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

    • 1098 – Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
    • 1360 – Muhammed VI becomes the tenth Nasrid king of Granada after killing his brother-in-law Ismail II.
    • 1461 – Edward, Earl of March, is crowned King Edward IV of England.
    • 1519 – Charles V is elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
    • 1575 – Sengoku period of Japan: The combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu are victorious in the Battle of Nagashino.
    • 1635 – Guadeloupe becomes a French colony.
    • 1651 – The Battle of Berestechko between Poland and Ukraine starts.
    • 1709 – Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava.
    • 1745 – A New England colonial army captures the French fortifications at Louisbourg (New Style).
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island ends with the American victory, leading to the commemoration of Carolina Day.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition.
    • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness.
    • 1797 – French troops disembark in Corfu, beginning the French rule in the Ionian Islands.
    • 1807 – Second British invasion of the Río de la Plata; John Whitelocke lands at Ensenada on an attempt to recapture Buenos Aires and is defeated by the locals.
    • 1838 – Coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
    • 1841 – The Paris Opera Ballet premieres Giselle in the Salle Le Peletier.
    • 1846 – Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone.
    • 1855 – Sigma Chi fraternity is founded in North America.
    • 1859 – The first conformation dog show is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
    • 1865 – The Army of the Potomac is disbanded.
    • 1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is captured at Glenrowan.
    • 1881 – The Austro–Serbian Alliance of 1881 is secretly signed.
    • 1882 – The Anglo-French Convention of 1882 marks the territorial boundaries between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
    • 1894 – Labor Day becomes an official US holiday.
    • 1895 – The United States Court of Private Land Claims rules James Reavis’s claim to Barony of Arizona is “wholly fictitious and fraudulent.”
    • 1896 – An explosion in the Newton Coal Company’s Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners.
    • 1902 – The U.S. Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal.
    • 1904 – The SS Norge runs aground on Hasselwood Rock in the North Atlantic 430 kilometres (270 mi) northwest of Ireland. More than 635 people die during the sinking.
    • 1911 – The Nakhla meteorite, the first one to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars, falls to Earth, landing in Egypt.
    • 1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I.
    • 1917 – World War I: Greece joins the Allied powers.
    • 1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the state of war between Germany and the Allies of World War I.
    • 1921 – Serbian King Alexander I proclaims the new constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution.
    • 1922 – The Irish Civil War begins with the shelling of the Four Courts in Dublin by Free State forces.
    • 1926 – Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.
    • 1936 – The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
    • 1940 – Romania cedes Bessarabia (current-day Moldova) to the Soviet Union after facing an ultimatum.
    • 1942 – World War II: Nazi Germany starts its strategic summer offensive against the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.
    • 1945 – Poland’s Soviet-allied Provisional Government of National Unity is formed over a month after V-E Day.
    • 1948 – Cold War: The Tito–Stalin Split results in the expulsion of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia from the Cominform.
    • 1948 – Boxer Dick Turpin beats Vince Hawkins at Villa Park in Birmingham to become the first black British boxing champion in the modern era.
    • 1950 – Korean War: Suspected communist sympathizers (between 60,000 to 200,000) are executed in the Bodo League massacre.
    • 1950 – Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul and leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea’s offensive. The city falls later that day.
    • 1950 – Korean War: North Korean Army conducts the Seoul National University Hospital massacre.
    • 1956 – in Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist government both in Poland and Europe.
    • 1964 – Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
    • 1969 – Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
    • 1973 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.
    • 1976 – The Angolan court sentences US and UK mercenaries to death sentences and prison terms in the Luanda Trial.
    • 1978 – The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke bars quota systems in college admissions.
    • 1981 – A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of the Islamic Republican Party.
    • 1987 – For the first time in military history, a civilian population is targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht.
    • 1989 – On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
    • 1997 – Holyfield–Tyson II: Mike Tyson is disqualified in the third round for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield’s ear.
    • 2001 – Slobodan Milošević is extradited to the ICTY in The Hague to stand trial.
    • 2004 – Iraq War: Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
    • 2009 – Honduran president Manuel Zelaya is ousted by a local military coup following a failed request to hold a referendum to rewrite the Honduran Constitution. This was the start of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.
    • 2016 – A terrorist attack in Turkey’s Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others.

    Births on June 28

    • 751 – Carloman I, king of the Franks (d. 771)
    • 1243 – Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (d. 1304)
    • 1444 – Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1487)
    • 1476 – Pope Paul IV (d. 1559)
    • 1490 – Albert of Brandenburg, German archbishop (d. 1545)
    • 1491 – Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
    • 1503 – Giovanni della Casa, Italian author and poet (d. 1556)
    • 1547 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1599)
    • 1557 – Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (d. 1595)
    • 1560 – Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1657)
    • 1573 – Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby, English noble (d. 1644)
    • 1577 – Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter and diplomat (d. 1640)
    • 1582 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English politician (d. 1662)
    • 1604 – Heinrich Albert, German composer and poet (d. 1651)
    • 1641 – Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien, consort to King John III Sobieski (d. 1716)
    • 1653 – Muhammad Azam Shah, Mughal emperor (d. 1707)
    • 1703 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (d. 1791)
    • 1712 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and polymath (d. 1778)
    • 1719 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1785)
    • 1734 – Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French organist and composer (d. 1794)
    • 1742 – William Hooper, American physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1790)
    • 1824 – Paul Broca, French physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (d. 1880)
    • 1825 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist (d. 1909)
    • 1831 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1907)
    • 1836 – Emmanuel Rhoides, Greek journalist and author (d. 1904)
    • 1844 – John Boyle O’Reilly, Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer (d. 1890)
    • 1852 – Charles Cruft, English showman, founded Crufts Dog Show (d. 1938)
    • 1867 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian dramatist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
    • 1873 – Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
    • 1875 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1879 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (d. 1949)
    • 1880 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1971)
    • 1883 – Pierre Laval, French soldier and politician, 101st Prime Minister of France (d. 1945)
    • 1884 – Lamina Sankoh, Sierra Leonean banker and politician (d. 1964)
    • 1888 – George Challenor, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1947)
    • 1888 – Stefi Geyer, Hungarian violinist and educator (d. 1956)
    • 1891 – Esther Forbes, American historian and author (d. 1968)
    • 1891 – Carl Spaatz, American general (d. 1974)
    • 1892 – Carl Panzram, American serial killer (d. 1930)
    • 1893 – August Zamoyski, Polish-French sculptor (d. 1970)
    • 1894 – Francis Hunter, American tennis player (d. 1981)
    • 1902 – Richard Rodgers, American playwright and composer (d. 1979)
    • 1906 – Maria Goeppert Mayer, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
    • 1907 – Jimmy Mundy, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1983)
    • 1907 – Yvonne Sylvain, First female Haitian physician (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Eric Ambler, English author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Franz Antel, Austrian director and producer (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – George Lloyd, English soldier and composer (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – Walter Oesau, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1914 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician and Nazi war criminal (d. 1992)
    • 1917 – A. E. Hotchner, American author and playwright (d. 2020)
    • 1918 – William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, Scottish-English politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1999)
    • 1919 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (d. 1983)
    • 1920 – Clarissa Eden, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1921 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Hans Frauenfelder, American physicist and biophysicist
    • 1923 – Pete Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Adolfo Schwelm Cruz, Argentinian racing driver (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Gaye Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – George Booth, American cartoonist
    • 1926 – Mel Brooks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1926 – Robert Ledley, American academic and inventor (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Correlli Barnett, English historian and author
    • 1927 – Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Hans Blix, Swedish politician and diplomat, 33rd Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1928 – Patrick Hemingway, American writer
    • 1928 – Harold Evans, English-American historian and journalist
    • 1928 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1928 – Cyril Smith, English politician (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Alfred Miodowicz, Polish politician
    • 1930 – William C. Campbell, Irish-American biologist and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1930 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (d. 2011)
    • 1930 – Jack Gold, English director and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1931 – Junior Johnson, American race car driver (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Lucien Victor, Belgian cyclist (d. 1995)
    • 1932 – Pat Morita, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1933 – Gusty Spence, Northern Irish loyalist and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Robert Carswell, Baron Carswell, Northern Irish lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
    • 1934 – Roy Gilchrist, Jamaican cricketer (d. 2001)
    • 1934 – Bette Greene, American journalist and author
    • 1934 – Carl Levin, American lawyer and politician
    • 1934 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – John Inman, English actor (d. 2007)
    • 1936 – Chuck Howley, American football player
    • 1937 – George Knudson, Canadian golfer (d. 1989)
    • 1937 – Fernand Labrie, Canadian endocrinologist and academic
    • 1937 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1995)
    • 1938 – John Byner, American actor and comedian
    • 1938 – Leon Panetta, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of Defense
    • 1938 – S. Sivamaharajah, Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper publisher and politician (d. 2006)
    • 1938 – Simon Douglas-Pennant, 7th Baron Penrhyn, British baron
    • 1939 – Klaus Schmiegel, German chemist
    • 1940 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Al Downing, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1941 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist and academic, developed the OBJ language (d. 2006)
    • 1941 – David Johnston, Canadian academic, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor General of Canada
    • 1942 – Chris Hani, South African politician (d. 1993)
    • 1942 – Hans-Joachim Walde, German decathlete (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Frank Zane, American professional bodybuilder and author
    • 1943 – Jens Birkemose, Danish painter
    • 1943 – Donald Johanson, American paleontologist and academic
    • 1943 – Klaus von Klitzing, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1945 – Ken Buchanan, Scottish boxer
    • 1945 – David Knights, English bass player and producer
    • 1945 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1945 – Türkan Şoray, Turkish actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Robert Asprin, American soldier and author (d. 2008)
    • 1946 – Bruce Davison, American actor and director
    • 1946 – David Duckham, English rugby player
    • 1946 – Robert Xavier Rodríguez, American classical composer
    • 1946 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (d. 1991)
    • 1946 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (d. 1989)
    • 1947 – Mark Helprin, American novelist and journalist
    • 1947 – Laura Tyson, American economist and academic
    • 1948 – Kathy Bates, American actress
    • 1948 – Sergei Bodrov, Russian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Deborah Moggach, English author and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Daniel Wegner, Canadian-American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Don Baylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1950 – Philip Fowke, English pianist and educator
    • 1950 – Mauricio Rojas, Chilean-Swedish economist and politician
    • 1950 – Chris Speier, American baseball player and coach
    • 1951 – Mick Cronin, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1951 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1951 – Lalla Ward, English actress and author
    • 1952 – Enis Batur, Turkish poet and author
    • 1952 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1952 – Jean-Christophe Rufin, French physician and author
    • 1954 – A. A. Gill, Scottish author and critic (d. 2016)
    • 1954 – Alice Krige, South African actress
    • 1955 – Shirley Cheriton, British actress
    • 1956 – Amira Hass, Israeli journalist and author
    • 1956 – Noel Mugavin, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1957 – Lance Nethery, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1957 – Georgi Parvanov, Bulgarian historian and politician, 4th President of Bulgaria
    • 1957 – Mike Skinner, American race car driver
    • 1957 – Jim Spanarkel, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Donna Edwards, American lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Félix Gray, Tunisian-French singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Clint Boon, English singer and keyboard player
    • 1959 – John Shelley, British illustrator
    • 1960 – John Elway, American football player and manager
    • 1960 – Roland Melanson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Jeff Malone, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Anișoara Cușmir-Stanciu, Romanian long jumper
    • 1962 – Artur Hajzer, Polish mountaineer (d. 2013)
    • 1962 – Ann-Louise Skoglund, Swedish hurdler
    • 1963 – Peter Baynham, Welsh actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Charlie Clouser, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1964 – Christina Ashcroft, Canadian sport shooter
    • 1964 – Mark Grace, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Bernie McCahill, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1964 – Dan Stains, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1964 – Steve Williamson, English saxophonist and composer
    • 1965 – Jessica Hecht, American actress
    • 1965 – Tiaan Strauss, South African rugby player
    • 1966 – Peeter Allik, Estonian painter and illustrator (d. 2019)
    • 1966 – Bobby Bare Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – John Cusack, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress
    • 1967 – Leona Aglukkaq, Canadian politician, 7th Canadian Minister of Health
    • 1967 – Gil Bellows, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1967 – Zhong Huandi, Chinese runner
    • 1967 – Lars Riedel, German discus thrower
    • 1968 – Chayanne, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1969 – Tichina Arnold, American actress and singer
    • 1969 – Stéphane Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
    • 1969 – Fabrizio Mori, Italian hurdler
    • 1970 – Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer and coach
    • 1970 – Tom Merritt, American journalist
    • 1970 – Mike White, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Lorenzo Amoruso, Italian footballer
    • 1971 – Fabien Barthez, French footballer
    • 1971 – Bobby Hurley, American basketball player and coach
    • 1971 – Ron Mahay, American baseball player and scout
    • 1971 – Elon Musk, South African-born American businessman
    • 1971 – Aileen Quinn, American actress and singer
    • 1972 – Ngô Bảo Châu, Vietnamese-French mathematician and academic
    • 1972 – Chris Leslie, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
    • 1972 – Geeta Tripathee, Nepali poet, lyricist and literary critic
    • 1972 – Alessandro Nivola, American actor
    • 1973 – Adrián Annus, Hungarian hammer thrower
    • 1973 – Corey Koskie, Canadian baseball player
    • 1974 – Rob Dyrdek, American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and reality television star
    • 1975 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish singer-songwriter, and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1976 – Shinobu Asagoe, Japanese tennis player
    • 1976 – Seth Wescott, American snowboarder
    • 1977 – Chris Spurling, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Mark Stoermer, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1977 – Harun Tekin, Turkish singer and guitarist
    • 1978 – Simon Larose, Canadian tennis player
    • 1979 – Randy McMichael, American football player
    • 1979 – Neil Shanahan, Irish racing driver (d. 1999)
    • 1979 – Florian Zeller, French author and playwright
    • 1980 – Jevgeni Novikov, Estonian footballer
    • 1981 – Savage, New Zealand rapper
    • 1981 – Michael Crafter, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Guillermo Martínez, Cuban javelin thrower
    • 1981 – Brandon Phillips, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Ibrahim Camejo, Cuban long jumper
    • 1985 – Phil Bardsley, English footballer
    • 1985 – Colt Hynes, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Kellie Pickler, American singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Sonata Tamošaitytė, Lithuanian hurdler
    • 1987 – Terrence Williams, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Jason Clark, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – Andrew Fifita, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – David Fifita, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – Julia Zlobina, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
    • 1989 – Markiplier, American internet personality
    • 1989 – Nicole Rottmann, Austrian tennis player
    • 1991 – Seohyun, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress
    • 1991 – Kevin De Bruyne, Belgian footballer
    • 1991 – Kang Min-hyuk, South Korean singer, drummer, and actor
    • 1992 – Oscar Hiljemark, Swedish footballer
    • 1992 – Elaine Thompson, Jamaican sprinter
    • 1993 – Bradley Beal, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan
    • 1994 – Emily Blue, American singer-songwriter
    • 1996 – Donna Vekić, Croatian tennis player
    • 1996 – Larissa Werbicki, Canadian rower
    • 1999 – Markéta Vondroušová, Czech tennis player
    • 2002 – Marta Kostyuk, Ukrainian tennis player

    Deaths on June 28

    • 202 – Yuan Shao, Chinese warlord
    • 548 – Theodora I, Byzantine empress
    • 572 – Alboin, King of the Lombards
    • 683 – Leo II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 611)
    • 767 – Paul I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 700)
    • 928 – Louis the Blind, Holy Roman emperor (b. 880)
    • 975 – Cyneweard, bishop of Wells
    • 1031 – Taira no Tadatsune, Japanese governor
    • 1061 – Floris I, count of Holland
    • 1175 – Andrey Bogolyubsky, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1111)
    • 1189 – Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony, (b. 1156)
    • 1194 – Xiao Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1127)
    • 1385 – Andronikos IV, Byzantine emperor (b. 1348)
    • 1497 – James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley, English rebel leader (b. c. 1463)
    • 1575 – Yonekura Shigetsugu, Japanese samurai
    • 1586 – Primož Trubar, Slovenian author and reformer (b. 1508)
    • 1598 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (b. 1527)
    • 1607 – Domenico Fontana, Italian architect (b. 1543)
    • 1716 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1665)
    • 1757 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Frederick William I (b. 1687)
    • 1798 – John Henry Colclough, Irish revolutionary (b. c. 1769)
    • 1813 – Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1755)
    • 1834 – Joseph Bové, Russian architect, designed the Triumphal Arch of Moscow (b. 1784)
    • 1836 – James Madison, American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (b. 1751)
    • 1880 – Texas Jack Omohundro, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
    • 1881 – Jules Armand Dufaure, French politician, 33rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1798)
    • 1889 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (b. 1818)
    • 1892 – Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Greek Foreign Minister (b. 1810)
    • 1913 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (b. 1841)
    • 1914 – Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg (b. 1868)
    • 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria (b. 1863)
    • 1915 – Victor Trumper, Australian cricketer (b. 1877)
    • 1917 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and educator (b. 1868)
    • 1922 – Velimir Khlebnikov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1885)
    • 1929 – Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (b. 1844)
    • 1936 – Alexander Berkman, American author and activist (d. 1870)
    • 1939 – Douglas H. Johnston, governor of the Chickasaw Nation (b. 1856)
    • 1940 – Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (b. 1896)
    • 1944 – Friedrich Dollmann, German general (b. 1882)
    • 1945 – Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, Turkish journalist (b. 1879)
    • 1947 – Stanislav Kostka Neumann, Czech writer, poet and journalist (b. 1875)
    • 1960 – Jake Swirbul, American businessman, co-founded the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (b. 1898)
    • 1962 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
    • 1962 – Cy Morgan, American baseball player (b. 1878)
    • 1965 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, bandleader, and composer (b. 1905)
    • 1966 – Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Turkish historian and politician, 21st Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1890)
    • 1971 – Franz Stangl, Austrian SS officer (b. 1908)
    • 1974 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (b. 1890)
    • 1975 – Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis, Greek architect (b. 1913)
    • 1975 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
    • 1978 – Clifford Dupont, English-Rhodesian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Rhodesia (b. 1905)
    • 1980 – José Iturbi, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1895)
    • 1981 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (b. 1958)
    • 1983 – Alf Francis, German-English motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor (b. 1918)
    • 1984 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician (b. 1917)
    • 1985 – Lynd Ward, American author and illustrator (b. 1905)
    • 1989 – Joris Ivens, Dutch journalist, director, and producer (b. 1898)
    • 1992 – Guy Nève, Belgian racing driver (b. 1955)
    • 1992 – Mikhail Tal, Latvian chess player (b. 1936)
    • 1995 – Petri Walli, Finnish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
    • 2000 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (b. 1913)
    • 2000 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (b. 1902)
    • 2003 – Joan Lowery Nixon, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (b. 1912)
    • 2005 – Brenda Howard, American activist (b. 1946)
    • 2005 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1976)
    • 2006 – Jim Baen, American publisher, founded Baen Books (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – George Unwin, English pilot and commander (b. 1913)
    • 2007 – Eugene B. Fluckey, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
    • 2007 – Kiichi Miyazawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – A. K. Lohithadas, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
    • 2009 – Billy Mays, American TV personality (b. 1958)
    • 2010 – Robert Byrd, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Richard Isay, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Leontine T. Kelly, American bishop (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Robert Sabatier, French author and poet (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Ted Hood, American sailor and architect (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Tamás Katona, Hungarian historian and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Kenneth Minogue, New Zealand-Australian political scientist and academic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – F. D. Reeve, American author and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – David Rubitsky, American sergeant (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Seymour Barab, American cellist and composer (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Jim Brosnan, American baseball player (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – On Kawara, Japanese painter (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Meshach Taylor, American actor (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Jack Carter, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Jope Seniloli, Fijian politician, Vice-President of Fiji (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Wally Stanowski, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
    • 2016 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Pat Summitt, American women’s college basketball head coach (b. 1952)
    • 2016 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (b. 1931)
    • 2018 – Harlan Ellison, American writer (b. 1934)

    Holidays and observances on June 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Basilides and Potamiana
      • Irenaeus of Lyon (Western Christianity)
      • Heimerad
      • Blessed Maria Pia Mastena
      • Paulus I
      • Vincenza Gerosa
      • June 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Ukraine)
    • Earliest day on which Vardavar can fall, while August 1 is the latest; celebrated on the 14th weeks after Easter (Armenia)
    • Family Day (Vietnam)
    • Poznań Remembrance Day (Poland)
    • Vidovdan, celebrating St. Vitus and an important day in Serbian history. (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Tau Day, a day similar to Pi Day celebrating the number Tau, which is equivalent to 2*Pi.

  • April 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
    • 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
    • 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
    • 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
    • 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
    • 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
    • 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
    • 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
    • 1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
    • 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
    • 1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
    • 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
    • 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
    • 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
    • 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
    • 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
    • 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
    • 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
    • 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
    • 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
    • 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
    • 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
    • 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
    • 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
    • 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
    • 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
    • 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
    • 1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
    • 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
    • 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
    • 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
    • 1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
    • 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
    • 1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
    • 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
    • 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
    • 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
    • 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
    • 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
    • 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
    • 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
    • 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
    • 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
    • 1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
    • 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
    • 1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
    • 1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
    • 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
    • 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
    • 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
    • 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
    • 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
    • 2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
    • 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
    • 2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
    • 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.

    Births on April 8

    • 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
    • 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
    • 1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
    • 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
    • 1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
    • 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
    • 1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
    • 1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
    • 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
    • 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
    • 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
    • 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
    • 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
    • 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
    • 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
    • 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
    • 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
    • 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
    • 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
    • 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
    • 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
    • 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
    • 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
    • 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
    • 1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
    • 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
    • 1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
    • 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
    • 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
    • 1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
    • 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
    • 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
    • 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
    • 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
    • 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
    • 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
    • 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
    • 1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
    • 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
    • 1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
    • 1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
    • 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
    • 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
    • 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
    • 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
    • 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
    • 1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
    • 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
    • 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
    • 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
    • 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
    • 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
    • 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
    • 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
    • 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
    • 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
    • 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
    • 1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
    • 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
    • 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
    • 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
    • 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
    • 1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
    • 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
    • 1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
    • 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
    • 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
    • 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
    • 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
    • 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
    • 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
    • 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
    • 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
    • 1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
    • 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
    • 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
    • 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
    • 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
    • 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
    • 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
    • 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
    • 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
    • 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
    • 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
    • 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
    • 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
    • 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
    • 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
    • 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
    • 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
    • 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
    • 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
    • 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
    • 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
    • 1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
    • 1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
    • 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
    • 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
    • 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
    • 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
    • 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
    • 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
    • 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
    • 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
    • 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
    • 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
    • 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
    • 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
    • 1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
    • 1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
    • 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
    • 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
    • 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
    • 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
    • 1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
    • 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
    • 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
    • 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
    • 1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
    • 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
    • 1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
    • 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
    • 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
    • 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
    • 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
    • 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
    • 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
    • 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
    • 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
    • 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
    • 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
    • 1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
    • 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
    • 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
    • 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
    • 1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
    • 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
    • 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
    • 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
    • 1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
    • 1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
    • 1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player

    Deaths on April 8

    • 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
    • 622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
    • 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
    • 894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
    • 944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
    • 956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
    • 967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
    • 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
    • 1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
    • 1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
    • 1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
    • 1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
    • 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
    • 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
    • 1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
    • 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
    • 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
    • 1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
    • 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
    • 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
    • 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
    • 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (b. 1624)
    • 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1641)
    • 1709 – Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen, German nobleman (b. 1641)
    • 1725 – John Wise, American minister (b. 1652)
    • 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
    • 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
    • 1860 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian statesman and reformer (b.1791)
    • 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
    • 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
    • 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1838)
    • 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (b. 1850)
    • 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist, academic, and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1848)
    • 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
    • 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
    • 1936 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1936 – Božena Benešová, Czech poet and novelist (b. 1873)
    • 1941 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (b. 1862)
    • 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek guitarist and composer (b. 1880)
    • 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
    • 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
    • 1959 – Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (b. 1913)
    • 1961 – Joseph Carrodus, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
    • 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
    • 1969 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian astronomer (b. 1900)
    • 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
    • 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Breece D’J Pancake, American short story writer (b. 1952)
    • 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
    • 1983 – Isamu Kosugi, Japanese actor and director (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
    • 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American pianist and composer (b. 1897)
    • 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
    • 1991 – Per Ohlin, Swedish musician (b. 1969)
    • 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – Marian Anderson, American operatic singer (b. 1897)
    • 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
    • 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1996 – Mick Young, Australian politician (b. 1936)
    • 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
    • 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
    • 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter (b. 1937)
    • 2004 – Werner Schumacher, German actor (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Onna White, Canadian choreographer and dancer (b. 1922)
    • 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author and poet (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Kazuo Shiraga, Japanese painter (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Richard de Mille, American Scientologist, author, investigative journalist, and psychologist (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
    • 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player and coach (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Rayson Huang, Hong Kong chemist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (b. 1987)
    • 2015 – David Laventhol, American journalist and publisher (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on April 8

    • Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, “Flower Festival” (Japan)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Constantina
      • Julie Billiart of Namur
      • Perpetuus
      • Walter of Pontoise
      • William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
    • International Romani Day