History of Today in India – 07 April

Explore the history of today 07 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 07 April 2026, 04:22 AM

📜 Important Events on 07 April in World History

07 Apr 2022: Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed for the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming the first black female justice. Read more
07 Apr 2021: COVID-19 pandemic: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces that the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States. Read more
07 Apr 2020: COVID-19 pandemic: China ends its lockdown in Wuhan. Read more
07 Apr 2020: COVID-19 pandemic: Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigns for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on USS Theodore Roosevelt and the dismissal of Brett Crozier. Read more
07 Apr 2018: Former Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is arrested for corruption by determination of Judge Sérgio Moro, from the "Car-Wash Operation". Lula stayed imprisoned for 580 days, after being released by the Brazilian Supreme Court. Read more
07 Apr 2018: Syria launches the Douma chemical attack during the Eastern Ghouta offensive of the Syrian Civil War. Read more
07 Apr 2017: A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people in Stockholm, Sweden, killing five people and injuring fifteen others. Read more
07 Apr 2017: U.S. President Donald Trump orders the 2017 Shayrat missile strike against Syria in retaliation for the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack. Read more
07 Apr 2011: The Israel Defense Forces use their Iron Dome missile system to successfully intercept a BM-21 Grad launched from Gaza, marking the first short-range missile intercept ever. Read more
07 Apr 2011: A gunman opens fire at an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing twelve children and injuring 22 others before committing suicide. Read more
07 Apr 2009: Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces. Read more
07 Apr 2009: Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent. Read more
07 Apr 2005: First release of Git distributed version control system. Read more
07 Apr 2003: Iraq War: U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime falls two days later. Read more
07 Apr 2003: Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide demands reparations of $21 billion from France for the Haiti Independence Debt. Read more
07 Apr 2001: NASA launches the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. Read more
07 Apr 1999: Turkish Airlines Flight 5904 crashes near Ceyhan in southern Turkey, killing six people. Read more
07 Apr 1995: First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda, and soldiers kill the civilian Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy. Read more
07 Apr 1990: A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people. Read more
07 Apr 1990: John Poindexter is convicted for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. In 1991 the convictions are reversed on appeal. Read more
07 Apr 1989: Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway, killing 42 sailors. Read more
07 Apr 1988: Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov orders the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Read more
07 Apr 1983: During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk. Read more
07 Apr 1982: Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh is arrested. Read more
07 Apr 1980: During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran. Read more
07 Apr 1978: Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter. Read more
07 Apr 1977: German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party after being arrested for faking his own death. Read more
07 Apr 1972: Vietnam War: Communist forces overrun the South Vietnamese town of Loc Ninh. Read more
07 Apr 1971: Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization. Read more
07 Apr 1969: The Internet's symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1. Read more
07 Apr 1968: Two-time Formula One British World Champion Jim Clark dies in an accident during a Formula Two race in Hockenheim. Read more
07 Apr 1965: Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate in Washington, D.C., against the termination of the Colville tribe. Read more
07 Apr 1964: IBM announces the System/360. Read more
07 Apr 1956: Francoist Spain agrees to surrender its protectorate in Morocco. Read more
07 Apr 1954: United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference. Read more
07 Apr 1948: The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations. Read more
07 Apr 1946: The Soviet Union annexes East Prussia as the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Read more
07 Apr 1945: World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by United States Navy aircraft during Operation Ten-Go. Read more
07 Apr 1944: In the Fragheto massacre, soldiers belonging to the German 356th Infantry Division kill 30 Italian civilians and 15 partisans near Casteldelci in central-northern Italy. Read more
07 Apr 1943: The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches. Read more
07 Apr 1943: Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation. Read more
07 Apr 1943: The National Football League makes helmets mandatory. Read more
07 Apr 1940: Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp. Read more
07 Apr 1939: Benito Mussolini declares an Italian protectorate over Albania and forces King Zog I into exile. Read more
07 Apr 1939: Benito Mussolini invades Albania. Read more
07 Apr 1933: Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.) Read more
07 Apr 1933: Nazi Germany issues the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service banning Jews and political dissidents from civil service posts. Read more
07 Apr 1927: AT&T engineer Herbert Ives transmits the first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover). Read more
07 Apr 1926: Violet Gibson attempts to assassinate Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. Read more
07 Apr 1922: Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms. Read more
07 Apr 1906: Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples. Read more
07 Apr 1906: The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco. Read more
07 Apr 1868: Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist. Read more
07 Apr 1862: American Civil War: The Union's Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee. Read more
07 Apr 1831: Pedro II becomes emperor of the Empire of Brazil. Read more
07 Apr 1824: The Mechanics' Institution is established in Manchester, England at the Bridgewater Arms hotel, as part of a national movement for the education of working men. The institute is the precursor to three Universities in the city: the University of Manchester, UMIST and the Metropolitan University of Manchester (MMU). Read more
07 Apr 1805: Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River. Read more
07 Apr 1805: German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premieres his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 07 April in World History

07 Apr 1997: Rafaela Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player Rafaela Gómez is an Ecuadorian tennis player. Read more
07 Apr 1996: Emerson Hyndman, American international soccer player Emerson Schellas Hyndman is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Johanna Allik, Estonian figure skater Johanna Allik born on 7 April 1994 in Tallinn, is an Estonian figure skater. She initially competed in singles skating and achieved two senior international medals. Additionally, she secured the Estonian national silver medal twice, in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, she transitioned to ice dance and, with partner Paul Bellantuono, won the 2012 Estonian junior title. Following a two-season break from competitive skating between 2013 and 2015, she returned to singles skating for the 2015–16 figure skating season. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Aaron Gray, Australian rugby league player Aaron Gray is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a centre and on the wing for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Josh Hader, American baseball player Joshua Ronald Hader is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. Hader is a six-time All-Star and three-time winner of the National League Reliever of the Year Award. Read more
07 Apr 1993: Ichinojō Takashi, Mongolian sumo wrestler Ichinojō Takashi is a former professional sumo wrestler from Arkhangai, Mongolia. He was the second foreign-born wrestler, and the first of non-Japanese descent allowed to debut at an elevated rank in the third makushita division of professional sumo due to his amateur sumo success. Wrestling for Minato stable, he took the second division jūryō championship in only his third professional tournament. In his fifth tournament, his first in the top makuuchi division, he was the runner-up and promoted all the way to sekiwake, his highest rank to date. Ichinojō acquired Japanese citizenship in September 2021, taking the name Miura Takashi . He won the top division championship in July 2022. He was one of the heaviest rikishi in the top division as of September 2020. He retired from active competition in May 2023. Read more
07 Apr 1992: Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast Andreea Roxana Acatrinei is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She won a bronze medal with the Romanian team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 1992: Guilherme Negueba, Brazilian footballer Guilherme Ferreira Pinto, commonly known as Negueba, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder for Thai League 1 club Ratchaburi. Read more
07 Apr 1991: Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer Luka Milivojević is a Serbian professional footballer who plays for Al-Nasr as a midfielder. Read more
07 Apr 1991: Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson is an English singer and songwriter. She has achieved commercial success with songs "Alarm" (2016), "Ciao Adios" (2017), "Friends" (2018), "2002" (2018), "Rewrite The Stars" (2018), "Don't Play" (2021), "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)" (2021), "Psycho" (2022), "Baby Don't Hurt Me" (2023), and "Unhealthy" (2023). She was featured on Clean Bandit's "Rockabye" (2016), which peaked at number one in twenty-seven terrorities, including the United Kingdom. She has released 3 albums: Speak Your Mind (2018), which peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart, Therapy (2021), and Unhealthy (2023), both of which peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. Read more
07 Apr 1990: Nickel Ashmeade, Jamaican sprinter Nickel Ashmeade is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 meters. Read more
07 Apr 1990: Anna Bogomazova, Russian-American kick-boxer, martial artist, and wrestler Anna Bogomazova, known professionally as Anya Zova, is a Russian comedian, actress, producer and former athlete, born in the Soviet Union and raised by a Ukrainian mother and Russian father. She worked in the WWE competing in their developmental territory NXT Wrestling, under the ring name Anya. Bogomazova graduated Russian school and won the Russian Kickboxing Cup in 2011 with a second place. In 2020, Anya made her television debut on NBC's award-winning comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and appeared on the hit CBS series TV series MacGyver. In April 2022, she toured local clubs with her own comedy show about Russia and her life there. Read more
07 Apr 1990: Sorana Cîrstea, Romanian tennis player Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March 2009. On the WTA Tour, she has won four singles and six doubles titles. Read more
07 Apr 1990: Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer Trent William Cotchin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest winner, a Brownlow medallist, and a three-time premiership winning captain. Cotchin represented the Victorian Metro side at the 2007 AFL Under 18 Championships and captained the Vic Metro side at 2006 Under 16 Championships. He played for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup as a junior, before being drafted to Richmond with the second overall pick in the 2007 national draft. He led the club to a 37-year drought-breaking premiership in 2017 before taking them again to a premiership in 2019 and 2020. Read more
07 Apr 1989: Franco Di Santo, Argentinian footballer Franco Matías Di Santo is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker. Read more
07 Apr 1989: Mitchell Pearce, Australian rugby league player Mitchell Pearce is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a scrum-half for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. Read more
07 Apr 1989: Teddy Riner, French judoka Teddy Pierre-Marie Riner is a French heavyweight judoka. A nine-time world champion in the heavyweight (+100 kg) division, two-time openweight world champion, and one-time world champion with the French men's team, he is the first and only judoka in history to win twelve gold medals at the World Judo Championships. He won the gold medal in the Men's +100 kg event at the Summer Olympics three times and, as a member of the French team, in the mixed team event twice. Additionally, he is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, a five-time European champion, a four-time World Masters gold medalist, and an eleven-time Grand Slam winner in his weight category. Read more
07 Apr 1988: Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer Antonio Piccolo is an Italian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Read more
07 Apr 1988: Ed Speleers, English actor and producer Edward John Speleers is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title role in the 2006 film Eragon, Jimmy Kent in the TV series Downton Abbey, and antagonist Stephen Bonnet in the TV series Outlander. He has also appeared as Rhys Montrose in the fourth season of You (2023) and Jack Crusher in the third season of Star Trek: Picard (2023). Read more
07 Apr 1987: Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer José Martín Cáceres Silva is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Liga AUF Uruguaya club Juventud. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play on either flank, mostly as a right-back. Read more
07 Apr 1987: Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete Eelco Sintnicolaas is a Dutch track and field athlete, specialising in the decathlon. Read more
07 Apr 1987: Jamar Smith, American football player Jamar Desean Smith is an American professional basketball player who last played for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), he plays the shooting guard position. He played collegiate basketball at Illinois and then at Southern Indiana. Read more
07 Apr 1986: Brooke Brodack, American comedian Brooke Allison Brodack, known online as Brookers, is one of the earliest YouTubers. Brodack, a receptionist from Holden, Massachusetts, first began uploading short comedy skits to YouTube in September 2005. She was offered a contract from NBC show host Carson Daly in 2006, before YouTubers were able to monetize their videos in December 2007, but nothing came of it. Brodack briefly had the most-subscribed YouTube channel for a period of 43 days from July 3, 2006, to August 15, 2006, during which it became the first channel to reach 10,000 subscribers. It was the first time the most subscribed YouTube channel was officially held by a channel of a female individual. The New Yorker called her "the first real YouTube star," in a December 2006 article. Read more
07 Apr 1986: Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist Robert Jack Duarte Wallace is a Mexican actor and singer. He is known for his acting performance in the Mexican telenovela Rebelde as "Tomas Goycolea" and as a member of the Mexican-Argentine pop band, Eme 15. Read more
07 Apr 1986: Andi Fraggs, English singer-songwriter and producer Andi Fraggs is an English singer-songwriter and music producer. After contributing to musical projects featured on television and radio in the UK and the US, Andi released his first solo single in 2010. His debut album, Always First, followed in 2012 and included the popular single "Beautiful Feeling". Fraggs has performed at many notable venues and events around the UK, and supported such artists as Toyah Willcox, Hazel O'Connor, David Hoyle and Go West. In 2015, he took part in the national selections to represent Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest with "One Song". His second album, Pure, was released in 2016. Read more
07 Apr 1986: Christian Fuchs, Austrian footballer Christian Fuchs is an Austrian professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of EFL League Two club Newport County. A left back, Fuchs was part of the Leicester City 2015–16 Premier League winning squad and captained the Austria national team at UEFA Euro 2016. Read more
07 Apr 1986: Choi Si-won, South Korean singer and actor Choi Si-won, known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor, known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior. Choi was a special representative for UNICEF Korea from 2015 to 2019, before being chosen as a UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office ambassador in November 2019. Read more
07 Apr 1985: KC Concepcion, Filipino actress and singer Maria Kristina Cassandra "KC" Cuneta Concepcion is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, television host, entrepreneur, socialite, and humanitarian. She has starred in films For The First Time (2008) and When I Met U (2009), and television series such as Lovers in Paris (2009), Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala (2013), and Ikaw Lamang (2014). Read more
07 Apr 1985: Humza Yousaf, Scottish politician Humza Haroon Yousaf is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from March 2023 to May 2024. He served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and then as health secretary from 2021 to 2023. He has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Pollok since 2016, having previously been a regional MSP for Glasgow from 2011 to 2016. Read more
07 Apr 1984: Hiroko Shimabukuro, Japanese singer Hiroko Shimabukuro , best known mononymously as hiro, is a Japanese singer. She debuted as a member of the popular girl group Speed in 1996. In 1998, hiro released her first solo song, "Mitsumete Itai", as a B-side to Speed's single "All My True Love". She made her official solo debut in 1999 with the single "As Time Goes By", which sold 800,000 copies in Japan. In 2022 she released her fourth studio album called "0". Read more
07 Apr 1983: Hamish Davidson, Australian musician The Davidson Brothers are an Australian bluegrass and country music duo. Originally from Yinnar, Victoria, the brothers are Hamish and Lachlan Davidson. They have written and performed together since their youth, and "are multi-instrumentalists on banjo, fiddle, and mandolin and have won many awards on the country circuit". They released their first album, Blue Spruce, in 1999 when they were both in their early teens. This was the beginning of what would span into numerous recordings and national awards. "With their dynamic brand of classic bluegrass and more contemporary newgrass music, the pair has not only blitzed the Australian country music industry, but has attracted plenty of attention in the United States and Europe as well." Read more
07 Apr 1983: Franck Ribéry, French footballer Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry is a French former professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport. Read more
07 Apr 1983: Jon Stead, English footballer Jonathan Graeme Stead is an English football coach and former professional player. He is currently first-team coach at Huddersfield Town. Read more
07 Apr 1983: Jakub Smrž, Czech motorcycle rider Jakub 'Kuba' Smrž is a professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Superbike World Championship, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1. For 2017 and 2018 he rode a BMW S1000RR in the British Superbike Championship, but in June 2018 he suffered a serious shoulder injury when guest-riding for Czech BMW team Mercury Racing in the Oschersleben eight-hour event in Germany. Luke Hedger rode Smrž' machine in his absence. Read more
07 Apr 1983: Janar Talts, Estonian basketball player Janar Talts is a former Estonian professional basketball player who is the sporting director of University of Tartu basketball team. Standing at 2.07 m, he played at the power forward and center positions. He represented the Estonian national basketball team internationally. Read more
07 Apr 1982: Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress Silvana Arias is a Peruvian actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Susana Peña on María Emilia: Querida (1999), Lucía Reyes on Soledad, Jimena Arismendi on Gata salvaje, and Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald on Passions. Read more
07 Apr 1982: Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action / Impact Wrestling under the ring name Sonjay Dutt. He also worked for WWE as a producer from 2019 to 2021. Read more
07 Apr 1982: Kelli Young, English singer Kelli Young is an English singer. She is best known as member of the pop group Liberty X. Read more
07 Apr 1981: Hitoe Arakaki, Japanese singer Hitoe Arakaki is the oldest member of the Japanese pop group Speed, which disbanded in 2000 and reformed in 2009. She was born in Okinawa, Japan, and is also known purely by her first name, Hitoe. Read more
07 Apr 1981: Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (died 2000) Kazuki Watanabe , known by his stage name Kazuki (華月), was a Japanese musician known as guitarist and lead songwriter of the visual kei rock band Raphael. The group became quite popular, with all their releases entering the top 40 of the Oricon chart, before disbanding after Kazuki died at the age of 19. Read more
07 Apr 1981: Vanessa Olivarez, American singer-songwriter, and actress Vanessa Denae Olivarez is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the vocalist, songwriter, and autoharpist for the country bands Granville Automatic and Mama's Blue Dress, has written songs for the country duo Sugarland, and was in the Top 12 of the second season of the television series American Idol in 2003. Read more
07 Apr 1981: Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer Suzann Pettersen is a Norwegian former professional golfer. She played mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour. Her career-best world ranking was second and she held that position several times, most recently from August 2011 until February 2012. She retired on 15 September 2019 after holing the winning putt for the European team at the 2019 Solheim Cup, notwithstanding that she had been away from golf for almost 20 months on maternity leave prior to the event. Read more
07 Apr 1980: Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer Dragan Bogavac is a retired Montenegrin professional footballer who played as a striker and winger. Read more
07 Apr 1980: Bruno Covas, Brazilian lawyer, politician (died 2021) Bruno Covas Lopes was a Brazilian lawyer, economist, and politician who was a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and served as the mayor of São Paulo from 2018 until his death in 2021. Read more
07 Apr 1980: Tetsuji Tamayama, Japanese actor Tetsuji Tamayama is a Japanese TV, film actor and model. He joined modeling competitions and was active in Checkmate and other fashion magazines. In 2001, Tamayama debuted in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger as GaoSilver. He continued to star in more movies and TV dramas such as Casshern, Tokyo Love Cinema, and Rockers. Read more
07 Apr 1979: Adrián Beltré, Dominican-American baseball player Adrián Beltré Pérez is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman. Beltré played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of all time. Read more
07 Apr 1979: Patrick Crayton, American football player Patrick Jamel Crayton is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He played college football for the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers. Read more
07 Apr 1979: Pascal Dupuis, Canadian ice hockey player Pascal Dupuis is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey winger who is the assistant coach for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Undrafted out of the 1997 NHL entry draft, he played 15 seasons in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Read more
07 Apr 1979: Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan-American baseball player Danny E. Sandoval is a Venezuelan former infielder in Major League Baseball. Listed at 5' 11", 190 lb., he was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. Read more
07 Apr 1978: Jo Appleby, English soprano Jo Appleby is an English soprano from Thornton, Lancashire, England. She is a former member of operatic pop group Amici Forever. Read more
07 Apr 1978: Duncan James, English singer-songwriter and actor Duncan Matthew James Inglis is an English singer, actor and television presenter. He is a member of the boy band Blue and later played the role of Ryan Knight in the British soap opera Hollyoaks. Read more
07 Apr 1978: Lilia Osterloh, American tennis player Lilia Osterloh is a former tennis player from the United States. Read more
07 Apr 1977: Tama Canning, Australian-New Zealand cricketer Tamahau Karangatukituki Canning is an Australian-born former New Zealand cricketer who played four One Day Internationals. Read more
07 Apr 1977: Karin Haydu, Slovak actress Karin Haydu is a Slovak actress. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Kevin Alejandro, American actor and producer Kevin Michael Alejandro is an American actor and director. He has worked in TV since 2003, with some film credits. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Martin Buß, German high jumper Martin Buß is a German high jumper who won the gold medal at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is a five-time outdoor national champion for Germany in the men's high jump event and three-time champion at the German Indoor Athletics Championships. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Jessica Lee, English lawyer and politician Jessica Katherine Lee, Lady Harrington of Watford is a British former Conservative Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Erewash in Derbyshire in 2010. She served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, before stepping down for the 2015 general election. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Aaron Lohr, American actor Aaron Lohr is an American actor. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Barbara Jane Reams, American actress Barbara Jane Reams, is a former American television actress. Read more
07 Apr 1976: Gang Qiang, Chinese anchor Gang Qiang is an anchor for China Central Television. Read more
07 Apr 1975: Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Karin Elisabeth Dreijer is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duo the Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. They released their debut solo album under the alias Fever Ray in January 2009. Their second studio album, Plunge, under the same alias, was released in October 2017. Read more
07 Apr 1975: Ronde Barber, American football player and sportscaster Jamael Orondé Barber is an American former professional football player who played 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, earning third-team All-American honors twice. Barber played the cornerback position for the majority of his career and transitioned to safety for his final season. Read more
07 Apr 1975: Tiki Barber, American football player and journalist Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber Sr. is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 10-year career as a running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. Barber was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft. He retired from the NFL at the end of the 2006 NFL postseason as the Giants' all-time rushing and reception leader. He is the only player in NFL history to have 10,000 rushing yards, 5,000 receiving yards, and 1,000 return yards. Barber was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Read more
07 Apr 1975: Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player Ronald Belliard is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2010 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted and threw right-handed. Belliard was born in The Bronx, New York. Read more
07 Apr 1975: John Cooper, American singer-songwriter and bass player John Landrum Cooper is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, bassist, and co-founder of Christian rock band Skillet. In addition, Cooper is the frontman of nu metal side project Fight the Fury. Read more
07 Apr 1975: Simon Woolford, Australian rugby league player Simon Woolford is an Australian professional rugby league coach who was most recently the head coach of the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, and a former professional rugby league footballer. Read more
07 Apr 1973: Marco Delvecchio, Italian footballer Marco Delvecchio is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Although he played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, he spent most of it at Roma, where he is still remembered by the club's fans for his ease in scoring against rivals Lazio in the Derby della Capitale, and for the contributions he made to the club's league title victory in 2001. At international level, he represented Italy on 22 occasions between 1998 and 2004, scoring 4 goals, taking part at UEFA Euro 2000, reaching the final of the tournament, in which he scored, and at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Read more
07 Apr 1973: Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence Jeanine Antoinette Hennis-Plasschaert is a Dutch politician and diplomat who has been serving as United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon since May 2024. She is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Read more
07 Apr 1973: Carole Montillet, French skier Carole Montillet-Carles is a French World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Read more
07 Apr 1973: Christian O'Connell, British radio DJ and presenter Christian Liam O'Connell is an Australia-based British radio disc jockey (DJ), television host, writer and comedian. Read more
07 Apr 1973: Brett Tomko, American baseball player Brett Daniel Tomko is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals. Read more
07 Apr 1972: Tim Peake, British astronaut Major Timothy Nigel Peake is a retired British European Space Agency astronaut, Army Air Corps officer and author. Read more
07 Apr 1971: Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (died 2008) Guillaume Jean Maxime Antoine Depardieu was a French actor, winner of a César Award, and the oldest child of Gérard Depardieu. Read more
07 Apr 1971: Victor Kraatz, German-Canadian figure skater Victor Kraatz, is a Canadian former ice dancer. In 2003, he and his partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. Read more
07 Apr 1970: Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist and educator Leif Ove Andsnes is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, he signed with Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey" project, which included the five piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The works were recorded over three years, beginning with Nos. 1 and 3 in 2012, followed by Nos. 2 and 4 in 2013 and the Fifth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy in 2014. He is represented by IMG. Read more
07 Apr 1970: Alexander Karpovtsev, Russian ice hockey player and coach (died 2011) Alexander Georgievich Karpovtsev was a Russian ice hockey player and an assistant coach for Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In the National Hockey League (NHL), he played for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, and Florida Panthers. He, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Zubov and Sergei Nemchinov were the first Russian players to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, winning it in 1994 with the Rangers. He was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Blackhawks for Bryan McCabe after a contract dispute where Karpovstev was seeking a salary that would have made him the highest paid defender on the team. Read more
07 Apr 1969: Ricky Watters, American football player Richard James Watters is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Watters played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he was a wide receiver on the school's 1988 national champion team. In the NFL, he won a second championship in Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers. Read more
07 Apr 1968: Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer and sportscaster Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Armstrong is best remembered for winning a gold and silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 1968: Jennifer Lynch, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter Jennifer Chambers Lynch is an American filmmaker and author. The eldest child of filmmaker David Lynch, she made her directorial debut with the film Boxing Helena (1993), which was a critical and commercial failure; despite winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, it earned her a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director. The negative reception and controversy surrounding the film led to Lynch taking a 15-year hiatus from filmmaking. Read more
07 Apr 1968: Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist Jože Možina is a Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist. Jože Možina was born in 1968 in Šempeter pri Novi Gorici, Slovenia. Read more
07 Apr 1968: Vasiliy Sokov, Russian triple jumper Vasiliy Viktorovich Sokov is a triple jumper who represented the USSR and later Russia. Read more
07 Apr 1967: Artemis Gounaki, Greek-German singer-songwriter Artemis Gounaki is a Greek-German singer, vocal coach, songwriter, composer, and arranger who has done much of her work in Greek. Gounaki's father was born on the Greek island of Crete. Read more
07 Apr 1967: Bodo Illgner, German footballer Bodo Illgner is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
During his career he played for 1. FC Köln and Real Madrid, and helped West Germany to the 1990 World Cup, where he became the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup final. Read more
07 Apr 1967: Simone Schilder, Dutch tennis player Simone Schilder is a former Dutch tennis player. She won a total of two singles and eight doubles ITF titles in her career. On 4 July 1988, she reached a singles ranking high of world No. 164. On 14 August 1989, she peaked at No. 71 in the doubles rankings. Read more
07 Apr 1966: Richard Gomez, Filipino actor and politician Richard Frank Icasiano Gomez is a Filipino actor, TV host, politician, and épée fencer. He has been serving as the Representative of Leyte's 4th district since 2022, and was mayor of Ormoc from 2016 to 2022. Read more
07 Apr 1966: Zvika Hadar, Israeli entertainer Zvika Hadar is an Israeli actor, comedian and television host. Read more
07 Apr 1966: Béla Mavrák, Hungarian tenor singer Béla Mavrák is a Hungarian tenor singer. Read more
07 Apr 1966: Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player Gary Wilkinson is an English former professional snooker player. Read more
07 Apr 1965: Bill Bellamy, American comedian, actor, and producer William Bellamy is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Bellamy first gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam, where he is credited for creating or coining the phrase "booty call", described as a late night call to a potential paramour with the intention of meeting strictly for sex. Read more
07 Apr 1965: Rozalie Hirs, Dutch composer and poet Rozalie Hirs is a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music and a poet. The principal concerns of her work are the adventure of listening, reading, and the imagination. Read more
07 Apr 1965: Alison Lapper, English painter and photographer Alison Lapper MBE is a British artist. She is the subject of the sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant, which was displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square from September 2005 until late 2007. She and her late son Parys featured in the BBC docuseries Child of Our Time. Read more
07 Apr 1965: Nenad Vučinić, Serbian-New Zealand basketball player and coach Nenad Vučinić is a Serbian-New Zealand basketball coach and former player. He was once interim head coach for the Philippines men's national basketball team, with Chot Reyes replacing him in the following 2022 FIBA Asia Cup. Read more
07 Apr 1964: Jace Alexander, American actor and director Jason "Jace" Alexander is an American former actor and television director. In 2015, Alexander was arrested for the downloading and file sharing of child pornography, and later pleaded guilty to one count of promoting a sexual performance by a child and one count of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child. Read more
07 Apr 1964: Russell Crowe, New Zealand-Australian actor Russell Ira Crowe is an actor and film director. His work on screen has earned him various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a British Academy Film Award. Known for his intense performances, his films have grossed over $5.3 billion worldwide. Read more
07 Apr 1964: Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player Stephen Graves is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing. He played 35 games in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers between 1983 and 1988. Read more
07 Apr 1963: Jaime de Marichalar, Spanish businessman Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz, Lord of Tejada, is the former husband of the Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, the eldest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. Read more
07 Apr 1963: Nick Herbert, English businessman and politician, Minister for Policing Nicholas Le Quesne Herbert, Baron Herbert of South Downs, is a British Conservative Party politician and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and South Downs from 2005 to 2019. He was Minister of State for Police and Criminal Justice, with his time split between the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, from 2010 to 2012. On 5 November 2019 he announced his decision not to stand for re-election in the 2019 general election. On 31 July 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Herbert would enter the House of Lords. Read more
07 Apr 1963: Dave Johnson, American decathlete and educator David Allen Johnson is a former Olympic decathlete from the United States. A native of Montana, he grew up in Missoula and Corvallis, Oregon. He was part of Reebok's "Dan & Dave" advertising campaign, with fellow decathlete Dan O'Brien, leading up to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he won a bronze medal in the decathlon. After retiring from competitive athletics he became a school teacher and administrator, serving as athletic director of Corban University in Salem, Oregon starting in 2009. Johnson accepted a position as Director with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Oregon in June 2012. On November 14, 2012, Johnson resigned from Corban to devote more time to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He now coaches pole vault & hurdles at South Salem High School. Read more
07 Apr 1962: Jon Cruddas, English lawyer and politician Jonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dagenham and Rainham, formerly Dagenham, between 2001 and 2024. Read more
07 Apr 1962: Andrew Hampsten, American cyclist Andrew Hampsten is an American former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1988 Giro d'Italia and the Alpe d'Huez stage of the 1992 Tour de France. Between 1986–1994 he finished in the Top 10 of eight Grand Tours. Read more
07 Apr 1961: Thurl Bailey, American basketball player and actor Thurl Lee Bailey Sr. is an American former professional basketball player whose National Basketball Association (NBA) career spanned from 1983 to 1999 with the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bailey has been a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah— in addition to work as an inspirational speaker, singer, songwriter, and film actor. Bailey garnered the nickname "Big T" during his basketball career. Read more
07 Apr 1961: Pascal Olmeta, French footballer Pascal Olmeta is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Marseille and Lyon in the 1990s. Read more
07 Apr 1961: Brigitte van der Burg, Tanzanian-Dutch geographer and politician Brigitte Ingrid van der Burg is a Dutch politician. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy she was an MP between 30 November 2006 and 23 March 2017. She focused on matters of the Dutch Royal House, local government finance, youth policy, organization of the Dutch government, consultancy and Kingdom relations. Read more
07 Apr 1960: Buster Douglas, American boxer and actor James "Buster" Douglas is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1981 and 1999. He reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1990 after defeating Mike Tyson in what is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Read more
07 Apr 1960: Sandy Powell, English costume designer Sandy Powell is a British costume designer. She has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Film Awards, and two Costume Designers Guild Awards. She has been honored with the Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award in 2010 and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2023. Powell was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2025. Read more
07 Apr 1958: Brian Haner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Brian Elwin Haner Sr., also known as Guitar Guy or Papa Gates, is an American musician, comedian, and author. Haner is known for touring with fellow stand-up comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, as in the 2008 Christmas program, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special. He is also a noted session musician for Avenged Sevenfold, which his son, Brian Haner Jr., is the lead guitarist. Read more
07 Apr 1958: Hindrek Kesler, Estonian architect Hindrek Kesler is an Estonian architect. Read more
07 Apr 1957: Kim Kap-soo, South Korean actor Kim Kap-soo is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1977, Kim has had a long career on the stage, in television dramas and film. In addition to acting full-time, he also has his own master class acting studio. Read more
07 Apr 1957: Thelma Walker, British politician Thelma Doris Walker is a British politician, formerly the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Colne Valley from 2017 to 2019. Before her political career, she worked as a teacher for 34 years and later as an independent consultant. Read more
07 Apr 1956: Annika Billström, Swedish businesswoman and politician, 16th Mayor of Stockholm Annika Billström is a Swedish politician. She was the first female mayor of Stockholm, serving between 2004 and 2006. She is a member of the Social Democrats. Read more
07 Apr 1956: Christopher Darden, American lawyer and author Christopher Allen Darden is an American lawyer, author, and lecturer. He worked for 15 years in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, where he gained national attention as a co-prosecutor in the murder trial of O. J. Simpson. Read more
07 Apr 1956: Georg Werthner, Austrian decathlete Dr. Georg Werthner is an Austrian decathlete. He is notable for being the first athlete to finish four Olympic decathlons. In the 1988 Summer Olympics, Daley Thompson crossed the finish-line a little more than 18 seconds after him to become the second athlete to do this. Read more
07 Apr 1955: Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (died 2014) Thomas "Tim" Daniel Cochran was a professor of mathematics at Rice University specializing in topology, especially low-dimensional topology, the theory of knots and links and associated algebra. Read more
07 Apr 1955: Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist Gregory Walter Jarrett is an American conservative news commentator, author and attorney. He joined Fox News in November 2002, after working at local NBC and ABC TV stations for over ten years, as well as national networks Court TV and MSNBC. Read more
07 Apr 1954: Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter Fang Shilong, known professionally as Jackie Chan and Sing Lung, is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. With a film career spanning more than sixty years, he is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential martial artists in the history of cinema. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. Read more
07 Apr 1954: Tony Dorsett, American football player Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Read more
07 Apr 1953: Santa Barraza, American mixed media artist Santa Barraza is an American mixed-media artist and painter who is well known for her colorful, retablo style painting. A Chicana, Barraza pulls inspiration from her own mestiza ancestry and from pre-Columbian art. Barraza is considered to be an important artist in the Chicano art movement. The first scholarly treatment of a Chicana artist is about her and is called Santa Barraza, Artist of the Borderlands, which describes her life and body of work. Barraza's work is collected by the Mexic-Arte Museum, and other museums around the United States and internationally. She currently lives in Kingsville, Texas. Read more
07 Apr 1953: Douglas Kell, English biochemist and academic Douglas Bruce Kell is a British biochemist and Professor of Systems Biology in the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology, University of Liverpool part of the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology at the University of Liverpool. He was previously at the School of Chemistry at the University of Manchester, based in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) where he founded and led the Manchester Centre for Integrative Systems Biology (MCISB). He served as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) from 2008 to 2013. Read more
07 Apr 1952: David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic Sir David Charles Baulcombe is a British plant scientist and geneticist. As of October 2024 he was Head of Group, Gene Expression, in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and the Edward Penley Abraham Royal Society Research Professor and Regius Professor of Botany Emeritus at Cambridge. He held the Regius botany chair in that department from 2007 to 2020.. Read more
07 Apr 1952: Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete Jane Wardell Frederick is a former heptathlete from the United States who twice held the world record. Read more
07 Apr 1952: Gilles Valiquette, Canadian actor, singer, and producer Gilles Valiquette is a Canadian rock musician, stage actor and record producer. Read more
07 Apr 1952: Dennis Hayden, American actor Dennis Hayden is an American actor, producer and writer. He played Eddie, one of the main terrorists in the 1988 action film Die Hard. Read more
07 Apr 1951: Bruce Gary, American drummer (died 2006) Bruce Gary was an American musician who was best known as the drummer for the music group the Knack. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards as a stage performer, producer, and recording artist. Read more
07 Apr 1951: Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Janis Ian is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child " and the 1975 Top Ten single "At Seventeen", from her seventh studio album Between the Lines, which in September 1975 reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Read more
07 Apr 1950: Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary Brian James Doyle is a former Deputy Press Secretary for the United States Department of Homeland Security. In 2006, he was indicted for seducing a 14-year-old girl, who was actually a sheriff's deputy working undercover, on the internet. He was arrested on April 4, 2006, at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland. Five months later, he pled no contest. On November 17, 2006, he was sentenced to five years in prison with ten years of probation, and he was registered as a sex offender. Doyle was incarcerated at Wakulla Correctional Institution Annex outside of Tallahassee, Florida. He was released from prison on January 15, 2011. Read more
07 Apr 1950: Neil Folberg, American-Israeli photographer Neil Folberg is an American-Israeli photographer and gallerist. Read more
07 Apr 1949: Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. is an American former academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, he served as the 49th governor of Indiana from January 2005 to January 2013 and as the 12th president of Purdue University from January 2013 to December 2022. Read more
07 Apr 1948: John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer John William Oates is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates along with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, serving as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Read more
07 Apr 1948: Arnie Robinson, American athlete (died 2020) Arnie Paul Robinson Jr. was an American athlete. He won a bronze medal in the long jump at the 1972 Olympics and a gold medal in 1976. Read more
07 Apr 1948: Ecaterina Andronescu, Romanian politician Ecaterina Andronescu is a Romanian engineer, professor, and politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), she sat in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies from 1996 to 2008, representing Bucharest, and was a Senator from 2008 until 2020, for the same city. In the Adrian Năstase cabinet, she was Education Minister from 2000 until June 2003. She held the same position in the cabinet of Emil Boc from 2008 to 2009, in the Victor Ponta cabinet during 2012, and finally in the Viorica Dăncilă cabinet for under 9 months between November 2018 and August 2019. She is married and has one child. Read more
07 Apr 1947: Patricia Bennett, American singer The Chiffons were an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960. Read more
07 Apr 1947: Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (died 2020) Florian Schneider-Esleben was a German musician. He is best known as one of the founding members and leaders of the electronic band Kraftwerk, performing his role with the band until his departure in 2008. Read more
07 Apr 1947: Michèle Torr, French singer and author Michèle Torr is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977. Read more
07 Apr 1946: Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player Zaid Abdul-Aziz is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Don Smith until he changed his name when he converted to Islam in 1976. Read more
07 Apr 1946: Colette Besson, French runner and educator (died 2005) Colette Besson was a French athlete, the surprise winner of the 400 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Read more
07 Apr 1946: Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick Herménégilde Chiasson is a Canadian poet, playwright and visual artist of Acadian origin. Born in Saint-Simon, New Brunswick, he was the 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick between 2003 and 2009. He is also currently a professor at Université de Moncton. Read more
07 Apr 1946: Robert Metcalfe, American engineer and entrepreneur Robert "Bob" Melancton Metcalfe is an American engineer and entrepreneur who contributed to the development of the internet in the 1970s. He co-invented Ethernet, co-founded 3Com, and formulated Metcalfe's law, which describes the effect of a telecommunications network. Metcalfe has also made several predictions which failed to come to pass, including forecasting the demise of the internet during the 1990s. Read more
07 Apr 1946: Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate Dimitrij Rupel is a Slovenian politician. Read more
07 Apr 1946: Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (died 2008) Stanley Winston was an American television and film special make-up effects artist, best known for his work in the Terminator series, the first three Jurassic Park films, Aliens, The Thing, the first two Predator films, Inspector Gadget, Iron Man, and Edward Scissorhands. He won four Academy Awards for his work. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter Magnús Þór Jónsson, better known by the stage name Megas, is an Icelandic vocalist, songwriter, and writer. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Gerry Cottle, English circus owner (died 2021) Gerald Ward Cottle was a British circus owner and the owner of the Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset. He presented the Moscow State Circus and Chinese State Circus in Britain, founded Gerry Cottle's Circus, and co-founded The Circus of Horrors. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic Marilyn Ann Friedman is an American philosopher. She holds the W. Alton Jones Chair of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author Sir Martyn John Dudley Lewis is a Welsh television news presenter and broadcast journalist who anchored ITN news bulletins between 1978 and 1986 and BBC News television shows from 1986 to 1999. Lewis attended Dalriada School and Trinity College, Dublin, before working as a freelance correspondent for BBC Northern Ireland and Harlech Television (HTV). He joined ITN in 1970 and headed its Northern Bureau from 1971 to 1978. Between 1978 and 1986, Lewis was an anchor for ITN's News at 5.45 and half-hour News at Ten bulletins, writing stories for the "And finally…" segment that features positive stories at the end of each News at Ten programme. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (died 2018) Joël Robuchon was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in cuisine in 1976. He published several cookbooks, two of which have been translated into English, chaired the committee for the Larousse Gastronomique, and hosted culinary television shows in France. He operated more than a dozen restaurants across Bangkok, Bordeaux, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Macau, Madrid, Monaco, Montreal, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, and New York City. His restaurants have been acclaimed, and he held 31 Michelin Guide stars among them by the time of his death in 2018, the most any restaurateur has ever held. He is considered to be one of the greatest chefs of all time. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (died 2010) Werner Schroeter was a German film director, screenwriter, and opera director known for his stylistic excess. Schroeter was cited by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as an influence both on his own work and on German cinema at large. Read more
07 Apr 1945: Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer (died 2024) Hans van Hemert was a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Mouth and MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He won an ASCAP award for the song "How Do You Do" by Mouth and MacNeal. and composed three songs for the Eurovision Song Contest. Read more
07 Apr 1944: Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist (died 2024) Sheldon Jay Bachrach was an American insurance broker, investor, businessman, and philanthropist. Read more
07 Apr 1944: Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (died 2012) Warner Fusselle was an American sportscaster remembered for contributions to the television shows This Week in Baseball and Major League Baseball Magazine, and for his memorable Southern voice. He was an announcer for several Minor League Baseball teams such as the Spartanburg Phillies, Richmond Braves, and the Brooklyn Cyclones from 2001 until his death from a heart attack at age 68. He was also a radio broadcaster for the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association until they folded operations in 1976. Read more
07 Apr 1944: Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor Osher "Oshik" Levi is an Israeli singer, actor, and entertainer. Read more
07 Apr 1944: Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (died 2002) Julia Phillips was an American film producer and author. She co-produced with her husband Michael three prominent films of the 1970s—The Sting, Taxi Driver, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind—and was the first female producer to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, received for The Sting. Read more
07 Apr 1944: Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany Gerhard ("Gerd") Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German former politician and lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). As chancellor, he led a coalition government of the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens. Since leaving public office, Schröder has worked for Russian state-owned energy companies, including Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom. Read more
07 Apr 1944: Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager William Hambly Stoneman III is an American former professional baseball player and executive who, during his eight-year (1967–1974) pitching career in Major League Baseball, threw two no-hitters; then, as general manager of the Anaheim Angels (1999–2007), presided over the franchise's first-ever World Series championship in 2002. He later served briefly as the Angels' interim general manager from July 1 to October 4 of 2015. Read more
07 Apr 1943: Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2025) Michael Timothy Abrahams was an English musician, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the leader of Blodwyn Pig. Read more
07 Apr 1943: Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager Dennis Leslie Amiss is a former English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played for both Warwickshire and England. Amiss is known for scoring the first ever century in ODI history, which was also his debut match. A right-handed batsman, he was a stroke maker particularly through extra cover and midwicket – his two favourite areas to score runs. He was an accomplished batsman in all forms of the game. He averaged 42.86 in first-class, 35.06 in List-A, 46.30 in Tests and 47.72 in One Day Internationals. In first-class cricket he scored 102 centuries, and his England record amassed over 50 Tests ranks him with the best England has produced. Read more
07 Apr 1942: Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer Jeetendra is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest stars of Hindi cinema. He is noted for his acting, style and dance. He has worked in more than 200 films in a career spanning over six decades. Read more
07 Apr 1941: James Di Pasquale, American composer James Di Pasquale is an American musician and composer of contemporary classical music and music for television and films. Read more
07 Apr 1941: Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator Peter Nigel Fluck is a British caricaturist and one half of the partnership known as Luck and Flaw, creators of the popular satirical TV puppet show Spitting Image. Read more
07 Apr 1941: Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (died 2018) Cornelia Frances Zulver,, credited professionally as Cornelia Frances, was an English-Australian actress. After starting her career in small cameos in films in her native England, she became best known for her acting career in Australia after emigrating there in the 1960s, particularly her iconic television soap opera roles with portrayals of nasty characters. Read more
07 Apr 1941: Gorden Kaye, English actor (died 2017) Gordon Irving Kaye, known professionally as Gorden Kaye, was an English actor. He was best known for playing womanising café owner René Artois in the television comedy series 'Allo 'Allo!. Read more
07 Apr 1940: Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs Marju Lauristin is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is currently a member of the Tartu city council. Read more
07 Apr 1939: Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola is an American filmmaker. One of the leading figures of the New Hollywood, Coppola is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Coppola is the recipient of five Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Palmes d'Or, in addition to nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. Coppola was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 2010, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2024, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2025. Read more
07 Apr 1939: David Frost, English journalist and game show host (died 2013) Sir David Paradine Frost was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with US president Richard Nixon in 1977 which were adapted into a stage play and film. Frost interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving from 1964 to his death in 2013, from Alec Douglas-Home to David Cameron, and all seven American presidents in office from 1969 to 2008. Read more
07 Apr 1939: Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (died 1977) Gary Kellgren was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone. Read more
07 Apr 1939: Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (died 1992) Brett Whiteley was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. He held many exhibitions, and lived and painted in Australia as well as Italy, the United Kingdom, Fiji and the United States. Read more
07 Apr 1938: Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected secretary of state of California in 1970; Brown later served as the mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007 and the attorney general of California from 2007 to 2011. He was both the oldest and sixth-youngest governor of California due to the 28-year gap between his second and third terms. Upon completing his fourth term in office, Brown became the fourth-longest-serving governor in U.S. history, serving 16 years and 5 days in office. Read more
07 Apr 1938: Spencer Dryden, American drummer (died 2005) Spencer Charles Dryden was an American musician best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage. He also played with Dinosaurs, and the Ashes. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane. Read more
07 Apr 1938: Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (died 2008) Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop. Read more
07 Apr 1938: Iris Johansen, American author Iris Johansen is an American writer of crime fiction, suspense fiction, and romance novels. Read more
07 Apr 1937: Charlie Thomas, American singer (died 2023) Charles Nowlin Thomas was an American singer best known for his work with The Drifters. Thomas was performing with The Five Crowns at the Apollo Theater in 1958 when George Treadwell fired his group, called The Drifters. Treadwell recruited the Five Crowns to become the new Drifters. Read more
07 Apr 1935: Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Joseph Bare Sr. is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", "Detroit City", and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Read more
07 Apr 1935: Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs (died 2023) William Hodding Carter III was an American journalist and politician who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. He frequently appeared on the news and provided updates during the Iran hostage crisis. Read more
07 Apr 1934: Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (died 2007) Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards (1990–1995) television trilogy, as well as the pivotal spy Bill Haydon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). His other notable screen work included a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in two films, as well as significant roles in Brazil, M. Butterfly, and Dark City. Read more
07 Apr 1933: Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (died 2015) William Wayne McMillan Rogers III was an American actor, known for playing the role of Captain "Trapper" John McIntyre in the CBS television series M*A*S*H and as Dr. Charley Michaels on House Calls (1979–1982). Read more
07 Apr 1933: Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (died 2004) Sakıp Sabancı was a Turkish business tycoon and philanthropist. Read more
07 Apr 1932: Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (died 2013) Calvin Grant Shofner, known professionally as Cal Smith, was an American country musician. Read more
07 Apr 1931: Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (died 1989) Donald Barthelme Jr. was an American short story writer and novelist known for his playful, postmodernist style of short fiction. Barthelme also worked as a newspaper reporter for the Houston Post, was managing editor of Location magazine, director of the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston (1961–1962), co-founder of Fiction, and a professor at various universities. He also was one of the original founders of the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Read more
07 Apr 1931: Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author (died 2023) Daniel Ellsberg was an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, he precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other newspapers. Read more
07 Apr 1931: Ted Kotcheff, Canadian film and television director (died 2025) William Theodore Kotcheff was a Canadian director and producer of film, television, and theatre. He worked at various times in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He was known for having directed such films as the seminal Australian New Wave picture Wake in Fright (1971), the Mordecai Richler adaptations The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) and Joshua Then and Now (1985), the original Rambo film First Blood (1982), and the comedies Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), North Dallas Forty (1979), and Weekend at Bernie's (1989). Read more
07 Apr 1930: Jane Priestman, English interior designer (died 2021) Jane Priestman OBE was a British designer who worked in design and architecture. She was appointed an OBE in 1991 for her work in design and an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 1998. Read more
07 Apr 1930: Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (died 2009) Yves Rocher was a French businessman and founder of the cosmetics company that bears his name. He was a pioneer of the modern use of natural ingredients in cosmetics. Read more
07 Apr 1930: Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (died 2016) Andreas Siegfried Sachs, known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers. Read more
07 Apr 1930: Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (died 2015) Roger Vergé was a French chef and restaurateur. He is considered one of the greatest chefs of his time. The Gault Millau described him as "the very incarnation of the great French chef for foreigners". Read more
07 Apr 1929: Bob Denard, French soldier (died 2007) Robert Denard was a French mercenary. He served as the de facto military leader of the Comoros twice with him first serving from 13 May 1978 to 15 December 1989 and again briefly from 28 September to 5 October in 1995. Sometimes known under the aliases Gilbert Bourgeaud and Saïd Mustapha Mhadjou, he was known for having performed various jobs in support of Françafrique—France's sphere of influence in its former colonies in Africa—for Jacques Foccart, co-ordinator of President Charles de Gaulle's African policy. Read more
07 Apr 1929: Joe Gallo, American gangster (died 1972) Joseph Gallo, also known as "Crazy Joe", was an Italian-American mobster and captain in the Colombo crime family of New York City. Read more
07 Apr 1928: James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (died 2014) James Scott Garner was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than fifty theatrical films, including The Great Escape (1963), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Grand Prix (1966), Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), Victor/Victoria (1982), and Murphy's Romance (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He also starred on television in Maverick and The Rockford Files. Read more
07 Apr 1928: Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1998) Alan Jay Pakula was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Associated with the New Hollywood movement, his best-known works include his critically acclaimed "paranoia trilogy": the neo-noir mystery Klute (1971), the conspiracy thriller The Parallax View (1974), and the Watergate scandal drama All the President's Men (1976). His other notable films included Comes a Horseman (1978), Starting Over (1979), Sophie's Choice (1982), Presumed Innocent (1990), and The Pelican Brief (1993). Read more
07 Apr 1928: James White, Northern Irish author and educator (died 1999) James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. After a few years working in the clothing industry, he worked at Short Brothers Ltd., an aircraft company based in Belfast, from 1965 until taking early retirement in 1984 as a result of diabetes. White married Margaret Sarah Martin, another science fiction fan, in 1955 and the couple had three children. He died of a stroke. Read more
07 Apr 1927: Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (died 2003) Michael Babatunde Olatunji was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Read more
07 Apr 1927: Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper (died 2004) Leonid Mikhailovich Shcherbakov (Russian: Леонид Михайлович Щербаков, was a Russian retired triple jumper who won a silver medal at the 1952 Olympics. He broke the world record in 1953 and won the European title in 1950 and 1954. Domestically he won eight consecutive Soviet titles in 1949–56. Read more
07 Apr 1925: Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (died 2011) Chaturanan Mishra was an Indian politician and trade unionist. Mishra, who was born in Nahar, Madhubani District, was a key leader of the Communist Party of India in Bihar, and served as the Agriculture Minister of India in the United Front government. Read more
07 Apr 1925: Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (died 2011) Jan van Roessel was a Dutch footballer who played as a forward. Read more
07 Apr 1924: Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (died 2009) Johannes Mario Simmel, also known as J. M. Simmel, was an Austrian writer. Read more
07 Apr 1922: Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (died 2003) Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and boogaloo dance crazes of the 1960s. His biggest hit was his rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man", which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. From the 1970s, he recorded mainly salsa and Latin jazz, before retiring in the late 1990s. Read more
07 Apr 1921: Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (died 1992) Feza Gürsey was a Turkish mathematician and physicist. Among his contributions to theoretical physics, his work on the chiral model and on SU(6) symmetry of the quark model are the most well-known. Read more
07 Apr 1920: Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (died 2012) Pandit Ravi Shankar was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known exponent of Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century, and influenced many musicians in India and throughout the world. Shankar was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999. He is also the father of American singer Norah Jones and British-American musician and sitar player Anoushka Shankar. Read more
07 Apr 1919: Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (died 1992) Roger Lemelin, was a Quebec novelist, television writer and essayist. Read more
07 Apr 1919: Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (died 2012) Edoardo Mangiarotti was an Italian fencer. He won a total of 39 Olympic and World championship medals, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport. His Olympic medals include one individual gold, five team golds, five silver, and two bronze medals from 1936 to 1960, making him the second-most decorated Italian Olympian of all time and the twelfth-most decorated Olympian of all time. Read more
07 Apr 1918: Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (died 2017) Robert Pershing Doerr was an American professional baseball second baseman and coach. He played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Boston Red Sox (1937–1951). A nine-time MLB All-Star, Doerr batted over .300 three times, drove in more than 100 runs six times, and set Red Sox team records in several statistical categories despite missing one season due to military service during World War II. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. Read more
07 Apr 1917: R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (died 2012) Robert Golden Armstrong Jr. was an American character actor and playwright. A veteran performer who appeared in dozens of Westerns during his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah. Read more
07 Apr 1916: Anthony Caruso, American actor (died 2003) Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in more than one hundred American films. He was known for his villains and gangsters, including the first season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Captain Juan Ortega, and in numerous films noirs. Read more
07 Apr 1915: Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (died 1977) Stanley Adams was an American actor and screenwriter. He appeared in several films, including Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and Lilies of the Field (1963). On television, he is probably best known for his guest appearance in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" and the 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles" in which he portrayed outer space peddler Cyrano Jones, purveyor of tribbles. Concurrent with his acting career, Adams also maintained a career as a freelance television scriptwriter from the mid-1950s through the early 70s, writing for shows such as It's Always Jan, Mister Ed, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, The Outsider, The Flying Nun, Mannix, The Name of the Game, and others. Although he did appear in guest roles in many of these series, Adams generally did not appear as an actor in episodes he wrote. Read more
07 Apr 1915: Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 1959) Billie Holiday was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly influenced by jazz instrumentalists, inspired a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Holiday was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills. Read more
07 Apr 1915: Henry Kuttner, American author (died 1958) Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Read more
07 Apr 1914: Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1995) Ralph Elias Flenniken, known professionally as Ralph Flanagan, was an American big band leader, pianist, composer, and arranger for the orchestras of Hal McIntyre, Sammy Kaye, Blue Barron, Charlie Barnet, and Alvino Rey. Read more
07 Apr 1914: Domnitsa Lanitou-Kavounidou, Greek sprinter (died 2011) Domnitsa Lanitou-Kavounidou was a Greek sprinter. She competed in the women's 100 metres at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 1913: Louise Currie, American actress (died 2013) Louise Currie was an American film actress, active from 1940 into the early 1950s. Read more
07 Apr 1913: Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (died 2007) Charles Albert Vanik was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1955 to 1981. Read more
07 Apr 1910: Melissanthi, Greek poet, teacher and journalist (died 1990) Melissanthi was the pen name used by Eve Chougia-Skandalaki, a Greek poet, teacher and journalist. Some sources say that she died in 1990. Her first name also appears as Ivi or Hebe; her surname also appears as Koúyia or Koughia. Read more
07 Apr 1909: Robert Charroux, French author and critic (died 1978) Robert Charroux was the best-known pen-name of Robert Joseph Grugeau. He was a French author known for his writings on the ancient astronaut theme. Read more
07 Apr 1908: Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (died 1976) Percy Faith was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listening" or "mood music" format. He became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Although his professional orchestra-leading career began at the height of the swing era, he refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s. Read more
07 Apr 1908: Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (died 1994) Peter Timothy Zaremba was an American athlete who competed mainly in the hammer throw. He was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area steel town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He competed for the United States in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the hammer throw where he won the bronze medal. He graduated from NYU with an engineering degree. Read more
07 Apr 1904: Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (died 1996) Sir Roland Wilson was a senior Australian public servant and economist. Read more
07 Apr 1903: M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (died 1965) Murugesu Balasundaram was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. Read more
07 Apr 1903: Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (died 1984) Edwin Thomas Layton was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Layton is most noted for his work as an intelligence officer before and during World War II. He was the father of the historian Edwin T. Layton, Jr. Read more
07 Apr 1902: Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (died 1941) Eduard Eelma until 1937 Eduard-Vilhelm Ellmann, was an Estonian footballer — one of the most famous before World War II. He played 60 times for Estonia national football team and with 21 goals, was their record goalscorer during the country's first period of independence. Read more
07 Apr 1900: Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (died 1975) Adolf Dymsza was a Polish comedy actor of both the pre-World War II and post-war eras. He starred in both theatre and film productions, mainly before World War II. He and Kazimierz Krukowski performed as the duo Lopek and Florek in kleynkunst productions at Qui Pro Quo and other noted Warsaw cabarets. Another pseudonym was "Dodek." He was arguably the most popular Polish comic actor of the 1930s, Andrzej Wajda remarked once, that for him Dymsza and Bodo were symbols of pre-war Polish cinema in general. To this day he is considered the king of Polish film comedy. Read more
07 Apr 1900: Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (died 1984) Terence Lloyd "Tebbs Lloyd" Johnson was a British speed-walker. Read more
07 Apr 1899: Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (died 1972) Robert Marcel Casadesus was a French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus. Read more
07 Apr 1897: Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (died 1918) Oberleutnant Erich Loewenhardt was a German soldier and military aviator who fought in the First World War and became a fighter ace credited with 54 confirmed aerial victories. Originally enlisting in an infantry regiment even though he was only 17, he fought in the Battle of Tannenberg, winning a battlefield commission on 2 October 1914. He would serve in the Carpathians and on the Italian Front before being medically discharged in mid-1915. Following a five month recuperation, Loewenhardt joined the Imperial German Air Service in 1916. After serving as an aerial observer and reconnaissance pilot, he underwent advanced training to become a fighter pilot with Jagdstaffel 10 in March 1917. Between 24 March 1917 and 10 August 1918, Loewenhardt shot down 45 enemy airplanes, as well as destroying nine observation balloons. Shortly after his final victory, he was killed in a collision with another German pilot. Read more
07 Apr 1897: Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (died 1972) Walter Winchell was an American syndicated newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and columnist for New York tabloids. He rose to national celebrity in the 1930s with Hearst newspaper chain syndication and a popular radio program. He was known for an innovative style of gossipy staccato news briefs, jokes, and Jazz Age slang. Biographer Neal Gabler said that his popularity and influence "turned journalism into a form of entertainment". Read more
07 Apr 1896: Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (died 1974) F.P.J. Peutz was a Dutch architect. Read more
07 Apr 1895: John Bernard Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (died 1942) John Bernard Flannagan was an American sculptor. Along with Robert Laurent and William Zorach, he is known as one of the first practitioners of direct carving in the United States. Read more
07 Apr 1895: Margarete Schön, German actress (died 1985) Margarete Schön was a German stage and film actress whose career spanned nearly fifty years. She is internationally recognized for her role as Kriemhild in director Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen series of two silent fantasy films, Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge. Read more
07 Apr 1893: José Sobral de Almada Negreiros, Portuguese artist (died 1970) José Sobral de Almada Negreiros, usually known as Almada Negreiros, was a Portuguese artist. He was born in the colony of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, the son of a Portuguese father, António Lobo de Almada Negreiros, and a Santomean mother, Elvira Freire Sobral. Besides literature and painting, Almada developed ballet choreographies, and worked on tapestry, engraving, murals, caricature, mosaic, azulejo and stained glass. Read more
07 Apr 1893: Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1969) Allen Welsh Dulles was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he oversaw numerous activities, such as the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état, the Project MKUltra mind control program, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. As a result of the failed invasion of Cuba, Dulles was forced to resign by President John F. Kennedy and was replaced with John McCone for the remainder of the Kennedy administration. Read more
07 Apr 1892: Julius Hirsch, German footballer (died 1945) Julius Hirsch was a German international footballer. A Jew, he was executed at Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. He helped the Karlsruher FV win the 1910 German football championship, and also played for the Germany national team, including at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He then joined SpVgg Fürth, with whom he won the 1914 German football championship. Read more
07 Apr 1891: Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (died 1958) Ole Kirk Christiansen was a Danish carpenter. In 1932, he founded the construction toy company Lego, later known as the Lego Group. Christiansen transformed his small woodworking shop, which initially sold household products, into a manufacturer of wooden toys. By 1934, he had officially named the company Lego and established its fundamental principles. The business shifted to producing plastic bricks after the acquisition of a plastic moulding injection machine in 1947. Following his death in 1958, the company's management was handed over to his son, Godtfred. Read more
07 Apr 1890: Paul Berth, Danish footballer (died 1969) Paul Ludvig Laurits Berth was a Danish amateur Association football player, who played 26 games and scored one goal for the Denmark national team, with whom he won a silver medal at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 1890: Victoria Ocampo, Argentine writer (died 1979) Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best known as an advocate for others and as publisher of the literary magazine Sur, she was also a writer and critic in her own right and one of the most prominent South American women of her time. Her sister was Silvina Ocampo, also a writer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 and 1974. Read more
07 Apr 1890: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (died 1998) Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an American journalist, author, women's suffrage advocate, and conservationist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for development. Moving to Miami as a young woman to work for The Miami Herald, she became a freelance writer, producing over one hundred short stories that were published in popular magazines. Her most influential work was the book The Everglades: River of Grass (1947), which redefined the popular conception of the Everglades as a treasured river instead of a worthless swamp. Its impact has been compared to that of Rachel Carson's influential book Silent Spring (1962). Her books, stories, and journalism career brought her influence in Miami, enabling her to advance her causes. Read more
07 Apr 1889: Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1957) Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral, was a Chilean poet-diplomat, journalist and educator. She read widely in theosophy, became a member of the Secular Franciscan Order or Third Franciscan order in 1925, but rarely attended mass. She was the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945, "for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world". Some central themes in her poems are nature, betrayal, love, a mother's love, sorrow and recovery, travel, and Latin American identity as formed from a mixture of Native American and European influences. She also wrote an immense body of prose, about 800 articles that circulated throughout the Spanish-speaking world, on a range of topics: geography, education, profiles of her fellow writers, politics, and more. Her image is featured on the 5,000 Chilean peso banknote. Read more
07 Apr 1886: Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (died 1971) Edward Francis Lafitte was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12), Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–15), and Buffalo Blues (1915). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, at his family's home located at 319 Bourbon Street, he batted and threw right-handed. Read more
07 Apr 1884: Clement Smoot, American golfer (died 1963) Clement Eyer Smoot was an American golfer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 1883: Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (died 1966) Gino Severini was an Italian painter and a leading member of the Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classicism and the "return to order" in the decade after the First World War. During his career he worked in a variety of media, including mosaic and fresco. He showed his work at major exhibitions, including the Rome Quadrennial, and won art prizes from major institutions. Read more
07 Apr 1882: Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (died 1971) Herbert Ironmonger was an Australian cricketer. He played Test cricket from 1928 to 1933, playing his last Test at the age of 50. He is the second-oldest Test cricketer. Read more
07 Apr 1882: Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (died 1934) Kurt Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann von Schleicher was a German military officer and the penultimate chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic. A rival for power with Adolf Hitler, Schleicher was assassinated by Hitler's Schutzstaffel (SS) during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Read more
07 Apr 1876: Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (died 1945) Fay R. Moulton was an American Olympic sprinter, college football player and coach, and lawyer. He served as the fifth head football coach at Kansas State Agricultural College, holding the position for one season in 1900 and compiling a record of 2–4. Moulton medaled as a sprinter at the 1904 Summer Olympics and the 1906 Intercalated Games. Read more
07 Apr 1874: Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (died 1939) Frederick Carl Frieseke was an American Impressionist painter who spent most of his life as an expatriate in France. An influential member of the Giverny art colony, his paintings often concentrated on various effects of dappled sunlight. Read more
07 Apr 1873: John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (died 1934) John Joseph McGraw was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play. Read more
07 Apr 1871: Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (died 1927) Epifanio de los Santos y Cristóbal, also known as Don Pañong or Don Panyong, was a notable Filipino historian, journalist, and civil servant. He was regarded by some as one of the best Filipino writers of his time. Read more
07 Apr 1870: Gustav Landauer, German theorist and activist (died 1919) Gustav Landauer was a German anarchist writer and revolutionary. As one of the leading theorists of anarchism in Germany at the turn of the 20th century, he advocated a form of libertarian socialism that rejected both capitalism and Marxist historical materialism. Landauer's philosophy synthesized anarchism with romanticism, mysticism, and a non-racist, communitarian interpretation of völkisch thought, emphasizing spiritual renewal and the creation of decentralized, autonomous communities. He briefly served as Commissioner for Enlightenment and Public Instruction in the Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919 before he was assassinated by Freikorps soldiers. Read more
07 Apr 1867: Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (died 1953) Holger Pedersen was a Danish linguist who made significant contributions to language science and wrote about thirty authoritative works concerning several languages. He was born in Gelballe, Denmark, and died in Hellerup, next to Copenhagen. Read more
07 Apr 1860: Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (died 1951) Will Keith Kellogg was an American industrialist in food manufacturing, who founded the Kellogg Company, which produces a wide variety of popular breakfast cereals. He was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and practiced vegetarianism as a dietary principle taught by his church. He also founded the Kellogg Arabian Ranch, which breeds Arabian horses. Kellogg was a philanthropist and started the Kellogg Foundation in 1934 with a $66-million donation. Read more
07 Apr 1859: Walter Camp, American football player and coach (died 1925) Walter Chauncey Camp was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system of downs. With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, Curly Lambeau, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football. He attended Yale College, where he played and coached college football. Camp's Yale teams of 1888, 1891, and 1892 have been recognized as national champions. Camp was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach during 1951. Read more
07 Apr 1848: Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (died 1930) Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, was an Anglican bishop who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the Reformation, and the first to retire from it. Read more
07 Apr 1817: Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (died 1881) Francesco Selmi was an Italian chemist and patriot, one of the founders of colloid chemistry. Read more
07 Apr 1811: Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (died 1881) Hoxhë Hasan Tahsini or simply Hoxha Tahsim was an Albanian alim, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He was the first rector of Istanbul University and one of the founders of the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights. Tahsini is regarded as one of the most prominent scholars of the Ottoman Empire of the 19th century. Read more
07 Apr 1803: James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (died 1859) James Curtiss was an American politician who twice served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois for the Democratic Party. Read more
07 Apr 1803: Flora Tristan, French author and activist (died 1844) Flore Célestine Thérèse Henriette Tristán y Moscoso, better known as Flora Tristan, was a French-Peruvian writer and socialist activist. She made important contributions to early feminist theory. She argued that the progress of women's rights was directly related to the progress of the working class. She wrote several works, the best known of which are Peregrinations of a Pariah (1838), Promenades in London (1840), and The Workers' Union (1843). Tristan was the grandmother of the painter Paul Gauguin. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 07 April in World History

07 Apr 2025: William Finn, American composer and lyricist (born 1952) William Alan Finn was an American composer and lyricist. He was best known for his musicals, which include Falsettos, for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, A New Brain (1998), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005). Read more
07 Apr 2025: Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (born 1957) Gregory H. Millen was a Canadian hockey commentator-analyst and professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons for six teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his career as a colour commentator, he worked on regional telecasts for the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames, and on national telecasts on Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL on Sportsnet. Read more
07 Apr 2024: Jerry Grote, American baseball player (born 1942) Gerald Wayne Grote was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1963 through 1981 for the Houston Colt .45s, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Kansas City Royals. Read more
07 Apr 2024: Joe Kinnear, Irish football player and manager (born 1946) Joseph Patrick Kinnear was an Irish professional football manager and player. As a defender, Kinnear spent the majority of his career spanning ten seasons with Tottenham Hotspur and one with Brighton & Hove Albion. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the League Cup twice, the Charity Shield, and the UEFA Cup. After Spurs, Kinnear played for Brighton for the 1975–76 season. Having been born in Dublin, Kinnear played and was capped 26 times for the Republic of Ireland national team. After his playing career, he managed India, Nepal, Doncaster Rovers, Wimbledon, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle United. Read more
07 Apr 2023: Ben Ferencz, American lawyer (born 1920) Benjamin Berell Ferencz was an American lawyer. He was an investigator of Nazi war crimes after World War II and the chief prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen trial, one of the 12 subsequent Nuremberg trials held by US authorities at Nuremberg, Germany. When the Einsatzgruppen reports were discovered, Ferencz pushed for a trial based on their evidence. When confronted with a lack of staff and resources, he personally volunteered to serve as the prosecutor. Read more
07 Apr 2023: Philippe Bouvatier, French cyclist (born 1964) Philippe Bouvatier was a French professional road bicycle racer. He competed in the team time trial event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 2021: Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach (born 1950) Thomas Walter Raudonikis was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played 40 International games and World Cup games as Australia representative halfback and captained his country in two matches of the 1973 Kangaroo tour. Read more
07 Apr 2020: John Prine, American country folk singer-songwriter (born 1946) John Edward Prine was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, often with elements of social commentary and satire, as well as sweet songs and melancholy ballads. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. Read more
07 Apr 2020: Herb Stempel, American television personality (born 1926) Herbert Milton Stempel was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Read more
07 Apr 2019: Seymour Cassel, American actor (born 1935) Seymour Joseph Cassel was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films and television shows, with a career spanning over 50 years. He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/director John Cassavetes. The first of these was Too Late Blues (1961), followed by Faces (1968), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and won a National Society of Film Critics Award. Cassel went on to appear in Cassavetes's "Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976), "Opening Night" (1977), and "Love Streams" (1984). Read more
07 Apr 2017: Nicolae Șerban Tanașoca, Romanian historian and philologist (born 1941) Nicolae Șerban Tanașoca was a Romanian historian and philologist. An ethnic Aromanian, he specialized in the study of classical philology, Byzantine and Ottoman studies and cultures of the Balkans, including the Aromanians. Read more
07 Apr 2016: Blackjack Mulligan, American professional wrestler (born 1942) Robert Deroy Windham, better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in-law of Mike Rotunda, and the maternal grandfather of Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt. Read more
07 Apr 2015: Tim Babcock, American soldier and politician, 16th Governor of Montana (born 1919) Timothy Milford Babcock was an American politician, the 16th governor of the state of Montana, from 1962 to 1969. Read more
07 Apr 2015: José Capellán, Dominican-American baseball player (born 1981) José Francisco Capellán was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2008 for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies. He also played with the Hanhwa Eagles of the KBO League. Read more
07 Apr 2015: Stan Freberg, American puppeteer, voice actor, and singer (born 1926) Stan Freberg was an American voice actor, satirist, singer, radio personality, and advertising creative director. Read more
07 Apr 2015: Richard Henyekane, South African footballer (born 1983) Richard Henyekane was a South African professional footballer who also represented the national team. Read more
07 Apr 2015: Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (born 1935) Geoffrey Bond Lewis was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films and television shows, and was principally known for his film roles alongside Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford. He often portrayed villains or eccentric characters. Read more
07 Apr 2014: George Dureau, American painter and photographer (born 1930) George Valentine Dureau was an American artist whose long career was most notable for charcoal sketches and black and white photography of poor white and black athletes, dwarfs, and amputees. Robert Mapplethorpe is said to have been inspired by Dureau's amputee and dwarf photographs, which showed the figures as "exposed and vulnerable, playful and needy, complex and entirely human individuals." Read more
07 Apr 2014: James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (born 1926) James Alexander "Sandy" Green FRS was a mathematician and Professor at the Mathematics Institute at the University of Warwick, who worked in the field of representation theory. Read more
07 Apr 2014: V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (born 1923) Venkatarama Pandit Krishnamurthy known professionally as V. K. Murthy, was an Indian cinematographer. Murthy, a one-time violinist and jailed freedom fighter, was Guru Dutt's regular cameraman on his movies. He provided some of Indian cinema's most notable images in starkly contrasted black and white. He also shot India's first cinemascope film, Kaagaz Ke Phool. For his contribution to film industry, particularly Indian film industry he was awarded the IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 2010, he was honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his contributions to Indian cinema. Read more
07 Apr 2014: Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (born 1952) Zeituni Onyango was the half-aunt of United States President Barack Obama; she was born into the Luo tribe in Kenya. Born during the British rule of the Protectorate of Kenya, Onyango was the half-sister of Barack Obama Sr., father to the president. The younger Obama refers to her as "Aunti Zeituni" in his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father. In 2002 she applied for political asylum in the United States but was denied. She became notable when her case was leaked in the final days of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign in which Barack Obama was the Democratic candidate, attracting international media attention. Read more
07 Apr 2014: John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (born 1931)

John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE was an English bass-baritone. A member of the English Opera Group from 1964 to 1976, he gave premiere performances of several operatic and vocal works by Benjamin Britten, recording these and other works under the composer's direction. He also sang and recorded a wide range of works by other composers, ranging from Handel through Tchaikovsky to Henze. Read more
07 Apr 2014: George Shuffler, American guitarist (born 1925) George Shuffler was an American bluegrass guitar player and an early practitioner of the crosspicking style. During his career Shuffler played with The Bailey Brothers, The Stanley Brothers and Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys. He was a 2007 recipient of the North Carolina Heritage Award and in 2011 was elected to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Read more
07 Apr 2014: Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (born 1927) Josep Maria Subirachs i Sitjar was a Spanish sculptor and painter of the late 20th century. His best known work is probably the Passion Facade of the basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. He was controversial, as he did not make any concessions to the style of the architect who designed the building, Antoni Gaudí. Read more
07 Apr 2014: Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (born 1942) Royce Waltman was an American college basketball coach, best known for his time as head coach at Indiana State University from 1997 to 2007. Previously, he coached the University of Indianapolis from 1992 to 1997 and DePauw University from 1987 to 1992. He returned to coach Indianapolis for the 2007–8 season, before retiring. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Marty Blake, American businessman (born 1927)

Marty Blake was a general manager of the Atlanta Hawks franchise, and the NBA's longtime Director of Scouting. He was a recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame's John Bunn Award. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Les Blank, American director and producer (born 1935) Les Blank was an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Andy Johns, English-American record producer (born 1950) Jeremy Andrew Johns was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. (1972), Television's Marquee Moon (1977), and a series of albums by Led Zeppelin during the 1970s. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Lilly Pulitzer, American fashion designer (born 1931) Lillian Pulitzer Rousseau was an American entrepreneur, fashion designer, and socialite. She founded Lilly Pulitzer, Inc., a clothing brand known for resort-inspired apparel, accessories, and other wares featuring vibrant prints. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Irma Ravinale, Italian composer and educator (born 1937) Irma Ravinale was an Italian composer and music educator. She taught at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. Ravinale has received many awards for her compositions, and was awarded the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the silver medal for merit from the School of Art and Culture in Rome, and a Gold Medal for culture and the arts. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Mickey Rose, American screenwriter (born 1935) Michael "Mickey" Rose was an American comedy writer, screenwriter and film director. Read more
07 Apr 2013: Carl Williams, American boxer (born 1959) Carl Williams, nicknamed "the Truth", was an American boxer who competed as a professional from 1982 to 1997. He challenged twice for heavyweight world titles; the IBF title against Larry Holmes in 1985; and the undisputed title against Mike Tyson in 1989. At regional level he held the USBA heavyweight title from 1987 to 1991. Read more
07 Apr 2012: Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (born 1984) Steven Charles Kanumba was a Tanzanian actor and director of Sukuma heritage, born in Shinyanga Region. Kanumba died in 2012 at the age of 28, for which actress Elizabeth Michael was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison in November 2017. Over 30,000 people were estimated to have attended his funeral. He was described as "Tanzania's most popular film star", and appeared in Nollywood films. Read more
07 Apr 2012: Satsue Mito, Japanese zoologist and academic (born 1914) Satsue Mito was a Japanese school teacher and primate researcher. She helped with the Kyoto University Primatology group studying wild monkeys on an island called Kōjima, in Miyazaki Prefecture. She identified every monkey in the island and recorded their relationships. She discovered the origin and spreading of sweet potato washing by monkeys. She was an instructor of Kyoto University working with other researchers between 1970 and 1984. Read more
07 Apr 2012: Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (born 1930) Ignatius Basile Moses I Daoud was Patriarch of Antioch for the Syrian Catholic Church, a cardinal-bishop, and Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Catholic Church. Read more
07 Apr 2012: David E. Pergrin, American colonel and engineer (born 1917) Colonel David E. Pergrin was commanding officer of the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion of the United States Army during World War II. Before the war he earned an engineering degree at Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1940. While at Penn State he participated in the ROTC program. In addition, Pergrin played on the university's football team, was elected to the Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon engineering honor societies, and was senior class president. Before graduation he was voted Outstanding Non-Fraternity senior. In his role as senior class president, he presented the university with the Class of 1940 gift – the Nittany Lion Shrine, a 14-ton limestone monument symbolizing the Penn State tradition. However, the monument was not officially dedicated until 1942. Read more
07 Apr 2012: Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani politician (born 1959) Bashir Khan Qureshi was a Sindhi nationalist who served as the leader of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), a Sindhi nationalist movement in Sindh, founded by G. M. Syed. He was assassinated at the age of 54 years on 7 April 2012. Read more
07 Apr 2012: Mike Wallace, American television news journalist (born 1918) Myron Leon Wallace was an American broadcast journalist, and television personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspondents featured on CBS news program 60 Minutes, which debuted in 1968. Wallace retired as a regular full-time correspondent in 2006, but still appeared occasionally on the series until 2008. He is the father of Chris Wallace. Read more
07 Apr 2011: Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (born 1922) Pierre Saint-Mars Gauvreau was a Canadian painter and writer who also worked in film and television production. Read more
07 Apr 2009: Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (born 1947) David Lance Arneson was an American game designer best known for co-developing the first published role-playing game (RPG), Dungeons & Dragons, with Gary Gygax, in the early 1970s. Arneson's fundamental early role-playing game (RPG) genre work pioneered now-archetypical devices, such as: cooperative play to develop a storyline instead of individual competitive play to "win"; and adventuring in dungeon, town, and wilderness settings as presented by a neutral judge who doubles as the voice and consciousness of all characters aside from the player characters. Read more
07 Apr 2008: Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese journalist and author (born 1915) Ludu Daw Amar was a dissident writer and journalist based in Mandalay, Burma. She was married to fellow writer and journalist Ludu U Hla and was the mother of popular writer Nyi Pu Lay. She is best known for her outspoken anti-government views and left-wing journalism. She also produced work on traditional Burmese arts, including theatre, dance, and music, and translated several works from English, both fiction and non-fiction. Read more
07 Apr 2007: Johnny Hart, American author and illustrator (born 1931) John Lewis Hart was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips B.C. and The Wizard of Id. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including the Swedish Adamson Award and five from the National Cartoonists Society. In his later years, he was known for incorporating Christian themes and messages into his strips and seeming to denigrate other religions. Hart was referred to by Chuck Colson in a Breakpoint column as "the most widely read Christian of our time", over C. S. Lewis, Frank E. Peretti, and Billy Graham. Read more
07 Apr 2007: Barry Nelson, American actor (born 1917) Robert Haakon Nielsen, known as Barry Nelson, was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond, in the 1954 American television adaptation of Casino Royale. He is also known for playing Stuart Ullman in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 psychological horror film The Shining. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the Broadway musical The Act (1977). Read more
07 Apr 2005: Cliff Allison, English race car driver (born 1932) Henry Clifford Allison was a British racing driver from England, who participated in Formula One during seasons 1958 to 1961 for the Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud, Ferrari and UDT Laystall teams. He was born and died in Brough, Westmorland. Read more
07 Apr 2005: Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (born 1922) Grigoris Bithikotsis was a Greek laiko singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades. He is considered one of the most important figures in Greek popular music. Read more
07 Apr 2005: Bob Kennedy, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1920) Robert Daniel Kennedy was an American professional baseball right fielder/third baseman, manager and executive in Major League Baseball. Read more
07 Apr 2005: Melih Kibar, Turkish composer and educator (born 1951) Melih Kibar was a Turkish composer. Read more
07 Apr 2004: Victor Argo, American actor (born 1934) Victor Argo was an American actor of Puerto Rican descent who usually played the part of a tough bad guy in his movies. He is best known for Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Hot Tomorrows (1977), Raw Deal (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), King of New York (1990), and McBain (1991). Read more
07 Apr 2004: Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (born 1901) Konstantinos Kallias was a Greek politician. Read more
07 Apr 2003: Cecile de Brunhoff, French pianist and author (born 1903) Cécile de Brunhoff was a French storyteller and the creator of the original Babar story. She was also a classically trained pianist. Read more
07 Apr 2003: David Greene, English-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1921) Lucius David Syms-Greene, known as David Greene, was a British television and film director, and actor. Read more
07 Apr 2002: John Agar, American actor (born 1921) John George Agar Jr. was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. In his later career he was the star of B movies, such as Tarantula!, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Revenge of the Creature, Flesh and the Spur and Hand of Death. He was the first husband of Shirley Temple. Read more
07 Apr 2001: David Graf, American actor (born 1950) Paul David Graf was an American actor, best known for his role as Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy series of films. Read more
07 Apr 2001: Beatrice Straight, American actress (born 1914) Beatrice Whitney Straight was an American theatre, film, television and radio actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was both an Academy Award and Tony Award winner, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nominee. Read more
07 Apr 1999: Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (born 1911) Heinz Edgar Lehmann was a German-born Canadian psychiatrist best known for his use of chlorpromazine for the treatment of schizophrenia in 1950s and "truly the father of modern psychopharmacology." Read more
07 Apr 1998: Alex Schomburg, Puerto Rican painter and illustrator (born 1905) Alexander A. Schomburg, born Alejandro Schomburg y Rosa, was a Puerto Rican commercial artist and comic-book artist and painter whose career lasted over 70 years. Read more
07 Apr 1997: Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (born 1923) Luis Alomá Barba, nicknamed "Witto", was a Cuban-born relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1950 through 1953. Alomá batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Havana. He would also pitch in farm systems for the Washington Senators and the Detroit Tigers. His first game was on April 19 at the age of 26, and his last game August 30, 1953. Read more
07 Apr 1997: Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (born 1935) Georgy Stepanovich Shonin was a Soviet cosmonaut, who flew on the Soyuz 6 space mission. Read more
07 Apr 1995: Philip Jebb, English architect and politician (born 1927)
Philip Vincent Belloc Jebb was a British architect and Liberal Party politician. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Lee Brilleaux, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1952) Lee Brilleaux was an English rhythm-and-blues singer and musician with the band Dr. Feelgood. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer, manager, and politician (born 1923) Albert Sigurður Guðmundsson was an Icelandic professional footballer who played for, amongst others, Rangers, Arsenal, Nancy and A.C. Milan. After retiring from his sporting career, he became a politician and was a member of Alþingi for 15 years, serving as Minister of Finance of Iceland and Minister of Industry. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Golo Mann, German historian and author (born 1909) Golo Mann was a popular German historian and essayist. After completing a doctorate in philosophy under Karl Jaspers at Heidelberg, in 1933 he fled Hitler's Germany. He followed his father, the writer Thomas Mann, and other members of his family in emigrating first to France, then to Switzerland and, on the eve of war, to the United States. From the late 1950s he re-established himself in Switzerland and West Germany as a literary historian. Read more
07 Apr 1994: Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan chemist, academic, and politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (born 1953) Agathe Uwilingiyimana, sometimes known as Madame Agathe, was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her assassination on 7 April 1994 during the opening stages of the Rwandan genocide. She was also Rwanda's acting head of state in the hours leading up to her death. Read more
07 Apr 1992: Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1903) Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for eight seasons, from 1926 to 1933. His playing career ended with a hit from Eddie Shore in a game against the Boston Bruins; he was severely injured with a fractured skull when Shore hit Bailey from behind in retaliation for a check by teammate King Clancy. Bailey fell, fracturing his skull upon hitting the ice, and was knocked unconscious. Bailey is the first professional sports player to have a jersey number retired in his honour. Bailey led the NHL in scoring in 1929, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. Read more
07 Apr 1992: Antonis Tritsis, Greek high jumper and politician, 71st Mayor of Athens (born 1937) Antonis Tritsis was a Greek politician and urban planner, born and raised in the town of Argostoli on the island of Cephalonia. Read more
07 Apr 1991: Memduh Ünlütürk, Turkish general (born 1913) Memduh Ünlütürk was a Turkish general associated with the Counter-Guerrilla and the anti-communist Ziverbey interrogations following the 1971 coup. He was assassinated at his Istanbul home by members of the left-wing revolutionary group Dev Sol. It has been suggested that he was assassinated to protect the secrets of the Turkish deep state; Dev-Sol (DHKP/C) has been accused of links to the Ergenekon organization. Read more
07 Apr 1990: Ronald Evans, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (born 1933) Ronald Ellwin Evans Jr. was an American electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, officer and aviator in the United States Navy, and NASA astronaut. As Command Module Pilot on Apollo 17 he was one of the 24 Apollo astronauts to fly to the Moon, and one of the 12 to do so without landing. Read more
07 Apr 1986: Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist (born 1912) Leonid Vitalyevich Kantorovich was a Soviet mathematician and economist, known for his theory and development of techniques for the optimal allocation of resources. He is regarded as the founder of linear programming. He was the winner of the Stalin Prize in 1949 and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1975. Read more
07 Apr 1985: Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (born 1888) Carl Schmitt was a German jurist and political theorist. An authoritarian conservative theorist, he was noted as a critic of parliamentary democracy, liberalism, and cosmopolitanism. Read more
07 Apr 1984: Frank Church, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (born 1924) Frank Forrester Church III was an American politician and lawyer. From 1957 to 1981, he served as a U.S. senator from Idaho, and is currently the last Democrat to do so. He was the longest serving Democratic senator from the state and the only Democrat from the state who served more than two terms in the Senate. Church was a prominent figure in American foreign policy and established a reputation as a member of the party's liberal wing. Read more
07 Apr 1982: Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver and journalist (born 1948) Harald Ertl was an Austrian racing driver and motorsport journalist. He was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as Grand Prix drivers Jochen Rindt, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda. Read more
07 Apr 1981: Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (born 1935) Christopher Sebastian "Kit" Lambert was an English record producer, record label owner and the manager of the Who. Read more
07 Apr 1981: Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (born 1899) Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931), becoming the youngest person to win the award for eight and a half decades. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley and Vincent Price. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director. Read more
07 Apr 1972: Joe Gallo, American gangster (born 1929) Joseph Gallo, also known as "Crazy Joe", was an Italian-American mobster and captain in the Colombo crime family of New York City. Read more
07 Apr 1972: Abeid Karume, Tanzanian politician, 1st President of Zanzibar (born 1905) Abeid Amani Karume was a Tanzanian politician and statesman who served as the first president of Zanzibar and vice-president of Tanzania from 1964 until his assassination in 1972. Read more
07 Apr 1968: Edwin Baker, Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) (born 1893) Edwin Albert Baker, was a Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Read more
07 Apr 1968: Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (born 1936) James Clark was a British racing driver from Scotland who competed in Formula One from 1960 to 1968. Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1963 and 1965 with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the records for most wins (25), pole positions (33), and fastest laps (28), among others. In American open-wheel racing, Clark won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 with Lotus, becoming the first non-American winner of the race in 49 years. Read more
07 Apr 1966: Walt Hansgen, American race car driver (born 1919) Walter Edwin Hansgen was an American racecar driver. His motorsport career began as a road racing driver, he made his Grand Prix debut at 41, and he died aged 46, several days after crashing during testing for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Read more
07 Apr 1965: Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1919) Joseph Ernest Roger Léger was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played 187 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers from 1943 to 1950. He was born in L'Annonciation, Quebec. Read more
07 Apr 1960: Henri Guisan, Swiss general (born 1874) Henri Guisan was a Swiss military officer who held the office of General of the Swiss Armed Forces during the Second World War. He was the fourth and the most recent person to be appointed to the rarely used Swiss rank of general, and was possibly Switzerland's most famous soldier. He is best remembered for effectively mobilizing the Swiss military and population in order to prepare resistance against a possible invasion by Nazi Germany in 1940. Guisan was voted the fourth-greatest Swiss figure of all time in 2010. Read more
07 Apr 1956: Fred Appleby, English runner (born 1879) Frederick Appleby was a British long-distance runner. In 1902, Appleby set a world record for 15 miles and twice defeated the leading distance runner of the time, Alfred Shrubb. Appleby competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a marathoner but failed to finish. Read more
07 Apr 1955: Theda Bara, American actress (born 1885) Theda Bara was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp", later fueling the rising popularity in "vamp" roles based in exoticism and sexual domination. Read more
07 Apr 1950: Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (born 1883) Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, directed by his son John Huston. He is the patriarch of the four generations of the Huston acting family, including his son John, grandchildren Anjelica Huston and Danny Huston, as well as great-grandchild Jack Huston. Read more
07 Apr 1949: John Gourlay, Canadian soccer player (born 1872) John Bell Gourlay was a Canadian amateur soccer player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born in Ontario and died in North Vancouver. In 1904 he was a captain of the Galt F.C. team, which won the gold medal in the soccer tournament. He played all two matches as a defender. Read more
07 Apr 1947: Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (born 1863) Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism. In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Ford Model T and other automobiles. Read more
07 Apr 1943: Jovan Dučić, Serbian-American poet and diplomat (born 1871) Jovan Dučić was a Bosnian Serb poet-diplomat and academic. Read more
07 Apr 1943: Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (born 1859) Alexandre Millerand was a French politician who served as President of France from 1920 to 1924, having previously served as Prime Minister of France earlier in 1920. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the start of the 20th century, alongside the Marquis de Galliffet, who had directed the repression of the 1871 Paris Commune, sparked a debate in the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and in the Second International about the participation of socialists in bourgeois governments. Read more
07 Apr 1939: Joseph Lyons, Australian educator and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1879) Joseph Aloysius Lyons was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Party (UAP), having previously led the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) before the Australian Labor Party split of 1931. He served as the 26th premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928. Read more
07 Apr 1938: Suzanne Valadon, French painter (born 1865) Marie-Clémentine "Suzanne" Valadon was a French painter who was born at Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She was also the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo. Read more
07 Apr 1932: Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (born 1875) Grigore D. Constantinescu was a priest and journalist from Romania. He was the director of Glasul Basarabiei. Read more
07 Apr 1928: Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (born 1873) Alexander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov, born Alexander Malinovsky, was a Russian and later Soviet physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and Bolshevik revolutionary. He was a polymath who pioneered blood transfusion, as well as general systems theory, and made important contributions to cybernetics. Read more
07 Apr 1922: James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (born 1855) James Sinclair Taylor McGowen was an Australian politician. He served as premier of New South Wales from 1910 to 1913, the first member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to hold the position, and was a key figure in the party's early history in New South Wales. Read more
07 Apr 1920: Karl Binding, German lawyer and jurist (born 1841) Karl Ludwig Lorenz Binding was a German jurist known as a promoter of the theory of retributive justice. His influential book, Die Freigabe der Vernichtung lebensunwerten Lebens, written together with the psychiatrist Alfred Hoche, was used by the Nazis to justify their Aktion T4 euthanasia program. Read more
07 Apr 1918: David Kolehmainen, Finnish wrestler (born 1885) David "Tatu" Kolehmainen was a Finnish wrestler. He competed in the lightweight event at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Read more
07 Apr 1918: George E. Ohr, American potter (born 1857) George Edgar Ohr was an American ceramic artist and the self-proclaimed "Mad Potter of Biloxi" in Mississippi. In recognition of his innovative experimentation with modern clay forms from 1880 to 1910, some consider him a precursor to the American Abstract-Expressionism movement. Read more
07 Apr 1917: Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer and playwright (born 1861) Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas. His compositions were praised worldwide during his lifetime and he is arguably the most important composer of the Ionian School. Among his best-known works are the operas Flora mirabilis (1886) and Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (1905). He also composed the music for the Olympic Hymn. Read more
07 Apr 1891: P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (born 1810) Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was also an author, publisher, and philanthropist, although he said of himself: "I am a showman by profession … and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me." The adage "there's a sucker born every minute" has frequently been attributed to him, although no evidence exists that he had coined the phrase. Read more
07 Apr 1889: Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese soldier and politician (born 1823) Youssef Bey Karam was a Lebanese Maronite notable for fighting in the 1860 civil conflict and leading a rebellion in 1866–1867 against Ottoman rule in Mount Lebanon. His proclamations have been interpreted as an early expression of Lebanese nationalism. Read more
07 Apr 1889: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician and president, 1872-1876 (born 1823) Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral was a Mexican liberal politician and jurist who served as the 31st president of Mexico from 1872 to 1876. Read more
07 Apr 1885: Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (born 1804) Prof Karl (Carl) Theodor Ernst von Siebold FRS(For) HFRSE was a German physiologist and zoologist. He was responsible for the introduction of the taxa Arthropoda and Rhizopoda, and for defining the taxon Protozoa specifically for single-celled organisms. Read more
07 Apr 1884: Maria Doolaeghe, Flemish novelist (born 1803) Maria Doolaeghe was a Flemish writer. Read more
07 Apr 1879: Begum Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (born 1820) Begum Hazrat Mahal, also known as the Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, and the regent of Awadh in 1857–1858. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Read more
07 Apr 1868: Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist, activist, and politician (born 1825) Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and was part of the Young Ireland attempts to overthrow British rule and create an independent Irish Republic. He escaped arrest and fled to the United States in 1848, after which some of his political positions reversed. He remained ardently Catholic, but his Irish nationalism moderated. He became disgusted with American republicanism, Anti-Catholicism, and classical liberalism. McGee became intensely monarchistic in his political beliefs and in his religious support for the embattled Pope Pius IX. Read more
07 Apr 1858: Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher (born 1781) Anton Diabelli was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his set of thirty-three Diabelli Variations. Read more
07 Apr 1850: William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (born 1762) William Lisle Bowles was an English priest, poet and critic. Read more
07 Apr 1849: Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (born 1777) Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros was an Argentine statesman and priest. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina. Read more
07 Apr 1836: William Godwin, English journalist and author (born 1756) William Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for two books that he published within the space of a year: An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, an attack on political institutions, and Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams, an early mystery novel that criticizes aristocratic privilege. Based on the success of both works, Godwin featured prominently in the radical circles of London in the 1790s. He wrote prolifically in the genres of novels, history and demography throughout his life. Read more
07 Apr 1833: Antoni Radziwiłł, Lithuanian composer and politician (born 1775) Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł was a Polish–Lithuanian and Prussian noble, aristocrat, musician, and politician. Initially a hereditary Duke of Nieśwież and Ołyka, as a scion of the Radziwiłł family he also held the honorific title of a Reichsfürst of the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1815 and 1831 he acted as Duke-Governor of the Grand Duchy of Posen, an autonomous province of the Kingdom of Prussia created out of Greater Polish lands annexed in the Partitions of Poland. Read more
07 Apr 1823: Jacques Charles, French physicist and mathematician (born 1746) Jacques Alexandre César Charles was a French inventor, scientist, and balloonist.
Charles wrote almost nothing about mathematics, and most of what has been credited to him was due to mistaking him with another Jacques Charles, also a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, entering on 12 May 1785. Read more
07 Apr 1811: Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (born 1757) Prince Garsevan Chavchavadze was a Georgian nobleman (tavadi), politician and diplomat primarily known as the Georgian ambassador to Imperial Russia. Read more
07 Apr 1804: Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (born 1743) François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda, was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture first fought and allied with Spanish forces against Saint-Domingue Royalists, then joined with Republican France, becoming Governor-General-for-life of Saint-Domingue, and lastly fought against Bonaparte's republican troops. As a revolutionary leader, Louverture displayed military and political acumen that helped transform the fledgling slave rebellion into a revolutionary movement. Along with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Louverture is now known as one of the "Fathers of Haiti" and a figure of Haitian mythology, where he was celebrated as a founder of the black nation. Read more
07 Apr 1801: Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (born 1724) Noël François de Wailly was a French grammarian and lexicographer. Read more

Why is 07 April Important in World History?

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