Events
- 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
- 193 - Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
- 364 - Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
- 845 - Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
- 1776 - Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
- 1794 - Allies under the prince of Coburg defeated French forces at Le Cateau.
- 1795 - Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland, a northern fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
- 1802 - Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.
- 1809 - Peninsular War: In the Battle of Medelin France defeats Spain.
- 1834 - The United States Senate censures President Andrew Jackson for his actions in defunding the Second Bank of the United States.
- 1854 - Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.
- 1860 - First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass - In New Mexico, Union forces succeed in stopping the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle began on March 26.
- 1871 - The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
- 1910 - Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.
- 1913 - Guatemala becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1920 - Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
- 1930 - Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara.
- 1939 - Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid.
- 1940 - The exhibition center to host the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair starts being built.
- 1941 - World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan - In the Mediterranean Sea, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the Royal Navy in the destruction of three major Italian battleships and two destroyers.
- 1942 - World War II: In occupied France, British naval forces raid the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire.
- 1946 - Cold War: The United States State Department releases the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
- 1969 - Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
- 1978 - US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
- 1979 - In Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system fails in the Three Mile Island accident, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water causing a nuclear meltdown.
- 1979 - British Prime Minister James Callaghan, is defeated by one vote in a Motion of No Confidence. This results in Parliament being dissolved in order to make way for a forthcoming General Election.
- 1990 - President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
- 1994 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.
- 1994 - BBC Radio Five Live broadcasts for first time in United Kingdom
- 2000 - A Murray County, Georgia, school bus gets hit by a CSX freight train (3 children die from this accident).
- 2003 - In a "friendly fire" incident, two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National Guard's 190th Fighter Squadron attacked British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull.
- 2005 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1960.
- 2006 - At least 1 million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law.
- 1472 - Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (d. 1517)
- 1515 - Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun (d. 1582)
- 1522 - Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (d. 1557)
- 1569 - Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1622)
- 1592 - Comenius, Czech bishop (d. 1670)
- 1599 - Witte Corneliszoon de With, Dutch naval officer (d. 1658)
- 1609 - King Frederick III of Denmark (d. 1670)
- 1613 - Xiaozhuangwen Grand Empress Dowager, Empress of Manchu (d. 1688)
- 1652 - Samuel Sewall, American magistrate (d. 1730)
- 1725 - Andrew Kippis, English clergyman and biographer (d. 1795)
- 1750 - Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan revolutionary (d. 1816)
- 1760 - Thomas Clarkson, British abolitionist (d. 1846)
- 1773 - Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (d. 1844)
- 1793 - Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer and geologist (d. 1864)
- 1795 - Georg Heinrich Pertz, German historian (d. 1876)
- 1806 - Thomas Hare, English barrister (d. 1891)
- 1815 - Arsène Houssaye, French novelist (d. 1896)
- 1818 - Wade Hampton III, American soldier and politician (d. 1902)
- 1819 - Sir Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (d. 1891)
- 1836 - Frederick Pabst, American brewer (d. 1904)
- 1840 - Emin Pasha, Equatorian politician (d. 1892)
- 1842 - William Harvey Carney, American Civil War officier (d. 1908)
- 1849 - James Darmesteter, French author and antiquarian (d. 1894)
- 1851 - Bernardino Machado, Portuguese politician (d. 1944)
- 1862 - Aristide Briand, French politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1932)
- 1866 - Jimmy Ross, Scottish footballer (d. 1902)
- 1868 - Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d. 1936)
- 1871 - Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (d. 1951)
- 1890 - Paul Whiteman, American bandleader (d. 1967)
- 1892 - Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1892 - Tom Maguire, Irish republican (d. 1993)
- 1893 - Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive (d. 1971)
- 1895 - Christian Herter, 59[SUP]th[/SUP] Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1966)
- 1895 - Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader (d. 1985)
- 1897 - Sepp Herberger, German football coach (d. 1977)
- 1899 - Harold B. Lee, American religious leader (d. 1973)
- 1899 - August Anheuser Busch, Jr., brewing magnate and American baseball executive (d. 1989)
- 1899 - Ernst Lindemann, German naval officer (d. 1941)
- 1899 - Buck Shaw, American football coach (d. 1977)
- 1900 - Edward Wagenknecht, American literary critic (d. 2004)
- 1902 - Dame Flora Robson, English actress (d. 1984)
- 1902 - JaromÃr Vejvoda, Czech composer (d. 1988)
- 1903 - Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (d. 1991)
- 1903 - Charles Starrett, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1905 - Marlin Perkins, American naturalist and television host (d. 1986)
- 1905 - Pandro S. Berman, American film producer (d. 1996)
- 1907 - "Swifty" Lazar, American talent agent (d. 1993)
- 1909 - Nelson Algren, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1910 - Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr., American Librarian (d. 2001)
- 1910 - Jimmie Dodd, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1910 - Queen Ingrid of Denmark (d. 2000)
- 1911 - J. L. Austin, British philosopher of language (d. 1960)
- 1912 - A. Bertram Chandler Australian author (d. 1984)
- 1912 - Marina Raskova, Russian navigator (d. 1943)
- 1914 - Edward Anhalt, American screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1914 - Bohumil Hrabal, Czech writer (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Edmund Muskie, American politician (d. 1996)
- 1914 - Kenneth Richard Norris, Australian entymologist (d. 2003)
- 1915 - Jay Livingston, American composer and songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Vic Raschi, American baseball player (d. 1988)
- 1921 - Dirk Bogarde, English actor (d. 1999)
- 1921 - Herschel Grynszpan, German political assassin (d. between 1943 and 1945)
- 1922 - Neville Bonner, Australian politician (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Felice Chiusano, Italian singer (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Joey Maxim, American boxer (d. 2001)
- 1924 - Freddie Bartholomew, Irish actor (d. 1992)
- 1925 - Dorothy DeBorba, American child actress
- 1926 - Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
- 1927 - Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish author (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. National Security Advisor
- 1928 - Alexander Grothendieck, German mathematician
- 1929 - Paul England, Australian racing driver
- 1930 - Robert Ashley, American composer
- 1930 - Elizabeth Bainbridge, English opera singer
- 1930 - Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1933 - Tete Montoliu, Catalan jazz pianist (d. 1997)
- 1933 - Frank Murkowski, American politician
- 1935 - Michael Parkinson, English broadcaster
- 1936 - Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian author and politician
- 1940 - Tony Barber, Australian television personality
- 1941 - Alf Clausen, orchestra conductor (The Simpsons)
- 1941 - Jim Turner, American football player
- 1942 - Daniel Dennett, American philosopher
- 1942 - Neil Kinnock, British politician
- 1942 - Mike Newell, English film director
- 1942 - Samuel Ramey, American opera singer
- 1942 - Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d. 1998)
- 1942 - Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and coach
- 1943 - Conchata Ferrell, American actress
- 1944 - Rick Barry, American basketball player
- 1944 - Ken Howard, American actor
- 1945 - Count Björn Hamilton, Swedish politician
- 1946 - Alejandro Toledo, President of Peru
- 1946 - Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut
- 1947 - John Landecker, American disk jockey
- 1948 - Dianne Wiest, American actress
- 1948 - Gerry House, American radio personality
- 1948 - John Evan, British musician (Jethro Tull)
- 1948 - Milan Williams, American musician The Commodores (d. 2006)
- 1948 - Matthew Corbett, English retired actor
- 1951 - Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina
- 1951 - Matti Pellonpää, Finnish actor and musician (d. 1995)
- 1952 - Tony Brise, racing driver (d. 1975)
- 1953 - Melchior Ndadaye, Burundian politician (d. 1993)
- 1954 - Morris Mason, American convicted rapist and murderer (d. 1985)
- 1955 - John Alderdice, Northern Irish politician
- 1955 - Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
- 1956 - April Margera, Bam Margera's mother
- 1958 - Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1959 - Chris Myers, American sportscaster
- 1960 - Chris Barrie, British actor
- 1960 - José Maria Neves, Cape Verdeian politician
- 1960 - Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French author and dramatist
- 1961 - Byron Scott, American basketball player
- 1962 - Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
- 1962 - Terry Szopinski, American pro-wrestler
- 1965 - Steve Bull, English footballer
- 1968 - Iris Chang, American author (d. 2004)
- 1968 - Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
- 1968 - Jon Lee, British drummer (d. 2002)
- 1968 - Tim Lovejoy, British television presenter
- 1969 - Brett Ratner, American film director
- 1969 - Rodney Atkins, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1970 - Vince Vaughn, American actor
- 1970 - Michelle Gildernew, Irish republican politician
- 1971 - Mr. Cheeks, American rapper
- 1972 - Nick Frost, English comedian and actor
- 1972 - Keith Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
- 1973 - Eddie Fatu, Samoan professional wrestler
- 1973 - Matt Nathanson, American singer-songwriter
- 1974 - Mark King, English snooker player
- 1974 - Scott Mills, British radio disc jockey
- 1975 - Shanna Moakler, former beauty queen
- 1975 - Iván Helguera, Spanish footballer
- 1975 - Matt Reis, American soccer goalkeeper
- 1975 - Richard Kelly, American film director
- 1975 - Derek Hill, American racing driver
- 1976 - David Keuning, American guitar player (The Killers)
- 1977 - Erik Rasmussen, American ice hockey player
- 1977 - Lauren Weisberger, American novelist
- 1979 - Park Chae-rim, South Korean actress
- 1980 - Stiliani Pilatou, Greek long jumper
- 1980 - Luke Walton, American basketball player
- 1981 - Julia Stiles, American actress
- 1981 - Edwar Ramirez, American baseball player
- 1982 - Sonia Agarwal, Indian actress
- 1983 - Ryan Ashington, English footballer
- 1984 - Christopher Samba, French-born footballer
- 1984 - Nikki Sanderson, British actress and model
- 1984 - Yordanos Abay, Ethiopian footballer
- 1986 - J-Kwon, American rapper
- 1986 - Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
- 1988 - Lacey Turner, British soap actress
- 1989 - Marek Suchý, Czech footballer
- 1989 - Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
- 1989 - Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
- 1989 - Afrikan Boy, a grime MC
- 1991 - Amy Bruckner, American actress
- 1991 - Sophie Mullen, English actress
- 193 - Pertinax, Roman Emperor (b. 126)
- 1072 - Ordulf, Duke of Saxony
- 1239 - Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b. 1180)
- 1285 - Pope Martin IV
- 1563 - Heinrich Glarean, Swiss music theorist (b. 1488)
- 1566 - Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat and historian (b. 1486)
- 1677 - Václav Hollar, Czech-born actor (b. 1607)
- 1687 - Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b. 1596)
- 1794 - Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1743)
- 1850 - Gerard C. Brandon, American politician (b. 1788)
- 1866 - Solomon Foot, American politician (b. 1802)
- 1868 - James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, British military leader (b. 1797)
- 1870 - George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
- 1874 - Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish astronomer (b. 1795)
- 1881 - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (b. 1839)
- 1910 - David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1837)
- 1910 - Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (b. 1838)
- 1929 - Lomer Gouin, Quebec politician (b. 1861)
- 1939 - Francis Matthew John Baker, Australian politician (b. 1903)
- 1941 - Virginia Woolf, English feminist writer (b. 1882)
- 1942 - Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet, death in prison (b. 1910)
- 1943 - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist (b. 1873)
- 1944 - Stephen Leacock, Canadian humorist (b. 1869)
- 1946 - Chick Fullis, baseball player (b. 1904)
- 1947 - Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b. 1897)
- 1949 - Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (b. 1889)
- 1953 - Jim Thorpe, American athlete (b. 1887)
- 1958 - W.C. Handy, American composer (b. 1873)
- 1965 - Jack Hoxie, American actor and rodeo performer (b. 1885)
- 1965 - Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (b. 1888)
- 1969 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
- 1974 - Dorothy Fields, American librettist and lyricist (b. 1905)
- 1976 - Arthur Crudup, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1905)
- 1976 - Richard Arlen, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1978 - Dino Ciani, Italian pianist (d. 1941)
- 1979 - Emmett Kelly, American clown (b. 1898)
- 1980 - Dick Haymes, Argentine-born singer and actor (b. 1918)
- 1982 - William Giauque, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
- 1984 - Carmen Dragon, American conductor, composer and arranger (b. 1914)
- 1985 - Marc Chagall, Russian-born painter (b. 1887)
- 1986 - Virginia Gilmore. American actress (b. 1919)
- 1987 - Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (b. 1905)
- 1987 - Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
- 1993 - Scott Cunningham, Occult author (b. 1956)
- 1994 - Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-born French playwright (b. 1909)
- 1995 - Hugh O'Connor, American actor (b. 1962)
- 1999 - Freaky Tah, American rapper (Lost Boyz) (b. 1971)
- 2000 - Anthony Powell, British novelist (b. 1905)
- 2001 - Moe Koffman, Canadian musician (b. 1928)
- 2003 - Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Art James, American game show host (b. 1929)
- 2004 - Peter Ustinov, British actor (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Dame Moura Lympany, British pianist (b. 1916)
- 2006 - Caspar Weinberger, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)
- 2006 - Charles Schepens, American ophthalmologist (b. 1912)
- 2006 - Kevin Pro Hart, Australian artist (b. 1928)
- 2006 - Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, Irish musician (b. 1922)
- Slovakia, Czech Republic - Teachers' Day.
- Saint Castor
- Saint Gontram (d. 592)
- Saint Priscus
- Saint Sixtus III
