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Today April 4th 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
1581 – Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I.
1655 – The miraculous statue entitled the Infant of Prague is solemnly crowned by command of Cardinal Harrach.
1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of England.
1721 – Sir Robert Walpole enters office as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under King George I.
1812 – U.S. President James Madison enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time.
1818 – The United States Congress adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20).
1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia becoming the first President of the United States to die in office and the one with the shortest term served.
1850 – The Great Fire of Cottenham, a large part of the Cambridgeshire village (England) is burnt to the ground under suspicious circumstances.
1850 – Los Angeles, California is incorporated as a city.
1859 – Bryant s Minstrels debut Dixie in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the city of Kiev.
1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
1905 – In India, an earthquake near Kangra kills 20,000.
1913 – The Greek aviator Emmanuel Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot victim of the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
1918 – World War I: Second Battle of the Somme ends.
1930 – The Communist Party of Panama is founded.
1939 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
1945 – World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
1945 – World War II: Soviet Army takes control of Hungary.
1949 – Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
1958 – The CND Peace Symbol displayed in public for the first time in London.
1960 – Senegal independence day.
1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
1965 – The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft plane is unveiled.
1967 – Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence speech in New York City s Riverside Church.
1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
1968 – AEK Athens BC becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
1973 – The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.
1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Baby Lift – A United States Air Force C-5A Galaxy crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, transporting orphans – 172 die.
1976 – Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.
1979 – President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
1983 – Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space (STS-6).
1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
1994 – Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
1996 – Comet Hyakutake was imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
2007 – 15 British Royal Navy personnel held in Iran are released by the Iranian President.
2008 – The raid on the FLDS owned ranch called the YFZ Ranch in Texas, 401 children were taken into custody. 133 woman were taken into state custody also, the total number of woman and children is 534.
Births
186 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
1492 – Ambrosius Blarer, German reformer (d. 1564)
1572 – William Strachey, English writer (d. 1621)
1593 – Edward Nicholas, English statesman (d. 1669)
1646 – Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (d. 1715)
1648 – Grinling Gibbons Dutch woodcarver (d. 1721)
1688 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer (d. 1768)
1718 – Benjamin Kennicott, English churchman and Hebrew scholar (d. 1783)
1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of Breslov Hasidut (d. 1810)
1785 – Bettina von Arnim, German writer (d. 1859)
1802 – Dorothea Dix, American social activist (d. 1887)
1818 – Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American novelist (d. 1883)
1819 – Queen Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1868)
1826 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (d. 1901)
1842 – Edouard Lucas, French mathematician (d. 1891)
1846 – Comte de Lautréamont, French writer (d. 1870)
1853 – Tad Lincoln, son of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln
1858 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet (d. 1915)
1875 – Pierre Monteux, French conductor (d. 1964)
1876 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter (d. 1958)
1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
1884 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese naval commander (d. 1943)
1888 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player (d. 1958)
1888 – Zdzislaw Zygulski, Sr., Polish literary historian (d. 1975)
1895 – Arthur Murray, American dance teacher (d. 1991)
1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright (d. 1955)
1897 – Pierre Fresnay, French stage and film actor (d. 1975)
1898 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (d. 1940)
1902 – Louise Leveque de Vilmorin, French actress (d. 1969)
1902 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American science-fiction author (d. 1935)
1905 – Eugene Bozza, French modern composer (d. 1991)
1906 – Bea Benaderet, American actress (d. 1968)
1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995)
1908 – Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, American memoirist (Cheaper by the Dozen) (d. 2006)
1911 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer (d. 1992)
1913 – Frances Langford, American actress (d. 2005)
1913 – Jules Léger, Quebec diplomat and Governor general of Canada (d. 1980)
1914 – Marguerite Duras, French writer (d. 1996)
1915 – Muddy Waters, American musician (d. 1983)
1916 – Nikola Ljubicic, Yugoslav general, Serbian communist politician (d. 2005)
1916 – Mickey Owen, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1916 – David White, American actor (d. 1990)
1918 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe (d. 2007)
1920 – Éric Rohmer, French film director
1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer (d. 2004)
1924 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
1925 – Claude Wagner, French-Canadian politician and judge (d. 1979)
1925 – Emmett Williams, American poet (d. 2007)
1928 – Maya Angelou, American writer
1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence director
1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer
1932 – Estelle Harris, American actress
1932 – Richard Lugar, American politician
1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
1932 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet film director (d. 1986)
1933 – Bill France, Jr., NASCAR pioneer (d. 2007)
1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American university president and Commissioner of Baseball (d. 1989)
1939 – JoAnne Carner, American golfer
1939 – Major Lance, American singer (d. 1994)
1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African musician
1940 – Richard Attwood, British racing driver
1940 – Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter
1942 – Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager
1942 – Kitty Kelley, American writer
1944 – Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician
1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor
1945 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French political activist
1945 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress
1946 – Dave Hill, English guitarist (Slade)
1946 – Katsuaki Sato, Japanese martial artist
1946 – Colin Coates, Australian speed skater
1947 – Ray Fosse, American baseball player and broadcaster
1947 – Luke Halpin, American actor
1947 – Wiranto, Indonesian general
1948 – Michael Blassie, American military officer (d. 1972)
1948 – Berry Oakley, American bassist (The Allman Brothers Band) (d. 1972)
1948 – Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party
1948 – Dan Simmons, American writer
1948 – Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
1949 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican singer (The Wailers) (d. 1999)
1949 – Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese mathematician
1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress
1951 – John Hannah, American football player
1951 – Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
1952 – Rosemarie Ackermann, German athlete
1952 – Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey coach
1952 – Gary Moore, Irish guitarist (Thin Lizzy)
1952 – Gregg Hansford, Australian motorcycle and car racer (d. 1995)
1953 – Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician
1953 – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician
1953 – Henry Fotheringham, former South African cricketer
1956 – Tom Herr, American baseball player
1956 – David E. Kelley, American writer and TV producer
1957 – Ali El Haggar, Egyptian singer and actor
1957 – Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish film director
1957 – Graeme Kelling, Scottish musician (Deacon Blue) (d. 2004)
1957 – Kelso, American racehorse (d. 1983)
1957 – Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese musician (Rats & Star)
1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer (d. 1990)
1958 – Mary-Margaret Humes, American actress
1960 – Jane Eaglin, English soprano
1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-born English-Australian actor
1962 – Craig Adams, English musician(The Sisters of Mercy, Mission UK)
1963 – Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 – Graham Norton, Irish talk show host
1964 – Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach
1964 – David Cross, American actor and comedian
1964 – Robbie Rist, American actor
1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor
1966 – Nancy McKeon, American actor
1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American director
1970 – Barry Pepper, Canadian actor
1970 – Michael Schwartz, American turntablist, known as Mix Master Mike, DJ for the Beastie Boys
1971 – Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player
1971 – Josh Todd, American lead singer of rock band Buckcherry
1971 – John Zandig, American professional wrestler
1972 – Jill Scott, American soul singer
1972 – Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
1972 – Lisa Ray, Indo-Canadian actress
1973 – David Blaine, American illusionist
1973 – Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete
1973 – Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
1974 – Dave Mirra, American athlete
1975 – Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman
1975 – Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish cross-country skier
1975 – Pamela Ribon, American author, actress
1975 – Scott Rolen, American baseball player
1976 – Emerson, Brazilian footballer
1976 – Sébastien Enjolras, French racing driver (d. 1997)
1977 – Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist and producer(Killswitch Engage)
1977 – Stephen Mulhern, British magician, CITV Presenter
1977 – Omarr Ali Hasan Smith, American Arena Football League defensive back
1978 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player
1978 – Lemar, English singer
1978 – Alan Mahon, Irish footballer
1978 – Sam Moran, Australian entertainer
1978 – Irene Skliva, Greek 1996 Miss World winner
1978 – Aska Yang, Taiwanese singer
1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian/American actor. (d. 2008)
1979 – Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice-hockey goaltender
1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress
1979 – Andy McKee, American musician
1979 – Jessica Napier, New Zealand actress
1980 – Johnny Borrell, English singer (Razorlight)
1980 – Trevor Moore, American comedian
1980 – Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver
1983 – Fabian Geiser, Swiss footballer
1983 – Doug Lynch, Canadian ice-hockey player
1983 – Angelle Tymon, American journalist and TV game-show host
1983 – Ben Gordon, American professional basketball player
1984 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer
1985 – Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player
1986 – Aiden McGeady, Irish footballer,
1986 – Cameron Barker, Canadian ice-hockey player
1987 – Devon Anderson, English actor
1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
1987 – Cameron Maybin, American baseball player
1988 – Frank Fielding, English footballer
1991 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress
1992 – Alexa Nikolas, American actress
1994 – Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer
Deaths
397 – St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (b. c. 338)
636 – Saint Isidore of Seville, Church Father and the proposed patron of Internet (b. c. 560)
896 – Pope Formosus (b. 816)
1284 – King Alfonso X of Castile (b. 1221)
1292 – Pope Nicholas IV (b. 1227)
1305 – Jeanne of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France (b. c. 1217)
1536 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
1588 – King Frederick II of Denmark (b. 1534)
1609 – Charles de L Ecluse, Flemish botanist (b. 1526)
1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician (b. 1550)
1643 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian (b. 1583)
1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier (b. c. 1580)
1701 – Joseph Haines, entertainer and author
1743 – Daniel Neal, English historian (b. 1678)
1761 – Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler (b. 1722)
1766 – John Taylor, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
1774 – Oliver Goldsmith, English writer (b. 1728)
1792 – James Sykes, American politician (b. 1725)
1807 – Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de Lalande, French astronomer (b. 1732)
1817 – André Masséna, Duke of Rivoli, Prince of Essling and Marshal of France (b. 1758)
1841 – William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)
1846 – Solomon Sibley, American senator from Michigan Territory (b. 1769)
1861 – John McLean, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1785)
1863 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (b. 1790)
1864 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer (b. 1808)
1870 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
1874 – Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
1878 – Richard Brewer, American gunslinger/cowboy (b. 1850)
1879 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist (b. 1803)
1883 – Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (b. 1791)
1884 – Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist and diarist (b. 1860)
1890 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Quebec politician (b. 1820)
1890 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist (b. 1812)
1919 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)
1923 – John Venn, British mathematician (b. 1834)
1929 – Karl Benz, German engine designer, inventor, and automobile engineer (b. 1844)
1931 – André Michelin, French industrialist (b. 1853)
1932 – Wilhelm Ostwald, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
1947 – William O Donnell, Irish politician (b. ?)
1951 – Al Christie, Canadian film director and producer (b. 1881)
1951 – George Albert Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church) (b. 1870)
1953 – King Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)
1957 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian diplomat (b. 1909)
1958 – Johnny Stompanato, American organized crime figure (b. 1925)
1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician (b. 1873)
1962 – James Hanratty, executed at Bedford Prison, England, for the murder of Michael Gregsten (b. 1936)
1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1898)
1967 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (b. 1901)
1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1929)
1972 – Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American politician (b. 1908)
1972 – Stefan Wolpe, German composer (b. 1902)
1976 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish contributor to information theory (b. 1889)
1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1928)
1979 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
1980 – Red Sovine, American country music singer (b. 1917)
1983 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1897)
1984 – Oleg Antonov, Soviet airplane engineer (b. 1906)
1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh nationalist and writer (b. 1891)
1987 – C.L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
1987 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan Buddhist master (b. 1939)
1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss writer (b. 1911)
1991 – H. John Heinz III, U.S. Senator (b. 1938)
1991 – Forrest Towns, American hurdler (b. 1914)
1992 – Yvette Brind Amour, French Canadian stage actress and artistic director (b. 1918)
1992 – Jack Hamilton, Australian Football Player (b. 1956)
1992 – Arthur Russell, American cellist (b. 1951)
1993 – Alfred Butts, American architect and inventor (Scrabble) (b. 1899)
1995 – Kenny Everett, British radio DJ and television entertainer (b. 1944)
1995 – Priscilla Lane, American singer and actress (b. 1915)
1996 – Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918)
1996 – Larry LaPrise, American songwriter (b. 1913)
1999 – Faith Domergue, American actor (b. 1924)
1999 – Early Wynn, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2001 – Ed Big Daddy Roth, American custom car designer (b. 1932)
2002 – Harry L. O Connor, Czech film stuntman
2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
2003 – Resortes, Mexican comedian (b. 1916)
2004 – Alberic Schotte, Belgian cyclist (b. 1919)
2004 – Casey Sheehan, American soldier, son of Cindy Sheehan (b. 1979)
2005 – Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman (b. 1924)
2005 – Pope John Paul II, Polish Roman Catholic Pope (b. 1920)
2007 – Bob Clark, American film director (b. 1941)
2007 – Terry Hall, English ventriloquist (b. 1927)
2008 – Francis Tucker, South African Rally Driver (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances
International Day for Landmine Awareness and Assistance
Lesotho – Heroes Day
Taiwan and Hong Kong – Children s Day
Saint Isidore of Seville
Embrace Day for the Giovanni
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