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It is also the latest possible day that Easter can occur.

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 1607 - Eighty Years' War: Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.

★ 1707 - The Habsburg army is defeated by Bourbon army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.

★ 1719 - ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Daniel Defoe is published.

★ 1792 - Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.

★ 1792 - "La Marseillaise" (French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

★ 1829 - Charles Fremantle arrives in the ''HMS Challenger'' off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.

★ 1846 - Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican-American War.

★ 1847 - The last survivors of the Donner Party are out of the wilderness.

★ 1849 - The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.

★ 1859 - Ground is broken for the Suez Canal.

★ 1862 - American Civil War: Forces under Union Admiral David Farragut capture the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

★ 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Marks' Mills.

★ 1881 - Caulfield Grammar School is founded in Melbourne, Australia.

★ 1898 - Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain.

★ 1901 - New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.

★ 1915 - The ANZAC spirit tradition begins during World War I with a landing at Gallipoli on the Turkish coast.

★ 1916 - Easter Rebellion: The United Kingdom declares martial law in Ireland.

★ 1916 - ANZAC Day commemorated for the first time.

★ 1926 - Reza Khan is crowned Shah of Iran under the name Reza Shah Pahlavi.

★ 1935 - Fire claimed the second capitol building in Salem, Oregon and burned down.

★ 1938 - U.S. Supreme Court delivers opinion in ''Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins'' and overturns a century of federal common law.

★ 1940 - The Faroese flag Merkið is made the official flag for the Faroe Islands.

★ 1943 - The Demyansk Shield for German troops in commemoration of Demyansk Pocket was instituted.

★ 1944 - The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.

★ 1945 - Elbe Day: United States and Russian troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany in two, a milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe.

★ 1945 - The U.S. Army blows the swastika from the top of the Zeppelintribüne.

★ 1945 - Nazi occupation army leaves Milan after a partisan insurrection. This day is taken as symbol of the liberation of Italy.

★ 1945 - Fifty nations gather in San Francisco, California to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organizations.

★ 1953 - Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish '' describing the double helix structure of DNA.

★ 1959 - The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.

★ 1961 - Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.

★ 1966 - Tashkent city was destroyed by a huge earthquake.

★ 1972 - Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.

★ 1974 - Carnation Revolution: A coup in Portugal restores democracy.

★ 1975 - As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.

★ 1981 - More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Japan.

★ 1982 - Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula per the Camp David Accords.

★ 1983 - American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.

★ 1983 - Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit.

★ 1986 - Mswati III was crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.

★ 1988 - In Israel, John Demjanuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.

★ 1990 - The Hubble Telescope was deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery into orbit.

★ 1989 - James Richardson is freed from a Florida prison 21 years after being wrongfully convicted of the murder of his seven children.

★ 1993 - 300,000 gay, lesbian, transgender, and allied activists march on Washington, DC demanding freedom from discrimination.

★ 2005 - The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.

★ 2005 - Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties gaining entrance into the European Union.

★ 2005 - 107 die in Amagasaki rail crash in Japan.

★ 2007 - Boris Yeltsin's funeral - the first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.

★ 2007 - The Dow Jones Industrial hit 13,000 for the first time in history, closing at 13,089.89

Births

★ 32 - Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (d. 69)

★ 1214 - King Louis IX of France (d. 1270)

★ 1228 - Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)

★ 1284 - King Edward II of England (d. 1327)

★ 1287 - Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, ''de facto'' ruler of England (d. 1330)

★ 1502 - Georg Major, German Protestant theologian (d. 1574)

★ 1545 - Yi Sun Shin, Korean admiral (d. 1598)

★ 1599 - Oliver Cromwell, English statesman (d. 1658)

★ 1608 - Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician (d. 1660)

★ 1621 - Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (d. 1679)

★ 1694 - Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect (d. 1753)

★ 1710 - James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer (d. 1776)

★ 1725 - Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, British admiral (d. 1786)

★ 1767 - Nicolas Oudinot, French marshal (d. 1847)

★ 1770 - Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist (d. 1850)

★ 1849 - Felix Klein, German mathematician (d. 1925)

★ 1851 - Leopoldo Alas y Ureña, a.k.a. "Clarín", Spanish novelist (d. 1901)

★ 1874 - Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1937)

★ 1898 - Fred Haney, baseball player (d. 1977)

★ 1900 - Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)

★ 1902 - Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist (d. 1964)

★ 1903 - Andrey Nikolayevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1987)

★ 1906 - William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1997)

★ 1908 - Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)

★ 1909 - William Pereira, American architect (d. 1985)

★ 1914 - Ross Lockridge, Jr., American writer (d. 1948)

★ 1917 - Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)

★ 1918 - Gerard Henri de Vaucouleurs, French astronomer (d. 1995)

★ 1921 - Karel Appel, Dutch painter (d. 2006)

★ 1923 - Albert King, American musician (d. 1992)

★ 1925 - Sammy Drechsel, German journalist, film director, and cabaret performer (d. 1986)

★ 1925 - Kay E. Kuter, American actor (d. 2003)

★ 1927 - Albert Uderzo, French cartoonist

★ 1930 - Paul Mazursky, American film director and writer

★ 1931 - Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician (d. 1980)

★ 1932 - William Roache, British television actor (Coronation Street)

★ 1932 - Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player

★ 1933 - Jerry Leiber, American composer

★ 1934 - Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer

★ 1935 - April Ashley, English model

★ 1939 - Ted Kooser, American poet and US Poet Laureate

★ 1940 - Al Pacino, American actor

★ 1941 - Bertrand Tavernier, French director, screenwriter and actor

★ 1941 - Princess Muna al-Hussein, of Jordan

★ 1942 - Jon Kyl, American politician

★ 1945 - Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)

★ 1945 - Stu Cook, American rock bassist (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

★ 1946 - Talia Shire, American actress

★ 1946 - Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician

★ 1947 - Johan Cruijff, Dutch footballer

★ 1947 - Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor

★ 1949 - Vicente Pernía, Argentine footballer

★ 1950 - Steve Ferrone, British drummer

★ 1952 - Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist

★ 1952 - Vladislav Tretiak, Soviet ice hockey player

★ 1955 - Américo Gallego, Argentine footballer

★ 1956 - Jaroslava Schallerová, Hungarian actress

★ 1958 - Fish, Scottish singer and lyricist (ex-Marillion)

★ 1959 - Dominique Blanc, French actress

★ 1960 - Bruce Redman, Australian film producer

★ 1964 - Hank Azaria, American actor

★ 1964 - Andy Bell, British singer and songwriter (band Erasure)

★ 1964 - Wisit Sasanatieng, Thai film director

★ 1965 - Eric Avery, American musician (Jane's Addiction)

★ 1965 - Simon Fowler, English musician (Ocean Colour Scene)

★ 1966 - James Stacy Barbour, American actor and singer

★ 1969 - Joe Buck, American sports broadcaster

★ 1969 - Gina Torres, American actress

★ 1969 - Darren Woodson, American football player

★ 1969 - Renée Zellweger, American actress

★ 1970 - Jason Lee, American actor

★ 1970 - Tionne Watkins, American singer (TLC)

★ 1973 - Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer (Millencolin)

★ 1975 - Emily Bergl, English-American actress

★ 1975 - Jacque Jones, American baseball player

★ 1976 - Tim Duncan, American basketball player

★ 1976 - Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player

★ 1976 - Gilberto, Brazilian footballer

★ 1977 - Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer

★ 1977 - Marguerite Moreau, American actress

★ 1977 - Matthew West, American Christian singer

★ 1977 - Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer

★ 1978 - Letícia Birkheuer, Brazilian model

★ 1980 - Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist

★ 1980 - Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer

★ 1981 - Felipe Massa, Brazilian Formula One driver

★ 1981 - Anja Pärson, Swedish skier

★ 1982 - Monty Panesar, English cricketer

★ 1983 - DeAngelo Williams, American football player

★ 1983 - J.P. Howell, American baseball player

★ 1984 - Andre' Woodson, American football quarterback

★ 1984 - Jen Johnson, American reality star

★ 1985 - Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver

★ 1987 - Johann Smith, American footballer

★ 1988 - James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1989 - Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, 11th Panchen Lama

★ 1989 - Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player

★ 1996 - Allisyn Ashley Arm, American actress

Deaths

★ 1185 - Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)

★ 1265 - Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, English crusader

★ 1295 - King Sancho IV of Castile

★ 1472 - Leon Battista Alberti, Italian artist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)

★ 1516 - John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)

★ 1566 - Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)

★ 1566 - Louise Labé, French poet

★ 1595 - Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (b. 1544)

★ 1605 - Naresuan, King of Siam (b. 1555)

★ 1644 - Chongzhen Emperor, Emperor of China (b. 1611)

★ 1660 - Henry Hammond, English churchman (b. 1605)

★ 1690 - David Teniers the Younger, Flemish artist (b. 1610)

★ 1740 - Shrimant Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhat, also known as Baji Rao I, an outstanding General and Peshwa (b. 1699)

★ 1744 - Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer (b. 1701)

★ 1770 - Jean-Antoine Nollet, French abbot and physicist (b. 1700)

★ 1800 - William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)

★ 1840 - Siméon-Denis Poisson, French mathematician (b. 1781)

★ 1843 - Edward Drummond, British civil servant

★ 1878 - Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)

★ 1891 - Nathaniel Woodard, English educationalist (b. 1811)

★ 1892 - Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)

★ 1911 - Emilio Salgari, Italian novelist (b. 1862)

★ 1915 - Frederick William Seward, United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)

★ 1923 - Louis-Olivier Taillon, Quebec politician (b. 1840)

★ 1928 - Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1878)

★ 1937 - Michał Drzymała, Polish rebel (b.1857)

★ 1943 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director (b. 1858)

★ 1944 - Tony Mullane, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1859)

★ 1968 - John Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)

★ 1972 - George Sanders, British actor (b. 1906)

★ 1975 - Mike Brant, Israeli singer (b. 1947)

★ 1976 - Carol Reed, British film producer and director (b. 1906)

★ 1980 - Katia Mann, wife of German writer Thomas Mann (b. 1883)

★ 1982 - John Cardinal Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)

★ 1990 - Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist (b. 1923)

★ 1992 - Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)

★ 1995 - Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)

★ 1995 - Ginger Rogers, American actress and dancer (b. 1911)

★ 1996 - Saul Bass, American graphics designer (b. 1920)

★ 1998 - Wright Morris, American writer (b. 1910)

★ 1999 - Lord Killanin, Irish International Olympic Committee president (b. 1914)

★ 2000 - David Merrick, American theatrical producer (b. 1911)

★ 2000 - Lucien le Cam, French mathematician (b. 1924)

★ 2001 - Michele Alboreto, Italian race car driver (b. 1956)

★ 2002 - Indra Devi, yoga teacher (b. 1899)

★ 2002 - Lisa Lopes, American rapper (TLC) (b. 1971)

★ 2003 - Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (b. 1966)

★ 2004 - Thom Gunn, British poet (b. 1929)

★ 2005 - Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk (b. 1908)

★ 2006 - Jane Jacobs, American-born Canadian urbanist (b. 1916)

★ 2007 - Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945)

★ 2007 - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American singer and songwriter (b. 1938)

★ 2007 - Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

★ ANZAC Day (Australia, New Zealand).

★ DNA Day- Celebrates the completion of the Human Genome Project and the discovery of the Double Helix

★ Faroe Islands - National Flag Day.

★ ''Festa della Liberazione'', (Italy), annual commemoration to mark the liberation of Italy at the end of the Second World War.

★ Official Administrative Professionals' Day (2007).

★ Official Red Hat Society day.

★ Portugal - ''Carnation Revolution'' in commemoration to the end of the fascist dictatorship (National holiday).

★ Parental Alienation Awareness Day http://www.parental-alienation-awareness.com/

★ Rastafari movement - Celebration of Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica.

★ Roman Empire - Robigalia in honor of Robigus.

★ ''Sinai Liberation Day'', (Egypt), Celebrates the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai peninsula.

★ Swaziland - National Flag Day.

★ Valencian National Day, commemorated after the Franco-Spanish conquest of the Kingdom of Valencia during the War of the Spanish Succession.
===Liturgical Feast days===

★ Easter Sunday - 1886, 1943, 2038. In the Gregorian Calendar 25th April is the latest date on which Easter Sunday can fall (22nd March is the earliest).

★ Saint Mark the Evangelist

★ Saint Anianus

★ Saint Ermin

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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