2015)
1923 – Gloria Henry, American actress
1923 – Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
1923 – G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician, psychologist, and author (d. 2016)
1924 – Bobby Ávila, Mexican baseball player (d. 2004)
1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish author and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1925 – Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television host (d. 1987)
1926 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (d. 2014)
1926 – Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (d. 2006)
1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer and soldier (d. 2012)
1927 – Howard Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (d. 2014)
1927 – Rita Gam, American actress (d. 2016)
1927 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
1927 – Kenneth Tynan, English author and critic (d. 1980)
1928 – Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (d. 1991)
1928 – Roy Masters, English-American radio host
1928 – David Robinson, Northern Irish horticulturist and academic (d. 2004)
1929 – Ed Dorn, American poet and educator (d. 1999)
1930 – Roddy Maude-Roxby, English actor
1931 – Vladimir Kuznetsov, Russian javelin thrower (d. 1986)
1932 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (d. 2015)
1933 – György Konrád, Hungarian sociologist and author
1934 – Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2007)
1934 – Brian Glover, English wrestler and actor (d. 1997)
1934 – Carl Kasell, American journalist and game show host (d. 2018)
1934 – Richard Portman, American sound engineer (d. 2017)
1934 – Dovid Shmidel, Austrian-born Israeli rabbi
1936 – Shaul Ladany, Serbian-Israeli race walker and engineer
1937 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1938 – John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of The Salvation Army
1938 – Booker Little, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1961)
1938 – Al Weis, American baseball player
1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
1939 – Anthony Lake, American academic and diplomat, 18th United States National Security Advisor
1939 – Lise Thibault, Canadian journalist and politician, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
1940 – Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater and coach
1940 – Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (d. 1981)
1940 – Penelope Keith, English actress
1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio host
1941 – Sonny Throckmorton, American country singer-songwriter
1942 – Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2016)
1942 – Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor
1943 – Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce, South African-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
1943 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer (d. 2007)
1943 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (d. 2017)
1943 – Antonio Sabàto, Sr., Italian actor
1944 – Bill Malinchak, American football player
1945 – Jürgen Drews, German singer-songwriter
1945 – Guy Fréquelin, French race car driver
1945 – Linda Hunt, American actress
1945 – Reggie Smith, American baseball player and coach
1945 – Don Sutton, American baseball player and sportscaster
1945 – Anne Waldman, American poet
1946 – Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer
1946 – David Heyes, English politician
1946 – Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (d. 2014)
1946 – Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (d. 1997)
1947 – Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer-songwriter
1947 – Tua Forsström, Finnish writer
1947 – Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Camille Paglia, American author and critic
1948 – Roald Als, Danish author and illustrator
1948 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (d. 2012)
1948 – Daniel Okrent, American journalist and author
1948 – Joan D. Vinge, American author
1949 – Paul Gambaccini, American-English radio and television host
1949 – Bernd Müller, German footballer
1949 – Pamela Reed, American actress
1949 – David Robinson, American drummer
1950 – Lynn Westmoreland, American politician
1951 – Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer
1952 – Lennart Fagerlund, Swedish cyclist
1952 – Will Hoy, English race car driver (d. 2002)
1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2001)
1953 – Jim Allister, Northern Irish lawyer and politician
1953 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, 20th and 21st-century U.S. Navy aviator
1953 – Malika Oufkir, Moroccan Berber writer
1953 – Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)
1953 – James Vance, American author and playwright (d. 2017)
1954 – Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer
1954 – Donald Petrie, American actor and director
1955 – Michael Stone, Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary
1957 – Caroline Dean, English biologist and academic
1957 – Hank Steinbrenner, American businessman, co-owner of the New York Yankees
1958 – Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby player
1958 – Larry Drew, American basketball player and coach
1959 – Gelindo Bordin, Italian runner
1959 – David Frankel, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
1959 – Yves Lavandier, French director and producer
1959 – Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and manager
1960 – Linford Christie, Jamaican-English sprinter
1960 – Brad Jones, Australian race car driver
1960 – Pascale Nadeau, Canadian journalist
1961 – Buddy Jewell, American singer-songwriter
1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
1961 – Keren Woodward, English singer-songwriter
1962 – Pierre Carles, French director and producer
1962 – Billy Dean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Clark Gregg, American actor
1963 – Karl Beattie, English director and producer
1963 – Mike Gascoyne, English engineer
1964 – Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player and coach
1964 – Jonathon Sharkey, American wrestler
1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (d. 2012)
1966 – Bill Romanowski, American football player and actor
1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English international footballer, striker and coach
1967 – Greg Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1967 – Phil Demmel, American guitarist and songwriter
1969 – Ajay Devgan, Indian actor, director, and producer
1971 – Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, Brazilian footballer
1971 – Jason Lewry, English cricketer
1971 – Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1972 – Remo D’Souza, Indian choreographer and dancer
1972 – Calvin Davis, American sprinter and hurdler
1972 – Zane Lamprey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1973 – Dmitry Lipartov, Russian footballer
1973 – Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican-American actress
1973 – Aleksejs Semjonovs, Latvian footballer
1974 – Tayfun Korkut, Turkish football manager and former player
1975 – Randy Livingston, American basketball player
1975 – Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, German rower
1976 – Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter
1976 – Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer
1976 – Pattie Mallette, Canadian author and film producer
1977 – Per Elofsson, Swedish skier
1977 – Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor and producer
1977 – Hanno Pevkur, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
1978 – Scott Lynch, American author
1978 – Ethan Smith, American actor, director, and producer
1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American keyboard player
1980 – Avi Benedi, Israeli singer and songwriter
1980 – Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist
1980 – Gavin Heffernan, Canadian director and screenwriter
1980 – Ricky Hendrick, American race car driver (d. 2004)
1980 – Wairangi Koopu, New Zealand rugby league player
1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican international footballer, defender
1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
1981 – Kapil Sharma, Indian stand-up comedian, television presenter and actor
1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer
1982 – Jeremy Bloom, American football player and skier
1982 – Jack Evans, American wrestler
1982 – David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
1983 – Yung Joc, American rapper
1983 – Maksym Mazuryk, Ukrainian pole vaulter
1984 – Engin Atsür, Turkish basketball player
1984 – Nóra Barta, Hungarian diver
1984 – Jérémy Morel, French footballer
1985 – Thom Evans, Zimbabwean-Scottish rugby player
1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater
1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer
1986 – Andris Biedriņš, Latvian basketball player
1986 – Lee DeWyze, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1987 – Pablo Aguilar, Paraguayan footballer
1987 – Marc Pugh, English footballer
1988 – Jesse Plemons, American actor
1990 – Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast
1990 – Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer
1991 – Quavo, American rapper
1993 – Keshorn Walcott, Trinidadian javelin thrower
1997 – Dillon Bassett, American race car driver
1997 – Abdelhak Nouri, Dutch footballer

Deaths on April 2

670 – Hasan ibn Ali the second Shia Imam (b. 624)
870 – Æbbe the Younger, Frankish abbess
872 – Muflih al-Turki, Turkish general
968 – Yuan Dezhao, Chinese chancellor (b. 891)
991 – Bardas Skleros, Byzantine general
1118 – Baldwin I, king of Jerusalem
1244 – Henrik Harpestræng, Danish botanical and medical author
1272 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English husband of Sanchia of Provence (b. 1209)
1335 – Henry of Bohemia (b. 1265)
1412 – Ruy González de Clavijo, Spanish explorer and author
1416 – Ferdinand I, king of Aragon (b. 1379)
1502 – Arthur, prince of Wales (b. 1486)
1507 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)
1511 – Bernard VII, Lord of Lippe, German nobleman (b. 1428)
1640 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and poet (b. 1595)
1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)
1657 – Jean-Jacques Olier, French priest, founded the Society of Saint-Sulpice (b. 1608)
1672 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino missionary and saint (b. 1654)
1672 – Diego Luis de San Vitores, Spanish Jesuit missionary (b. 1627)
1720 – Joseph Dudley, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1647)
1742 – James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675)
1747 – Johann Jacob Dillenius, German-English botanist and mycologist (b. 1684)
1754 – Thomas Carte, English historian and author (b. 1686)
1787 – Thomas Gage, English general and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1719)
1791 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (b. 1749)
1801 – Thomas Dadford, Jr., English engineer (b. 1761)
1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish judge and politician (b. 1721)
1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German author and academic (b. 1740)
1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and educator (b. 1776)
1845 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1763)
1865 – A. P. Hill, American general (b. 1825)
1872 – Samuel Morse, American painter and academic, invented the Morse code (b. 1791)
1891 – Albert Pike, American lawyer and general (b. 1809)
1891 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek playwright and politician, 249th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1823)
1894 – Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (b. 1803)
1896 – Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (b. 1852)
1914 – Paul Heyse, German author, poet, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
1917 – Bryn Lewis, Welsh international rugby player (b.1891)
1923 – Topal Osman, Turkish colonel (b. 1883)
1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
1930 – Zewditu I of Ethiopia (b. 1876)
1933 – Ranjitsinhji, Indian cricketer (b. 1872)
1936 – Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (b. 1860)
1942 – Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (b. 1862)
1948 – Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (b. 1907)
1953 – Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (b. 1885)
1966 – C. S. Forester, English novelist (b. 1899)
1972 – Franz Halder, German general (b. 1884)
1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial artist and educator (b. 1887)
1974 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (b. 1911)
1977 – Walter Wolf, German academic and politician (b. 1907)
1987 – Buddy Rich, American drummer, songwriter, and bandleader (b. 1917)
1989 – Manolis Angelopoulos, Greek singer (b. 1939)
1992 – Juanito, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1954)
1992 – Jan van Aartsen, Dutch politician (b. 1909)
1994 – Betty Furness, American actress, consumer advocate, game show panelist, television journalist and television personality (b. 1916)
1994 – Marc Fitch, British historian and philanthropist (b. 1908)
1995 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
1997 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese director and producer (b. 1910)
1998 – Rob Pilatus, American-German singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
2001 – Charles Daudelin, Canadian sculptor and painter (b. 1920)
2002 – Levi Celerio, Filipino composer and songwriter (b. 1910)
2002 – John R. Pierce, American engineer and author (b. 1910)
2003 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
2004 – John Argyris, Greek computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1913)
2005 – Lillian O’Donnell, American crime novelist (b. 1926)
2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
2006 – Lloyd Searwar, Guyanese anthologist and diplomat (b. 1925)
2007 – Henry L. Giclas, American astronomer and academic (b. 1910)
2008 – Yakup Satar, Turkish World War I veteran(b. 1898)
2009 – Albert Sanschagrin, Canadian bishop (b. 1911)
2009 – Bud Shank, American saxophonist and flute player (b. 1926)
2010 – Chris Kanyon, American wrestler (b. 1970)
2011 – John C. Haas, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1918)
2012 – Jesús Aguilarte, Venezuelan captain and politician (b. 1959)
2012 – Elizabeth Catlett, American-Mexican sculptor and illustrator (b. 1915)
2012 – Mauricio Lasansky, American graphic designer and academic (b. 1914)
2013 – Fred, French author and illustrator (b. 1931)
2013 – Jesús Franco, Spanish director, screenwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1930)
2013 – Milo O’Shea, Irish-American actor (b. 1926)
2014 – Glyn Jones, South African actor and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2014 – Urs Widmer, Swiss author and playwright (b. 1938)
2015 – Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
2015 – Robert H. Schuller, American pastor and author (b. 1926)
2015 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician, Governor of Limburg (b. 1954)
2016 – Gallieno Ferri, Italian comic book artist and illustrator (b. 1929)
2016 – Robert Abajyan, Armenian sergeant (b. 1996)

Holidays and observances on April 2

Christian feast day:
- Abundius of Como
- Amphianus of Lycia
- Æbbe the Younger
- Bronach of Glen-Seichis (Irish martyrology)
- Francis of Paola
- Francisco Coll Guitart
- Henry Budd (Anglican Church of Canada)
- Nicetius of Lyon
- Pedro Calungsod
- Theodosia of Tyre
- Urban of Langres
- April 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
International Children’s Book Day (International)
Thai Heritage Conservation Day (Thailand)
Unity of Peoples of Russia and Belarus Day (Belarus)
World Autism Awareness Day (International)

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