April 7

April 7 in recent years

2024 (Sunday)

2023 (Friday)

2022 (Thursday)

2021 (Wednesday)

2020 (Tuesday)

2019 (Sunday)

2018 (Saturday)

2017 (Friday)

2016 (Thursday)

2015 (Tuesday)

April 7 is the 97th day of the year (98th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 268 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 451 – Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.
• 529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
• 611 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico.
• 1141 – Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title 'Lady of the English'.
• 1348 – Charles University is founded in Prague.
• 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
• 1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
• 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion, BWV 245, at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
• 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67).
• 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward.
• 1788 – American pioneers to the Northwest Territory establish Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
• 1789 – Selim III became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
• 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
• 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
• 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
• 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year.
• 1829 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
• 1831 – Emperor Pedro I of Brazil resigns. He goes to his native Portugal to become King Pedro IV.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Union's Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
• 1868 – Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist.
• 1890 – Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
• 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
• 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
• 1922 – The United States Secretary of the Interior leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms.
• 1927 – The first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
• 1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
• 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
• 1943 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches.
• 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.
• 1945 – World War II: The battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by American aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
• 1945 – World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
• 1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
• 1949 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway; it would run for 1,925 performances and win ten Tony Awards.
• 1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.
• 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
• 1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
• 1964 – A bulldozer kills Rev. Bruce W. Klunder, a civil rights activist, during a school segregation protest in Cleveland, Ohio, sparking a riot.
• 1965 – Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate against the termination of the Colville tribe in Washington DC.
• 1968 – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.
• 1969 – The Internet's symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.
• 1971 – President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization.
• 1976 – Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party (UK) after being arrested for faking his own death.
• 1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
• 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
• 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.
• 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
• 1989 – Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
• 1990 – Iran–Contra affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
• 1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people.
• 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
• 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy.
• 1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
• 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
• 2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched.
• 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.
• 2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
• 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
• 2017 – A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people, killing five people and injuring fifteen others.

Births

• 1206 – Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1253)
• 1330 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English nobleman (d. 1352)
• 1470 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1498)
• 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
• 1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)
• 1613 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
• 1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (d. 1730)
• 1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1721)
• 1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
• 1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
• 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (d. 1800)
• 1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist, entomologist, and mycologist (d. 1806)
• 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846)
• 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
• 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher and author (d. 1837)
• 1780 – William Ellery Channing, American preacher and theologian (d. 1842)
• 1803 – James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
• 1803 – Flora Tristan, French author and activist (d. 1844)
• 1811 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1881)
• 1817 – Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (d. 1881)
• 1848 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (d. 1930)
• 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player and coach (d. 1925)
• 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (d. 1951)
• 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (d. 1953)
• 1870 – Gustav Landauer, Jewish-German theorist and activist (d. 1919)
• 1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (d. 1927)
• 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
• 1874 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (d. 1939)
• 1876 – Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1945)
• 1882 – Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (d. 1971)
• 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
• 1883 – Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (d. 1966)
• 1884 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (d. 1963)
• 1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1971)
• 1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
• 1890 – Paul Berth, Danish footballer (d. 1969)
• 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (d. 1998)
• 1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (d. 1958)
• 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
• 1895 – John Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (d. 1942)
• 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
• 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (d. 1974)
• 1897 – Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
• 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (d. 1975)
• 1900 – Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (d. 1984)
• 1902 – Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (d. 1941)
• 1903 – M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
• 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (d. 1984)
• 1904 – Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (d. 1996)
• 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
• 1908 – Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (d. 1994)
• 1909 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (d. 1978)
• 1913 – Louise Currie, American actress (d. 2013)
• 1913 – Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1977)
• 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
• 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American author (d. 1958)
• 1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (d. 2012)
• 1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
• 1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1992)
• 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (d. 2012)
• 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
• 1922 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (d. 2003)
• 1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (d. 2011)
• 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
• 1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper
• 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
• 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
• 1928 – James White, Northern Irish author and educator (d. 1999)
• 1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
• 1930 – Jane Priestman, English interior designer
• 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (d. 2009)
• 1930 – Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1989)
• 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
• 1932 – Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
• 1933 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
• 1937 – Charlie Thomas, American singer
• 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California
• 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (d. 2005)
• 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Iris Johansen, American author
• 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)
• 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (d. 1977)
• 1939 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
• 1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
• 1941 – Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator
• 1941 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (d. 2018)
• 1941 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (d. 2017)
• 1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer
• 1943 – Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 – Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager
• 1944 – Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist
• 1944 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor
• 1944 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (d. 2002)
• 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany
• 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
• 1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Gerry Cottle, English businessman
• 1945 – Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic
• 1945 – Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author
• 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (d. 2018)
• 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
• 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer
• 1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
• 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner and educator (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
• 1946 – Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate
• 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (d. 2008)
• 1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer
• 1947 – Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (d. 2020)
• 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
• 1948 – John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer
• 1949 – Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana
• 1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary
• 1951 – Bruce Gary, American drummer (d. 2006)
• 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1952 – David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic
• 1952 – Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete
• 1952 – Gilles Valiquette, Canadian actor, singer, and producer
• 1952 – Dennis Hayden, American actor
• 1953 – Santa Barraza, American mixed media artist
• 1953 – Douglas Kell, English biochemist and academic
• 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Tony Dorsett, American football player
• 1955 – Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
• 1955 – Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist
• 1956 – Annika Billström, Swedish businesswoman and politician, 16th Mayor of Stockholm
• 1956 – Christopher Darden, American lawyer and author
• 1956 – Georg Werthner, Austrian decathlete
• 1957 – Kim Kap-soo, South Korean actor
• 1957 – Thelma Walker, British politician
• 1958 – Brian Haner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1958 – Hindrek Kesler, Estonian architect
• 1960 – Buster Douglas, American boxer and actor
• 1960 – Sandy Powell, English costume designer
• 1961 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player and actor
• 1961 – Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
• 1961 – Brigitte van der Burg, Tanzanian-Dutch geographer and politician
• 1962 – Jon Cruddas, English lawyer and politician
• 1962 – Andrew Hampsten, American cyclist
• 1963 – Jaime de Marichalar, Spanish businessman
• 1963 – Nick Herbert, English businessman and politician, Minister for Policing
• 1963 – Dave Johnson, American decathlete and educator
• 1964 – Jace Alexander, American actor and director
• 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand-Australian actor
• 1964 – Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1965 – Bill Bellamy, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1965 – Rozalie Hirs, Dutch composer and poet
• 1965 – Alison Lapper, English painter and photographer
• 1965 – Nenad Vučinić, Serbian-New Zealand basketball player and coach
• 1966 – Richard Gomez, Filipino actor and politician
• 1966 – Zvika Hadar, Israeli entertainer
• 1966 – Béla Mavrák, Hungarian tenor singer
• 1966 – Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
• 1967 – Artemis Gounaki, Greek-German singer-songwriter
• 1967 – Bodo Illgner, German footballer
• 1967 – Simone Schilder, Dutch tennis player
• 1968 – Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer and sportscaster
• 1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist
• 1968 – Vasiliy Sokov, Russian triple jumper
• 1969 – Ricky Watters, American football player
• 1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist and educator
• 1971 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (d. 2008)
• 1971 – Victor Kraatz, German-Canadian figure skater
• 1972 – Tim Peake, British astronaut
• 1973 – Marco Delvecchio, Italian footballer
• 1973 – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence
• 1973 – Carole Montillet, French skier
• 1973 – Christian O'Connell, British radio DJ and presenter
• 1973 – Brett Tomko, American baseball player
• 1975 – Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1975 – Ronde Barber, American football player and sportscaster
• 1975 – Tiki Barber, American football player and journalist
• 1975 – Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
• 1975 – John Cooper, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1975 – Simon Woolford, Australian rugby league player
• 1976 – Kevin Alejandro, American actor and producer
• 1976 – Martin Buß, German high jumper
• 1976 – Jessica Lee, English lawyer and politician
• 1976 – Aaron Lohr, American actor
• 1976 – Barbara Jane Reams, American actress
• 1976 – Gang Qiang, Chinese anchor
• 1978 – Jo Appleby, English soprano
• 1978 – Duncan James, English singer-songwriter and actor
• 1978 – Lilia Osterloh, American tennis player
• 1979 – Adrián Beltré, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1979 – Patrick Crayton, American football player
• 1979 – Pascal Dupuis, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan-American baseball player
• 1980 – Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer
• 1980 – Tetsuji Tamayama, Japanese actor
• 1981 – Hitoe Arakaki, Japanese singer
• 1981 – Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
• 1981 – Vanessa Olivarez, American singer-songwriter, and actress
• 1981 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
• 1982 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
• 1982 – Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler
• 1982 – Kelli Young, English singer
• 1983 – Hamish Davidson, Australian musician
• 1983 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
• 1983 – Jon Stead, English footballer
• 1983 – Jakub Smrž, Czech motorcycle rider
• 1983 – Janar Talts, Estonian basketball player
• 1984 – Hiroko Shimabukuro, Japanese singer
• 1985 – KC Concepcion, Filipino actress and singer
• 1985 – Humza Yousaf, Scottish politician
• 1986 – Brooke Brodack, American comedian
• 1986 – Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist
• 1986 – Andi Fraggs, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1986 – Christian Fuchs, Austrian footballer
• 1987 – Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer
• 1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete
• 1987 – Jamar Smith, American football player
• 1988 – Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Ed Speleers, English actor and producer
• 1989 – Alexa Demara, American actress, model and writer
• 1989 – Franco Di Santo, Argentinian footballer
• 1989 – Mitchell Pearce, Australian rugby league player
• 1989 – Teddy Riner, French judoka
• 1990 – Nickel Ashmeade, Jamaican sprinter
• 1990 – Anna Bogomazova, Russian-American kick-boxer, martial artist, and wrestler
• 1990 – Sorana Cîrstea, Romanian tennis player
• 1990 – Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer
• 1991 – Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer
• 1991 – Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast
• 1992 – Guilherme Negueba, Brazilian footballer
• 1993 – Ichinojō Takashi, Mongolian sumo wrestler
• 1994 – Johanna Allik, Estonian figure skater
• 1994 – Aaron Gray, Australian rugby league player
• 1996 – Emerson Hyndman, American international soccer player
• 1997 – Rafaela Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player

Deaths

• AD 30 – Jesus Christ, (possible date of the crucifixion) (b. circa 4 BC)
• 821 – George the Standard-Bearer, archbishop of Mytilene (b. c. 776)
• 924 – Berengar I of Italy (b. 845)
• 1206 – Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
• 1340 – Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia (b. 1308)
• 1498 – Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
• 1499 – Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (b. 1442)
• 1501 – Minkhaung II, king of Ava (b. 1446)
• 1606 – Edward Oldcorne, English martyr (b. 1561)
• 1614 – El Greco, Greek-Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1541)
• 1638 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese daimyō (b. 1576)
• 1651 – Lennart Torstensson, Swedish field marshal and engineer (b. 1603)
• 1658 – Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic and philosopher (b. 1595)
• 1661 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English commander and politician (b. 1604)
• 1663 – Francis Cooke, English-American settler (b. 1583)
• 1668 – William Davenant, English poet and playwright (b. 1606)
• 1719 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint, founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (b. 1651)
• 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705)
• 1747 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b. 1676)
• 1761 – Thomas Bayes, English minister and mathematician (b. 1701)
• 1766 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
• 1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and director (b. 1715)
• 1782 – Taksin, Thai king (b. 1734)
• 1789 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1725)
• 1789 – Petrus Camper, Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (b. 1722)
• 1801 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (b. 1724)
• 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (b. 1743)
• 1811 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
• 1823 – Jacques Charles, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1746)
• 1833 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Lithuanian composer and politician (b. 1775)
• 1836 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (b. 1756)
• 1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (b. 1777)
• 1850 – William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
• 1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher (b. 1781)
• 1868 – Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist, activist, and politician (b. 1825)
• 1879 – Begum Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (b. 1820)
• 1885 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (b. 1804)
• 1889 – Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese soldier and politician (b. 1823)
• 1889 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician and president, 1872-1876 (b. 1823)
• 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810)
• 1917 – Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer and playwright (b. 1861)
• 1918 – David Kolehmainen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1885)
• 1918 – George E. Ohr, American potter (b. 1857)
• 1920 – Karl Binding, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1841)
• 1922 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1855)
• 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1873)
• 1932 – Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (b. 1875)
• 1938 – Suzanne Valadon, French painter (b. 1865)
• 1939 – Joseph Lyons, Australian educator and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
• 1943 – Jovan Dučić, Serbian-American poet and diplomat (b. 1871)
• 1943 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (b. 1859)
• 1947 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863)
• 1949 – John Gourlay, Canadian soccer player (b. 1872)
• 1950 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1883)
• 1955 – Theda Bara, American actress (b. 1885)
• 1956 – Fred Appleby, English runner (b. 1879)
• 1960 – Henri Guisan, Swiss general (b. 1874)
• 1965 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
• 1966 – Walt Hansgen, American race car driver (b. 1919)
• 1968 – Edwin Baker, Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) (b. 1893)
• 1968 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (b. 1936)
• 1972 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (b. 1929)
• 1972 – Abeid Karume, Tanzanian politician, 1st President of Zanzibar (b. 1905)
• 1981 – Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (b. 1935)
• 1981 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (b. 1899)
• 1982 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver and journalist (b. 1948)
• 1984 – Frank Church, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1924)
• 1985 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (b. 1888)
• 1986 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist (b. 1912)
• 1990 – Ronald Evans, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
• 1991 – Memduh Ünlütürk, Turkish general (b. 1913)
• 1992 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1903)
• 1992 – Antonis Tritsis, Greek high jumper and politician, 71st Mayor of Athens (b. 1937)
• 1994 – Lee Brilleaux, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
• 1994 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer, manager, and politician (b. 1923)
• 1994 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (b. 1909)
• 1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan chemist, academic, and politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
• 1995 – Philip Jebb, English architect and politician (b. 1927)
• 1997 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1923)
• 1997 – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1935)
• 1998 – Alex Schomburg, Puerto Rican-American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
• 1999 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
• 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
• 2001 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
• 2002 – John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
• 2003 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French pianist and author (b. 1903)
• 2003 – David Greene, English-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
• 2004 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (b. 1901)
• 2005 – Cliff Allison, English race car driver (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Melih Kibar, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1951)
• 2007 – Johnny Hart, American author and illustrator (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese journalist and author (b. 1915)
• 2009 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1947)
• 2011 – Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (b. 1984)
• 2012 – Satsue Mito, Japanese zoologist and academic (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (b. 1930)
• 2012 – David E. Pergrin, American colonel and engineer (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani politician (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Mike Wallace, American television news journalist (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Marty Blake, American businessman (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Les Blank, American director and producer (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Andy Johns, English-American record producer (b. 1950)
• 2013 – Lilly Pulitzer, American fashion designer (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Irma Ravinale, Italian composer and educator (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Mickey Rose, American screenwriter (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Carl Williams, American boxer (b. 1959)
• 2014 – George Dureau, American painter and photographer (b. 1930)
• 2014 – James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
• 2014 – V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (b. 1952)
• 2014 – John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (b. 1931)
• 2014 – George Shuffler, American guitarist (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1942)
• 2015 – Tim Babcock, American soldier and politician, 16th Governor of Montana (b. 1919)
• 2015 – José Capellán, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1981)
• 2015 – Stan Freberg, American puppeteer, voice actor, and singer (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Richard Henyekane, South African footballer (b. 1983)
• 2015 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2016 – Blackjack Mulligan, American professional wrestler (b. 1942)
• 2019 – Seymour Cassel, American actor (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast days:
  • Aibert of Crespin
  • Blessed Alexander Rawlins
  • Blessed Edward Oldcorne and Blessed Ralph Ashley
  • Blessed Notker the Stammerer
  • Brynach
  • Hegesippus
  • Henry Walpole
  • Hermann Joseph
  • Jean-Baptiste de La Salle
  • Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (Eastern Orthodox Church, Episcopal Church (USA))
  • April 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Flag Day (Slovenia)
• Genocide Memorial Day (Rwanda), and its related observance:
  • International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (United Nations)
• Motherhood and Beauty Day (Armenia)
• National Beer Day (United States)
• Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day (Tanzania)
• Women's Day (Mozambique)
• World Health Day (International observance)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on April 7
• Today in Canadian History