April 8

April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 267 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
• 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde)—possibly on orders of his half-brother Dagobert I—along with his infant son Chilperic. He claims Aquitaine and Gascony, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in the West.
• 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
• 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
• 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
• 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
• 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin Dynasty.
• 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baybars conquers the Krak of Chevaliers.
• 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
• 1740 – War of Jenkins' Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate HMS Princess.
• 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
• 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos.
• 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield – Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
• 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
• 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
• 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
• 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
• 1904 – British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of The Book of the Law.
• 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
• 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dies.
• 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
• 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
• 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
• 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three, and badly injuring five, spectators.
• 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City's financial district.
• 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk's Reforms.
• 1929 – Indian Independence Movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
• 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
• 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad – Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
• 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
• 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
• 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
• 1946 – Électricité de France, the world's largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
• 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat-Nehru Pact.
• 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike.
• 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by Kenya's British rulers.
• 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
• 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
• 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
• 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
• 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
• 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
• 1964 – Gemini 1 (unamanned test flight) launched.
• 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after take off. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
• 1970 – Bahr el-Baqar incident: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. 46 children are killed.
• 1974 – At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth's 39-year-old record.
• 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager.
• 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
• 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
• 1993 – The Republic of Macedonia joins the United Nations.
• 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
• 2004 – Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
• 2005 – Over four million people attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
• 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Ontario, Canada. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
• 2008 – The construction of the world's first building to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
• 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham

Births

• 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
• 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
• 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician (d. 1593)
• 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
• 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, French-English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
• 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
• 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
• 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
• 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
• 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian politician (d. 1830)
• 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet (d. 1857)
• 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
• 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist (d. 1892)
• 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
• 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist and politician (d. 1898)
• 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author (d. 1933)
• 1859 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
• 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower (d. 1920)
• 1869 – Harvey Williams Cushing, American surgeon (d. 1939)
• 1870 – John Paine, American target shooter (d. 1951)
• 1871 – Clarence Hudson White American photographer (d. 1925)
• 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
• 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
• 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
• 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
• 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
• 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French composer (d. 1951)
• 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
• 1888 – Dennis Chavez, American politician (d. 1964)
• 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
• 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
• 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
• 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
• 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer (d. 1924)
• 1902 – Maria Maksakova, Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
• 1904 – John Hicks, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
• 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
• 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
• 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
• 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor (d. 1974)
• 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1909 – John Fante, American author (d. 1983)
• 1910 – George Musso, American football player (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian philosopher (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer
• 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
• 1914 – María Félix, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop
• 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
• 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald R. Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
• 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author (d. 1992)
• 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
• 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
• 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
• 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
• 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
• 1926 – Shirley Mills, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
• 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
• 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player (The Wrecking Crew) (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Leah Rabin, German-Israeli wife of Yitzhak Rabin (d. 2000)
• 1928 – Monty Sunshine, English clarinet player (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Walter Berry, Austrian opera singer (d. 2000)
• 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
• 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian (d. 1996)
• 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
• 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico
• 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Fred Ebb, American composer (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
• 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American politician
• 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
• 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations
• 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
• 1939 – Manolis Angelopoulos, Greek singer (d. 1989)
• 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
• 1939 – Mary Leona Gage, American model and actress, Miss USA 1957 (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
• 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player
• 1941 – Darlene Gillespie, Canadian-American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
• 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Family and Streetwalkers)
• 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
• 1943 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Irish politician (d. 2006)
• 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
• 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
• 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
• 1943 – Jack O'Halloran, American boxer and actor
• 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
• 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor
• 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Norwegian painter
• 1944 – Deke Richards, American songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Joey D. Vieira, American actor
• 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
• 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1946 – Stuart Pankin, American actor
• 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor
• 1947 – Tom DeLay, American politician
• 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Yes, Asia, Tomorrow, GTR, and Bodast)
• 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
• 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician
• 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (People!) (d. 2008)
• 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
• 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
• 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
• 1949 – Joe Royle, English footballer and manager
• 1949 – Brenda Russell, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1949 – John Scott, British sociologist
• 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
• 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
• 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
• 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player (Question Mark & the Mysterians and Grand Funk Railroad)
• 1954 – Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
• 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1954 – G. V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and educator (d. 2007)
• 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
• 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
• 1955 – Kane Hodder, American actor and stuntman
• 1955 – Ron Johnson, American politician
• 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American author and poet
• 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
• 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
• 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Progres 2)
• 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, screenwriter, and producer
• 1956 – Justin Sullivan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (New Model Army)
• 1957 – Anthony Michaels-Moore, English opera singer
• 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player
• 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
• 1958 – Maarten Ducrot, Dutch cyclist and journalist
• 1960 – Daniël Dekker, Dutch radio host
• 1960 – John Schneider, American actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1961 – Élise Guilbault, Canadian actress
• 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant, winner of Survivor: Borneo
• 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
• 1962 – Evan Davis, English journalist and economist
• 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
• 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter (Guns N' Roses and Hollywood Rose)
• 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter, actor, and photographer
• 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
• 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (L7)
• 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
• 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
• 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor (Juice Crew)
• 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian politician
• 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
• 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
• 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
• 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
• 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
• 1966 – Bobby Ologun, Nigerian-Japanese mixed martial artist
• 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
• 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek politician
• 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress
• 1967 – Arwyn Davies, Welsh actor
• 1968 – Patricia Arquette, American actress and director
• 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
• 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer)
• 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (Slipknot and Unida) (d. 2010)
• 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian accountant (d. 2009)
• 1972 – Sung Kang American actor
• 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
• 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
• 1973 – Alex Gonzalez, American baseball player and manager
• 1974 – Holger Hott, Norwegian orienteering competitor
• 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
• 1974 – Chino XL, American rapper and actor
• 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
• 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
• 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist (d. 2008)
• 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer
• 1978 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
• 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
• 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
• 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
• 1979 – Raven, American drag queen performer
• 1979 – Jeremy Guthrie, American baseball player
• 1979 – Tom Kurzanski, American illustrator
• 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Children of Bodom, Sinergy, Impaled Nazarene, and Kylähullut)
• 1979 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor (MDO)
• 1980 – Ben Freeman, English actor
• 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
• 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
• 1980 – Justin Smith, American actor
• 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
• 1981 – Brian Burres, American baseball player
• 1981 – Taylor Kitsch, Canadian model and actor
• 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli actor
• 1981 – Lito Sheppard, American football player
• 1982 – Adrian Bellani, American actor
• 1982 – Keegan DeWitt, American singer-songwriter and actor (Wild Cub)
• 1983 – Allu Arjun, Indian actor
• 1983 – Natalia, Greek singer
• 1983 – Eric Patterson, American baseball player
• 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Vampire Weekend and Dirty Projectors)
• 1984 – Júlia Liptáková, Czech model
• 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
• 1984 – Kirsten Storms, American actress
• 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
• 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
• 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
• 1986 – Bridget Kelly, American singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Osvaldo Martínez, Paraguayan footballer
• 1986 – Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress and singer
• 1987 – Tony Black, American actor
• 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
• 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
• 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1988 – Stephanie Cayo, Peruvian actress and singer
• 1988 – Rachael Finch, Australian beauty pageant titleholder and television reporter
• 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
• 1989 – Alex Day, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Chameleon Circuit)
• 1989 – Alexander DeLeon, American singer-songwriter (The Cab)
• 1989 – Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese singer
• 1989 – Gabriella Wilde, English actress
• 1990 – Kim Jonghyun, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (Shinee and SM the Ballad)
• 1991 – Melanie Ríos, Colombian porn actress and model
• 1991 – Minami Takahashi, Japanese singer and actress (AKB48 and no3b)
• 1992 – Shelby Young, American actress
• 1999 – CiCi Bellis, American tennis player
• 1999 – Ty Panitz, American actor
• 2002 – Skai Jackson, American actress

Deaths

• 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
• 622 – Prince Shōtoku of Japan (b. 572)
• 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
• 956 – Gilbert, Duke of Burgundy
• 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
• 1364 – John II of France (b. 1319)
• 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
• 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
• 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
• 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
• 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
• 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
• 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
• 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (b. 1624)
• 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, French-English politician (b. 1641)
• 1725 – John Wise, American clergyman (b. 1652)
• 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
• 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
• 1857 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (b. 1827)
• 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
• 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
• 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian author (b. 1838)
• 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (b. 1850)
• 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist (b. 1848)
• 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
• 1925 – Thecla Åhlander, Swedish actress (b. 1855)
• 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
• 1936 – Robert Bárány, Austrian physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
• 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek composer (b. 1880)
• 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
• 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
• 1958 – Ethel Turner, Australian author (b. 1872)
• 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
• 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
• 1968 – Glenn Andreotta, American soldier (b. 1947)
• 1968 – Barbara Jane Harrison, English flight attendant (b. 1945)
• 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
• 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
• 1978 – Ford Frick, American businessman (b. 1894)
• 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
• 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
• 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (b. 1897)
• 1986 – Yukiko Okada, Japanese singer and actress (b. 1967)
• 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
• 1991 – Per "Dead" Ohlin, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Mayhem and Morbid) (b. 1969)
• 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
• 1993 – Marian Anderson, American singer (b. 1897)
• 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
• 1996 – George W. Jenkins, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Publix Super Markets (b. 1907)
• 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
• 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
• 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
• 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
• 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
• 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
• 2004 – Enda Colleran, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
• 2005 – Eddie Miksis, American baseball player (b. 1926)
• 2005 – Onna White, Canadian dancer and choreographer (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author (b. 1923)
• 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Timothy Beaumont, Baron Beaumont of Whitley, English clergyman and politician (b. 1928)
• 2008 – John Button, Australian politician (b. 1933)
• 2008 – Stanley Kamel, American actor (b. 1943)
• 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
• 2010 – Jack Agnew, Irish-American soldier (b. 1922)
• 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter and fashion designer (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Bram Bart, Dutch voice actor (b. 1962)
• 2012 – John Egan, Irish footballer (b. 1952)
• 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player (b. 1961)
• 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
• 2013 – Richard Brooker, English actor and stuntman (b. 1954)
• 2013 – Anne Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Greg Kramer, English-Canadian actor and author (b. 1961)
• 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
• 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
• 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Sandy Brown, Scottish footballer (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Eric Harroun, American criminal (b. 1982)
• 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Cornelius Taiwo, Nigerian lawyer and academic (b. 1910)
• 2014 – The Ultimate Warrior, American wrestler (b. 1959)

Holidays and observances

• Birkat Hachama (observed once every 28 years), last in 2009 and next in 2037 (Hebrew)
• Buddha's Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, "Flower Festival" (Japan)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Constantina
  • Julie Billiart of Namur
  • Perpetuus
  • Walter of Pontoise
  • William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Middle date on which Easter Sunday can fall
• DABDay – Draw A Bird Day (International)
• Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
• International Day of the Roma

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada