Events
- 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
- 1632 - Battle of Rain; Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.
- 1715 - Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
- 1738 - Premiere in London of Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel.
- 1755 - Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language published in London.
- 1783 - Preliminary articles of peace ending Revolutionary War ratified.
- 1802 - William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy see a "long belt" of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.
- 1865 - Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States.
- 1892 - The General Electric Company is formed.
- 1906 - The establishing of the Armenian organization, AGBU
- 1912 - The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic, after hitting an iceberg two and a half hours earlier, the previous day.
- 1920 - Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti allegedly murder two security guards while robbing a shoe store.
- 1923 - Insulin first became generally available for use by diabetics.
- 1924 - Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
- 1940 - The Allies begin their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which was occupied by Nazi Germany.
- 1941 - In the Belfast Blitz two-hundred bombers of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attack Belfast, Northern Ireland killing one thousand people.
- 1942 - George Cross awarded to "to the island fortress of Malta - its people and defenders" by King George VI.
- 1943 - An Allied bomber attack misses the Minerva automobile factory and hits the Belgian town of Mortsel instead, killing 936 civilians.
- 1945 - The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
- 1947 - Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, breaking that sport's color line.
- 1955 - Ray Kroc opens his first franchise of McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois.
- 1957 - White Rock, British Columbia officially separates from Surrey, British Columbia and is incorporated as a new city.
- 1967 - Scotland defeat rivals England 3-2 at Wembley stadium, causing the Scots fans to jokingly claim their side as "Unofficial world Champions", creating the phenomenon of the Unofficial Football World Championships.
- 1984 - British comedian Tommy Cooper suffers a massive heart attack while live on TV.
- 1986 - The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya.
- 1989 - Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, a football stadium in Sheffield, resulting in 96 deaths.
- 1989 - Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China.
- 1992 - National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- 1994 - Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and initiating the World Trade Organization (effective January 1, 1995).
- 1997 - Fire sweeps through a campsite of Muslims making the Hajj pilgrimage; the official death toll is 343.
- 2002 - An Air China Boeing 767-200, flight CA129 crashes into hillside during heavy rain and fog near Busan, South Korea, killing 128.
Births
- 1452 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance polymath (d. 1519)
- 1469 - Guru Nanak Dev, Founder of Sikhism (d. 1539)
- 1489 - Sinan, Ottoman architect (d. 1588)
- 1552 - Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (d. 1626)
- 1588 - Claudius Salmasius, French classical scholar (d. 1653)
- 1641 - Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician (d. 1722)
- 1642 - Suleiman II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1691)
- 1646 - King Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
- 1646 - Pierre Poiret, French mystic (d. 1719)
- 1684 - Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
- 1688 - Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (d. 1758)
- 1707 - Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (d. 1783)
- 1710 - William Cullen, Scottish physician (d. 1790)
- 1721 - Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, English military leader (d. 1765)
- 1741 - Charles Willson Peale, American painter, soldier and naturalist (d. 1827)
- 1772 - Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist (d. 1844)
- 1793 - Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer (d. 1864)
- 1794 - Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist (d. 1867)
- 1800 - James Clark Ross, English explorer (d. 1862)
- 1809 - Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician (d. 1877)
- 1832 - Wilhelm Busch, German poet (d. 1908)
- 1841 - Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian distillery founder (d. 1919)
- 1843 - Henry James, American author (d. 1916)
- 1858 - Émile Durkheim, French sociologist (d. 1917)
- 1861 - Bliss Carman, Canadian poet (d. 1929)
- 1874 - George Harrison Shull, American plant geneticist (d. 1954)
- 1874 - Johannes Stark, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
- 1875 - James J. Jeffries, American heavyweight boxer (d. 1953)
- 1878 - Robert Walser, Swiss writer (d. 1956)
- 1879 - Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer (d. 1980)
- 1883 - Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
- 1885 - Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
- 1886 - Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet (d. 1921)
- 1888 - Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (d. 1904)
- 1889 - Thomas Hart Benton, American muralist (d. 1975)
- 1889 - A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
- 1892 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (d. 1983)
- 1892 - Theo Osterkamp, World War I and World War II German fighter pilot (d. 1975)
- 1894 - Bessie Smith, American blues singer (d. 1937)
- 1895 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards player (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, Russian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)
- 1901 - Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
- 1902 - Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
- 1904 - Arshile Gorky, Armenian Artist (d. 1948)
- 1907 - Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ethologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)
- 1908 - Eden Ahbez, American songwriter (d. 1995)
- 1912 - Kim Il-sung, President of North Korea (d. 1994)
- 1916 - Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
- 1917 - Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1917 - James Kee, American politician (d. 1989)
- 1920 - Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany
- 1921 - Georgi Beregovoi, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1995)
- 1922 - Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor
- 1922 - Harold Washington, American politician (d. 1987)
- 1924 - Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor
- 1927 - Robert Mills, American physicist (d. 1999)
- 1930 - VigdÃs Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland
- 1933 - Roy Clark, American musician
- 1933 - David Hamilton, British photographer, film director and producer
- 1933 - Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1933 - Boris Strugatsky, Russian author
- 1936 - Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
- 1937 - Bob Luman, American country singer (d. 1978)
- 1938 - Hso Khan Pha, Burmese politician
- 1939 - Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born actress
- 1939 - Marty Wilde, British singer
- 1940 - Jeffrey Archer, British author
- 1940 - Willie Davis, American baseball player
- 1940 - Woodie Fryman, American baseball player
- 1940 - Robert Lacroix, French Canadian professor of economics
- 1940 - Robert Walker Jr., American actor
- 1941 - Howard Berman, American politician
- 1942 - Francis X. DiLorenzo, American Catholic prelate
- 1942 - Walt Hazzard, American basketball player
- 1942 - Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
- 1944 - Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (d. 1996)
- 1944 - Dave Edmunds, Welsh musician
- 1947 - Lois Chiles, American actress
- 1947 - Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish politician
- 1947 - Mike Chapman, British songwriter
- 1947 - Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American writer and television producer
- 1948 - Michael Kamen, American composer (d. 2003)
- 1949 - Tonio K, American singer
- 1949 - Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer
- 1950 - Josiane Balasko, French actress, director and screenwriter
- 1950 - Amy Wright, American actress
- 1951 - Heloise, American newspaper columnist
- 1952 - Bengt Gingsjö, Swedish swimmer
- 1952 - Kym Gyngell, Australian comedian
- 1952 - Sam McMurray, American actor
- 1954 - Seka, American pornographic actress
- 1955 - Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997)
- 1956 - Michael Cooper, American basketball player
- 1957 - Evelyn Ashford, American athlete
- 1958 - Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 - Dolores Gordon-Smith, British Writer
- 1958 - Noni Ιoannidou, Greek fashion model and actress
- 1958 - Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer
- 1959 - Fruit Chan, Hong Kong film director
- 1959 - Emma Thompson, English actress
- 1959 - Thomas F. Wilson, American actor
- 1959 - Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player and general manager
- 1960 - Tony Jones (snooker), English snooker player
- 1960 - Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist
- 1960 - HRH Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, heir to the Belgian throne
- 1962 - Surjit Bindrakhia, Punjabi Bhangra singer
- 1962 - Nawal El Moutawakel, Morrocan hurdler
- 1962 - Tom Kane, American voice actor
- 1963 - Bobby Pepper, American journalist
- 1965 - Linda Perry, American musician
- 1966 - Samantha Fox, English singer
- 1967 - Frankie Poullain, British musician (The Darkness)
- 1967 - Dara Torres, American swimmer
- 1967 - Alt, Brazilian comic creator
- 1968 - Ed O'Brien, British musician (Radiohead)
- 1968 - Stacey Williams, American model
- 1969 - Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
- 1969 - Jimmy Waite, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1970 - Flex Alexander, American actor
- 1971 - Katy Hill, British television presenter
- 1971 - Sarah Jane Hamilton, British pornographic actress
- 1971 - Jason Sehorn, American football player
- 1972 - Lou Romano, American voice actor
- 1972 - Arturo Gatti, Canadian boxer
- 1974 - Mike Quinn, American football player
- 1974 - Danny Pino, American actor
- 1974 - Josh Todd, American musician (Buckcherry)
- 1974 - Keith Malley, American comedian and podcaster (Keith and The Girl)
- 1975 - Paul Dana, American race car driver (d. 2006)
- 1976 - Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Susan Ward, American actress
- 1977 - Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
- 1978 - Austin Aries, American wrestler
- 1978 - Milton Bradley, American baseball player
- 1978 - Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
- 1980 - Natalie Casey, British actress
- 1980 - James Foster, English cricketer
- 1980 - Raúl López, Spanish basketball player
- 1980 - Victor Núñez, Costa Rican footballer
- 1980 - Fränk Schleck, Luxembourgish cyclist
- 1981 - Andrés D'Alessandro, Argentine football player
- 1981 - Seth Wulsin, American artist
- 1982 - Anthony Green, American musician
- 1982 - Seth Rogen, Canadian actor and writer
- 1982 - Albert Riera, Spanish footballer
- 1983 - Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
- 1983 - Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 - Bronson La'Cassie, Australian professional golfer
- 1984 - Rodney Carney, NBA athlete
- 1984 - Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
- 1985 - John Danks, American baseball player
- 1985 - Aaron Laffey, American baseball player
- 1986 - Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Dutch footballer
- 1986 - Chanelle Jen, Canadian sweetheart
- 1986 - Thomas Heaton, English footballer
- 1990 - Emma Watson, English actress
- 1992 - Amy Diamond, Swedish singer
- 1993 - Madeleine Martin, American television actress
Deaths
- 1053 - Godwin, Earl of Wessex
- 1220 - Adolf of Altena, Archbishop of Cologne
- 1415 - Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek humanist and grammarian
- 1446 - Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377)
- 1610 - Robert Parsons, English Jesuit priest (b. 1546)
- 1621 - John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony
- 1632 - George Calvert, Proprietor of the Avalon (Maryland) Colony (b. 1580)
- 1641 - Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (b. 1581)
- 1652 - Patriarch Joseph, head of the Russian Orthodox Church
- 1659 - Simon Dach, German poet (b. 1605)
- 1704 - Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (b. 1628)
- 1719 - Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, second wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
- 1754 - Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (b. 1676)
- 1761 - Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician (b. 1682)
- 1761 - William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (b. 1696)
- 1764 - Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1721)
- 1764 - Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer (b. 1679)
- 1765 - Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scientist and writer (b. 1711)
- 1788 - Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
- 1793 - Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary and geographer (b. 1718)
- 1804 - Charles Pichegru, French general (strangled in prison) (b. 1761)
- 1854 - Arthur Aikin, English chemist, mineralogist, and writer (b. 1773)
- 1865 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
- 1888 - Matthew Arnold, English poet (b. 1822)
- 1889 - Father Damien, Belgian missionary (b. 1840)
- 1898 - Kepa Te Rangihiwinui, Maori military leader
- 1912 - Edward Smith, captain of the RMS Titanic (b. 1850)
- 1927 - Gaston Leroux, French writer (b. 1868)
- 1938 - César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (b. 1892)
- 1942 - Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (b. 1880)
- 1943 - Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1882)
- 1945 - Hermann Florstedt, Nazi leader (b. 1895)
- 1948 - Radola Gajda, Czech military commander and politician (d. 1892)
- 1949 - Wallace Beery, American actor (b. 1885)
- 1957 - Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer (b. 1917)
- 1962 - Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1881)
- 1963 - Edward "Carji" Greeves, Australian rules footballer (b. 1903)
- 1969 - Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain (b. 1887)
- 1970 - Ripper Collins, American baseball player (b. 1904)
- 1971 - Dan Reeves, American football team owner (b. 1912)
- 1974 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (b. 1906)
- 1975 - Richard Conte, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1980 - Raymond Bailey, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1980 - Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1905)
- 1982 - Arthur Lowe, British actor (b. 1915)
- 1983 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician (b. 1921)
- 1984 - Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer (b. 1925)
- 1986 - Jean Genet, French author (b. 1910)
- 1988 - Kenneth Williams, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 1988 - Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist (b. 1954)
- 1989 - Nesuhi Ertegün, American record executive (b. 1917)
- 1989 - Hu Yaobang, Chinese politician (b. 1915)
- 1990 - Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b. 1905)
- 1993 - John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist (b. 1908)
- 1993 - Leslie Charteris, Singapore-born author (b. 1907)
- 1994 - John Curry, English figure skater (b. 1949)
- 1995 - Harry Shoulberg, American painter, serigrapher (b. 1903)
- 1998 - Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (b. 1925)
- 1999 - Harvey Postlethwaite, British engineer and racing car designer (b. 1944)
- 2000 - Edward Gorey, American illustrator (b. 1925)
- 2001 - Joey Ramone, American musician and singer (The Ramones) (b. 1951)
- 2002 - Damon Knight, American author (b. 1922)
- 2002 - Byron "Whizzer" White, American football player and U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (b. 1941)
- 2003 - Reg Bundy, British performer (b. 1941)
- 2004 - Ray Condo, Canadian musician (b. 1950)
- 2005 - John Fred, American singer (b. 1941)
- 2007 - Brant Parker, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
Holidays and observances
- Ancient Latvia — Tipsa Diena was observed.
- Hawai'i - Father Damien Day — celebrated annually.
- India - Baisakhi, Pôhela Boishakh, Rongali Bihu
- North Korea - Arirang Festival held to commemorate Kim Il-sung's birth.
- Roman Empire — the Fordicia was celebrated in honor of Terra.
- United States - April 15 is the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension) in most areas of the country (see Tax Day).
- translation of relics of Goeric of Metz
- Abbo II of Metz
- Saint Petrus Gonzalez
- Saint Paternus
- Saint Hunna