On This Day in History April 30

April 30 – Events:

• 313 – Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.
• 711 – Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
• 1006 – Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.
• 1483 – Orbital calculations suggest that on this day Pluto moved inside Neptune’s orbit until July 23, 1503.
• 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
• 1671 – Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
• 1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
• 1794 – The Battle of Boulou is fought, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.
• 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling – overnight – the size of the young nation.
• 1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
• 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
• 1856 – Battle of Rivas, Nicaragua, against North American mercenaries.
• 1863 – Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
• 1871 – Camp Grant Massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
• 1894 – Coxey’s Army reaches Washington, D.C. to protest the unemployment caused by the Panic of 1893.
• 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
• 1900 – Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.
• 1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 1920 – Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for USD $146 million plus $50 million for charity.
• 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women, opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women’s federal prison in the United States.
• 1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit.
• 1938 – The first televised FA Cup Final took place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End
• 1939 – The 1939 New York World’s Fair opens.
• 1939 – RCA-owned NBC begins regularly scheduled television service from its New York station with the opening ceremonies of the 1939 New York World’s Fair broadcast.
• 1939 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to appear on television during the World Fair’s opening ceremonies broadcast.
• 1943 – World War II: Operation Mincemeat – The submarine HMS Seraph surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.
• 1945 – Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. Soviet soldiers raise the red flag over the Reichstag building.
• 1947 – In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is officially renamed Hoover Dam.
• 1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
• 1973 – Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces top White House aids H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and others have resigned.
• 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh.
• 1980 – Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
• 1991 – A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh killing an estimated 138,000 people.
• 1993 – The World Wide Web was born at CERN.
• 1995 – U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. President to visit Northern Ireland.
• 1999 – Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the total members to 10.
• 2001 – The Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict is published.
• 2002 – A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years.

April 30 – Birthdays:

• 1245 – King Philip III of France (d. 1285)
• 1553 – Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, queen of France (d. 1601)
• 1623 – François de Laval, first bishop of New France (d. 1708)
• 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French educational reformer, Catholic saint (d. 1719)
• 1662 – Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
• 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)
• 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
• 1721 – Roger Sherman, American statesman (d. 1793)
• 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)
• 1770 – David Thompson, Canadian explorer (d. 1857)
• 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician (d. 1855)
• 1803 – Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (d. 1879)
• 1812 – Kaspar Hauser, German mystery boy (d. 1833)
• 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (d. 1884)
• 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
• 1864 – Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)
• 1865 – Max Nettlau, German anarchist (d. 1944)
• 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)
• 1870 – Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)
• 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish clergyman (d. 1949)
• 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (d. 1937)
• 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)
• 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)
• 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)
• 1895 – Philippe Panneton, French Canadian physician, diplomat and writer (d. 1960)
• 1896 – Hans List, Austrian inventor (d. 1996)
• 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazillina director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
• 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
• 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
• 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic foreign and later prime minister (d. 1970)
• 1909 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
• 1909 – F. E. McWilliam,Irish sculptor (d. 1992)
• 1916 – Claude Shannon, American engineer and mathematician (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, British racing driver (d. 1994)
• 1923 – Percy Heath, American jazz musician (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
• 1925 – Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)
• 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress
• 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author (d. 2000)
• 1933 – Dickie Davies, British television presenter
• 1933 – Willie Nelson, American musician
• 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English composer and singer (d.1995)
• 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak film director
• 1938 – Larry Niven, American author
• 1940 – Burt Young, American actor
• 1941 – Johnny Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)
• 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, former Zambian president (1991-2001)
• 1943 – Bobby Vee, American singer
• 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress
• 1945 – Annie Dillard, American writer
• 1945 – Michael Smith, American astronaut (d. 1986)
• 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer
• 1947 – Leslie Grantham, English actor
• 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer
• 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish politician
• 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Brondby IF coach
• 1948 – Perry King, American actor
• 1949 – Phil Garner, baseball manager
• 1949 – António Guterres, Prime Minister of Portugal
• 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French film director
• 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand film director
• 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist
• 1956 – Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone
• 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish film director
• 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter
• 1959 – Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer
• 1959 – Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
• 1959 – W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist
• 1960 – Kerry Healey, American politician
• 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player
• 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver
• 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer
• 1964 – Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician
• 1965 – Adrian Pasdar, American actor
• 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian musician (Sepultura)
• 1969 – Warren Defever, American musician, composer
• 1971 – John Boyne, Irish novelist
• 1971 – Darren Emerson, English DJ (Underworld)
• 1973 – Akon, American R&B Singer
• 1974 – Mikey Chan, Australian musician
• 1975 – Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
• 1975 – Mike Chat, American actor
• 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American musician (The Dresden Dolls)
• 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
• 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
• 1981 – John O’Shea, Irish footballer
• 1981 – Emma Pierson, British actress
• 1982 – Lloyd Banks, American rapper
• 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
• 1982 – Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress
• 1982 – Andrew Seeley, Canadian actor and singer
• 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player
• 1984 – Shawn Daivari, Persian-American professional wrestler and manager
• 1987 – Nikki Webster, Australian entertainer
• 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian Cricketer
• 1996 – Jaidyn Leskie, Missing/murdered Australian toddler

April 30 – Deaths:

• 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
• 1063 – Emperor Renzong of China (b. 1010)
• 1131 – Adjutor, Roman Catholic Saint
• 1341 – John III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1285)
• 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English military leader (b. 1382)
• 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)
• 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
• 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
• 1632 – King Sigismund I of Sweden (b. 1561)
• 1632 – Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)
• 1642 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (b. 1578)
• 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (b. 1576)
• 1655 – Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)
• 1696 – Robert Plot, British naturalist (b. 1640)
• 1712 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch Protestant theologian (b. 1633)
• 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (b. 1668)
• 1758 – François d’Agincourt, French composer (b. 1684)
• 1792 – John Montagu, supposed inventor of the sandwich (b. 1718)
• 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (b. 1716)
• 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish author and philologist (b. 1758)
• 1847 – Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (b. 1771)
• 1865 – Robert Fitzroy, English admiral and meteorologist (b. 1805)
• 1875 – Jean Frederic Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)
• 1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)
• 1900 – Casey Jones, American train engineer (b. 1863)
• 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (b.1831)
• 1936 – Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (b. 1859)
• 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish philologist (b. 1860)
• 1943 – Beatrice Webb, British economist (b. 1858)
• 1945 – Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler’s new wife (suicide) (b. 1912)
• 1945 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian dictator of Nazi Germany (suicide) (b. 1889)
• 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
• 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (b. 1934)
• 1973 – Václav Renc, Czech poet, dramatist and translator (b. 1911)
• 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)
• 1980 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Lester Bangs, American music journalist, author, and musician (b. 1949)
• 1983 – George Balanchine, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
• 1983 – Muddy Waters, American musician (b. 1915)
• 1985 – George Pravda, Czechoslovakian actor (b. 1918)
• 1989 – Yi, Bang-ja, Crown Princess of Korea (b. 1901)
• 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian filmmaker (b. 1929)
• 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
• 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
• 1994 – Richard Scarry, American author (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Prime minister of Burma (b. 1920)
• 1996 – David Opatoshu, American actor (b. 1918)
• 1998 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, founder of the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf. (b.  1928)
• 2003 – Peter ‘Possum’ Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)
• 2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Mark Berger, University of Kentucky professor (b. 1955)
• 2005 – Ron Todd, TGWU General Secretary (1985 – 1992) (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Lawrence Patrick, Biomechanics Professor, crash test subject (b. n/a)
• 2007 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (b. 1983)
• 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
• 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Gordon Scott, American actor (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Zola Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)

April 30 – Holidays:

• Walpur gis Night – Celebrated in Germany, central, and western Europe
• Scandinavia – The arrival of spring.
• Sweden – Birthday of King Carl XVI Gustav, an official flag day.
• The Netherlands – Queen’s Day, the largest one-day holiday in the Netherlands.
• Roman Empire – third day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.
• Bealtaine Eve (From either Irish Bealtaine or Scottish Gaelic). Originally a Celtic Druid holiday.
• Vietnam – Liberation Day.
• Mexico – Children’s Day.
• Czech Republic and Slovakia – Carodejnice – witches’ night
• In the Roman Catholic Church:
  • Saint Adjutor
  • Saint Eutropius
  • Saint Maximus, 3rd century martyr
  • Saint Suitbert the Younger (d. 807)
  • Saint Pope Pius V

On This Day in History April 29

April 29 – Events:

• 1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
• 1672 – Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
• 1770 – James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Maryland’s House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
• 1862 – American Civil War: New Orleans falls to Union forces under Admiral David Farragut.
• 1864 – The Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
• 1882 – The “Elektromote” – forerunner of the trolleybus – trialed by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin.
• 1903 – A 30 million cubic-metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta, Canada.
• 1916 – World War I: The British 6th Indian Division surrendered to Ottoman Forces at Kut. One of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
• 1916 – Easter Rebellion: Martial law in Ireland is lifted and the rebellion is officially over with the surrender of Irish nationalists to British authorities in Dublin.
• 1945 – World War II: The German Army in Italy unconditionally surrenders to the Allies.
• 1945 – World War II: Start of Operation Manna.
• 1945 – Adolf Hitler marries his long-time partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates  Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor.
• 1945 – The Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
• 1946 – Former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders are indicted for war crimes.
• 1951 – A Tibetan delegation to the Chinese government was presented with a treaty draft regarding the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
• 1965 – Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches seventh rocket in their Rehber series.
• 1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
• 1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
• 1974 – Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings related to the scandal.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The last U.S. citizens begin evacuation from Saigon prior to an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
• 1980 – Corazones Unidos Siempre Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority Inc. founded.
• 1986 – Roger Clemens sets a major league baseball record with 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the Seattle Mariners.
• 1986 – Fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library, some 400,000 books and other items damaged or destroyed.
• 1991 – 1991 Bangladesh cyclone struck the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 mph, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless.
• 1992 – Riots in Los Angeles, California, follow the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 53 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
• 1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons among its signatories.
• 1999 – Avala TV Tower near Belgrade destroyed in NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
• 2002 – The United States is re-elected to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, one year after losing the seat it had held for 50 years.
• 2004 – Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office.
• 2004 – Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production.
• 2005 – Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation.
• 2005 – New Zealand’s first civil union takes place.
• 2007 – Republic Protests in Turkey

April 29 – Birthdays:

• 534 – Taliesin, Welsh poet, according to legend in Mabinogion
• 1665 – James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (d. 1745)
• 1667 – John Arbuthnot, English physician and satirist (d. 1735)
• 1686 – Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d. 1742)
• 1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer (d. 1810)
• 1745 – Oliver Ellsworth, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
• 1762 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (d. 1833)
• 1780 – Charles Nodier, French writer (d. 1844)
• 1784 – Samuel Turell Armstrong, American poltician and acting Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)
• 1837 – Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (d. 1891)
• 1842 – Karl Millöcker, Dutch composer (d. 1899)
• 1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
• 1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American publisher (d. 1951)
• 1863 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (d. 1933)
• 1863 – Maria Theresa Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic nun (d. 1922)
• 1872 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman (d. 1930)
• 1875 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian/British writer (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Zauditu of Ethiopia (d. 1930)
• 1879 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d. 1961)
• 1882 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (d. 1945)
• 1885 – Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d. 1948)
• 1893 – Harold Urey, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Sir Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (d. 1967)
• 1899 – Duke Ellington, American jazz pianist and bandleader (d. 1974)
• 1901 – Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (d. 1983)
• 1907 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-born American film director (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Jack Williamson, American writer (d. 2006)
• 1909 – Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Richard Carlson, American actor (d. 1977)
• 1915 – Donald Mills, American singer (Mills Brothers) (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Celeste Holm, American actress
• 1918 – George Allen, American football player and coach (d. 1990)
• 1919 – Gérard Oury, French film actor and director (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Harold Shapero, American composer
• 1922 – Helmut Krackowizer, Austrian motorcyclist (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian jazz guitarist and harmonica player
• 1924 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Zizi Jeanmaire, French ballet dancer and actress
• 1925 – Ned Austin, American character actor (d. 2007)
• 1925 – John Compton, Saint Lucian Prime Minister (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Ray Baretto, American jazz musician (d. 2006)
• 1929 – Walter Kempowski, German author
• 1929 – Mickey McDermott, American baseball player (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer
• 1930 – Jean Rochefort, French actor
• 1931 – Frank Auerbach, German-born British painter
• 1931 – Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (d. 2002)
• 1933 – Willie Nelson American country singer
• 1933 – Mark Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium
• 1933 – Rod McKuen, American poet and composer
• 1934 – Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1934 – Otis Rush, American musician
• 1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian-born conductor
• 1936 – April Stevens, American singer
• 1936 – Lane Smith, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Jill Paton Walsh, English writer
• 1938 – Fred Dibnah, English television personality (d. 2004)
• 1938 – Klaus Voormann, German musician, artist, and record producer
• 1942 – Galina Kulakova, Soviet cross country skier
• 1944 – Princess Benedikte of Denmark
• 1944 – Richard Kline, American actor and director
• 1945 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (d. 1970)
• 1946 – John Waters, American film director and writer
• 1947 – Serge Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1947 – Olavo de Carvalho, Brazilian philosopher
• 1947 – Tommy James, American musician
• 1947 – Jim Ryun, American athlete and politician
• 1948 – Bruce Cutler, American attorney
• 1948 – Michael Karoli, German guitarist and violinist (Can) (d. 2001)
• 1950 – Debbie Stabenow, American politician
• 1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
• 1952 – Nora Dunn, American actress
• 1952 – David Icke, English writer
• 1952 – Bob McClure, American baseball player
• 1954 – Jake Burton Carpenter, American snowboarder
• 1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
• 1955 – Kate Mulgrew, American actress
• 1955 – Wendee Lee, American voice actress
• 1955 – Gino Quilico, Canadian baritone
• 1956 – Sofia Sakorafa, Greek javelin thrower and politician
• 1956 – Ketil Stokkan, Norwegian singer
• 1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, Irish actor
• 1957 – Mark Kendall, American guitarist
• 1957 – Timothy Treadwell, American bear enthusiast (d. 2003)
• 1958 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
• 1958 – Eve Plumb, American actress
• 1958 – Gary Cohen, Baseball broadcaster
• 1960 – Phil King, English bassist
• 1960 – Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian writer
• 1960 – Caveh Zahedi, American filmmaker
• 1961 – Fumihiko Tachiki, Japanese seiyuu
• 1964 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor
• 1966 – Phil Tufnell, English cricketer
• 1967 – Curtis Joseph, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Master P, American rapper
• 1968 – Carnie Wilson, American singer
• 1969 – Paul Adelstein, American actor
• 1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player
• 1970 – Uma Thurman, American actress
• 1971 – Sam Michael, Australian engineer
• 1972 – Dustin McDaniel, American politician
• 1973 – David Belle, French physical educator
• 1973 – Johan Hegg, Swedish heavy metal vocalist
• 1974 – Anggun, Indonesian singer
• 1974 – Pascal Cygan, French footballer
• 1974 – Julian Knowle, Austrian tennis player
• 1974 – Jasper Wood, Canadian violinist
• 1975 – Rafael Betancourt, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1976 – Jay Orpin, Swedish composer and producer
• 1977 – Rocío Carrasco, Spanish TV host and socialite
• 1977 – Claus Jensen, Danish footballer
• 1978 – Tony Armas, Jr., Venezuelan baseball player
• 1978 – Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, American tennis players
• 1979 – Ryan Sharp, Scottish racing driver
• 1979 – Jo O’Meara, British singer (S Club 7)
• 1979 – Lee Dong-Gook, Korean footballer
• 1979 – Matt Tong, English drummer (Bloc Party)
• 1980 – Mathieu Biron, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Kian Egan, Irish singer (Westlife)
• 1980 – Kelly Shoppach, American baseball player
• 1981 – George McCartney, Northern Irish footballer
• 1981 – Émilie Mondor, Canadian athlete (d. 2006)
• 1981 – Alex Vincent, American actor
• 1982 – Kamran Jawaid, Pakistani film critic
• 1983 – Jay Cutler, American football player
• 1983 – Yuriko Shiratori, Japanese gravure idol and actress
• 1983 – Sam Jones III, American Actor
• 1984 – Taylor Cole, American actress  
• 1987 – Matthew Doherty, Northern Irish footballer
• 1987 – Alicia Morton, American actress
• 1988 – Younha, Korean pop singer
• 2003 – Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse (d. 2007)
• 2003 – Maud Behn, Princess of Norway
• 2007 – Infanta Sofía of Spain, Princess of Spain

April 29 – Deaths:

• 926 – Burchard II, Duke of Swabia
• 1380 – Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (b. 1347)
• 1594 – Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and writer
• 1630 – Agrippa d’Aubigné, French poet (b. 1552)
• 1658 – John Cleveland, English poet (b. 1613)
• 1676 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b. 1607)
• 1688 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
• 1698 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b. 1655)
• 1707 – George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (b. 1678)
• 1743 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (b. 1658)
• 1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist (b. 1694)
• 1776 – Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b. 1713)
• 1782 – Richard Kempenfelt, Royal Navy Admiral (b. 1718)
• 1793 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (b. 1713)
• 1793 – John Michell, English scientist (b. 1724)
• 1798 – Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (b. 1723)
• 1854 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (b. 1768)
• 1903 – Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (b. 1835)
• 1916 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician (b. 1850)
• 1920 – William Henry Seward, Jr., Union Brigadier General in the American Civil War (b. 1839)
• 1933 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (b. 1863)
• 1935 – Leroy Carr, American blues singer, songwriter and pianist (b. 1905)
• 1937 – William Gillette, American actor (b. 1853)
• 1944 – Bernardino Machado, President of Portugal (b. 1851)
• 1951 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (b. 1889)
• 1956 – Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876)
• 1961 – Cisco Houston, American folk singer (b. 1918)
• 1966 – William Eccles, English physicist and radio pioneer (b. 1875)
• 1967 – Anthony Mann, American actor and director (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (b. 1907)
• 1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, English film director (b. 1899)
• 1988 – James McCracken, American tenor (b. 1926)
• 1993 – Mick Ronson, English musician (b. 1946)
• 1993 – Michael Gordon, American film director (b. 1909)
• 1997 – Mike Royko, American columnist (b. 1932)
• 1998 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
• 2002 – Bob Akin, American industrialist and race car driver (b. 1936)
• 1936 – Lor Tok, Thai comedian and actor (b. 1914)
• 2004 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
• 2005 – William J. Bell, American television writer and producer (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Mariana Levy, Mexican actress, singer, and television show host (b. 1966)
• 2006 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (b. 1978)
• 2007 – Ivica Racan, former Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Arve Opsahl, Norwegian actor, known as the leader of Olsenbanden
• 2007 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricket player (b. 1940)

April 29 – Holidays:

• International Dance Day.
• Greenery Day (1989-2006).
• Showa Day (2007 – Day of Showa period, which is reigned by Emperor Hirohito)
• Roman Empire – second day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.  
• Roman Catholic Calendar of saints:
  • Saint Catherine of Siena
  • Saint Robert (d.1111)
  • Saint Wilfred the Younger
  • Saint Peter of Verona
  • Saint Hugh of Cluny

On This Day in History April 28

April 28 – Events:

• 1192 – Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne is confirmed by election. The killing is carried out by Hashshashin.
• 1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
• 1611 – Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, the oldest existing university in Asia and the largest Catholic university in the world.
• 1788 – Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
• 1789 – Mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly and then sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
• 1792 – France invades Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium), beginning the French Revolutionary War.
• 1796 – The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, the King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Admiral David Farragut captures New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1902 – Using the ISO 8601 standard Year Zero definition for the Gregorian calendar preceded by the Julian calendar, the one billionth minute since the start of January 1, Year Zero occurred at 10:40 AM on this date.
• 1920 – Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.
• 1930 – The first night game in organized baseball history takes place in Independence, Kansas.
• 1932 – A vaccine for yellow fever is announced for use on humans.
• 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are executed by a firing squad consisting of members of the Italian resistance movement.
• 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to prove that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
• 1950 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, got married with his queen, Queen Sirikit, after their quiet engagement in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 19, 1949.
• 1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Commander of NATO.
• 1952 – Occupied Japan: The United States occupation of Japan ends.
• 1967 – Expo 67 opens to the public in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• 1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
• 1970 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to fight communist sanctuaries in Cambodia.
• 1977 – The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.
• 1977 – The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure is signed.
• 1978 – President of Afghanistan Mohammed Daoud Khan is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by procommunist rebels.
• 1981 – Galician current Statute of Autonomy.
• 1986 – United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve USS Coral Sea, on station across the “Line of Death” in the Gulf of Sidra off the coast of Libya. The transit began at 0300 and lasted 12 hours.
• 1987 – U.S. engineer Ben Linder is killed in an ambush by U.S.-funded Contras in northern Nicaragua.
• 1988 – Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing is blown out of Aloha Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage rips open in mid-flight.
• 1994 – Former Central Intelligence Agency official Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
• 1996 – Whitewater controversy: President Bill Clinton gives 4½ hour videotaped testimony for the defense.
• 1996 – In Tasmania, Australia, Martin Bryant goes on a shooting spree, killing 35 people and seriously injuring 37 more.
• 1997 – The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention goes into effect, with Russia, Iraq and North Korea notable nations who had not ratified the treaty.
• 2001 – Millionaire Dennis Tito becomes the world’s first space tourist.
• 2005 – The Patent Law Treaty goes into effect.
• 2005 – Taraki Sivaram, a popular Tamil journalist of Sri Lanka kidnapped in Colombo; his body was found the next day near the parliament.

April 28 – Birthdays:

• 1442 – King Edward IV of England (d. 1483)
• 1545 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean admiral (d. 1598)
• 1630 – Charles Cotton, English poet (d. 1687)
• 1686 – Michael Brokoff, Czech sculptor (d. 1721)
• 1715 – Franz Sparry, composer (d. 1767)
• 1758 – James Monroe, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831)
• 1765 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician (b. 1834)
• 1819 – Ezra Abbot, American Bible scholar (d. 1884)
• 1838 – Tobias Michael Carel Asser, Dutch jurist, Nobel laureate (d. 1913)
• 1868 – Lucy Booth, the fifth daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1953)
• 1868 – Georgy Voronoy, Russian mathematician (d. 1908)
• 1874 – Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1936)
• 1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor (d. 1954)
• 1889 – António de Oliveira Salazar, dictator of Portugal (d. 1970)
• 1897 – Ye Jianying, Chinese general and politician (d. 1986)
• 1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer (d. 1992)
• 1903 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author (d. 1979)
• 1906 – Kurt Gödel, Austrian mathematician (d. 1978)
• 1906 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (d. 1999)
• 1908 – Oskar Schindler, Austrian businessman (d. 1974)
• 1910 – Sam Merwin, Jr., American mystery fiction writer (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Lee Falk, American comic strip writer (d. 1999)
• 1912 – Odette Sansom, French resistance worker (d. 1995)
• 1914 – Philip E. High, Science fiction author (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian automobile manufacturer (d. 1993)
• 1921 – Rowland Evans, American journalist (d. 2001)
• 1922 – William Guarnere, WWII Veteran
• 1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (d. 1987)
• 1924 – Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia
• 1925 – T. John Lesinski, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
• 1926 – Blossom Dearie, American jazz singer
• 1926 – Harper Lee, American author
• 1928 – Yves Klein, French painter (d. 1962)
• 1928 – Eugene M. Shoemaker, American planetary scientist (d. 1997)
• 1930 – James Baker, American politician
• 1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
• 1934 – Lois Duncan, American novelist
• 1937 – Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq (d. 2006)
• 1938 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican actress (d. 1995)
• 1941 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-born actress
• 1941 – K. Barry Sharpless, American chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1941 – Lucien Aimar, French cyclist
• 1941 – Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet
• 1942 – Mike Brearley, English cricketer
• 1943 – Jacques Dutronc, French singer and actor
• 1944 – Elizabeth LeCompte, American theater director
• 1944 – Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician
• 1944 – Alice Waters, American chef
• 1946 – Ginette Reno, French Canadian singer, songwriter and actress
• 1948 – Terry Pratchett, English author
• 1948 – Marcia Strassman, American actress
• 1948 – Dorothée Berryman, French Canadian actress and singer
• 1949 – Indian Larry, American stuntsman (d. 2004)
• 1949 – Bruno Kirby, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian and television host
• 1950 – Willie Colon , Puerto Rican salsa legend
• 1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
• 1953 – Kim Gordon, American musician (Sonic Youth)
• 1955 – Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
• 1955 – Nicky Gumbel, British author and priest
• 1956 – Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-born singer
• 1957 – Wilma Landkroon, Dutch singer
• 1958 – Hal Sutton, American golfer
• 1960 – John Cerutti, baseball player and announcer (d. 2004)
• 1960 – Joel H. Rosenthal American political scientist
• 1960 – Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (d. 1993)
• 1960 – Walter Zenga, Italian footballer
• 1961 – Futoshi Matsunaga, Japanese serial killer
• 1963 – Lloyd Eisler, Canadian figure skater
• 1964 – Barry Larkin, American baseball player
• 1964 – Mark Steven Robinson, American director
• 1964 – Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese composer
• 1965 – Steven Blum, American voice actor
• 1966 – John Daly, American golfer
• 1966 – Too Short, American rapper
• 1967 – Kari Wührer, American actress
• 1968 – Daisy Berkowitz, American musician (Marilyn Manson)
• 1968 – Howard Donald, British musician
• 1968 – Andy Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1970 – Nicklas Lidström, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1970 – Diego Simeone, Argentine footballer
• 1972 – Joseph Bruce, American musician
• 1973 – Elisabeth Röhm, American actress
•  1973 – Jorge Garcia, American actor
• 1973 – Francisco Palencia, Mexican footballer
• 1974 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
• 1974 – Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
• 1974 – Vernon Kay, British TV/radio presenter
• 1978 – Lauren Laverne, Disc jockey, television presenter and former singer
• 1979 – Bahram Radan, Iranian actor
• 1980 – Josh Howard, American basketball player (Dallas Mavericks)
• 1981 – Jessica Alba, American actress
• 1982 – Nikki Grahame, Big Brother 7 Star
• 1983 – Roger Johnson, English footballer
• 1986 – George Nozuka, Canadian Singer/Songwriter

April 28 – Deaths:

• 1192 – Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem (b. mid 1140s)
• 1498 – Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician
• 1533 – Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1461)
• 1695 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet (b. 1621)
• 1710 – Thomas Betterton, English actor
• 1716 – Louis de Montfort, French catholic priest (b. 1673)
• 1726 – Thomas Pitt, British Governor of Madras (b. 1653)
• 1741 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish General and statesman (b. 1668)
• 1772 – Johann Friedrich Struensee, physician of Christian VII of Denmark (b. 1737)
• 1781 – Cornelius Harnett, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1723)
• 1813 – Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (b. 1745)
• 1841 – Peter Chanel, French saint (b. 1803)
• 1853 – Ludwig Tieck, German writer (b. 1773)
• 1858 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (b. 1801)
• 1865 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian-born British shipping magnate (b. 1787)
• 1905 – Fitzhugh Lee, American Confederate general (b. 1835)
• 1926 – Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857)
• 1936 – King Fuad I of Egypt (b. 1868)
• 1944 – Frank Knox, U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate (b. 1874)
• 1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist dictator (b. 1882)
• 1945 – Clara Petacci, Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini (shot) (b. 1912)
• 1945 – Roberto Farinacci, Italian fascist (b. 1892)
• 1946 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician (b. 1870)
• 1954 – Léon Jouhaux, French labor leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1879)
• 1957 – Heinz “Pritzl” Bär, German fighter pilot (b. 1913)
• 1964 – Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector (b. 1888)
• 1970 – Ed Begley, American actor (b. 1901)
• 1973 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (b. 1893)
• 1975 – Tom Donahue, American FM radio DJ (pioneer, freeform radio) (b. 1928)
• 1978 – Sardar Mohammed Daoud, President of Afghanistan (b. 1909)
• 1988 – B. W. Stevenson, American country singer (b. 1949)
• 1991 – Steve Broidy, American motion picture executive (b. 1905)
• 1992 – Francis Bacon, Anglo-Irish painter (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Iceberg Slim, American writer (b. 1918)
• 1993 – Jim Valvano, American basketball coach (b. 1946)
• 1998 – Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (b. 1939)
• 1999 – Rory Calhoun, American actor (b. 1922)
• 1999 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1921)
• 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English football manager (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Penelope Fitzgerald, English writer (b. 1916)
• 2000 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish doctor, researcher and politician (b. 1925)
• 2002 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general (b. 1950)
• 2002 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler (b. 1916)
• 2005 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (b. 1972)
• 2005 – Percy Heath, American jazz bassist (Modern Jazz Quartet) (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Taraki Sivaram, Tamil journalist of Sri Lanka (b. 1959)
• 2007 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (b. 1917)
• 2007 – Tommy Newsom, American bandleader (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (b. 1912)

April 28 – Holidays:

• Roman Empire – first day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.
• National Day of Mourning in Canada to commemorate workers killed, injured, or suffering illness due to occupational hazards and accidents.
• National Heroes Day – Barbados.
• Workers Memorial Day – International Workers Memorial Day

On This Day in History April 27

April 27 – Events:

• 1124 – David I becomes King of Scotland.
• 1296 – Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated by Edward I of England.
• 1509 – Pope Julius II places the Italian state of Venice under interdict.
• 1521 – Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by Chief Lapu-Lapu.
• 1539 – Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (nowadays Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar.
• 1565 – Cebu is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
• 1578 – Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two favorites of Henry III of France and two  favorites of Henry I, Duke of Guise.
• 1650 – The Battle of Carbisdale: A Royalist army invades mainland Scotland from Orkney Island  but is defeated by a Covenanter army.
• 1667 – The blind, impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10.
• 1749 – First performance of Handel’s Fireworks Music in Green Park, London.
• 1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East  India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
• 1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines and Berbers attack the Tripolitan city of Derna (The “shores of Tripoli” part of the Marines’ hymn).
• 1810 – Beethoven composes his famous piano piece, Für Elise.
• 1813 – War of 1812: United States troops capture the capital of Ontario, York (present day Toronto, Canada).
• 1827 – The Petrel, Australian Coal carrying ship sinks in stormy seas, off Hope Bay, Tasmania.
• 1840 – Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, laid by wife of Sir Charles Barry.
• 1861 – President of the United States Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.
• 1865 – The New York State Senate creates Cornell University as the state’s land grant institution.
• 1865 – The steamboat Sultana, carrying 2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi  River, killing 1,700, most of whom were Union survivors of the Andersonville Prison.
• 1904 – The Australian Labor Party becomes the first such party to gain national government, under Chris Watson.
• 1909 – Sultan of Turkey Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.
• 1911 – Following the resignation and death of William P. Frye, a compromise is reached to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the United States Senate.
• 1914 – Honduras becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1933 – Jessop & Son department store in Nottingham, England, acquired by John Lewis Partnership.
• 1936 – The United Auto Workers (UAW) gains autonomy from the American Federation of Labor.
• 1941 – World War II: German troops enter Athens.
• 1945 – World War II: Last German troops are expelled from Finnish Lapland (the last day of World  War II going on in Finland).
• 1945 – World War II: The Völkischer Beobachter, the newspaper of the Nazi Party, ceases publication.
• 1950 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races.
• 1959 – The last Canadian missionary leaves the People’s Republic of China.
• 1960 – Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.
• 1961 – Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom, with Milton Margai as  the first Prime Minister.
• 1967 – Expo 67 officially opens in Montreal, Canada with a large opening ceremony broadcast around the world. It opens to the public the next day.
• 1972 – Constructive Vote of No Confidence against German Chancellor Willy Brandt fails under obscure circumstances.
• 1974 – 10,000 march in Washington, D.C., calling for impeachment of US President Richard Nixon.
• 1977 – 28 people are killed in the Guatemala City air disaster.
• 1978 – Former Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichman is released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes.
• 1981 – Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
• 1987 – The U.S. Justice Department bars the Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering the United States, saying he had aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.
• 1992 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed.
• 1992 – Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.
• 1992 – Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics win entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• 1993 – All members of the Zambia national football team lose their lives in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon in route to Dakar, Senegal to play a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal.
• 1994 – South African general election, 1994: The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote.
• 2002 – The last successful telemetry from NASA space probe Pioneer 10.
• 2005 – The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France.
• 2006 – Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City.
• 2007 – Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia.

April 27 – Birthdays:

• 1495 – Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1566)
• 1623 – Johann Adam Reinken, German organist (d. 1722)
• 1650 – Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Cassel, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1714)
• 1701 – King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (d. 1773)
• 1718 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (d. 1790)
• 1724 – Col. Thomas Gardner, a heroic political figure and soldier (d. 1775)
• 1737 – Edward Gibbon, English historian (d. 1794)
• 1748 – Adamantios Korais, Greek humanist scholar (d. 1833)
• 1755 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician (d. 1836)
• 1759 – Mary Wollstonecraft, English author (d. 1797)
• 1791 – Samuel F. B. Morse, American inventor (d. 1872)
• 1806 – Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, queen of Spain (d. 1878)
• 1812 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (d. 1883)
• 1812 – William W. Snow, American politician (d. 1886)
• 1820 – Herbert Spencer, English philosopher (d. 1903)
• 1822 – Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War general and 18th President of the United States (d. 1885)
• 1840 – Edward Whymper, English mountain climber (d. 1911)
• 1850 – Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general (d. 1921)
• 1853 – Jules Lemaître, French critic and dramatist (d. 1914)
• 1878 – Frank Alvin Gotch, American professional wrestler (d. 1917)
• 1888 – Florence La Badie, Canadian actress (d. 1917)
• 1891 – Sergei Prokofiev, Soviet composer (d. 1953)
• 1893 – Dragoljub Mihailovic, commandant of the Yugoslav Royal Army in the Fatherland (d. 1946)
• 1893 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player (d. 1939)
• 1894 – George Petty, WWII Pin-Up Artist (d. 1975)
• 1894 – Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian-born musicologist and composer (d. 1995)
• 1896 – Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player (d. 1963)
• 1900 – Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (d. 1994)
• 1903 – Horace Stoneham, American Major league baseball owner (d. 1990)
• 1904 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet and writer (d. 1972)
• 1906 – Yórgos Theotokás, Greek novelist (d. 1966)
• 1913 – Philip Hauge Abelson, American physicist (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Enos Slaughter, American baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Sten Rudholm, Swedish jurist, member of the Swedish Academy
• 1920 – Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (d. 1956)
• 1920 – Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet
• 1920 – Mark Krasnosel’skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1997)
• 1922 – Jack Klugman, American actor
• 1927 – Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Joe Moakley, American politician (d. 2001)
• 1927 – Karl Alexander Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1927 – Sheila Scott, English aviatrix (d. 1988)
• 1931 – Igor Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist
• 1932 – Anouk Aimée, French actress
• 1932 – Pik Botha, South African politician
• 1932 – Casey Kasem, American disc jockey
• 1932 – Gian-Carlo Rota, Italian-born mathematician and philosopher (d. 1999)
• 1936 – Geoffrey Shovelton, English opera singer
• 1937 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992)
• 1937 – Robin Eames, Northern Irish clergyman
• 1938 – Earl Anthony, American bowler (d. 2001)
• 1939 – Judy Carne, British actress and comedian
• 1939 – Stanislaw Dziwisz, Polish Cardinal
• 1941 – Lee Roy Jordan, American football player
• 1942 – Jim Keltner, American drummer
• 1942 – Jonathan Ferber, American agricultural tycoon
• 1943 – Helmut Marko, Austrian racing driver
• 1944 – Michael Fish, British former weather forecaster
• 1944 – Cuba Gooding, Sr., American musician (The Main Ingredient)
• 1945 – August Wilson, American playwright (d. 2005)
• 1947 – Ann Peebles, American singer
• 1947 – George Kenneth Butterfield, American politician
• 1947 – Peter Ham, Welsh singer and songwriter (Badfinger) (d. 1975)
• 1947 – Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
• 1948 – Frank William Abagnale, Jr., con artist turned security consultant.
• 1948 – Kate Pierson, American singer (The B-52’s)
• 1951 – Ace Frehley, American musician (Kiss)
• 1952 – George Gervin, American basketball player
• 1952 – Ari Vatanen, Finnish rally driver
• 1953 – Arielle Dombasle, French singer and actress
• 1956 – Douglas P., English musician (Death in June, Crisis)
• 1957 – Eric Bristow, English darts player
• 1957 – Rosanna Scotto, American news anchor
• 1957 – Michel Barrette, Canadian actor and stand-up comedian
• 1959 – Sheena Easton, Scottish singer
• 1959 – Louis Lortie, French Canadian concert pianist
• 1962 – Ángel Comizzo, Argentine footballer
• 1962 – James LeGros, American actor
• 1963 – Cali Timmins, Canadian actress
• 1963 – Russell T. Davies, Welsh television writer and executive producer of Doctor Who
• 1964 – Lisa Wilcox, American actress
• 1967 – Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
• 1967 – Jason Whitlock, American sportswriter
• 1967 – Aki Avni, Israeli entertainer
• 1967 – Tommy Smith (saxophonist), Scottish jazz musician
• 1969 – Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
• 1969 – Darcey Bussell, British ballerina
• 1969 – Grahame Cheney, Australian boxer
• 1969 – Mica Paris, British singer and presenter
• 1970 – Kylie Travis, English actress and model
• 1971 – Tess Daly, British television presenter
• 1973 – Sébastien Lareau, French Canadian professional tennis player
• 1974 – Johnny Devine, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1974 – Richard Johnson, Australian footballer
• 1975 – Rabih Abdullah, former National Football League player
• 1975 – Chris Carpenter, American baseball player
• 1975 – Pedro Feliz, Dominican baseball player
• 1976 – Isobel Campbell, Scottish singer and composer
• 1976 – Walter Pandiani, Uruguayan footballer
• 1977 – Khalid Zoubaa, French runner
• 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor
• 1978 – Adamantia Kontogiorgi, Greek actress
• 1979 – Will Boyd, American musician
• 1979 – Natasha Chokljat, Australian netballer
• 1980 – Christian Lara, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1980 – Ananda Mikola, Indonesian racing driver
• 1980 – Sybille Bammer, Austrian tennis player
• 1981 – Fabrizio Faniello, Maltese singer
• 1981 – Joey Gathright, American baseball player
• 1981 – Patrik Gerrbrand, Swedish footballer
• 1984 – Patrick Stump, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
• 1984 – Frank Carter, British musician (Gallows) and tattooist
• 1984 – Tom Falcone, American musician (Cute Is What We Aim For)
• 1984 – Pierre-Marc Bouchard, hockey player (Minnesota Wild)
• 1986 – Elena Risteska, Macedonian singer
• 1987 – William Moseley, British actor
• 1987 – Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Canadian actress
• 1987 – Elliott Shriane, Australian speed skater

April 27 – Deaths:

• 630 – King Ardashir III of Persia
• 1404 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1342)
• 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer (b. 1480)
• 1530 – Jacopo Sannazaro, Italian poet (b. 1458)
• 1599 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (b. 1538)
• 1605 – Pope Leo XI (b. 1535)
• 1613 – Robert Abercromby, Scottish Jesuit (b. 1532)
• 1625 – Mori Terumoto, Japanese warrior (b. 1553)
• 1656 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (b. 1596)
• 1694 – John George IV, Elector of Saxony (b. 1668)
• 1695 – John Trenchard, English statesman (b. 1640)
• 1702 – Jean Bart, French admiral (b. 1651)
• 1782 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician (b. 1710)
• 1813 – Zebulon Pike, American frontiersman and explorer (b. 1779)
• 1873 – William Charles Macready, English actor (b. 1793)
• 1882 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist (b. 1803)
• 1896 – Henry Parkes, known as the Father of Federation (b. 1815)
• 1915 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (b. 1872)
• 1921 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (b. 1863)
• 1932 – Hart Crane, American writer (suicide) (b. 1899)
• 1936 – Karl Pearson, English statistician (b. 1857)
• 1937 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian Communist writer and politician (b. 1891)
• 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
• 1952 – Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician (b. 1865)
• 1962 – A. K. Fazlul Huq, Bengali statesman (b. 1873)
• 1965 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (b. 1908)
• 1969 – René Barrientos, President of Bolivia (b. 1919)
• 1970 – Arthur Shields, Irish actor (b. 1896)
• 1972 – Kwame Nkrumah, leader of Ghana (b. 1909)
• 1973 – Carlos Menditéguy, Argentine racing driver (b. 1914)
• 1977 – Stanley Adams, American actor (b. 1915)
• 1988 – David Scarboro, British actor (b. 1968)
• 1989 – Konosuke Matsushita, Japanese industrialist (b. 1894)
• 1992 – Olivier Messiaen, French composer (b. 1908)
• 1995 – Willem Frederik Hermans, Dutch writer (b. 1921)
• 1996 – William Colby, American director of the Central Intelligence Agency (b. 1920)
• 1998 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born writer (b. 1925)
• 1998 – John Bassett, Canadian publisher and media baron (b. 1915)
• 1998 – Dominique Aury, French novelist (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Al Hirt, American trumpeter (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (b. 1954)
• 2002 – George Alec Effinger, American author (b. 1947)
• 2002 – Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Swiss industrialist and art collector (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Julia Thorne, ex-wife of John Kerry (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (b. 1927)

April 27 – Holidays:

• Catalonia: Montserrat’s Day.
• Finland: Veterans’ Day.
• World graphic design day (2000).
• Sierra Leone: Republic Day.
• Slovenia: Day of Uprising Against Occupation.
• South Africa: Freedom day.
• Finland – National war veteran day
• Liturgical feasts:
  • Saint Floribert
  • Saint Liberalis
  • Saint Mariana
  • Saint Zita

On This Day in History April 26

April 26 – Events:

• 1467 – The miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Counsel appears in Genazzano, Italy.
• 1478 – The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de’ Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence.
• 1607 – English colonists of the Jamestown settlement make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
• 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, as part of a reconciliary gesture with the factions of the Ancien Regime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.
• 1805 – United States Marines captured Derne, Tripoli under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina.
• 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln’s assassin, in Virginia.
• 1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.
• 1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
• 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
• 1942 – The worst mining accident in history kills 1,549 miners in an explosion at the Honkeiko Colliery, Manchuria.
• 1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen – last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.  
• 1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
• 1956 – First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
• 1962 – NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
• 1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
• 1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
• 1986 – In Ukraine, a nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
• 1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before its end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year’s only F5 tornado.
• 1992 – Rodney King riots in Los Angeles CA.
• 1994 – A China Airlines Airbus A300-600R crashes at Nagoya Airport, Japan killing 264.
• 1994 – Physicists announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle.
• 2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country.
• 2007 – Queen’s Pier was officially closed by the Hong Kong Government, after a bitter struggle by conservationist, in order to facilitate land reclamation in Hong Kong’s Central district

April 26 – Birthdays:

• 121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (d. 180)
• 1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (d. 1600)
• 1564 – William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright (d. 1616)
• 1573 – Marie de’ Medici, wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
• 1648 – King Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
• 1662 – Maria Luisa of Orleans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1689)
• 1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher (d. 1796)
• 1711 – David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1776)
• 1718 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (d. 1802)
• 1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (d. 1853)
• 1782 – Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, queen of France (d. 1866)
• 1785 – John James Audubon, French-American naturalist and illustrator (d. 1851)
• 1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862)
• 1798 – James Beckwourth, American explorer (d. 1867)
• 1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter (d. 1863)
• 1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat (d. 1889)
• 1804 – Charles Goodyear, American politician (d. 1876)
• 1812 – Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1887)
• 1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (d. 1903)
• 1826 – George Hull Ward, American general (d. 1863)
• 1826 – Ambrose R. Wright, American Civil War General (d. 1872
• 1856 – Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
• 1878 – Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mexican Catholic bishop
• 1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
• 1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
• 1886 – Gabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (d. 1913)
• 1888 – Anita Loos, American writer (d. 1981)
• 1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951)
• 1893 – Draza Mihajlovic, Serbian WWII hero and war criminal (d. 1946)
• 1894 – Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (d. 1987)
• 1896 – Ernst Udet, WWI pilot and film actor, Luftwaffe officer (d. 1941)
• 1897 – Eddie Eagan, American sportsman (d. 1967)
• 1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (d. 1987)
• 1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1984)
• 1898 – John Grierson, Scottish filmmaker (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985)
• 1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
• 1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese movie producer and creator of Godzilla (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
• 1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian writer (d. 2000)
• 1914 – Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986)
• 1914 – James W. Rouse, American investor (d. 1996)
• 1916 – Morris West, Australian writer (d. 1999)
• 1917 – I.M. Pei, Chinese-born architect
• 1917 – Sal Maglie, baseball player (d. 1992)
• 1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (d. 2004)
• 1918 – Stafford Repp, American actor (d. 1974)
• 1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, French Canadian politician (d. 1993)
• 1925 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish musician
• 1926 – David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster
• 1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor
• 1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and professor (d. 2002)
• 1932 – Michael Smith, English-born chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
• 1932 – Francis Lai, French film music composer
• 1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (d. 2005)
• 1933 – Carol Burnett, American comedian
• 1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1938 – Duane Eddy, American musician
• 1938 – Maurice Williams, American singer (The Zodiacs)
• 1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer
• 1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league footballer
• 1941 – Claudine Clark, American R&B singer-composer
• 1941 – John Mitchell, American composer
• 1942 – Claudine Auger, French actress
• 1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat
• 1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer
• 1943 – Gary Wright, American singer
• 1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect
• 1944 – Amien Rais, Indonesian politician
• 1945 – Sylvain Simard, Quebec politician
• 1947 – Warren Clarke, English actor
• 1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer
• 1949 – Jerry Blackwell, wrestler (d. 1995)
• 1949 – Dominic Sena, American film director
• 1955 – Mike Scott, American baseball player
• 1956 – Koo Stark, American actress
• 1958 – Jeffrey Guterman, American mental health counselor
• 1959 – Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and songwriter
• 1960 – Roger Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
• 1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player
• 1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-born actress
• 1961 – Anthony Cumia, American radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)
• 1961 – Chris Mars, American rock drummer (The Replacements)
• 1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
• 1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
• 1963 – Jet Li, Chinese martial artist
• 1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-born American football player
• 1965 – Kevin James, American comedian
• 1966 – Yoshihiro Togashi, Mangaka who created YuYu Hakusho
• 1967 – Glen Jacobs, American professional wrestler
• 1970 – Melania Trump, Slovenian model
• 1970 – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, American singer (TLC)
• 1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts)
• 1972 – Kiko Narváez, Spanish footballer
• 1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver
• 1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
• 1974 – Adil Ray, English radio presenter (BBC Asian Network)
• 1975 – Nathan “Joey” Jordison, American musician (Slipknot)
• 1975 – Nerina Pallot, British singer
• 1976 – Vaclav Varada, Czech ice hockey player
• 1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
• 1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
• 1977 – Chris Johnston, Irish rugby player
• 1977 – Jason Earles, American actor
• 1978 – Avant, American singer
• 1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
• 1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
• 1979 – Janne Wirman, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom)
• 1979 – Ariane Moffatt, Quebec singer and songwriter
• 1980 – Jordana Brewster, American actress
• 1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress
• 1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor
• 1981 – Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer
• 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English musician
• 1982 – Joanne Gobure, Nauruan poet
• 1982 – Brock Gillespie, American basketball player
• 1982 – Cooper Wallace, National Football League tight end
• 1983 – José María López, Argentine racing driver
• 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American P.O.W.
• 1984 – Lee Humphrey, American basketball player
• 1984 – Mija Martina, Bosnian singer
• 1985 – John Isner, American Tennis player
• 1985 – Nam Gyu-Ri, Korean singer, member of See Ya
• 1995 – Prince Mirko of Bulgaria

April 26 – Deaths:

• 1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
• 1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
• 1476 – Simonetta Vespucci, inspiration of Botticelli (b.1453)
• 1478 – Giuliano di Piero de’ Medici, ruler of Florence (assassinated) (b. 1453)
• 1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b. 1465)
• 1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1651)
• 1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish convent founder (b. 1718)
• 1789 – Count Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier (b. 1721)
• 1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin (shot) (b. 1838)
• 1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
• 1892 – Sir Provo Wallis, British Admiral and naval hero (b. 1791)
• 1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1832)
• 1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887)
• 1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)
• 1936 – Tammany Young, American actor (b.1886)
• 1938 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (b. 1859)
• 1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1874)
• 1944 – Violette Morris, French athlete (b. 1893)
• 1945 – Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian politician and general (b. 1871)
• 1945 – Sigmund Rascher, Nazi doctor (b. 1909)
• 1950 – G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
• 1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (b. 1868)
• 1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
• 1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Father of Japanese Shotokan Karatedo (b. 1868)
• 1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet born Newfoundland (b. 1882)
• 1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido (b. 1883)
• 1970 – Erik Bergman, Lutheran pastor (b. 1886)
• 1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress (b. 1911)
• 1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress (b. 1902)
• 1976 – Sid James, South African-born British comedian (b. 1913)
• 1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, English actress and comedian (b. 1893)
• 1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
• 1984 – Count Basie, American musician and composer (b. 1904)
• 1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (stroke) (b. 1911)
• 1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
• 1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1987 – John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
• 1987 – Shankar, Of Noted Bollywood Music Director Duo Shankar-Jaikishan (b. 1922)
• 1989 – Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian (b. 1911)
• 1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (b. 1904)
• 1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
• 1991 – Emily McLaughlin, American actress (b. 1928)
• 1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
• 1994 – Masutatsu Oyama, Founder of Japanese Kyokushin Karate (b. 1927)
• 1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (b. 1918)
• 1999 – Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound) (b. 1957)
• 1999 – Jill Dando, British television presenter (b.1961)
• 2003 – Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist (b. 1904)
• 2003 – Peter Stone, American writer (b. 1930)
• 2004 – Hubert Selby Jr., American author (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
• 2005 – Maria Schell, Swiss-Austrian actress (b. 1926)
• 2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan author (b. 1917)
• 2007 – Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive (b. 1921)

April 26 – Holidays:

• Tanzania – Union Day.
• Florida and Georgia, USA – Confederate Memorial Day.
• World Intellectual Property Day (since 2001).
• In the Roman Catholic Church:
  • Our Lady of Good Counsel
  • Saint Alda (d. 1309)
  • Richarius or Riquier (d. 643)
  • Paschasius (d. 865)
  • Saint Cletus (Pope Anacletus) and Marcellinus (Popes and martyrs)
  • Lucidius (4th century)
  • Trudpert (Irish monk martyred in Germany in 607).

On This Day in History April 25

April 25 – Events:

• 1607 – Eighty Years’ War: Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
• 1707 – The Habsburg army is defeated by Bourbon army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.
• 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
• 1792 – “La Marseillaise” (French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
• 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in the HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
• 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican-American War.
• 1847 – The last survivors of the Donner Party are out of the wilderness.
• 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The Union Army arrives in Washington, D.C.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under Union Admiral David Farragut capture the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Marks’ Mills.
• 1898 – Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
• 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.
• 1915 – The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula during World War I by Australian, British, French and New Zealand troops begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
• 1916 – Easter Rebellion: The United Kingdom declares martial law in Ireland.
• 1916 – ANZAC Day commemorated for the first time, on the first anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove.
• 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.
• 1943 – The Demyansk Shield for German troops in commemoration of Demyansk Pocket was instituted.
• 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.
• 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Russian troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two, a milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe.
• 1945 – The U.S. Army blows the swastika from the top of the Zeppelintribüne.
• 1945 – Nazi occupation army leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement. This day is taken as symbol of Liberation of Italy.
• 1945 – Fifty nations gather in San Francisco, California to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organizations.
• 1953 – Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid describing the double helix structure of DNA.
• 1959 – The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.
• 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.
• 1966 – Tashkent city was destroyed by a huge earthquake.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
• 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal restores democracy after more than forty years as a corporate fascist state.
• 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
• 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Japan.
• 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
• 1983 – American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
• 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto’s orbit.
• 1986 – Mswati III was crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.
• 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.
• 1990 – The Hubble Telescope was deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery into orbit.
• 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.
• 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties gaining entrance into the European Union.
• 2005 – 107 die in Amagasaki rail crash in Japan.
• 2007 – Boris Yeltsin’s funeral – the first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.
• 2007 – The Dow Jones Industrial hit 13,000 for the first time in history, closing at 13,089.89

April 25 – Birthdays:

• 32 – Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (d. 69)
• 1214 – King Louis IX of France (d. 1270)
• 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)
• 1284 – King Edward II of England (d. 1327)
• 1287 – Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, de facto ruler of England (d. 1330)
• 1502 – Georg Major, German Protestant theologian (d. 1574)
• 1545 – Yi Sun Shin, Korean admiral (d. 1598)
• 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English statesman (d. 1658)
• 1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician (d. 1660)
• 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (d. 1679)
• 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect (d. 1753)
• 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer (d. 1776)
• 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, British admiral (d. 1786)
• 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French marshal (d. 1847)
• 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist (d. 1850)
• 1775 – Charlotte of Spain, Spanish Infanta and queen of Portugal (d. 1830)
• 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)
• 1843 – Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse (d. 1878)
• 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician (d. 1925)
• 1851 – Leopoldo Alas y Ureña, a.k.a. “Clarín”, Spanish novelist (d. 1901)
• 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1937)
• 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)
• 1898 – Fred Haney, baseball player (d. 1977)
• 1900 – Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
• 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist (d. 1964)
• 1903 – Andrey Nikolayevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1987)
• 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1986)
• 1906 – William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)
• 1909 – William Pereira, American architect (d. 1985)
• 1914 – Ross Lockridge, Jr., American writer (d. 1948)
• 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
• 1918 – Gerard Henri de Vaucouleurs, French astronomer (d. 1995)
• 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-born soprano (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Albert King, American musician (d. 1992)
• 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German journalist, film director, and cabaret performer (d. 1986)
• 1925 – Kay E. Kuter, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French cartoonist
• 1929 – Yvette Williams First New Zealander to go to Olympics
• 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American film director and writer
• 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician (d. 1980)
• 1932 – William Roache, British television actor (Coronation Street)
• 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player
• 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American composer
• 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer
• 1935 – April Ashley, English model
• 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch artist
• 1939 – Ted Kooser, American poet and US Poet Laureate
• 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor
• 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French director, screenwriter and actor
• 1941 – Princess Muna al-Hussein, of Jordan
• 1942 – Jon Kyl, American politician
• 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)
• 1945 – Stu Cook, American rock bassist (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
• 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress
• 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician
• 1947 – Johan Cruijff, Dutch footballer
• 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
• 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, former Premier of Taiwan
• 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician
• 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentine footballer
• 1950 – Steve Ferrone, British drummer
• 1951 – Ian McCartney, British Member of Parliament
• 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist
• 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Soviet ice hockey player
• 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor
• 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentine footballer
• 1956 – Jaroslava Schallerová, Hungarian actress
• 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer and lyricist (ex-Marillion)
• 1959 – Dominique Blanc, French actress
• 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian film producer
• 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor
• 1964 – Andy Bell, British singer and songwriter (band Erasure)
• 1964 – Wisit Sasanatieng, Thai film director
• 1965 – Eric Avery, American musician (Jane’s Addiction, Deconstruction, Polar Bear)
• 1965 – Simon Fowler, English musician (Ocean Colour Scene)
• 1966 – James Stacy Barbour, American actor and singer
• 1969 – Joe Buck, American sports broadcaster
• 1969 – Gina Torres, American actress
• 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player
• 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress
• 1971 – Tomoko Kawakami, (Voice Actress), Japanese Seiyuu
• 1972 – Sara Baras, Spanish ballerina
• 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer (Millencolin)
• 1975 – Emily Bergl, English-American actress
• 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player
• 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player
• 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player
• 1976 – Gilberto, Brazilian footballer
• 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer
• 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress
• 1977 – Matthew West, American Christian singer
• 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer
• 1978 – Letícia Birkheuer, Brazilian model
• 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
• 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer
• 1981 – Dwone Hicks, National Football League runningback
• 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian Formula One driver
• 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier
• 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer
• 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, National Football League runningback
• 1983 – J.P. Howell, American baseball player
• 1984 – Andre’ Woodson, American football quarterback
• 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver
• 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player
• 1988 – Sara Paxton, American actress
• 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, 11th Panchen Lama
• 1989 – Robbie Tarrant, Australian football player
• 1996 – Allisyn Ashley Arm, American child actress

April 25 – Deaths:

• 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)  
• 1265 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, English crusader
• 1295 – King Sancho IV of Castile
• 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian artist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)
• 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
• 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)
• 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet
• 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (b. 1544)
• 1605 – Naresuan, King of Siam (b. 1555)
• 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor, Emperor of China (b. 1611)
• 1660 – Henry Hammond, English churchman (b. 1605)
• 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish artist (b. 1610)
• 1740 – Shrimant Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhat, also known as Baji Rao I, a general and Peshwa (b. 1699)
• 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer (b. 1701)
• 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French abbot and physicist (b. 1700)
• 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
• 1840 – Siméon-Denis Poisson, French mathematician (b. 1781)
• 1843 – Edward Drummond, British civil servant
• 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)
• 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English educationalist (b. 1811)
• 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)
• 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian novelist (b. 1862)
• 1915 – Frederick William Seward, United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
• 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Quebec politician (b. 1840)
• 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1878)
• 1937 – Michal Drzymala, Polish rebel (b. 1857)
• 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director (b. 1858)
• 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1859)
• 1968 – John Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)
• 1972 – George Sanders, British actor (b. 1906)
• 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer (b. 1947)
• 1976 – Carol Reed, British film producer and director (b. 1906)
• 1980 – Katia Mann, wife of German writer Thomas Mann (b. 1883)
• 1982 – John Cardinal Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
• 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist (b. 1923)
• 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
• 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
• 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress and dancer (b. 1911)
• 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphics designer (b. 1920)
• 1998 – Wright Morris, American writer (b. 1910)
• 1999 – Lord Killanin, Irish International Olympic Committee president (b. 1914)
• 2000 – David Merrick, American theatrical producer (b. 1911)
• 2000 – Lucien le Cam, French mathematician (b. 1924)
• 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian race car driver (b. 1956)
• 2002 – Indra Devi, yoga teacher (b. 1899)
• 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper (TLC) (b. 1971)
• 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (b. 1966)
• 2004 – Thom Gunn, British poet (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk (b. 1908)
• 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-born Canadian urbanist (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945)
• 2007 – Bobby “Boris” Pickett, American singer and songwriter (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)

April 25 – Holidays:

• ANZAC Day (Australia, New Zealand).
• Faroe Islands – National Flag Day.
• Official Red Hat Society day.
• Portugal – Freedom Day
• Roman Empire – Robigalia in honor of Robigus.

On This Day in History April 24

April 24 – Events:

• 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut.
• 1184 BC – Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse.
• 1558 – Mary Queen of Scots marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
• 1704 – The first regular newspaper in the United States, the Boston, Massachusetts New-Letter, is published.
• 1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.”
• 1862 – American Civil War: A flotilla commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut passes two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River on its way to capture New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1863 – The Keyesville Massacre: a massacre of 53 Native American men from the Tehachapi tribe in Keyesville, California.
• 1877 – Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.
• 1907 – Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey, for the exclusive use of his employees is opened.
• 1913 – The skyscraper Woolworth Building in New York City was opened.
• 1915 – The Armenian Genocide began with a massacre of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
• 1916 – Easter Rising begins: The Irish Republican Brotherhood led by nationalists Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, and Joseph Plunkett start a rebellion in Ireland.
• 1918 – First tank to tank combat, at Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IVs met three German A7Vs.
• 1941 – World War II: Operation Demon – The United Kingdom begins evacuating Greece.
• 1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
• 1955 – Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemned colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
• 1961 – The 17th century Swedish ship Vasa is salvaged.
• 1963 – Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
• 1964 – Mexico becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1965 – Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic Colonel Francisco Caamaño, overthrows the triumvirate that was in power since the coup d’état against Juan Bosch.
• 1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, when the parachute fails to open.  He was the first human to die during a space mission.
• 1967 – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference the enemy had “gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily.”
• 1968 – Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.
• 1970 – The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
• 1970 – The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President.
• 1975 – The Baader-Meinhof Gang blow up the West German embassy in Stockholm.
• 1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempted to end the Iran hostage crisis.
• 1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery.
• 1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of anthrax after 48 years of quarantine.
• 1991 – Freddie Stowers is awarded the posthumous Medal of Honor for which he had been recommended in 1918.
• 1993 – The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act came into force establishing Panchayati Raj system in India.
• 1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of City of London.
• 2004 – US lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
• 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
• 2006 – King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament he dissolved in 2002.

April 24 – Birthdays:

• 1533 – William I of Orange (d. 1584)
• 1581 – Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
• 1620 – John Graunt, English statistician and founder of the science of demography (d. 1674)
• 1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (d. 1780)
• 1718 – Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
• 1743 – Edmund Cartwright, British inventor (d. 1823)
• 1784 – Peter Vivian Daniel, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1860)
• 1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
• 1845 – Carl Spitteler, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
• 1856 – Henri Philippe Pétain, French soldier and statesman (d. 1951)
• 1876 – Erich Raeder, German naval commander (d. 1960)
• 1876 – Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (d. 1960)
• 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (d. 1958)
• 1882 – Hugh Dowding, Scottish fighter pilot (d. 1970)
• 1887 – Denys Finch Hatton, English big-game hunter (d. 1931)
• 1889 – Stafford Cripps, British politician (d. 1952)
• 1889 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (d. 1924)
• 1896 – Benjamin Whorf, American linguist (d. 1941)
• 1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
• 1899 – Oscar Zariski, Russian-born mathematician (d. 1986)
• 1903 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange (d. 1936)
• 1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American poet (d. 1989)
• 1906 – William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
• 1907 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Marceline Day, American actor (d. 2000)
• 1914 – William Castle, American film director and producer (d. 1977)
• 1916 – Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
• 1922 – J.D. Cannon, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Sir Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician
• 1924 – Ruth Kobart, American actor and singer (d. 2002)
• 1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1929 – Dr. Rajkumar, Kannada actor
• 1930 – Jerome Callet, American musician
• 1930 – Richard Donner, American film director and producer
• 1933 – Patricia Bosworth, American actor, journalist, writer and biographer
• 1933 – Claire Davenport, British actress (d. 2002)
• 1933 – Alan Eagleson, Canadian hockey agent and promoter
• 1933 – Helmuth Lohner, Austrian actor
• 1933 – Freddie Scott, American singer
• 1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actor and author
• 1936 – Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
• 1937 – Joe Henderson, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2001)
• 1940 – Sue Grafton, American author
• 1941 – John Williams, Australian guitarist
• 1942 – Richard M. Daley, American politician
• 1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer and actor
• 1945 – Doug Clifford, American drummer
• 1945 – Robert Knight, American singer
• 1945 – Doug Riley, Canadian musician (d. 2007)
• 1945 – Dick Rivers, French singer and actor
• 1947 – Claude Dubois, Quebec singer and songwriter
• 1947 – Josep Borrell Fontelles, Former President of the European Parilment
• 1947 – Roger D. Kornberg, American chemist, Nobel-prized
• 1948 – Paul Cellucci, 69 Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada
• 1949 – Véronique Sanson, French singer and songwriter
• 1952 – Jean-Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
• 1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
• 1954 – Mumia Abu-Jamal, American death-row inmate
• 1954 – Captain Sensible, British guitarist
• 1955 – John de Mol, Dutch media businessman
• 1957 – David J, British musician
• 1957 – Boris Williams, British musician
• 1958 – Valery Lantratov, Russian ballet dancer
• 1959 – Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer
• 1959 – Dave Ridgway, Canadian football player
• 1960 – Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
• 1962 – Stuart Pearce, English footballer and manager
• 1962 – Steve Roach, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1963 – Paula Frazer, American singer/songwriter
• 1963 – Billy Gould, American musician
• 1963 – Mano Solo, French singer
• 1963 – Tõnu Trubetsky, Estonian musician
• 1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian and actor
• 1964 – Djimon Hounsou, African-American actor
• 1965 – Son Chang Min, South Korean actor
• 1966 – Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer
• 1967 – Omar Vizquel, American baseball player
• 1968 – Stacy Haiduk, American actress
• 1968 – Todd Jones, American baseball player
• 1968 – Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1968 – Hashim Thaci, Kosovan politician
• 1969 – Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
• 1969 – Melinda Clarke, American actress
• 1969 – Viveca Paulin, Swedish actress
• 1970 – Damien Fleming, Australian fast bowler
• 1971 – Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian guitarist and singer
• 1972 – Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
• 1972 – Nicolas Gill, French Canadian judoka
• 1972 – Chipper Jones, baseball player
• 1972 – Jure Košir, Slovenian skier
• 1973 – Eric Snow, American basketball player
• 1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
• 1974 – Joseph Bruce, American rapper
• 1974 – Kristie Krabe, American stage actress
• 1974 – Derek Luke, American actor
• 1974 – Brian Marshall, American bassist
• 1974 – Dave Vitty, British television host
• 1975 – Sam Doumit, American actress
• 1976 – Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
• 1977 – Siarhey Balakhonau, Belarus writer
• 1977 – Carlos Beltran, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1978 – Eric Balfour, American actor
• 1978 – Kim Hyun-ju, Korean actress
• 1980 – Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
• 1980 – Austin Nichols, American actor
• 1981 – Taylor Dent, American tennis player
• 1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer
• 1983 – Princess Iman bint Al Hussein of Jordan
• 1984 – Tyson Ritter, American musician
• 1989 – Akim Aliu, Nigerian hockey player
• 1991 – Ryan Phillips, Canadian Musician
• 1998 – Ryan Newman, American actress

April 24 – Deaths:

• 624 – Mellitus, third Archbishop of Canterbury
• 709 – Wilfrid, English archbishop and saint
• 1338 – Marquis Theodore I of Montferrat (b. 1291)
• 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
• 1622 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar, martyr, and saint (b. 1577)
• 1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
• 1731 – Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
• 1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
• 1779 – Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
• 1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
• 1891 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)*
• 1924 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (b. 1844)
• 1938 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
• 1939 – Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
• 1942 – Karin Boye, Swedish author (b. 1900)
• 1942 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
• 1944 – William Stephens, U.S. political figure (b. 1859)
• 1945 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
• 1947 – Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1873)
• 1947 – Hans Biebow, German war criminal (by execution; b. 1902)
• 1960 – Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
• 1964 – Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (declined) (b. 1895)
• 1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
• 1967 – Vladimir Komarov, cosmonaut (b. 1927)
• 1974 – Bud Abbott, American actor and comedian (b. 1895)
• 1975 – Pete Ham, Welsh musician and frontman of Badfinger (b. 1947)
• 1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
• 1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish athlete (b. 1896)
• 1983 – Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
• 1986 – Wallis Simpson, American wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor (b. 1896)
• 1993 – Oliver Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1917)
• 1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and politician (b. 1927)
• 1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer and weapons designer (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Al Hibbler, American singer (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Leon Sullivan, African-American civil rights leader and pastor (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Estée Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
• 2006 – Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)

April 24 – Holidays:

• Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
• Australia – Kapyong Day a day of remembrance for Korean War veterans, named after the Battle of Kapyong in 1951
• The Gambia – Republic Day in (1970).

On This Day in History April 23

April 23 – Events:

• 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
• 1014 – Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
• 1229 – Ferdinand III of Castile conquers Cáceres.
• 1343 – St. George’s Night Uprising.
• 1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III of England is announced on St George’s Day.
• 1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
• 1597 – Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance.
• 1635 – First public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1660 – Treaty of Oliwa is established between Sweden and Poland.
• 1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
• 1827 – William Rowan Hamilton presents his Theory of systems of rays.
• 1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey was founded in Ankara.
• 1923 – Inauguration ceremonies take place of Gdynia as a temporary military port and fishers’ shelter.
• 1932 – The 153-year old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, the Netherlands burns down.
• 1935 – Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
• 1940 – Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi kills 198 people.
• 1941 – World War II: Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the attacking Wehrmacht.
• 1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
• 1948 – Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, the major port of Israel, is captured from Palestinian forces.
• 1955 – The Canadian Labour Congress is formed by the merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.
• 1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
• 1967 – A group of young radicals are expelled from the Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN).  This group goes on to found the Socialist Workers Party (POS).
• 1968 – The United Kingdom produces its first decimalised coins, a 5p and a 10p coin.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
• 1974 – A Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 crashes in Bali, Indonesia, killing 107.
• 1979 – Fighting in London between the Anti-Nazi League and the Metropolitan Police’s Special Patrol Group results in the death of protester Blair Peach.
• 1982 – Conch Republic established.
• 1982 – The ZX Spectrum is released.
• 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke.
• 1987 – 28 construction workers died when the L’Ambiance Plaza collapses while under construction in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• 1988 – Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon, after spending the record total of 741 consecutive weeks (over 14 years) on the Billboard 200, left the charts for its first time ever.
• 1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
• 1997 – Omaria massacre in Algeria; 42 villagers killed.
• 2003 – Beijing closes all schools for two weeks due to the SARS virus.

April 23 – Birthdays:

• 1170 – Isabelle of Hainaut, queen of France (d. 1190)
• 1185 – King Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
• 1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry, queen of France (d. 1505)
• 1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian philosopher (d. 1558)
• 1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (d. 1565)
• 1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
• 1564 – William Shakespeare, (guessed to be born on this day) English poet and playwright (d. 1616)
• 1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
• 1621 – William Penn, English admiral (d. 1670)
• 1628 – Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (d. 1704)
• 1676 – King Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
• 1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (d. 1797)
• 1725 – Saint Gerard Majella, Catholic saint (d. 1755)
• 1746 – Félix Vicq-d’Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
• 1775 – J. M. W. Turner, English painter (d. 1851)
• 1791 – James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
• 1792 – John Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
• 1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar (d. 1856)
• 1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher (d. 1879)
• 1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator from Illinois and Presidential candidate (d. 1861)
• 1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, French scholar (Society of Saint Vincent de Paul) (d. 1853)
• 1823 – Abd-ul-Mejid, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1861)
• 1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, 40 Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
• 1857 – Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
• 1858 – Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
• 1861 – Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, British general (d. 1936)
• 1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
• 1867 – Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1928)
• 1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian (d. 1925)
• 1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian choreographer and dancer (d. 1942)
• 1882 – Albert Coates, British composer (d. 1953)
• 1888 – Georges Vanier, French-Canadian soldier and diplomat (d. 1967)
• 1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
• 1893 – Frank Borzage, American film director (d. 1952)
• 1894 – Cow Cow Davenport, American pianist (d. 1955)
• 1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand writer (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Lucius Clay, American general (d. 1978)
• 1897 – Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, Russian/American novelist (d. 1977)
• 1900 – Joseph Green, Polish-born actor and director (d. 1996)
• 1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (d. 1959)
• 1901 – E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist (d. 1988)
• 1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1904 – Duncan Renaldo, Spanish-American actor (d. 1985)
• 1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975)
• 1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator (d. 2006)
• 1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Maurice Druon, French author
• 1921 – Janet Blair, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas
• 1923 – Avram Davidson, American writer (d. 1993)
• 1923 – Antonino Rocca, professional wrestler
• 1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player
• 1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (d. 2007)
• 1926 – J. P. Donleavy, Irish American author
• 1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress and politician
• 1932 – Jim Fixx, American athlete and writer (d. 1984)
• 1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
• 1935 – Bunky Green, American musician
• 1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer and musician (d. 1988)
• 1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican film director
• 1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
• 1939 – Ray Peterson, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1940 – Michael Copps, American Federal Government official
• 1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer
• 1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland 1995-2003
• 1941 – Michael Lynne, American film executive
• 1942 – Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
• 1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
• 1947 – Glenn Cornick, British musician (Jethro Tull)
• 1947 – Bernadette Devlin, Irish politician
• 1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author
• 1948 – Serge Thériault, French-Canadian comedian and actor
• 1949 – David Cross, British violinist (King Crimson)
• 1949 – Joyce DeWitt, American actress
• 1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American musician and producer
• 1954 – Michael Moore, American filmmaker
• 1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
• 1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
• 1957 – Kenji Kawai, Japanese composer
• 1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic music composer
• 1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
• 1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (d. 1991)
• 1960 – Claude Julien, French-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1961 – Terry Gordy, American professional wrestler (d. 2001)
• 1961 – George Lopez, American actor and comedian
• 1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor
• 1963 – Paul Belmondo, French racing driver
• 1963 – Magnús Ver Magnússon, Icelandic powerlifter
• 1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
• 1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
• 1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (d. 2001)
• 1968 – Princess Aisha bint Al Hussein of Jordan
• 1968 – Princess Zein bint Al Hussein of Jordan
• 1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
• 1969 – Richard Wolstencroft, Australian Filmmaker
• 1969 – Martin López-Zubero, Spanish swimmer
• 1970 – Scott Bairstow, American actor
• 1970 – Dennis Bayne Culp, American singer/songwriter
• 1970 – Sadao Abe, Japanese actor
• 1971 – Charmaine Sinclair, English model
• 1972 – Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet
• 1972 – Patricia Manterola, Mexican singer
• 1973 – Patrick Poulin, French-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Carlos Dengler, American musician (Interpol)
• 1974 – Barry Watson, American actor
• 1975 – Jón Þór Birgisson, Icelandic musician and singer (Sigur Rós)
• 1975 – Bobby Shaw, American football wide receiver for the NFL
• 1977 – John Cena, American professional wrestler
• 1977 – Andruw Jones, Curaçaoan baseball player
• 1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Kal Penn, American actor
• 1977 – Lee Young-Pyo, Korean footballer
• 1979 – Yana Gupta, Indian actress & model
• 1979 – Jaime King, American actress
• 1979 – Lauri Ylönen, Finnish singer (The Rasmus)
• 1981 – Sean Henn, American baseball player
• 1981 – Joanna Krupa, Supermodel/actress
• 1981 – Chris Sharma, American rock climber/boulderer
• 1983 – Daniela Hantuchová, Slovakian tennis player
• 1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian free style skier
• 1984 – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Chess Woman World Champion
• 1985 – Angel Locsin, Filipina TV and movie actress
• 1986 – Sven Kramer, Dutch speedskater
• 1986 – Jessica Stam, Canadian supermodel
• 1987 – Emily Fox, American cupstacking champion
• 1988 – Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
• 1989 – Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
• 1990 – Matthew Dillon Underwood, American actor
• 2003 – Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este

April 23 – Deaths:

• 303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and Christian martyr
• 725 – Wihtred, King of Kent
• 871 – Ethelred of Wessex
• 997 – Saint Adalbert of Prague, bishop (b. ca. 956)
• 1014 – Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (killed in battle)
• 1016 – Ethelred II of England
• 1124 – King Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
• 1151 – Queen Adeliza of England (b. 1103)
• 1217 – King Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
• 1407 – Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
• 1605 – Tsar Boris Godunov of Russia (b. ca. 1550)
• 1616 – Miguel Cervantes, Spanish author (b. 1547)
• 1616 – William Shakespeare, English writer and actor (b. 1564) (Julian calendar)
• 1616 – El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Peruvian writer (b. 1539)
• 1625 – Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
• 1702 – Margaret Fell, English Quaker leader (b. 1614)
• 1740 – Thomas Tickell, English writer (b. 1685)
• 1781 – James Abercrombie, British general (b. 1706)
• 1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer (b. 1741)
• 1794 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (executed) (b. 1721)
• 1827 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek hero of the Greek War of Independence
• 1839 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French explorer (b. 1768)
• 1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet (b. 1770)
• 1889 – Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly, French writer (b. 1808)
• 1895 – Carl Ludwig, German physician (b. 1815)
• 1905 – Gédéon Ouimet, Quebec politician (b. 1823)
• 1915 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887).
• 1936 – Teresa de la Parra, Venezuelan writer (b. 1889)
• 1951 – Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
• 1952 – Julius Freed, American inventor and banker (b. 1887)
• 1975 – William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908)
• 1979 – Blair Peach, New Zealand-born anti-fascist (b. 1946)
• 1981 – Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and writer (b. 1897)
• 1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
• 1984 – Red Garland, American jazz pianist (b. 1923)
• 1985 – Sam Ervin, American politician (b. 1896)
• 1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
• 1986 – Jim Laker, English cricketer (b. 1922)
• 1986 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-born film director (b. 1906)
• 1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1911)
• 1991 – Johnny Thunders, American musician (b. 1952)
• 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker (b. 1921)
• 1993 – César Chávez, American labor activist (b. 1927)
• 1995 – Howard Cosell, American sports journalist (b. 1918)
• 1995 – John C. Stennis, U.S. Senator from Mississippi (b. 1904)
• 1996 – Jean-Victor Allard, Canadian military officer (b. 1913)
• 1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian author (b. 1899)
• 1997 – Denis Compton, English cricketer (b. 1918)
• 1998 – Constantine Karamanlis, Greek politician (b. 1907)
• 1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin (b. 1928)
• 2003 – James H. Critchfield, American Central Intelligence agent (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer (b. 1910)
• 2005 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Al Grassby, Australian immigration minister (b. 1928)
• 2005 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Romano Scarpa, Italian-born comic artist (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player (b. 1934)
• 2006 – Johnnie Checketts, New Zealand fighter pilot (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (b. 1932)
• 2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Boris Yeltsin, first President of the Russian Federation (b. 1931)

April 23 – Holidays:

• UNESCO International Day of the Book in honor of the death of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes on April 23, 1616.
• Catalonia – Lover’s Day. Men and women receive a book and rose as gifts from their romantic interest. The book is in honor of Shakespeare’s and Cervantes’s death on April 23, 1616.
• Turkey – National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (1920)
• Independence Day for the Conch Republic
• National Beer Day in Germany
• Liturgical feasts:
  • Feast Day of Saint George:
  • Patron saint and National Day of England
  • Patron saint and National Day of Aragon
  • Celebrated as St. Jordi’s Day in Catalonia, presents of books and roses.
  • Jurgi festival, in ancient Latvia
  • Saint Adalbert of Prague
  • Saint Gerard (d. 1138)

On This Day in History April 22

April 22 – Events:

• 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil.
• 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England after the death of his father.
• 1529 – Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas.
• 1836 – Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Grierson’s Raid begins – troops under Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
• 1864 – The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act which mandates that the inscription “In God We Trust” be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.
• 1876 – The Boston Red Stockings defeat the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5 in the first National League Baseball game.
• 1889 – At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours, the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
• 1898 – Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and the USS Nashville captures a Spanish merchant ship.
• 1912 – Pravda, the “voice” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publications in Saint Petersburg.
• 1915 – The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
• 1930 – The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
• 1944 – World War II: Operation Persecution initiated – Allied forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea.
• 1945 – World War II: After learning that Soviet forces have taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admits defeat in his underground bunker and states that suicide is his only recourse.
• 1946 – The first installment of the popular Japanese comic strip, Sazae-san, is published in the Fukunichi Shimbun.
• 1954 – Red Scare: Army-McCarthy Hearings begin.
• 1964 – The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its first season.
• 1970 – First Earth Day celebrated.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts antiwar protests in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
• 1983 – The German magazine, Der Stern claims that Adolf Hitler’s diaries were found in a wreckage in East Germany.
• 1992 – 1992 explosion in Guadalajara, Mexico ; 206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless
• 1993 – The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC is dedicated.
• 1993 – The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released.
• 1997 – Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria; 93 villagers killed.
• 1997 – A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ends after government commandos storm and capture the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage dies of a heart attack, two soldiers are killed from rebel fire, and all 14 rebels are slain.
• 1998 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
• 2000 – In a predawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives’ home in Miami, Florida.
• 2000 – The Big Number Change takes place in the United Kingdom.
• 2004 – Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing up to 150 people.
• 2006 – 243 people were injured in pro-democracy protest in Nepal after Nepali security forces opened fire on protesters against King Gyanendra.
• 2006 – Jalal Talabani sworn in for a second term as President of Iraq.

April 22 – Birthdays:

• 1451 – Queen Isabella of Castile and Leon (d. 1504)
• 1550 – Edward de Vere, Lord Great Chamberlain of England (d. 1604)
• 1610 – Pope Alexander VIII (d. 1691)
• 1658 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (d. 1709)
• 1690 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (d. 1763)
• 1692 – James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (d. 1770)
• 1707 – Henry Fielding, English author (d. 1754)
• 1711 – Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (d. 1779)
• 1724 – Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (d. 1804)
• 1744 – James Sullivan, 7th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1808)
• 1766 – Madame de Staël, French author (d. 1817)
• 1812 – Solomon Caesar Malan, British orientalist (d. 1894)
• 1816 – Charles Denis Bourbaki, French general
• 1832 – Julius Sterling Morton, Arbor Day founder (d. 1902
• 1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter (d. 1916)
• 1844 – Lewis Thornton Powell, would-be assassin of Secretary of State William H. Seward (d. 1865)
• 1852 – Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1912)
• 1854 – Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1943)
• 1860 – Ada Rehan, American stage actress (d. 1916)
• 1868 – Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (d. 1924)
• 1870 (N.S.) – Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary (d. 1924)
• 1872 – Princess Margaret of Prussia, queen of Finland (d. 1954)
• 1873 – Ellen Glasgow, American author (d. 1945)
• 1876 – Robert Bárány, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1936)
• 1876 – Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (d. 1920)
• 1881 – Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
• 1884 – Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (d. 1939)
• 1891 – Harold Jeffreys, English astronomer (d. 1989)
• 1891 – Nicola Sacco, American anarchist (d. 1927)
• 1891 – Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (d. 1965)
• 1899 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer (d. 1977)
• 1904 – Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist (d. 1967)
• 1905 – Robert Choquette, French Canadian novelist, poet and diplomat (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Eddie Albert, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1906 – Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, second in line to the Swedish throne (d. 1946)
• 1907 – Ivan Efremov, Russian paleontologist and author (d. 1972)
• 1909 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist, Nobel laureate
• 1909 – Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (d. 2001)
• 1910 – Norman Steenrod, American mathematician (d. 1971)
• 1912 – Kathleen Ferrier, British singer (d. 1953)
• 1914 – Jan de Hartog, Dutch writer (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Michael Wittman, German soldier and tank ace (d. 1944)
• 1916 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (d. 1999)
• 1918 – Mickey Vernon, baseball player
• 1919 – Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Charles Mingus, American musician (d. 1979)
• 1922 – Wolf V. Vishniac, American microbiologist (d. 1973)
• 1923 – Avis Bunnage, English actress (d. 1990)
• 1923 – Bettie Page, American model
• 1923 – Aaron Spelling, American television producer (d. 2006)
• 1925 – George Cole, English actor
• 1926 – Charlotte Rae, American actress
• 1926 – James Stirling, British architect (d. 1992)
• 1927 – Laurel Aitken, Jamaican singer (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Paul Chambers, American jazz bassist (d. 1969)
• 1936 – Glen Campbell, American musician
• 1936 – Pierre Hétu, French Canadian conductor and pianist (d. 1998)
• 1937 – Jack Nicholson, American actor
• 1937 – Jack Nitzsche, American composer (d. 2000)
• 1939 – Jason Miller, American playwright (d. 2001)
• 1939 – Theodor Waigel, German politician and finance minister
• 1943 – Louise Glück, American poet and 12th US Poet Laureate
• 1944 – Steve Fossett, American adventurer (d. 2007)
• 1946 – John Waters, American film writer
• 1946 – Louise Harel, Quebec politician
• 1946 – Nicole Garcia, French actress and director
• 1946 – Steven L. Bennett, USAF Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient (d. 1972)
• 1950 – Peter Frampton, English musician
• 1950 – Zygi Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings
• 1951 – Paul Carrack, English musician
• 1952 – Marilyn Chambers, American actress
• 1952 – François Berléand, French actor
• 1953 – Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer
• 1955 – Johnnie To, Hong Kong film director and producer
• 1957 – Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister
• 1958 – Ken Olandt, American actor
• 1959 – Catherine Mary Stewart, Canadian actress
• 1959 – Ryan Stiles, Canadian-born actor
• 1960 – Gary Rhodes, English chef
• 1960 – Randall L. Stephenson, American business executive
• 1962 – Jeff Minter, English video game programmer
• 1965 – Lauri Hendler, actress
• 1965 – Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Mariana Levy, Mexican actress (d. 2005)
• 1966 – Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor
• 1967 – Sheryl Lee, American actress
• 1967 – Harvey Williams, American football player
• 1968 – Zarley Zalapski, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – Dion Dublin, English footballer
• 1970 – Andrea Giani, Italian volleyball player
• 1970 – Regine Velasquez, Filipino singer and actress
• 1971 – Daisuke Enomoto, Japanese people space tourist
• 1972 – Owen Finegan, Australian rugby union footballer
• 1973 – Adem Poric, Australian former footballer
• 1973 – Ofer Talker, Israeli footballer
• 1974 – Diego Costa, Brazilian Singer-Songwriter Co-founder of CultureMachine
• 1974 – Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-born bassist (System of a Down)
• 1975 – Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (d. 1999)
• 1975 – Carlos Sastre, Spanish cyclist
• 1976 – Michal Zewlakow, Polish footballer
• 1976 – Paul Henderson, Australian soccer player
• 1976 – Dan Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Mark van Bommel, Dutch footballer
• 1977 – Aaron Fink, American guitarist (Breaking Benjamin)
• 1978 – Jason Stollsteimer, American singer (The Von Bondies)
• 1978 – Esteban Tuero, Argentinian race car driver
• 1979 – Daniel Johns, Australian musician (Silverchair)
• 1980 – Nicolas Douchez, French footballer
• 1980 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1980 – Courtney Friel, presenter of World Poker Tour
• 1981 – Ken Dorsey, American football player
• 1981 – Ben Scott, English Cricketer
• 1982 – Kaká, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Tim Hamilton, Slovak adult movie actor
• 1983 – Matt Jones, American football player
• 1984 – Michelle Ryan, English actress
• 1984 – Amelle Berrabah, British singer (Sugababes)
• 1986 – Dusan Sakota, Serbian-Greek basketball player

April 22 – Deaths:

• 296 – Pope Caius
• 455 – Petronius Maximus, Roman Emperor
• 536 – Pope Agapetus I
• 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammanati, Italian architect (b. 1511)
• 1672 – Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (b. 1598)
• 1699 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz, German statesman (b. 1646)
• 1758 – Antoine de Jussieu, French naturalist (b. 1686)
• 1778 – James Hargreaves, English inventor (b. 1720)
• 1806 – Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (stabbed) (b. 1763)
• 1833 – Richard Trevithick, English inventor (b. 1771)
• 1839 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
• 1854 – Nicolás Bravo, Mexican politician and soldier (b. 1786)
• 1877 – James P. Kirkwood, American civil engineer (b. 1807)
• 1892 – Edouard Lalo, French composer (b. 1823)
• 1893 – Chaim Aronson, inventor and academic (b. 1825)
• 1896 – Thomas Meik, British civil engineer (b. 1812)
• 1908 – Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1836)
• 1925 – André Caplet, French composer (b. 1878)
• 1930 – Jeppe Aakjaer, Danish poet (b. 1866)
• 1933 – Henry Royce, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1863)
• 1945 – Käthe Kollwitz, German artist (b. 1867)
• 1945 – Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician (b. 1900)
• 1946 – Harlan F. Stone, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (b. 1872)
• 1946 – Lionel Atwill, English Actor (b. 1885)
• 1951 – Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (b. 1870)
• 1968 – Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (b. 1911)
• 1978 – Will Geer, American actor (b. 1902)
• 1980 – Jane Froman, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1980 – Fritz Strassmann, German physicist (b. 1902)
• 1983 – Earl “Fatha” Hines, American jazz pianist (b. 1903)
• 1983 – John Louis Evans, convicted murderer (executed) (b. 1950)
• 1984 – Ansel Adams, American photographer (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Paul H. Emmett, American chemical engineer (b. 1900)
• 1985 – Jacques Ferron, French Canadian physician, author and politician (b. 1921)
• 1986 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian writer (b. 1907)
• 1988 – Irene Rich, American actress (b. 1891)
• 1990 – Albert Salmi, American actor (b. 1928)
• 1994 – Richard Nixon, President of the United States (b. 1913)
• 1995 – Maggie Kuhn, American activist (b. 1905)
• 1996 – Erma Bombeck, American humorist (b. 1927)
• 1996 – Harold “Jug” McSpaden, American professional golfer (b. 1908)
• 1998 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby coach (b. 1940)
• 1999 – Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek singer (b. 1938)
• 2002 – Linda Lovelace, American adult actress (b. 1949)
• 2003 – Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Michael Larrabee, American athlete (b. 1933)
• 2003 – Felice Bryant, American songwriter (b. 1925)
• 2004 – Pat Tillman, American football player and U.S. Army Ranger (killed in action) (b. 1976)
• 2004 – Jason L. Dunham, American Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981)
• 2005 – Philip Morrison, American physicist (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Erika Fuchs, German translator (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Norman Bird, UK character actor (b. 1920)
• 2006 – Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Juanita Millender-McDonald, congresswoman from southern California (b. 1938)

April 22 – Holidays:

• Earth Day
• Brazil – Discovery Day
• Abel McAedh
• Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions

On This Day in History April 21

April 21 – Events:

• 753 BC – Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional).
• 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Although Antony fails to capture Mutina, Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly afterwards.
• 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England (unofficially) at the death of his father, Henry VII.
• 1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary who was leading a movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged and quartered.
• 1836 – Texas Revolution: Battle of San Jacinto – Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• 1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
• 1898 – Spanish-American War: The U.S. Congress, on April 25, recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of this date.
• 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, known as “The Red Baron,” is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France.
• 1930 – A fire at a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, kills 320 people.
• 1944 – Women in France receive the right to vote.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet Union forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
• 1952 – Secretary’s Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) is first celebrated.
• 1960 – Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 9:30 am the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
• 1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the U.S. since World War II.
• 1965 – The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
• 1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
• 1967 – A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d’état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
• 1970 – The Hutt River Province Principality secedes from Australia.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
• 1982 – Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
• 1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that explodes in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, killing 106 people.
• 1989 – Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
• 1994 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.

April 21 – Birthdays:

• 1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1619)
• 1651 – Blessed Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (d. 1711)
• 1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician (d. 1719)
• 1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
• 1673 – Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1742)
• 1713 – Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, Marshal of France (d. 1793)
• 1729 – Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796)
• 1767 – Elisabeth of Württemberg, Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1790)
• 1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (d. 1862)
• 1775 – Alexander Anderson, American illustrator (d. 1870)
• 1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician (d. 1864)
• 1811 – Alson Sherman, American politician (d. 1903)
• 1814 – Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906)
• 1816 – Charlotte Brontë, English author (d. 1855)
• 1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1922)
• 1838 – John Muir, American environmentalist (d. 1914)
• 1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist (d. 1939)
• 1854 – William Stang, Roman Catholic Bishop (d. 1907)
• 1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
• 1870 – Edwin S. Porter, American film pioneer (d. 1941)
• 1879 – Kartini, Indonesian national figure (d. 1904)
• 1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1961)
• 1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)
• 1889 – Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
• 1896 – Henry de Montherlant, French novelist and essayist (d. 1972)
• 1905 – Pat Brown, American politician (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Ivan Combe, American inventor (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Marcel Camus, French film director (d. 1982)
• 1914 – Norman Panama, American screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (d. 2001)
• 1919 – Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
• 1920 – Ronald Magill, British actor (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish author (d. 1987)
• 1923 – John Mortimer, English barrister and writer
• 1926 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
• 1926 – Arthur Rowley, English Footballer (d. 2002)
• 1927 – Gerald Flood, British actor (d. 1989)
• 1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
•  1932 – Elaine May, American comedian
• 1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor
• 1935 – Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey and 9/11 Commission Chairman
• 1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist
• 1938 – Ernie Maresca, American singer, songwriter and record executive
• 1939 – Helen Prejean, American writer
• 1944 – Adrian Hurley, Australian basketball coach
• 1945 – Diana Darvey, British actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)
• 1947 – Iggy Pop, American musician (The Stooges)
• 1947 – John Weider, British rock musician (Eric Burdon and the Animals, Family)
• 1948 – Gary Condit, American politician  
• 1948 – Paul Davis, American singer
• 1949 – Patti LuPone, American singer and actress
• 1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and comedian
• 1951 – Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician
• 1951 – Robert Gotobed, English drummer (Wire)
• 1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1954 – James Morrison, American actor
• 1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer
• 1956 – Phillip Longman, American demographer
• 1958 – Edward Leslie, American professional wrestler
• 1958 – Andie MacDowell, American actress
• 1958 – Michael S. Zarnock, American author/columnist/Guinness World Record Holder
• 1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese manga artist
• 1959 – Robert Smith, British musician (The Cure)
• 1959 – Jerry Only, American musician (The Misfits)
• 1959 – Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (Cowboy Junkies)
• 1959 – Steve Collins, English businessman Phoenix Metal Finishers
• 1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player
• 1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
• 1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
• 1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American film director
• 1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete
• 1964 – Alex Baumann, Canadian Olympic swimmer
• 1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1965 – Karen Foster, American model (Playboy)
• 1966 – Michael Franti, American musician
• 1969 – Robin Meade, American reporter
• 1970 – Rob Riggle, American comedian
• 1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress
• 1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish song-writer/actor
• 1971 – Alexander Kravchenko, Russian professional poker player
• 1971 – Eric Mabius, American actor
• 1971 – Michael Turner, American comic book artist
• 1972 – Severina Vuckovic, Croatian singer
• 1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
• 1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
• 1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
• 1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish)
• 1978 – Branden Steineckert, American drummer (Rancid, formerly of The Used)
• 1979 – Doseone, American rapper
• 1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
• 1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
• 1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
• 1981 – Stephanie Larimore, American model
• 1982 – Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, American football player
• 1983 – Pawel Brozek, Polish footballer
• 1984 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
• 1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
• 1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish hockey player
• 1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Robbie Amell, Canadian actor
• 2007 – Princess Isabella of Denmark

April 21 – Deaths:

• 1073 – Pope Alexander II
• 1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1142 – Pierre Abélard, French writer (b. 1079)
• 1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
• 1509 – King Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
• 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
• 1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (b. 1495)
• 1574 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
• 1699 – Jean Racine, French dramatist (b. 1639)
• 1701 – Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (b. 1667)
• 1719 – Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b. 1640)
• 1720 – Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b. 1646)
• 1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., historian of Colonial Virginia (b. 1673)
• 1792 – Tiradentes, Brazilian revolutionary (b. 1746)
• 1793 – John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724)
• 1815 – Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746)
• 1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathemattician (b. 1765)
• 1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
• 1868 – Henry James O’Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
• 1910 – Mark Twain, American author and humorist (b. 1835)
• 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1892)
• 1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
• 1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet (b. 1844)
• 1938 – Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
• 1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
• 1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883)
• 1956 – Charles MacArthur, American writer (b. 1895)
• 1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
• 1971 – François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Haitian dictator (b. 1907)
• 1973 – Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
• 1977 – Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892)
• 1978 – Sandy Denny, British vocalist (b. 1947)
• 1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American civil rights advocate and agricultural engineer (b. 1877)
• 1980 – Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Persian poet and painter (b. 1928)
• 1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian actor (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian fashion designer (b. 1922)
• 1985 – Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio pioneer (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Brazil banker and elected president (b. 1910)
• 1986 – Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (b.1930)
• 1989 – Princess Dukhye of Korea (b. 1912)
• 1990 – Erté, French artist (b. 1892)
• 1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b. 1944)
• 1996 – Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, American bookie and sports broadcaster (b. 1919)
• 1999 – Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers, American actor and musician (b. 1904)
• 2000 – Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (b. 1929)
• 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Gerry Marshall, British racing driver (b. 1941)
• 2006 – T.K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian football manager (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist and songwriter (b. 1941)

April 21 – Holidays:

• San Jacinto Day – Texas state holiday.
• Aggie Muster at Texas A&M University.
• Roman Empire – the Parilia was held in honor of Pales.
• Rome – city birthday.
• Tiradentes – Brazil.
• Grounation Day in Rastafari movement.
• Liturgical feasts:
  • Holy Infant of Good Health
  • Saint Abdecalas
  • Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Saint Anastasius I
  • Saint Konrad von Parzham
  • Saint Wolbodo