Events

• 1500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil.
• 1509 - Henry VIII accedes to the throne of England after the death of his father.
• 1529 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas.
• 1836 - Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• 1863 - American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins – troops under Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
• 1864 - The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act which mandates that the inscription "In God We Trust" be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.
• 1889 - At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
• 1898 - Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and the USS Nashville captures a Spanish merchant ship.
• 1912 - Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
• 1915 - The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
• 1930 - The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
• 1944 - World War II: Operation Persecution initiated – Allied forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea.
• 1945 - World War II: Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration camp revolt. 520 are killed and 80 escape.
• 1945 - World War II: Fuehrerbunker: After learning that Soviet forces have taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admits defeat in his underground bunker and states that suicide is his only recourse.
• 1954 - Red Scare: Army-McCarthy Hearings begin.
• 1964 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its first season.
• 1970 - First Earth Day celebrated.
• 1972 - Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts antiwar protests in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
• 1983 - The German magazine, Der Stern claims that Adolf Hitler's diaries were found in wreckage in East Germany.
• 1992 - In an explosion in Guadalajara, Mexico, 206 people are killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 left homeless.
• 1993 - The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC is dedicated.
• 1993 - The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released.
• 1997 - Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria - 93 villagers killed.
• 1997 - The Japanese embassy hostage crisis ends in Lima, Peru.
• 1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
• 2000 - In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida.
• 2000 - The Big Number Change takes place in the United Kingdom.
• 2004 - Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing up to 150 people.
• 2006 - 243 people are injured in pro-democracy protest in Nepal after Nepali security forces open fire on protesters against King Gyanendra.
• 2006 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.

Births

• 1451 - Queen Isabella of Castile and Leon (d. 1504)
• 1610 - Pope Alexander VIII (d. 1691)
• 1658 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (d. 1709)
• 1690 - John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (d. 1763)
• 1692 - James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (d. 1770)
• 1707 - Henry Fielding, English author (d. 1754)
• 1711 - Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (d. 1779)
• 1724 - Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (d. 1804)
• 1744 - James Sullivan, 7th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1808)
• 1766 - Madame de Staël, French author (d. 1817)
• 1812 - Solomon Caesar Malan, British orientalist (d. 1894)
• 1816 - Charles Denis Bourbaki, French general
• 1832 - Julius Sterling Morton, Arbor Day founder (d. 1902
• 1840 - Odilon Redon, French painter (d. 1916)
• 1844 - Lewis Thornton Powell, would-be assassin of Secretary of State William H. Seward (d. 1865)
• 1852 - Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1912)
• 1854 - Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1943)
• 1860 - Ada Rehan, American stage actress (d. 1916)
• 1868 - Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (d. 1924)
• 1870 - Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary (d. 1924)
• 1872 - Princess Margaret of Prussia, queen of Finland (d. 1954)
• 1873 - Ellen Glasgow, American author (d. 1945)
• 1876 - Robert Bárány, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1936)
• 1876 - Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (d. 1920)
• 1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
• 1884 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (d. 1939)
• 1889 - Richard Glücks, German SS officer and concentration camp administrator (d. 1945, by suicide)
• 1891 - Harold Jeffreys, English astronomer (d. 1989)
• 1891 - Nicola Sacco, American anarchist (d. 1927)
• 1891 - Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (d. 1965)
• 1892 - Vernon Johns, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
• 1899 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer (d. 1977)
• 1904 - Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist (d. 1967)
• 1905 - Robert Choquette, French Canadian novelist, poet and diplomat (d. 1991)
• 1906 - Eddie Albert, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1906 - Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, second in line to the Swedish throne (d. 1946)
• 1907 - Ivan Efremov, Russian paleontologist and author (d. 1972)
• 1909 - Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist, Nobel laureate
• 1909 - Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (d. 2001)
• 1910 - Norman Steenrod, American mathematician (d. 1971)
• 1912 - Kathleen Ferrier, British singer (d. 1953)
• 1914 - Jan de Hartog, Dutch writer (d. 2002)
• 1914 - Michael Wittman, German soldier and tank ace (d. 1944)
• 1916 - Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (d. 1999)
• 1918 - Mickey Vernon, American baseball player (d. 2008)
• 1919 - Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2001)
• 1922 - Charles Mingus, American musician (d. 1979)
• 1922 - Wolf V. Vishniac, American microbiologist (d. 1973)
• 1923 - Avis Bunnage, English actress (d. 1990)
• 1923 - Bettie Page, American model
• 1923 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer (d. 2006)
• 1925 - George Cole, English actor
• 1926 - Charlotte Rae, American actress
• 1926 - James Stirling, British architect (d. 1992)
• 1927 - Laurel Aitken, Jamaican singer (d. 2005)
• 1935 - Paul Chambers, American jazz bassist (d. 1969)
• 1936 - Glen Campbell, American musician
• 1936 - Pierre Hétu, French Canadian conductor and pianist (d. 1998)
• 1937 - Jack Nicholson, American actor
• 1937 - Jack Nitzsche, American composer (d. 2000)
• 1938 - Adam Raphael, English journalist and author
• 1939 - Mel Carter, American singer
• 1939 - Jason Miller, American playwright (d. 2001)
• 1939 - Theodor Waigel, German politician and finance minister
• 1943 - Louise Glück, American poet and 12th US Poet Laureate
• 1944 - Steve Fossett, American adventurer (d. 2007)
• 1946 - John Waters, American film writer
• 1946 - Louise Harel, Quebec politician
• 1946 - Nicole Garcia, French actress and director
• 1946 - Steven L. Bennett, USAF Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient (d. 1972)
• 1950 - Peter Frampton, English musician
• 1950 - Zygi Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings
• 1951 - Paul Carrack, English musician
• 1951 - Ana María Shua, Argentine poet
• 1952 - Marilyn Chambers, American pornographic actress
• 1952 - François Berléand, French actor
• 1953 - Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer
• 1955 - Johnnie To, Hong Kong film director and producer
• 1957 - Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister
• 1958 - Ken Olandt, American actor
• 1959 - Catherine Mary Stewart, Canadian actress
• 1959 - Ryan Stiles, Canadian-born actor
• 1960 - Mart Laar, Estonian statesman
• 1960 - Gary Rhodes, English chef
• 1960 - Randall L. Stephenson, American business executive
• 1962 - Jeff Minter, English video game programmer
• 1965 - Lauri Hendler, actress
• 1965 - Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 - Mariana Levy, Mexican actress (d. 2005)
• 1966 - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor
• 1967 - Sheryl Lee, American actress
• 1967 - Sherri Shepherd, American comedian and actress
• 1967 - Harvey Williams, American football player
• 1968 - Zarley Zalapski, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 - Dion Dublin, English footballer
• 1970 - Andrea Giani, Italian volleyball player
• 1970 - Regine Velasquez, Filipino singer and actress
• 1971 - Daisuke Enomoto, Japanese people space tourist
• 1971 - Eric Mabius, American actor
• 1972 - Sabine Appelmans, Belgian tennis player
• 1972 - Owen Finegan, Australian rugby union footballer
• 1973 - Adem Poric, Australian former footballer
• 1973 - Ofer Talker, Israeli footballer
• 1974 - Diego Costa, Brazilian singer-songwriter
• 1974 - Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-born bassist (System of a Down)
• 1975 - Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (d. 1999)
• 1975 - Carlos Sastre, Spanish cyclist
• 1976 - Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer
• 1976 - Paul Henderson, Australian soccer player
• 1976 - Dan Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 - Mark van Bommel, Dutch footballer
• 1977 - Aaron Fink, American guitarist (Breaking Benjamin)
• 1978 - Jason Stollsteimer, American singer (The Von Bondies)
• 1978 - Esteban Tuero, Argentinian race car driver
• 1979 - Daniel Johns, Australian musician (Silverchair)
• 1979 - Zoltan Gera, Hungarian footballer
• 1980 - Nicolas Douchez, French footballer
• 1980 - Courtney Friel, presenter of World Poker Tour
• 1980 - Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1980 - Aaron Michael Metchik, American actor
• 1981 - Ken Dorsey, American football player
• 1982 - Kaká, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 - Tim Hamilton, Slovak adult movie actor
• 1983 - Matt Jones, American football player
• 1984 - Michelle Ryan, English actress
• 1984 - Amelle Berrabah, British singer (Sugababes)
• 1986 - Dusan Sakota, Serbian-Greek basketball player
• 1986 - Amber Heard, American actress
• 1986 - Marshawn Lynch, American Football player

Deaths

• 296 - Pope Caius
• 455 - Petronius Maximus, Roman Emperor
• 536 - Pope Agapetus I
• 1592 - Bartolomeo Ammanati, Italian architect (b. 1511)
• 1616 - Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer (b. 1547)
• 1672 - Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (b. 1598)
• 1699 - Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz, German statesman (b. 1646)
• 1758 - Antoine de Jussieu, French naturalist (b. 1686)
• 1778 - James Hargreaves, English inventor (b. 1720)
• 1806 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (stabbed) (b. 1763)
• 1833 - Richard Trevithick, English inventor (b. 1771)
• 1839 - Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
• 1854 - Nicolás Bravo, Mexican politician and soldier (b. 1786)
• 1877 - James P. Kirkwood, American civil engineer (b. 1807)
• 1892 - Edouard Lalo, French composer (b. 1823)
• 1893 - Chaim Aronson, inventor and academic (b. 1825)
• 1896 - Thomas Meik, British civil engineer (b. 1812)
• 1908 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1836)
• 1925 - André Caplet, French composer (b. 1878)
• 1929 - Henry Lerolle, French painter (b. 1848)
• 1930 - Jeppe Aakjaer, Danish poet (b. 1866)
• 1933 - Henry Royce, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1863)
• 1945 - Käthe Kollwitz, German artist (b. 1867)
• 1945 - Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician (b. 1900)
• 1946 - Harlan F. Stone, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (b. 1872)
• 1946 - Lionel Atwill, English Actor (b. 1885)
• 1951 - Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (b. 1870)
• 1968 - Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (b. 1911)
• 1978 - Will Geer, American actor (b. 1902)
• 1980 - Jane Froman, American actress (b. 1907)
• 1980 - Fritz Strassmann, German physicist (b. 1902)
• 1983 - Earl "Fatha" Hines, American jazz pianist (b. 1903)
• 1983 - John Louis Evans, convicted murderer (executed) (b. 1950)
• 1984 - Ansel Adams, American photographer (b. 1902)
• 1985 - Paul H. Emmett, American chemical engineer (b. 1900)
• 1985 - Jacques Ferron, French Canadian physician, author and politician (b. 1921)
• 1986 - Mircea Eliade, Romanian writer (b. 1907)
• 1988 - Irene Rich, American actress (b. 1891)
• 1990 - Albert Salmi, American actor (b. 1928)
• 1994 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (b. 1913)
• 1995 - Maggie Kuhn, American activist (b. 1905)
• 1996 - Erma Bombeck, American humorist (b. 1927)
• 1996 - Harold "Jug" McSpaden, American professional golfer (b. 1908)
• 1998 - Kitch Christie, South African rugby coach (b. 1940)
• 1999 - Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek singer (b. 1938)
• 1999 - Chan Canasta, magician and mindreader (b. 1920)
• 2002 - Linda Lovelace, American adult actress (b. 1949)
• 2003 - Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1912)
• 2003 - Michael Larrabee, American athlete (b. 1933)
• 2003 - Felice Bryant, American songwriter (b. 1925)
• 2004 - Pat Tillman, American football player and U.S. Army Ranger (killed in action) (b. 1976)
• 2004 - Jason L. Dunham, American Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981)
• 2005 - Norman Bird, UK character actor (b. 1920)
• 2005 - Robert Farnon, Canadian-born composer and conductor (b. 1917)
• 2005 - Erika Fuchs, German translator (b. 1906)
• 2005 - Philip Morrison, American physicist (b. 1915)
• 2006 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)
• 2007 - Juanita Millender-McDonald, congresswoman from southern California (b. 1938)
• 2008 - Ed Chynoweth, Canadian ice hockey executive (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

• Earth Day
• Brazil - Discovery Day
• Abel McAedh
• Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions
• April 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada