April 4

April 4 is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 271 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, beginning the Komnenian dynasty.
• 1581 – Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
• 1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of England.
• 1721 – Sir Robert Walpole enters office as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under King George I.
• 1812 – U.S. President James Madison enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
• 1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time.
• 1818 – The United States Congress adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20).
• 1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia becoming the first President of the United States to die in office and the one with the shortest term served.
• 1850 – The Great Fire of Cottenham, a large part of the Cambridgeshire village (England) is burnt to the ground under suspicious circumstances.
• 1850 – Los Angeles, California is incorporated as a city.
• 1859 – Bryant's Minstrels debut "Dixie" in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
• 1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
• 1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the city of Kiev.
• 1873 – The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.
• 1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
• 1905 – In India, the 1905 Kangra earthquake hits the Kangra valley, kills 20,000, and destroys most buildings in Kangra, Mcleodganj and Dharamshala.
• 1913 – The Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot victim of the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
• 1918 – World War I: Second Battle of the Somme ends.
• 1930 – The Communist Party of Panama is founded.
• 1939 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
• 1944 – World War II: First bombardment of Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.
• 1945 – World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet Army takes control of Hungary.
• 1949 – Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
• 1958 – The CND Peace Symbol displayed in public for the first time in London.
• 1960 – Senegal independence day.
• 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
• 1965 – The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft plane is unveiled.
• 1967 – Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church.
• 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
• 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
• 1968 – AEK Athens BC becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
• 1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
• 1973 – The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.
• 1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico
• 1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Baby Lift – A United States Air Force C-5A Galaxy crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, transporting orphans – 172 die.
• 1976 – Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.
• 1979 – President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
• 1979 – The 2nd Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece starts.
• 1983 – Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space (STS-6).
• 1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
• 1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
• 1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
• 1994 – Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name "Mosaic Communications Corporation".
• 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
• 2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
• 2007 – 15 British Royal Navy personnel held in Iran are released by the Iranian President.
• 2008 – In a raid on the FLDS's YFZ Ranch in Texas, 401 children and 133 women are taken into state custody.

Births

• 186 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
• 1492 – Ambrosius Blarer, German reformer (d. 1564)
• 1572 – William Strachey, English writer (d. 1621)
• 1593 – Edward Nicholas, English statesman (d. 1669)
• 1646 – Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (d. 1715)
• 1648 – Grinling Gibbons Dutch woodcarver (d. 1721)
• 1688 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer (d. 1768)
• 1718 – Benjamin Kennicott, English churchman and Hebrew scholar (d. 1783)
• 1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of Breslov Hasidut (d. 1810)
• 1785 – Bettina von Arnim, German writer (d. 1859)
• 1802 – Dorothea Dix, American social activist (d. 1887)
• 1818 – Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American novelist (d. 1883)
• 1819 – Queen Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
• 1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1868)
• 1826 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (d. 1901)
• 1842 – Edouard Lucas, French mathematician (d. 1891)
• 1846 – Comte de Lautréamont, French writer (d. 1870)
• 1853 – Tad Lincoln, son of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (d. 1871)
• 1858 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet (d. 1915)
• 1875 – Pierre Monteux, French conductor (d. 1964)
• 1876 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter (d. 1958)
• 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
• 1884 – Giacomo Alberione, Italian priest and publisher (d. 1971)
• 1884 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese naval commander (d. 1943)
• 1888 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player (d. 1958)
• 1888 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish literary historian (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Arthur Murray, American dance teacher (d. 1991)
• 1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright (d. 1955)
• 1897 – Pierre Fresnay, French stage and film actor (d. 1975)
• 1898 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (d. 1940)
• 1899 – Hillel Oppenheimer, German-born Israeli botanist (d. 1971)
• 1902 – Louise Leveque de Vilmorin, French writer (d. 1969)
• 1902 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American science-fiction author (d. 1935)
• 1905 – Eugene Bozza, French modern composer (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Bea Benaderet, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995)
• 1908 – Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, American memoirist (Cheaper by the Dozen) (d. 2006)
• 1911 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer (d. 1992)
• 1913 – Frances Langford, American actress (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Jules Léger, Quebec diplomat and Governor general of Canada (d. 1980)
• 1914 – Marguerite Duras, French writer (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Muddy Waters, American musician (d. 1983)
• 1916 – Nikola Ljubicic, Yugoslav general, Serbian communist politician (d. 2005)
• 1916 – Mickey Owen, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1916 – David White, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1918 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Éric Rohmer, French film director (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer (d. 2004)
• 1923 – Peter Vaughan, English actor
• 1924 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
• 1925 – Claude Wagner, French-Canadian politician and judge (d. 1979)
• 1925 – Emmett Williams, American poet (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Maya Angelou, American writer
• 1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence director
• 1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer
• 1932 – Estelle Harris, American actress
• 1932 – Richard Lugar, American politician
• 1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
• 1932 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet film director (d. 1986)
• 1933 – Bill France, Jr., NASCAR pioneer (d. 2007)
• 1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American university president and Commissioner of Baseball (d. 1989)
• 1939 – JoAnne Carner, American golfer
• 1939 – Major Lance, American singer (d. 1994)
• 1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African musician
• 1940 – Richard Attwood, British racing driver
• 1940 – Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1942 – Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager
• 1942 – Kitty Kelley, American writer
• 1944 – Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician
• 1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor
• 1945 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French political activist
• 1945 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Dave Hill, English guitarist (Slade)
• 1946 – Katsuaki Sato, Japanese martial artist
• 1946 – Colin Coates, Australian speed skater
• 1947 – Ray Fosse, American baseball player and broadcaster
• 1947 – Luke Halpin, American actor
• 1947 – Wiranto, Indonesian general
• 1948 – Michael Blassie, American military officer (d. 1972)
• 1948 – Berry Oakley, American bassist (The Allman Brothers Band) (d. 1972)
• 1948 – Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party
• 1948 – Dan Simmons, American writer
• 1948 – Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
• 1949 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican singer (The Wailers) (d. 1999)
• 1949 – Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese mathematician
• 1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress
• 1951 – John Hannah, American football player
• 1951 – Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
• 1952 – Rosemarie Ackermann, German athlete
• 1952 – Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey coach
• 1952 – Gary Moore, Irish guitarist (Thin Lizzy)
• 1952 – Gregg Hansford, Australian motorcycle and car racer (d. 1995)
• 1952 – Villy Søvndal, Danish politician
• 1953 – Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician
• 1953 – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician
• 1954 – Julie Carmen, American Actress
• 1953 – Henry Fotheringham, former South African cricketer
• 1956 – Tom Herr, American baseball player
• 1956 – David E. Kelley, American writer and TV producer
• 1957 – Ali El Haggar, Egyptian singer and actor
• 1957 – Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish film director
• 1957 – Graeme Kelling, Scottish musician (Deacon Blue) (d. 2004)
• 1957 – Kelso, American racehorse (d. 1983)
• 1957 – Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese musician (Rats & Star)
• 1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer (d. 1990)
• 1958 – Mary-Margaret Humes, American actress
• 1960 – Jane Eaglin, English soprano
• 1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-born English-Australian actor
• 1962 – Craig Adams, English musician (The Sisters of Mercy, Mission UK)
• 1963 – Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1963 – Graham Norton, Irish talk show host
• 1964 – Dang Than, Vietnamese poet and writer
• 1964 – Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach
• 1964 – David Cross, American actor and comedian
• 1964 – Robbie Rist, American actor
• 1965 – Robert Downey, Jr., American actor
• 1966 – Riduan Isamuddin, Guantanamo detainee
• 1966 – Nancy McKeon, American actor
• 1966 – Mike Starr, American musician (Alice In Chains)
• 1966 – Christos Tsekos Greek basketball player
• 1967 – George Mavrotas, Greek water polo player
• 1968 – Xenia Seeberg, German film and television actress
• 1968 – Jesús Miguel Rollán Prada, Spanish water polo player (d. 2006)
• 1970 – Barry Pepper, Canadian actor
• 1970 – Michael Schwartz, American turntablist, known as Mix Master Mike, DJ for the Beastie Boys
• 1970 – Wendy Bell, Television news reporter
• 1971 – Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1971 – Josh Todd, American lead singer of rock band Buckcherry
• 1971 – John Zandig, American professional wrestler
• 1971 – Mark Chapman, British radio sports newsreader and DJ
• 1972 – Jill Scott, American soul singer
• 1972 – Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
• 1972 – Lisa Ray, Indo-Canadian actress
• 1973 – David Blaine, American illusionist
• 1973 – Peter Hoekstra, Dutch footballer
• 1973 – Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete
• 1973 – Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
• 1974 – Dave Mirra, American athlete
• 1975 – Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman
• 1975 – Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish cross-country skier
• 1975 – Pamela Ribon, American author, actress
• 1975 – Scott Rolen, American baseball player
• 1975 – Roy Padrick, American journalist
• 1976 – Emerson, Brazilian footballer
• 1976 – Sébastien Enjolras, French racing driver (d. 1997)
• 1976 – James Roday, American actor
• 1977 – Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist and producer(Killswitch Engage)
• 1977 – Stephen Mulhern, British magician, TV presenter
• 1977 – Omarr Ali Hasan Smith, American Arena Football League defensive back
• 1978 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player
• 1978 – Lemar, English singer
• 1978 – Alan Mahon, Irish footballer
• 1978 – Sam Moran, Australian entertainer
• 1978 – Irene Skliva, Greek 1996 Miss World winner
• 1978 – Aska Yang, Taiwanese singer
• 1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
• 1979 – Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
• 1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress
• 1979 – Andy McKee, American musician
• 1979 – Jessica Napier, New Zealand actress
• 1980 – Johnny Borrell, English singer (Razorlight)
• 1980 – Trevor Moore, American comedian
• 1980 – Eric Steinbach, American football player
• 1980 – Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver
• 1981 – Eduardo Luís Carloto, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Ned Vizzini, young adult author
• 1983 – Fabian Geiser, Swiss footballer
• 1983 – Doug Lynch, Canadian ice-hockey player
• 1983 – Angelle Tymon, American journalist and TV game-show host
• 1983 – Ben Gordon, American professional basketball player
• 1984 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer
• 1985 – Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player
• 1986 – Aiden McGeady, Irish footballer
• 1986 – Cameron Barker, Canadian ice-hockey player
• 1986 – Eunhyuk, Korean singer (Super Junior)
• 1987 – Devon Anderson, English actor
• 1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
• 1987 – Cameron Maybin, American baseball player
• 1987 – Sami Khedira, German footballer
• 1988 – Frank Fielding, English footballer
• 1989 – Vurnon Anita, Dutch footballer
• 1991 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress and singer
• 1992 – Alexa Nikolas, American actress
• 1992 – Christina Metaxa, Cypriot singer
• 1994 – Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer
• 2001 – Ashley Nicole Greene, American actress

Deaths

• 397 – St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (b. c. 338)
• 636 – Saint Isidore of Seville, Church Father and the proposed patron of Internet (b. c. 560)
• 896 – Pope Formosus (b. 816)
• 1284 – King Alfonso X of Castile (b. 1221)
• 1292 – Pope Nicholas IV (b. 1227)
• 1305 – Jeanne of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France (b. c. 1217)
• 1536 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
• 1588 – King Frederick II of Denmark (b. 1534)
• 1609 – Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (b. 1526)
• 1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician (b. 1550)
• 1643 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian (b. 1583)
• 1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier (b. c. 1580)
• 1701 – Joseph Haines, entertainer and author
• 1743 – Daniel Neal, English historian (b. 1678)
• 1761 – Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler (b. 1722)
• 1766 – John Taylor, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
• 1774 – Oliver Goldsmith, English writer (b. 1728)
• 1792 – James Sykes, American politician (b. 1725)
• 1807 – Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de Lalande, French astronomer (b. 1732)
• 1817 – André Masséna, Duke of Rivoli, Prince of Essling and Marshal of France (b. 1758)
• 1841 – William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)
• 1846 – Solomon Sibley, American senator from Michigan Territory (b. 1769)
• 1861 – John McLean, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1785)
• 1863 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (b. 1790)
• 1864 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer (b. 1808)
• 1870 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
• 1874 – Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
• 1878 – Richard Brewer, American gunslinger/cowboy (b. 1850)
• 1879 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist (b. 1803)
• 1883 – Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (b. 1791)
• 1884 – Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist and diarist (b. 1860)
• 1890 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Quebec politician (b. 1820)
• 1890 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist (b. 1812)
• 1919 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)
• 1923 – John Venn, British mathematician (b. 1834)
• 1929 – Karl Benz, German engine designer, inventor, and automobile engineer (b. 1844)
• 1931 – André Michelin, French industrialist (b. 1853)
• 1932 – Wilhelm Ostwald, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
• 1947 – William O'Donnell, Irish politician (b. ?)
• 1951 – Al Christie, Canadian film director and producer (b. 1881)
• 1951 – George Albert Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church) (b. 1870)
• 1953 – King Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)
• 1957 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian diplomat (b. 1909)
• 1958 – Johnny Stompanato, American organized crime figure (b. 1925)
• 1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician (b. 1873)
• 1962 – James Hanratty, British rapist and murderer (b. 1936)
• 1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1898)
• 1967 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (b. 1901)
• 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1929)
• 1970 – Byron Foulger, American actor (b. 1899)
• 1972 – Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American politician (b. 1908)
• 1972 – Stefan Wolpe, German composer (b. 1902)
• 1976 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish contributor to information theory (b. 1889)
• 1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, President (1971–1973) and Prime Minister of Pakistan (1973–1977) (b. 1928)
• 1979 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
• 1980 – Red Sovine, American country music singer (b. 1917)
• 1983 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1899)
• 1984 – Oleg Antonov, Soviet airplane engineer (b. 1906)
• 1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh nationalist and writer (b. 1891)
• 1987 – C.L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
• 1987 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master (b. 1939)
• 1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
• 1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss writer (b. 1911)
• 1991 – H. John Heinz III, U.S. Senator (b. 1938)
• 1991 – Forrest Towns, American hurdler (b. 1914)
• 1992 – Yvette Brind'Amour, French Canadian stage actress and artistic director (b. 1918)
• 1992 – Jack Hamilton, Australian football player (b. 1928)
• 1992 – Arthur Russell, American cellist (b. 1951)
• 1993 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and inventor of Scrabble (b. 1899)
• 1995 – Kenny Everett, British radio DJ and television entertainer (b. 1944)
• 1995 – Priscilla Lane, American singer and actress (b. 1915)
• 1996 – Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918)
• 1996 – Boone Guyton, American test pilot (b. 1913)
• 1996 – Larry LaPrise, American songwriter (b. 1913)
• 1997 – Leo Picard, Israeli geologist (b. 1900)
• 1999 – Faith Domergue, American actor (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Early Wynn, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American custom car designer (b. 1932)
• 2002 – Harry L. O'Connor, Czech film stuntman
• 2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Resortes, Mexican comedian (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Alberic Schotte, Belgian cyclist (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Casey Sheehan, American soldier, son of Cindy Sheehan (b. 1979)
• 2005 – Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Bob Clark, American film director (b. 1941)
• 2007 – Terry Hall, English ventriloquist (b. 1927)
• 2008 – Francis Tucker, South African rally driver (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Gonzalo Olave, Chilean television actor (b. 1983)

Holidays and observances

• Children's Day (Taiwan and Hong Kong)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Isidore of Seville
  • Tigernach of Clones
  • April 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• International Day for Landmine Awareness and Assistance (International)

External links

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