April 23

April 23 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

April 23 is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 252 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
• 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik'nal and sacking the city.
• 711 – Dagobert III is crowned King of the Franks.
• 1014 – Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
• 1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as king of England.
• 1343 – St. George's Night Uprising commences in the Duchy of Estonia.
• 1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St. George's Day.
• 1516 – The Bayerische Reinheitsgebot (regarding the ingredients of beer) is signed in Ingolstadt.
• 1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
• 1635 – The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston.
• 1655 – The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later.
• 1660 – Treaty of Oliva is established between Sweden and Poland.
• 1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
• 1815 – The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
• 1910 – American President Theodore Roosevelt makes his "The Man in the Arena" speech.
• 1914 – First baseball game at Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park in Chicago.
• 1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
• 1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara, Turkey. It denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution.
• 1927 – Cardiff City defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, the only time it has been won by a team not based in England.
• 1932 – The 153-year-old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, Netherlands burns down. It is rebuilt and reopens exactly 70 years later.
• 1935 – The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
• 1940 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
• 1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
• 1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
• 1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler's designated successor Hermann Göring sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich, which causes Hitler to replace him with Joseph Goebbels and Karl Dönitz.
• 1946 – Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
• 1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 48 is adopted.
• 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
• 1951 – American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
• 1955 – The Canadian Labour Congress is formed by the merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.
• 1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
• 1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) a manned spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
• 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
• 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
• 1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
• 1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
• 1997 – Omaria massacre in Algeria: Forty-two villagers are killed.
• 2005 – First YouTube video uploaded, titled "Me at the zoo".
• 2013 – At least 28 are dead and more than 70 are injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq.

Births

• 1141 – Malcolm IV of Scotland (d. 1165)
• 1185 – Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
• 1408 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (d. 1462)
• 1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1505)
• 1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (d. 1558)
• 1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1565)
• 1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
• 1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
• 1621 – William Penn, English admiral and politician (d. 1670)
• 1628 – Johannes Hudde, Dutch mathematician and politician (d. 1704)
• 1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer and conductor (d. 1797)
• 1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi and author (d. 1797)
• 1744 – Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (d. 1770)
• 1748 – Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
• 1791 – James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
• 1792 – Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
• 1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and author (d. 1856)
• 1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
• 1812 – Frederick Whitaker, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
• 1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, 7th Illinois Secretary of State (d. 1861)
• 1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, Italian-French historian and scholar (d. 1853)
• 1819 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1901)
• 1823 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1861)
• 1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
• 1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
• 1858 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
• 1858 – Ethel Smyth, English composer (d. 1944)
• 1860 – Justinian Oxenham, Australian public servant (d. 1932)
• 1861 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (d. 1936)
• 1861 – John Peltz, American baseball player and manager (d. 1906)
• 1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
• 1867 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
• 1872 – Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, English harpsichord player (d. 1951)
• 1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (d. 1925)
• 1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1942)
• 1882 – Albert Coates, English composer and conductor (d. 1953)
• 1887 – Jenő Törzs, Hungarian actor (d. 1946)
• 1888 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
• 1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
• 1891 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1953)
• 1893 – Frank Borzage, American actor and director (d. 1952)
• 1894 – Cow Cow Davenport, American singer and pianist (d. 1955)
• 1894 – Basil Sydney, English actor (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Johnny Hyde, Russian-American talent agent (d. 1950)
• 1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author and director (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
• 1897 – Folke Jansson, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1965)
• 1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (d. 1982)
• 1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1959)
• 1900 – Joseph Green, Polish-American actor and director (d. 1996)
• 1901 – E. B. Ford, English biologist and geneticist (d. 1988)
• 1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1903 – Guy Simonds, English-Canadian general (d. 1974)
• 1904 – Cliff Bricker, Canadian runner (d. 1980)
• 1904 – Louis Muhlstock, Polish-Canadian painter (d. 2001)
• 1904 – Duncan Renaldo, American actor (d. 1985)
• 1907 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (d. 1977)
• 1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor, designed the Wotruba Church (d. 1975)
• 1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator and director (d. 2006)
• 1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
• 1911 – Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
• 1913 – Diosa Costello, Puerto Rican-American American entertainer, performer, producer and club owner (d. 2013)
• 1915 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer, academic, and businessman (d. 2000)
• 1916 – Yiannis Moralis, Greek painter and educator (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Dorian Leigh, American model (d. 2008)
• 1917 – Tony Lupien, American baseball player and coach (d. 2004)
• 1918 – Maurice Druon, French author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Oleg Penkovsky, Russian colonel (d. 1963)
• 1920 – Eric Grant Yarrow, 3rd Baronet, English businessman
• 1921 – Cleto Bellucci, Italian archbishop (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
• 1922 – Marjorie Cameron, American actress and occultist (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Jack May, English actor (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Dolph Briscoe, American lieutenant and politician, 41st Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
• 1923 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
• 1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player and scout
• 1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer and bandleader (d. 2007)
• 1926 – J. P. Donleavy, Irish American novelist and playwright
• 1926 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (d. 1990)
• 1926 – Richard Laws, English mammalogist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (d. 2014)
• 1929 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic
• 1930 – Michael Bowen, Gibraltarian-English archbishop
• 1930 – Alan Oppenheimer, American actor
• 1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
• 1932 – Jim Fixx, American runner and author (d. 1984)
• 1933 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 2011)
• 1934 – George Canseco, Filipino composer and producer (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Fikret Hakan, Turkish actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1935 – Bunky Green, American saxophonist and educator
• 1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (Traveling Wilburys) (d. 1988)
• 1937 – Victoria Glendinning, English author and critic
• 1937 – David Mills, English cricketer (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Barry Shepherd, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
• 1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican director and screenwriter
• 1939 – Bill Hagerty, English journalist
• 1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
• 1940 – Michael Copps, American academic and politician
• 1940 – Dale Houston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
• 1940 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer and actress
• 1941 – Arie den Hartog, Dutch road bicycle racer
• 1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Finnish journalist and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Finland
• 1941 – Michael Lynne, American film producer, co-founded New Line Cinema
• 1941 – Ed Stewart, English radio and television host (d. 2016)
• 1941 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (d. 2016)
• 1942 – Sandra Dee, American model and actress (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Gail Goodrich, American basketball player and coach
• 1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
• 1943 – Delano Meriwether, American runner and physician
• 1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
• 1944 – Jean-François Stévenin, French actor and director
• 1946 – Blair Brown, American actress
• 1946 – Richard Mottram, English civil servant
• 1947 – Robert Burgess, English sociologist and academic
• 1947 – Glenn Cornick, English bass player (Jethro Tull and Paris) (d. 2014)
• 1947 – Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Irish republican activist; co-founder, Irish Republican Socialist Party (1974); British MP Mid Ulster (1969–74)
• 1947 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (d. 2014)
• 1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author and screenwriter
• 1948 – Serge Thériault, Canadian actor
• 1949 – Paul Collier, English economist and academic
• 1949 – David Cross, English violinist (King Crimson)
• 1949 – Joyce DeWitt, American actress
• 1949 – John Miles, British rock music vocalist, songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Rowley Leigh, English chef and journalist
• 1950 – Barbara McIlvaine Smith, American politician
• 1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
• 1953 – James Russo, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Tony Atlas, American bodybuilder and wrestler
• 1954 – Stephen Dalton, English air marshal
• 1954 – Lucinda Jenney, American actress
• 1954 – Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist
• 1954 – Leni Robredo, Filipino politician
• 1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
• 1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
• 1955 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2008)
• 1955 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (d. 2014)
• 1957 – Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer, and art director
• 1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
• 1957 – Kenji Kawai, Japanese composer and conductor
• 1957 – Kevin Meaney, American stand-up comedian and actor
• 1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic composer and producer
• 1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
• 1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist and songwriter (Def Leppard) (d. 1991)
• 1960 – Barry Douglas, Irish pianist and conductor
• 1960 – Léo Jaime, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados)
• 1960 – Claude Julien, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1961 – Dirk Bach, German actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1961 – Terry Gordy, American wrestler (d. 2001)
• 1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
• 1961 – Pierluigi Martini, Italian race car driver
• 1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor and producer
• 1962 – Shaun Spiers, English businessman and politician
• 1963 – Paul Belmondo, French race car driver
• 1963 – Robby Naish, American windsurfer
• 1964 – Gianandrea Noseda, Italian pianist and conductor
• 1965 – Tommy DeCarlo, American singer-songwriter (Boston)
• 1966 – Jörg Deisinger, German bass player (Bonfire, Axel Rudi Pell)
• 1966 – Matt Freeman, American bass player (Operation Ivy, Rancid, Social Distortion, Basic Radio, Downfall, and Devils Brigade)
• 1966 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess player (d. 1999)
• 1966 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (d. 2012)
• 1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
• 1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
• 1968 – Bas Haring, Dutch philosopher, writer, television presenter and professor.
• 1968 – Ken McRae, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, Oklahoma City bombing co-perpetrator (d. 2001)
• 1969 – Martín López-Zubero, American-Spanish swimmer and coach
• 1969 – Arthur Phillips, American author
• 1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
• 1969 – Richard Wolstencroft, Australian director and producer
• 1970 – Sadao Abe, Japanese actor and singer (Group Tamashii)
• 1970 – Egemen Bağış, Turkish politician, 1st Minister of European Union Affairs
• 1970 – Dennis Culp, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (Five Iron Frenzy and Brave Saint Saturn)
• 1970 – Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league player and manager
• 1970 – Hans Välimäki, Finnish chef and author
• 1970 – Tayfur Havutçu, Turkish international footballer and manager
• 1971 – Uli Herzner, German-American fashion designer
• 1972 – Demet Akalın, Turkish singer-songwriter and model
• 1972 – Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet and playwright
• 1972 – Patricia Manterola, Mexican singer, actress, and fashion designer
• 1972 – Peter Dench, English photographer and journalist
• 1973 – Patrick Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Cem Yılmaz, Turkish stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, filmmaker, scenarist, and cartoonist
• 1974 – Carlos Dengler, American bass player (Interpol)
• 1974 – Michael Kerr, New Zealand-German rugby player
• 1974 – Barry Watson, American actor and director
• 1975 – Jónsi, Icelandic singer-songwriter and guitarist (Sigur Rós and Jónsi & Alex)
• 1975 – Bobby Shaw, American football player
• 1976 – Gabriel Damon, American actor
• 1976 – Aaron Dessner American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (The National)
• 1976 – Bryce Dessner, American guitarist and songwriter (The National and Clogs)
• 1976 – Tesfaye Jifar, Ethiopian runner
• 1976 – Dirk van 't Klooster, Dutch baseball player
• 1977 – John Cena, American wrestler
• 1977 – Andruw Jones, Curaçaoan baseball player
• 1977 – David Kidwell, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
• 1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – John Oliver, English-American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Kal Penn, Indian-American actor
• 1977 – Bram Schmitz, Dutch cyclist
• 1977 – Lee Young-pyo, South Korean footballer
• 1978 – Gezahegne Abera, Ethiopian runner
• 1979 – Barry Hawkins, English snooker player
• 1979 – Jaime King, American actress and model
• 1979 – Joanna Krupa, Polish-American model and television personality
• 1979 – Samppa Lajunen, Finnish skier
• 1979 – Lauri Ylönen, Finnish singer-songwriter (The Rasmus)
• 1981 – Seka Aleksić, Serbian singer, actress, and fashion designer
• 1981 – Sean Henn, American baseball player
• 1981 – Chris Sharma, American rock climber
• 1981 – Lady Gabriella Windsor, English journalist
• 1983 – Daniela Hantuchová, Slovakian tennis player
• 1983 – Ian Henderson, English rugby league player
• 1983 – Aaron Hill, American actor
• 1984 – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player
• 1985 – Taio Cruz, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1985 – Angel Locsin, Filipino actress, producer, and fashion designer
• 1986 – Sven Kramer, Dutch speed skater
• 1986 – Alysia Montaño, American runner
• 1986 – Jessica Stam, Canadian model and actress
• 1986 – Rafael Fernandes, Brazilian baseball player
• 1987 – Michael Arroyo, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1987 – John Boye, Ghanaian footballer
• 1987 – Emily Fox, American basketball player and cup stacker
• 1988 – Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
• 1988 – Prince Buaben, Ghanaian footballer
• 1988 – Molly Burnett, American actress and singer
• 1988 – Steph Houghton, English footballer
• 1988 – Carla Quevedo, Argentine actress
• 1988 – Signe Ronka, Canadian figure skater
• 1988 – Lenka Wienerová, Slovak tennis player
• 1989 – Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
• 1990 – Dev Patel, English actor
• 1990 – Matthew Underwood, American actor
• 1990 – Pikky Ya France, Namibian cricketer
• 1991 – Nathan Baker, English footballer
• 1991 – Caleb Johnson, American singer-songwriter
• 1991 – Paul Vaughan, Australian-Italian rugby league player
• 1992 – Syd tha Kyd, American singer, DJ, and producer (Odd Future and The Internet)
• 1994 – Patrick Olsen, Danish footballer
• 1995 – Gigi Hadid, American fashion model
• 1997 – Alex Ferris, Canadian actor
• 2003 – Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Belgian princess

Deaths

• 303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and martyr (b. 275)
• 711 – Childebert III, Frankish king (b. 670)
• 725 – Wihtred of Kent (b. 670)
• 871 – Æthelred of Wessex (b. 837)
• 997 – Adalbert of Prague, Czech bishop, missionary, and saint (b. 956)
• 1014 – Brian Boru, Irish king (b. 941)
• 1016 – Æthelred the Unready, English son of Edgar the Peaceful (b. 968)
• 1124 – Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
• 1151 – Adeliza of Louvain (b. 1103)
• 1200 – Zhu Xi, Chinese philosopher (b. 1130)
• 1217 – Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
• 1307 – Joan of Acre (b. 1272)
• 1400 – Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford, English politician and noblemen (b. c. 1338)
• 1407 – Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
• 1605 – Boris Godunov, Russian ruler (b. 1551)
• 1616 – Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Peruvian historian and author (b. 1539)
• 1616 – William Shakespeare, English actor, playwright, and poet (b. 1564)
• 1625 – Maurice, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
• 1695 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet and author (b. 1621)
• 1702 – Margaret Fell, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1614)
• 1781 – James Abercrombie, Scottish general and politician (b. 1706)
• 1784 – Solomon I of Imereti (b. 1735)
• 1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and author (b. 1741)
• 1794 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
• 1827 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (b. 1780)
• 1839 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (b. 1768)
• 1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet and author (b. 1770)
• 1889 – Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly, French author and critic (b. 1808)
• 1895 – Carl Ludwig, German physician and physiologist (b. 1815)
• 1905 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (b. 1823)
• 1907 – Alferd Packer, American prospector (b. 1842)
• 1915 – Rupert Brooke, English soldier and poet (b. 1887)
• 1936 – Teresa de la Parra, French-Venezuelan author (b. 1889)
• 1951 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (b. 1883)
• 1951 – Charles G. Dawes, American banker and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
• 1965 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (b. 1891)
• 1966 – George Ohsawa, Japanese founder of the Macrobiotic diet (b. 1893)
• 1975 – William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908)
• 1979 – Blair Peach, New Zealand-English educator and activist (b. 1946)
• 1981 – Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and author (b. 1897)
• 1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
• 1984 – Red Garland, American pianist (Miles Davis Quintet) (b. 1923)
• 1985 – Sam Ervin, American lawyer and politician (b. 1896)
• 1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
• 1986 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1922)
• 1986 – Otto Preminger, Ukrainian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1906)
• 1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress and philanthropist (b. 1910)
• 1991 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers) (b. 1952)
• 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Tanka Prasad Acharya, Nepalese politician, 27th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1912)
• 1993 – Cesar Chavez, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers (b. 1927)
• 1995 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1895)
• 1995 – Howard Cosell, American lawyer and journalist (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Riho Lahi, Estonian journalist (b. 1904)
• 1995 – John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (b. 1904)
• 1996 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (b. 1913)
• 1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian-English author and actress (b. 1899)
• 1997 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1918)
• 1998 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 172nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1907)
• 1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928)
• 1998 – Thanassis Skordalos, Greek singer-songwriter and lyra player (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer (b. 1910)
• 2004 – Herman Veenstra, Dutch water polo player (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Robert Farnon, Canadian-English trumpet player, composer and conductor (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Al Grassby, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1928)
• 2005 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Romano Scarpa, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player, coach and educator (b. 1934)
• 2006 – Phil Walden, American record producer and manager, co-founder of Capricorn Records (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Paul Erdman, Canadian-American economist and author (b. 1932)
• 2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Peter Randall, English sergeant (b. 1930)
• 2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (b. 1931)
• 2010 – Peter Porter, Australian-born British poet (b. 1929)
• 2011 – James Casey, English comedian, radio scriptwriter and producer (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Tom King, American guitarist and songwriter (The Outsiders and The Starfires) (b. 1943)
• 2011 – Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill, English businessman and politician (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of State (b. 1924)
• 2011 – John Sullivan, English screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Lillemor Arvidsson, Swedish union leader and politician, 34th Governor of Gotland (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Billy Bryans, Canadian drummer, songwriter and producer (The Parachute Club and Downchild Blues Band) (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Chris Ethridge, American bass player and songwriter (The Flying Burrito Brothers and International Submarine Band) (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Tommy Marth, American saxophonist (b. 1978)
• 2012 – Raymond Thorsteinsson, Canadian geologist and paleontologist (b. 1921)
• 2012 – LeRoy T. Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Bob Brozman, American guitarist (R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders) (b. 1954)
• 2013 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Tony Grealish, English footballer (b. 1956)
• 2013 – Norman Jones, English actor (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Antonio Maccanico, Italian banker and politician (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Frank W. J. Olver, English-American mathematician and academic (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist and scholar (b. 1907)
• 2014 – Benjamín Brea, Spanish-Venezuelan saxophonist, clarinet player, and conductor (Los Cañoneros) (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Michael Glawogger, Austrian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1959)
• 2014 – Jaap Havekotte, Dutch speed skater and producer of ice skates (b. 1912)
• 2014 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
• 2014 – F. Michael Rogers, American general (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (b. 1951)
• 2014 – Patric Standford, English composer and educator (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (b. 1944)
• 2015 – Ray Jackson, Australian activist (b. 1941)
• 2015 – Pierre Claude Nolin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Canadian Senate (b. 1950)
• 2015 – Jim Steffen, American football player (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Francis Tsai, American author and illustrator (b. 1967)
• 2016 – Inge King, German-born Australian sculptor (b. 1915)
• 2016 – Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai politician, Prime Minister (1995–1996) (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Adalbert of Prague
  • George
  • Gerard of Toul
  • Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church)
  • April 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which the first day of Children's Day can fall, while April 29 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday of April. (Colombia)
• Castile and León Day (Castile and León, Spain)
• Independence Day (Conch Republic, Key West, Florida)
• International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
• Khongjom Day (Manipur, India)
• National Sovereignty and Children's Day (Turkey and Northern Cyprus)
• Navy Day (China)
• St George's Day (England) and its related observances:
  • Canada Book Day (Canada)
  • La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia, Spain)
  • World Book Day
• UN English Language Day (United Nations)

External links

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