April 16

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.

AD 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.

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: 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: During the Siege of Vicksburg, gunboats commanded by Acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg.

1879 – The Tarnovo Constitution – the first Bulgarian constitution was voted and adopted by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria.

1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.

1894 – Manchester City F.C. was formed from Ardwick A.F.C..

1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.

1910 – The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time.

1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.

1917 – Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia from exile in Switzerland.

1919 – Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier.

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, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.

1941 – World War II: The Italian-German Tarigo convoy is attacked and destroyed by British ships.

1941 – World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 is effected.

1943 – Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.

1944 – World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.

1945 – World War II: 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.

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 first applies the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.

1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.

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 – "Doctor 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 ten new member states to the European Union.

2007 – Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho guns down 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.

2012 – The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, 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, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.

2014 – The MV Sewol ferry carrying more than 450 people capsizes near Jindo Island off South Korea, leaving 295 passengers and crew dead and 9 more missing.

2016 – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Muisne and Pedernales, Ecuador.

Births

1319 – John II of France (d. 1364)

1435 – Jan II the Mad, Duke of Żagań (1439–1449 and 1461–1468 and again in 1472) (d. 1504)

1488 – Jungjong of Joseon (d. 1544)

1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1557)

1516 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (d. 1550)

1635 – Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter (d. 1681)

1646 – Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect, designed the Château de Dampierre and Grand Trianon (d. 1708)

1660 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (d. 1753)

1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, First Lord of the Treasury (d. 1715)

1682 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (d. 1744)

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 and politician (d. 1888)

1808 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1864)

1821 – Ford Madox Brown, French-English soldier and painter (d. 1893)

1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1852)

1826 – Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet, British politician (d. 1891)

1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet and bookseller (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, novelist, 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)

1851 – Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 3rd Solicitor General of Sri Lanka (d. 1930)

1865 – Harry Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)

1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1918)

1867 – Wilbur Wright, American inventor (d. 1912)

1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1909)

1874 – Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (d. 1936)

1878 – R. E. Foster, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1914)

1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)

1884 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, journalist, and politician (d. 1963)

1885 – Leó Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)

1886 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek-American football player and javelin thrower (d. 1957)

1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)

1888 – Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (d. 1940)

1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1977)

1890 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1954)

1890 – Gertrude Chandler Warner, American author and educator (d. 1979)

1891 – Dorothy P. Lathrop, American author and illustrator (d. 1980)

1892 – Howard Mumford Jones, American author, critic, and academic (d. 1980)

1893 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1968)

1893 – John Norton, American hurdler (d. 1979)

1895 – Ove Arup, English-Danish engineer and businessman, founded Arup (d. 1988)

1896 – Robert Henry Best, American journalist (d. 1952)

1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (d. 1963)

1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (d. 1988)

1903 – Paul Waner, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)

1904 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian-American vaudevillian, actress, and singer (d. 1983)

1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)

1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (d. 1964)

1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (d. 1947)

1908 – Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman and activist (d. 2004)

1910 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (d. 1994)

1911 – Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (d. 1963)

1913 – Les Tremayne, English actor (d. 2003)

1914 – John Hodiak, American actor (d. 1955)

1915 – Robert Speck, Canadian politician, 1st Mayor of Mississauga (d. 1972)

1916 – Behçet Necatigil, Turkish author, poet, and translator (d. 1979)

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-American monk and author (d. 1995)

1918 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)

1918 – Spike Milligan, 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 National Museum of Anthropology (d. 2013)

1919 – Thomas Willmore, English geometer and academic (d. 2005)

1920 – Ananda Dassanayake, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2012)

1920 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (d. 1986)

1921 – Arlin M. Adams, American lawyer and judge (d. 2015)

1921 – Wolfgang Leonhard, German historian and author (d. 2014)

1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)

1922 – Kingsley Amis, English novelist, poet, critic (d. 1995)

1922 – John Christopher, English author (d. 2012)

1922 – Lawrence N. Guarino, American colonel (d. 2014)

1922 – Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2014)

1923 – Warren Barker, American composer (d. 2006)

1923 – Arch A. Moore, Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of West Virginia (d. 2015)

1924 – John Harvey-Jones, English academic and businessman (d. 2008)

1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (d. 1994)

1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (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 and soldier (d. 2002)

1927 – Rolf Schult, German actor (d. 2013)

1929 – Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist and ecologist (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 and composer (d. 2003)

1932 – Maury Meyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)

1933 – Marcos Alonso Imaz, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)

1933 – Joan Bakewell, English journalist and author

1933 – Vera Krepkina, Russian long jumper

1933 – Ike Pappas, American journalist and actor (d. 2008)

1934 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (d. 2012)

1934 – Vince Hill, English singer-songwriter

1934 – Robert Stigwood, Australian producer and manager (d. 2016)

1935 – Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter

1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (d. 2013)

1935 – Lennart Risberg, Swedish boxer (d. 2013)

1935 – Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (d. 2013)

1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer

1936 – Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (d. 2015)

1937 – Gert Potgieter, South African hurdler and coach

1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player

1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish lawyer and politician

1939 – John Amabile, American football player and coach (d. 2012)

1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer and record producer (d. 1999)

1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian academic and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Transport

1940 – David Holford, Barbadian cricketer

1940 – Margaret Maden, English academic

1940 – Margrethe II of Denmark

1940 – Joan Snyder, American painter

1940 – Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, English banker and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom

1941 – Allan Segal, American director and producer (d. 2012)

1942 – Frank Williams, English businessman, founded the Williams F1 Racing Team

1943 – Morris Stevenson, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)

1943 – Petro Tyschtschenko, Austrian-German businessman

1943 – John Watkins, Australian cricketer

1944 – Sue Clifford, English environmentalist and academic, co-founded Common Ground

1945 – Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician

1945 – Sebastian Barker, English poet and journalist (d. 2014)

1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (d. 2014)

1946 – Ernst Bakker, Dutch politician (d. 2014)

1946 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (d. 2015)

1946 – R. Carlos Nakai, American flute player

1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach

1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2011)

1948 – Reg Alcock, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Canadian President of the Treasury Board (d. 2011)

1950 – Robert Dutil, Canadian businessman and politician

1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian author and photographer

1951 – David Nutt, English psychiatrist and academic

1952 – Bill Belichick, American football player and coach

1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor and director

1952 – Esther Roth-Shahamorov, Israeli sprinter and hurdler

1952 – Billy West, American voice actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian

1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer-songwriter and politician

1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress

1954 – John Bowe, Australian race car driver

1954 – Mike Zuke, Canadian ice hockey player

1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager

1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

1956 – David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)

1956 – T Lavitz, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (d. 2010)

1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier

1957 – Patricia De Martelaere, Belgian philosopher, author, and academic (d. 2009)

1958 – Tim Flach, English photographer and director

1958 – Ulf Wakenius, Swedish guitarist

1959 – Alison Ramsay, English-Scottish field hockey player and lawyer

1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)

1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish footballer and manager

1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer and manager

1961 – Jarbom Gamlin, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (d. 2014)

1961 – Linda Ruth Williams, British film studies academic

1962 – Anna Dello Russo, Italian journalist

1962 – Douglas Elmendorf, American economist and politician

1962 – Ian MacKaye, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer

1964 – David Kohan, American screenwriter and producer

1964 – Esbjörn Svensson, Swedish pianist (d. 2008)

1965 – Yves-François Blanchet, Canadian politician

1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1966 – Jarle Vespestad, Norwegian drummer

1966 – Jeff Varner, American newscaster and reality television personality

1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager

1968 – Rüdiger Stenzel, German runner

1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish skier

1969 – Fernando Viña, American baseball player and sportscaster

1970 – Dero Goi, German singer-songwriter and drummer

1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player

1971 – Selena, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (d. 1995)

1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor, director, and producer

1971 – Cameron Blades, Australian rugby player

1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese race car driver

1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Belarusian tennis player

1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish-American tennis player

1972 – John McGuinness, English motorcycle racer

1972 – Tracy K. Smith, American poet and educator

1973 – Charlotta Sörenstam, Swedish golfer

1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player

1976 – Phil Baroni, American mixed martial artist and wrestler

1976 – Robert Dahlqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist

1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor and musician

1976 – Kelli O'Hara, American actress and singer

1977 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer

1978 – Jody Marie Gnant, American singer-songwriter and pianist

1978 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian footballer and coach

1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch race car driver

1979 – Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter

1979 – Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player

1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer

1981 – Maya Dunietz, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist

1982 – Gina Carano, American mixed martial artist and actress

1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player

1982 – Michael Ratajczak, German footballer

1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player

1983 – Marié Digby, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress

1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball player

1984 – Teddy Blass, American composer and producer

1984 – Claire Foy, English actress

1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater

1984 – Paweł Kieszek, Polish footballer

1984 – Kerron Stewart, Jamaican sprinter

1985 – Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player

1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player

1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor

1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer

1986 – Paul di Resta, Scottish race car driver

1986 – Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer

1986 – Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player

1986 – Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast

1987 – Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player

1987 – Richard Bleier, American baseball player

1987 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer

1990 – Reggie Jackson, American basketball player

1990 – Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player

1990 – Tony McQuay, American sprinter

1991 – Nolan Arenado, American baseball player

1991 – Kim Kyung-jung, South Korean footballer

1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater

1994 – Will Fuller, American football player

Deaths

AD 69 – Otho, Roman emperor (b. AD 32)

665 – Fructuosus of Braga, French archbishop and saint

1090 – Sikelgaita, duchess of Apulia (b. c. 1040)

1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev (b. 1050)

1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, regent of Sicily, mother of Roger II of Sicily, queen of Baldwin I of Jerusalem

1198 – Frederick I, Duke of Austria (b. 1175)

1234 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (b. 1191)

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, Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire (b. 1628)

1689 – Aphra Behn, English author and playwright (b. 1640)

1742 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (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-French painter and illustrator (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 and philosopher, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1805)

1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French nun 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 and author (b. 1888)

1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish-English author (b. 1812)

1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1838)

1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American businessman and 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 wrestler (b. 1900)

1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, philosopher, and activist (b. 1894)

1935 – Panait Istrati, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1884)

1937 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American military engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (b. 1870)

1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and manager (b. 1874)

1941 – Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, English economist and civil servant (b. 1880)

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 and engineer (b. 1884)

1947 – Rudolf Höss, German SS officer (b. 1900)

1950 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1905)

1950 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (b. 1867)

1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish engineer and politician (b. 1872)

1958 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist and academic (b. 1920)

1960 – Mihály Fekete, Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director (b. 1884)

1961 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1912)

1965 – Francis Cecil Campbell Balfour, English soldier and colonial administrator (b. 1884)

1966 – Eric Lambert, Australian author (b. 1918)

1968 – Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)

1968 – Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1885)

1969 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator and painter (b. 1904)

1970 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (b. 1892)

1970 – Péter Veres, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Defence (b. 1897)

1972 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)

1972 – Frank O'Connor, Australian public servant (b. 1894)

1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor and educator (b. 1929)

1980 – Morris Stoloff, American composer (b. 1898)

1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)

1988 – Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian commander, founded Fatah (b. 1935)

1988 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (b. 1954)

1989 – Jocko Conlan, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1899)

1989 – Kaoru Ishikawa Japanese author and educator (b. 1915)

1989 – Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)

1989 – Hakkı Yeten, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1910)

1991 – David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)

1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)

1992 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy and activist (b. 1915)

1994 – Ralph Ellison, American novelist and critic (b. 1913)

1996 – Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (b. 1917)

1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek-Swiss businessman (b. 1909)

1997 – Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician (b. 1921)

1997 – Roland Topor, French actor, director, and painter (b. 1938)

1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentinian-American mathematician and academic (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 (b. 1946)

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, founded Ruth's Chris Steak House (b. 1927)

2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)

2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)

2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English horticulturalist and author (b. 1909)

2005 – Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)

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 journalist

2008 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)

2010 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (b. 1949)

2010 – Daryl Gates, American police officer, created the D.A.R.E. Program (b. 1926)

2011 – Gerry Alexander, Jamaican cricketer and veterinarian (b. 1928)

2011 – Allan Blakeney, Canadian scholar and 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, Northern Irish minister, founded the Corrymeela Community (b. 1915)

2012 – Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and conductor (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)

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 – Ali Kafi, Algerian colonel and politician (b. 1928)

2013 – Francis Leo Lawrence, American academic and scholar (b. 1937)

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 National Museum of Anthropology (b. 1919)

2014 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (b. 1949)

2014 – Stan Kelly-Bootle, English author and songwriter (b. 1929)

2014 – Frank Kopel, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1949)

2014 – Basil A. Paterson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)

2014 – Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (b. 1929)

2014 – Ernst Florian Winter, Austrian-American historian and political scientist (b. 1923)

2015 – Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1948)

2015 – Attaphol Buspakom, Thai footballer and manager (b. 1962)

2015 – Oles Buzina, Ukrainian journalist and author (b. 1969)

2015 – Stanislav Gross, Czech lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (b. 1969)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

Benedict Joseph Labre

Bernadette Soubirous

Drogo

Fructuosus of Braga

Isabella Gilmore (Church of England)

Martyrs of Zaragoza

Molly Brant (Konwatsijayenni) (Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church)

Turibius of Astorga

April 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Birthday of José de Diego (Puerto Rico, United States)

Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (Denmark)

Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C., United States)

Foursquare Day (International observance)

Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Hungary)

National Healthcare Decisions Day (United States)

Remembrance of Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Wasan (Iraqi Kurdistan)

World Voice Day