Events

• 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) in the battle of Thapsus.

• 402 – Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.

• 1199 – King Richard I of England dies from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder.

• 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.

• 1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.

• 1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, is made king John I of Portugal.

• 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town .

• 1667 – An earthquake devastates Dubrovnik, then an independent city-state.

• 1782 – Rama I succeeds King Taksin of Siam (modern day Thailand), who is overthrown in a coup d'état.

• 1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic, and the period known as the Reign of Terror begins.

• 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company.

• 1812 – British forces assault the fortress of Badajoz under the command of the Duke of Wellington. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon led France.

• 1814 – Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.

• 1830 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. and others at Fayette, New York.

• 1832 – Indian Wars: The Black Hawk War begins – the Sauk warrior Black Hawk enters into war with the United States.

• 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins – in Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.

• 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sayler's Creek – Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.

• 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.

• 1869 – Celluloid is patented.

• 1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.

• 1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London after losing a libel case against the John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry.

• 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.

• 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and the Western world.

• 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson allegedly reach the North Pole.

• 1911 – Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, Leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after Gjergj Kastrioti (Skenderbeg).

• 1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson's address to Congress).

• 1919 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi orders a General Strike.

• 1923 – The first Prefects Board in Southeast Asia is formed in Victoria Institution, Malaysia.

• 1926 – Walter Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).

• 1929 – Huey P. Long Governor of Louisiana is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.

• 1930 – Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." Thus he starts the Salt Satyagraha.

• 1936 – Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.

• 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).

• 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievements.

• 1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.

• 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.

• 1968 – In Richmond, Indiana's downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.

• 1970 – Newhall Incident: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed.

• 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive – American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.

• 1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.

• 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begin using the Designated Hitter

• 1982 – Estonian Communist Party bureau declared "fight against bourgeois TV" — meaning Finnish TV — a top priority of the propagandists of Estonian SSR

• 1984 – Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.

• 1994 – The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.

• 1998 – Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of hitting India.

• 1998 – Travelers Group announced an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.

• 2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.

• 2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.

• 2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing at least 253.

Births

• 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)

• 1613 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (d. 1683)

• 1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1649)

• 1651 – André Dacier, French classical scholar (d. 1722)

• 1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (d. 1742)

• 1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (d. 1741)

• 1725 – Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (d. 1807)

• 1741 – Nicolas Chamfort, French writer (d. 1794)

• 1766 – Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and printmaker (d. 1853)

• 1773 – James Mill, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1836)

• 1810 – Philip Henry Gosse, English naturalist (d. 1888)

• 1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (d. 1870)

• 1815 – Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)

• 1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet (d. 1870)

• 1820 – Nadar, French photographer (d. 1910)

• 1823 – Joseph Medill, journalist and mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)

• 1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter (d. 1898)

• 1841 – Karl Binding, German jurist (d. 1920)

• 1849 – John William Waterhouse, British painter (d. 1917)

• 1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer (d. 1932)

• 1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French occultist (d. 1897)

• 1871 – Prince Alexander John of Wales (d. 1871)

• 1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author (d. 1934)

• 1884 – Walter Huston, Canadian-born actor (d. 1950)

• 1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, The Last Nizam of Hyderabad state (d. 1967)

• 1888 – Hans Richter, Swiss painter, film maker, graphic artist and avant-gardist (d. 1976)

• 1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch designer of aircraft (d. 1939)

• 1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American industrialist (d. 1981)

• 1892 – Lowell Thomas, American travel writer (d. 1981)

• 1894 – Gertrude Baines, American supercentenarian (d. 2009)

• 1895 – Dudley Nichols, American screenwriter (d. 1960)

• 1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian Catholic (d. 1925)

• 1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (d. 1989)

• 1902 – Julien Torma, French writer, playwright and poet (d. 1933)

• 1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player (d. 1962)

• 1903 – Harold Edgerton, American electrical engineer (d. 1990)

• 1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)

• 1909 – William M. Branham, American evangelist (d. 1965)

• 1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)

• 1915 – Tadeusz Kantor, Polish painter, set designer and theater director (d. 1990)

• 1917 – Leonora Carrington, British-born surrealist painter

• 1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president (d. 1982)

• 1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist, Nobel laureate

• 1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1990)

• 1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-born cartoonist (d. 2000)

• 1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish politician

• 1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American musician (d. 1996)

• 1928 – James D. Watson, American geneticist, Nobel laureate

• 1929 – Joi Lansing, American model and actress (d. 1972)

• 1929 – Willis Hall, English playwright and radio and television writer (d. 2005)

• 1929 – André Previn, German-born composer and conductor

• 1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor and director (d. 2008)

• 1931 – Baba Ram Dass, American Hindu spiritual teacher

• 1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor (d. 2004)

• 1933 – Roy Goode, British lawyer

• 1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American Democratic politician (d. 2007)

• 1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka

• 1934 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)

• 1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian visual artist (d. 2008)

• 1935 – Douglas Hill, Canadian-born science fiction writer (d.2007)

• 1936 – Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli visual artist

• 1937 – Merle Haggard, American musician

• 1937 – Peter Maivia, Samoan professional wrestler (d. 1982)

• 1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor

• 1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician

• 1938 – Roy Thinnes, American actor

• 1939 – André Ouellet, French Canadian politician

• 1940 – Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Mexican actor

• 1940 – Homero Aridjis, Mexican writer and diplomat

• 1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian

• 1941 – Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, American drag racer

• 1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian musician

• 1942 – Barry Levinson, American film producer/director

• 1944 – Felicity Palmer, English soprano

• 1945 – Neal Boortz, American talk radio personality

• 1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor

• 1948 – Patrika Darbo, American actress

• 1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate

• 1950 – Cleo Odzer, American writer

• 1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-born baseball player

• 1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer

• 1952 – Marilu Henner, American actress

• 1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1992)

• 1953 – Christopher Franke, German musician and composer

• 1955 – Blind Mississippi Morris, American delta blues musician

• 1955 – Rob Epstein, American filmmaker and journalist

• 1955 – Keith Hunter Jesperson, Canadian serial killer

• 1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor

• 1955 – Cathy Jones, Canadian comedian

• 1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and administrator

• 1956 – Sebastian Spreng, Argentinean visual artist

• 1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian astronaut

• 1960 – Batem, French comic book artist

• 1960 – Warren Haynes, American guitarist and song writer

• 1960 – John Pizzarelli, American jazz guitarist, song writer, singer and bandleader

• 1961 – Rory Bremner, English comedian and impressionist

• 1962 – Iris Häussler, German-born installation artist

• 1963 – Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador

• 1964 – Phil Gayle, English news presenter

• 1965 – Frank Black, American singer/songwriter

• 1965 – Lieve Slegers, Belgian athlete

• 1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player

• 1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean film director

• 1967 – Mika Koivuniemi, Finnish ten-pin bowler

• 1967 – Jonathan Firth, British actor

• 1968 – Vanessa Lann, American composer

• 1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian racing driver

• 1969 – Jack Canfora, American playwright

• 1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (disappeared 2002)

• 1969 – Ari Meyers, Puerto Rican-born American actress

• 1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian racing driver

• 1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor

• 1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player

• 1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African–born ice hockey player

• 1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer

• 1971 – Lou Merloni, American baseball player

• 1972 – Ami James, Israeli-born American tattoo artist

• 1972 – Jason Hervey, American actor

• 1972 – Jo Van Daele, Belgian discus thrower

• 1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player

• 1973 – Joe Machine, English artist, poet and writer

• 1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress/singer

• 1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer

• 1973 – Gina Yashere, English comedian

• 1974 – Robert Kovač, Croatian footballer

• 1975 – Zach Braff, American actor

• 1975 – Hal Gill, Ice Hockey player

• 1976 – Candace Cameron, American actress

• 1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic musician (Sigur Rós)

• 1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese sports writer

• 1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player

• 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player

• 1978 – Myleene Klass, British singer

• 1978 – Martin Mendez, Uruguayan-born Bassist (Opeth)

• 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player

• 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Zambian born, Welsh international footballer

• 1982 – Michael Guy Chislett, Australian-American guitarist (The Academy Is...)

• 1982 – Ilan Hall, Israeli-American chef

• 1982 – Bret Harrison, American actor

• 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1983 – Diora Baird, American actress

• 1983 – Jade Seah, Singaporean model, host and actress

• 1983 – Dash Shaw, American comic book writer and artist

• 1983 – James Wade, English darts player

• 1984 – Max Bemis, American musician/songwriter

• 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player

• 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer

• 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian rules footballer

• 1988 – Mike Bailey, English actor

• 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Anglo-Congolese footballer

• 1995 – Ryutaro Morimoto, Japanese actor and singer

• 2007 – Princess Haalah bint Hashim, Princess of Jordan

Deaths

• 885 – Saint Methodius (b. c. 815)

• 1147 – Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1090)

• 1199 – King Richard I of England (b. 1157)

• 1199 – Pierre Basile, French soldier

• 1362 – James I, Count of La Marche, French soldier (b. 1319)

• 1490 – King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (b. 1443)

• 1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)

• 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German artist (b. 1471)

• 1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss humanist (b. 1484)

• 1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish prelate and politician

• 1590 – Francis Walsingham, English spymaster

• 1605 – John Stow, English historian

• 1655 – David Blondel, French Protestant clergyman (b. 1591)

• 1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman (b. 1614)

• 1707 – Willem van de Velde, the younger, Dutch painter (b. 1633)

• 1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (b. 1690)

• 1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Russian painter (b. 1757)

• 1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (b. 1802)

• 1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek humanist scholar (b. 1748)

• 1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva, Brazilian statesman and geologist (b. 1763)

• 1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (b. 1803)

• 1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American politician (b. 1801)

• 1899 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809)

• 1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (b. 1849)

• 1933 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of George Armstrong Custer (b. 1842)

• 1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (b. 1869)

• 1947 – Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (b. 1896)

• 1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet (b. 1905)

• 1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870)

• 1963 – Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)

• 1970 – Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)

• 1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)

• 1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (b. 1882)

• 1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)

• 1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian aviator and businessman (b. 1895)

• 1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)

• 1992 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (b. 1920)

• 1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician (b. 1937)

• 1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician (b. 1956)

• 1996 – Greer Garson, Irish actress (b. 1904)

• 1998 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer (Plasmatics) (b. 1949)

• 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer (b. 1942)

• 1999 – Red Norvo, American jazz vibraphonist (b. 1908)

• 2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician (b. 1903)

• 2000 – Robert Powell, American Cab Driver (b.1963)

• 2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer (b. 1963)

• 2003 – David Bloom, American reporter (b. 1963)

• 2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (b. 1927)

• 2003 – Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter, Canadian religious figure (b. 1912)

• 2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (b. 1929)

• 2004 – Niki Sullivan, American guitarist (The Crickets) (b. 1937)

• 2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)

• 2006 – Maggie Dixon, American college basketball coach (b. 1977)

• 2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)

• 2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian film director (b. 1916)

• 2009 – Shawn Mackay, Brumbies rugby player (b. 1982)

Holidays and observances

• Tartan Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, a day set aside for the celebration of Scottish influence

• The date of organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Joseph Smith, Jr.. Also the date on which the same Church believes that Jesus was born.

• Chakri Day in Thailand, commemorating the reign of the Chakri Dynasty.

• Saint Marcellinus of Carthage (d. 413)

• St. Sixtus

• Blessed Notker

• Feast day of Saint Brychan, King of Brycheiniog, South Wales