915

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

Births on April 8

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

Deaths on April 8

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

Holidays and observances on April 8

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