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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical feasts

External links

Events

★ 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional).

★ 1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England (unofficially) at the death of his father, Henry VII

★ 1792 - Tiradentes, a revolutionary who was leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged and quartered.

★ 1836 - Texas Revolution: Battle of San Jacinto – Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

★ 1863 - Bahá'u'lláh declares his mission as "He whom God shall make manifest". Considered the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.

★ 1894 - Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.

★ 1898 - Spanish-American War: The U.S. Congress, on April 25, recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of this date.

★ 1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France.

★ 1930 - A fire at a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, kills 320 people.

★ 1944 - Women in France receive the right to vote.

★ 1945 - World War II: Soviet Union forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.

★ 1952 - Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated.

★ 1960 - Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 9:30 am the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.

★ 1960 - Founding of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in Washington, DC.

★ 1962 - The Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World's Fair in the U.S. since World War II. [1]

★ 1963 - The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í faith is elected for the first time.

★ 1965 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season.

★ 1966 - Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.

★ 1967 - A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d'état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.

★ 1970 - The Hutt River Province Principality secedes from Australia

★ 1975 - Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.

★ 1982 - Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.

★ 1987 - The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that explodes in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, killing 106 people.

★ 1989 - Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.

★ 1994 - The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.

Births

★ 1555 - Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1619)

★ 1651 - Blessed Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (d. 1711)

★ 1652 - Michel Rolle, French mathematician (d. 1719)

★ 1671 - John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)

★ 1713 - Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, Marshal of France (d. 1793)

★ 1729 - Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796)

★ 1774 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (d. 1862)

★ 1775 - Alexander Anderson, American illustrator (d. 1870)

★ 1810 - John Putnam Chapin, American politician (d. 1864)

★ 1811 - Alson Sherman, American politician (d. 1903)

★ 1814 - Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906)

★ 1816 - Charlotte Brontë, English author (d. 1855)

★ 1837 - Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1922)

★ 1838 - John Muir, American environmentalist (d. 1914)

★ 1851 - Charles Barrois, French geologist (d. 1939)

★ 1864 - Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)

★ 1870 - Edwin S. Porter, American film pioneer (d. 1941)

★ 1879 - Kartini, Indonesian national figure (d. 1904)

★ 1882 - Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1961)

★ 1887 - Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)

★ 1889 - Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)

★ 1896 - Henry de Montherlant, French novelist and essayist (d. 1972)

★ 1905 - Pat Brown, American politician (d. 1996)

★ 1911 - Ivan Combe, American inventor (d. 2000)

★ 1912 - Marcel Camus, French film director (d. 1982)

★ 1914 - Norman Panama, American screenwriter (d. 2003)

★ 1915 - Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (d. 2001)

★ 1919 - Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)

★ 1920 - Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)

★ 1920 - Ronald Magill, British actor (d. 2007)

★ 1922 - Alistair MacLean, Scottish author (d. 1987)

★ 1923 - John Mortimer, English barrister and writer

★ 1926 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

★ 1927 - Gerald Flood, British actor (d. 1989)

★ 1930 - Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)

★ 1932 - Elaine May, American comedian

★ 1935 - Charles Grodin, American actor

★ 1935 - Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey and 9/11 Commission Chairman

★ 1936 - James Dobson, American evangelist

★ 1938 - Ernie Maresca, American singer, songwriter and record executive

★ 1939 - Helen Prejean, American writer

★ 1944 - Adrian Hurley, Australian basketball coach

★ 1945 - Diana Darvey, British actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)

★ 1947 - Iggy Pop, American musician (The Stooges)

★ 1947 - John Weider, British rock musician (Eric Burdon and the Animals, Family)

★ 1948 - Gary Condit, American politician

★ 1948 - Paul Davis, American singer

★ 1949 - Patti Lupone, American singer and actress

★ 1951 - Tony Danza, American actor and talk show host

★ 1951 - Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician

★ 1951 - Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1954 - James Morrison, American actor

★ 1954 - Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer

★ 1956 - Phillip Longman, American demographer

★ 1958 - Edward Leslie, American professional wrestler

★ 1958 - Andie MacDowell, American actress

★ 1958 - Michael S. Zarnock, American author/columnist/Guinness World Record Holder

★ 1959 - Gene Callahan, American writer

★ 1959 - Robert Smith, British musician (The Cure)

★ 1959 - Jerry Only, American musician (The Misfits)

★ 1959 - Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (Cowboy Junkies)

★ 1960 - Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1962 - Les Lancaster, American baseball player

★ 1963 - Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)

★ 1963 - Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor

★ 1963 - John Cameron Mitchell, American film director

★ 1964 - Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete

★ 1964 - Alex Baumann, Canadian olympic swimmer

★ 1965 - Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1965 - Karen Foster, American model (Playboy)

★ 1966 - Michael Franti, American musician

★ 1969 - Robin Meade, American reporter

★ 1970 - Rob Riggle, American comedian

★ 1970 - Nicole Sullivan, American actress

★ 1971 - Eric Mabius, American actor

★ 1971 - Michael Turner, American comic book artist

★ 1972 - Severina Vučković, Croatian singer

★ 1972 - Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer

★ 1977 - Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater

★ 1978 - Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish)

★ 1978 - Branden Steineckert, American drummer (Rancid, formerly of The Used)

★ 1980 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player

★ 1980 - Tony Romo, American football player

★ 1981 - Stephanie Larimore, American model

★ 1982 - Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, American football player

★ 1983 - Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer

★ 1984 - Eric Devendorf, American basketball player

★ 1986 - Audra Cohen, American tennis player

★ 1986 - Alexander Edler, Swedish hockey player

★ 1988 - Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer

★ 1988 - Robbie Amell, Canadian actor

★ 2007 - Princess Isabella of Denmark

Deaths

★ 748 - Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680)

★ 1073 - Pope Alexander II

★ 1109 - Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury

★ 1142 - Pierre Abélard, French writer (b. 1079)

★ 1329 - Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)

★ 1509 - King Henry VII of England (b. 1457)

★ 1551 - Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)

★ 1557 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (b. 1495)

★ 1574 - Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)

★ 1699 - Jean Racine, French dramatist (b. 1639)

★ 1701 - Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (b. 1667)

★ 1719 - Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b. 1640)

★ 1720 - Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b. 1646)

★ 1722 - Robert Beverley, Jr., historian of Colonial Virginia (b. 1673)

★ 1792 - Tiradentes, Brazilian revolutionary (b. 1746)

★ 1793 - John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724)

★ 1815 - Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746)

★ 1825 - Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathemattician (b. 1765)

★ 1852 - Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)

★ 1868 - Henry James O'Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (hanged)

★ 1910 - Mark Twain, American author and humorist (b. 1835)

★ 1918 - Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1892)

★ 1924 - Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)

★ 1930 - Robert Bridges, English poet (b. 1844)

★ 1938 - Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877)

★ 1945 - Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)

★ 1946 - John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883)

★ 1956 - Charles MacArthur, American writer (b. 1895)

★ 1965 - Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)

★ 1971 - François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haitian dictator (b. 1907)

★ 1973 - Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)

★ 1977 - Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892)

★ 1978 - Sandy Denny, British vocalist (b. 1947)

★ 1978 - Thomas Wyatt Turner, American civil rights advocate and agricultural engineer (b. 1877)

★ 1980 - Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b. 1894)

★ 1980 - Sohrab Sepehri, Persian poet and painter (b. 1928)

★ 1983 - Walter Slezak, Austrian actor (b. 1902)

★ 1985 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian fashion designer (b. 1922)

★ 1985 - Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Brazil banker and elected president (b. 1910)

★ 1985 - Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio pioneer (b. 1902)

★ 1986 - Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (b.1930)

★ 1989 - Princess Dukhye of Korea (b. 1912)

★ 1990 - Erté, French artist (b. 1892)

★ 1991 - Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)

★ 1991 - Steve Marriott, Musician (b. 1947)

★ 1996 - Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b. 1944)

★ 1996 - Jimmy the Greek, American bookie and sports broadcaster (b. 1919)

★ 1999 - Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, American actor and musician (b. 1904)

★ 2000 - Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (b. 1929)

★ 2003 - Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933)

★ 2004 - Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)

★ 2005 - Gerry Marshall, British racing driver (b. 1941)

★ 2006 - Telê Santana, Brazilian football manager (b. 1931)

★ 2006 - T.K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician

Holidays and observances

★ Bahá'í Faith - First day of the festival of Ridván.

★ Roman Empire - the Parilia was held in honor of Pales.

★ Rome - city birthday.

★ Tiradentes - Brazil.

★ Grounation Day in Rastafari movement.

★ San Jacinto Day - Texas state holiday.

★ Aggie Muster at Texas A&M University.

★ Kartini Day - Indonesia

Liturgical feasts

★ Saint Abdecalas

★ Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury

★ Saint Anastasius I

★ Saint Konrad von Parzham

★ Saint Wolbodo

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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