April 16

April 16 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

April 16 is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 259 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1457 BC – Likely date of the Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh, the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.
• 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Great Jewish Revolt.
• 1346 – Dušan the Mighty is proclaimed Emperor, with the Serbian Empire occupying much of the Balkans.
• 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.
• 1521 – Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
• 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
• 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland. After the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
• 1780 – The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.
• 1799 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
• 1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada.
• 1847 – The accidental shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand land wars.
• 1853 – The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
• 1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
• 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
• 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
• 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
• 1917 – Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Switzerland.
• 1919 – Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British.
• 1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
• 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
• 1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
• 1941 – World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
• 1941 – Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
• 1944 – Allied forces started bombing of Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
• 1945 – The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
• 1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
• 1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
• 1947 – Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
• 1947 – Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• 1953 – Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia.
• 1962 – Walter Cronkite takes over as the lead news anchor of the CBS Evening News, during which time he would become "the most trusted man in America".
• 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
• 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• 1990 – The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
• 1992 – The Katina P runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
• 2001 – India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
• 2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
• 2007 – Virginia Tech massacre: Seung-Hui Cho kills 32 and injures 23 before committing suicide.
• 2012 – The trial for Anders Behring Breivik begins in Oslo, Norway.
• 2012 – The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced, it was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.
• 2013 – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, the strongest in the country in 40 years, killing at least 35 people.

Births

• 1319 – John II of France (d. 1364)
• 1488 – Jungjong of Joseon (d. 1544)
• 1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1557)
• 1516 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (d. 1550)
• 1646 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect, designed the Château de Dampierre and Grand Trianon (d. 1708)
• 1660 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician (d. 1753)
• 1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician (d. 1715)
• 1682 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (d. 1744)
• 1693 – Anne Sophie Reventlow, Danish wife of Frederick IV of Denmark (d. 1743)
• 1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German organist and composer (d. 1778)
• 1728 – Joseph Black, French-Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1799)
• 1730 – Henry Clinton, English general and politician (d. 1795)
• 1755 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
• 1786 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician, 4th Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land (d. 1847)
• 1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, English field marshal (d. 1888)
• 1808 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th U.S. Secretary of the Interior (d. 1864)
• 1821 – Ford Madox Brown, French-English painter (d. 1893)
• 1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
• 1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet (d. 1879)
• 1839 – Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì, Italian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1908)
• 1834 – Charles Lennox Richardson, English-Chinese merchant (d. 1862)
• 1844 – Anatole France, French journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
• 1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss-Austrian architect, designed the Federal Palace of Switzerland (d. 1906)
• 1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (d. 1919)
• 1865 – Harry Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
• 1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1918)
• 1867 – Wilbur Wright, American pilot, inventor, and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (d. 1912)
• 1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1909)
• 1878 – R. E. Foster, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1914)
• 1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)
• 1885 – Leo Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)
• 1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
• 1886 – Margaret Woodrow Wilson, American daughter of Woodrow Wilson (d. 1944)
• 1888 – Billy Minter, English footballer, trainer, manager and assistant secretary (d. 1940)
• 1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1977)
• 1890 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek javelin thrower (d. 1957)
• 1890 – Gertrude Chandler Warner, American author (d. 1979)
• 1893 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian author (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Ove Arup, English-Danish engineer and businessman, founded Arup (d. 1988)
• 1896 – Robert Henry Best, American journalist (d. 1952)
• 1896 – Pat Clayton, English soldier and surveyor (d. 1962)
• 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (d. 1963)
• 1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and educator (d. 1988)
• 1904 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian-American actress (d. 1983)
• 1904 – Elizabeth Ann Duncan, American murderer (d. 1962)
• 1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
• 1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman (d. 1964)
• 1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (d. 1947)
• 1908 – Ray Ventura, French pianist and bandleader (d. 1979)
• 1910 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
• 1911 – Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (d. 1963)
• 1912 – David Langton, Scottish-English actor (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Catherine Scorsese, American actress (d. 1997)
• 1912 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Joan Alexander, American actress (d. 2009)
• 1915 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish actor and playwright (d. 1997)
• 1916 – Ted Mann, American businessman (d. 2001)
• 1917 – Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Dick Gibson, English race car driver (d. 2010)
• 1918 – Hsuan Hua, Chinese monk (d. 1995)
• 1918 – Spike Milligan, Indian-Irish actor, singer, screenwriter, and author (d. 2002)
• 1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and Museo Nacional de Antropología (d. 2013)
• 1919 – Thomas Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Ananda Dassanayake, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Kingsley Amis, English author, poet, and critic (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Pat Peppler, American football player and coach
• 1922 – Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium
• 1923 – Warren Barker, American composer (d. 2006)
• 1924 – John Harvey-Jones, English businessman (d. 2008)
• 1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (d. 1994)
• 1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
• 1924 – Madanjeet Singh, Indian diplomat, author, and philanthropist (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Edie Adams, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
• 1927 – Dick Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1927 – Peter Mark Richman, American actor
• 1927 – Rolf Schult, German actor (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
• 1929 – Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Doug Beasy, Australian footballer and educator (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Herbie Mann, American flute player (d. 2003)
• 1931 – Herman van Ham, Dutch chef (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Joan Bakewell, English journalist
• 1933 – Erol Günaydın, Turkish actor (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Ike Pappas, American journalist (d. 2008)
• 1935 – Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter
• 1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet (d. 2013)
• 1935 – Lennart Risberg, Swedish boxer (d. 2013)
• 1935 – Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (d. 2013)
• 1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer and actor
• 1936 – Šaban Bajramović, Serbian singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
• 1937 – George Steele, American wrestler and actor
• 1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
• 1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player
• 1939 – John Amabile, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1939 – John Delafose, American accordion player (d. 1994)
• 1939 – Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer and producer (The Lana Sisters and The Springfields) (d. 1999)
• 1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian politician
• 1940 – Margrethe II of Denmark
• 1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
• 1942 – Frank Williams, English businessman, founded the Williams F1 Racing Team
• 1943 – Ruth Madoc, English-Welsh actress and singer
• 1943 – Dave Peverett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foghat and Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
• 1945 – Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician
• 1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author
• 1946 – R. Carlos Nakai, American flute player
• 1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach
• 1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (The Humblebums and Stealers Wheel) (d. 2011)
• 1948 – Reg Alcock, Canadian politician (d. 2011)
• 1948 – Lynne Franks, English businesswoman
• 1949 – Melody Patterson, American actress
• 1949 – Ann Romney, American wife of Mitt Romney
• 1949 – Pirkko Saisio, Finnish actress and director
• 1950 – Robert Dutil, Canadian politician
• 1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian author and photographer
• 1951 – Mordechai Ben David, American singer-songwriter
• 1951 – Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
• 1951 – M. S. Narayana, Indian actor and director
• 1951 – Billy West, American voice actor
• 1952 – Bill Belichick, American football player and coach
• 1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor and director
• 1952 – Esther Roth-Shahamorov, Israeli sprinter and hurdler
• 1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer-songwriter and politician (Midnight Oil)
• 1953 – Jay O. Sanders, American actor
• 1953 – J. Neil Schulman, American author, actor, director, and producer
• 1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
• 1954 – John Bowe, Australian race car driver
• 1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
• 1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
• 1956 – David M. Brown, American captain and astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1956 – T Lavitz, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (Dixie Dregs, Jazz Is Dead, and Widespread Panic) (d. 2010)
• 1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
• 1957 – Patricia De Martelaere, Flemish author (d. 2009)
• 1959 – Robert Casilla, American illustrator
• 1959 – Scott McKinsey, American director
• 1959 – Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
• 1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
• 1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer and manager
• 1961 – Doris Dragović, Croatian singer-songwriter
• 1962 – Anna Dello Russo, Italian magazine editor
• 1962 – Ian MacKaye, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Fugazi, Minor Threat, The Teen Idles, The Evens, and Embrace)
• 1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
• 1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American singer and actor (The Osmonds)
• 1964 – David Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
• 1964 – Dave Pirner, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Soul Asylum)
• 1964 – Esbjörn Svensson, Swedish pianist (Esbjörn Svensson Trio) (d. 2008)
• 1965 – Yves-François Blanchet, Canadian politician
• 1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer
• 1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer
• 1965 – Michael Wong, American-Hong Kong actor and director
• 1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager
• 1968 – Rüdiger Stenzel, German runner
• 1969 – Stacy Francis, American singer and actress (Ex Girlfriend)
• 1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish skier
• 1969 – Fernando Viña, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1970 – Dero Goi, German singer-songwriter (Oomph!)
• 1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
• 1971 – Selena, American singer-songwriter (Selena y Los Dinos) (d. 1995)
• 1971 – Max Beesley, English actor and singer
• 1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor, director, and producer
• 1971 – Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
• 1971 – Belinda Stewart-Wilson, English actress
• 1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese race car driver
• 1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Russian tennis player
• 1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish-American tennis player
• 1973 – Akon, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1973 – Gary Delaney, English writer and stand-up comedian
• 1973 – Oksana Yermakova, Estonian-Russian fencer
• 1974 – Mat Devine, American singer-songwriter, actor, and author (Kill Hannah)
• 1974 – Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress and director
• 1974 – Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
• 1974 – Fabián Robles, Mexican actor
• 1974 – Thomas Tevana, American actor
• 1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player
• 1975 – Sean Maher, American actor
• 1975 – Nick Pickard, English actor
• 1975 – Karl Yune, American actor
• 1976 – Phil Baroni, American mixed martial artist
• 1976 – Robert Dahlqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Hellacopters, Dundertåget, and Thunder Express)
• 1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor
• 1976 – Dan Kellner, American fencer
• 1976 – David Lyons, Australian actor
• 1976 – Kelli O'Hara, American actress and singer
• 1976 – Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
• 1977 – Tameka Empson, English actress
• 1977 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
• 1977 – Hayes MacArthur, American actor
• 1977 – Alek Wek, Sudanese-English model
• 1978 – Lara Dutta, Indian model and actress, Miss Universe 2000
• 1978 – Jody Marie Gnant, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1978 – Nikki Griffin, American actress
• 1978 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian footballer
• 1978 – John Buffalo Mailer, American actor, playwright, and producer
• 1978 – Kristin Proctor, American-Norwegian actress
• 1978 – Igor Tudor, Croatian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Ivan Urgant, Russian television host
• 1978 – Christos Vasilopoulos, Greek actor
• 1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch race car driver
• 1979 – Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter
• 1979 – Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player
• 1979 – Sean Costello, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
• 1979 – Sixto Peralta, Argentinian-English footballer
• 1980 – Jens Hartwig, German actor
• 1980 – Paul London, American wrestler
• 1980 – Juliette Marquis, Ukrainian actress, model, and ballerina
• 1980 – Adriana Sage, Mexican-American porn actress and model
• 1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Maya Dunietz, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1981 – Russell Harvard, American actor
• 1981 – Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player
• 1981 – Jake Scott, American football player
• 1981 – Vico Thai, Australian actor
• 1982 – Gina Carano, American mixed martial artist, actress, and model
• 1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
• 1982 – Barry Jones, Scottish magician
• 1982 – Michael Ratajczak, German footballer
• 1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
• 1983 – Marié Digby, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1983 – Manuela Martelli, Chilean actress
• 1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
• 1983 – George Patis, Greek badminton player
• 1984 – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
• 1984 – Natalie Blair, Australian actress
• 1984 – Teddy Blass, American composer and producer
• 1984 – Dane Brookes, English actor
• 1984 – Noah Fleiss, American actor
• 1984 – Paweł Kieszek, Polish footballer
• 1984 – Claire Foy, English actress
• 1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
• 1985 – Mark Baker, Welsh author
• 1985 – Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player
• 1985 – Nate Diaz, American mixed martial artist
• 1985 – Rhiana Griffith, Australian model and actress
• 1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
• 1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor (Erreway)
• 1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
• 1985 – JC Tiuseco, Filipino model, actor, and basketball player
• 1986 – Paul di Resta, Scottish race car driver
• 1986 – Laura Langman, New Zealand netball player
• 1986 – Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Andres Olvik, Estonian swimmer
• 1986 – Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player
• 1986 – Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast
• 1987 – Neil Haskell, American dancer
• 1987 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
• 1987 – Kyley Statham, Canadian actress
• 1987 – Aleksander Vinter, Norwegian DJ and producer
• 1988 – Jullie, Brazilian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1988 – Alisa Durbrow, Japanese model, actress, and singer
• 1990 – Jérémy Kapone, French actor and singer
• 1990 – Lily Loveless, English actress
• 1990 – Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
• 1990 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
• 1990 – Nia Ramadhani, Indonesian actress
• 1990 – Jules Sitruk, French actor
• 1991 – Kim Kyung-Jung, South Korean footballer
• 1992 – Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg
• 1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
• 1993 – Chance The Rapper, American rapper
• 1994 – Liliana Mumy, American actress
• 1997 – PdB,
• 2003 – Alina Foley, American actress
• 2008 – Princess Eléonore of Belgium

Deaths

• 69 – Otho, Roman emperor (b. 32)
• 665 – Fructuosus of Braga, French archbishop and saint
• 1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev (b. 1050)
• 1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, Italian wife of Roger II of Sicily (b. 1075)
• 1198 – Frederick I, Duke of Austria (b. 1175)
• 1640 – Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (b. 1579)
• 1645 – Tobias Hume, Scottish soldier, viol player, and composer (b. 1569)
• 1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English poet and politician (b. 1628)
• 1689 – Aphra Behn, English author and playwright (b. 1640)
• 1742 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet (b. 1672)
• 1756 – Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (b. 1677)
• 1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer and educator (b. 1719)
• 1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French mathematician, cosmologist, and author (b. 1707)
• 1828 – Francisco Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
• 1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (b. 1763)
• 1850 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (b. 1761)
• 1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
• 1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French mystic and saint (b. 1844)
• 1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist and chemist (b. 1845)
• 1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (b. 1875)
• 1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
• 1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish author (b. 1812)
• 1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1838)
• 1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
• 1925 – Stefan Nerezov, Bulgarian general (b. 1867)
• 1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founded Henry Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
• 1928 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrsetler (b. 1900)
• 1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, philosopher, and activist (b. 1894)
• 1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and manager (b. 1874)
• 1942 – Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1878)
• 1942 – Denis St. George Daly, Irish polo player (b. 1862)
• 1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver (b. 1884)
• 1947 – Rudolf Höss, German SS officer (b. 1900)
• 1950 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, music teacher and critic (b. 1905)
• 1950 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (b. 1867)
• 1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish politician (b. 1872)
• 1957 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mobster (b. 1882)
• 1958 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist (b. 1920)
• 1959 – Charles Halton, American actor (b. 1876)
• 1961 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist (b. 1912)
• 1968 – Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1968 – Edna Ferber, American author and playwright (b. 1885)
• 1969 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator (b. 1904)
• 1970 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (b. 1892)
• 1970 – Péter Veres, Hungarian politician, Minister of Defence for Hungary (b. 1897)
• 1972 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor (b. 1929)
• 1973 – Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (b. 1944)
• 1978 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (b. 1897)
• 1980 – Morris Stoloff, American composer (b. 1898)
• 1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
• 1988 – Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian military leader, founded Fatah (b. 1935)
• 1988 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (b. 1954)
• 1989 – Kaoru Ishikawa Japanese author and educator (b. 1915)
• 1989 – Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)
• 1991 – David Lean, English director and producer (b. 1908)
• 1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1992 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian activist, agent, and officer (b. 1915)
• 1992 – Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
• 1994 – Ralph Ellison, American author and critic (b. 1913)
• 1995 – Arthur English, English actor (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Iqbal Masih, Pakistani activist (b. 1982)
• 1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek businessman (b. 1909)
• 1997 – Doris Angleton, American murder victim (b. 1951)
• 1997 – Roland Topor, French actor, director, and painter (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentinian-American mathematician (b. 1920)
• 1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
• 1998 – Marie-Louise Meilleur, Canadian super-centenarian (b. 1880)
• 1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape) (b. 1946)
• 2000 – Putra of Perlis (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Michael Ritchie, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 2001 – Alec Stock, English footballer and manager (b. 1917)
• 2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
• 2002 – Ruth Fertel, American businesswoman, founder of Ruth's Chris Steak House (b. 1927)
• 2002 – Robert Urich, American actor and producer (b. 1946)
• 2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian-American actor (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English horticulturalist and author (b. 1909)
• 2005 – Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Marla Ruzicka, American activist, founded Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (b. 1976)
• 2005 – Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor (b. 1983)
• 2007 – People of the Virginia Tech massacre:
  • – Jamie Bishop, American instructor of the German language (b. 1971)
  • – Seung-Hui Cho, American student and murderer (b. 1984)
  • – Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Canadian-American instructor of the French language (b. 1958)
  • – Kevin Granata, American engineer and academic (b. 1961)
  • – Liviu Librescu, Romanian-American academic and holocaust survivor (b. 1930)
  • – G. V. Loganathan, Indian-American academic (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
• 2007 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1962)
• 2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Chandrabose Suthaharan, Sri Lankan Tamil journalist
• 2008 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Joseph Solman, American painter (b. 1909)
• 2010 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (b. 1949)
• 2010 – Daryl Gates, American police officer, created the D.A.R.E. Program (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Allan Blakeney, Canadian politician, 10th Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1925)
• 2011 – Sol Saks, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Sári Barabás, Hungarian soprano (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Marian Biskup, Polish author and academic (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Ray Davey, Irish minister, founded the Corrymeela Community (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Alan Hacker, English clarinet player (b. 1938)
• 2012 – George Kunda, Zambian lawyer and politician, 11th Vice-President of Zambia (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish businessman (b. 1913)
• 2012 – Carlo Petrini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Ageeth Scherphuis, Dutch journalist and broadcaster (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Charles Bruzon, Gibraltarian politician (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Jack Daniels, American baseball player (b. 1927)
• 2013 – George Horse-Capture, American anthropologist and author (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Gérard Jaquet, French politician (b. 1916)
• 2013 – Ali Kafi, Algerian politician (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Helmut Kasimier, German politician (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Francis Leo Lawrence, American academic and scholar (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Reinhard Lettmann, German bishop (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Siegfried Ludwig, Austrian politician, 18th Governor of Lower Austria (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Pentti Lund, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer and actress (b. 1944)
• 2013 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (b. 1909)
• 2013 – Edwin Shirley, English businessman (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Pat Summerall, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and Museo Nacional de Antropología (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Murray Vernon, Australian cricketer (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• World Voice Day
• Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (Denmark)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Benedict Joseph Labre
  • Bernadette Soubirous
  • Drogo
  • Fructuosus of Braga
  • Martyrs of Zaragoza
  • Turibius of Astorga
  • April 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C.)
• Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel; in 2013, 5 Iyar falls on April 16)

External links

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