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Today April 13th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1204 – The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople.
1250 – The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, Louis IX of France is captured.
1256 – The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots. (Edict repealed in 1685.)
1742 – George Frideric Handel s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
1796 – The first elephant ever seen in the United States arrives from India.
1829 – The British Parliament grants freedom of religion to Roman Catholics.
1849 – Hungary becomes a republic.
1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
1868 – Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala.
1870 – Metropolitan Museum of Art founded.
1873 – The Colfax Massacre takes place.
1902 – James C. Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
1919 – The Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India. At least 1200 wounded.
1921 – Foundation of the Spanish Communist Workers Party.
1939 – In India, the Hindustani Lal Sena (Indian Red Army) is formed and vows to engage in armed struggle against the British.
1941 – Pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
1943 – World War II: The discovery of a mass grave of Polish prisoners of war executed by Soviet forces in the Katyn Forest Massacre is announced, alienating the Western Allies, the Polish government in exile in London, from the Soviet Union.
1943 – James Boarman, Fred Hunter, Harold Brest and Floyd G. Hamilton take part in an Alcatraz escape attempt.
1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson s birth.
1944 – The diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
1945 – German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen Germany.
1948 – Seventy-seven doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital are ambushed and massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarra near Jerusalem.
1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program MKULTRA.
1958 – Van Cliburn is the first American to win the Chaikovsky Compettion in Moscow.
1969 – Closure of the Brisbane tramway network.
1970 – An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon.
1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
1974 – Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the U.S. s first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.
1975 – Bus Massacre in Lebanon : Attack by Phalangist militia gunmen kill 27 Palestinian civilians and marks the start of the 15-year Lebanese civil war.
1979 – Tanzania and Zambia recognize Yusufu Lule as President of Uganda.
1983 – Harold Washington is elected as the first African-American mayor in Chicago s history.
1984 – India moves into Siachen Glacier thus annexes more territory from the Line of Control. The challenger Shuttle lands after retrieving, repairing and redeploying a satellite.
1985 – Enver Hoxha is succeeded by Ramiz Alia as the leader of Albania.
1987 – Portugal and the People s Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999.
1992 – The Great Chicago Flood happened on this day.
1992 – Neil Kinnock resigns as British Labour leader following the party s defeat by the Conservatives in the general election four days earlier.
1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win golf s Masters Tournament.
Births
1506 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (d. 1546)
1519 – Catherine de Medici, wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
1547 – Elisabeth of Valois, third wife of Philip II of Spain (d. 1568)
1570 – Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator (d. 1606)
1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, queen consort of Sweden (d. 1625)
1584 – Albert VI of Bavaria (d. 1666)
1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English statesman (d. 1641)
1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French writer (d. 1693)
1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
1715 – John Hanson, President of the United States in Congress Assembled (d. 1783)
1729 – Thomas Percy, Bishop and magazine editor (d. 1811)
1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
1735 – Isaac Low, delegate to the Continental Congress (d. 1791)
1743 – Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
1747 – Louis Philip II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
1764 – Laurent, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French marshal (d. 1830)
1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter (d. 1830)
1771 – Richard Trevithick, English engineer and inventor (d. 1833)
1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer (d. 1868)
1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
1787 – John Robertson, U.S. politician (d. 1873)
1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (d. 1884)
1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian inventor (d. 1896)
1825 – Thomas D Arcy McGee, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
1828 – Joseph Barber Lightfoot, English theologian and Bishop (d. 1889)
1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadoran author (d. 1889)
1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor (d. 1905)
1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, British astronomer (d. 1917)
1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon (d. 1928)
1852 – F.W. Woolworth, American businessman (d. 1919)
1860 – James Ensor, Belgian painter (d. 1949)
1866 – Butch Cassidy, American outlaw (d. 1908)
1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian writer (d. 1945)
1873 – John W. Davis, American politician (d. 1955)
1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, U.S. university president and politician (d. 1949)
1879 – Edward Bruce, Director art projects (d. 1943)
1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian film studio owner (d. 1955)
1885 – Georg Lukács, Hungarian-born philosopher and literary critic (d. 1971)
1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and President of the Canadian Medical Association (d. 1995)
1889 – Herbert Osborne Yardley, American cryptographer (d. 1958)
1890 – Frank Murphy, American public servant (d. 1949)
1891 – Maurice Vincent Buckley, Australian winner of the Victoria Cross (d. 1921)
1891 – Nella Larsen, African-American novelist (d. 1964)
1892 – Arthur Travers Bomber Harris, British Air Force commander (d. 1984)
1892 – Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1973)
1895 – Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
1897 – Werner Voss, German World War I pilot (d. 1917)
1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and Scrabble inventor (d. 1993)
1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and semanticist (d. 1981)
1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French race car driver and wine grower (d. 1988)
1904 – Sir David Robinson, British philanthropist and entrepreneur (d. 1987)
1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1989)
1906 – Bud Freeman, American musician (d. 1991)
1907 – Harold Stassen, American Presidential candidate (d. 2001)
1909 – Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, Polish mathematician (d. 1984)
1909 – Eudora Welty, American writer (d. 2001)
1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer (d. 1946)
1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist (d. 1994)
1916 – Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner, American actress, journalist, and publisher (d. 2006)
1917 – Robert O. Anderson, American businessman (d. 2007)
1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist
1919 – Howard Keel, American actor, singer, and president of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2004)
1919 – Madalyn Murray O Hair, American atheist activist (d. 1995)
1919 – Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer (d. 2000)
1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
1920 – Claude Cheysson, French politician
1920 – Liam Cosgrave, fifth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland
1920 – John LaPorta, American musician (d. 2004)
1922 – John Braine, British novelist (d. 1986)
1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician (d. 1999)
1923 – Don Adams, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
1924 – Jack Chick, American evangelist
1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director
1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough
1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
1927 – Maurice Ronet, French film actor (d. 1983)
1928 – Alan Clark, English politician (d. 1999)
1931 – Robert Enrico, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and team owner
1931 – Jon Stone, co-creator of Sesame Street (d. 1997)
1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean politician (d. 1976)
1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S. politician
1935 – Lyle Waggoner, American actor
1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright
1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish writer, Nobel laureate
1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor
1940 – Mike Beuttler, British racing driver (d. 1988)
1940 – J.M.G. Le Clézio, French novelist, Nobel laureate in Literature.
1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist, Nobel laureate
1942 – Bill Conti, American composer
1942 – Ataol Behramoglu Turkish poet and writer.
1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
1944 – Jack Casady, American musician
1944 – Susan Davis, American politician
1944 – Brian Pendleton, musician (d. 2001)
1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
1945 – Lowell George, American singer/guitarist (d. 1979)
1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player (d. 1970)
1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress
1945 – Charles Robinson, American actor
1946 – Al Green, American singer and pastor
1947 – Thanos Mikroutsikos, Greek composer & former minister
1948 – Sue Doughty, British politician
1948 – Nam Hae-il, Chief of Naval Operations of Republic of Korea Navy
1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish politician
1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-born journalist, critic, and author
1949 – Ricardo Zuniño, Argentine racing driver
1950 – Terry Lester, American actor (d. 2003)
1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
1950 – William Sadler, American actor
1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer
1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
1951 – Joachim Streich, East German footballer
1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
1952 – Ron Dittemore, American space administrator
1952 – David Drew, British politician
1952 – Erick Avari, British-Indian actor
1953 – Stephen Byers, British politician
1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer
1955 – Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg
1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
1956 – Peter Possum Bourne, New Zealand rally driver (d. 2003)
1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
1957 – Dallas Moir, Scottish cricketer
1957 – Amy Goodman, American activist, host of Democracy Now
1960 – Rudi Völler, German football coach
1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., Democratic U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist
1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American rock bassist
1962 – Dave Miley, former baseball player and manager
1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-born guitarist (d. 1988)
1962 – Jennifer Rubin, American actress
1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player
1964 – Davis Love III, Professional Golfer
1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress
1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentine architect
1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian football player
1966 – Marc Ford, American musician
1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican singer
1970 – Monty Brown, American professional wrestler
1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer
1970 – Rick Schroder, American actor
1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast, Olympic gold medalist
1970 – Ricardo Rincon, Mexican baseball player
1971 – Dina Korzun, Russian actress
1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer
1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player
1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer (Staind)
1974 – Darren Turner , British Race Driver
1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian soccer player
1975 – Lou Bega, German-born musician and artist
1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
1976 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech ice hockey player
1976 – Yu Ji-tae, South Korean actor
1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
1978 – Kyle Howard, American actor
1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
1978 – Chris Sligh, American Idol finalist
1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
1980 – Jana Cova, Czech pornographic actress
1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress
1981 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
1982 – Nellie McKay, American singer
1982 – Janice Vidal, Hong Kong singer
1982 – Jill Vidal, Hong Kong singer
1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
1984 – Hiro Mizushima, Japanese actor
1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American internet entertainer
1988 – Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Emma Degerstedt, American actress
Deaths
799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and chronicler (b. c. 720)
814 – Krum of Bulgaria
1093 – Prince Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
1279 – Boleslaw the Pious, Polish duke
1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. c. 1551)
1612 – Sasaki Kojiro, Japanese samurai
1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Druze Prince of Lebanon (b. 1572)
1638 – Henri, duc de Rohan, French Huguenot leader (b. 1579)
1641 – Richard Montagu, English clergyman (b. 1577)
1695 – Jean de la Fontaine, French author (b. 1621)
1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish Anglican theologian (b. 1650)
1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French revolutionary (b. 1763)
1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French writer (b. 1741)
1826 – Franz Danzi, German composer (b. 1763)
1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist (b. 1788)
1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American politician (b. 1788)
1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist (b. 1796)
1868 – Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist (b. 1813)
1882 – Bruno Bauer, German theologian (b. 1809)
1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American politician (b. 1828)
1909 – Whitley Stokes, British lawyer (b. 1830)
1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, British painter (b. 1835)
1911 – George Washington Glick, American politician (b. 1827)
1911 – John McLane, American politician (b. 1852)
1912 – Ishikawa Takuboku, Japanese author (b. 1886)
1918 – Lavr Georgevich Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
1936 – Milton Brown, American swing bandleader (b. 1903)
1938 – Archibald Belaney, Canadian conservationist (b. 1888)
1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (b. 1863)
1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French composer and pianist (b. 1857)
1945 – Ernst Cassirer, German philosopher (b. 1874)
1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian politician (b. 1890)
1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch conductor (b. 1901)
1961 – John A. Bennett, American convicted rapist (b. 1935)
1962 – Culbert Olson, American politician (b. 1876)
1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi politician (b. 1921)
1966 – Georges Duhamel, French writer (b. 1884)
1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author (b. 1921)
1975 – Larry Parks, American actor (b. 1914)
1975 – François (Ngarta) Tombalbaye, Chadian politician (b. 1918)
1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian artist (b. 1931)
1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
1981 – Prince Asaka Yasuhiko of Japan (b. 1887)
1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek doctor and naturalist (b. 1896)
1984 – Richard Hurndall. British actor (b. 1910)
1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American musician (b. 1911)
1984 – Dionyssis Papayannopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1912)
1986 – Stephen Stucker. American actor (b. 1947)
1993 – Wallace Stegner, American writer (b. 1909)
1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and military figure (b. 1896)
1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and skysurfer (b. 1960)
1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, New Zealand chess player (b. 1924)
1999 – Willi Stoph, German politician (b. 1914)
2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (b. 1916)
2001 – Robert Moon, American postal inspector (b. 1917)
2002 – Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racecar driver (b. 1928)
2003 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand rally car driver (b. 1956)
2004 – Lou Berberet, American baseball player (b. 1929)
2004 – Caron Keating, British television presenter (b. 1962)
2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player (b. 1932)
2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American blues musician (b. 1924)
2005 – Johnny Loughrey, Irish singer (b. 1945)
2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor (b. 1959)
2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player (b. 1911)
2007 – Don Selwyn, Maori actor and film director (b. c. 1936)
2008 – John Wheeler, American physicist and educator (b. 1911)
Holidays and observances
First day of Lao New Year.
First day of Thai New Year.
First day of Cambodian New Year.
Vaisakhi
The Feast Day of St. Martin the Confessor in the Greek Orthodox Church.
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