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Today April 16th 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
73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.
1071 – Bari falls to Robert Guiscard, ending Byzantine rule in Italy.
1346 – The Serbian Empire is proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the Balkans.
1395 – Azzo X d Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops.
1521 – Martin Luther s first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
1746 – The Battle of Culloden takes place.
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.
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: The Battle at Lee s Mills in Virginia.
1862 – American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia becomes law.
1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
1917 – Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Finland.
1919 – Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of prayer and fasting in response to the British slaughter of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre.
1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, in which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow, is signed.
1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
1941 – World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
1941 – Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
1943 – Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.
1945 – The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin.
1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) Prisoner of War camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz Castle).
1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
1946 – Syria gains independence.
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 coins the term Cold War to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
1953 – Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht Britannia.
1955 – The Burma-Japanese peace treaty signed in Rangoon on November 5, 1954 comes into force, formally ending the state of war.
1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
1964 – Great Train Robbery – 12 men are sentenced to a total of 307 years.
1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.
1987 – British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates Court in London charged with gross indecency.
1988 – In Forlì, Italy, Red Brigades kill Italian Senator Roberto Ruffilli, an advisor to Prime Minister Ciriaco de Mita.
1990 – The Doctor of Death, Jack Kevorkian, goes through with his first assisted suicide.
1992 – The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
2004 – The super liner Queen Mary 2 embarks on her first Trans-Atlantic crossing, linking the golden age of ocean travel to the modern age of ocean travel.
2007 – Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, shoots 32 people to death and injures 23 others before committing suicide.
2008 – Start of Papal Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States
Births
778 – King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
1646 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
1660 – Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
1682 – John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)
1693 – Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
1728 – Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
1738 – Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
1755 – Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
1821 – Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
1823 – Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
1827 – Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (d. 1879)
1844 – Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss architect, (d. 1906)
1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Social Reformer of Andhra Pradesh, India (d. 1919)
1859 – Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (d. 1924)
1865 – Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rico statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
1867 – Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
1878 – Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, writer,song writer, composer and film producer (d. 1977)
1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (d. 1988)
1904 – Fifi D Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, French-Canadian inventor and businessman (Bombardier) (d. 1964)
1912 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
1912 – Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
1915 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
1918 – Joan Alexander, American actress
1918 – Dick Gibson, British racing driver
1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer
1919 – Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
1922 – Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
1924 – John Harvey-Jones, Industrialist (d. 2008)
1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
1927 – Edie Adams, American actress
1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
1927 – Peter Mark Richman, American actor
1928 – Night Train Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
1930 – Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
1933 – Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet
1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseballer
1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
1939 – Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008.)
1940 – Margrethe II of Denmark, queen regnant
1940 – Benoît Bouchard, French-Canadian politician
1942 – Sir Frank Williams, English F1 constructor and team principal (WilliamsF1)
1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
1943 – Ruth Madoc, British actress
1943 – Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
1944 – Richard Bradshaw British opera conductor
1945 – Tom Allen, American politician
1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist
1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
1947 – Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter
1948 – Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
1949 – Melody Patterson, American actress
1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
1951 – Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
1951 – Mordechai Ben David, Jewish singer
1952 – Bill Belichick, American football coach
1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor
1952 – Billy West, American voice actor
1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer (Midnight Oil) and politician
1953 – J. Neil Schulman, American writer
1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
1954 – John Bowe, Australian racing driver
1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
1956 – David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
1959 – Scott McKinsey, American television director
1959 – Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
1961 – Doris Dragovic, Croatian singer
1962 – Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)
1963 – Salim Malik, Pakistani cricket player
1964 – Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)
1964 – David Kohan, American television producer
1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor
1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor
1965 – Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
1968 – Vickie Guerrero, WWE professional wrestling personality
1969 – Fernando Viña, American Baseball Player
1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor
1971 – Selena Quintanilla,Mexican American singer (d. 1995)
1971 – Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
1972 – Conchita Martinez, Spanish tennis player
1973 – Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
1973 – Aliaune Thiam Akon, American singer and song writer
1974 – Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah)
1974 – Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director
1974 – Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
1975 – Sean Maher, American actor
1975 – Nick Pickard, British actor
1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor
1976 – Dan Kellner, American fencer
1976 – Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
1977 – Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel
1977 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
1978 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
1978 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress
1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver
1979 – Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
1980 – Paul London, American professional wrestler
1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
1982 – Barry Jones, Scottish magician
1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
1982 – Gina Carano, American Mixed Martial Arts fighter.
1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
1983 – George Patis, Greek badminton player
1983 – Marié Digby, American Singer
1984 – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
1984 – Noah Fleiss, American actor
1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
1985 – Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
1985 – Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
1986 – Paul di Resta, British racing driver
1986 – Neil Haskell, Finalist of SYTYCD Season 3
1987 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
1990 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
1992 – Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, Prince of Luxembourg
1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American Figure Skater
1994 – Liliana Mumy, American actress
2008 – Princess Eléonore of Belgium, Belgian princess
Deaths
69 – Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
665 – Fructuosus of Braga
744 – al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
924 – Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
1198 – Duke Frederick I of Austria
1645 – Tobias Hume, English composer
1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
1689 – Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
1828 – Francisco de Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
1850 – Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French shepherd girl (b. 1844)
1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (b. 1875)
1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
1947 – Rudolf Höß, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
1958 – Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
1968 – Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
1970 – Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
1972 – Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1978 – Lucius Clay, American general (b. 1897)
1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
1991 – David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
1992 – Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
1994 – Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
1995 – Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
1995 – Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
1997 – Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
1997 – Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)
2001 – Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
2002 – Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
2005 – Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
2005 – Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
2005 – Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
2006 – Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
2007 – Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
2007 – Seung-Hui Cho, Korean American murderer (b. 1984), see List of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
2007 – Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, American instructor of French (b. 1958)
2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
2007 – Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics (b. 1930)
2007 – G. V. Loganathan, Indian American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
2008 – Edward Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
2008 – Joseph Solman, American painter
Holidays and observances
Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.
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