796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica is laid.
1518 – Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.
1521 – Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.
1689 – Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
1738 – Real Academia de la Historia (“Royal Academy of History”) is founded in Madrid.
1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.
1783 – Three-Fifths Compromise: the first instance of black slaves in the United States of America being counted as three fifths of persons (for the purpose of taxation), in a resolution of the Congress of the Confederation. This was later adopted in the 1787 Constitution.
1831 – The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
1847 – American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.
1857 – “The Spirits Book” by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France.
1864 – Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.
1897 – The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
1899 – The St. Andrew’s Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria.
1902 – The 7.5 Mw Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800–2,000.
1906 – An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.
1909 – Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
1915 – French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
1923 – Yankee Stadium: “The House that Ruth Built” opens.
1925 – The International Amateur Radio Union is formed in Paris.
1930 – The British Broadcasting Corporation announced that “there is no news” in their evening report.
1939 – Robert Menzies, who became Australia’s longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.
1942 – World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.
1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
1943 – World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.
1945 – Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.
1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act comes into effect.
1949 – The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.
1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
1955 – Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.
1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country’s first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.
1983 – A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.
1987 – The New York Islanders defeat the Washington Capitals 3–2 in Game 7 of their Patrick Division Semifinal series.
1988 – The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.
1996 – In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the United Nations compound at Qana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.
1997 – The Red River flood begins and soon overwhelms the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fire breaks out and spreads in downtown Grand Forks, but high water levels hamper efforts to reach the fire, leading to the destruction of 11 buildings.
1999 – Wayne Gretzky, the National Hockey League’s all-time points scorer, plays his final game at Madison Square Garden as a teammate of the New York Rangers in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky recorded his final career point, an assist, bringing his career point total to 2,857.
2007 – A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.
2013 – A suicide bombing in a Baghdad cafe kills 27 people and injures another 65.
2018 – King Mswati III of Swaziland announces that his country’s name will change to Eswatini.
2019 – A redacted version of the Mueller Report is released to the United States Congress and the public.
2020 – Coronavirus Pandemic: Europe surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.
Births on April 18
359 – Gratian, Roman emperor (d. 383)
588 – K’an II, Mayan ruler (d. 658)
812 – Al-Wathiq, Abbasid caliph (d. 847)
1446 – Ippolita Maria Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1484)
1480 – Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI
1503 – Henry II of Navarre, (d. 1555)
1534 – William Harrison, English clergyman (d. 1593)
1580 – Thomas Middleton, English Jacobean playwright and poet (d. 1627)
1590 – Ahmed I, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1617)
1605 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1674)
1666 – Jean-Féry Rebel, French violinist and composer (d. 1747)
1740 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician (d. 1810)
1759 – Jacques Widerkehr, French cellist and composer (d. 1823)
1771 – Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (d. 1820)
1772 – David Ricardo, British economist and politician (d. 1823)
1794 – William Debenham, English founder of Debenhams (d. 1863)
1797 – Adolphe Thiers, French historian and politician, 2nd President of France (d. 1877)
1813 – James McCune Smith, African-American physician, apothecary, abolitionist, and author (d. 1865)
1819 – Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban lawyer and activist (d. 1874)
1819 – Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1895)
1838 – Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French chemist and academic (d. 1912)
1854 – Ludwig Levy, German architect (d. 1907)
1857 – Clarence Darrow, American lawyer (d. 1938)
1858 – Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian educator and activist, Bharat Ratna Awardee (d. 1962)
1858 – Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and author (d. 1935)
1863 – Count Leopold Berchtold, Austrian-Hungarian politician and diplomat, Joint Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary (d. 1942)
1863 – Linton Hope, English sailor and architect (d. 1920)
1864 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (d. 1916)
1874 – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Croatian author and poet (d. 1938)
1877 – Vicente Sotto, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
1879 – Korneli Kekelidze, Georgian philologist and scholar (d. 1962)
1880 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (d. 1968)
1882 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian ruler (d. 1964)
1882 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (d. 1977)
1884 – Jaan Anvelt, Estonian educator and politician (d. 1937)
1888 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
1889 – Jessie Street, Australian activist (d. 1970)
1892 – Eugene Houdry, French-American mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1962)
1893 – Violette Morris, French shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1944)
1897 – Ardito Desio, Italian geologist and cartographer (d. 2001)
1897 – Per-Erik Hedlund, Swedish skier (d. 1975)
1898 – Patrick Hennessy, Irish soldier and businessman (d. 1981)
1900 – Bertha Isaacs, Bahamian teacher, tennis player, politician and women’s rights activist (d. 1997)
1901 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (d. 1967)
1901 – László Németh, Hungarian dentist, author, and playwright (d. 1975)
1902 – Waldemar Hammenhög, Swedish author (d. 1972)
1902 – Giuseppe Pella, Italian politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1981)
1904 – Pigmeat Markham, African-American comedian, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
1905 – Sydney Halter, Canadian lawyer and businessman (d. 1990)
1905 – George H. Hitchings, American physician and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
1907 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (d. 1995)
1911 – Ilario Bandini, Italian businessman and racing driver (d. 1992)
1911 – Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian Jewish-American physicist and academic (d. 2011)
1914 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (d. 2014)
1915 – Joy Davidman, Polish-Ukrainian Jewish American poet and author (d. 1960)
1916 – Carl Burgos, American illustrator (d. 1984)
1916 – Doug Peden, Canadian basketball player (d. 2005)
1917 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1947)
1918 – Gabriel Axel, Danish-French actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
1918 – André Bazin, French critic and theorist (d. 1958)
1918 – Shinobu Hashimoto, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
1918 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, founded CliffsNotes (d. 2001)
1918 – Tony Mottola, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
1919 – Virginia O’Brien, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
1919 – Esther Afua Ocloo, Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending (d. 2002)
1920 – John F. Wiley, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
1921 – Jean Richard, French actor and singer (d. 2001)
1922 – Barbara Hale, American actress (d. 2017)
1922 – Lord Kitchener, Trinidadian singer (d. 2000)
1923 – Alfred Bieler, Swiss ice hockey player (d. 2013)
1923 – Beryl Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle, English engineer and politician (d. 2015)
1924 – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
1924 – Henry Hyde, American commander, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
1924 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (d. 2015)
1925 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer and author (d. 2005)
1926 – Doug Insole, English cricketer (d. 2017)
1927 – Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist, author, and academic (d. 2008)
1927 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Polish journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2013)
1927 – Charles Pasqua, French businessman and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 2015)
1928 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (d. 2015)
1928 – Otto Piene, German sculptor and academic (d. 2014)
1929 – Peter Hordern, English soldier and politician
1930 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor and singer
1931 – Bill Miles, American director and producer (d. 2013)
1934 – James Drury, American actor (d. 2020)
1934 – George Shirley, African-American tenor and educator
1935 – Brian Clay, Australian rugby league player (d. 1987)
1935 – Costas Ferris, Egyptian-Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1936 – Roger Graef, American-English criminologist, director, and producer
1936 – Vladimir Hütt, Estonian physicist and philosopher (d. 1997)
1936 – “TV” Tommy Ivo, American actor and drag racer
1937 – Jan Kaplický, Czech architect, designed the Selfridges Building (d. 2009)
1937 – Tatyana Shchelkanova, Russian long jumper and heptathlete (d. 2011)
1937 – Teddy Taylor, Scottish journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
1939 – Glen Hardin, American pianist and arranger
1939 – Thomas J. Moyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 2010)
1940 – Joseph L. Goldstein, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
1940 – Mike Vickers, English guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
1941 – Michael D. Higgins, Irish sociologist and politician, 9th President of Ireland
1942 – Michael Beloff, English lawyer and academic
1942 – Steve Blass, American baseball player and sportscaster
1942 – Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic
1942 – Jochen Rindt, German-Austrian racing driver (d. 1970)
1944 – Kathy Acker, American author and poet (d. 1997)
1944 – Frances D’Souza, Baroness D’Souza, English academic and politician
1944 – Robert Hanssen, American FBI agent and double agent
1944 – Philip Jackson, Scottish sculptor and photographer
1945 – Bernard Arcand, Canadian anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
1945 – Richard Bausch, American novelist and short story writer
1945 – Robert Bausch, American novelist and short story writer
1946 – Hayley Mills, English actress
1946 – Tommy Shannon, American bass guitarist
1947 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (d. 2013)
1947 – Dorothy Lyman, American actress
1947 – Cindy Pickett, American actress
1947 – Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor, director, and screenwriter
1947 – James Woods, American actor and producer
1948 – Régis Wargnier, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1949 – Geoff Bodine, American race car driver
1950 – Paul Callery, Australian footballer
1950 – Tina Chow, American model and jewelry designer (d. 1992)
1950 – Kenny Ortega, American director, producer, and choreographer
1950 – Grigory Sokolov, Russian pianist and composer
1951 – Ricardo Fortaleza, Australian-Filipino boxer and coach
1951 – Pierre Pettigrew, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1953 – Rick Moranis, Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter
1954 – Robert Greenberg, American pianist and composer
1956 – Chris Jones, English footballer
1956 – Eric Roberts, American actor
1957 – Ian Campbell, Australian jumper
1958 – Gabi Delgado-López, Spanish-German singer, co-founder of D.A.F.
1958 – Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian cricketer and coach (d. 1999)
1959 – Susan Faludi, American journalist and author
1959 – Frank Mulholland, Lord Mulholland, Scottish judge, former Solicitor General for Scotland and Lord Advocate
1960 – John Chiedozie, Nigerian international footballer
1960 – Yelena Zhupiyeva-Vyazova, Ukrainian runner
1961 – Kelly Hansen, American singer-songwriter
1961 – Jane Leeves, English actress and dancer
1961 – John Podhoretz, American journalist and author
1962 – Jeff Dunham, American comedian and ventriloquist
1962 – Nick Farr-Jones, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
1963 – Eric McCormack, Canadian-American actor and producer
1963 – Conan O’Brien, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host
1963 – Phil Simmons, Trinidadian cricketer
1963 – Peter Van Loan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of International Trade
1964 – Niall Ferguson, Scottish historian and academic
1964 – Rithy Panh, Cambodian director and screenwriter
1966 – Valeri Kamensky, Russian ice hockey player
1967 – Maria Bello, American actress and writer
1969 – Keith DeCandido, American author
1969 – Stefan Schwarz, Swedish footballer and manager
1969 – Robert Změlík, Czech decathlete
1970 – Rico Brogna, American baseball player and coach
1970 – Greg Eklund, American drummer and guitarist
1970 – Saad Hariri, Saudi Arabian-Lebanese businessman and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Lebanon
1970 – François Leroux, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host
1970 – Tatiana Stefanidou, Greek journalist and talk show host
1971 – Oleg Petrov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 – Graham Rowntree, English rugby player
1971 – David Tennant, Scottish actor
1972 – Rosa Clemente, American journalist and activist
1972 – Eli Roth, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1972 – Michael Rutter, English motorcycle racer
1973 – Derrick Brooks, American football player
1973 – Brady Clark, American baseball player
1973 – Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian runner
1974 – Millie Corretjer, Puerto Rican-American actress and singer
1974 – Mark Tremonti, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1976 – Gavin Creel, American actor and singer
1976 – Melissa Joan Hart, American actress, director, and producer
1976 – Andrew Ilie, Romanian-Australian tennis player
1976 – Justin Ross, American politician
1976 – Staffan Strand, Swedish high jumper
1977 – Dan LaCouture, American ice hockey player
1977 – Cindy Taylor, Paraguayan model and actress
1979 – Michael Bradley, American basketball player and coach
1979 – Ethan Cohn, American actor
1979 – Matt Cooper, Australian rugby league player
1979 – Anthony Davidson, English racing driver
1979 – Kourtney Kardashian, American model and businesswoman
1980 – Rabiu Afolabi, Nigerian footballer and manager
1980 – Justin Levens, American mixed martial artist (d. 2008)
1981 – Brian Buscher, American baseball player
1981 – Milan Jovanović, Serbian footballer
1981 – Aldo Ramírez, Colombian footballer
1981 – Audrey Tang, Taiwanese computer scientist and academic
1982 – Ibrahim al-Asiri, Saudi Arabian terrorist
1982 – Greg Camarillo, American football player
1982 – Ricardo Colclough, Canadian-American football player
1982 – Simone Farina, Italian footballer
1982 – Scott Hartnell, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Blair Late, American singer-songwriter and journalist
1982 – Darren Sutherland, Irish boxer (d. 2009)
1982 – Marie-Élaine Thibert, Canadian singer
1983 – Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
1983 – Reeve Carney, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1984 – Red Bryant, American football player
1984 – America Ferrera, American actress and producer
1985 – Łukasz Fabiański, Polish footballer
1986 – Billy Butler, American baseball player
1986 – Maurice Edu, American soccer player
1986 – Taylor Griffin, American basketball player
1986 – Conrad Logan, Irish footballer
1986 – Efraín Velarde, Mexican footballer
1987 – Brett Deledio, Australian footballer
1987 – Danny Guthrie, English footballer
1987 – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, English model and actress
1987 – Samantha Jade, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
1987 – Ivan Tričkovski, Macedonian footballer
1988 – Andre Frolov, Estonian footballer
1988 – Alexander Hauck, South African-German rugby player
1989 – Jessica Jung, Korean American singer, songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
1990 – Henderson Álvarez, Venezuelan baseball player
1990 – Anna van der Breggen, Dutch cyclist
1990 – Jake Howells, English footballer
1990 – Wojciech Szczęsny, Polish footballer
1990 – Junior Torunarigha, Nigerian footballer
1993 – Matt Salisbury, English cricketer
1993 – Nathan Sykes, English singer-songwriter
1995 – Divock Origi, Belgian footballer
1996 – Mariah Bell, American figure skater
1996 – Ioana Ducu, Romanian tennis player
1997 – Matthias Blübaum, German chess grandmaster
1997 – Donny van de Beek, Dutch footballer
Deaths on April 18
727 – Agallianos Kontoskeles, Byzantine commander and rebel leader
850 – Perfectus, Spanish monk and martyr
909 – Dionysius II, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
943 – Fujiwara no Atsutada, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 906)
963 – Stephen Lekapenos, co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire
1161 – Theobald of Bec, French-English archbishop (b. 1090)
1176 – Galdino della Sala, Italian archdeacon and saint
1552 – John Leland, English poet and historian (b. 1502)
1555 – Polydore Vergil, English historian (b. 1470)
1556 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and politician (b. 1495)
1567 – Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (b. 1503)
1587 – John Foxe, English historian and author (b. 1516)
1636 – Julius Caesar, English judge and politician (b. 1557)
1650 – Simonds d’Ewes, English lawyer and politician (b. 1602)
1674 – John Graunt, English demographer and statistician (b. 1620)
1689 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, Welsh judge and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1648)
1732 – Louis Feuillée, French astronomer, geographer, and botanist (b. 1660)
1742 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician (b. 1664)
1763 – Marie-Josephte Corriveau, Canadian murderer (b. 1733)
1794 – Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
1796 – Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1732)
1802 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (b. 1731)
1832 – Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet, French painter (b. 1761)
1859 – Tatya Tope, Indian general (b. 1814)
1864 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and linguist (b. 1832)
1873 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
1898 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (b. 1826)
1906 – Luis Martín, Spanish religious leader, 24th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1846)
1912 – Martha Ripley, American physician (b. 1843)
1917 – Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1858)
1923 – Savina Petrilli, Italian religious leader (b. 1851)
1936 – Milton Brown, American singer and bandleader (b. 1903)
1936 – Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1879)
1938 – George Bryant, American archer (b. 1878)
1942 – Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (b. 1903)
1942 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American heiress, sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (b. 1875)
1943 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (b. 1884)
1945 – John Ambrose Fleming, English physicist and engineer, invented the vacuum tube (b. 1849)
1945 – Ernie Pyle, American journalist and soldier (b. 1900)
1947 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (b. 1887)
1951 – Óscar Carmona, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 11th President of Portugal (b. 1869)
1955 – Albert Einstein, German-American physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1879)
1958 – Maurice Gamelin, Belgian-French general (b. 1872)
1959 – Irving Cummings, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1888)
1959 – Percy Smith, English footballer and manager (b. 1880)
1963 – Meyer Jacobstein, American academic and politician (b. 1880)
1964 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
222 – Alexander Severus becomes emperor of Rome, replacing his cousin, 18-year-old Elagabalus. The bodies of the assassinated emperor and his mother, Julia Soaemias, are dragged through the streets of the city and thrown into the Tiber.
1387 – Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona.
1641 – Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.
1649 – The Frondeurs and the French sign the Peace of Rueil.
1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.
1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
1784 – The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
1811 – During André Masséna’s retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, a division led by French Marshal Michel Ney fights off a combined Anglo-Portuguese force to give Masséna time to escape.
1824 – The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
1845 – Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand.
1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
1851 – The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.
1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.
1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
1879 – Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.
1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
1927 – In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
1931 – Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
1941 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
1945 – World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established with Bảo Đại as its ruler.
1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
1975 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla forces establish control over Buôn Ma Thuột commune from the South Vietnamese army.
1977 – The 1977 Hanafi Siege: More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
1978 – Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel’s Operation Litani.
1981 – Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.
1983 – Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
1983 – Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.
1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union making Gorbachev the USSR’s de facto, and last, head of state.
1990 – Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
1990 – Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
1993 – Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
1999 – Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
2004 – Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush-hour trains in Madrid, Spain, killing 192 people.
2006 – Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile.
2007 – Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later.
2009 – Winnenden school shooting: Sixteen are killed and 11 are injured before recent-graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.
2010 – Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile, while three earthquakes, the strongest measuring magnitude 6.9 and all centered next to Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro province, hit central Chile during the ceremony.
2011 – An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
2012 – A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.
2016 – At least 21 people are killed by flooding and mudslides in and around São Paulo, Brazil, following heavy rain.
2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus.
Births on March 11
1279 – Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (d. c.1332)
1503 – George Harper, English politician (d. 1558)
1530 – Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1573)
1544 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and educator (d. 1595)
1634 – Nicholas Gassaway, English colonial military and political leader (d. 1691)
1738 – Benjamin Tupper, American general (d. 1792)
1745 – Bodawpaya, Burmese king (d. 1819)
1785 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (d. 1861)
1787 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (d. 1852)
1806 – Louis Boulanger, French Romantic painter, lithographer and illustrator (d. 1867)
1811 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1877)
1815 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (d. 1879)
1818 – Marius Petipa, French-Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1910)
1819 – Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Tate & Lyle (d. 1899)
1822 – Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (d. 1900)
1854 – Jane Meade Welch, American journalist and lecturer (d. 1931)
1863 – Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1915)
1870 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1946)
1872 – Kathleen Clarice Groom, Australian-English author and screenwriter (d. 1954)
1873 – David Horsley, English-American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1933)
1876 – Carl Ruggles, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
1878 – Umegatani Tōtarō II, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1927)
1880 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist and sociologist (d. 1943)
1884 – Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister and hymn-writer (d. 1974)
1884 – Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish soldier, author, and educator (d. 1920)
1885 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver and journalist (d. 1948)
1887 – Raoul Walsh, American actor and director (d. 1980)
1887 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician (d. 1964)
1890 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (d. 1974)
1893 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (d. 1946)
1895 – Shemp Howard, American actor (d. 1955)
1896 – Olivério Pinto, Brazilian zoologist and physician (d. 1981)
1897 – Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (d. 1968)
1899 – James H. Douglas, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 1988)
1899 – Frederick IX of Denmark (d. 1972)
1900 – Hanna Bergas, German teacher who contributed to the rescue of Jewish children during WWII (d. 1987)
1903 – Ronald Syme, New Zealand historian and scholar (d. 1989)
1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (d. 1992)
1907 – Jessie Matthews, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
1908 – Matti Sippala, Finnish javelin thrower (d. 1997)
1910 – Robert Havemann, German chemist and academic (d. 1982)
1911 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Egyptian-Scottish general and politician (d. 1996)
1913 – Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
1915 – Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
1915 – J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and psychologist (d. 1990)
1916 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (d. 1983)
1916 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
1920 – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
1921 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (d. 2005)
1921 – Jeff Stollmeyer, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1989)
1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (d. 1992)
1922 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (d. 1997)
1922 – José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor and director (d. 2009)
1922 – Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1976)
1923 – Louise Brough, American tennis player (d. 2014)
1925 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (d. 1983)
1925 – İlhan Selçuk, Turkish lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2010)
1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (d. 1990)
1927 – Joachim Fuchsberger, German actor and television host (d. 2014)
1927 – Col Geelan, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1996)
1927 – Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (d. 2015)
1927 – Robert Mosbacher, American sailor, businessman, and politician, 25th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
1927 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
1928 – Albert Salmi, American actor (d. 1990)
1929 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1929 – Jackie McGlew, South African cricketer (d. 1998)
1930 – David Gentleman, English illustrator and engraver
1930 – Claude Jutra, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
1931 – Janosch, Polish-German author and illustrator
1931 – Marisa Del Frate, Italian actress and singer (d. 2015)
1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
1932 – Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (Revolutionary Ensemble) (d. 2007)
1932 – Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
1934 – Sam Donaldson, American journalist
1936 – Hollis Frampton, American director, screenwriter, and photographer (d. 1984)
1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2016)
1938 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 2011)
1939 – Lorraine Hunt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
1939 – Orlando Quevedo, Filipino cardinal
1940 – Alberto Cortez, Argentinian-Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
1942 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian and author (d. 2015)
1942 – Joel Steiger, American director, producer and screenwriter
1943 – Arturo Merzario, Italian race car driver
1945 – Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
1945 – Harvey Mandel, American guitarist
1946 – Mark Metcalf, American actor and producer
1947 – Geoff Hunt, Australian squash player
1947 – Tristan Murail, French composer and educator
1948 – Roy Barnes, American lawyer and politician, 80th Governor of Georgia
1949 – Griselda Pollock, South African-English historian and academic
1950 – Sam Kekovich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor
1950 – Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1951 – Andres Metspalu, Estonian geneticist and academic
1951 – Dominique Sanda, French model and actress
1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (d. 2001)
1953 – László Bölöni, Romanian-Hungarian footballer and manager
1953 – Derek Daly, Irish-American race car driver and sportscaster
1953 – Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Interscope Records and Beats Electronics
1953 – Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – David Newman, American composer and conductor
1954 – Gale Norton, American lawyer and politician, 48th United States Secretary of the Interior
1955 – Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer
1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer and actress
1955 – D. J. MacHale, American author, director, and screenwriter
1956 – Willie Banks, American triple jumper
1956 – Curtis Brown, American colonel, pilot and astronaut
1956 – Helen Rollason, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 1999)
1957 – The Lady Chablis, American drag queen performer (d. 2016)
1958 – Ian Horrocks, English computer scientist and academic
1958 – Tetsurō Oda, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
1958 – James Pinkerton, American journalist and author
1958 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (d. 1976)
1958 – Flemming Rose, Danish journalist and author
1959 – Manuel Negrete Arias, Mexican footballer and coach
1959 – Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author
1959 – Margus Oopkaup, Estonian actor
1959 – Dejan Stojanović, Serbian-American journalist and poet
1960 – Christophe Gans, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1960 – Junichi Sato, Japanese animator and director
1960 – Warwick Taylor, New Zealand rugby player
1961 – Elias Koteas, Canadian actor
1961 – Bruce Watson, Canadian-Scottish guitarist
1962 – Mary Gauthier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Matt Mead, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of Wyoming
1963 – Gary Barnett, English footballer and manager
1963 – Alex Kingston, English actress
1963 – David LaChapelle, American photographer and director
1964 – Peter Berg, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
1964 – Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter and producer (d. 2018)
1964 – Shane Richie, English actor and singer
1965 – Nigel Adkins, English footballer and manager
1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician
1965 – Wallace Langham, American actor
1965 – Jenny Packham, English fashion designer
1965 – Allan Vainola, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1966 – Robbie Brookside, English wrestler and trainer
1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball player and coach
1966 – Ilias Zouros, Greek basketball player and coach
1967 – John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer
1967 – Brad Carson, American lawyer and politician, United States Under Secretary of the Army
1967 – Renzo Gracie, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and trainer
1967 – Cynthia Klitbo, Mexican actress
1968 – Stéphane Bédard, Canadian lawyer and politician
1968 – Simone Buchanan, Australian actress
1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress
1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor and producer
1969 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2006)
1970 – Andre Nickatina, American rapper and producer
1971 – Johnny Knoxville, American actor, stuntman, and producer
1971 – Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player
1972 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
1973 – Martin Hiden, Austrian footballer and coach
1974 – Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 – João Barbosa, Portuguese racing driver
1975 – Shawn Springs, American football player
1976 – Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer
1976 – Kotomitsuki Keiji, Japanese sumo wrestler
1977 – Becky Hammon, American-Russian basketball player and coach
1978 – Scott Calderwood, English-Scottish footballer and manager
1978 – Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
1978 – Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
1979 – Elton Brand, American basketball player
1979 – Fred Jones, American basketball player
1979 – Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer
1979 – Keren Peles, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
1979 – Kirk Reynoldson, Australian rugby league player
1980 – Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
1980 – Dan Uggla, American baseball player
1981 – Heidi Cortez, American businesswoman and author
1981 – Luke Johnson, English drummer and songwriter
1981 – LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress
1982 – Brian Anderson, American baseball player
1982 – Thora Birch, American actress
1982 – Hasan Raza, Pakistani cricketer
1983 – Lucy DeVito, American actress
1985 – Paul Bissonnette, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Daniel Vázquez Evuy, Equatoguinean footballer
1985 – Cassandra Fairbanks, American journalist and activist
1985 – Luis Hernández, Mexican figure skater
1985 – Stelios Malezas, Greek footballer
1985 – Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer
1985 – Derek Schouman, American football player
1985 – Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian footballer
1985 – Hakuhō Shō, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 69th Yokozuna
1986 – Dario Cologna, Swiss skier
1986 – Mariko Shinoda, Japanese singer and actress
1987 – Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Tanel Kangert, Estonian cyclist
1987 – Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper
1987 – Colin Munro, South African-New Zealand cricketer
1988 – Fábio Coentrão, Portuguese footballer
1988 – Cecil Lolo, South African footballer (d. 2015)
1988 – Katsuhiko Nakajima, Japanese wrestler
1989 – Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (d. 2016)
1990 – Ayumi Morita, Japanese tennis player
1991 – Kamohelo Mokotjo, South African footballer
1992 – Austin Swift, American actor
1992 – KZ Tandingan, Filipina singer and rapper
1993 – Jodie Comer, British actress
1993 – Anthony Davis, American basketball player
1994 – Andrew Robertson, Scottish footballer
Deaths on March 11
222 – Elagabalus, Roman emperor (b. 203)
452 – Tai Wu Di, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 408)
638 – Sophronius of Jerusalem (b. 560)
857 – Eulogius of Córdoba, Spanish martyr and saint (b. 819)
1198 – Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (b. 1145)
1296 – John le Romeyn, Archbishop of York
1353 – Theognostus, metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow
1486 – Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1414)
1514 – Donato Bramante, Italian architect, designed the San Pietro in Montorio (b. 1444)
1575 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (b. 1520)
1602 – Emilio de’ Cavalieri, Italian organist and composer (b. 1550)
1607 – Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer and educator (b. 1543)
1646 – Stanisław Koniecpolski, Polish soldier and statesman (b. c. 1592)
1665 – Clemente Tabone, Maltese landowner and militia member (b. c. 1575)
1722 – John Toland, Irish philosopher and theorist (b. 1670)
1759 – John Forbes, Scottish general (b. 1710)
1820 – Benjamin West, American-English painter and academic (b. 1738)
1851 – Marie Louise Coidavid, Queen of Haiti (b. 1778)
1851 – George McDuffie, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
1854 – Willard Richards, American journalist and religious leader (b. 1804)
1863 – Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (b. 1803)
1869 – Vladimir Odoyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1803)
1870 – Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (b. 1786)
1874 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (b. 1811)
1898 – William Rosecrans, American general and politician (b. 1819)
1898 – Tigran Chukhajian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1837)
1907 – Jean Casimir-Perier, French lawyer and politician, 6th President of France (b. 1847)
1908 – Edmondo De Amicis, Italian journalist and author (b. 1846)
1908 – Benjamin Waugh, American minister and activist (b. 1839)
1915 – Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (b. 1826)
1920 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1865)
1927 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (b. 1869)
1931 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1888)
1937 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American businessman, co-founded Texaco (b. 1860)
1944 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American journalist and historian (b. 1882)
1944 – Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
1949 – Anastasios Charalambis, Greek general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1862)
1949 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (b. 1879)
1952 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (b. 1885)
1955 – Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
1955 – Oscar F. Mayer, German-American businessman, founded Oscar Mayer (b. 1859)
1957 – Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and explorer (b. 1888)
1958 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded The Lego Group (b. 1891)
1959 – Lester Dent, American author (b. 1904)
1960 – Roy Chapman Andrews, American paleontologist and explorer (b. 1884)
1965 – Harry Altham, English cricketer, historian and coach (b. 1888)
1967 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (b. 1882)
1968 – Haşim İşcan, Turkish educator and politician, 18th Mayor of İstanbul (b. 1898)
1969 – John Daly, Irish runner (b. 1880)
1969 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (b. 1903)
1970 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (b. 1889)
1971 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor (b. 1906)
1971 – Whitney Young, American activist (b. 1921)
1977 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893)
1978 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1939)
1980 – Chandra Bhanu Gupta, Indian politician, 4th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (b. 1902)
1982 – Edmund Cooper, English poet and author (b. 1926)
1982 – Horace Gregory, American poet, translator, and academic (b. 1898)
1983 – Will Glickman, American playwright (b. 1910)
