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Dictionary

April 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 769 – The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings.
  • 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
  • 1395 – Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne.
  • 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
  • 1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War.
  • 1642 – Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
  • 1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
  • 1736 – Foundation of the Kingdom of Corsica.
  • 1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.
  • 1755 – Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
  • 1783 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.
  • 1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.
  • 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
  • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President upon Lincoln’s death.
  • 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed.
  • 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
  • 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
  • 1907 – Triangle Fraternity is founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
  • 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.
  • 1920 – Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
  • 1922 – U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
  • 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
  • 1924 – Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
  • 1936 – First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
  • 1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing around one thousand people.
  • 1942 – The George Cross is awarded “to the island fortress of Malta” by King George VI.
  • 1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
  • 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
  • 1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
  • 1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
  • 1960 – At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
  • 1969 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 onboard.
  • 1970 – During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
  • 1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
  • 1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
  • 1989 – Upon Hu Yaobang’s death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
  • 1994 – Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
  • 2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
  • 2013 – A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
  • 2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians were gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
  • 2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.

Births on April 15

  • 68 BC – Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician (d. 8 BC)
  • 1282 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1329)
  • 1367 – Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
  • 1442 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479)
  • 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1519)
  • 1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru (d. 1539)
  • 1552 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1626)
  • 1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (d. 1606)
  • 1588 – Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar (d. 1653)
  • 1592 – Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal (d. 1675)
  • 1641 – Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer (d. 1722)
  • 1642 – Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691)
  • 1646 – Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
  • 1684 – Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
  • 1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758)
  • 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783)
  • 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1790)
  • 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier (d. 1827)
  • 1771 – Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator (d. 1844)
  • 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist (d. 1844)
  • 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic (d. 1864)
  • 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d.1847)
  • 1800 – James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer (d. 1862)
  • 1808 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1892)
  • 1809 – Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician (d. 1877)
  • 1817 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1885)
  • 1828 – Jean Danjou, French captain (d. 1863)
  • 1832 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator (d. 1908)
  • 1841 – Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner (d. 1921)
  • 1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919)
  • 1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1916)
  • 1856 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (d. 1910)
  • 1858 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher (d. 1917)
  • 1861 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright (d. 1929)
  • 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914)
  • 1874 – George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist (d. 1954)
  • 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1875 – James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter (d. 1953)
  • 1877 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (d. 1947)
  • 1878 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1956)
  • 1879 – Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (d. 1980)
  • 1883 – Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
  • 1886 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (d. 1921)
  • 1887 – William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland (d. 1953)
  • 1888 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (d. 1904)
  • 1889 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat’s eye (d. 1976)
  • 1892 – Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot (d. 1975)
  • 1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983)
  • 1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
  • 1894 – Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress (d. 1937)
  • 1895 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (d. 1980)
  • 1895 – Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator (d. 1941)
  • 1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1898 – Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter (d. 1973)
  • 1901 – Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
  • 1901 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1986)
  • 1901 – René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993)
  • 1902 – Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
  • 1903 – John Williams, English-American actor (d. 1983)
  • 1904 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
  • 1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1908 – eden ahbez, Scottish-American songwriter and recording artist (d. 1995)
  • 1908 – Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1910 – Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter (d. 1986)
  • 1910 – Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician (d. 1997)
  • 1912 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
  • 1916 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
  • 1917 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot (d. 1944)
  • 1917 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
  • 1918 – Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (d. 2009)
  • 1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1987)
  • 1922 – Graham Whitehead, English racing driver (d. 1981)
  • 1923 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (d. 1966)
  • 1923 – Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen (an anti-Communist organization) (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1980)
  • 1924 – Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Robert Mills, American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Gérald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Adrian Cadbury, English rower and businessman (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Georges Descrières, French actor (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Icelandic educator and politician, 4th President of Iceland
  • 1931 – Kenneth Bloomfield, Northern Irish civil servant
  • 1931 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Roy Clark, American musician and television personality (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – David Hamilton, English-French photographer and director (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer (d. 1995)
  • 1935 – Stavros Paravas, Greek actor and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1936 – Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
  • 1937 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
  • 1938 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
  • 1938 – Hso Khan Pha, Burmese-Canadian geologist and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Marty Wilde, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1939 – Desiré Ecaré, Ivorian filmmaker (d. 2009)
  • 1940 – Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician
  • 1940 – Penelope Coelen, South African actress, model, beauty queen and 1958 Miss World
  • 1940 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and actor (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Robert Lacroix, Canadian economist and academic
  • 1941 – Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
  • 1942 – Francis X. DiLorenzo, American bishop (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Walt Hazzard, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1942 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Tim Lankester, English economist and academic
  • 1943 – Pınar Kür, Turkish author, playwright, and academic
  • 1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1943 – Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater, English politician
  • 1943 – Hugh Thompson, Jr., American soldier and pilot (d. 2006)
  • 1944 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Russian-Chechen general and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (d. 1996)
  • 1944 – Dave Edmunds, Welsh singer, guitarist, and producer
  • 1946 – John Lloyd, Scottish journalist and author
  • 1946 – Pete Rouse, American politician, White House Chief of Staff
  • 1947 – Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Martin Broughton, English businessman
  • 1947 – Lois Chiles, American model and actress
  • 1947 – David Omand, English civil servant and academic
  • 1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish nurse and politician, Swedish Minister for Social Security
  • 1947 – Woolly Wolstenholme, English singer and keyboard player (d. 2010)
  • 1948 – Christopher Brown, English historian, curator, and academic
  • 1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1948 – Phil Mogg, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1949 – Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1949 – Craig Zadan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1950 – Josiane Balasko, French actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Amy Wright, American actress
  • 1950 – Karel Kroupa, Czech football player
  • 1951 – Heloise, American journalist and author
  • 1951 – John L. Phillips, American captain and astronaut
  • 1951 – Stuart Prebble, English journalist and producer
  • 1951 – Marsha Ivins, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1952 – Kym Gyngell, Australian actor, comedian, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Brian Muir, English sculptor and set designer
  • 1952 – Avital Ronell, Czech-American philosopher and academic
  • 1955 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
  • 1955 – Joice Mujuru, Zimbabwean politician
  • 1956 – Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach
  • 1957 – Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach
  • 1958 – Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1958 – John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1958 – Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1958 – Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright
  • 1959 – Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1959 – Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1960 – Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Tony Jones, English snooker player
  • 1961 – Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician
  • 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
  • 1961 – Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer
  • 1962 – Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician
  • 1962 – Tom Kane, American voice actor
  • 1963 – Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist
  • 1963 – Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Andre Joubert, South African rugby player
  • 1964 – Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
  • 1965 – Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player
  • 1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013)
  • 1967 – Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter
  • 1967 – Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist
  • 1968 – Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach
  • 1968 – Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner
  • 1968 – Ed O’Brien, English guitarist
  • 1969 – Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
  • 1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor
  • 1969 – Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach
  • 1970 – Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach
  • 1971 – Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player
  • 1971 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
  • 1971 – Jason Sehorn, American football player
  • 1971 – Josia Thugwane, South African runner
  • 1971 – Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician
  • 1972 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (d. 2009)
  • 1972 – Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor
  • 1974 – Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director
  • 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Mike Quinn, American football player
  • 1974 – Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1974 – Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist
  • 1976 – Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1976 – Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1976 – Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1976 – Steve Williams, English rower
  • 1977 – Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor
  • 1977 – Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Milton Bradley, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1980 – Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer
  • 1980 – James Foster, English cricketer
  • 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player
  • 1980 – Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
  • 1980 – Aida Mollenkamp, American chef and author
  • 1980 – Billy Yates, American football player
  • 1981 – Andrés D’Alessandro, Argentinian footballer
  • 1982 – Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1983 – Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
  • 1983 – Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (d. 2014)
  • 1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist
  • 1984 – Antonio Cromartie, American football player
  • 1984 – Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Tom Heaton, English footballer
  • 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer
  • 1988 – Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian footballer
  • 1988 – Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher
  • 1989 – Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
  • 1991 – Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor
  • 1991 – Javier Fernández López, Spanish figure skater
  • 1992 – Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player
  • 1994 – Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player
  • 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter
  • 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer
  • 1999 – Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player
  • 2001 – Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper

Deaths on April 15

  • 628 – Suiko, emperor of Japan (b. 554)
  • 943 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920)
  • 956 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch
  • 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)
  • 1136 – Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1094)
  • 1220 – Adolf of Altena, German archbishop (b. 1157)
  • 1237 – Richard Poore, English ecclesiastic
  • 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek philosopher and translator (b. 1355)
  • 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1377)
  • 1502 – John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange (b. 1443)
  • 1558 – Roxelana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent (b. c. 1500)
  • 1610 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (b. 1546)
  • 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1580)
  • 1652 – Patriarch Joseph of Moscow, Russian patriarch
  • 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymnwriter (b. 1605)
  • 1719 – Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, French wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
  • 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1676)
  • 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Court of Session (b. 1682)
  • 1761 – William Oldys, English historian and author (b. 1696)
  • 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1679)
  • 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian chemist and physicist (b. 1711)
  • 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
  • 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian priest, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1718)
  • 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1773)
  • 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, Austrian-German lawyer and politician (b. 1792)
  • 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
  • 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (b. 1822)
  • 1889 – Father Damien, Belgian priest and saint (b. 1840)
  • 1898 – Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, New Zealand commander and politician
  • 1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster:
    • Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (b. 1873)
    • John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (b. 1864)
    • Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (b. 1865)
    • Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (b. 1875)
    • Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b. 1865)
    • Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (b. 1866)
    • Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878)
    • James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (b. 1887)
    • William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (b. 1873)
    • Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (b. 1887)
    • Edward Smith, English Captain (b. 1850)
    • William Thomas Stead, English journalist (b. 1849)
    • Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (b. 1849)
    • Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (b. 1845)
    • John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (b. 1862)
    • Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)
  • 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene author, poet, and educator (b. 1839)
  • 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868)
  • 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1892)
  • 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian-Swiss author and playwright (b. 1880)
  • 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian painter and set designer (b. 1882)
  • 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Russian general (b. 1901)
  • 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German SS officer (b. 1895)
  • 1948 – Radola Gajda, Montenegrin-Czech general and politician (b. 1892)
  • 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880)
  • 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (b. 1912)
  • 1963 – Edward Greeves, Jr., Australian footballer (b. 1903)
  • 1966 – Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Bengali politician, writer, journalist, first health minister of East Pakistan
  • 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian (b. 1898)
  • 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915)
  • 1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (b. 1886)
  • 1979 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
  • 1982 – Arthur Lowe, English actor (b. 1915)
  • 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Jean Genet, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
  • 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese soldier and politician, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1915)
  • 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (b. 1905)
  • 1993 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geophysicist and geologist (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1925)
  • 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (b. 1944)
  • 2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
  • 2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (b. 1922)
  • 2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese illustrator (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (b. 1920)
  • 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish bishop, theologian, and scholar (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Clement Freud, German-English journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and activist (b. 1939)
  • 2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (b. 1938)
  • 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1975)
  • 2012 – Paul Bogart, American director and producer (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968)
  • 2013 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Richard LeParmentier, American-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Eliseo Verón, Argentinian sociologist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1966)
  • 2015 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1928)
  • 2017 – Clifton James, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian supercentenarian, last person verified born in the 1800s (b. 1899)
  • 2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (b. 1944)
  • 2018 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on April 15

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abbo II of Metz
    • Father Damien (The Episcopal Church)
    • Hunna
    • Paternus of Avranches
    • April 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Sun (North Korea)
  • Earliest day on which Sechseläuten can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in April. (Zürich)
  • Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
  • Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England)
  • Jackie Robinson Day (United States)
  • National American Sign Language Day (United States)
  • One Boston Day (United States)
  • Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year)
  • Tax Day, the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension). (United States, Philippines)
  • Universal Day of Culture
  • World Art Day

April 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on April 14

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

Deaths on April 14

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

Holidays and observances on April 14

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

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

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
  • 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
  • 1246 – The siege of Jaén ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.
  • 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
  • 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
  • 1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
  • 1710 – Battle of Helsingborg: 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock. This is the last time Swedish and Danish troops meet on Swedish soil.
  • 1728 – Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha Empire defeats Asaf Jah I in the Battle of Palkhed.
  • 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
  • 1838 – Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec).
  • 1844 – A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing six people, including two United States Cabinet members.
  • 1847 – The Battle of the Sacramento River during the Mexican–American War is a decisive victory for the United States leading to the capture of Chihuahua.
  • 1849 – Regular steamship service from the east to the west coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, four months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.
  • 1867 – Seventy years of Holy See–United States relations are ended by a Congressional ban on federal funding of diplomatic envoys to the Vatican and are not restored until January 10, 1984.
  • 1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1874 – One of the longest cases ever heard in an English court ends when the defendant is convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
  • 1893 – The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched.
  • 1897 – Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
  • 1900 – The Second Boer War: The 118-day “Siege of Ladysmith” is lifted.
  • 1904 – S.L. Benfica is founded in Portugal.
  • 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
  • 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
  • 1933 – Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
  • 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
  • 1939 – The erroneous word “dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
  • 1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
  • 1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth which lost 375 men.
  • 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
  • 1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
  • 1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s Nature (pub. April 2).
  • 1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.
  • 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
  • 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
  • 1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
  • 1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
  • 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
  • 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
  • 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
  • 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
  • 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
  • 1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
  • 1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
  • 1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
  • 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
  • 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
  • 1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
  • 1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
  • 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, the 97 people killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in Gulbarg Society massacre.
  • 2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 500-kilometre (310 mi) long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
  • 2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
  • 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415.

Births on February 28

  • 1119 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (d. 1150)
  • 1155 – Henry the Young King, son and heir of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
  • 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
  • 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
  • 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
  • 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
  • 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)
  • 1612 – John Pearson, English bishop, theologian, and scholar (d. 1686)
  • 1627 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1703)
  • 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
  • 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
  • 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
  • 1712 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (d. 1759)
  • 1724 – George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1807)
  • 1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist, meteorologist, and geographer (d. 1876)
  • 1812 – Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
  • 1820 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
  • 1833 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
  • 1840 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
  • 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
  • 1851 – Samuel W. McCall, American journalist and politician, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
  • 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Wilfred Grenfell, English physician and missionary (d. 1940)
  • 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
  • 1873 – William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor (d. 1912)
  • 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
  • 1882 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
  • 1882 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher, lawyer, and politician, Mexican Secretary of Public Education (d. 1959)
  • 1883 – Seán Mac Diarmada, Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
  • 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
  • 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1895 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright and director (d. 1974)
  • 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
  • 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1900 – Wolf Hirth, German pilot and engineer, co-founded Schempp-Hirth (d. 1959)
  • 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
  • 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
  • 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Otakar Vávra, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
  • 1915 – Zero Mostel, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
  • 1916 – Cesar Climaco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Mayor of Zamboanga City (d. 1984)
  • 1917 – Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Brian Urquhart, English soldier and diplomat, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Pierre Clostermann, French pilot, engineer, and author (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Yuri Lotman, Russian-Estonian historian and scholar (d. 1993)
  • 1923 – Charles Durning, American soldier and actor (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Uno Prii, Estonian-Canadian architect (d. 2000)
  • 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
  • 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American author and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
  • 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Sylvia del Villard, actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist (d. 1990)
  • 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect, designed 8 Spruce Street and Walt Disney Concert Hall
  • 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1929 – Rangaswamy Srinivasan, Indian-American physical chemist and inventor
  • 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931 – Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi academic and politician, 14th President of Bangladesh (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster
  • 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor
  • 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer, outside forward and scout (d. 1996)
  • 1931 – Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
  • 1934 – Willie Bobo, American Latin Jazz/Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist (d. 1983)
  • 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
  • 1938 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1939 – John Fahey, American guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1939 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan philosopher and scholar (d. 1987)
  • 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, singer, dancer, and director
  • 1940 – Aldo Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
  • 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
  • 1940 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (d. 2012)
  • 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
  • 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1943 – Hans Dijkstal, Egyptian-Dutch educator and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
  • 1943 – Donnie Iris, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress and dancer
  • 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
  • 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Mimsy Farmer, American-French actress and sculptor
  • 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
  • 1945 – Linda Preiss Rothschild, American mathematician and academic
  • 1946 – Philip Bailhache, English lawyer and politician
  • 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
  • 1946 – Syreeta Wright, African-American singer songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
  • 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1948 – Mike Figgis, English director, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
  • 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
  • 1948 – Alfred Sant, Maltese politician, 11th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1951 – Bill Cratty, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
  • 1951 – Debora Green, American physician convicted of murder
  • 1953 – Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American wrestler, referee, and trainer
  • 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer
  • 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
  • 1956 – Guy Maddin, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
  • 1957 – Paul Delph, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and author
  • 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – John Turturro, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian journalist and activist (d. 2009)
  • 1958 – Jeanne Mas, Spanish-French singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
  • 1959 – Jack Abramoff, American businessman and lobbyist
  • 1959 – Megan McDonald, American librarian and author
  • 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
  • 1961 – Mark Latham, Australian politician
  • 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
  • 1962 – Gary Belcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
  • 1964 – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan sprinter and cyclist
  • 1965 – Colum McCann, Irish-American author and academic
  • 1965 – Norman Smiley, English-American wrestler and trainer
  • 1966 – Vincent Askew, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
  • 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
  • 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Martin Tielli, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer, forward
  • 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
  • 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
  • 1969 – Patrick Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1970 – Daniel Handler, American journalist, author, and accordion player
  • 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
  • 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
  • 1971 – Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor and director
  • 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
  • 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Scott McLeod, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
  • 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
  • 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
  • 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress
  • 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
  • 1978 – Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
  • 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
  • 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
  • 1979 – Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
  • 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
  • 1980 – Lucian Bute, Romanian-Canadian boxer
  • 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
  • 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
  • 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
  • 1984 – Noureen DeWulf, American actress
  • 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
  • 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
  • 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
  • 1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Travis Stevens, American judoka
  • 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
  • 1988 – Markéta Irglová, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
  • 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Kevin Proctor, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Angelababy, Chinese actress
  • 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1994 – Jake Bugg, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
  • 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

Deaths on February 28

  • 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran – Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)
  • 911 – Abu Abdallah al-Shi’i, Muslim Shia imam
  • 1105 – Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (b. c. 1042)
  • 1261 – Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1230)
  • 1326 – Leopold I, Duke of Austria (b. 1290)
  • 1453 – Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400)
  • 1510 – Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer (b. 1450)
  • 1551 – Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (b. 1491)
  • 1572 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian and author (b. 1505)
  • 1621 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
  • 1648 – Christian IV of Denmark (b. 1577)
  • 1786 – John Gwynn, English architect and engineer (b. 1713)
  • 1788 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1725)
  • 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
  • 1869 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French author and poet (b. 1790)
  • 1879 – Hortense Allart, Italian-French author (b. 1801)
  • 1891 – George Hearst, American businessman and politician (b. 1820)
  • 1916 – Henry James, American novelist, short writer, and critic (b. 1843)
  • 1925 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st President of Germany (b. 1871)
  • 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
  • 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
  • 1935 – Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1847)
  • 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
  • 1941 – Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
  • 1942 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
  • 1959 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1888)
  • 1963 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (b. 1884)
  • 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
  • 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
  • 1967 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
  • 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
  • 1978 – Eric Frank Russell, English author (b. 1905)
  • 1983 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist (b. 1910 or 1914)
  • 1987 – Stephen Tennant, English author (b. 1906)
  • 1991 – Wassily Hoeffding, Finnish-American statistician and theorist (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
  • 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
  • 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish comedian and actor (b. 1952)
  • 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
  • 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
  • 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
  • 2003 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadorian general and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (b. 1921)
  • 2004 – Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian sergeant (b. 1982)
  • 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
  • 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Charles Forte, Baron Forte, Italian-English businessman, founded the Forte Group (b. 1908)
  • 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2008 – Joseph M. Juran, Romanian-American engineer and businessman (b. 1904)
  • 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
  • 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer and composer (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Jim Green, American-Canadian educator and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Hal Roach, Irish comedian and author (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Neil McCorkell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1912)
  • 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Lee Lorch, American mathematician and activist (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Alex Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2017 – Pierre Pascau, Mauritian-Canadian journalist (b. 1938)
  • 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
  • 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (b. 1930)
  • 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
  • 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances on February 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abercius (martyr)
    • Anna Julia Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Hilarius
    • Mar Abba
    • Oswald of Worcester
    • Romanus of Condat
    • Rufinus
    • February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Rare Disease Day can fall, while February 29 is the latest; observed on the last day of February (international)
  • The third day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
  • Día de Andalucía (Andalusia, Spain)
  • Kalevala Day, the day of Finnish culture. (Finland)
  • National Science Day (India)
  • Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
  • Teachers’ Day (Arab states)

February 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
  • 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
  • 1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
  • 1713 – The Kalabalik or Skirmish at Bender results from the Ottoman sultan’s order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
  • 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
  • 1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
  • 1814 – Mayon in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
  • 1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
  • 1864 – Second Schleswig War: Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, starting the war.
  • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
  • 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
  • 1895 – Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.
  • 1896 – La bohème premieres in Turin at the Teatro Regio (Turin), conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.
  • 1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
  • 1908 – Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
  • 1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.
  • 1924 – Russia–United Kingdom relations are restored, over six years after the Communist revolution.
  • 1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
  • 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
  • 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
  • 1942 – Mao Zedong makes a speech on “Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature”, which puts into motion the Yan’an Rectification Movement.
  • 1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.
  • 1946 – The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.
  • 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
  • 1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.
  • 1968 – Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
  • 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.
  • 1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
  • 1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
  • 1979 – Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.
  • 1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
  • 1991 – A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
  • 1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case.
  • 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
  • 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
  • 2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped January 23, 2002, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors.
  • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
  • 2004 – Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.
  • 2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d’état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
  • 2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country’s first female prime minister and the world’s first openly gay head of government.
  • 2012 – Seventy-four people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al Masry and Al Ahly in the city of Port Said.
  • 2013 – The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, is opened to the public.

Births on February 1

  • 1261 – Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1326)
  • 1435 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (d. 1472)
  • 1447 – Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1504)
  • 1459 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (d. 1508)
  • 1462 – Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer (d. 1516)
  • 1552 – Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1634)
  • 1561 – Henry Briggs, British mathematician (d. 1630)
  • 1635 – Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar (d. 1689)
  • 1648 – Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (d. 1724)
  • 1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729)
  • 1663 – Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748)
  • 1666 – Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Princess of Conti and titular queen of Poland (d.1732)
  • 1687 – Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer (d. 1733)
  • 1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1768)
  • 1701 – Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer (d. 1765)
  • 1761 – Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic (d. 1836)
  • 1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian (d. 1854)
  • 1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator (d. 1865)
  • 1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (d. 1881)
  • 1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian (d. 1897)
  • 1836 – Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer (d. 1898)
  • 1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1851 – Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat (d. 1908)
  • 1858 – Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat (d. 1942)
  • 1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)
  • 1866 – Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist (d. 1924)
  • 1868 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1870 – Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician (d. 1949)
  • 1872 – Clara Butt, English opera singer (d. 1936)
  • 1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1949)
  • 1873 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1901)
  • 1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1929)
  • 1878 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika (d. 1955)
  • 1878 – Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (d. 1944)
  • 1881 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
  • 1884 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician (d. 1949)
  • 1884 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1937)
  • 1887 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author (d. 1947)
  • 1890 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942)
  • 1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d. 1955)
  • 1895 – Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (d. 1980)
  • 1897 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (d. 1985)
  • 1898 – Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (d. 2012)
  • 1901 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (d. 2011)
  • 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
  • 1902 – Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
  • 1902 – Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (d. 1967)
  • 1904 – S.J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (d. 1979)
  • 1905 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – Günter Eich, German author and songwriter (d. 1972)
  • 1907 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian pianist and composer (d. 1993)
  • 1908 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (d. 1980)
  • 1908 – Louis Rasminsky, Canadian economist and banker (d. 1998)
  • 1909 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1910 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Chinese general and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1915 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
  • 1917 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (d. 1944)
  • 1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish playwright and poet (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Ignacy Tokarczuk, Polish archbishop (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Zao Wou-Ki, Chinese-French painter (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Teresa Mattei, Italian feminist partisan and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Peter Sallis, English actor (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Patricia Robins, British writer and WAAF officer (d. 2016).
  • 1922 – Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (d. 2008)
  • 1924 – Richard Hooker, American novelist (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Galway Kinnell, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Sam Edwards, Welsh physicist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi judge and politician, 12th President of Bangladesh
  • 1930 – Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Indian-Bangladeshi general and politician, 10th President of Bangladesh (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1934 – Nicolae Breban, Romanian author, poet, and playwright
  • 1936 – Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, playwright, and director (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Azie Taylor Morton, American educator and politician, 36th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
  • 1937 – Don Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1937 – Garrett Morris, American actor and comedian
  • 1938 – Jimmy Carl Black, American drummer and singer (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Jacky Cupit, American golfer
  • 1938 – Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
  • 1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic
  • 1939 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 1978)
  • 1939 – Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1939 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina (d. 2009)
  • 1939 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Jerry Spinelli, American author
  • 1942 – Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1942 – David Sincock, Australian cricketer
  • 1944 – Petru Popescu, Romanian-American director, producer, and author
  • 1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German footballer and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1945 – Serge Joyal, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Secretary of State for Canada
  • 1945 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Mary Jane Reoch, American cyclist (d. 1993)
  • 1946 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (d. 1977)
  • 1947 – Adam Ingram, Scottish computer programmer and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • 1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
  • 1948 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
  • 1950 – Mike Campbell, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1950 – Ali Haydar Konca, Turkish politician, 4th Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs
  • 1950 – Rich Williams, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1952 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1956 – Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1957 – Gilbert Hernandez, American author and illustrator
  • 1958 – Luther Blissett, Jamaican-English footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Eleanor Laing, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player and coach
  • 1961 – Daniel M. Tani, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1961 – Kaduvetti Guru, Indian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese painter and sculptor
  • 1964 – Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1964 – Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1964 – Linus Roache, English actor
  • 1965 – Stéphanie of Monaco, designer, singer and princess
  • 1965 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (d. 1993)
  • 1965 – Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
  • 1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player
  • 1967 – Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1969 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian footballer
  • 1969 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 2012)
  • 1969 – Brian Krause, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Franklyn Rose, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1969 – Patrick Wilson, American drummer
  • 1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
  • 1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (d. 2000)
  • 1971 – Harald Brattbakk, Norwegian footballer and pilot
  • 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer
  • 1972 – Christian Ziege, German footballer
  • 1973 – Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player and coach
  • 1973 – Óscar Pérez Rojas, Mexican footballer
  • 1974 – Walter McCarty, American basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Martijn Reuser, Dutch footballer
  • 1976 – Phil Ivey, American poker player
  • 1976 – Mat Rogers, Australian rugby player
  • 1977 – Lari Ketner, American basketball player (d. 2014)
  • 1977 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (d. 2011)
  • 1978 – Tim Harding, Australian singer and actor
  • 1978 – K’naan, Somali-Canadian hip-hop artist
  • 1979 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1979 – Jason Isbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican baseball player
  • 1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
  • 1981 – Hins Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Christian Giménez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
  • 1982 – Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player
  • 1982 – Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1983 – Heather DeLoach, American actress
  • 1983 – Kevin Martin, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Jurgen Van den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
  • 1984 – Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
  • 1985 – Dean Shiels, Irish footballer
  • 1986 – Jorrit Bergsma, Dutch speed skater
  • 1986 – Lauren Conrad, American fashion designer and author
  • 1987 – Sebastian Boenisch, Polish footballer
  • 1987 – Moises Henriques, Portuguese-Australian cricketer
  • 1987 – Austin Jackson, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Ronda Rousey, American mixed martial artist and actress
  • 1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Brett Anderson, American baseball player
  • 1989 – Ricky Pinheiro, Portuguese footballer
  • 1991 – Kyle Palmieri, American hockey player
  • 1993 – Diego Mella, Italian footballer
  • 1994 – Joe Boyce, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter

Deaths on February 1

  • 583 – Kan B’alam I, ruler of Palenque (b. 524)
  • 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720)
  • 850 – Ramiro I, king of Asturias
  • 992 – Jawhar as-Siqilli, Fatimid statesman
  • 1222 – Alexios Megas Komnenos, first Emperor of Trebizond
  • 1248 – Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
  • 1328 – Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
  • 1501 – Sigismund of Bavaria (b. 1439)
  • 1542 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (b. 1480)
  • 1563 – Menas of Ethiopia
  • 1590 – Lawrence Humphrey, English theologian and academic (b. 1527)
  • 1691 – Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
  • 1718 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1660)
  • 1733 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (b. 1670)
  • 1734 – John Floyer, English physician and author (b. 1649)
  • 1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (b. 1657)
  • 1750 – Bakar of Georgia (b. 1699)
  • 1761 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French priest and historian (b. 1682)
  • 1768 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (b. 1685)
  • 1793 – William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1717)
  • 1832 – Archibald Murphey, American judge and politician (b. 1777)
  • 1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright (b. 1797)
  • 1871 – Alexander Serov, Russian composer and critic (b. 1820)
  • 1893 – George Henry Sanderson, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
  • 1897 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (b. 1826)
  • 1903 – Sir George Stokes, Anglo-Irish physicist, mathematician, and politician (b. 1819)
  • 1907 – Léon Serpollet, French businessman (b. 1858)
  • 1908 – Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
  • 1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American actor and director (b. 1872)
  • 1924 – Maurice Prendergast, American painter (b. 1858)
  • 1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
  • 1936 – Georgios Kondylis, Greek general and politician, 128th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
  • 1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, American author, created Buck Rogers (b. 1888)
  • 1940 – Zacharias Papantoniou, Greek journalist and critic (b. 1877)
  • 1944 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch-American painter (b. 1872)
  • 1949 – Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, Romanian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1880)
  • 1949 – Herbert Stothart, American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
  • 1957 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
  • 1958 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
  • 1959 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
  • 1966 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and journalist (b. 1885)
  • 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Echol Cole and Robert Walker – sparking the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike
  • 1970 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
  • 1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
  • 1976 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
  • 1979 – Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
  • 1981 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American engineer and businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (b. 1892)
  • 1981 – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian pianist and composer (b. 1908)
  • 1986 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
  • 1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1989 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (b. 1918)
  • 1992 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Ray Crawford, American race car driver, pilot, and businessman (b. 1915)
  • 1997 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
  • 1999 – Paul Mellon, American art collector and philanthropist (b. 1907)
  • 2001 – André D’Allemagne, Canadian political scientist and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2002 – Aykut Barka, Turkish geologist and academic (b. 1951)
  • 2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia crew
    • Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1959)
    • David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1956)
    • Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American engineer and astronaut (b. 1961)
    • Laurel Clark, American captain, surgeon, and astronaut (b. 1961)
    • Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1957)
    • William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
    • Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1954)
  • 2003 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer and bandleader (b. 1922)
  • 2004 – Suha Arın, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
  • 2005 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (b. 1932)
  • 2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-American playwright and composer (b. 1911)
  • 2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian actor and businessman (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Helene Hale, American politician (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Ed Koch, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 105th Mayor of New York City (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Shanu Lahiri, Indian painter and educator (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Cecil Womack, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
  • 2014 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Vasily Petrov, Russian marshal (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Rene Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Aldo Ciccolini, Italian-French pianist (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1981)
  • 2016 – Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, Guatemalan general and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Desmond Carrington, British actor and broadcaster (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Barys Kit, Belarusian rocket scientist (b. 1910)
  • 2018 – Mowzey Radio, Ugandan singer and songwriter (b. 1985)
  • 2019 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian, radio host and panelist (b. 1961)
  • 2019 – Clive Swift, English actor (b. 1936)
  • 2019 – Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (b. 1959)

Holidays and observances on February 1

  • Abolition of Slavery Day (Mauritius)
  • Air Force Day (Nicaragua)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Astina (Syrian Church)
    • Blessed Candelaria of San José
    • Brigid, patron saint of Ireland (Saint Brigid’s Day)
    • Verdiana
    • February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while February 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in February. (Mexico)
  • Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)
  • Heroes Day (Rwanda)
  • Imbolc (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and some Neopagan groups in the Northern hemisphere)
  • Memorial Day of the Republic (Hungary)
  • National Freedom Day (United States)
  • The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada)

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