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Moscow

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

On This Day /
  • 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
  • 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
  • 1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
  • 1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
  • 1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
  • 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
  • 1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
  • 1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
  • 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
  • 1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
  • 1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
  • 1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
  • 1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
  • 1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
  • 1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
  • 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
  • 1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
  • 1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
  • 1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
  • 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
  • 1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
  • 1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
  • 1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
  • 1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
  • 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
  • 1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
  • 2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
  • 2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Births on April 13

  • 1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
  • 1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
  • 1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
  • 1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
  • 1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
  • 1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
  • 1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
  • 1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
  • 1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
  • 1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
  • 1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
  • 1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
  • 1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
  • 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
  • 1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
  • 1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
  • 1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
  • 1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
  • 1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
  • 1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
  • 1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
  • 1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
  • 1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
  • 1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
  • 1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
  • 1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
  • 1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
  • 1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
  • 1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
  • 1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
  • 1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
  • 1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
  • 1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
  • 1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
  • 1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
  • 1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
  • 1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
  • 1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
  • 1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
  • 1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
  • 1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
  • 1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
  • 1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
  • 1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
  • 1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
  • 1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
  • 1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
  • 1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
  • 1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
  • 1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
  • 1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
  • 1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
  • 1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
  • 1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
  • 1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
  • 1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
  • 1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
  • 1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
  • 1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
  • 1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
  • 1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
  • 1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
  • 1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
  • 1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
  • 1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
  • 1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
  • 1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
  • 1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
  • 1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
  • 1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
  • 1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
  • 1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
  • 1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
  • 1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
  • 1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
  • 1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
  • 1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
  • 1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
  • 1940 – Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist
  • 1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Jean-Marc Reiser, French author and illustrator (d. 1983)
  • 1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
  • 1943 – Alan Jones, Australian rugby coach, radio host, and educator
  • 1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
  • 1943 – Tim Krabbé, Dutch journalist and author
  • 1943 – Philip Norman, English journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1944 – Franco Arese, Italian runner
  • 1944 – Charles Burnett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Jack Casady, American bass guitarist
  • 1944 – Susan Davis, Russian-American social worker and politician
  • 1945 – Ed Caruthers, American high jumper
  • 1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
  • 1945 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1979)
  • 1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress and author
  • 1946 – Al Green, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
  • 1947 – Rae Armantrout, American poet and academic
  • 1947 – Mike Chapman, Australian-English songwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Jean-Jacques Laffont, French economist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Yves Landry, Canadian cyclist
  • 1948 – Nam Hae-il, South Korean admiral
  • 1948 – Drago Jančar, Slovenian author and playwright
  • 1948 – Mikhail Shufutinsky, Soviet and Russian singer, actor, TV presenter
  • 1949 – Len Cook, New Zealand-English mathematician and statistician
  • 1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Ricardo Zunino, Argentinian racing driver
  • 1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
  • 1950 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1951 – Leszek Borysiewicz, Welsh immunologist and academic
  • 1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
  • 1951 – Joachim Streich, German footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
  • 1952 – Sam Bush, American mandolin player
  • 1952 – David Drew, English lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Gabrielle Gourdeau, Canadian writer (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish jockey and trainer
  • 1953 – Stephen Byers, English politician
  • 1953 – Dany Laferrière, Haitian-Canadian journalist and author
  • 1954 – Jimmy Destri, American keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Barbara Roche, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Steve Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Muwenda Mutebi II, current King of Buganda Kingdom
  • 1955 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
  • 1955 – Ole von Beust, German lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Hamburg
  • 1956 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand racing driver (d. 2003)
  • 1956 – Alan Devonshire, English footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Edward Forbes Smiley III, American art thief and map dealer
  • 1957 – Amy Goodman, American journalist and author
  • 1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
  • 1960 – Lyn Brown, English social worker and politician
  • 1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., American lawyer and politician, senior senator of Pennsylvania
  • 1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist and manager
  • 1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author
  • 1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian
  • 1964 – John Swinney, Scottish businessman and politician, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
  • 1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinian architect and educator
  • 1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
  • 1966 – Marc Ford, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Dana Barros, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Michael Eisen, American biologist and academic
  • 1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Ted Washington, American football player
  • 1969 – Dirk Muschiol, German footballer
  • 1970 – Monty Brown, American football player and wrestler
  • 1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Nick Garrett, English singer
  • 1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast
  • 1970 – Ricardo Rincón, Mexican-American baseball player
  • 1970 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
  • 1971 – Franck Esposito, French swimmer
  • 1971 – Danie Mellor, Australian painter and sculptor
  • 1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player and golfer
  • 1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
  • 1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Darren Turner, English racing driver
  • 1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canadian snowboarder
  • 1975 – Lou Bega, German singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
  • 1975 – Tatiana Navka, Russian ice dancer
  • 1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech-American ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Glenn Howerton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Margus Tsahkna, Estonian lawyer and politician
  • 1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
  • 1978 – Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
  • 1978 – Keydrick Vincent, American football player
  • 1979 – Gréta Arn, Hungarian tennis player
  • 1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
  • 1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
  • 1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
  • 1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, American independent filmmaker and YouTuber
  • 1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
  • 1982 – Nellie McKay, British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
  • 1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh cyclist
  • 1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jarmo Ahjupera, Estonian footballer
  • 1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Anna Jennings-Edquist, Australian actress, director, and playwright
  • 1985 – Algo Kärp, Estonian skier
  • 1985 – Cody Nickson, American reality television personality
  • 1986 – Michael Bingham, American-English sprinter
  • 1986 – Lorenzo Cain, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Massimiliano Pesenti, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Petteri Koponen, Finnish basketball player
  • 1988 – Allison Williams, American actress and singer
  • 1989 – Ryan Bailey, American sprinter
  • 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampolinist
  • 1989 – Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, Belarusian long jumper
  • 1989 – Josh Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Vladislav Yegin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Anastasija Sevastova, a professional tennis player from Latvia
  • 1991 – Akeem Adams, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1991 – Ulises Dávila, Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Josh Gordon, American football player
  • 1992 – Denis Kudryavtsev, Russian hurdler
  • 1992 – Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
  • 1993 – Tony Wroten, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Ángelo Henríquez, Chilean footballer
  • 1994 – Elvis Merzļikins, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Kyle Walker-Peters, English footballer

Deaths on April 13

  • 548 – Lý Nam Đế, Vietnamese emperor (b. 503)
  • 585 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint
  • 799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and historian (b. 720)
  • 814 – Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate
  • 862 – Donald I, king of the Picts (b. 812)
  • 989 – Bardas Phokas, Byzantine general
  • 1035 – Herbert I, Count of Maine
  • 1093 – Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
  • 1113 – Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (b. c. 1040)
  • 1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
  • 1213 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany
  • 1275 – Eleanor of England (b. 1215)
  • 1367 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (b. 1313)
  • 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
  • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. 1551)
  • 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese samurai (b. 1585)
  • 1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Ottoman prince (b. 1572)
  • 1638 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (b. 1579)
  • 1641 – Richard Montagu, English bishop (b. 1577)
  • 1695 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (b. 1621)
  • 1716 – Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, English admiral and politician (b. 1648)
  • 1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish priest and theologian (b. 1650)
  • 1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French botanist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1763)
  • 1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (b. 1741)
  • 1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
  • 1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (b. 1788)
  • 1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
  • 1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1796)
  • 1868 – Tewodros II of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
  • 1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and author (b. 1813)
  • 1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)
  • 1886 – John Humphrey Noyes, American religious leader, founded the Oneida Community (b. 1811)
  • 1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828)
  • 1899 – James Service, Scottish-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Victoria (b. 1823)
  • 1909 – Whitley Stokes, Anglo-Irish lawyer and scholar (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish-English painter and educator (b. 1835)
  • 1911 – John McLane, Scottish-American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
  • 1911 – George Washington Glick, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
  • 1912 – Takuboku Ishikawa, Japanese poet and author (b. 1886)
  • 1917 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1856)
  • 1918 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
  • 1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician, Mayor of Frankfurt (b. 1866)
  • 1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, Greek politician 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
  • 1938 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1888)
  • 1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1941 – William Twaits, Canadian soccer player (b. 1879)
  • 1942 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch politician (b. 1883)
  • 1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (b. 1879)
  • 1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
  • 1945 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (b. 1874)
  • 1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
  • 1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (b. 1867)
  • 1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch pianist, violinist, and conductor (b. 1901)
  • 1961 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (b. 1935)
  • 1962 – Culbert Olson, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
  • 1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi colonel and politician, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
  • 1966 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (b. 1881)
  • 1966 – Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Nicole Berger, French actress (b. 1934)
  • 1969 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1901)
  • 1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
  • 1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1975 – Larry Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
  • 1975 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian soldier, academic, and politician, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
  • 1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian painter and director (b. 1931)
  • 1978 – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and women’s rights activist (b. 1900)
  • 1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
  • 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer (b. 1934)
  • 1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek physician, author, and poet (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
  • 1988 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor and director (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1992 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
  • 1992 – Daniel Pollock, Australian actor (b. 1968)
  • 1993 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Leila Mackinlay, English author and educator (b. 1910)
  • 1997 – Bryant Bowles, American soldier and activist, founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Alan Cooley, Australian public servant (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and actress (b. 1896)
  • 1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
  • 1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and base jumper (b. 1960)
  • 1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, Estonian-New Zealand chess player and author (b. 1924)
  • 1999 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2000 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – Caron Keating, Northern Irish television host (b. 1962)
  • 2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Phillip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor and director (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2009 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (b. 1954)
  • 2009 – Bruce Snyder, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 2009 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader, convicted rapist and two-time prison escapee (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – William B. Buffum, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Lebanon (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani pilot, academic, and activist (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Shūichi Higurashi, Japanese illustrator (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – David S. Smith, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Sweden (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Robert Wigmore, Cook Islander politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Chi Cheng, American bass player (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Fred Enke, American football player (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentinian-Spanish philosopher and theorist (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Rafał Sznajder, Polish fencer (b. 1972)
  • 2015 – Gerald Calabrese, American basketball player and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
  • 2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and former United States Ambassador to Ireland (b. 1932)
  • 2018 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (b. 1945)
  • 2019 – Neus Català, Anti-fascist activist (b. 1915)
  • 2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on April 13

  • Christian feast day:
    • Hermenegild
    • Blessed Ida of Louvain
    • Pope Martin I
    • April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Jefferson’s Birthday (United States)
  • Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)
  • South and Southeast Asian New Year. (see April 14)
  • Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)
  • Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 451 – Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.
  • 529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
  • 611 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico.
  • 1141 – Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title ‘Lady of the English’.
  • 1348 – Charles University is founded in Prague.
  • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
  • 1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
  • 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion, BWV 245, at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
  • 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67).
  • 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward.
  • 1788 – American pioneers to the Northwest Territory establish Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
  • 1789 – Selim III became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
  • 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
  • 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
  • 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
  • 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year.
  • 1829 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
  • 1831 – Emperor Pedro I of Brazil resigns. He goes to his native Portugal to become King Pedro IV.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
  • 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist.
  • 1890 – Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
  • 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
  • 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
  • 1922 – The United States Secretary of the Interior leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms.
  • 1927 – The first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
  • 1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
  • 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
  • 1943 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches.
  • 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.
  • 1945 – World War II: The battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by American aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
  • 1945 – World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
  • 1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
  • 1949 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway; it would run for 1,925 performances and win ten Tony Awards.
  • 1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his “domino theory” speech during a news conference.
  • 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
  • 1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
  • 1964 – A bulldozer kills Rev. Bruce W. Klunder, a civil rights activist, during a school segregation protest in Cleveland, Ohio, sparking a riot.
  • 1965 – Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate against the termination of the Colville tribe in Washington DC.
  • 1968 – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.
  • 1969 – The Internet’s symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.
  • 1971 – President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization.
  • 1976 – Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party (UK) after being arrested for faking his own death.
  • 1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
  • 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
  • 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.
  • 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
  • 1989 – Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
  • 1990 – Iran–Contra affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
  • 1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
  • 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy.
  • 1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
  • 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
  • 2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched.
  • 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.
  • 2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
  • 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
  • 2017 – A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people, killing five people and injuring fifteen others.

Births on April 7

  • 1206 – Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1253)
  • 1330 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English nobleman (d. 1352)
  • 1470 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1498)
  • 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
  • 1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)
  • 1613 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
  • 1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (d. 1730)
  • 1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1721)
  • 1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
  • 1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
  • 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (d. 1800)
  • 1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist, entomologist, and mycologist (d. 1806)
  • 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846)
  • 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
  • 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher and author (d. 1837)
  • 1780 – William Ellery Channing, American preacher and theologian (d. 1842)
  • 1803 – James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
  • 1803 – Flora Tristan, French author and activist (d. 1844)
  • 1811 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1881)
  • 1817 – Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (d. 1881)
  • 1848 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (d. 1930)
  • 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player and coach (d. 1925)
  • 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (d. 1951)
  • 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1870 – Gustav Landauer, Jewish-German theorist and activist (d. 1919)
  • 1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (d. 1927)
  • 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
  • 1874 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (d. 1939)
  • 1876 – Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1945)
  • 1882 – Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (d. 1971)
  • 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
  • 1883 – Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (d. 1963)
  • 1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1971)
  • 1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1890 – Paul Berth, Danish footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (d. 1998)
  • 1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (d. 1958)
  • 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – John Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (d. 1942)
  • 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (d. 1974)
  • 1897 – Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
  • 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (d. 1941)
  • 1903 – M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
  • 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
  • 1908 – Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (d. 1978)
  • 1913 – Louise Currie, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1913 – Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
  • 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American author (d. 1958)
  • 1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper
  • 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1928 – James White, Northern Irish author and educator (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Jane Priestman, English interior designer
  • 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (d. 2009)
  • 1930 – Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
  • 1932 – Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
  • 1937 – Charlie Thomas, American singer
  • 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California
  • 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Iris Johansen, American author
  • 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (d. 1977)
  • 1939 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
  • 1941 – Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator
  • 1941 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer
  • 1943 – Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager
  • 1944 – Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor
  • 1944 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany
  • 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
  • 1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Gerry Cottle, English businessman
  • 1945 – Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic
  • 1945 – Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author
  • 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (d. 2018)
  • 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer
  • 1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
  • 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
  • 1946 – Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate
  • 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (d. 2008)
  • 1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer
  • 1947 – Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (d. 2020)
  • 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
  • 1948 – John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer
  • 1949 – Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana
  • 1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary
  • 1951 – Bruce Gary, American drummer (d. 2006)
  • 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic
  • 1952 – Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete
  • 1952 – Gilles Valiquette, Canadian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1952 – Dennis Hayden, American actor
  • 1953 – Santa Barraza, American mixed media artist
  • 1953 – Douglas Kell, English biochemist and academic
  • 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Tony Dorsett, American football player
  • 1955 – Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1955 – Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist
  • 1956 – Annika Billström, Swedish businesswoman and politician, 16th Mayor of Stockholm
  • 1956 – Christopher Darden, American lawyer and author
  • 1956 – Georg Werthner, Austrian decathlete
  • 1957 – Kim Kap-soo, South Korean actor
  • 1957 – Thelma Walker, British politician
  • 1958 – Brian Haner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Hindrek Kesler, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Buster Douglas, American boxer and actor
  • 1960 – Sandy Powell, English costume designer
  • 1961 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player and actor
  • 1961 – Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
  • 1961 – Brigitte van der Burg, Tanzanian-Dutch geographer and politician
  • 1962 – Jon Cruddas, English lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Andrew Hampsten, American cyclist
  • 1963 – Jaime de Marichalar, Spanish businessman
  • 1963 – Nick Herbert, English businessman and politician, Minister for Policing
  • 1963 – Dave Johnson, American decathlete and educator
  • 1964 – Jace Alexander, American actor and director
  • 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand-Australian actor
  • 1964 – Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Bill Bellamy, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1965 – Rozalie Hirs, Dutch composer and poet
  • 1965 – Alison Lapper, English painter and photographer
  • 1965 – Nenad Vučinić, Serbian-New Zealand basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Richard Gomez, Filipino actor and politician
  • 1966 – Zvika Hadar, Israeli entertainer
  • 1966 – Béla Mavrák, Hungarian tenor singer
  • 1966 – Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
  • 1967 – Artemis Gounaki, Greek-German singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Bodo Illgner, German footballer
  • 1967 – Simone Schilder, Dutch tennis player
  • 1968 – Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist
  • 1968 – Vasiliy Sokov, Russian triple jumper
  • 1969 – Ricky Watters, American football player
  • 1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist and educator
  • 1971 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (d. 2008)
  • 1971 – Victor Kraatz, German-Canadian figure skater
  • 1972 – Tim Peake, British astronaut
  • 1973 – Marco Delvecchio, Italian footballer
  • 1973 – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence
  • 1973 – Carole Montillet, French skier
  • 1973 – Christian O’Connell, British radio DJ and presenter
  • 1973 – Brett Tomko, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1975 – Ronde Barber, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Tiki Barber, American football player and journalist
  • 1975 – Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
  • 1975 – John Cooper, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1975 – Simon Woolford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – Kevin Alejandro, American actor and producer
  • 1976 – Martin Buß, German high jumper
  • 1976 – Jessica Lee, English lawyer and politician
  • 1976 – Aaron Lohr, American actor
  • 1976 – Barbara Jane Reams, American actress
  • 1976 – Gang Qiang, Chinese anchor
  • 1978 – Jo Appleby, English soprano
  • 1978 – Duncan James, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1978 – Lilia Osterloh, American tennis player
  • 1979 – Adrián Beltré, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1979 – Patrick Crayton, American football player
  • 1979 – Pascal Dupuis, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer
  • 1980 – Tetsuji Tamayama, Japanese actor
  • 1981 – Hitoe Arakaki, Japanese singer
  • 1981 – Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
  • 1981 – Vanessa Olivarez, American singer-songwriter, and actress
  • 1981 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
  • 1982 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
  • 1982 – Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler
  • 1982 – Kelli Young, English singer
  • 1983 – Hamish Davidson, Australian musician
  • 1983 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
  • 1983 – Jon Stead, English footballer
  • 1983 – Jakub Smrž, Czech motorcycle rider
  • 1983 – Janar Talts, Estonian basketball player
  • 1984 – Hiroko Shimabukuro, Japanese singer
  • 1985 – KC Concepcion, Filipino actress and singer
  • 1985 – Humza Yousaf, Scottish politician
  • 1986 – Brooke Brodack, American comedian
  • 1986 – Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist
  • 1986 – Andi Fraggs, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1986 – Christian Fuchs, Austrian footballer
  • 1987 – Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete
  • 1987 – Jamar Smith, American football player
  • 1988 – Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Ed Speleers, English actor and producer
  • 1989 – Alexa Demara, American actress, model and writer
  • 1989 – Franco Di Santo, Argentinian footballer
  • 1989 – Mitchell Pearce, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Teddy Riner, French judoka
  • 1990 – Nickel Ashmeade, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1990 – Anna Bogomazova, Russian-American kick-boxer, martial artist, and wrestler
  • 1990 – Sorana Cîrstea, Romanian tennis player
  • 1990 – Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer
  • 1991 – Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer
  • 1991 – Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter
  • 1992 – Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast
  • 1992 – Guilherme Negueba, Brazilian footballer
  • 1993 – Ichinojō Takashi, Mongolian sumo wrestler
  • 1994 – Johanna Allik, Estonian figure skater
  • 1994 – Aaron Gray, Australian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Emerson Hyndman, American international soccer player[5]
  • 1997 – Rafaela Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player

Deaths on April 7

  • AD 30 – Jesus Christ, (possible date of the crucifixion) (b. circa 4 BC)
  • 821 – George the Standard-Bearer, archbishop of Mytilene (b. c. 776)
  • 924 – Berengar I of Italy (b. 845)
  • 1206 – Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
  • 1340 – Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia (b. 1308)
  • 1498 – Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
  • 1499 – Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (b. 1442)
  • 1501 – Minkhaung II, king of Ava (b. 1446)
  • 1606 – Edward Oldcorne, English martyr (b. 1561)
  • 1614 – El Greco, Greek-Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1541)
  • 1638 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese daimyō (b. 1576)
  • 1651 – Lennart Torstensson, Swedish field marshal and engineer (b. 1603)
  • 1658 – Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic and philosopher (b. 1595)
  • 1661 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English commander and politician (b. 1604)
  • 1663 – Francis Cooke, English-American settler (b. 1583)
  • 1668 – William Davenant, English poet and playwright (b. 1606)
  • 1719 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint, founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (b. 1651)
  • 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705)
  • 1747 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b. 1676)
  • 1761 – Thomas Bayes, English minister and mathematician (b. 1701)
  • 1766 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
  • 1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and director (b. 1715)
  • 1782 – Taksin, Thai king (b. 1734)
  • 1789 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1725)
  • 1789 – Petrus Camper, Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (b. 1722)
  • 1801 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (b. 1724)
  • 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (b. 1743)
  • 1811 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
  • 1823 – Jacques Charles, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1746)
  • 1833 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Lithuanian composer and politician (b. 1775)
  • 1836 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (b. 1756)
  • 1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (b. 1777)
  • 1850 – William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
  • 1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher (b. 1781)
  • 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist, activist, and politician (b. 1825)
  • 1879 – Begum Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (b. 1820)
  • 1885 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (b. 1804)
  • 1889 – Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese soldier and politician (b. 1823)
  • 1889 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician and president, 1872-1876 (b. 1823)
  • 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810)
  • 1917 – Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer and playwright (b. 1861)
  • 1918 – David Kolehmainen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1885)
  • 1918 – George E. Ohr, American potter (b. 1857)
  • 1920 – Karl Binding, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1841)
  • 1922 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1855)
  • 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1873)
  • 1932 – Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (b. 1875)
  • 1938 – Suzanne Valadon, French painter (b. 1865)
  • 1939 – Joseph Lyons, Australian educator and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
  • 1943 – Jovan Dučić, Serbian-American poet and diplomat (b. 1871)
  • 1943 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (b. 1859)
  • 1947 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863)
  • 1949 – John Gourlay, Canadian soccer player (b. 1872)
  • 1950 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1883)
  • 1955 – Theda Bara, American actress (b. 1885)
  • 1956 – Fred Appleby, English runner (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Henri Guisan, Swiss general (b. 1874)
  • 1965 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
  • 1966 – Walt Hansgen, American race car driver (b. 1919)
  • 1968 – Edwin Baker, Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) (b. 1893)
  • 1968 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (b. 1936)
  • 1972 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (b. 1929)
  • 1972 – Abeid Karume, Tanzanian politician, 1st President of Zanzibar (b. 1905)
  • 1981 – Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (b. 1935)
  • 1981 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (b. 1899)
  • 1982 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 1984 – Frank Church, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1924)
  • 1985 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (b. 1888)
  • 1986 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist (b. 1912)
  • 1990 – Ronald Evans, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 1991 – Memduh Ünlütürk, Turkish general (b. 1913)
  • 1992 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1903)
  • 1992 – Antonis Tritsis, Greek high jumper and politician, 71st Mayor of Athens (b. 1937)
  • 1994 – Lee Brilleaux, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer, manager, and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1994 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan chemist, academic, and politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
  • 1995 – Philip Jebb, English architect and politician (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1923)
  • 1997 – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1935)
  • 1998 – Alex Schomburg, Puerto Rican-American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
  • 2001 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French pianist and author (b. 1903)
  • 2003 – David Greene, English-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2004 – Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (b. 1901)
  • 2005 – Cliff Allison, English race car driver (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Melih Kibar, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1951)
  • 2007 – Johnny Hart, American author and illustrator (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2009 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1947)
  • 2011 – Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (b. 1984)
  • 2012 – Satsue Mito, Japanese zoologist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – David E. Pergrin, American colonel and engineer (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani politician (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Mike Wallace, American television news journalist (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Marty Blake, American businessman (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Les Blank, American director and producer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Andy Johns, English-American record producer (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Lilly Pulitzer, American fashion designer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Irma Ravinale, Italian composer and educator (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Mickey Rose, American screenwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Carl Williams, American boxer (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – George Dureau, American painter and photographer (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – George Shuffler, American guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Tim Babcock, American soldier and politician, 16th Governor of Montana (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – José Capellán, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1981)
  • 2015 – Stan Freberg, American puppeteer, voice actor, and singer (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Richard Henyekane, South African footballer (b. 1983)
  • 2015 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Blackjack Mulligan, American professional wrestler (b. 1942)
  • 2019 – Seymour Cassel, American actor (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances on April 7

  • Christian feast days:
    • Aibert of Crespin
    • Blessed Alexander Rawlins
    • Blessed Edward Oldcorne and Blessed Ralph Ashley
    • Blessed Notker the Stammerer
    • Brynach
    • Hegesippus
    • Henry Walpole
    • Hermann Joseph
    • Jean-Baptiste de La Salle
    • Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (Eastern Orthodox Church, Episcopal Church (USA))
    • April 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Flag Day (Slovenia)
  • Genocide Memorial Day (Rwanda), and its related observance:
    • International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (United Nations)
  • Motherhood and Beauty Day (Armenia)
  • National Beer Day (United States)
  • Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day (Tanzania)
  • Women’s Day (Mozambique)
  • World Health Day (International observance)

April 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

On the Roman calendar, this was known as the day before the nones of April (Latin: Prid. Non. Apr.).

April 4 in History

  • 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
  • 1147 – Moscow is mentioned for the first time in the historical record, when it is named as a meeting place for two princes.
  • 1268 – A five-year Byzantine–Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
  • 1460 – Basel University is founded.
  • 1581 – Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
  • 1609 – Moriscos are expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia.
  • 1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of Great Britain promises, among other things, a general pardon to all royalists for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.
  • 1721 – Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
  • 1768 – In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
  • 1796 – Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture.
  • 1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.
  • 1818 – The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time).
  • 1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President.
  • 1850 – A large part of the English village of Cottenham burns to the ground in suspicious circumstances.
  • 1850 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city.
  • 1859 – Bryant’s Minstrels debut “Dixie” in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
  • 1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg.
  • 1873 – The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.
  • 1875 – Vltava, composed by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and also known by its German name Die Moldau, premiered in Prague.
  • 1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
  • 1905 – In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala.
  • 1913 – First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
  • 1925 – The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany.
  • 1933 – U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather.
  • 1939 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
  • 1944 – World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.
  • 1945 – World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: American troops capture Kassel.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet troops liberate Hungary from German occupation and occupy the country themselves.
  • 1949 – Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  • 1958 – The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.
  • 1960 – France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.
  • 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
  • 1965 – The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft is unveiled.
  • 1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church.
  • 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
  • 1968 – A.E.K. Athens B.C. becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
  • 1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
  • 1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated.
  • 1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.
  • 1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • 1975 – Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people.
  • 1979 – Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
  • 1981 – Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.
  • 1983 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.
  • 1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
  • 1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
  • 1990 – The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress.
  • 1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
  • 1994 – Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
  • 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
  • 2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
  • 2009 – France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO.
  • 2013 – More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India.
  • 2020 – China holds a National day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak.

Births on April 4

  • 188 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
  • 1436 – Amalia of Saxony, Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut (d. 1501)
  • 1490 – Vojtěch I of Pernstein, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1534)
  • 1492 – Ambrosius Blarer, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (d. 1564)
  • 1572 – William Strachey, English author (d. 1621)
  • 1586 – Richard Saltonstall, English diplomat (d. 1661)
  • 1593 – Edward Nicholas, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1669)
  • 1640 – Gaspar Sanz, Spanish guitarist, composer, and priest (d. 1710)
  • 1646 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (d. 1715)
  • 1648 – Grinling Gibbons, Dutch-English sculptor (d. 1721)
  • 1676 – Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, Italian composer (d. 1760)
  • 1688 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1768)
  • 1718 – Benjamin Kennicott, English theologian and scholar (d. 1783)
  • 1752 – Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, Italian composer (d. 1837)
  • 1760 – Juan Manuel Olivares, Venezuelan organist and composer (d. 1797)
  • 1762 – Stephen Storace, English actor and composer (d. 1796)
  • 1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement (d. 1810)
  • 1780 – Edward Hicks, American minister and painter (d. 1849)
  • 1785 – Bettina von Arnim, German author, illustrator, and composer (d. 1859)
  • 1792 – Thaddeus Stevens, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
  • 1802 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (d. 1887)
  • 1818 – Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American author and poet (d. 1883)
  • 1819 – Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
  • 1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (d. 1868)
  • 1826 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (d. 1901)
  • 1829 – Owen Suffolk, Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author
  • 1835 – John Hughlings Jackson, English physician and neurologist (d. 1911)
  • 1842 – Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1891)
  • 1843 – William Henry Jackson, American painter and photographer (d. 1942)
  • 1846 – Comte de Lautréamont, Uruguayan-French poet and educator (d. 1870)
  • 1851 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (d. 1931)
  • 1853 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet, novelist, and critic (d. 1915)
  • 1868 – Philippa Fawcett, English mathematician and educator (d. 1948)
  • 1869 – Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (d. 1958)
  • 1875 – Pierre Monteux, Sephardic Jewish French-American viola player and conductor (d. 1964)
  • 1876 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter and poet (d. 1958)
  • 1878 – Stylianos Lykoudis, Greek admiral and historian (d. 1958)
  • 1879 – Gustav Goßler, German rower (d. 1940)
  • 1884 – James Alberione, Italian priest, founded the Society of St. Paul (d. 1971)
  • 1884 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (d. 1943)
  • 1886 – Frank Luther Mott, American historian and journalist (d. 1964)
  • 1888 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
  • 1888 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish historian and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
  • 1892 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (d. 1967)
  • 1895 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (d. 1991)
  • 1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1955)
  • 1897 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1975)
  • 1898 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (d. 1940)
  • 1899 – Hillel Oppenheimer, German-Israeli botanist and academic (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, French journalist and author (d. 1969)
  • 1902 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American author and poet (d. 1935)
  • 1905 – Eugène Bozza, French composer and conductor (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Erika Nõva, Estonian architect and engineer (d. 1987)
  • 1906 – Bea Benaderet, Turkish-Jewish Irish-American television, radio, and voice actress (d. 1968)
  • 1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1907 – Robert Askin, Australian sergeant and politician, 32nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1981)
  • 1910 – Đặng Văn Ngữ, Vietnamese physician and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1911 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer (d. 1992)
  • 1913 – Dave Brown, Australian rugby league player (d. 1974)
  • 1913 – Rosemary Lane, American actress and singer (d. 1974)
  • 1913 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Jules Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Governor General of Canada (d. 1980)
  • 1913 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983)
  • 1914 – Richard Coogan, American actor (d. 2014)
  • 1914 – Marguerite Duras, French novelist, screenwriter, and director (d. 1996)
  • 1914 – David W. Goodall, Australian ecologist and botanist (d. 2018)
  • 1915 – Louis Archambault, Canadian sculptor (d. 2003)
  • 1916 – Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian general and politician, 10th President of Serbia (d. 2005)
  • 1916 – Mickey Owen, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1916 – David White, American actor (d. 1990)
  • 1918 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English soldier and politician, Leader of the House of Lords (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Greek patriarch (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Peter Vaughan, English actor (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Gene Reynolds, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1924 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
  • 1925 – Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Frank Truitt, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1979)
  • 1925 – Emmett Williams, American poet and author (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – Mildred Fay Jefferson, American physician and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
  • 1928 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Estelle Harris, American actress and comedian
  • 1928 – Jimmy Logan, Scottish actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Monty Norman, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1929 – Humbert Allen Astredo, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Netty Herawaty, Indonesian actress (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – James Dickens, English politician (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence officer
  • 1931 – Catherine Tizard, New Zealand politician, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand
  • 1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records and J Records
  • 1932 – Richard Lugar, American lieutenant and politician, 44th Mayor of Indianapolis (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
  • 1932 – Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American author
  • 1932 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and producer (d. 1986)
  • 1933 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1933 – Brian Hewson, English runner
  • 1933 – Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (d. 2020)
  • 1934 – Helen Hanft, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (d. 1996)
  • 1935 – Geoff Braybrooke, English-New Zealand soldier and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (d. 2011)
  • 1935 – Trevor Griffiths, English playwright and educator
  • 1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American businessman and academic (d. 1989)
  • 1939 – JoAnne Carner, American golfer
  • 1939 – Darlene Hooley, American educator and politician
  • 1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1940 – Richard Attwood, English race car driver
  • 1940 – Sharon Sheeley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1942 – Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Kitty Kelley, American journalist and biographer
  • 1942 – Elizabeth Levy, American author
  • 1944 – Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician
  • 1944 – Mary Kenny, Irish journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1944 – Bob McDill, American country music songwriter
  • 1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Nelson Prudêncio, Brazilian triple jumper and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French-German educator and politician
  • 1945 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Colin Coates, Australian speed skater
  • 1946 – Dave Hill, English guitarist
  • 1946 – Katsuaki Satō, Japanese martial artist and coach
  • 1946 – György Spiró, Hungarian author and playwright
  • 1946 – Bubba Wyche, American football player and coach
  • 1947 – Wiranto, Indonesian general and politician
  • 1947 – Ray Fosse, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1947 – Eliseo Soriano, Filipino minister and television host
  • 1948 – Abdullah Öcalan, Turkish activist
  • 1948 – Berry Oakley, American bass player (d. 1972)
  • 1948 – Richard Parsons, American lawyer and businessman
  • 1948 – Dan Simmons, American author
  • 1948 – Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
  • 1948 – Pick Withers, English drummer
  • 1949 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican-American singer (d. 1999)
  • 1949 – Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese-American mathematician and academic
  • 1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress and director
  • 1951 – John Hannah, American football player and coach
  • 1952 – Rosemarie Ackermann, German high jumper
  • 1952 – Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2010)
  • 1952 – Gregg Hansford, Australian race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1995)
  • 1952 – Cherie Lunghi, English actress and dancer
  • 1952 – Karen Magnussen, Canadian figure skater and coach
  • 1952 – Gary Moore, Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1952 – Villy Søvndal, Danish educator and politician, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1953 – Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician
  • 1953 – Henry Fotheringham, South African cricketer
  • 1953 – Simcha Jacobovici, Canadian director, producer, journalist, and author
  • 1953 – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician, 31st Lord Mayor of Belfast
  • 1953 – Chen Yi, Chinese violinist and composer
  • 1956 – Evelyn Hart, Canadian ballerina
  • 1956 – Tom Herr, American baseball player and manager
  • 1956 – David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1957 – Paul Downton, English cricketer
  • 1957 – Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Graeme Kelling, Scottish guitarist (d. 2004)
  • 1957 – Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese singer and trumpet player
  • 1958 – Peter Baltes, German bass player
  • 1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1958 – Rodney Eade, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1959 – Phil Morris, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Jonathan Agnew, English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Jane Eaglen, English soprano
  • 1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-Australian actor and producer
  • 1960 – Godknows Igali, Nigerian diplomat, civil servant and technocrat
  • 1961 – Hildi Santo-Tomas, American interior decorator
  • 1962 – Craig Adams, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1962 – Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politician
  • 1963 – A. Michael Baldwin, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Jack Del Rio, American football player and coach
  • 1963 – Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1963 – Jane McDonald, English singer and broadcaster
  • 1963 – Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host
  • 1964 – Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach
  • 1964 – Dr. Chud, American drummer and singer
  • 1964 – Anthony Clark, American actor
  • 1964 – David Cross, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Paul Parker, England international footballer, right-back and TV pundit
  • 1964 – Đặng Thân, Vietnamese writer and poet
  • 1965 – Vinny Burns, English guitarist and producer
  • 1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Nancy McKeon, American actress
  • 1966 – Mike Starr, American bass player (d. 2011)
  • 1966 – Christos Tsekos, Greek basketball player
  • 1967 – Edith Masai, Kenyan-German runner
  • 1967 – George Mavrotas, Greek water polo player and politician
  • 1968 – Jesús Rollán, Spanish water polo player (d. 2006)
  • 1969 – Piotr Anderszewski, Polish pianist and composer
  • 1969 – Karren Brady, English journalist and businesswoman
  • 1970 – Georgios Amanatidis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Greg Garcia, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Barry Pepper, Canadian actor and producer
  • 1970 – Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player
  • 1970 – Josh Todd, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1970 – Yelena Yelesina, Russian high jumper
  • 1971 – Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1971 – Malik Yusef, American actor, producer, and poet
  • 1971 – John Zandig, American wrestler and promoter
  • 1972 – Jim Dymock, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1972 – Jill Scott, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1972 – Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish bass player
  • 1973 – Chris Banks, American football player (d. 2014)
  • 1973 – David Blaine, American magician and producer
  • 1973 – Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
  • 1973 – Peter Hoekstra, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete and coach
  • 1973 – Kelly Price, American singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman
  • 1975 – Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish skier
  • 1975 – Joyce Giraud, Puerto Rican-American model, television actress and producer, Miss Puerto Rico 1994
  • 1975 – Pamela Ribon, American actress, screenwriter, and author
  • 1975 – Miranda Lee Richards, American singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Scott Rolen, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Kevin Weekes, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Nathan Blacklock, Australian rugby player
  • 1976 – Sébastien Enjolras, French race car driver (d. 1997)
  • 1976 – Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, Brazilian footballer
  • 1976 – James Roday, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Stephan Bonnar, American mixed martial artist
  • 1977 – Keith Bulluck, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1977 – Stephen Mulhern, English magician and television host
  • 1977 – Omarr Smith, American football player and coach
  • 1978 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player and scout
  • 1978 – Alan Mahon, Irish footballer
  • 1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
  • 1979 – Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress
  • 1979 – Andy McKee, American guitarist
  • 1979 – Maksim Opalev, Russian canoeist
  • 1980 – Johnny Borrell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1980 – Trevor Moore, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Eric Steinbach, American football player
  • 1980 – Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver
  • 1981 – Currensy, American rapper
  • 1981 – Eduardo Luís Carloto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – Casey Daigle, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Anna Pyatykh, Russian triple jumper
  • 1981 – Ned Vizzini, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1982 – Justin Cook, American voice actor and producer
  • 1982 – Magnus Lindgren, Swedish chef (d. 2012)
  • 1983 – Evgeny Artyukhin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Eric Andre, American comedian
  • 1983 – Ben Gordon, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Natalie Pike, Scottish-English model and actress
  • 1983 – Amanda Righetti, American actress
  • 1984 – Sean May, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer
  • 1985 – Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player
  • 1985 – Dudi Sela, Israeli tennis player
  • 1985 – Ricardo Vilar, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Eunhyuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1986 – Cameron Barker, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Maurice Manificat, French skier
  • 1986 – Aiden McGeady, Scottish-born Irish footballer
  • 1986 – Alexander Tettey, Norwegian footballer
  • 1987 – Sami Khedira, German footballer
  • 1987 – McDonald Mariga, Kenyan footballer
  • 1987 – Cameron Maybin, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Marcos Vellidis, Greek footballer
  • 1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
  • 1988 – Frank Fielding, English footballer
  • 1989 – Vurnon Anita, Dutch footballer
  • 1989 – Steven Finn, English cricketer
  • 1989 – Chris Herd, Australian footballer
  • 1991 – Yui Koike, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1991 – Justin O’Neill, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress and singer
  • 1991 – Marlon Stöckinger, Filipino race car driver
  • 1992 – Lucy May Barker, English actress and singer
  • 1992 – Christina Metaxa, Cypriot singer-songwriter
  • 1992 – Ricky Dillon, American youtuber and singer
  • 1993 – Samir Carruthers, English footballer
  • 1993 – Frank Kaminsky, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Shunsuke Nishikawa, Japanese actor
  • 1994 – Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1996 – Austin Mahone, American singer-songwriter and actor

Deaths on April 4

  • 397 – Ambrose, Roman archbishop and saint (b. 338)
  • 636 – Isidore of Seville, Spanish archbishop and saint (b. 560)
  • 814 – Plato of Sakkoudion, Byzantine monk and saint (b. 735)
  • 896 – Formosus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 816)
  • 911 – Liu Yin, Chinese warlord and governor (b. 874)
  • 931 – Kong Xun, Chinese official and governor (b. 884)
  • 968 – Abu Firas al-Hamdani, Arab prince and poet (b. 932)
  • 991 – Reginold, bishop of Eichstätt
  • 1284 – Alfonso X, king of Castile and León (b. 1221)
  • 1292 – Nicholas IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1227)
  • 1406 – Robert III, king of Scotland (b.1337)
  • 1483 – Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (b. c. 1405)
  • 1536 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
  • 1538 – Elena Glinskaya, Grand Princess and regent of Russia
  • 1588 – Frederick II, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1534)
  • 1596 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (b. 1533)
  • 1609 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist, mycologist, and academic (b. 1526)
  • 1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1550)
  • 1643 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1583)
  • 1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish field marshal (b. 1580)
  • 1743 – Daniel Neal, English historian and author (b. 1678)
  • 1761 – Théodore Gardelle, Swiss painter (b. 1722)
  • 1766 – John Taylor, English librarian and scholar (b. 1704)
  • 1774 – Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist, playwright and poet (b. 1728)
  • 1792 – James Sykes, American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
  • 1807 – Jérôme Lalande, French astronomer and academic (b. 1732)
  • 1817 – André Masséna, French general (b. 1758)
  • 1841 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)
  • 1846 – Solomon Sibley, American lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Detroit (b. 1769)
  • 1861 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (b. 1785)
  • 1863 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (b. 1790)
  • 1864 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American commander and paleontologist (b. 1808)
  • 1870 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
  • 1874 – Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
  • 1875 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (b. 1837)
  • 1878 – Richard M. Brewer, American criminal (b. 1850)
  • 1879 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist and meteorologist (b. 1803)
  • 1883 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (b. 1791)
  • 1890 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (b. 1820)
  • 1890 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (b. 1812)
  • 1912 – Charles Brantley Aycock, American lawyer and politician, 50th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1859)
  • 1912 – Isaac K. Funk, American minister, lexicographer, and publisher, co-founded Funk & Wagnalls (b. 1839)
  • 1919 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)
  • 1919 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1908)
  • 1923 – John Venn, English mathematician and philosopher, created the Venn diagram (b. 1834)
  • 1929 – Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (b. 1844)
  • 1931 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (b. 1853)
  • 1932 – Wilhelm Ostwald, Latvian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
  • 1933 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (b. 1842)
  • 1941 – Emine Nazikedâ Kadınefendi, the first wife and chief consort of Sultan Mehmed VI (b. 1866)
  • 1944 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (b. 1878)[14]
  • 1951 – George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)
  • 1953 – Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)
  • 1957 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian historian and diplomat (b. 1909)
  • 1958 – Johnny Stompanato, American soldier and bodyguard (b. 1925)
  • 1961 – Harald Riipalu, Estonian military commander (b. 1912)
  • 1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
  • 1967 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (b. 1901)
  • 1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1898)
  • 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated)(b. 1929)
  • 1972 – Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., American pastor and politician (b. 1908)
  • 1972 – Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1976 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish engineer and theorist (b. 1889)
  • 1977 – Andrey Dikiy, Ukrainian-American journalist, historian, and politician (b. 1893)
  • 1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (b. 1928)
  • 1979 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
  • 1980 – Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1917)
  • 1983 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1899)
  • 1983 – Bernard Vukas, Croatian football player, played for 1953 FIFA’s “Rest of the World” team against England at Wembley (b. 1927)
  • 1984 – Oleg Antonov, Russian-Ukrainian engineer and businessman, founded Antonov (b. 1906)
  • 1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (b. 1891)
  • 1987 – C. L. Moore, American author and academic (b. 1911)
  • 1987 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan guru, poet, and scholar (b. 1939)
  • 1987 – Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1911)
  • 1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
  • 1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (b. 1911)
  • 1991 – H. John Heinz III, American soldier and politician (b. 1938)
  • 1991 – Graham Ingels, American illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 1992 – Yvette Brind’Amour, Canadian actress and director (b. 1918)
  • 1992 – Jack Hamilton, Australian footballer (b. 1928)
  • 1992 – Arthur Russell, American singer-songwriter and cellist (b. 1951)
  • 1993 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American game designer, invented Scrabble (b. 1899)
  • 1993 – Douglas Leopold, Canadian radio and television host (b. 1947)
  • 1995 – Kenny Everett, English radio and television host (b. 1944)
  • 1995 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (b. 1915)
  • 1996 – Barney Ewell, American runner and long jumper (b. 1918)
  • 1996 – Boone Guyton, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1913)
  • 1997 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1997 – Alparslan Türkeş, Turkish colonel and politician, 39th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Lucille Lortel, American actress, artistic director and producer (b. 1900)
  • 1999 – Early Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1920)
  • 2001 – Liisi Oterma, Finnish astronomer (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Ed Roth, American illustrator and engineer (b. 1932)
  • 2001 – Maury Van Vliet, American-Canadian academic (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – Briek Schotte, Belgian cyclist and coach (b. 1919)
  • 2005 – Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Bob Clark, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
  • 2007 – Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2008 – Francis Tucker, South African race car driver (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Maxine Cooper, American actress, activist and photographer (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – Scott Columbus, American drummer (b. 1956)
  • 2011 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (b. 1958)
  • 2012 – A. Dean Byrd, American psychologist and academic (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Anne Karin Elstad, Norwegian author and educator (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Dubravko Pavličić, Croatian footballer (b. 1967)
  • 2012 – Roberto Rexach Benítez, American-Puerto Rican academic and politician, 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Bengt Blomgren, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Noboru Yamaguchi, Japanese author (b. 1972)
  • 2014 – İsmet Atlı, Turkish wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Wayne Henderson, American trombonist and producer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean soldier and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Curtis Bill Pepper, American journalist and author (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Muhammad Qutb, Egyptian author and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
  • 2015 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Donald N. Levine, American sociologist and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances on April 4

  • Children’s Day (Hong Kong, Taiwan)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedict the Moor
    • Gaetano Catanoso
    • Isidore of Seville
    • Martin Luther King Jr. (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Reginald Heber (Anglican Church of Canada)
    • Tigernach of Clones
    • April 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France (1960).
  • Peace Day (Angola)[15]
  • One of the possible days for Qingming Festival.

April 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

It is the last day of the first quarter of the year.

March 31 in History

  • 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian.
  • 1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.
  • 1492 – Queen Isabella of Castile issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.
  • 1561 – The city of San Cristóbal, Táchira is founded.
  • 1717 – A sermon on “The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ” by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, preached in the presence of King George I of Great Britain, provokes the Bangorian Controversy.
  • 1774 – American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.
  • 1854 – Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
  • 1885 – The United Kingdom establishes the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
  • 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.
  • 1899 – Malolos, capital of the First Philippine Republic, is captured by American forces.
  • 1906 – The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for college sports in the United States.
  • 1909 – Serbia formally withdraws its opposition to Austro-Hungarian actions in the Bosnian Crisis.
  • 1913 – The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of modernist music by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Anton von Webern, causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the Skandalkonzert.
  • 1917 – According to the terms of the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, the islands become American possessions.
  • 1918 – Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis is committed by allied armed groups of Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims are killed.
  • 1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
  • 1921 – The Royal Australian Air Force is formed.
  • 1930 – The Motion Picture Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.
  • 1931 – An earthquake in Nicaragua destroys Managua; killing 2,000.
  • 1931 – A Transcontinental & Western Air airliner crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.
  • 1933 – The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the United States.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Christmas Island, then a British possession.
  • 1945 – World War II: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world’s first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.
  • 1949 – The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.
  • 1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
  • 1957 – Elections to the Territorial Assembly of the French colony Upper Volta are held. After the elections PDU and MDV form a government.
  • 1958 – In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.
  • 1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.
  • 1964 – Brazilian General Olímpio Mourão Filho orders his troops to move towards Rio de Janeiro, beginning the coup d’état.
  • 1966 – The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.
  • 1968 – American President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation of “Steps to Limit the War in Vietnam” in a television address. At the conclusion of his speech, he announces: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”
  • 1970 – Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.
  • 1980 – The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.
  • 1985 – The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  • 1990 – Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.
  • 1991 – Georgian independence referendum: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.
  • 1992 – The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.
  • 1992 – The Treaty of Federation is signed in Moscow.
  • 1995 – TAROM Flight 371, an Airbus A310-300, crashes near Balotesti, Romania, killing all 60 people on board.
  • 1995 – Selena is murdered by her fan club’s president Yolanda Saldívar at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas after accusations of Saldívar embezzling money from Selena’s fan club.
  • 1998 – Netscape releases Mozilla source code under an open source license.
  • 2004 – Iraq War in Anbar Province: In Fallujah, Iraq, four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed after being ambushed.
  • 2018 – Start of the 2018 Armenian revolution.

Births on March 31

  • 1360 – Philippa of Lancaster (d. 1415)
  • 1499 – Pope Pius IV (d. 1565)
  • 1504 – Guru Angad, Indian religious leader (d. 1552)
  • 1519 – Henry II of France (d. 1559)
  • 1536 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shōgun (d. 1565)
  • 1596 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1650)
  • 1601 – Jakov Mikalja, Italian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1654)
  • 1621 – Andrew Marvell, English poet and politician (d. 1678)
  • 1651 – Charles II, Elector Palatine, German husband of Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark (d. 1685)
  • 1675 – Pope Benedict XIV (d. 1758)
  • 1718 – Mariana Victoria of Spain (d. 1781)
  • 1723 – Frederick V of Denmark (d. 1766)
  • 1730 – Étienne Bézout, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1783)
  • 1732 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1809)
  • 1740 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (d. 1849)
  • 1747 – Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, German pianist and composer (d. 1800)
  • 1777 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (d. 1859)
  • 1778 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist and ornithologist (d. 1858)
  • 1794 – Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1852)
  • 1809 – Edward FitzGerald, English poet and translator (d. 1883)
  • 1809 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (d. 1852)
  • 1809 – Otto Lindblad, Swedish composer (d. 1864)
  • 1813 – Félix María Zuloaga, Mexican general and unconstitutional interim president (1858 and 1860–1862) (d. 1898)
  • 1819 – Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (d. 1901)
  • 1823 – Mary Boykin Chesnut, American author (d. 1886)
  • 1833 – Mary Abigail Dodge, American writer and essayist (d. 1896)
  • 1835 – John La Farge, American artist (d. 1910)
  • 1847 – Hermann de Pourtalès, Swiss sailor (d. 1904)
  • 1847 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1878)
  • 1851 – Francis Bell, Jewish New Zealand lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)
  • 1855 – Alfred E. Hunt, American businessman (d. 1899)
  • 1859 – Emil Fenyvessy, Hungarian actor and screenwriter (d. 1924)
  • 1865 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, Indian physician (d. 1887)
  • 1871 – Arthur Griffith, Irish journalist and politician, 3rd President of Dáil Éireann (d. 1922)
  • 1872 – Sergei Diaghilev, Russian ballet manager and critic, founded the Ballets Russes (d. 1929)
  • 1874 – Benjamín G. Hill, Mexican revolutionary general, governor of Sonora (d. 1920)
  • 1874 – Henri Marteau, French violinist and composer (d. 1934)
  • 1876 – Borisav Stanković, Serbian author (d. 1927)
  • 1878 – Jack Johnson, American boxer (d. 1946)
  • 1884 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (d. 1946)
  • 1885 – Pascin, Sephardi Jewish Bulgarian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
  • 1890 – Ben Adams, American jumper (d. 1961)
  • 1890 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
  • 1891 – Victor Varconi, Hungarian-American actor and director (d. 1976)
  • 1893 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1954)
  • 1893 – Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt, German physician and historian (d. 1982)
  • 1895 – Vardis Fisher, American author and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1900 – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (d. 1974)
  • 1905 – Robert Stevenson, English director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1905 – George Treweek, Australian rugby league player (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
  • 1908 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (d. 1999)
  • 1911 – Freddie Green, American guitarist (d. 1987)
  • 1911 – Elisabeth Grümmer, German soprano (d. 1986)
  • 1912 – William Lederer, American soldier and author (d. 2009)
  • 1913 – Etta Baker, African-American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1914 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Dagmar Lange, Swedish author (d. 1991)
  • 1915 – Albert Hourani, English historian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1915 – Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese sergeant (d. 1997)
  • 1916 – Lucille Bliss, American voice actress (d. 2012)
  • 1916 – Tommy Bolt, American golfer (d. 2008)
  • 1916 – John H. Wood, Jr., American lawyer and judge (d. 1979)
  • 1917 – Dorothy DeLay, American violinist and educator (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Ted Post, American director (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Frank Akins, American football player (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, British aristocrat, socialite and author (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Lowell Fulson, African-American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Peggy Rea, American actress and casting director (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Patrick Magee, Irish actor (d. 1982)
  • 1923 – Don Barksdale, American basketball player (d. 1993)
  • 1923 – François Sermon, Belgian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1924 – Charles Guggenheim, American director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Jean Coutu, Canadian actor and director (d. 1999)
  • 1926 – John Fowles, English novelist (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Beni Montresor, Italian director, set designer, author, and illustrator (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Rocco Petrone, American colonel and engineer (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Cesar Chavez, American labor union leader and activist (d. 1993)
  • 1927 – William Daniels, American actor
  • 1927 – Eduardo Martínez Somalo, Spanish cardinal
  • 1927 – Vladimir Ilyushin, Russian pilot (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Elmer Diedtrich, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Bud MacPherson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1988)
  • 1928 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
  • 1928 – Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
  • 1929 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-American fashion designer, founded Liz Claiborne Inc. (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Bert Fields, American lawyer and author
  • 1930 – Yehuda Nir, Polish Jewish-American psychiatrist (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Jim Mutscheller, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Miller Barber, American golfer (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Tamara Tyshkevich, Belarusian shot putter (d. 1997)
  • 1932 – John Jakes, American author
  • 1932 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Anita Carter, American singer-songwriter and bassist (d. 1999)
  • 1933 – Nichita Stănescu, Romanian poet (d. 1983)
  • 1934 – Richard Chamberlain, American actor
  • 1934 – Shirley Jones, American actress and singer
  • 1934 – John D. Loudermilk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
  • 1934 – Carlo Rubbia, Italian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1934 – Kamala Surayya, Indian poet and author (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Herb Alpert, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer
  • 1935 – Judith Rossner, Jewish-American author (d. 2005)
  • 1936 – Marge Piercy, American poet and novelist
  • 1936 – Walter E. Williams, American economist and academic
  • 1938 – Patrick Bateson, English biologist and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1938 – Sheila Dikshit, Indian politician, 22nd Governor of Kerala (d. 2019)
  • 1938 – Antje Gleichfeld, German runner
  • 1938 – Bill Hicke, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Tõnno Lepmets, Estonian basketball player (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Arthur B. Rubinstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1938 – David Steel, Scottish academic and politician
  • 1939 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Georgian anthropologist and politician, 1st President of Georgia (d. 1993)
  • 1939 – Israel Horovitz, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Walker David Miller, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Volker Schlöndorff, German director and producer
  • 1939 – Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, German footballer
  • 1940 – Brian Ackland-Snow, English production designer and art director (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Barney Frank, American lawyer and politician
  • 1940 – Patrick Leahy, American lawyer and politician
  • 1941 – Franco Bonvicini, Italian author and illustrator (d. 1995)
  • 1941 – Faith Leech, Australian swimmer (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Ulla Hoffmann, Swedish politician
  • 1942 – Hugh McCracken, American guitarist and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Michael Savage, far-right American radio host and author
  • 1943 – Roy Andersson, Swedish director and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Deirdre Clancy, English costume designer
  • 1943 – Christopher Walken, American actor
  • 1944 – Pascal Danel, French singer-songwriter
  • 1944 – Angus King, American politician
  • 1944 – Mick Ralphs, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Edwin Catmull, American computer scientist and engineer
  • 1945 – Gabe Kaplan, American actor and comedian
  • 1945 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress (d. 1995)
  • 1946 – Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1984)
  • 1946 – Bob Russell, English politician
  • 1947 – Augustin Banyaga, Rwandan-American mathematician and academic
  • 1947 – Wendy Overton, American tennis player
  • 1947 – Kristian Blak, Danish-Faroese pianist, composer, and producer
  • 1947 – Don Foster, English academic and politician
  • 1947 – César Gaviria, Colombian economist and politician, 36th President of Colombia
  • 1947 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and economist (d. 2011)
  • 1948 – Gary Doer, Canadian politician and diplomat, 20th Premier of Manitoba
  • 1948 – Al Gore, American soldier and politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1948 – Rhea Perlman, American actress
  • 1948 – Gustaaf Van Cauter, Belgian cyclist
  • 1949 – Gilles Gilbert, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1950 – András Adorján, Hungarian chess player and author
  • 1950 – Ed Marinaro, American football player and actor
  • 1950 – Sandra Morgen, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1953 – Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1955 – Svetozar Marović, President of Serbia and Montenegro
  • 1955 – Angus Young, Scottish-Australian guitarist and songwriter
  • 1957 – Alan Duncan, English businessman and politician, former Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
  • 1959 – Markus Hediger, Swiss poet and translator
  • 1959 – Anita Dillen, Dutch socialite and member of wealthy Dillen family, niece of Cor Dillen, Coen Dillen
  • 1961 – Ron Brown, American sprinter and football player
  • 1961 – Howard Gordon, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1962 – Olli Rehn, Finnish footballer and politician
  • 1963 – Paul Mercurio, Australian actor and dancer
  • 1964 – Mark Hoban, English accountant and politician
  • 1965 – Tom Barrasso, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Patty Fendick, American tennis player and coach
  • 1965 – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer (d. 2006)
  • 1965 – William McNamara, American actor and producer
  • 1965 – Steven T. Seagle, American author and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Roger Black, English runner and journalist
  • 1966 – Nick Firestone, American race car driver
  • 1968 – César Sampaio, Brazilian footballer
  • 1969 – Nyamko Sabuni, Burundian-Swedish politician
  • 1969 – Steve Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Alenka Bratušek, Slovenian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Slovenia
  • 1971 – Demetris Assiotis, Cypriot footballer
  • 1971 – Martin Atkinson, English footballer and referee
  • 1971 – Pavel Bure, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Craig McCracken, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor
  • 1972 – Alejandro Amenábar, Chilean-Spanish director and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Andrew Bowen, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Luca Gentili, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Evan Williams, American businessman, co-founded Twitter and Pyra Labs
  • 1973 – Christopher Hampson, English ballet dancer and choreographer
  • 1974 – Benjamin Eicher, German director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Natali, Russian singer, composer and songwriter
  • 1974 – Stefan Olsdal, Swedish bass player
  • 1974 – Jani Sievinen, Finnish swimmer
  • 1975 – Adam Green, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Nathan Grey, Australian rugby player and coach
  • 1975 – Cameron Murray, Scottish rugby player
  • 1975 – Ryan Rupe, American baseball player
  • 1976 – Howard Frier, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Igors Sļesarčuks, Latvian-Russian footballer
  • 1976 – Graeme Smith, Scottish swimmer
  • 1977 – Toshiya, Japanese bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1977 – Garth Tander, Australian race car driver
  • 1978 – Michael Clark, Australian cricketer and footballer
  • 1978 – Stephen Clemence, English footballer, midfeider and manager
  • 1978 – Jarrod Cooper, American football player
  • 1978 – Jérôme Rothen, French footballer
  • 1979 – Omri Afek, Israeli footballer
  • 1979 – Euan Burton, Scottish martial artist and coach
  • 1979 – Alexis Ferrero, Argentinian footballer
  • 1979 – Charlie Manning, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Jonna Mendes, American skier
  • 1979 – Rhys Wesser, Australian rugby league player
  • 1980 – Martin Albrechtsen, Danish footballer
  • 1980 – Karolina Lassbo, Swedish lawyer and blogger
  • 1980 – Matias Concha, Swedish footballer
  • 1980 – Kate Micucci, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1980 – Michael Ryder, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Ryan Bingham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Thomas Chatelle, Belgian footballer
  • 1981 – Han Tae-you, South Korean footballer
  • 1981 – Pa Dembo Touray, Gambian footballer
  • 1981 – Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch swimmer
  • 1982 – Tal Ben Haim, Israeli footballer
  • 1982 – Bam Childress, American football player
  • 1982 – Audrey Kawasaki, American painter
  • 1983 – Hashim Amla, South African cricketer
  • 1983 – Ashleigh Ball, Canadian voice actress and musician
  • 1983 – Sophie Hunger, Swiss-German musician
  • 1983 – Vlasios Maras, Greek gymnast
  • 1983 – Nigel Plum, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – David Clarkson, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Eddie Johnson, American soccer player
  • 1984 – James Jones, American football player
  • 1984 – Martins Dukurs, Latvian sled racer
  • 1984 – Kaie Kand, Estonian heptathlete
  • 1984 – Alberto Junior Rodríguez, Peruvian footballer
  • 1984 – Ed Williamson, English rugby player
  • 1985 – Steve Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Jo-Lonn Dunbar, American football player
  • 1985 – Jesper Hansen, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Ivan Mishyn, Ukrainian race car driver
  • 1985 – Kory Sheets, American football player
  • 1985 – Jalmar Sjöberg, Swedish wrestler
  • 1986 – Andreas Dober, Austrian footballer
  • 1986 – James King, Scottish rugby player
  • 1986 – Paulo Machado, Portuguese footballer
  • 1987 – Nordin Amrabat, Dutch footballer
  • 1987 – Hugo Ayala, Mexican footballer
  • 1987 – Amaury Bischoff, Portuguese footballer
  • 1987 – Humpy Koneru, Indian chess player
  • 1987 – Kirill Starkov, Danish ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Nelli Zhiganshina, Russian figure skater
  • 1988 – Thomas De Corte, Belgian footballer
  • 1988 – Conrad Sewell, Australian singer and songwriter
  • 1988 – Dorin Dickerson, American football player
  • 1988 – DeAndre Liggins, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Louis van der Westhuizen, Namibian cricketer
  • 1989 – Alberto Martín Romo García Adámez, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Nejc Vidmar, Slovenian footballer
  • 1989 – Liu Zige, Chinese swimmer
  • 1990 – George Iloka, American football player
  • 1990 – Sandra Roma, Swedish tennis player
  • 1990 – Bang Yong-guk, South Korean rapper
  • 1991 – Milan Milanović, Serbian footballer
  • 1991 – Rodney Sneijder, Dutch footballer
  • 1992 – Stijn de Looijer, Dutch footballer
  • 1992 – Adam Zampa, Australian cricketer
  • 1993 – Mikael Ishak, Swedish footballer
  • 1994 – Samira Asghari, Afghan member of the International Olympic Committee
  • 1994 – Tyler Wright, Australian surfer
  • 1994 – Mads Würtz Schmidt, Danish road cyclist
  • 1995 – Fiona Brown, footballer
  • 1998 – Jakob Chychrun, American-born Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1999 – Japhet Tanganga, English footballer

Deaths on March 31

  • 32 BC – Titus Pomponius Atticus, Roman nobleman of the Equestrian order (b. 109 BC)
  • 528 – Xiaoming, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 510)
  • 963 – Abu Ja’far Ahmad ibn Muhammad, Saffarid emir (b. 906)
  • 1241 – Pousa, voivode of Transylvania
  • 1251 – William of Modena, Italian bishop and diplomat
  • 1340 – Ivan I of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1288)
  • 1342 – Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, Italian Augustinian monk
  • 1462 – Isidore II of Constantinople, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 1491 – Bonaventura Tornielli, Italian Roman Catholic priest (b. 1411)
  • 1547 – Francis I, French king (b. 1494)
  • 1567 – Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1504)
  • 1621 – Philip III, Spanish king (b. 1578)
  • 1622 – Gonzalo Méndez de Canço, Royal Governor of La Florida (b. 1554)
  • 1631 – John Donne, English lawyer and poet (b. 1572)
  • 1671 – Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (b. 1637)
  • 1723 – Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, English soldier and politician, 14th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1661)
  • 1741 – Pieter Burman the Elder, Dutch scholar and author (b. 1668)
  • 1751 – Frederick, Prince of Wales, Hanoverian-born heir to the British throne (b. 1707)better source needed
  • 1797 – Olaudah Equiano, Nigerian merchant, author, and activist (b.1745)
  • 1837 – John Constable, English painter and educator (b. 1776)
  • 1850 – John C. Calhoun, American lawyer and politician, 7th Vice President of the United States (b. 1782)
  • 1855 – Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1816)
  • 1877 – Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1801)
  • 1880 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1835)
  • 1885 – Franz Abt, German composer and conductor (b. 1819)
  • 1907 – Galusha A. Grow, American lawyer and politician, 28th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1823)
  • 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet, essayist and art critic (b. 1856)
  • 1913 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier (b. 1837)
  • 1915 – Wyndham Halswelle, English-Scottish runner and captain (b. 1882)
  • 1917 – Emil von Behring, German physiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
  • 1924 – George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (b. 1855)
  • 1927 – Kang Youwei, Chinese scholar and political reformer (b. 1858)
  • 1930 – Ludwig Schüler, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1836)
  • 1931 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (b. 1888)
  • 1935 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman and diplomat, founded Prince Matchabelli perfume (b. 1885)
  • 1939 – Ioannis Tsangaridis, Greek general (b. 1887)
  • 1944 – Mineichi Koga, Japanese admiral (b. 1885)
  • 1945 – Frank Findlay, New Zealand banker and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1945 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
  • 1950 – Robert Natus, Estonian architect (b. 1890)
  • 1952 – Wallace H. White, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1956 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-American race car driver and actor (b. 1884)
  • 1968 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (b. 1885)
  • 1970 – Semyon Timoshenko, Soviet Commander during the Winter War and the Eastern Front of World War II (b. 1894)
  • 1975 – Percy Alliss, English golfer (b. 1897)
  • 1976 – Paul Strand, American photographer and director (b. 1890)
  • 1978 – Astrid Allwyn, American actress (b. 1905)
  • 1978 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (b. 1899)
  • 1980 – Vladimír Holan, Czech poet and author (b. 1905)
  • 1980 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (b. 1913)
  • 1981 – Enid Bagnold, English author and playwright (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Christina Stead, Australian author and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1986 – Jerry Paris, American actor and director (b. 1925)
  • 1988 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908)
  • 1993 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1965)
  • 1993 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1995 – Selena, American singer-songwriter (b. 1971)
  • 1996 – Dante Giacosa, Italian automobile designer and engineer (b. 1905)
  • 1996 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
  • 1998 – Bella Abzug, American lawyer, activist, and politician (b. 1920)
  • 1998 – Tim Flock, American race car driver (b. 1924)
  • 1998 – Joel Ryce-Menuhin, American pianist (b. 1933)
  • 1999 – Yuri Knorozov, Russian linguist and ethnographer (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – David Rocastle, English footballer (b. 1967)
  • 2001 – Clifford Shull, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
  • 2002 – Barry Took, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2002 – Moturu Udayam, Indian activist and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2003 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Anne Gwynne, American actress (b. 1918)
  • 2003 – Tommy Seebach, Danish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1949)
  • 2004 – Scott Helvenston, American soldier (b. 1965)
  • 2005 – Stanley J. Korsmeyer, American oncologist and academic (b. 1951)
  • 2005 – Justiniano Montano, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 2005 – Frank Perdue, American businessman (b. 1920)
  • 2006 – Jackie McLean, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Paul Watzlawick, Austrian-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Jules Dassin, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1911)
  • 2008 – Bill Keightley, American equipment manager (b. 1926)
  • 2009 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (b. 1927)
  • 2009 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (b. 1911)
  • 2011 – Gil Clancy, American boxer and trainer (b. 1922)
  • 2011 – Alan Fitzgerald, Australian journalist and author (b. 1935)
  • 2011 – Mary Greyeyes, the first First Nations woman to join the Canadian Armed Forces (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Oddvar Hansen, Norwegian footballer and coach (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Ishbel MacAskill, Scottish singer and actress (b. 1941)
  • 2011 – Henry Taub, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Judith Adams, New Zealand-Australian nurse and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Dale R. Corson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Bernard O. Gruenke, American stained glass artist (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Jerry Lynch, American baseball player (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Alberto Sughi, Italian painter (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Halbert White, American economist and academic (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Charles Amarin Brand, French archbishop (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Ernie Bridge, Australian singer and politician (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Bob Clarke, American illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Ahmad Sayyed Javadi, Iranian lawyer and politician, Iranian Minister of Interior (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Dmitri Uchaykin, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1980)
  • 2014 – Gonzalo Anes, Spanish economist, historian, and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Roger Somville, Belgian painter (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Cocoa Fujiwara, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1983)
  • 2015 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Dalibor Vesely, Czech-English historian, author, and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2016 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (b. 1950)
  • 2016 – Imre Kertész, Hungarian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
  • 2016 – Denise Robertson, British writer and television broadcaster (b. 1932)
  • 2017 – Gilbert Baker, American artist and LGBT rights activist (b. 1951)
  • 2017 – James Rosenquist, American artist (b. 1933)
  • 2019 – Nipsey Hussle, American rapper (b. 1985)

Holidays and observances on March 31

  • Cesar Chavez Day (United States)
  • Christian feast day
    • Abdas of Susa
    • Acathius of Melitene (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Anesius and companions
    • Benjamin
    • Balbina
    • John Donne (Anglican Communion, Lutheran)
    • March 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijan)
  • Freedom Day (Malta)
  • International Transgender Day of Visibility
  • King Nangklao Memorial Day (Thailand)
  • Thomas Mundy Peterson Day (New Jersey, United States)
  • Transfer Day (US Virgin Islands)
  • World Backup Day

March 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro-Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
  • 1282 – The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
  • 1296 – Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
  • 1699 – Guru Gobind Singh establishes the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
  • 1815 – Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation which would later inspire Italian unification.
  • 1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is “depolarized” by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.
  • 1822 – The Florida Territory is created in the United States.
  • 1841 – The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens.
  • 1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.
  • 1844 – One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
  • 1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
  • 1856 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
  • 1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium.
  • 1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece.
  • 1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
  • 1870 – Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction.
  • 1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empire.
  • 1899 – German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.
  • 1912 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
  • 1918 – Outburst of bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate.
  • 1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h).
  • 1940 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.
  • 1944 – World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria.
  • 1944 – Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna; Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.
  • 1949 – Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
  • 1959 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
  • 1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
  • 1976 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day.
  • 1979 – Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
  • 1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.
  • 1982 – Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
  • 2002 – 2002 Lyon car attack takes place.
  • 2009 – Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan.
  • 2017 – SpaceX conducts the world’s first reflight of an orbital class rocket.

Births on March 30

  • 892 – Shi Jingtang, founder of the Later Jin Dynasty (d. 942)
  • 1135 – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (April 6 also proposed, d. 1204)
  • 1326 – Ivan II of Moscow (d. 1359)
  • 1432 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (d. 1481)
  • 1510 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer and organist (d. 1566)
  • 1551 – Salomon Schweigger, German theologian (d. 1622)
  • 1606 – Vincentio Reinieri, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1647)
  • 1632 – John Proctor, farmer hanged for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials (d. 1692)
  • 1640 – John Trenchard, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1695)
  • 1727 – Tommaso Traetta, Italian composer and educator (d. 1779)
  • 1746 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and sculptor (d. 1828)
  • 1750 – John Stafford Smith, English organist and composer (d. 1836)
  • 1793 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1877)
  • 1805 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist and botanist (d. 1887)
  • 1811 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (d. 1899)
  • 1820 – Anna Sewell, English author (d. 1878)
  • 1820 – James Whyte, Scottish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1882)
  • 1844 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (d. 1896)
  • 1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (d. 1890)
  • 1853 – Arnoldo Sartorio, German composer, pianist, and teacher (d. 1936)
  • 1857 – Léon Charles Thévenin, French engineer (d. 1926)
  • 1858 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (d. 1941)
  • 1863 – Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1930)
  • 1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
  • 1874 – Charles Lightoller, English 2nd officer on the RMS Titanic (d. 1952)
  • 1874 – Josiah McCracken, American hammer thrower, shot putter, and football player (d. 1962)
  • 1874 – Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
  • 1875 – Thomas Xenakis, Greek-American gymnast (d. 1942)
  • 1879 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (d. 1954)
  • 1880 – Seán O’Casey, Irish dramatist, playwright, and memoirist (d. 1964)
  • 1882 – Melanie Klein, Jewish Austrian-English psychologist and author (d. 1960)
  • 1888 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-born cartoonist (d. 1957)
  • 1891 – Chunseong, Korean monk, writer and philosopher (d. 1977)
  • 1892 – Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1945)
  • 1892 – Fortunato Depero, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1960)
  • 1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972)
  • 1892 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (d. 1918)
  • 1892 – Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1894 – Tommy Green, English race walker (d. 1975)
  • 1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Aircraft Company (d. 1977)
  • 1895 – Jean Giono, French author and poet (d. 1970)
  • 1895 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (d. 1975)
  • 1895 – Charlie Wilson, English footballer (d. 1971)
  • 1899 – Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Indian author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
  • 1902 – Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (d. 2007)
  • 1902 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and composer (d. 1969)
  • 1903 – Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Ripper Collins, American baseball player and coach (d. 1970)
  • 1905 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (d. 1927)
  • 1905 – Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1905 – Albert Pierrepoint, English hangman (d. 1992)
  • 1907 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1911 – Ekrem Akurgal, Turkish archaeologist and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1912 – Jack Cowie, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (d. 2004)
  • 1913 – Marc Davis, American animator (d. 2000)
  • 1913 – Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2002)
  • 1913 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (d. 2012)
  • 1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson I, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1948)
  • 1915 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1917 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1995)
  • 1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (d. 1996)
  • 1919 – Robin M. Williams, New Zealand mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – André Fontaine, French historian and journalist (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Turhan Bey, American actor (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Arthur Wightman, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet and playwright (d. 1986)
  • 1926 – Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman, founded IKEA (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Wally Grout, Australian cricketer (d. 1968)
  • 1928 – Robert Badinter, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice
  • 1928 – Colin Egar, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2008)
  • 1928 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Richard Dysart, American actor (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – John Astin, American actor
  • 1930 – Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1933 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Paul Crouch, American broadcaster, co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and academic, designed Haas House (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Karl Berger, German pianist and composer
  • 1935 – Willie Galimore, American football player (d. 1964)
  • 1935 – Gordon Mumma, American composer
  • 1937 – Warren Beatty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1937 – Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth, English businessman
  • 1938 – John Barnhill, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer, founded the World Economic Forum
  • 1940 – Norman Gifford, English cricketer
  • 1940 – Jerry Lucas, American basketball player and educator
  • 1940 – Hans Ragnemalm, Swedish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Graeme Edge, English singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1941 – Ron Johnston, English geographer and academic
  • 1941 – Wasim Sajjad, Pakistani lawyer and politician, President of Pakistan
  • 1941 – Bob Smith, American soldier and politician
  • 1942 – Ruben Kun, Nauruan lawyer and politician, 14th President of Nauru (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Tane Norton, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1942 – Kenneth Welsh, Canadian actor
  • 1943 – Jay Traynor, American pop and doo-wop singer (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Mark Wylea Erwin, American businessman and diplomat
  • 1944 – Brian Wilshire, Australian radio host
  • 1945 – Eric Clapton, English guitarist and singer-songwriter
  • 1947 – Dick Roche, Irish politician, Minister of State for European Affairs
  • 1947 – Terje Venaas, Norwegian bassist
  • 1948 – Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham, English computer programmer and politician
  • 1948 – Eddie Jordan, Irish racing driver and team owner, founded Jordan Grand Prix
  • 1948 – Mervyn King, English economist and academic
  • 1948 – Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, American rock singer
  • 1949 – Liza Frulla, Canadian talk show host and politician, 3rd Minister of Canadian Heritage
  • 1949 – Dana Gillespie, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1949 – Naomi Sims, American model and author (d. 2009)
  • 1950 – Janet Browne, English-American historian and academic
  • 1950 – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor
  • 1950 – Grady Little, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1950 – Warren Snowdon, Australian educator and politician, 39th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
  • 1951 – Paul Da Vinci, English singer-songwriter
  • 1952 – Stuart Dryburgh, English-New Zealand cinematographer
  • 1952 – Peter Knights, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1955 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
  • 1956 – Bill Butler, Scottish educator and politician
  • 1956 – Juanito Oiarzabal, Spanish mountaineer
  • 1956 – Shahla Sherkat, Iranian journalist and author
  • 1957 – Marie-Christine Koundja, Chadian author and diplomat
  • 1957 – Paul Reiser, American actor and comedian
  • 1958 – Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor and stand-up comedian
  • 1958 – Joey Sindelar, American golfer
  • 1959 – Martina Cole, English television host and author
  • 1960 – Laurie Graham, Canadian skier
  • 1960 – Bill Johnson, American skier (d. 2016)
  • 1961 – Mike Thackwell, New Zealand racing driver
  • 1961 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1999)
  • 1962 – Mark Begich, American politician
  • 1962 – MC Hammer, American rapper and actor
  • 1962 – Gary Stevens, English international footballer, defender and manager
  • 1963 – Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Mongolian journalist and politician, 4th President of Mongolia
  • 1963 – Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer and conductor
  • 1963 – Panagiotis Tsalouchidis, Greek footballer
  • 1964 – Vlado Bozinovski, Macedonian-Australian footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Piers Morgan, English journalist and talk show host
  • 1966 – Efstratios Grivas, Greek chess player and author
  • 1966 – Dmitry Volkov, Russian swimmer
  • 1966 – Leonid Voloshin, Russian triple jumper
  • 1967 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1967 – Richard Hutten, Dutch furniture designer
  • 1967 – Julie Richardson, New Zealand tennis player
  • 1968 – Celine Dion, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Troy Bayliss, Australian motorcycle racer
  • 1970 – Tobias Hill, English poet and author
  • 1970 – Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian food/agriculture researcher and author
  • 1971 – Mari Holden, American cyclist
  • 1971 – Mark Consuelos, American actor and television personality
  • 1972 – Mili Avital, Israeli-American actress
  • 1972 – Emerson Thome, Brazilian footballer and scout
  • 1972 – Karel Poborský, Czech footballer
  • 1973 – Adam Goldstein, American keyboard player, DJ, and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1973 – Jan Koller, Czech footballer
  • 1973 – Kareem Streete-Thompson, Caymanian-American long jumper
  • 1974 – Martin Love, Australian cricketer
  • 1975 – Paul Griffen, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
  • 1976 – Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter
  • 1976 – Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish politician, Minister for Education of Denmark
  • 1977 – Abhishek Chaubey, Indian director and screenwriter
  • 1978 – Paweł Czapiewski, Polish runner
  • 1978 – Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach
  • 1978 – Bok van Blerk, South African singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1979 – Norah Jones, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1979 – Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1980 – Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer
  • 1981 – Jammal Brown, American football player
  • 1981 – Andrea Masi, Italian rugby player
  • 1982 – Mark Hudson, English footballer
  • 1982 – Philippe Mexès, French footballer
  • 1982 – Javier Portillo, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Jason Dohring, American actor
  • 1983 – Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer
  • 1984 – Mario Ančić, Croatian tennis player
  • 1984 – Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player
  • 1985 – Giacomo Ricci, Italian racing driver
  • 1986 – Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Trent Barreta, American wrestler
  • 1987 – Calum Elliot, Scottish footballer
  • 1987 – Kwok Kin Pong, Hong Kong footballer
  • 1987 – Marc-Édouard Vlasic, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Will Matthews, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Thanasis Papazoglou, Greek footballer
  • 1988 – Richard Sherman, American football player
  • 1988 – Larisa Yurkiw, Canadian alpine skier
  • 1989 – Chris Sale, American baseball player
  • 1989 – João Sousa, Portuguese tennis player
  • 1990 – Thomas Rhett, American country music singer and songwriter
  • 1990 – Michal Březina, Czech figure skater
  • 1992 – Palak Muchhal, Indian playback singer
  • 1993 – Anitta, Brazilian singer and entertainer
  • 1994 – Jetro Willems, Dutch footballer
  • 1997 – Cha Eun-woo, South Korean singer and actor, A member of the South Korean boy band, Astro
  • 1998 – Kalyn Ponga, Australian rugby league player
  • 2000 – Colton Herta, American race car driver

Deaths on March 30

  • 116 – Quirinus of Neuss, Roman martyr and saint
  • 365 – Ai of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 341)
  • 943 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 889)
  • 987 – Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (b. 960)
  • 1180 – Al-Mustadi, Caliph (b. 1142)
  • 1202 – Joachim of Fiore, Italian mystic and theologian (b. 1135)
  • 1465 – Isabella of Clermont, queen consort of Naples (b. c. 1424)
  • 1472 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (b. 1435)
  • 1486 – Thomas Bourchier, English cardinal (b. 1404)
  • 1526 – Konrad Mutian, German humanist (b. 1471)
  • 1540 – Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, German cardinal (b. 1469)
  • 1559 – Adam Ries, German mathematician and academic (b. 1492)
  • 1587 – Ralph Sadler, English politician, Secretary of State for England (b. 1507)
  • 1662 – François le Métel de Boisrobert, French poet and playwright (b. 1592)
  • 1689 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish atheist and philosopher (b. 1634)
  • 1707 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French general and engineer (b. 1633)
  • 1764 – Pietro Locatelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1695)
  • 1783 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist and physician (b. 1718)
  • 1804 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1718)
  • 1806 – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (b. 1757)
  • 1830 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1763)
  • 1840 – Beau Brummell, English-French fashion designer (b. 1778)
  • 1842 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (b. 1755)
  • 1864 – Louis Schindelmeisser, German clarinet player, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
  • 1873 – Bénédict Morel, Austrian-French psychiatrist and physician (b. 1809)
  • 1879 – Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (b. 1815)
  • 1886 – Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian judge and politician, 6th Premier of Quebec (b. 1838)
  • 1896 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1832)
  • 1912 – Karl May, German author (b. 1842)
  • 1925 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and author (b. 1861)
  • 1935 – Romanos Melikian, Armenian composer (b. 1883)
  • 1936 – Conchita Supervía, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1895)
  • 1940 – Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet Scottish soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1876)
  • 1943 – Jan Bytnar, Polish lieutenant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1921)
  • 1943 – Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish sergeant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1920)
  • 1945 – Béla Balogh, Hungarian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
  • 1949 – Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
  • 1949 – Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricketer (b. 1909)
  • 1950 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
  • 1952 – Jigme Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1905)
  • 1955 – Harl McDonald, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1899)
  • 1956 – Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English author and poet (b. 1875)
  • 1959 – Daniil Andreyev, Russian mystic and poet (b. 1906)
  • 1959 – John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (b. 1894)
  • 1959 – Riccardo Zanella, Italian politician (b. 1875)
  • 1960 – Joseph Haas, German composer and educator (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Philibert Jacques Melotte, English astronomer (b. 1880)
  • 1963 – Aleksandr Gauk, Russian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
  • 1964 – Nella Larsen, American nurse and author (b. 1891)
  • 1965 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
  • 1966 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (b. 1902)
  • 1966 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
  • 1966 – Erwin Piscator, German director and producer (b. 1893)
  • 1967 – Frank Thorpe, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
  • 1967 – Jean Toomer, American poet and novelist (b. 1894)
  • 1969 – Lucien Bianchi, Belgian racing driver (b. 1934)
  • 1970 – Heinrich Brüning, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1885)
  • 1972 – Mahir Çayan, Turkish politician (b. 1946)
  • 1972 – Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator (b. 1890)
  • 1973 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish pilot and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1973 – Yves Giraud-Cabantous, French racing driver (b. 1904)
  • 1975 – Peter Bamm, German journalist and author (b. 1897)
  • 1977 – Levko Revutsky, Ukrainian composer and educator (b. 1889)
  • 1978 – George Paine, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
  • 1978 – Memduh Tağmaç, Turkish general (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (b. 1916)
  • 1979 – Ray Ventura, French pianist and bandleader (b. 1908)
  • 1981 – DeWitt Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader’s Digest (b. 1889)
  • 1984 – Karl Rahner, German-Austrian priest and theologian (b. 1904)
  • 1985 – Harold Peary, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
  • 1986 – James Cagney, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
  • 1986 – John Ciardi, American poet and etymologist (b. 1916)
  • 1988 – Edgar Faure, French historian and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1908)
  • 1990 – Harry Bridges, Australian-born American activist and trade union leader (b. 1901)
  • 1992 – Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist and academic (b. 1919)
  • 1993 – S. M. Pandit, Indian painter (b. 1916)
  • 1993 – Richard Diebenkorn, American painter (b. 1922)
  • 1995 – Rozelle Claxton, American pianist (b. 1913)
  • 1995 – Tony Lock, English-Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1929)
  • 1995 – Paul A. Rothchild, American record producer (b. 1935)
  • 1996 – Hugh Falkus, English pilot and author (b. 1917)
  • 1996 – Ryoei Saito, Japanese businessman (b. 1916)
  • 2000 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (b. 1915)
  • 2002 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
  • 2002 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and lyricist (b. 1930)
  • 2003 – Michael Jeter, American actor (b. 1952)
  • 2003 – Valentin Pavlov, Russian banker and politician, 11th Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Alistair Cooke, English-American journalist and author (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Hubert Gregg, English actor and director (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Michael King, New Zealand historian and author (b. 1945)
  • 2004 – Timi Yuro, American singer and songwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2005 – Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – Milton Green, American hurdler and soldier (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Fred Korematsu, American political activist (b. 1919)
  • 2005 – O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and illustrator (b. 1930)
  • 2005 – Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian (b. 1968)
  • 2006 – Red Hickey, American football player and coach (b. 1917)
  • 2006 – John McGahern, Irish author and educator (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – John Roberts, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician, 46th Secretary of State for Canada (b. 1933)
  • 2008 – Roland Fraïssé, French mathematical logician (b. 1920)
  • 2008 – David Leslie, Scottish racing driver (b. 1953)
  • 2008 – Richard Lloyd, English racing driver (b. 1945)
  • 2008 – Dith Pran, Cambodian-American photographer and journalist (b. 1942)
  • 2010 – Jaime Escalante, Bolivian-American educator (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Martin Sandberger, German SS officer (b. 1911)
  • 2012 – Janet Anderson Perkin, Canadian baseball player and curler (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Aquila Berlas Kiani, Indian-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Francesco Mancini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1968)
  • 2012 – Granville Semmes, American businessman, founded 1-800-Flowers (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Leonid Shebarshin, Russian KGB officer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Bobby Parks, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
  • 2013 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Edith Schaeffer, Chinese-Swiss religious leader and author, co-founded L’Abri (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Bob Turley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Ray Hutchison, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Kate O’Mara, English actress (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Roger Slifer, American author, illustrator, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2018 – Bill Maynard, English actor (b. 1928)
  • 2020 – Bill Withers, American musician (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 30

  • Christian feast day:
    • Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy
    • Blessed Maria Restituta Kafka
    • John Climacus
    • Mamertinus of Auxerre
    • Quirinus of Neuss
    • Thomas Son Chasuhn, Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy (part of The Korean Martyrs)
    • Tola of Clonard
    • March 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which the first day of Hocktide can fall, while April 3 is the latest; observed on the second Monday after Easter. (Hungerford, England; popular in medieval England)
  • Land Day (Palestine)
  • National Doctors’ Day (United States)
  • Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)

March 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
  • 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.
  • 1461 – Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary stop to the Wars of the Roses.
  • 1500 – Cesare Borgia is given the title of Captain-General and Gonfalonier by his father Rodrigo Borgia after returning from his conquests in the Romagna.
  • 1549 – The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.
  • 1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
  • 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm’s Royal Opera 13 days earlier. He is succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
  • 1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
  • 1809 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d’état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland’s four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.
  • 1831 – Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.
  • 1847 – Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
  • 1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
  • 1857 – Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company’s rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
  • 1867 – Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes Canada on July 1.
  • 1871 – Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
  • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
  • 1882 – The Knights of Columbus is established.
  • 1886 – John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.
  • 1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.
  • 1927 – Sunbeam 1000hp breaks the land speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida.
  • 1930 – Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
  • 1936 – Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in the 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum.
  • 1941 – The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.
  • 1941 – World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
  • 1942 – The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.
  • 1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
  • 1945 – World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
  • 1946 – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico’s leading universities, is founded.
  • 1947 – Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
  • 1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
  • 1957 – The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
  • 1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
  • 1962 – Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina’s armed forces, ending an 11​1⁄2 day constitutional crisis.
  • 1971 – My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
  • 1973 – Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
  • 1973 – Operation Barrel Roll, a covert American bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.
  • 1974 – NASA’s Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.
  • 1974 – Terracotta Army was discovered in Shaanxi province, China.
  • 1982 – The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
  • 1984 – The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
  • 1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
  • 1993 – Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.
  • 1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.
  • 1999 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in India strikes the Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.
  • 2002 – In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
  • 2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO as full members.
  • 2010 – Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.
  • 2013 – At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
  • 2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.

Births on March 29

  • 1001 – Sokkate, king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (d. 1044)
  • 1187 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203)
  • 1373 – Marie d’Alençon, French princess (d. 1417)
  • 1517 – Carlo Carafa, Italian cardinal (d. 1561)
  • 1553 – Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1614)
  • 1561 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (d. 1636)
  • 1584 – Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (d. 1648)
  • 1602 – John Lightfoot, English priest, scholar, and academic (d. 1675)
  • 1620 – Edward Digges, English barrister and colonist
  • 1629 – Alexis of Russia, Tsar of Russia (d. 1676)
  • 1713 – John Ponsonby, Irish politician (d. 1789)
  • 1735 – Johann Karl August Musäus, German author (d. 1787)
  • 1747 – Johann Wilhelm Hässler, German pianist and composer (d. 1822)
  • 1769 – Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of France (d. 1851)
  • 1780 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish adventurer (d. 1841)
  • 1790 – John Tyler, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the United States (d. 1862)
  • 1799 – Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1869)
  • 1802 – Johann Moritz Rugendas, German landscape painter of Spanish America (d. 1858)
  • 1816 – 10th Dalai Lama (d. 1837)
  • 1824 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1899)
  • 1826 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist and politician (d. 1900)
  • 1862 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (d. 1947)
  • 1863 – Walter James, Australian politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1943)
  • 1867 – Cy Young, American baseball player and manager (d. 1955)
  • 1869 – Aleš Hrdlička, Czech-American anthropologist and scholar (d. 1943)
  • 1869 – Sir Edwin Lutyens, British architect (d. 1944)
  • 1870 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (d. 1904)
  • 1871 – Tom Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1939)
  • 1872 – Hal Colebatch, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1953)
  • 1873 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Jewish-Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1874 – Lou Henry Hoover, American wife of Herbert Hoover, 33rd First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (d. 1908)
  • 1884 – Ed Archibald, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1965)
  • 1885 – Dezső Kosztolányi, Hungarian author and poet (d. 1936)
  • 1888 – Enea Bossi, Sr., Italian-American engineer, designed the Budd BB-1 Pioneer and Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante (d. 1963)
  • 1889 – Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
  • 1889 – Howard Lindsay, American producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor (d. 1968)
  • 1890 – Bert Bliss, English international footballer, inside forward (d. 1968)
  • 1891 – Yvan Goll, French-German poet and playwright (d. 1950)
  • 1891 – Alfred Neubauer, Austrian race car driver and manager (d. 1980)
  • 1892 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1975)
  • 1893 – Astrid Holm, Danish actress (d. 1961)
  • 1895 – Ernst Jünger, German philosopher and author (d. 1998)
  • 1896 – Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (d. 1962)
  • 1899 – Lavrentiy Beria, Georgian-Russian general and politician (d. 1953)
  • 1900 – Bill Aston, English race car driver (d. 1974)
  • 1900 – John McEwen, Australian farmer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)
  • 1902 – Marcel Aymé, French author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
  • 1902 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – William Walton, English composer (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician, 14th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1999)
  • 1906 – James Bausch, American decathlete and football player (d. 1974)
  • 1907 – Braguinha, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
  • 1908 – Arthur O’Connell, American actor (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Dennis O’Keefe, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1909 – Moon Mullican, American country and western singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1967)
  • 1912 – Hanna Reitsch, German soldier and pilot (d. 1979)
  • 1914 – Phil Foster, American actor (d. 1985)
  • 1914 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Peter Geach, English philosopher and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet and politician (d. 2005)
  • 1917 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Pearl Bailey, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
  • 1918 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (d. 1991)
  • 1918 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – John M. Belk, American businessman and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Clarke Fraser, American-Canadian geneticist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Pierre Moinot, French author (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Theodore Trautwein, American lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Sam Loxton, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Betty Binns Fletcher, American lawyer and judge (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Bob Haymes, American singer-songwriter, and actor (d. 1989)
  • 1926 – Moshe Sanbar, Hungarian-Israeli banker and economist (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – John McLaughlin, American journalist and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – John Vane, English pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
  • 1928 – Romesh Bhandari, Pakistani-Indian politician, 13th Foreign Secretary of India (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Keith Botsford, Belgian-American journalist, author, and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Vincent Gigante, American boxer and mobster (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Sheila Kitzinger, English activist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist, and academic
  • 1929 – Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (d. 2006)
  • 1929 – Utpal Dutt, Indian Bengali actor, director and playwright (d. 1993)
  • 1930 – Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Mauritius
  • 1931 – Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Sopubek Begaliev, Kyrgyzstani economist and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1931 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Norman Tebbit, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • 1933 – Jacques Brault, Canadian poet and academic
  • 1934 – Shahryar Khan, Indian-Pakistani politician and diplomat, 20th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
  • 1936 – Richard Rodney Bennett, English-American composer and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Mogens Camre, Danish politician (d. 2016)
  • 1936 – John A. Durkin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Judith Guest, American author and screenwriter
  • 1936 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Smarck Michel, Haitian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
  • 1937 – Gordon Milne, English footballer
  • 1938 – Bert de Vries, Dutch politician
  • 1939 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (d. 2008)
  • 1939 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, and producer
  • 1939 – Hanumant Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Ray Davis, American bass singer (d. 2005)
  • 1940 – Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter
  • 1940 – John Suchet, English journalist and game show host
  • 1941 – Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., American astrophysicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1942 – Bob Lurtsema, American football player
  • 1942 – Scott Wilson, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1943 – Vangelis, Greek keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1943 – Chad Allan, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Eric Idle, English actor and comedian
  • 1943 – John Major, English banker and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1944 – Terry Jacks, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1944 – Denny McLain, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1944 – Lynne Segal, Australian-British feminist academic and activist
  • 1945 – Walt Frazier, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1945 – Speedy Keen, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1946 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1946 – Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician and journalist (d. 2017)
  • 1947 – Inge Bödding, German sprinter
  • 1947 – Robert Gordon, American singer and actor
  • 1947 – Bobby Kimball, American singer-songwriter
  • 1948 – Bud Cort, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1948 – Piet Souer, Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger
  • 1949 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
  • 1949 – Dave Greenfield, English musician (d. 2020)
  • 1949 – Pauline Marois, Canadian social worker and politician, 30th Premier of Quebec
  • 1949 – Keith Simpson, English historian and politician
  • 1951 – William Clarke, American harmonica player (d. 1996)
  • 1951 – Geoff Howarth, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1951 – Tina Monzon-Palma, Filipino journalist
  • 1952 – Rainer Bonhof, German footballer
  • 1952 – Russell Fairfax, Australian rugby player and coach
  • 1952 – John Hendricks, American businessman, founded Discovery Communications
  • 1952 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (d. 2012)
  • 1953 – Tõnis Palts, Estonian politician, 39th Mayor of Tallinn
  • 1955 – Earl Campbell, American football player
  • 1955 – Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor
  • 1955 – Marina Sirtis, British-American actress
  • 1956 – Patty Donahue, American singer (d. 1996)
  • 1957 – Elizabeth Hand, American author
  • 1957 – Christopher Lambert, American-born French actor
  • 1958 – Pedro Bial, Brazilian journalist and producer
  • 1958 – Travis Childers, American businessman and politician
  • 1958 – Nouriel Roubini, Turkish-American economist and academic
  • 1958 – Victor Salva, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Marc Silvestri, American publisher, founded Top Cow Productions
  • 1959 – Barry Blanchard, Canadian mountaineer
  • 1959 – Perry Farrell, American singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Brad McCrimmon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1960 – Wayne Pearce, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Gary Brabham, English-Australian race car driver
  • 1961 – Mike Kingery, American baseball player
  • 1961 – Amy Sedaris, American actress and comedian
  • 1961 – Michael Winterbottom, English director and producer
  • 1962 – Billy Beane, American baseball player and manager
  • 1962 – Ted Failon, Filipino journalist and politician
  • 1962 – Kirk Triplett, American golfer
  • 1964 – Catherine Cortez Masto, American attorney and politician
  • 1964 – Jill Goodacre, American model and actress
  • 1964 – Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress
  • 1964 – Ming Tsai, American chef and television host
  • 1965 – Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (d. 2005)
  • 1965 – William Oefelein, American commander, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1965 – Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler, long jumper, and politician
  • 1966 – Krasimir Balakov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
  • 1966 – Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch politician
  • 1966 – Eric Gunderson, American baseball player
  • 1966 – Sigrid Kirchmann, Austrian high jumper
  • 1967 – Ainars Bagatskis, Latvian basketball player and coach
  • 1967 – Michel Hazanavicius, French director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Brian Jordan, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress
  • 1969 – Kim Batten, American hurdler
  • 1969 – Shinichi Mochizuki, Japanese mathematician
  • 1969 – Jimmy Spencer, American football player and coach
  • 1971 – Robert Gibbs, American political adviser, 28th White House Press Secretary
  • 1971 – Lara Logan, South African television and radio journalist and war correspondent
  • 1971 – Hidetoshi Nishijima, Japanese actor
  • 1972 – Rui Costa, Portuguese footballer
  • 1972 – Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
  • 1972 – Alex Ochoa, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
  • 1972 – Priti Patel, British Indian politician, Secretary of State for the Home Department
  • 1973 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Sebastiano Siviglia, Italian footballer
  • 1973 – Steve Smith, English high jumper
  • 1974 – Miguel Gómez, Colombian-American photographer and educator
  • 1976 – Igor Astarloa, Spanish cyclist
  • 1976 – Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
  • 1978 – Aaron Persico, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
  • 1980 – Bill Demong, American skier
  • 1980 – Bruno Silva, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1981 – Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2018)
  • 1982 – Jēkabs Rēdlihs, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Darius Draudvila, Lithuanian decathlete
  • 1984 – Juan Mónaco, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1985 – Fernando Amorebieta, Venezuelan international footballer, central defender
  • 1985 – Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Mickey Pimentel, American football player
  • 1986 – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, English footballer
  • 1986 – Ivan Ukhov, Russian high jumper
  • 1987 – Gianluca Freddi, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Dimitri Payet, French footballer
  • 1987 – Romain Hamouma, French footballer
  • 1988 – Esther Cremer, German runner
  • 1988 – Jesús Molina, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Jürgen Zopp, Estonian tennis player
  • 1989 – James Tomkins, English footballer
  • 1990 – Carlos Peña, Mexican footballer
  • 1990 – Teemu Pukki, Finnish footballer
  • 1990 – Lyle Taylor, English footballer
  • 1991 – Irene, South Korean idol, actress and television host
  • 1991 – Fabio Borini, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – N’Golo Kanté, French footballer
  • 1993 – Thorgan Hazard, Belgian footballer

Deaths on March 29

  • 87 BC – Emperor Wu of Han of China (b. 157 BC)
  • AD 57 – Emperor Guangwu of Han (b. 5 BC)
  • 500 – Gwynllyw, Welsh king and religious figure
  • 1058 – Pope Stephen IX (b. 1020)
  • 1075 – Ottokar I of Styria, German noble
  • 1368 – Emperor Go-Murakami of Japan (b. 1328)
  • 1461 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1421)
  • 1461 – Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles
  • 1467 – Matthew Palaiologos Asen, Byzantine aristocrat and official
  • 1578 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (b. 1527)
  • 1578 – Arthur Champernowne, English admiral and politician (b. 1524)
  • 1628 – Tobias Matthew, English archbishop and academic (b. 1546)
  • 1629 – Jacob de Gheyn II, Dutch painter and engraver (b. 1565)
  • 1692 – Nicolaus Bruhns, Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer (b. 1665)
  • 1703 – George Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, (b. 1678)
  • 1751 – Thomas Coram, English captain and philanthropist, founded Foundling Hospital (b. 1668)
  • 1772 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (b. 1688)
  • 1788 – Charles Wesley, English missionary and poet (b. 1707)
  • 1792 – Gustav III of Sweden (b. 1746)
  • 1800 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French general and engineer (b. 1714)
  • 1803 – Gottfried van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian librarian and diplomat (b. 1733)
  • 1826 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (b. 1751)
  • 1829 – Cornelio Saavedra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1759)
  • 1848 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman (b. 1763)
  • 1855 – Henri Druey, Swiss politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1799)
  • 1873 – Francesco Zantedeschi, Italian priest and physicist (b. 1797)
  • 1877 – Inazuma Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 7th Yokozuna (b. 1802)
  • 1888 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French pianist and composer (b. 1813)
  • 1891 – John Plankinton, American businessman and industrialist, also noted for philanthropy (b. 1820)
  • 1891 – Georges Seurat, French painter (b. 1859)
  • 1900 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (b. 1826)
  • 1905 – William Plankinton, American businessman, industrialist and banker (b. 1843)
  • 1906 – Slava Raškaj, Croatian painter (b. 1878)
  • 1911 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (b. 1837)
  • 1912 – Henry Robertson Bowers, Scottish lieutenant and explorer (b. 1883)
  • 1912 – Robert Falcon Scott, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1868)
  • 1912 – Edward Adrian Wilson, English physician and explorer (b. 1872)
  • 1924 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1852)
  • 1934 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German-American banker and philanthropist (b. 1867)
  • 1937 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1882)
  • 1940 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian-English rugby player and soldier (b. 1916)
  • 1948 – Harry Price, English parapsychologist and author (b. 1881)
  • 1957 – Joyce Cary, Anglo-Irish novelist (b. 1888)
  • 1959 – Barthélemy Boganda, African priest and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1910)
  • 1963 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian dentist and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1898)
  • 1963 – August Rei, Estonian soldier, journalist, and politician, 12th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – Anna Louise Strong, American journalist and author (b. 1885)
  • 1971 – Dhirendranath Datta, Pakistani lawyer and politician (b. 1886)
  • 1972 – J. Arthur Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (b. 1888)
  • 1980 – Mantovani, Italian-English conductor and composer (b. 1905)
  • 1981 – Eric Williams, Trinidadian historian and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
  • 1982 – Walter Hallstein, German academic and politician, 1st President of the European Commission (b. 1901)
  • 1982 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (b. 1895)
  • 1982 – Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (b. 1897)
  • 1985 – Luther Terry, American physician and academic, 9th Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1911)
  • 1988 – Maurice Blackburn, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1914)
  • 1988 – Ted Kluszewski, American baseball player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Guy Bourdin, French photographer (b. 1928)
  • 1992 – Paul Henreid, American actor (b. 1908)
  • 1994 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 1995 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (b. 1916)
  • 1995 – Terry Moore, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
  • 1996 – Frank Daniel, Czech-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1996 – Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1944)
  • 1997 – Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt, German footballer and coach (b. 1935)
  • 1999 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1915)
  • 1999 – Joe Williams, American jazz singer (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian lawyer, academic, and explorer (b. 1899)
  • 2001 – John Lewis, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician and microbiologist (b. 1956)
  • 2004 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (b. 1905)
  • 2004 – Joel Feinberg, American philosopher and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – Salvador Elizondo, Mexican author and poet (b. 1932)
  • 2007 – Larry L’Estrange, English rugby player and soldier (b. 1934)
  • 2009 – Vladimir Fedotov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1943)
  • 2009 – Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b. 1975)
  • 2011 – Ângelo de Sousa, Portuguese painter and sculptor (b. 1938)
  • 2011 – Iakovos Kambanellis, Greek author, poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Pap Cheyassin Secka, Gambian lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Bill Jenkins, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Reginald Gray, Irish-French painter (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Brian Huggins, English-Canadian journalist and actor (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Liu Kang, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1961)
  • 2013 – Ralph Klein, Canadian journalist and politician, 12th Premier of Alberta (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Art Phillips, Canadian businessman and politician, 32nd Mayor of Vancouver (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Marc Platt, American actor and dancer (b. 1913)
  • 2014 – Ruth A. M. Schmidt, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – William Delafield Cook, Australian-English painter (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Gerry Hardstaff, English cricketer (b. 1940)
  • 2016 – Patty Duke, American actress (b. 1946)
  • 2017 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian physicist (b. 1928)
  • 2019 – Agnès Varda, French film director (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on March 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Berthold
    • Eustace of Luxeuil
    • Gwladys
    • Gwynllyw
    • Hans Nielsen Hauge (Lutheran)
    • John Keble (commemoration, Anglicanism)
    • March 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which the Octave Day of Easter can fall, while May 2 is the latest; observed on the Sunday after Easter. (Christianity)
  • Boganda Day (Central African Republic)
  • Commemoration of the 1947 Rebellion (Madagascar)
  • National Vietnam War Veterans Day (United States of America)
  • Day of the Young Combatant (Chile)
  • Youth Day (Taiwan)

March 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
  • 1329 – Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
  • 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reaches the northern end of The Bahamas on his first voyage to Florida.
  • 1625 – Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
  • 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
  • 1794 – The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
  • 1809 – Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
  • 1836 – Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacres 342 Texas POWs at Goliad, Texas.
  • 1866 – President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.
  • 1871 – The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
  • 1884 – A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
  • 1886 – Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
  • 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River.
  • 1915 – Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life.
  • 1918 – The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
  • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war’s first major Chinese victory over Japan.
  • 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.
  • 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
  • 1945 – World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan’s ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers.
  • 1958 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.
  • 1964 – The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
  • 1975 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
  • 1977 – Tenerife airport disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). Sixty-one survived on the Pan Am flight. This is the deadliest aviation accident in history.
  • 1980 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
  • 1980 – Silver Thursday: A steep fall in silver prices, resulting from the Hunt Brothers attempting to corner the market in silver, leads to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.
  • 1981 – The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.
  • 1986 – A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people.
  • 1990 – The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.
  • 1993 – Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China.
  • 1993 – Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.
  • 1998 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: An American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is shot down by a Yugoslav SAM, the first and only Nighthawk to be lost in combat.
  • 2000 – A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others.
  • 2002 – Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel.
  • 2002 – Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors; 19 other people are injured.
  • 2004 – HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
  • 2009 – The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.
  • 2014 – Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.
  • 2015 – Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead.
  • 2016 – A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
  • 2020 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO.

Births on March 27

  • 972 – Robert II, king of France (d. 1031)
  • 1401 – Albert III, duke of Bavaria (d. 1460)
  • 1416 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded Order of the Minims (d. 1507)
  • 1546 – Johannes Piscator, German theologian (d. 1625)
  • 1627 – Stephen Fox, English politician (d. 1716)
  • 1676 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
  • 1679 – Domenico Lalli, Italian poet and librettist (d. 1741)
  • 1681 – Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish-Italian cardinal (d. 1760)
  • 1702 – Johann Ernst Eberlin, German organist and composer (d. 1762)
  • 1710 – Joseph Abaco, Belgian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
  • 1712 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and author (d. 1779)
  • 1714 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian historian and theologian (d. 1795)
  • 1724 – Jane Colden, American botanist and author (d. 1766)
  • 1745 – Lindley Murray, American-English Quaker and grammarian (d. 1826)
  • 1746 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (d. 1767)
  • 1746 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican-French lawyer and politician (d. 1785)
  • 1765 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1841)
  • 1781 – Alexander Vostokov, Estonian-Russian philologist and academic (d. 1864)
  • 1784 – Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian philologist, orientalist, and author (d. 1842)
  • 1785 – Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
  • 1797 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1863)
  • 1801 – Alexander Barrow, American lawyer and politician (d. 1846)
  • 1802 – Charles-Mathias Simons, German-Luxembourger jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1874)
  • 1809 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French engineer, urban planner, and politician (d. 1891)
  • 1811 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (d. 1880)
  • 1814 – Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, anthologist, and author (d. 1889)
  • 1820 – Edward Augustus Inglefield, English admiral and explorer (d. 1894)
  • 1822 – Henri Murger, French novelist and poet (d. 1861)
  • 1824 – Virginia Minor, American women’s suffrage activist (d. 1894)
  • 1839 – John Ballance, Irish-New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1893)
  • 1843 – George Frederick Leycester Marshall, English colonel and entomologist (d. 1934)
  • 1844 – Adolphus Greely, American general and explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1935)
  • 1845 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
  • 1845 – Jakob Sverdrup, Norwegian bishop and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (d. 1899)
  • 1847 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
  • 1851 – Ruperto Chapí, Spanish composer, co-founded Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (d. 1909)
  • 1851 – Vincent d’Indy, French composer and educator (d. 1931)
  • 1852 – Jan van Beers, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1927)
  • 1854 – Giovanni Battista Grassi, Italian physician, zoologist, and entomologist (d. 1925)
  • 1855 – William Libbey, American target shooter, colonel, mountaineer, geographer, geologist, and archaeologist (d. 1927)
  • 1857 – Karl Pearson, English mathematician, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1936)
  • 1859 – George Giffen, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1927)
  • 1860 – Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)
  • 1862 – Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (d. 1938)
  • 1863 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1933)
  • 1866 – John Allan, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Victoria (d. 1936)
  • 1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946)
  • 1869 – James McNeill, Irish politician, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1938)
  • 1869 – J. R. Clynes, English trade unionist and politician, Home Secretary (d. 1949)
  • 1871 – Heinrich Mann, German author and poet (d. 1950)
  • 1871 – Joseph G. Morrison, American captain and Nazarene minister (d. 1939)
  • 1871 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician, Minister of Labour (d. 1948)
  • 1875 – Albert Marquet, French painter (d. 1947)
  • 1877 – Oscar Grégoire, Belgian water polo player and swimmer (d. 1947)
  • 1878 – Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (d. 1947)
  • 1879 – Sándor Garbai, Hungarian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1947)
  • 1879 – Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1929)
  • 1879 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourger-American painter and photographer (d. 1973)
  • 1881 – Arkady Averchenko, Russian playwright and satirist (d. 1925)
  • 1882 – Thomas Graham Brown, Scottish mountaineer and physiologist (d. 1965)
  • 1883 – Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)
  • 1884 – Gordon Thomson, English rower and lieutenant (d. 1953)
  • 1885 – Julio Lozano Díaz, Honduran accountant and politician, 40th President of Honduras (d. 1957)
  • 1885 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (d. 1961)
  • 1886 – Sergey Kirov, Russian politician (d. 1934)
  • 1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1886 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect, designed IBM Plaza and Seagram Building (d. 1969)
  • 1887 – Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (d. 1932)
  • 1888 – George Alfred Lawrence Hearne, English-South African cricketer (d. 1978)
  • 1889 – Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Harald Julin, Swedish swimmer and water polo player (d. 1967)
  • 1890 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (d. 1974)
  • 1891 – Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian novelist and playwright (d. 1974)
  • 1891 – Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Belarusian-Lithuanian architect, journalist, and diplomat, created the Flag of Belarus (d. 1959)
  • 1892 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1892 – Thorne Smith, American author (d. 1934)
  • 1893 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (d. 1947)
  • 1893 – G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1981)
  • 1893 – George Beranger, Australian-American actor and director (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – René Fonck, French colonel and pilot (d. 1953)
  • 1895 – Roland Leighton, English soldier and poet (d. 1915)
  • 1897 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1958)
  • 1897 – Fred Keating, American magician, stage and film actor (d. 1961)
  • 1899 – Francis Ponge, French poet and author (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Herbert Arthur Stuart, German-Swiss physicist and academic (d. 1974)
  • 1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (d. 1983)
  • 1901 – Carl Barks, American illustrator and screenwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1901 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
  • 1901 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
  • 1901 – Kenneth Slessor, Australian journalist and poet (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Sidney Buchman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
  • 1902 – Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1950)
  • 1905 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1935)
  • 1905 – Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German general (d. 1980)
  • 1905 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (d. 1980)
  • 1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 1969)
  • 1909 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Ben Webster, American saxophonist (d. 1973)
  • 1909 – Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1937)
  • 1910 – Ai Qing, Chinese poet and author (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (d. 1965)
  • 1912 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Theodor Dannecker, German SS officer (d. 1945)
  • 1914 – Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1915 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – Colin Rowe, English-American architect, theorist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Phil Chess, Czech-American record producer, co-founded Chess Records (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Harold Nicholas, American actor and dancer (d. 2000)
  • 1922 – Dick King-Smith, English author (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Stefan Wul, French author and surgeon (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (d. 2007)
  • 1923 – Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Louis Simpson, Jamaican-American poet, translator, and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
  • 1924 – Ian Black, Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and lawn bowls player (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Frank O’Hara, American writer (d. 1966)
  • 1927 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)
  • 1928 – Jean Dotto, French cyclist (d. 2000)
  • 1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
  • 1929 – Reg Evans, Australian actor (d. 2009)
  • 1930 – Daniel Spoerri, Romanian-Swiss photographer, writer and artist
  • 1931 – David Janssen, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1932 – Junior Parker, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1971)
  • 1932 – Bailey Olter, Micronesian politician, 3rd President of the Federated States of Micronesia (d. 1999)
  • 1933 – Lê Văn Hưng, South Vietnamese Brigadier general (d. 1975)
  • 1934 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist, author, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest and missionary (d. 1981)
  • 1935 – Julian Glover, English actor
  • 1936 – Malcolm Goldstein, American violinist and composer
  • 1937 – Alan Hawkshaw, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1939 – Jay Kim, South Korean-American engineer and politician
  • 1939 – Cale Yarborough, American race car driver and businessman
  • 1940 – Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver
  • 1940 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright
  • 1941 – Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Slovakia
  • 1941 – Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Michael Jackson, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1942 – John Sulston, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
  • 1942 – Michael York, English actor
  • 1943 – Mike Curtis, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
  • 1944 – Jesse Brown, American marine and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Bryan Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1946 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1947 – Oliver Friggieri, Maltese author, critic, poet and philosopher
  • 1947 – Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot
  • 1947 – Walt Mossberg, American journalist
  • 1948 – Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Tony Banks, English keyboardist and songwriter
  • 1950 – Petros Efthymiou, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs
  • 1950 – Maria Ewing, African-American soprano
  • 1950 – Chris Stewart, English musician and author
  • 1950 – Terry Yorath, Welsh international footballer, Midfielder and international manager
  • 1951 – Andrei Kozyrev, Belgian-Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Russia
  • 1952 – Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier
  • 1952 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
  • 1953 – Herman Ponsteen, Dutch cyclist
  • 1954 – Gerard Batten, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Patrick McCabe, Irish writer
  • 1955 – Mariano Rajoy, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
  • 1955 – Susan Neiman, Jewish American-German philosopher and author
  • 1956 – Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong activist and politician
  • 1956 – Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier
  • 1957 – Kostas Vasilakakis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Stephen Dillane, English actor
  • 1958 – Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer
  • 1959 – Andrew Farriss, Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist
  • 1960 – Hans Pflügler, German footballer
  • 1960 – Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1961 – Ellery Hanley, English rugby league player and coach
  • 1961 – Tony Rominger, Swiss professional cyclist
  • 1962 – Jann Arden, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Brett French, Australian rugby league player
  • 1962 – Rob Hollink, Dutch poker player
  • 1962 – John O’Farrell, English journalist and author
  • 1962 – Brad Wright, American-Spanish basketball player
  • 1962 – Kevin J. Anderson, American science fiction writer
  • 1963 – Cory Blackwell, American basketball player
  • 1963 – Randall Cunningham, American football player, coach, and pastor
  • 1963 – Filippos Sachinidis, Greek-Canadian economist and politician
  • 1963 – Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist
  • 1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
  • 1963 – Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter
  • 1965 – Gregor Foitek, Swiss race car driver
  • 1966 – Žarko Paspalj, Serbian basketball player
  • 1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress
  • 1968 – Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete
  • 1969 – Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Pauley Perrette, American actress
  • 1970 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
  • 1970 – Derek Aucoin, Canadian baseball player
  • 1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1970 – Brent Fitz, Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and recording artist
  • 1970 – Jarrod McCracken, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1970 – Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
  • 1970 – Uwe Rosenberg, German game designer, created Bohnanza
  • 1971 – David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
  • 1972 – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1972 – Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler
  • 1973 – Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer
  • 1974 – Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1974 – George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer
  • 1974 – Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer
  • 1975 – Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1975 – Kim Felton, Australian golfer
  • 1975 – Jeff Palmer, American gay porn actor and singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1975 – Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania
  • 1976 – Danny Fortson, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer
  • 1977 – Vítor Meira, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1978 – Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer
  • 1978 – Marius Bakken, Norwegian runner
  • 1978 – Amélie Cocheteux, French tennis player
  • 1979 – Tom Palmer, English rugby union player
  • 1979 – Mohsen Moeini, Iranian author and director
  • 1979 – Imran Tahir, Pakistani-South African cricketer
  • 1979 – Jennifer Wilson, Zimbabwean-South African field hockey player
  • 1980 – Sean Ryan, American football player
  • 1980 – Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player
  • 1980 – Maksim Shevchenko, Kazakhstani footballer
  • 1981 – Terry McFlynn, Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Akhil Kumar, Indian boxer
  • 1981 – Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish runner
  • 1981 – Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner
  • 1982 – Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer
  • 1983 – Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter
  • 1983 – Vasily Koshechkin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1984 – Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australian rugby player
  • 1984 – Ben Franks, Australian-born New Zealand rugby player
  • 1984 – Brett Holman, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Dustin Byfuglien, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Danny Vukovic, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Manuel Neuer, German footballer
  • 1987 – Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer
  • 1987 – Samuel Francis, Nigerian-Qatari sprinter
  • 1987 – Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter
  • 1987 – Buster Posey, American baseball player
  • 1988 – Jessie J, English singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer
  • 1988 – Brenda Song, American actress
  • 1988 – Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1988 – Holliday Grainger, English actress
  • 1989 – Matt Harvey, American baseball player
  • 1989 – Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player
  • 1990 – Erdin Demir, Swedish-Turkish footballer
  • 1990 – Ben Hunt, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1990 – Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer
  • 1990 – Kimbra, New Zealand musician
  • 1990 – Brodha V, Indian Rapper and Music Producer
  • 1992 – Marc Muniesa, Spanish footballer
  • 1995 – Bill Tuiloma, New Zealand footballer

Deaths on March 27

  • 710 – Rupert of Salzburg, Austrian bishop and saint (b. 660)
  • 853 – Haymo of Halberstadt, German bishop and author (b. 778)
  • 913 – Du Xiao, chancellor of Later Liang
  • 913 – Zhang empress of Later Liang
  • 916 – Alduin I, Frankish nobleman
  • 965 – Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (born c. 890)
  • 973 – Hermann Billung, Frankish lieutenant (b. 900)
  • 1045 – Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara’i, Fatimid vizier
  • 1184 – Giorgi III, King of Georgia
  • 1248 – Maud Marshal, English countess (b. 1192)
  • 1350 – Alfonso XI of Castile (b. 1312)
  • 1378 – Pope Gregory XI (b. 1336)
  • 1462 – Vasily II of Moscow (b. 1415)
  • 1472 – Janus Pannonius, Hungarian bishop and poet (b. 1434)
  • 1482 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1457)
  • 1564 – Lütfi Pasha, Turkish historian and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1488)
  • 1572 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian polymath (b. c. 1523)
  • 1598 – Theodor de Bry, Belgian-German engraver, goldsmith, and publisher (b. 1528)
  • 1613 – Sigismund Báthory (b. 1573)
  • 1615 – Margaret of Valois (b. 1553)
  • 1621 – Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian cardinal (b. 1554)
  • 1624 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (b. 1578)
  • 1625 – James VI and I of the United Kingdom (b. 1566)
  • 1635 – Robert Naunton, English politician (b. 1563)
  • 1676 – Bernardino de Rebolledo, Spanish poet, soldier, and diplomat (b. 1597)
  • 1679 – Abraham Mignon, Dutch painter (b. 1640)
  • 1697 – Simon Bradstreet, English businessman and politician, 20th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1603)
  • 1729 – Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1679)
  • 1757 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1717)
  • 1770 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (b. 1696)
  • 1848 – Gabriel Bibron, French zoologist and herpetologist (b. 1805)
  • 1849 – Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, Irish-Canadian politician, 35th Governor General of Canada (b. 1776)
  • 1850 – Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer and banker (b. 1797)
  • 1864 – Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist and academic (b. 1800)
  • 1869 – James Harper, American publisher and politician, 65th Mayor of New York City (b. 1795)
  • 1875 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, Peruvian soldier and politician, President of Peru (b. 1808)
  • 1875 – Edgar Quinet, French historian and academic (b. 1803)
  • 1878 – George Gilbert Scott, English architect, designed the Albert Memorial and St Mary’s Cathedral (b. 1811)
  • 1886 – Henry Taylor, English poet and playwright (b. 1800)
  • 1889 – John Bright, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1811)
  • 1890 – Carl Jacob Löwig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
  • 1898 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and activist (b. 1817)
  • 1900 – Joseph A. Campbell, American businessman, founded the Campbell Soup Company (b. 1817)
  • 1910 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American ichthyologist, zoologist, and engineer (b. 1835)
  • 1913 – Richard Montgomery Gano, American minister, physician, and general (b. 1830)
  • 1918 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (b. 1838)
  • 1918 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (b. 1881)
  • 1921 – Harry Barron, English general and politician, 16th Governor of Western Australia (b. 1847)
  • 1922 – Nikolay Sokolov, Russian composer and educator (b. 1859)
  • 1923 – James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (b. 1842)
  • 1925 – Carl Neumann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1832)
  • 1926 – Kick Kelly, American baseball player, manager, and umpire (b. 1856)
  • 1926 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887)
  • 1927 – Joe Start, American baseball player and manager (b. 1842)
  • 1927 – Klaus Berntsen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1844)
  • 1928 – Leslie Stuart, English organist and composer (b. 1863)
  • 1931 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (b. 1867)
  • 1934 – Francis William Reitz, South African lawyer and politician, 5th State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1844)
  • 1938 – William Stern, German-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1871)
  • 1940 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)
  • 1942 – Julio González, Catalan sculptor and painter (b. 1876)
  • 1943 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1882)
  • 1945 – Vincent Hugo Bendix, American engineer and businessman, founded Bendix Corporation (b. 1881)
  • 1945 – Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1866)
  • 1946 – Karl Groos, German psychologist and philosopher (b. 1861)
  • 1949 – Elisheva Bikhovski, Israeli-Russian poet (b. 1888)
  • 1952 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (b. 1894)
  • 1956 – Évariste Lévi-Provençal, French orientalist and historian (b. 1894)
  • 1958 – Leon C. Phillips, American lawyer and politician, 11th Governor of Oklahoma (b. 1890)
  • 1960 – Gregorio Marañón, Spanish physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1887)
  • 1967 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
  • 1968 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
  • 1968 – Vladimir Seryogin, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1922)
  • 1973 – Mikhail Kalatozov, Georgian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Eduardo Santos, Colombian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1888)
  • 1975 – Arthur Bliss, English conductor and composer (b. 1891)
  • 1976 – Georg August Zinn, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Hesse (b. 1901)
  • 1977 – Shirley Graham Du Bois, American author, playwright, and composer (b. 1896)
  • 1977 – Diana Hyland, American actress (b. 1936)
  • 1977 – Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch airline pilot (b. 1927)
  • 1978 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded the White Spot (b. 1902)
  • 1978 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey (b. 1922)
  • 1978 – Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1920)
  • 1980 – Steve Fisher, American author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Jakob Ackeret, Swiss engineer and academic (b. 1898)
  • 1982 – Fazlur Khan, Bangladeshi-American engineer and architect, designed the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower (b. 1929)
  • 1987 – William Bowers, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 1988 – Charles Willeford, American author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
  • 1989 – May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
  • 1989 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (b. 1898)
  • 1990 – Percy Beard, American hurdler and coach (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 1992 – Colin Gibson, English footballer (b. 1923)
  • 1992 – Lang Hancock, Australian businessman (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – James E. Webb, American colonel and politician, 16th Under Secretary of State (b. 1906)
  • 1993 – Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (b. 1900)
  • 1994 – Elisabeth Schmid, German archaeologist and osteologist (b. 1912)
  • 1994 – Lawrence Wetherby, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1908)
  • 1995 – René Allio, French director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 1997 – Lane Dwinell, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Ella Maillart, Swiss skier, sailor, field hockey player, and photographer (b. 1903)
  • 1998 – David McClelland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 1999 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (b. 1946)
  • 2000 – George Allen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942)
  • 2002 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
  • 2002 – Dudley Moore, English actor (b. 1935)
  • 2002 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 2003 – Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1926)
  • 2004 – Robert Merle, French author (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (b. 1913)
  • 2006 – Dan Curtis, American director and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish author (b. 1921)
  • 2006 – Rudolf Vrba, Czech Holocaust survivor and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (b. 1962)
  • 2007 – Nancy Adams, New Zealand botanist and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Dick Giordano, American illustrator (b. 1932)
  • 2011 – Clement Arrindell, Nevisian judge and politician, 1st Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist and feminist (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense and first United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Johnny Helms, American trumpet player, bandleader, and educator (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – T. Sailo, Indian soldier and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on March 27

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexander, a Pannonian soldier, martyred in 3rd century.
    • Amador of Portugal
    • Augusta of Treviso
    • Charles Henry Brent (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh
    • John of Egypt
    • Philetus
    • Romulus of Nîmes, a Benedictine abbot, martyred c. 730.
    • Rupert of Salzburg
    • Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia
    • March 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Armed Forces Day (Myanmar)
  • International whisk(e)y day
  • World Theatre Day (International)

March 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year. In the 21st century, the equinox usually occurs on March 19 or 20; it occurred on March 21 only in 2003 and 2007. The next year in which the equinox occurs on March 21 will be 2102.

March 21 in History

  • 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
  • 630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
  • 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
  • 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
  • 1188 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
  • 1556 – On the day of his execution in Oxford, former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, “And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.”
  • 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
  • 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
  • 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
  • 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
  • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
  • 1844 – The Bahá’í calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Bahá’í calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá’í Faith as the Bahá’í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
  • 1861 – Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.
  • 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
  • 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
  • 1913 – Over 360 are killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
  • 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
  • 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
  • 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.
  • 1925 – The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.
  • 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
  • 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
  • 1935 – Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
  • 1937 – Ponce massacre: Nineteen people in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police acting on orders of the US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
  • 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.
  • 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
  • 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians.
  • 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes.
  • 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
  • 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
  • 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (in California) closes.
  • 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
  • 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO.
  • 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.
  • 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.
  • 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
  • 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships
  • 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
  • 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force.
  • 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
  • 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
  • 2006 – The social media site Twitter is founded.
  • 2009 – Four police officers are shot and killed and a fifth is wounded in two shootings at Oakland, California.
  • 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others.

Births on March 21

  • 927 – Emperor Taizu of Song (d. 976)
  • 1474 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint (d. 1540)
  • 1501 – Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham, English noble (d. 1558)
  • 1521 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
  • 1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer and educator (d. 1558)
  • 1555 – John Leveson, English politician (d. 1615)
  • 1557 – Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel, English countess and poet (d. 1630)
  • 1626 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary (d. 1667)
  • 1672 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (d. 1742)
  • 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (d. 1750)
  • 1713 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (d. 1803)
  • 1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1782)
  • 1752 – Mary Dixon Kies, American inventor (d. 1837)
  • 1763 – Jean Paul, German journalist and author (d. 1825)
  • 1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1830)
  • 1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (d. 1872)
  • 1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (d. 1891)
  • 1825 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier and engineer (d. 1890)
  • 1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
  • 1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1881)
  • 1854 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1924)
  • 1857 – Alice Henry, Australian journalist and activist (d. 1943)
  • 1859 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (d. 1938)
  • 1865 – George Owen Squier, American general (d. 1934)
  • 1866 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1952)
  • 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (d. 1932)
  • 1869 – David Robertson, Scottish-English golfer and rugby player (d. 1937)
  • 1874 – Alfred Tysoe, English runner (d. 1901)
  • 1876 – Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
  • 1877 – Maurice Farman, French race car driver and pilot (d. 1964)
  • 1878 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1971)
  • 1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (d. 1944)
  • 1885 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (d. 1952)
  • 1886 – Walter Dray, American pole vaulter (d. 1973)
  • 1887 – Clarice Beckett, Australian painter (d. 1935)
  • 1887 – Lajos Kassák, Hungarian poet, novelist and painter (d. 1967)
  • 1887 – M. N. Roy, Indian philosopher and politician (d. 1954)
  • 1889 – Jock Sutherland, American football player and coach (d. 1948)
  • 1896 – Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1959)
  • 1897 – Sim Gokkes, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1943)
  • 1897 – Salvador Lutteroth, Mexican wrestling promoter, founded Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (d. 1987)
  • 1899 – Panagiotis Pipinelis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1970)
  • 1901 – Karl Arnold, German businessman and politician, President of the German Bundesrat (d. 1958)
  • 1902 – Son House, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Jehane Benoît, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1904 – Forrest Mars, Sr., American candy maker, created M&M’s and Mars bar (d. 1999)
  • 1904 – Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (d. 1949)
  • 1905 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – Jim Thompson, American businessman (d. 1967)
  • 1906 – André Filho, Brazilian musician and songwriter (d. 1974)
  • 1907 – Zoltán Kemény, Hungarian sculptor (d. 1965)
  • 1909 – Harry Lane, English footballer (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi librarian and educator (d. 1978)
  • 1911 – Walter Lincoln Hawkins, African-American scientist and inventor (d. 1992)
  • 1912 – André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, playwright, and politician (d. 1968)
  • 1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1991)
  • 1913 – Guillermo Haro, Mexican astronomer (d. 1988)
  • 1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (d. 1990)
  • 1916 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Ken Wharton, English race car driver (d. 1957)
  • 1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – Patrick Lucey, American captain and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Charles Thompson, American pianist and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1919 – Douglas Warren, Australian bishop (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1970)
  • 1920 – Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and pianist (d. 1986)
  • 1921 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, author, and academic (d. 2020)
  • 1923 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet, publisher, and diplomat (d. 1998)
  • 1923 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Rezső Nyers, Hungarian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1924 – Dov Shilansky, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Harold Ashby, American saxophonist (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Peter Brook, English-French director and producer
  • 1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
  • 1926 – André Delvaux, Belgian director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Maurice Catarcio, American wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1930 – Otis Spann, American blues pianist, singer and composer (d. 1970)
  • 1931 – Toyonobori, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Clark L. Brundin, American-English engineer and academic
  • 1931 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1932 – Walter Gilbert, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – John Hall, English businessman
  • 1933 – Michael Heseltine, Welsh businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1934 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor and director (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
  • 1936 – Ed Broadbent, Canadian pilot and politician
  • 1936 – Mike Westbrook, English pianist and composer
  • 1937 – Ann Clwyd, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1937 – Tom Flores, American football player and coach
  • 1937 – Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat and author (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Michael Foreman, English author and illustrator
  • 1938 – Grahame Thomas, Australian cricketer
  • 1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
  • 1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Andrea Elle, German bicyclist
  • 1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
  • 1942 – Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1942 – Amina Claudine Myers, African-American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1942 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, India metallurgist, educator and administrator (d. 2010)
  • 1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian sprinter and sportscaster (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
  • 1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter (d. 1995)
  • 1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
  • 1944 – Janet Daley, American-English journalist and author
  • 1944 – Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist
  • 1944 – Mike Jackson, English general
  • 1944 – David Lindley, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1944 – Gaye Adegbalola, African-American singer and guitarist
  • 1945 – Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, English lawyer
  • 1945 – Charles Greene, American sprinter and coach
  • 1945 – Rose Stone, African-American R&B singer and keyboard player
  • 1946 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
  • 1946 – Ray Dorset, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Japanese cardinal
  • 1947 – George Johnston. Scottish footballer, forward
  • 1948 – Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1949 – Alvin Kallicharran, Guyanese cricketer and coach
  • 1949 – Andy Love, Scottish-English politician
  • 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
  • 1949 – Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher, and academic
  • 1950 – Roger Hodgson, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1950 – Ron Oden, American minister and politician, 19th Mayor of Palm Springs
  • 1950 – Sergey Lavrov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1951 – Conrad Lozano, American bass player
  • 1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr., American soul singer
  • 1953 – Steve Furber, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1953 – Paul Martin Lester, American photographer, author, and educator
  • 1953 – David Wisniewski, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
  • 1955 – Fadi Abboud, Lebanese economist and politician
  • 1955 – Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian politician and retired military officer, 38th President of Brazil
  • 1955 – Bob Bennett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician
  • 1955 – Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
  • 1956 – Dick Beardsley, American runner
  • 1956 – Guy Chadwick, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Richard H. Kirk, English guitarist, keyboard player, composer, and producer
  • 1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
  • 1958 – Marlies Göhr, German sprinter
  • 1958 – Brad Hall, American comedian, director, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician and author
  • 1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Yuval Rotem, Israeli diplomat
  • 1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese keyboard player and composer
  • 1960 – Marwan Farhat, Syrian actor and voice actor
  • 1960 – Benito T. de Leon, Filipino general
  • 1960 – Raivo Puusepp, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer and producer
  • 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Gary O’Reilly, English footballer, defender
  • 1961 – Kassie DePaiva, American actress
  • 1961 – Slim Jim Phantom, American rock drummer
  • 1961 – Kim Turner, American hurdler
  • 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
  • 1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress, producer, and talk show host
  • 1962 – Mark Waid, American author
  • 1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
  • 1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1963 – Share Pedersen, American bass player
  • 1964 – Ieuan Evans, Welsh rugby player
  • 1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish cyclist
  • 1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French businessman and politician, French Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1965 – Thomas Frank, American author, historian and political analyst
  • 1966 – Benito Archundia, Mexican footballer, referee, lawyer, and economist
  • 1966 – Hauke Fuhlbrügge, German runner
  • 1966 – Matthew Maynard, English cricketer and coach
  • 1966 – Moa Matthis, Swedish author
  • 1967 – Carwyn Jones, Welsh lawyer and politician, First Minister of Wales
  • 1967 – Mirela Rupic, American costume and fashion designer
  • 1968 – Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
  • 1968 – Andrew Copeland, American singer and guitarist
  • 1968 – Gary Walsh, English football coach and former footballer
  • 1968 – Greg Ellis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Tolunay Kafkas, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Scott Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Jonah Goldberg, American journalist and author
  • 1970 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (d. 2000)
  • 1970 – Cenk Uygur, Turkish-American political activist
  • 1971 – Zsolt Kürtösi, Hungarian decathlete
  • 1972 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1972 – Balázs Kiss, Hungarian hammer thrower
  • 1972 – Derartu Tulu, Ethiopian runner
  • 1972 – Graeme Welch, English cricketer
  • 1973 – Ananda Lewis, American television host
  • 1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer, defender and manager
  • 1973 – Large Professor, American rapper and producer
  • 1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian and actor
  • 1974 – Dejima Takeharu, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1974 – Edsel Dope, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Ted Kravitz, British presenter and Formula One pit-lane reporter
  • 1974 – Kevin Leahy, American drummer
  • 1974 – Conor Woodman, Irish journalist and author
  • 1975 – Yacoub Al-Mohana, Kuwaiti director and producer
  • 1975 – Corne Krige, South African rugby player
  • 1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentinian-Italian basketball player
  • 1975 – Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
  • 1976 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress and singer
  • 1976 – Bamboo Mañalac, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Tekin Sazlog, German-Turkish footballer
  • 1977 – Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
  • 1977 – Jamie Delgado, English tennis player
  • 1978 – Sally Barsosio, Kenyan runner
  • 1978 – Joyce Jimenez, Filipino movie and TV actress
  • 1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
  • 1978 – Mohammad Rezaei, Iranian wrestler
  • 1980 – Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian skier
  • 1980 – Lee Jin, South Korean singer and actress
  • 1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1981 – Germano Borovicz Cardoso Schweger, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
  • 1981 – Glenn Hall, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Jason King, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Todd Polglase, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
  • 1982 – Ejegayehu Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
  • 1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Colin Turkington, Northern Irish race car driver
  • 1983 – Lucila Pascua, Spanish basketball player
  • 1983 – Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1984 – Tiago dos Santos Roberto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1984 – Guillermo Daniel Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1985 – Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Adrian Peterson, American football player
  • 1986 – Scott Eastwood, American actor
  • 1986 – Michu, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Romanos Alyfantis, Greek swimmer
  • 1986 – Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Greek pole vaulter
  • 1987 – Carlos Carrasco, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
  • 1988 – Kateřina Čechová, Czech sprinter
  • 1988 – Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Eric Krüger, German sprinter
  • 1988 – Michael Madl, Austrian footballer, defender
  • 1989 – Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Nicolás Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1990 – Mandy Capristo, German singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1990 – Ryann Krais, American runner and heptathlete
  • 1990 – Alex Nimo, Liberian-American soccer player
  • 1991 – Luke Chapman, English footballer
  • 1991 – Antoine Griezmann, French footballer
  • 1992 – Lehlogonolo Masalesa, South African footballer
  • 1992 – Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player
  • 1993 – Jake Bidwell, English footballer
  • 1993 – Jesse Joronen, Finnish footballer
  • 1994 – Margaret Lu, American fencer
  • 1997 – Martina Stoessel, Argentine actress
  • 2000 – Jace Norman, American actor

Deaths on March 21

  • 543 or 547 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian saint (b. 480)
  • 867 – Ælla, king of Northumbria
  • 867 – Osberht, king of Northumbria
  • 1034 – Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (b. 955)
  • 1063 – Richeza of Lotharingia (b. 995)
  • 1076 – Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
  • 1201 – Absalon, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1128)
  • 1306 – Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1248)
  • 1372 – Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden
  • 1487 – Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (b. 1417)
  • 1540 – John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, English peer and courtier (b. c. 1482)
  • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (b. 1489)
  • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (b. 1517)
  • 1617 – Pocahontas, Algonquian Indigenous princess (b. c. 1595)
  • 1653 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Albanian politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
  • 1656 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop (b. 1581)
  • 1676 – Henri Sauval, French historian and author (b. 1623)
  • 1729 – John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1671)
  • 1729 – Elżbieta Sieniawska, politically influential Polish magnate (b. 1669)
  • 1734 – Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian and author (b. 1679)
  • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (b. 1706)
  • 1752 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (b. 1698)
  • 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French priest, astronomer, and academic (b. 1713)
  • 1772 – Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1703)
  • 1795 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian miner and geologist (b. 1714)
  • 1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
  • 1804 – Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (b. 1772)
  • 1843 – Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and translator (b. 1774)
  • 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general and politician, 1st President of Mexico (b. 1786)
  • 1854 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (b. 1795)
  • 1863 – Edwin Vose Sumner, American general (b. 1797)
  • 1869 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1803)
  • 1884 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (b. 1819)
  • 1891 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general (b. 1807)
  • 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American golfer, tennis player, and engineer (b. 1856)
  • 1920 – Evelina Haverfield, British suffragette and aid worker (b. 1867)
  • 1932 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (b. 1871)
  • 1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1878)
  • 1934 – Lilyan Tashman, American actress (b. 1896)
  • 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1865)
  • 1939 – Evald Aav, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1900)
  • 1939 – Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, Turkish general and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1943 – Cornelia Fort, American soldier and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (b. 1894)
  • 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor and composer (b. 1871)
  • 1953 – Ed Voss, American basketball player (b. 1922)
  • 1956 – Hatı Çırpan, Turkish politician (b. 1890)
  • 1958 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
  • 1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1920)
  • 1975 – Joe Medwick, American baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
  • 1978 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, President of Ireland (b. 1911)
  • 1980 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (b. 1888)
  • 1985 – Michael Redgrave, English actor, director, and manager (b. 1908)
  • 1987 – Walter L. Gordon, Canadian accountant, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1906)
  • 1987 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (b. 1918)
  • 1991 – Vedat Dalokay, Turkish architect and politician, Mayor of Ankara (b. 1927)
  • 1991 – Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
  • 1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American pianist and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1994 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
  • 1994 – Lili Damita, French-American actress and singer (b. 1904)
  • 1994 – Aleksandrs Laime, Latvian-born explorer (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Wilbert Awdry, English cleric and author, created Thomas the Tank Engine (b. 1911)
  • 1998 – Galina Ulanova, Russian ballerina (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Jean Guitton, French philosopher and author (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Ernie Wise, English comedian and actor (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Shivani, Indian author (b. 1923)
  • 2003 – Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian general and politician, 4th Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Drew Hayes, American author and illustrator (b. 1969)
  • 2007 – Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian hurdler and journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2008 – Denis Cosgrove, English-American geographer and academic (b. 1948)
  • 2008 – Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
  • 2010 – Wolfgang Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1919)
  • 2011 – Loleatta Holloway, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2011 – Gerd Klier, German footballer (b. 1944)
  • 2011 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Albrecht Dietz, German economist and businessman (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Ron Erhardt, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Robert Fuest, English director, screenwriter, and production designer (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Tonino Guerra, Italian poet and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Irving Louis Horowitz, American sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Yuri Razuvaev, Russian chess player and trainer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Marina Salye, Russian geologist and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Rick Hautala, American author and screenwriter (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Giancarlo Zagni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Qoriniasi Bale, Fijian lawyer and politician, 25th Attorney-General of Fiji (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Bill Boedeker, American football player and soldier (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Jack Fleck, American golfer (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Simeon Oduoye, Nigerian police officer and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – James Rebhorn, American actor (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Ishaya Bakut, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Benue State (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – James C. Binnicker, American sergeant (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (b. 1909)
  • 2015 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish singer and guitarist (Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann) (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (b. 1955)
  • 2017 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (b. 1929)
  • 2017 – Colin Dexter, English author (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (2007–2017) (b. 1950)
  • 2017 – Mike Hall, British cyclist (b. 1981)
  • 2019 – Victor Hochhauser CBE, British music promoter (b. 1923)[21]
  • 2019 – Gonzalo Portocarrero, Peruvian sociologist (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances on March 21

  • Arbor Day (Portugal)
  • Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
    • Passing of Saint Benedict (Order of Saint Benedict)
    • Birillus
    • Enda of Aran
    • Nicholas of Flüe
    • Serapion of Thmuis
    • Thomas Cranmer (Anglicanism)
    • March 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Holy Saturday can fall, while April 24 is the latest; celebrated on the Saturday before Easter (Christianity)
  • Education Freedom Day
  • Harmony Day (Australia)
  • Human Rights Day (South Africa)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Namibia from South African mandate in 1990
  • International Colour Day (International)
  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
  • International Day of Forests (International), by proclamation of the United Nations General Assembly
  • Mother’s Day (most of the Arab world)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho)
  • Newroz (Iran, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia)
  • Truant’s Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
  • Vernal equinox related observances (see March 20)
  • World Down Syndrome Day (International)
  • World Poetry Day (International)
  • World Puppetry Day (International)
  • Youth Day (Tunisia)

March 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 20- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

Typically the March equinox falls on March 20, marking the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere.

  • 235 – Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor.
  • 673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka.
  • 1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish noblemen are publicly beheaded in the aftermath of the War against Sigismund (1598–1599).
  • 1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established.
  • 1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
  • 1760 – The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroys 349 buildings.
  • 1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
  • 1848 – German revolutions of 1848–49: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
  • 1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
  • 1854 – The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin, US.
  • 1861 – An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
  • 1883 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
  • 1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
  • 1890 – Prime Minister of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck is dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II.
  • 1896 – With the approval of Emperor Guangxu, the Qing dynasty post office is opened, marking the beginning of a postal service in China.
  • 1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
  • 1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
  • 1921 – The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland.
  • 1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
  • 1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.
  • 1933 – Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich and appointed Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant.
  • 1942 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
  • 1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
  • 1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
  • 1952 – The US Senate ratifies the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan.
  • 1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
  • 1964 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: The first Provisional IRA car bombing in Belfast kills seven people and injures 148 others in Northern Ireland.
  • 1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
  • 1985 – Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
  • 1987 – The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
  • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
  • 1990 – Ferdinand Marcos’s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
  • 1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb kills two children in Warrington, England. It leads to mass protests in both Britain and Ireland.
  • 1995 – The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 and wounding over 6,200 people.
  • 1999 – Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California, US.
  • 2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
  • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq.
  • 2006 – Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby.
  • 2012 – At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq.
  • 2014 – Four suspected Taliban members attack the Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least nine people.
  • 2015 – A Solar eclipse, equinox, and a supermoon all occur on the same day.

Births on March 20

  • 43 BC – Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
  • 1253 – Magadu, renamed Wareru, founder of Ramanya Kingdom, renamed Hanthawady Kingdom of Pegu (b. a commoner; d. on a Saturday in January 1307)
  • 1319 – Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d. 1348)
  • 1469 – Cecily of York (d. 1507)
  • 1477 – Jerome Emser, German theologian and scholar (d. 1527)
  • 1479 – Ippolito d’Este, Italian cardinal (d. 1520)
  • 1502 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
  • 1532 – Juan de Ribera, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1611)
  • 1612 – Anne Bradstreet, Puritan American poet (d. 1672)
  • 1615 – Dara Shikoh, Indian prince (d. 1659)
  • 1639 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1709)
  • 1725 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1789)
  • 1737 – Rama I, Thai king (d. 1809)
  • 1771 – Heinrich Clauren, German author (d. 1854)
  • 1796 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (d. 1862)
  • 1799 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet and author (d. 1839)
  • 1800 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, President of Costa Rica (d. 1845)
  • 1805 – Thomas Cooper, British poet (d. 1892)
  • 1811 – Napoleon II, French emperor (d. 1832)
  • 1811 – George Caleb Bingham, American painter and politician, State Treasurer of Missouri (d. 1879)
  • 1821 – Ned Buntline, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 1886)
  • 1824 – Theodor von Heuglin, German explorer and ornithologist (d. 1876)
  • 1828 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, and director (d. 1906)
  • 1831 – Patrick Jennings, Northern Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1897)
  • 1831 – Solomon L. Spink, American lawyer and politician (d. 1881)
  • 1834 – Charles William Eliot, American mathematician and academic (d. 1926)
  • 1836 – Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1836 – Edward Poynter, English painter, illustrator, and curator (d. 1919)
  • 1840 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
  • 1851 – Ismail Gasprinski, Ukrainian educator, publisher, and politician (d. 1914)
  • 1856 – John Lavery, Irish painter (d. 1941)
  • 1856 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American tennis player and engineer (d. 1915)
  • 1870 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
  • 1874 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet and activist (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1927)
  • 1879 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (d. 1960)
  • 1882 – René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (d. 1962)
  • 1882 – Harold Weber, American golfer (d. 1933)
  • 1884 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – John Jensen, Australian public servant (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Vernon Ransford, Australian cricketer (d. 1958)
  • 1888 – Amanda Clement, American baseball player, umpire, and educator (d. 1971)
  • 1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American tenor and actor (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (d. 1974)
  • 1895 – Fredric Wertham, German-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
  • 1898 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian artist (d. 1954)
  • 1900 – Amelia Chopitea Villa, Bolivia’s first female physician (d. 1942)
  • 1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and author (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Jean Galia, French rugby player and boxer (d. 1949)
  • 1906 – Abraham Beame, American accountant and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (d. 2001)
  • 1906 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – Hugh MacLennan, Canadian author and educator (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor and director (d. 1985)
  • 1910 – Erwin Blask, German hammer thrower (d. 1999)
  • 1911 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
  • 1912 – Ralph Hauenstein, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
  • 1913 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (d. 1968)
  • 1914 – Wendell Corey, American actor and politician (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1973)
  • 1916 – Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Vera Lynn, English singer, songwriter and actress (d. 2020)
  • 1917 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Donald Featherstone, English soldier and author (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Bernd Alois Zimmermann, German composer (d. 1970)
  • 1919 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter ace (d. 1983)
  • 1920 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Rosemary Timperley, English author and screenwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1921 – Usmar Ismail, Indonesian filmmaker (d. 1971)
  • 1921 – Dušan Pirjevec, Slovenian historian and philosopher (d. 1977)
  • 1921 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1970)
  • 1922 – Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – Ray Goulding, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1922 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1923 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer, 12th White House Counsel (d. 1999)
  • 1927 – John Joubert, South African-English composer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Jerome Biffle, American long jumper and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and engineer (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Fred Rogers, American television host and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – William Andrew MacKay, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Germán Robles, Spanish-Mexican actor and director (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Hal Linden, American actor, singer, and director
  • 1931 – Rein Raamat, Estonian director and screenwriter
  • 1933 – Lateef Adegbite, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – George Altman, American baseball player
  • 1933 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Willie Brown, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Mayor of San Francisco
  • 1934 – David Malouf, Australian author and playwright
  • 1935 – Ted Bessell, American actor and director (d. 1996)
  • 1935 – Bettye Washington Greene, American chemist (d. 1995)
  • 1936 – Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaican singer, songwriter, music producer, and inventor
  • 1936 – Mark Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
  • 1937 – Lois Lowry, American author
  • 1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Sergei Novikov, Russian mathematician and academic
  • 1939 – Gerald Curran, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Don Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1940 – Stathis Chaitas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1940 – Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer and journalist (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Giampiero Moretti, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded the Momo company (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – Pat Corrales, American baseball player and manager
  • 1941 – Kenji Kimihara, Japanese runner
  • 1943 – Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
  • 1943 – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Paul Junger Witt, American director and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – John Cameron, English composer and conductor
  • 1944 – Camille Cosby, American author, producer, and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Alan Harper, English-Irish archbishop
  • 1945 – Henry Bartholomay, American soldier and pilot (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
  • 1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1945 – Tim Yeo, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
  • 1946 – Douglas B. Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – John Boswell, American historian, philologist, and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1948 – John de Lancie, American actor
  • 1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1948 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Marcia Ball, American blues singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1949 – Richard Dowden, English journalist and educator
  • 1950 – William Hurt, American actor
  • 1950 – Carl Palmer, English drummer, percussionist, and songwriter
  • 1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American blues-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Geoff Brabham, Australian race car driver
  • 1952 – David Greenaway, English economist and academic
  • 1953 – Phil Judd, New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist and painter
  • 1954 – Mike Francesa, American radio talk show host and television commentator
  • 1954 – Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
  • 1954 – Paul Mirabella, American baseball player
  • 1955 – Nina Kiriki Hoffman, American author
  • 1955 – Ian Moss, Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter
  • 1955 – Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1956 – Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
  • 1956 – Anne Donahue, American lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Naoto Takenaka, Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director
  • 1957 – Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
  • 1957 – David Foster, Australian woodchopper
  • 1957 – Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Theresa Russell, American actress
  • 1957 – Chris Wedge, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
  • 1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress and producer
  • 1958 – Rickey Jackson, American football player
  • 1958 – Joe Reaiche, Australian rugby player
  • 1959 – Dave Beasant, English footballer and coach
  • 1959 – Mary Roach, American author
  • 1959 – Sting, American wrestler
  • 1959 – Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott, British Labour Party politician and peer
  • 1960 – Norm Magnusson, American painter and sculptor
  • 1960 – Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist and academic
  • 1960 – Yuri Shargin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
  • 1961 – Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, German politician
  • 1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Sara Wheeler, English author and journalist
  • 1962 – Stephen Sommers, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Paul Annacone, American tennis player and coach
  • 1963 – Kathy Ireland, American model, actress, and furniture designer
  • 1963 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (d. 2007)
  • 1963 – David Thewlis, English-French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer-songwriter
  • 1965 – William Dalrymple, Scottish historian and author
  • 1967 – Xavier Beauvois, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean runner
  • 1968 – A. J. Jacobs, American journalist and author
  • 1968 – Paul Merson, English footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Ultra Naté, American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter
  • 1969 – Yvette Cooper, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1969 – Fabien Galthie, French rugby player
  • 1970 – Edoardo Ballerini, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Josephine Medina, Filipino Paralympic table tennis player
  • 1970 – sj Miller, American academic, public speaker, and social justice activist
  • 1970 – Michael Rapaport, American actor, podcast host, and director
  • 1971 – Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
  • 1971 – Touré, American journalist and author
  • 1972 – Chilly Gonzales, Canadian-German singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1972 – Alex Kapranos, English-Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Greg Searle, English rower
  • 1972 – Marco Sejna, German footballer
  • 1972 – Cristel Vahtra, Estonian skier
  • 1973 – Nicky Boje, South African cricketer
  • 1973 – Natalya Khrushcheleva, Russian runner
  • 1973 – Talal Khalifa Aljeri, Kuwaiti businessman
  • 1974 – Carsten Ramelow, German footballer
  • 1975 – Ramin Bahrani, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Isolde Kostner, Italian skier
  • 1976 – Chester Bennington, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1978 – Kevin Betsy, English born Seychelles international footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1978 – Brent Sherwin, Australian rugby league player
  • 1979 – Shinnosuke Abe, Japanese baseball player
  • 1979 – Freema Agyeman, English actress
  • 1979 – Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1980 – Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Robertas Javtokas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1981 – Ian Murray, Scottish footballer
  • 1981 – Carl Webb, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
  • 1982 – José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
  • 1983 – Carolina Padrón, Venezuelan journalist
  • 1983 – Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish singer
  • 1984 – Vikram Banerjee, English cricketer
  • 1984 – Christy Carlson Romano, American actress and singer
  • 1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
  • 1985 – Ronnie Brewer, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Nicolas Lombaerts, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Dean Geyer, South African-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1986 – Julián Magallanes, Argentinian footballer
  • 1986 – Ruby Rose, Australian actress and model
  • 1986 – Román Torres, Panamanian footballer
  • 1987 – Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1987 – Jô, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director
  • 1989 – Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi Cricketer
  • 1990 – Blake Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer
  • 1991 – Mattia Destro, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Michał Kucharczyk, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Ethan Lowe, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Sloane Stephens, American tennis player
  • 1995 – Jack Bird, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on March 20

  • 687 – Cuthbert, Northumbrian (English) monk, bishop, and saint (b. 634)
  • 703 – Wulfram, archbishop of Sens
  • 842 – Alfonso II, king of Asturias (Spain) (b. 759)
  • 851 – Ebbo, archbishop of Reims
  • 1181 – Taira no Kiyomori, Japanese general (b. 1118)
  • 1191 – Pope Clement III (b. 1130)
  • 1239 – Hermann von Salza, German knight and diplomat (b. 1179)
  • 1302 – Ralph Walpole, Bishop of Norwich
  • 1336 – Maurice Csák, Hungarian Dominican friar (b. 1270)
  • 1351 – Muhammad bin Tughluq, Sultan of Delhi
  • 1390 – Alexios III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
  • 1413 – Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
  • 1440 – Sigismund I of Lithuania
  • 1475 – Georges Chastellain, Burgundian chronicler and poet
  • 1549 – Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, English general and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1508)
  • 1568 – Albert, Duke of Prussia (b. 1490)
  • 1619 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
  • 1673 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish monk (b. 1603)
  • 1688 – Maria of Orange-Nassau, Dutch princess (b. 1642)
  • 1730 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
  • 1746 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter and academic (b. 1656)
  • 1780 – Benjamin Truman, English brewer and businessman (b. 1699)
  • 1793 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1705)
  • 1835 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
  • 1849 – James Justinian Morier, Turkish-English author and diplomat (b. 1780)
  • 1855 – Joseph Aspdin, English businessman (b. 1788)
  • 1865 – Yamanami Keisuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
  • 1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (b. 1810)
  • 1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
  • 1894 – Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer, journalist and politician (b. 1802)
  • 1897 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1821)
  • 1899 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and author (b. 1822)
  • 1909 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian historian and businessman (b. 1842)
  • 1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American general and lawyer (b. 1828)
  • 1925 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (b. 1859)
  • 1929 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Arthur F. Andrews, American cyclist (b. 1876)
  • 1931 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
  • 1933 – Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin of Anton Cermak (b. 1900; executed)
  • 1940 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
  • 1945 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (b. 1883)
  • 1946 – Amadeus William Grabau, American-Chinese geologist, paleontologist, and academic (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and director (b. 1884)
  • 1952 – Hjalmar Väre, Finnish cyclist (b. 1892)
  • 1958 – Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian merchant, journalist, and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish republican and playwright (b. 1923)
  • 1965 – Daniel Frank, American long jumper (b. 1882)
  • 1966 – Johnny Morrison, American baseball player (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (b. 1889)
  • 1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
  • 1971 – Falih Rıfkı Atay, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1972 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1974 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (b. 1911)
  • 1977 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1909)
  • 1977 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (b. 1919)
  • 1978 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
  • 1981 – Gerry Bertier, American football player (b. 1953)
  • 1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1891)
  • 1990 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (b. 1929)
  • 1992 – Georges Delerue, French composer (b. 1925)
  • 1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist (b. 1946)
  • 1997 – V. S. Pritchett, English short story writer, essayist, and critic (b. 1900)
  • 1999 – Patrick Heron, British painter (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Gene Eugene, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
  • 2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1949)
  • 2004 – Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
  • 2004 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
  • 2010 – Ai, American poet and academic (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Girija Prasad Koirala, Indian-Nepalese politician, 30th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Johnny Pearson, English pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Lincoln Hall, Australian mountaineer and author (b. 1955)
  • 2012 – Noboru Ishiguro, Japanese animator and director (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Polish-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (b. 1966)
  • 2013 – James Herbert, English author (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Tonie Nathan, American politician (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Eva Burrows, Australian 13th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
  • 2017 – David Rockefeller, American billionaire and philanthropist (b. 1915)
  • 2018 – C. K. Mann, a Ghanaian Highlife musician and producer (b. 1936)
  • 2019 – Mary Warnock, English philosopher & writer (b. 1924)
  • 2020 – Kenny Rogers, American singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 20

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexandra
    • Blessed John of Parma
    • Clement of Ireland
    • Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
    • Herbert of Derwentwater
    • John of Nepomuk
    • Józef Bilczewski
    • María Josefa Sancho de Guerra
    • Martin of Braga
    • Michele Carcano
    • Wulfram
    • March 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest date for the vernal equinox in the Northern hemisphere:
    • Bahá’í Naw-Rúz, started at sunset on March 20. The end of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast. (Bahá’í Faith)
    • Chunfen (China)
    • Earth Equinox Day
    • International Astrology Day
    • New Year (Thelema)
    • Nowruz (Persian, Gilaki, Kurdish, Zoroastrians, and other Iranian people and countries with an Iranian influence)
    • Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Mabon in the southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
    • Shunbun no Hi (Japan)
    • Sun-Earth Day (United States)
    • Vernal Equinox Day/Kōreisai (Japan)
    • World Storytelling Day
  • Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Easter. (Christianity)
  • Great American Meatout (United States)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956.
  • International Day of Happiness (United Nations)
  • International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its related observances:
    • UN French Language Day (United Nations)
  • National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
  • World Sparrow Day

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