April 12

April 12 is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 263 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 238 – Gordian II loses the Battle of Carthage against the Numidian forces loyal to Maximinus Thrax and is killed. Gordian I, his father, commits suicide.
• 240 – Shapur I is crowned as king of the Sasanian Empire.
• 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
• 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York.
• 1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
• 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships.
• 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
• 1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
• 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw).
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
• 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
• 1910 – SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
• 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
• 1927 – Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
• 1927 – Rocksprings, Texas was hit by an F5 tornado that destroyed 235 of the 247 buildings in the town and killed 72 townspeople and injured 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history.
• 1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
• 1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed.
• 1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
• 1935 – First flight of the Bristol Blenheim.
• 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
• 1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies while in office; Vice President Harry Truman, becomes President upon Roosevelt's death.
• 1945 – The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reached Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.
• 1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
• 1961 – The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1.
• 1963 – The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.
• 1970 – Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.
• 1980 – Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a coup d'état, ending over 130 years of minority Americo-Liberian rule over the country.
• 1980 – Terry Fox begins his "Marathon of Hope" at St. John's, Newfoundland.
• 1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place - the STS-1 mission.
• 1990 – Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
• 1992 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland. The resort and its park's name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
• 1994 – Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam.
• 1998 – An earthquake in Slovenia, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurs near the town of Bovec.
• 1999 – US President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.
• 2002 – A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market, killing 7 and wounding 104.
• 2007 – A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
• 2009 – Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.
• 2010 – A train derails near Merano, Italy, after running into a landslide, causing nine deaths and injuring 28 people.
• 2013 – Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.
• 2014 – The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

Births

• 1432 – Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)
• 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace and St. Peter's Basilica (d. 1546)
• 1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (d. 1574)
• 1526 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (d. 1585)
• 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier and politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1604)
• 1577 – Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
• 1705 – William Cookworthy, English minister and pharmacist (d. 1780)
• 1710 – Caffarelli, Italian actor and singer (d. 1783)
• 1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (d. 1796)
• 1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)
• 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)
• 1724 – Lyman Hall, American physician, clergyman, and politician, 16th Governor of Georgia (d. 1790)
• 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (d. 1836)
• 1777 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
• 1792 – John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English soldier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1840)
• 1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (d. 1847)
• 1796 – George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
• 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1855)
• 1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)
• 1823 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian playwright and translator (d. 1886)
• 1839 – Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (d. 1888)
• 1848 – José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican soldier and poet (d. 1880)
• 1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer and author (d. 1928)
• 1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1939)
• 1856 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English mountaineer, cartographer, and politician (d. 1937)
• 1861 – Walter Bingle, Australian public servant (d. 1928)
• 1866 – Princess Viktoria of Prussia (d. 1929)
• 1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d. 1918)
• 1868 – Ella Gaunt Smith, American businesswoman (d. 1932)
• 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
• 1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1941)
• 1874 – William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1940)
• 1880 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1911)
• 1883 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer and educator (d. 1976)
• 1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player, cricketer, and sailor (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
• 1884 – Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
• 1885 – Robert Delaunay, French painter (d. 1941)
• 1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor and director (d. 1918)
• 1888 – Dan Ahearn, Irish-American long jumper and police officer (d. 1942)
• 1888 – Kaarlo Koskelo, Finnish-American wrestler (d. 1953)
• 1888 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and educator (d. 1964)
• 1892 – Johnny Dodds, American clarinet player and saxophonist (d. 1940)
• 1893 – Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920)
• 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)
• 1898 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
• 1901 – Lowell Stockman, American farmer and politician (d. 1962)
• 1902 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, 36th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
• 1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1907 – Zawgyi, Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic (d. 1990)
• 1907 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (d. 2003)
• 1907 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and painter (d. 1979)
• 1908 – Ida Pollock, English author and painter (d. 2013)
• 1908 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot and general (d. 2006)
• 1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)
• 1912 – Frank Dilio, Canadian businessman (d. 1997)
• 1912 – Walt Gorney, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1912 – Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988)
• 1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
• 1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist (d. 2013)
• 1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (d. 2013)
• 1916 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
• 1916 – Beverly Cleary, American author and librarian
• 1916 – Russell Garcia, American-New Zealand composer and conductor (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Benjamin Libet, American neuropsychologist and academic (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer and actress (d. 1999)
• 1919 – István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian composer and educator (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American singer and bandleader (d. 1991)
• 1921 – Robert Cliche, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1978)
• 1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (d. 1980)
• 1923 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Raymond Barre, French economist and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician and academic (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Evelyn Berezin, American computer scientist and engineer
• 1925 – Joe Bowman, American target shooter and boot maker (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Ned Miller, American singer-songwriter
• 1925 – Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Thomas Hemsley, English actor and singer (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor and producer
• 1928 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor and author (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Mukhran Machavariani, Georgian poet and educator (d. 2010)
• 1930 – John Landy, Australian runner and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria
• 1930 – Manuel Neri, American sculptor and painter
• 1930 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (d. 2006)
• 1930 – Bryan Magee, English philosopher and politician
• 1931 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (d. 1995)
• 1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 5th Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2005)
• 1932 – Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor
• 1932 – Tiny Tim, American singer and ukulele player (d. 1996)
• 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano and actress
• 1934 – Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer and manager
• 1935 – Jimmy Makulis, Greek-German singer (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Wendy Savage, English gynaecologist and activist
• 1936 – Charles Napier, American actor and singer (d. 2011)
• 1936 – Kennedy Simmonds, Kittitian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• 1937 – Dennis Banks, American author and activist
• 1937 – Igor Volk, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English director and playwright
• 1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1940 – Bashir Ahmad, Indian-Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
• 1940 – Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)
• 1940 – John Hagee, American pastor and theologian
• 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (Miles Davis Quintet)
• 1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)
• 1942 – Frank Bank, American actor (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Bill Bryden, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentinian race car driver and politician, Governor of Santa Fe
• 1942 – Jacob Zuma, South African politician, 4th President of South Africa
• 1943 – Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician, 16th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
• 1944 – Lisa Jardine, English historian, author, and academic
• 1944 – John Kay, German-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Sparrows and Steppenwolf)
• 1945 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (d. 2006)
• 1946 – Ed O'Neill, American actor
• 1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO
• 1947 – Roy M. Anderson, English epidemiologist, zoologist, and academic
• 1947 – Martin Brasier, English palaeontologist, biologist, and academic (d. 2014)
• 1947 – Alex Briley, American singer (Village People)
• 1947 – Tom Clancy, American historian and author (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Woody Johnson, American businessman and philanthropist
• 1947 – Dan Lauria, American actor
• 1947 – David Letterman, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
• 1947 – Wayne Northrop, American actor
• 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television host and producer (d. 2008)
• 1948 – Don Fernando, American porn actor and director
• 1948 – Joschka Fischer, German academic and politician, Vice Chancellor of Germany
• 1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian footballer, manager, and coach
• 1948 – Lois Reeves, American singer (Martha and the Vandellas)
• 1949 – Scott Turow, American lawyer and author
• 1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman
• 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1950 – Nick Sackman, English composer and educator
• 1951 – Tom Noonan, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1952 – Reuben Gant, American football player
• 1952 – Gary Soto, American author and poet
• 1952 – Ralph Wiley, American journalist (d. 2004)
• 1953 – Tanino Liberatore, Italian author and illustrator
• 1954 – John Faulkner, Australian educator and politician, 52nd Australian Minister for Defence
• 1954 – Jon Krakauer, American mountaineer and author
• 1954 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician, Governor of Limburg (d. 2015)
• 1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Fabian Hamilton, English graphic designer, engineer, and politician
• 1956 – Andy García, Cuban-American actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer-songwriter and actor
• 1957 – Greg Child, Australian mountaineer and author
• 1957 – Vince Gill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Pure Prairie League and The Notorious Cherry Bombs)
• 1958 – J. Alexander, American-French model
• 1958 – Will Sergeant, English guitarist (Echo & the Bunnymen and Electrafixion)
• 1958 – Klaus Tafelmeier, German javelin thrower
• 1958 – Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler
• 1959 – Howard Stableford, English radio and television host
• 1959 – Tracy Tormé, American screenwriter and producer
• 1960 – Ron MacLean, German-Canadian sportscaster
• 1961 – Enedina Arellano Félix, Mexican drug lord
• 1961 – Corrado Fabi, Italian race car driver
• 1961 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian singer-songwriter (Dead Can Dance)
• 1961 – Charles Mann, American football player and sportscaster
• 1961 – Magda Szubanski, English-Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Art Alexakis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (Everclear, Colorfinger, and The Easy Hoes)
• 1962 – Carlos Sainz, Spanish race car driver
• 1962 – Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial artist and wrestler, founded Hustle
• 1963 – Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and author
• 1964 – Amy Ray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Indigo Girls)
• 1964 – Mark Simmonds, English surveyor and politician
• 1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor and screenwriter
• 1965 – Tom O'Brien, American actor and producer
• 1965 – Chi Onwurah, English politician
• 1965 – Gervais Rufyikiri, Burundian politician
• 1965 – Mihai Stoica, Romanian footballer and manager
• 1966 – Nils-Olav Johansen, Norwegian guitarist and singer (Farmers Market)
• 1967 – Sarah Cracknell, English singer-songwriter (Saint Etienne)
• 1967 – Mellow Man Ace, Cuban-American rapper (Cypress Hill)
• 1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
• 1968 – Toby Gad, German-American songwriter and producer
• 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 – Ott, English musician and record producer
• 1969 – Jörn Lenz, German footballer and manager
• 1969 – Lucas Radebe, South African footballer and sportscaster
• 1969 – Michael Jackson, American football player and politician
• 1970 – Sylvain Bouchard, Canadian speed skater
• 1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor and producer
• 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer
• 1971 – Eyal Golan, Israeli singer
• 1971 – Nick Hexum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (311)
• 1972 – Şebnem Ferah, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Dimitrios Kokotis, Greek high jumper
• 1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1973 – J. Scott Campbell, American author and illustrator
• 1973 – Claudia Jordan, American model and actress
• 1973 – Ryan Kisor, American trumpet player and composer
• 1973 – Christina Moore, American actress
• 1973 – Antonio Osuna, Mexican-American baseball player
• 1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1974 – Belinda Emmett, Australian actress and singer (d. 2006)
• 1974 – Roman Hamrlík, Czech ice hockey player
• 1974 – Marley Shelton, American actress
• 1976 – Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner
• 1976 – Brad Miller, American basketball player
• 1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1977 – Sarah Jane Morris, American actress
• 1977 – Jason Price, Welsh footballer
• 1977 – Glenn Rogers, Australian-Scottish cricketer
• 1977 – Jordana Spiro, American actress, director, and producer
• 1978 – Guy Berryman, Scottish bass player and producer (Coldplay and Apparatjik)
• 1978 – Cheeming Boey, Singaporean-Malaysian illustrator
• 1978 – Scott Crary, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1978 – Svetlana Lapina, Russian high jumper
• 1978 – Riley Smith, American actor and singer
• 1978 – Robin Walker, English businessman and politician
• 1979 – Claire Danes, American actress and producer
• 1979 – Jordan De Jong, American baseball player
• 1979 – Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast
• 1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
• 1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress and producer
• 1979 – Paul Nicholls, English actor
• 1979 – Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Argo Aadli, Estonian actor
• 1980 – Arda Kural, Turkish actor
• 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter (Westlife)
• 1980 – Erik Mongrain, Canadian guitarist and composer
• 1981 – Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russian runner
• 1981 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer
• 1981 – Grant Holt, English footballer
• 1981 – Brian Vandborg, Danish cyclist
• 1982 – Deen, Bosnian singer
• 1982 – Easton Corbin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1983 – Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player
• 1983 – Genta Ismajli, Kosovan-Albanian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1983 – Luke Kibet, Kenyan runner
• 1983 – Dwayne Smith, Barbadian cricketer
• 1984 – Aleksey Dmitrik, Russian high jumper
• 1985 – James Alexandrou, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1985 – Brennan Boesch, American baseball player
• 1985 – Jeísa Chiminazzo, Brazilian model
• 1985 – Ted Ginn, Jr., American football player
• 1985 – Anna-Katharina Samsel, German actress
• 1985 – Olga Seryabkina, Russian singer-songwriter (Serebro)
• 1985 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume, Dream Morning Musume, and Hangry & Angry)
• 1986 – Lorena, Spanish singer
• 1986 – Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer
• 1986 – Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player
• 1986 – Athena Lundberg, American model
• 1986 – Matt McGorry, American actor
• 1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
• 1987 – Shawn Gore, Canadian football player
• 1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Panic! at the Disco)
• 1987 – Shawna Leneé, American porn actress
• 1988 – Ricardo Gabriel Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
• 1988 – Stephen Brogan, English footballer
• 1988 – Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Jessie James Decker, Italian-American singer-songwriter
• 1988 – April Rose Pengilly, Australian model and actress
• 1989 – T. Mills, American rapper
• 1989 – Miguel Ángel Ponce, American-Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Dominic Roco, Filipino actor
• 1989 – Felix Roco, Filipino actor
• 1989 – Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian-American ice dancer
• 1990 – Francesca Halsall, English swimmer
• 1991 – Torey Krug, American ice hockey player
• 1991 – Oliver Norwood, English footballer
• 1991 – Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1991 – Jazz Richards, Welsh footballer
• 1992 – Giorgio Cantarini, Italian actor
• 1992 – Chad le Clos, South African swimmer
• 1993 – Jordan Archer, English-Scottish footballer
• 1993 – Dorial Green-Beckham, American football player
• 1993 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Katelyn Pippy, American ice hockey player and actress
• 1994 – Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer
• 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, American-Irish actress
• 1994 – Airi Suzuki, Japanese actress and singer (Aa!, Cute, and Buono!)
• 1996 – Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player
• 1997 – Katelyn Ohashi, American gymnast
• 1999 – Akai Osei, English actor, singer, and dancer
• 2000 – Suzanna von Nathusius, Polish actress

Deaths

• 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general and politician (b. 75 BC)
• 238 – Gordian I, Roman emperor (b. 159)
• 238 – Gordian II, Roman emperor (b. 192)
• 352 – Pope Julius I
• 434 – Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople
• 1125 – Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065)
• 1443 – Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364)
• 1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)
• 1555 – Joanna of Castile (b. 1479)
• 1675 – Richard Bennett, English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
• 1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)
• 1687 – Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619)
• 1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627)
• 1748 – William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685)
• 1782 – Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698)
• 1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719)
• 1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
• 1814 – Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726)
• 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730)
• 1850 – Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788)
• 1866 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801)
• 1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795)
• 1878 – William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
• 1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)
• 1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842)
• 1906 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836)
• 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821)
• 1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)
• 1937 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852)
• 1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)
• 1943 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889)
• 1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
• 1953 – Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880)
• 1962 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish race car driver (b. 1923)
• 1966 – Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (b. 1910)
• 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899)
• 1971 – Wynton Kelly, American pianist and composer (b. 1931)
• 1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886)
• 1973 – Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894)
• 1975 – Josephine Baker, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1906)
• 1977 – Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (b. 1895)
• 1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913)
• 1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
• 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer, wrestler, and actor (b. 1914)
• 1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
• 1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalyst (b. 1903)
• 1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897)
• 1987 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (b. 1964)
• 1988 – Colette Deréal, French actress and singer (b. 1927)
• 1988 – Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903)
• 1989 – Gerald Flood, English actor (b. 1927)
• 1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936)
• 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer and actor (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Ilario Bandini, Italian race car driver and businessman (b. 1911)
• 1997 – George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915)
• 1999 – Marion Albert Pruett, American spree killer (b. 1949)
• 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
• 2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921)
• 2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Sydney Lassick, American actor (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Ehud Manor, Israeli songwriter and translator (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (b. 1929)
• 2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Puggy Pearson, American poker player (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (b. 1920)
• 2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923)
• 2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)
• 2009 – Marilyn Chambers, American porn actress and screenwriter (b. 1952)
• 2010 – Palito, Filipino actor (b. 1934)
• 2010 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian union leader (b. 1916)
• 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945)
• 2011 – Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (b. 1962)
• 2012 – Masakre, Mexican wrestler (b. 1954)
• 2012 – Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Linda Cook, American actress (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Amy Tryon, American horse rider (b. 1970)
• 2013 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964)
• 2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962)
• 2013 – Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961)
• 2013 – William Y. Thompson, American historian and author (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Ya'akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947)
• 2014 – Fred Ho, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1957)
• 2014 – Brita Koivunen, Finnish singer and actress (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960)
• 2014 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990)
• 2014 – Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953)
• 2015 – Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad Arbaysh, Saudi Arabian terrorist (b. 1979)
• 2015 – Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950)
• 2015 – Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916)
• 2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances

• Children's Day (Bolivia and Haiti)
• Christian feast day:
  • Adoniram Judson (Episcopal Church)
  • Alferius
  • Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso
  • Erkembode
  • Pope Julius I
  • Zeno of Verona
  • April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
  • Cosmonautics Day (Russia)
  • International Day of Human Space Flight (International)
  • Yuri's Night (International)
• Global Day of Action on Military Spending
• Halifax Day (North Carolina)
• National Redemption Day (Liberia)

External links

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