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April 25 in History
- 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
- 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire.
- 799 – After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection.
- 1134 – The name Zagreb was mentioned for the first time in the Felician Charter relating to the establishment of the Zagreb Bishopric around 1094.
- 1607 – Eighty Years’ War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
- 1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming dynasty China, commits suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
- 1707 – A coalition of Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal is defeated by a Franco-Spanish army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.
- 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
- 1792 – “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
- 1804 – The western Georgian kingdom of Imereti accepts the suzerainty of the Russian Empire.
- 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
- 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War.
- 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
- 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Marks’ Mills.
- 1882 – French and Vietnamese troops clashed in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seized the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
- 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.
- 1915 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops, begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
- 1916 – Anzac Day is commemorated for the first time on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove.
- 1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class “A” League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East.
- 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.
- 1940 – Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands is approved by the British occupation government.
- 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.
- 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two.
- 1945 – Liberation Day (Italy): The Nazi occupation army surrenders and leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolves and Benito Mussolini is captured after trying to escape. This day was set as a public holiday to celebrate the Liberation of Italy.
- 1945 – United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
- 1945 – The last German troops retreat from Finland’s soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military acts of Second World War end in Finland.
- 1951 – Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.
- 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” describing the double helix structure of DNA.
- 1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
- 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.
- 1960 – The United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
- 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and establishes a democratic government.
- 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
- 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
- 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
- 1983 – Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
- 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto’s orbit.
- 1986 – Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.
- 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.
- 1990 – Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto is killed while testing an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring in Germany.
- 2004 – The March for Women’s Lives brings between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.
- 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.
- 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.
- 2007 – Boris Yeltsin’s funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.
- 2015 – Nearly 9,100 are killed after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.
Births on April 25
- 1214 – Louis IX of France (d. 1270)
- 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)
- 1284 – Edward II of England (d. 1327)
- 1287 – Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1330)
- 1502 – Georg Major, German theologian and academic (d. 1574)
- 1529 – Francesco Patrizi, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1597)
- 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1658)
- 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, English soldier and politician (d. 1679)
- 1666 – Johann Heinrich Buttstett, German organist and composer (d. 1727)
- 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect and politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (d. 1753)
- 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and author (d. 1776)
- 1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer (d. 1797)
- 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (d. 1786)
- 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French general (d. 1847)
- 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist and academic (d. 1850)
- 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)
- 1843 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
- 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1925)
- 1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer and educator (d. 1927)
- 1851 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish author, critic, and academic (d. 1901)
- 1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, American engineer and inventor (d. 1940)
- 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English ornithologist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1933)
- 1868 – John Moisant, American pilot and engineer (d. 1910)
- 1871 – Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (d. 1926)
- 1872 – C. B. Fry, English cricketer, footballer, educator, and politician (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Howard Garis, American author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children’s stories (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
- 1874 – Ernest Webb, English-Canadian race walker (d. 1937)
- 1876 – Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (d. 1958)
- 1878 – William Merz, American gymnast and triathlete (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (d. 1976)
- 1887 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and critic (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (d. 1980)
- 1896 – Fred Haney, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Mary Miles Minter, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1987)
- 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (d. 1986)
- 1906 – William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)
- 1909 – William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (d. 1985)
- 1910 – Arapeta Awatere, New Zealand interpreter, military leader, politician, and murderer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1912 – Earl Bostic, African-American saxophonist (d. 1965)
- 1913 – Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (d. 1944)
- 1914 – Ross Lockridge Jr., American author and academic (d. 1948)
- 1915 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1916 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Jean Lucas, French racing driver (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Graham Payn, South African-born English actor and singer (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French-American astronomer and academic (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano and actress (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Finn Helgesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, English astronomer and academic
- 1923 – Melissa Hayden, Canadian ballerina (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Albert King, African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, composer, director, and playwright (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, English trade union leader and businessman
- 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German comedian and journalist (d. 1986)
- 1925 – Louis O’Neil, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Johnny Craig, American author and illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Patricia Castell, Argentine actress (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper, shot putter, and discus thrower (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Godfrey Milton-Thompson, English admiral and surgeon (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Peter Schulz, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Hamburg (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1980)
- 1931 – David Shepherd, English painter and author (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, African-American basketball player and minister (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower and politician (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
- 1933 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1935 – Bob Gutowski, American pole vaulter (d. 1960)
- 1935 – Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (d. 2000)
- 1938 – Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch painter and graphic designer
- 1939 – Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer and manager
- 1939 – Michael Llewellyn-Smith, English academic and diplomat
- 1939 – Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, English historian and academic
- 1939 – Veronica Sutherland, English academic and British diplomat
- 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor and director
- 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Jon Kyl, American lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1944 – Len Goodman, English dancer
- 1944 – Mike Kogel, German singer-songwriter
- 1944 – Stephen Nickell, English economist and academic
- 1944 – Bruce Ponder, English geneticist and cancer researcher
- 1945 – Stu Cook, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1945 – Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author
- 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress
- 1946 – Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland
- 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1947 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
- 1948 – Mike Selvey, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwanese politician, 39th Premier of the Republic of China
- 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentinian footballer and race car driver
- 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance
- 1949 – James Fenton, English poet, journalist and literary critic
- 1950 – Donnell Deeny, Northern Irish lawyer and judge
- 1950 – Steve Ferrone, English drummer
- 1950 – Peter Hintze, German politician (d. 2016)
- 1950 – Valentyna Kozyr, Ukrainian high jumper
- 1951 – Ian McCartney, Scottish politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist and composer
- 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Jacques Santini, French footballer and coach
- 1953 – Ron Clements, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer
- 1953 – Anthony Venables, English economist, author, and academic
- 1954 – Melvin Burgess, English author
- 1954 – Randy Cross, American football player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Róisín Shortall, Irish educator and politician
- 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer
- 1955 – Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks
- 1956 – Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar
- 1957 – Theo de Rooij, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Misha Glenny, British journalist
- 1959 – Paul Madden, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia
- 1959 – Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director
- 1959 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Paul Baloff, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1960 – Robert Peston, English journalist
- 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian director, producer, and critic
- 1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American journalist and author
- 1961 – Miran Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1962 – Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1963 – Joy Covey, American businesswoman (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Dave Martin, English footballer
- 1963 – David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Bernd Müller, German footballer and manager
- 1963 – Paul Wassif, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor, voice artist, comedian and producer
- 1964 – Andy Bell, English singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Eric Avery, American bass player and songwriter
- 1965 – Mark Bryant, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – John Henson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Diego Domínguez, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1966 – Femke Halsema, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician
- 1966 – Darren Holmes, American baseball player and coach
- 1966 – Erik Pappas, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Angel Martino, American swimmer
- 1968 – Vitaliy Kyrylenko, Ukrainian long jumper
- 1968 – Thomas Strunz, German footballer
- 1969 – Joe Buck, American sportscaster
- 1969 – Martin Koolhoven, Dutch director and screenwriter
- 1969 – Jon Olsen, American swimmer
- 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer
- 1970 – Jason Lee, American skateboarder, actor, comedian and producer
- 1971 – Sara Baras, Spanish dancer
- 1971 – Brad Clontz, American baseball player
- 1973 – Carlota Castrejana, Spanish triple jumper
- 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer
- 1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis player
- 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player
- 1976 – Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player
- 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach
- 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress and producer
- 1977 – Matthew West, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1978 – Matt Walker, English swimmer
- 1980 – Ben Johnston, Scottish drummer and songwriter
- 1980 – James Johnston, Scottish bass player and songwriter
- 1980 – Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television host
- 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer
- 1980 – Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player
- 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
- 1981 – Dwone Hicks, American football player
- 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
- 1981 – John McFall, English sprinter
- 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier
- 1982 – Brian Barton, American baseball player
- 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer
- 1982 – Marco Russo, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Johnathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, American football player
- 1984 – Robert Andino, American baseball player
- 1984 – Isaac Kiprono Songok, Kenyan runner
- 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver
- 1986 – Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Thin Seng Hon, Cambodian Paralympic athlete
- 1986 – Gwen Jorgensen, American triathlete
- 1986 – Claudia Rath, German heptathlete
- 1987 – Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
- 1987 – Jay Park, American-South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player
- 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Canadian skier
- 1989 – Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player
- 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the highest-ranking spiritual leaders in Tibet
- 1990 – Jean-Éric Vergne, French racing driver
- 1990 – Taylor Walker, Australian footballer
- 1991 – Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer
- 1993 – Alex Bowman, American race car driver
- 1993 – Daniel Norris, American baseball player
- 1994 – Omar McLeod, Jamaican hurdler
- 1995 – Lewis Baker, English footballer
- 1996 – Mack Horton, Australian swimmer
- 1997 – Julius Ertlthaler, Austrian footballer
Deaths on April 25
- 501 – Rusticus, saint and archbishop of Lyon (b. 455)
- 775 – Smbat VII Bagratuni, Armenian prince
- 775 – Mushegh VI Mamikonian, Armenian prince
- 908 – Zhang Wenwei, Chinese chancellor
- 1074 – Herman I, Margrave of Baden
- 1077 – Géza I of Hungary (b. 1040)
- 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
- 1217 – Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
- 1228 – Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem (b. 1212)
- 1243 – Boniface of Valperga, Bishop of Aosta
- 1264 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, medieval English nobleman; Earl of Winchester (b. 1195)
- 1295 – Sancho IV of Castile (b. 1258)
- 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
- 1397 – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, English nobleman
- 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian author, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)
- 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
- 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet and author (b. 1520)
- 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)
- 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and songwriter (b. 1544)
- 1605 – Naresuan, Siamese King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (b. c. 1555)
- 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (b. 1611)
- 1660 – Henry Hammond, English cleric and theologian (b. 1605)
- 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter and educator (b. 1610)
- 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1701)
- 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French minister, physicist, and academic (b. 1700)
- 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
- 1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1781)
- 1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1783)
- 1875 – 12th Dalai Lama (b. 1857)
- 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)
- 1890 – Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1830)
- 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (b. 1811)
- 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)
- 1892 – Karl von Ditmar, Estonian-German geologist and explorer (b. 1822)
- 1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and educator (b. 1839)
- 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1862)
- 1913 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (b. 1859)
- 1915 – Frederick W. Seward, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
- 1919 – Augustus D. Juilliard, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1836)
- 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
- 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (b. 1878)
- 1941 – Salih Bozok, Turkish commander and politician (b. 1881)
- 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (b. 1858)
- 1944 – George Herriman, American cartoonist (b. 1880)
- 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player (b. 1859)
- 1944 – William Stephens, American engineer and politician, 24th Governor of California (b. 1859)
- 1945 – Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (b. 1903)
- 1961 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (b. 1875)
- 1970 – Anita Louise, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1972 – George Sanders, English actor (b. 1906)
- 1973 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-American actress (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Gustavo R. Vincenti, Maltese architect and developer (b. 1888)
- 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (b.1947)
- 1976 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (b. 1906)
- 1976 – Markus Reiner, Israeli engineer and educator (b. 1886)
- 1982 – John Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
- 1983 – William S. Bowdern, American priest and author (b. 1897)
- 1988 – Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Roger Troutman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1951)
- 2000 – Lucien Le Cam, French mathematician and statistician (b. 1924)
- 2000 – David Merrick, American director and producer (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (b. 1956)
- 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (b. 1971)
- 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan runner (b. 1966)
- 2004 – Thom Gunn, English-American poet and academic (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Jim Barker, American politician (b. 1935)
- 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent member of parliament (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Alan Ball Jr., English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Bobby Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player, composer, and radio host (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Dorothy Provine, American actress and singer (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Poly Styrene, British musician (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Gerry Bahen, Australian footballer (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Denny Jones, American rancher and politician (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina and educator (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Brian Adam, Scottish biochemist and politician (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
- 2013 – György Berencsi, Hungarian virologist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Rick Camp, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Dan Heap, Canadian priest and politician (b. 1925)
- 2014 – William Judson Holloway Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1968)
- 2014 – Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Jim Fanning, American-Canadian baseball player and manager (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and novelist (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Mike Phillips, American basketball player (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Madeeha Gauhar, Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women’s rights activist (b. 1956)
- 2019 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on April 25
- Anniversary of the First Cabinet of Kurdish Government (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
- Arbor Day (Germany)
- Christian feast day:
- Giovanni Battista Piamarta
- Major Rogation (Western Christianity)
- Mark the Evangelist
- Maughold
- Philo and Agathopodes
- Anianus of Alexandria
- April 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- DNA Day
- Flag Day (Faroe Islands)
- Freedom Day (Portugal)
- Liberation Day (Italy)
- Liberation Day (South Georgia)
- Military Foundation Day (North Korea)
- Parental Alienation Awareness Day
- Red Hat Society Day
- Sinai Liberation Day (Egypt)
- World Malaria Day
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April 13 in History
- 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
- 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
- 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
- 1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
- 1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
- 1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
- 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
- 1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
- 1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
- 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
- 1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
- 1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
- 1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
- 1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
- 1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
- 1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
- 1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
- 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
- 1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
- 1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
- 1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
- 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
- 1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
- 1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
- 1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
- 1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
- 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
- 1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
- 2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
- 2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.
Births on April 13
- 1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
- 1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
- 1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
- 1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
- 1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
- 1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
- 1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
- 1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
- 1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
- 1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
- 1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
- 1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
- 1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
- 1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
- 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
- 1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
- 1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
- 1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
- 1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
- 1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
- 1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
- 1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
- 1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
- 1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
- 1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
- 1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
- 1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
- 1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
- 1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
- 1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
- 1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
- 1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
- 1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
- 1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
- 1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
- 1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
- 1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
- 1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
- 1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
- 1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
- 1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
- 1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
- 1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
- 1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
- 1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
- 1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
- 1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
- 1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
- 1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
- 1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
- 1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
- 1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
- 1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
- 1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
- 1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
- 1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
- 1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
- 1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
- 1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
- 1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
- 1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
- 1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
- 1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
- 1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
- 1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
- 1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
- 1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
- 1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
- 1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
- 1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
- 1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
- 1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
- 1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
- 1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
- 1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
- 1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
- 1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
- 1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
- 1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
- 1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
- 1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
- 1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
- 1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
- 1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
- 1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
- 1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
- 1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
- 1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
- 1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
- 1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
- 1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
- 1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
- 1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
- 1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
- 1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
- 1940 – Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist
- 1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Jean-Marc Reiser, French author and illustrator (d. 1983)
- 1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
- 1943 – Alan Jones, Australian rugby coach, radio host, and educator
- 1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
- 1943 – Tim Krabbé, Dutch journalist and author
- 1943 – Philip Norman, English journalist, author, and playwright
- 1944 – Franco Arese, Italian runner
- 1944 – Charles Burnett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1944 – Jack Casady, American bass guitarist
- 1944 – Susan Davis, Russian-American social worker and politician
- 1945 – Ed Caruthers, American high jumper
- 1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
- 1945 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1979)
- 1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (d. 1970)
- 1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress and author
- 1946 – Al Green, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
- 1947 – Rae Armantrout, American poet and academic
- 1947 – Mike Chapman, Australian-English songwriter and producer
- 1947 – Jean-Jacques Laffont, French economist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Yves Landry, Canadian cyclist
- 1948 – Nam Hae-il, South Korean admiral
- 1948 – Drago Jančar, Slovenian author and playwright
- 1948 – Mikhail Shufutinsky, Soviet and Russian singer, actor, TV presenter
- 1949 – Len Cook, New Zealand-English mathematician and statistician
- 1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (d. 2011)
- 1949 – Ricardo Zunino, Argentinian racing driver
- 1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
- 1950 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1951 – Leszek Borysiewicz, Welsh immunologist and academic
- 1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
- 1951 – Joachim Streich, German footballer and manager
- 1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
- 1952 – Sam Bush, American mandolin player
- 1952 – David Drew, English lawyer and politician
- 1952 – Gabrielle Gourdeau, Canadian writer (d. 2006)
- 1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish jockey and trainer
- 1953 – Stephen Byers, English politician
- 1953 – Dany Laferrière, Haitian-Canadian journalist and author
- 1954 – Jimmy Destri, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Barbara Roche, English lawyer and politician
- 1955 – Steve Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Muwenda Mutebi II, current King of Buganda Kingdom
- 1955 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (d. 2015)
- 1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
- 1955 – Ole von Beust, German lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Hamburg
- 1956 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand racing driver (d. 2003)
- 1956 – Alan Devonshire, English footballer and manager
- 1956 – Edward Forbes Smiley III, American art thief and map dealer
- 1957 – Amy Goodman, American journalist and author
- 1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
- 1960 – Lyn Brown, English social worker and politician
- 1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., American lawyer and politician, senior senator of Pennsylvania
- 1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist and manager
- 1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager
- 1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American bass player and songwriter
- 1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (d. 1988)
- 1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author
- 1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian
- 1964 – John Swinney, Scottish businessman and politician, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
- 1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinian architect and educator
- 1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
- 1966 – Marc Ford, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1967 – Dana Barros, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1967 – Michael Eisen, American biologist and academic
- 1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Ted Washington, American football player
- 1969 – Dirk Muschiol, German footballer
- 1970 – Monty Brown, American football player and wrestler
- 1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Nick Garrett, English singer
- 1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast
- 1970 – Ricardo Rincón, Mexican-American baseball player
- 1970 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
- 1971 – Franck Esposito, French swimmer
- 1971 – Danie Mellor, Australian painter and sculptor
- 1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
- 1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player and golfer
- 1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
- 1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Darren Turner, English racing driver
- 1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer and manager
- 1975 – Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canadian snowboarder
- 1975 – Lou Bega, German singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
- 1975 – Tatiana Navka, Russian ice dancer
- 1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech-American ice hockey player
- 1976 – Glenn Howerton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1977 – Margus Tsahkna, Estonian lawyer and politician
- 1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
- 1978 – Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
- 1978 – Keydrick Vincent, American football player
- 1979 – Gréta Arn, Hungarian tennis player
- 1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
- 1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
- 1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
- 1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
- 1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, American independent filmmaker and YouTuber
- 1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
- 1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
- 1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
- 1982 – Nellie McKay, British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
- 1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
- 1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
- 1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh cyclist
- 1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
- 1984 – Jarmo Ahjupera, Estonian footballer
- 1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
- 1985 – Anna Jennings-Edquist, Australian actress, director, and playwright
- 1985 – Algo Kärp, Estonian skier
- 1985 – Cody Nickson, American reality television personality
- 1986 – Michael Bingham, American-English sprinter
- 1986 – Lorenzo Cain, American baseball player
- 1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1987 – Massimiliano Pesenti, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Petteri Koponen, Finnish basketball player
- 1988 – Allison Williams, American actress and singer
- 1989 – Ryan Bailey, American sprinter
- 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampolinist
- 1989 – Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, Belarusian long jumper
- 1989 – Josh Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Vladislav Yegin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Anastasija Sevastova, a professional tennis player from Latvia
- 1991 – Akeem Adams, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1991 – Ulises Dávila, Mexican footballer
- 1991 – Josh Gordon, American football player
- 1992 – Denis Kudryavtsev, Russian hurdler
- 1992 – Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
- 1993 – Tony Wroten, American basketball player
- 1994 – Ángelo Henríquez, Chilean footballer
- 1994 – Elvis Merzļikins, Latvian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Kyle Walker-Peters, English footballer
Deaths on April 13
- 548 – Lý Nam Đế, Vietnamese emperor (b. 503)
- 585 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint
- 799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and historian (b. 720)
- 814 – Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate
- 862 – Donald I, king of the Picts (b. 812)
- 989 – Bardas Phokas, Byzantine general
- 1035 – Herbert I, Count of Maine
- 1093 – Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
- 1113 – Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (b. c. 1040)
- 1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
- 1213 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany
- 1275 – Eleanor of England (b. 1215)
- 1367 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (b. 1313)
- 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
- 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. 1551)
- 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese samurai (b. 1585)
- 1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Ottoman prince (b. 1572)
- 1638 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (b. 1579)
- 1641 – Richard Montagu, English bishop (b. 1577)
- 1695 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (b. 1621)
- 1716 – Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, English admiral and politician (b. 1648)
- 1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish priest and theologian (b. 1650)
- 1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French botanist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1763)
- 1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (b. 1741)
- 1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
- 1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (b. 1788)
- 1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
- 1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1796)
- 1868 – Tewodros II of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
- 1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and author (b. 1813)
- 1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)
- 1886 – John Humphrey Noyes, American religious leader, founded the Oneida Community (b. 1811)
- 1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828)
- 1899 – James Service, Scottish-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Victoria (b. 1823)
- 1909 – Whitley Stokes, Anglo-Irish lawyer and scholar (b. 1830)
- 1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish-English painter and educator (b. 1835)
- 1911 – John McLane, Scottish-American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
- 1911 – George Washington Glick, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
- 1912 – Takuboku Ishikawa, Japanese poet and author (b. 1886)
- 1917 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1856)
- 1918 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
- 1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician, Mayor of Frankfurt (b. 1866)
- 1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, Greek politician 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
- 1938 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1888)
- 1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (b. 1863)
- 1941 – William Twaits, Canadian soccer player (b. 1879)
- 1942 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch politician (b. 1883)
- 1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (b. 1879)
- 1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
- 1945 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (b. 1874)
- 1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
- 1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
- 1956 – Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (b. 1867)
- 1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch pianist, violinist, and conductor (b. 1901)
- 1961 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (b. 1935)
- 1962 – Culbert Olson, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
- 1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi colonel and politician, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
- 1966 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (b. 1881)
- 1966 – Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (b. 1884)
- 1967 – Nicole Berger, French actress (b. 1934)
- 1969 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1901)
- 1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
- 1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 1975 – Larry Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
- 1975 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian soldier, academic, and politician, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
- 1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian painter and director (b. 1931)
- 1978 – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and women’s rights activist (b. 1900)
- 1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
- 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer (b. 1934)
- 1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek physician, author, and poet (b. 1896)
- 1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
- 1988 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor and director (b. 1920)
- 1992 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Daniel Pollock, Australian actor (b. 1968)
- 1993 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Leila Mackinlay, English author and educator (b. 1910)
- 1997 – Bryant Bowles, American soldier and activist, founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (b. 1920)
- 1997 – Alan Cooley, Australian public servant (b. 1920)
- 1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and actress (b. 1896)
- 1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
- 1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and base jumper (b. 1960)
- 1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, Estonian-New Zealand chess player and author (b. 1924)
- 1999 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (b. 1916)
- 2000 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Caron Keating, Northern Irish television host (b. 1962)
- 2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Phillip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor and director (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1918)
- 2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
- 2009 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (b. 1954)
- 2009 – Bruce Snyder, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2009 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader, convicted rapist and two-time prison escapee (b. 1940)
- 2012 – William B. Buffum, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Lebanon (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani pilot, academic, and activist (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Shūichi Higurashi, Japanese illustrator (b. 1936)
- 2012 – David S. Smith, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Sweden (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Robert Wigmore, Cook Islander politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1949)
- 2013 – Chi Cheng, American bass player (b. 1970)
- 2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
- 2013 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Fred Enke, American football player (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentinian-Spanish philosopher and theorist (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Rafał Sznajder, Polish fencer (b. 1972)
- 2015 – Gerald Calabrese, American basketball player and politician (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
- 2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and former United States Ambassador to Ireland (b. 1932)
- 2018 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (b. 1945)
- 2019 – Neus Català, Anti-fascist activist (b. 1915)
- 2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances on April 13
- Christian feast day:
- Hermenegild
- Blessed Ida of Louvain
- Pope Martin I
- April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Jefferson’s Birthday (United States)
- Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)
- South and Southeast Asian New Year. (see April 14)
- Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)
- Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)