9 April encyclopedia topics

Events

193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).
475 - Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.
1241 - Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.
1413 - Henry V is crowned King of England.
1440 - Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
1682 - Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
1865 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
1867 - Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.
1909 - The U.S. Congress passes the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act.
1916 - World War I: The Battle of Verdun - German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
1917 - World War I: The Battle of Arras - the battle begins with Canadian forces executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
1937 - The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London - it is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
1939 - Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall.
1940 - World War II: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
1942 - World War II: The Battle of Bataan/Bataan Death March - United States forces surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the island's east coast.
1945 - World War II: The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk.
1945 - World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
1945 - The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
1947 - The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
1947 - The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
1948 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia (La violencia).
1948 - Massacre at Deir Yassin.
1952 - Hugo Ballivian's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalisation of tin mines
1953 - Warner Brothers premieres the first 3-D film, entitled House of Wax.
1957 - The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping.
1959 - Mercury program: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven".
1967 - The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
1969 - The "Chicago Eight" plead not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
1969 - The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.
1975 - The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
1991 - Georgia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
1992 - A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
1992 - John Major's Conservative Party wins an unprecedented fourth general election victory in the United Kingdom.
1999 - Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, President of Niger, is assassinated.
2002 - The funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey.
2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad falls to American forces.
2005 - His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

Births

1336 - Tamerlane (Timur), Central Asian, Turkic conqueror (d. 1405)
1498 - John, Cardinal of Lorraine, French churchman (d. 1550)
1597 - John Davenport, Connecticut pioneer (d. 1670)
1634 - Albertine Agnes of Nassau, Regent of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe (d. 1696)
1648 - Henri de Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny, 1st Viscount Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1720)
1649 - James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II of Great Britain (d. 1685)
1680 - Philippe Néricault Destouches, French dramatist (d. 1754)
1686 - James Craggs the Younger, British politician (d. 1721)
1691 - Johann Matthias Gesner, German classical scholar (d. 1761)
1757 - Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, British admiral (d. 1833)
1770 - Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist (d. 1831)
1773 - Étienne Aignan, French writer (d. 1824
1794 - Theobald Boehm, German inventor of the modern flute (d. 1881)
1806 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (d. 1859)
1821 - Charles Baudelaire, French poet (d. 1867)
1830 - Eadweard Muybridge, English-born photographer and motion picture pioneer (d. 1904)
1835 - King Léopold II of Belgium (d. 1909)
1865 - Erich Ludendorff, German general in World War I (d. 1937)
1867 - Chris Watson, third Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1941)
1872 - Léon Blum, French prime minister (d. 1950)
1882 - Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, (d. 1946)
1888 - Sol Hurok, Russian-born impresario (d. 1974)
1889 - Efrem Zimbalist, Russian violinist (d. 1985)
1895 - Michel Simon, French actor (d. 1975)
1897 - John B. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (d. 1974)
1898 - Curly Lambeau, American football coach, executive (d. 1965)
1898 - Paul Robeson, American singer and activist (d. 1976)
1901 - Paul Willis, American actor (d. 1960)
1903 - Ward Bond, American actor (d. 1960)
1904 - Sharkey Bonano, American musician (d. 1972)
1905 - J. William Fulbright, U.S. Senator from Arkansas (d. 1995)
1906 - Antal Dorati, Hungarian conductor (d. 1988)
1906 - Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (d. 1996)
1908 - Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-born painter (d. 1997)
1910 - Abraham Ribicoff, American politician (d. 1998)
1912 - Lew Kopelew, Russian author (d. 1997)
1915 - Daniel Johnson, Sr., Quebec politician (d. 1968)
1917 - Johannes Bobrowski, German lyricist and writer (d. 1965)
1917 - Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
1918 - Jørn Utzon, Danish architect
1919 - J. Presper Eckert, American computer pioneer (d. 1995)
1921 - Jean-Marie Balestre, French motorsports official (FIA) (d. 2008)
1921 - Frankie Thomas, American actor (d. 2006)
1922 - Carl Amery, German writer (d. 2005)
1926 - Hugh Hefner, American editor and publisher, founder of Playboy
1928 - Tom Lehrer, American musician and mathematician
1928 - Paul Arizin, American basketball player (d. 2006)
1930 - F. Albert Cotton, American chemist (d. 2007)
1930 - Nathaniel Branden, Canadian psychotherapist
1931 - Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (d. 1991)
1932 - Jim Fowler, American zoologist
1932 - Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
1932 - Carl Perkins, American musician (d. 1998)
1932 - Cheeta, chimpanzee actor
1933 - Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor
1934 - Bill Birch, New Zealand politician
1935 - Avery Schreiber, American actor (d. 2002)
1937 - Marty Krofft, Canadian children's television producer
1938 - Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian politician
1939 - Michael Learned, American actress
1940 - Jim Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player
1941 - Kaye Adams, American country singer
1941 - Chu Song-woong, Korean stage actor (d. 1985)
1942 - Brandon De Wilde, American actor (d. 1972)
1943 - Terry Knight, American music promoter (d. 2004)
1945 - Peter Gammons, American baseball journalist
1945 - Steve Gadd, American session drummer
1946 - David Webb, English football player and coach
1948 - Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
1953 - Hal Ketchum, American musician
1954 - Dennis Quaid, American actor
1954 - Iain Duncan Smith, British politician
1955 - Joolz Denby, English poet and novelist
1955 - Kate Heyhoe, American food writer
1956 - Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentine footballer
1957 - Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer
1957 - Brian Alexander, British broadcaster
1957 - Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer
1961 - Mark Kelly, British keyboard player (Marillion)
1962 - Imran Sherwani, British field hockey player
1963 - Marc Jacobs, American fashion designer
1963 - Joe Scarborough, American television personality
1964 - Rick Tocchet, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 - Rob Awalt, American football player
1964 - Soyo Oka, Japanese musician
1965 - Jeff Zucker, American television executive
1965 - Paulina Porizkova, Czechoslovakian-born actress and supermodel
1965 - Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (d. 2002)
1965 - Mark Pellegrino, American actor
1966 - Cynthia Nixon, American actress
1967 - Alex Kahn, American artist
1970 - Mike Barz, American meteorologist and TV anchor
1971 - Peter Canavan, Gaelic footballer
1971 - Jacques Villeneuve, French-Canadian race car driver
1971 - Austin Peck, American actor
1973 - Spenny Rice, Canadian Entertainer
1974 - Jenna Jameson, American porn star
1974 - Alexander Pichushkin, Russian serial killer
1975 - Robbie Fowler, English footballer
1975 - David Gordon Green, American filmmaker
1977 - Gerard Way, American musician (My Chemical Romance)
1978 - Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
1978 - Rachel Stevens, English singer (S Club)
1978 - Vesna Pisarović, Croatian singer
1979 - Albert Hammond, Jr., American guitarist (The Strokes)
1979 - Katsuni, French porn star
1979 - Keith Nobbs, American actor
1979 - Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
1980 - Yoanna House, American model
1980 - Jerko Leko, Croatian footballer
1980 - Clueso, German singer, rapper, songwriter and producer
1981 - Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
1981 - Eric Harris, Columbine High School shooter (d. 1999)
1981 - Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
1981 - Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
1982 - Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
1982 - Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
1984 - Linda Chung, Hong Kong actress and singer
1984 - Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
1985 - Yamashita Tomohisa, Japanese singer News
1986 - Brian Larsen, American musician and record producer
1986 - Leighton Meester, American actress
1987 - Craig Mabbitt, American singer of Escape the Fate
1987 - Jesse McCartney, American actor and singer
1987 - Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league footballer
1990 - Kristen Stewart, American actress
1998 - Elle Fanning, American Actress