History of Today in India – 04 April

Explore the history of today 04 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 04 April 2026, 04:22 AM

📜 Important Events on 04 April in World History

• 04 Apr 2025: The impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea in response to his declaration of martial law is unanimously upheld by the country's Constitutional Court, ending his presidency. Read more
• 04 Apr 2024: The Battle of Chasiv Yar begins. Read more
• 04 Apr 2023: Finland becomes a member of NATO after Turkey accepts its membership request. Read more
• 04 Apr 2020: China holds a national day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak. Read more
• 04 Apr 2017: Syria conducts an air strike on Khan Shaykhun using chemical weapons, killing 89 civilians. Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: 74 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India. Read more
• 04 Apr 2011: Georgian Airways Flight 834 crashes at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, killing 32. Read more
• 04 Apr 2010: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits south of the Mexico-USA border, killing at least two and damaging buildings across the two countries. Read more
• 04 Apr 2009: France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO. Read more
• 04 Apr 2002: The MPLA government of Angola and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War. Read more
• 04 Apr 1997: Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-83. However, the mission is later cut short due to a fuel cell problem. Read more
• 04 Apr 1996: Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. Read more
• 04 Apr 1994: Three people are killed when KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 crashes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Forty-one people are taken hostage inside a Good Guys! Electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three of the hostage takers and three hostages are killed. Read more
• 04 Apr 1990: The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress. Read more
• 04 Apr 1988: Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Garuda Indonesia Flight 032 crashes at Medan Airport, killing 23. Read more
• 04 Apr 1984: President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space on STS-6. Read more
• 04 Apr 1981: Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed. Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Southern Airways Flight 242 crashes in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, killing 72. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming. Read more
• 04 Apr 1969: Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart. Read more
• 04 Apr 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Read more
• 04 Apr 1968: Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6. Read more
• 04 Apr 1967: Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church. Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: Bye Bye Birdie, a musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, was released. Read more
• 04 Apr 1960: France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan. Read more
• 04 Apr 1958: The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London. Read more
• 04 Apr 1949: Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Read more
• 04 Apr 1946: Greek judge and archeologist Panagiotis Poulitsas is appointed Prime Minister of Greece in the midst of the Greek Civil War. Read more
• 04 Apr 1945: World War II: United States Army troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany. Read more
• 04 Apr 1945: World War II: United States Army troops capture Kassel. Read more
• 04 Apr 1945: World War II: Soviet Red Army troops liberate Hungary from German occupation. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3,000 civilians. Read more
• 04 Apr 1933: U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather. Read more
• 04 Apr 1925: The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany. Read more
• 04 Apr 1920: The four-day Nebi Musa riots commence. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes. Read more
• 04 Apr 1905: In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala. Read more
• 04 Apr 1904: Two Ms  ~7.1 earthquakes, among the largest in Europe, strike Bulgaria, killing over 200 people and causing destruction. Read more
• 04 Apr 1894: Foyot bombing by the Russian or French state during the Ère des attentats (1892-1894). Read more
• 04 Apr 1887: Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States. Read more
• 04 Apr 1866: Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg. Read more
• 04 Apr 1865: American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital. Read more
• 04 Apr 1860: The declaration on the introduction of the Finnish markka as an official currency is read in different parts of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Read more
• 04 Apr 1841: William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President. Read more
• 04 Apr 1818: The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time). Read more
• 04 Apr 1814: Napoleon abdicates (conditionally) for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French, followed by unconditional abdication two days later. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 04 April in World History

• 04 Apr 2005: Lil Mabu, American rapper Matthew Peter DeLuca, known professionally as Lil Mabu, is an American rapper from Manhattan, New York City. He first gained recognition in 2020 for his song "Miss Me", and became best known for his 2023 single "Mathematical Disrespect", which entered the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. Read more
• 04 Apr 2003: Harvey Elliott, English footballer Harvey Daniel James Elliott is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa, on loan from Liverpool. Read more
• 04 Apr 2001: Anzor Alem, Congolese actor and singer Rashidi Alema Anzor is a Congolese film and theatre actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in Baby Boy of the House, Ima, and Tozoom. He also made a brief guest appearance in the 2022 survival thriller Beast, starring Idris Elba. Read more
• 04 Apr 2001: Jalen Carter, American football player Jalen Da'Quan Carter is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was a unanimous All-American in 2022 and a two-time CFP national champion before being selected by the Eagles ninth overall in the 2023 NFL draft. Carter earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2024, and played an instrumental part in helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX. Read more
• 04 Apr 2001: Angelo Stiller, German footballer Angelo Stiller is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and the Germany national team. Read more
• 04 Apr 1996: Austin Mahone, American singer-songwriter and actor Austin Harris Mahone is an American singer. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, he gained initial recognition performing covers of pop songs on YouTube. He was discovered by record producers Rocco Did It Again! and Mike Blumstein in 2012, and subsequently signed with their label, Chase Records in a joint venture with Republic Records in June of that year. His 2012 debut single, "Say Somethin'" and its follow-up, "Say You're Just a Friend" both received gold certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while his 2013 single, "What About Love" did so and marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. All three were included on his titularly-titled debut extended play (2013), which was released only in Japan. In September of that year, his recording contract entered a triple joint venture with Birdman's Cash Money Records, an imprint of Republic. Read more
• 04 Apr 1994: Shunsuke Nishikawa, Japanese actor Shunsuke Nishikawa is a Japanese actor who was affiliated with K Dash, until he moved to RubyParade on April 4. 2017. He played the role of Takaharu Igasaki (Akaninger), the main character of the 2015 Super Sentai TV series Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. Read more
• 04 Apr 1994: Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer and actress Risako Sugaya is a former Japanese singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Berryz Kobo from 2004 to 2015. Read more
• 04 Apr 1993: Samir Carruthers, English footballer Samir Badre Carruthers is a semi-professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dartford. He has represented the Republic of Ireland at U19 and U21 level. Read more
• 04 Apr 1993: David Soria, Spanish footballer David Soria Solís is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Getafe. Read more
• 04 Apr 1993: Frank Kaminsky, American basketball player Francis Stanley Kaminsky III is an American professional basketball player for Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Read more
• 04 Apr 1992: Lucy May Barker, English actress and singer Lucy May Barker is a British actress. Read more
• 04 Apr 1992: Ricky Dillon, American YouTuber and singer Richard Porter Dillon Jr., nicknamed as Ricky Dillon, is an American YouTube personality and singer. Over his ten years on YouTube, Dillon has amassed over 2.9 million subscribers on his channel, as well as more than 383 million views on his videos. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Yui Koike, Japanese singer and actress Yui Koike is a Japanese actress and former gravure idol. She is known for her role as Ahim de Famille/Gokai Pink in the 2011 Super Sentai series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. She was a member of the idol group Tomato n'Pine. She is currently affiliated with Weeds Company. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Asia Muhammad, American tennis player Asia Muhammad is an American professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in doubles by the WTA, achieved on March 17, 2025.
  Muhammad has won 13 doubles titles on the WTA Tour including the 2024 Cincinnati WTA 1000 title with Erin Routliffe and the 2025 Indian Wells with Demi Schuurs. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Justin O'Neill, Australian rugby league player Justin O'Neill is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and Australia at international level. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Martín Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player Martín Pérez Jiménez is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Chicago White Sox. Pérez was an MLB All-Star in 2022 and won the 2023 World Series with the Rangers. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress and singer Jamie Lynn Spears is an American actress, singer, and is the younger sister of Britney Spears. Spears began her career as a child actress on All That and had her breakthrough role when she played Zoey Brooks on the Nickelodeon teen sitcom Zoey 101 (2005–2008); she later reprised this role in the sequel film Zoey 102 (2023). She plays Noreen Fitzgibbons on the Netflix romantic drama series Sweet Magnolias (2020–present). She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Gracie Award, two Kids Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Marlon Stöckinger, Filipino race car driver Marlon Alexander Stöckinger is a Filipino-Swiss racing driver competing under the Philippine flag. He most recently competed in the 2016 GT Series Sprint Cup for ISR Racing. He raced for Status Grand Prix in the 2015 GP2 Series and 2012 GP3 Series, and for Lotus in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2013 to 2015. He is the first Filipino to win a formula race in Europe, winning race 9 of the 2010 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship at the Croft Circuit on 19 June of that year. Read more
• 04 Apr 1990: Elizabeth Booker Houston American lawyer, public health professional, stand‑up comedian, and political commentator. Elizabeth Booker Houston is an American lawyer, public health professional, stand-up comedian, and political commentator. She gained national attention for blending legal analysis with satire and her viral rebuke of conservative pundit Ann Coulter at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Read more
• 04 Apr 1989: Vurnon Anita, Dutch footballer Vurnon San Benito Anita is a Curaçaoan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or full-back for Vierde Divisie side Ajax Amateurs. Born in Curaçao and raised in the Netherlands, Anita played for the Netherlands national team in 2010 before switching to play for the Curaçao national team in 2021. Read more
• 04 Apr 1989: Steven Finn, English cricketer Steven Thomas Finn is a former English cricketer. He was a right-arm fast bowler, who also bats right-handed. At the age of 16, he became Middlesex County Cricket Club's youngest-ever debutant in first-class cricket. He made his England Test debut in 2010 against Bangladesh. In 2019 he became a commentator for Test Match Special. Read more
• 04 Apr 1989: Chris Herd, Australian footballer Christopher Herd is an Australian former professional soccer player. Herd could be described as a utility player who was able to play in several positions, including central defence, full-back and central midfield. He represented Australia at under-20 level and won three caps with the Australia senior national team in 2014. Read more
• 04 Apr 1989: Jens Toornstra, Dutch footballer Jens Toornstra is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder. Read more
• 04 Apr 1988: Frank Fielding, English footballer Francis David Fielding is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Stoke City. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Sami Khedira, German footballer Sami Khedira is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: McDonald Mariga, Kenyan footballer McDonald Mariga Wanyama is a Kenyan politician and former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. In 2010, he became the first Kenyan footballer to play in and win the UEFA Champions League for Inter Milan. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Cameron Maybin, American baseball player Cameron Keith Maybin is an American professional baseball broadcaster and former center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Florida / Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. He was the tenth overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft by the Tigers and debuted with them in 2007. With the Astros, he won the 2017 World Series. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Marcos Vellidis, Greek footballer Markos Vellidis is a former Greek professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress Sarah Lynn Gadon is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1999), Mutant X (2002), and Dark Oracle (2004). She also worked as a voice actress on various television productions. Gadon gained recognition for her roles in David Cronenberg's films A Dangerous Method (2011), Cosmopolis (2012), and Maps to the Stars (2014). She also starred in Denis Villeneuve's thriller Enemy (2014), the period drama Belle (2014), and the action horror film Dracula Untold (2014). Read more
• 04 Apr 1986: Eunhyuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer Lee Hyuk-jae, known professionally as Eunhyuk, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and Super Junior-H. In 2011, he joined Super Junior's Mandopop subgroup Super Junior-M and the duo Super Junior-D&E, active in China and Japan respectively. Read more
• 04 Apr 1986: Cameron Barker, Canadian ice hockey player Cameron Barker is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected third overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks and spent four seasons with the club before being traded to the Minnesota Wild in 2010. Internationally, Barker played for the Canadian national team and won back-to-back gold medals at the 2005 and 2006 World Junior Championships with the junior team. Read more
• 04 Apr 1986: Maurice Manificat, French skier Maurice Manificat is a French cross-country skier who has competed since 2004. Read more
• 04 Apr 1986: Aiden McGeady, Scottish-born Irish footballer Aiden John McGeady is a former professional footballer. He played for clubs including Celtic, Spartak Moscow, Everton and Sunderland, and won 93 caps for the Republic of Ireland. Read more
• 04 Apr 1986: Alexander Tettey, Norwegian footballer Alexander Banor Tettey is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Ghana, he represented the Norway national team. Read more
• 04 Apr 1985: Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player Rodolfo "Rudy" Fernández Farrés is a Spanish former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He is a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall swingman. He is a three-time All-EuroLeague Team selection and won the EuroLeague title in 2015, 2018 and 2023. During his stint in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was an NBA All-Rookie Second Team member. Read more
• 04 Apr 1985: Dudi Sela, Israeli tennis player David "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009. Read more
• 04 Apr 1985: Ricardo Vilar, Brazilian footballer Ricardo Kaschensky Vilar is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Xylotymbou. Read more
• 04 Apr 1984: Sean May, American basketball player Sean Gregory May is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant basketball coach at the University of North Carolina. May was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana. He was a three-time all-state selection at Bloomington High School North, and was at one time a teammate of former NBA player Jared Jeffries. May was named to the 2002 McDonald's High School All-American team, along with Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants, who would later team with May to win an NCAA Championship as part of the 2004–05 North Carolina Tar Heels. Read more
• 04 Apr 1984: Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer Arkady Arkadyevich Vyatchanin is a retired Russian, Serbian and American backstroke swimmer. He was born in Vorkuta, and in 1999 moved to Taganrog, Russia, where he graduated from the South Federal University. He was a member of the Russian National Team in 2000–2015; moved to Serbia in 2015 and to the United States in 2017, and retired in June 2018. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Evgeny Artyukhin, Russian ice hockey player Yevgeni Evgenyevich Artyukhin is a Russian former professional ice hockey right winger. He last played competitively for HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Eric André, American comedian Eric Samuel André is an American comedian, actor, television host, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim surreal comedy series The Eric Andre Show (2012–2023). His other notable roles include Mike on the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman (2015–2017), and Stuart Clarke in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Ironheart. He also performs music under the stage name Blarf. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Ben Gordon, American basketball player Benjamin Ashenafi Gordon is a British-American former professional basketball player. He played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, and Orlando Magic. He played college basketball for the University of Connecticut, where he won a national championship in 2004. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player Douglas Lynch is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played with the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Natalie Pike, Scottish-English model and actress Natalie Sheila Hannah Pike is a British model and broadcaster, currently working as a presenter for Manchester City FC and BBC Radio Manchester. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Amanda Righetti, American actress Amanda Righetti is an American actress. She is known for playing Grace Van Pelt on The Mentalist and her roles in Friday the 13th, The O.C. and Colony. Read more
• 04 Apr 1982: Justin Cook, American voice actor and producer Justin Cook is an American voice actor, voice director, audio engineer and line producer who works for anime-dubbing companies Funimation and Okratron 5000. His work includes acting on Yu Yu Hakusho and the Dragon Ball franchise. Read more
• 04 Apr 1981: Currensy, American rapper Shante Scott Franklin, better known by his stage name Currensy, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he signed with the local record labels Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment in the mid-2000s, but parted ways with both without any major releases. He signed with DD172 to release four albums before signing with Warner Records to release his fifth album and major label debut, Weekend at Burnie's (2011). In February of that year, he founded the record label Jet Life Recordings. Read more
• 04 Apr 1981: Eduardo Luís Carloto, Brazilian footballer Eduardo Luís Carloto is a Brazilian footballer. He spent his professional career at Italian Lega Pro. Read more
• 04 Apr 1981: Casey Daigle, American baseball player Sean Casey Daigle is an American former professional pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros. Read more
• 04 Apr 1981: Anna Pyatykh, Russian triple jumper Anna Viktorovna Pyatykh is a professional Russian triple jumper. She has won the SPAR European Cup four consecutive times, won bronze medals at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki and 2009 World Championships in Berlin. She has also competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1981: Ned Vizzini, American author and screenwriter (died 2013) Edison Price Vizzini was an American writer. He was the author of four books for young adults, including It's Kind of a Funny Story (2006), which NPR placed at #56 in its list of the "100 Best-Ever Teen Novels" and which is the basis of the film of the same name. Read more
• 04 Apr 1980: Johnny Borrell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Edward Borrell is an English guitarist and singer, currently the frontman of the rock band Razorlight, of which he is the only consistent original member. Read more
• 04 Apr 1980: Trevor Moore, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2021) Trevor Paul Moore was an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, and musician. He was a founding member of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U' Know (WKUK), alongside Sam Brown, Zach Cregger, Timmy Williams and Darren Trumeter. The troupe had a sketch comedy series which aired for five seasons on IFC from March 2007 until June 2011. Read more
• 04 Apr 1980: Eric Steinbach, American football player Eric Steinbach is an American former professional football player who was a guard for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played for the Bengals from 2003 to 2006 and the Cleveland Browns from 2007 to 2011. Read more
• 04 Apr 1980: Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver Björn Karl Mikael Wirdheim is a Swedish professional racing driver. His main achievement to date is becoming the European Le Mans Series champion in 2015. He previously won the International Formula 3000 title in 2003, tested for the Jaguar F1 Team, and twice finished runner-up in Super GT's GT300 class. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Heath Ledger, Australian actor (died 2008) Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian actor. Known for his versatility across independent and major studio films, his work consisted of 20 films in a variety of genres. He received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, an Actor Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey player Roberto Luongo is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a goaltender for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, and Vancouver Canucks. In 2022, Luongo was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Luongo is a two-time NHL All-Star and winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy for backstopping his team to the lowest goals against average in the league. He was a finalist for several awards, including the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender, the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by his peers, and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (2007). Luongo is third all-time in games played as an NHL goaltender (1,044) and fourth all-time in wins (489). He employed the butterfly style of goaltending. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Natasha Lyonne, American actress Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein is an American actress, director, comedian, producer, writer, and tech executive. Lyonne started her career as a child actress before expanding her career taking on mature roles in film and television, for which she was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, and named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2023.
  Lyonne made her first uncredited appearance in Heartburn (1986), had a recurring role in Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986), and a supporting role in Dennis the Menace (1993). She transitioned to taking on teen roles in several independent films such as Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), and Party Monster (2003), as well as the American Pie film series (1999–2012). Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Andy McKee, American guitarist Andy McKee is an American fingerstyle guitar player who has released six studio albums, three extended plays, and one live album to date. A number of YouTube videos featuring McKee's highly-technical guitar performances have achieved viral fame, garnering hundreds of millions of views collectively. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Maksim Opalev, Russian canoeist Maksim Alexandrovich Opalev is a retired Russian sprint canoeist. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he has won a complete set of medals in the C-1 500 m event. Read more
• 04 Apr 1978: Jason Ellison, American baseball player and scout Jason Jerome Ellison is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He attended Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, and made his major league debut on May 9, 2003. He is currently the hitting coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Read more
• 04 Apr 1978: Alan Mahon, Irish footballer Alan Joseph Mahon is an Irish former professional footballer who played a midfielder and was capped by the Republic of Ireland. Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Stephan Bonnar, American mixed martial artist (died 2022) Stephan Patrick Bonnar was an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of his career. Bonnar was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter 1; his TUF Ultimate Finale loss to Forrest Griffin is widely considered to be the most important fight in the history of the UFC. Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Keith Bulluck, American football player and sportscaster Keith J. Bulluck is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Syracuse Orange, he was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round in the 2000 NFL draft. He had a ten-year career with the Titans, which included a Pro Bowl selection in 2003. He played for the New York Giants in 2010. Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist of the metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock and Times of Grace, as well as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the melodic death metal supergroup Serpentine Dominion. He has also produced and engineered albums for several other metal bands. Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Stephen Mulhern, English magician and television host Stephen Daniel Mulhern is an English television presenter, magician and comedian. He began his career at CITV presenting the children's television shows Finger Tips (2001–2004) and Tricky TV (2005–2010). Mulhern went on to present various television shows for ITV, including Britain's Got More Talent (2007–2019), Animals Do the Funniest Things (2007–2011), This Morning's Hub (2011–2014), Catchphrase (2013–present), Big Star's Little Star (2013–2018), In for a Penny (2019–2024), Rolling In It (2020–2021), Deal or No Deal (2023–present) and Dancing on Ice (2024–2025). Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Omarr Smith, American football player and coach Omarr Ali Hasan Smith is an American football coach and former defensive back. He played professionally for the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL), and collegiately at San Jose State. Read more
• 04 Apr 1976: Nathan Blacklock, Australian rugby player Nathan Blacklock is an Australian former professional rugby league and, briefly, rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia national rugby league representative wing, he played for the Sydney City Roosters and the St. George Dragons before they formed a joint-venture with the Illawarra Steelers to form the St. George Illawarra Dragons, with whom he continued playing, becoming the National Rugby League's top try-scorer for three consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2001. Blacklock also played in the Super League for Hull FC, with whom he won the 2005 Challenge Cup. Read more
• 04 Apr 1976: Sébastien Enjolras, French race car driver (died 1997) Sébastien Olivier Enjolras was a French racing driver. Considered to be one of the most promising French drivers of his generation, he was killed in a crash during practice for the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans race, aged 21. Read more
• 04 Apr 1976: Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, Brazilian footballer Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, simply known as Emerson, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. At international level, he played 73 games for the Brazil national team between 1997 and 2006, scoring 6 goals. With Brazil, he has taken part in two FIFA World Cups, two editions of the Copa América, and three Confederations Cups, winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, while also reaching the 1998 World Cup Final. Read more
• 04 Apr 1976: James Roday, American actor, director, and screenwriter James Roday Rodriguez is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for portraying Shawn Spencer, a hyper-observant consultant detective and fake psychic, in USA Network series Psych and the subsequent Psych film series. He also starred in A Million Little Things which debuted in 2018, playing Javier "Gary" Mendez. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman Delphine Caroline Marie Arnault is a French businesswoman who has been the chairperson and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture since February 2023. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish skier Thobias Fredriksson is a Swedish former cross-country skier who began competing in 2000. He won two medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy with a gold in the team sprint and a bronze in the individual sprint events. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Joyce Giraud, Puerto Rican television actress and producer, Miss Puerto Rico 1994 Joyce Marie Giraud Mojica, also known as Joyce Giraud de Ohoven, is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. In 1994, she competed at Miss World 1994 but failed to place in the semifinals. In 1998, Giraud was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 1998 and represented Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 1998 where she finished as 2nd Runner-Up. She has since appeared in acting roles in television and film, and beginning in 2013 was a housewife on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for its fourth season. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Pamela Ribon, American actress, screenwriter, and author Pamela Ribon is an Academy Award-nominated American screenwriter, author, blogger and actress. She created, wrote, and performed in the short film My Year of Dicks (2022), which was nominated for the 95th Academy Awards under the category Best Animated Short Film and based on her memoir Notes to Boys . Known for her screenwriting work in multiple Oscar-nominated animated features, and Emmy-nominated television series, Pamela's career spans multiple genres, including documentaries, graphic novels, anime, sketch comedy, and VR experiences. In November 2014, she found a Barbie book from 2010 titled I Can be a Computer Engineer. She decried elements of the book where Barbie appeared to be reliant on male colleagues. Mattel has since ceased publishing the book. Also known as Pamie and Wonder Killer, she runs the website pamie.com. She was one of the original recappers for Television Without Pity. Her commencement address for the 2019 College of Fine Arts graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin was praised by Texas Monthly. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Miranda Lee Richards, American singer-songwriter Miranda Lee Richards is an American singer-songwriter. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Scott Rolen, American baseball player Scott Bruce Rolen is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds from 1996 to 2012. Read more
• 04 Apr 1975: Kevin Weekes, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster Kevin Weekes is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 348 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now a studio analyst for NHL Network, appearing on shows like On the Fly and NHL Tonight, while also calling weekly showcase games. He also calls games on ESPN/ABC, and makes regular studio appearances during games and on ESPN's weekly hockey show, The Point. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: Chris Banks, American football player (died 2014) Warren Christopher Banks was an American professional football guard in the National Football League (NFL). Drafted out of the University of Kansas by the Broncos with the 226th overall pick in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL draft, Banks won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Broncos' Super Bowl XXXIII championship team in 1998. Banks also played for the Barcelona Dragons and Atlanta Falcons. Banks died at his home in Abingdon, Maryland, on April 9, 2014. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: David Blaine, American magician and producer David Blaine is an American magician, mentalist, and endurance performer. Born in New York City, Blaine became interested in magic at a very young age. He gained prominence in 1997, when his first television special, David Blaine: Street Magic, aired on ABC. That year, he also appeared in Magic Man. He later starred in the television specials David Blaine: Real or Magic (2013), Beyond Magic (2016), and The Magic Way (2020). Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer Loris Capirossi is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, currently serving as Safety Advisor to Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: Peter Hoekstra, Dutch footballer and coach Peter Martin Hoekstra is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a left winger for PSV Eindhoven, Ajax and Stoke City. Capped five times by the Netherlands national team, he was a member of the Dutch squad at Euro 1996 in England under manager Guus Hiddink. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete and coach Christopher John McCormack, also known as Macca, is an Australian triathlete. McCormack is a two-time winner of the Ironman World Championship, winning the titles in 2007 and 2010. He is also the winner of the 1997 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup Series, the 1997 Triathlon World Championships, the 2012 Long Distance World Championships. and inducted into the AusTriathlon Hall of Fame for 2023. Read more
• 04 Apr 1973: Kelly Price, American singer-songwriter Kelly Cherelle Price is an American R&B and gospel singer and songwriter. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including Carey's Billboard Hot 100-number one singles "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Fantasy." Price rose to wider prominence in 1997 following her uncredited performances on the number-one single "Mo Money Mo Problems" by the Notorious B.I.G. and the top-five single "Feel So Good" by Mase, prompting her to record as a lead artist. Her debut studio album, Soul of a Woman (1998), received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); its lead single, "Friend of Mine" peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Read more
• 04 Apr 1972: Jim Dymock, Australian rugby league player and coach Jim Dymock is a professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Manly Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Read more
• 04 Apr 1972: Martin Rundkvist, Swedish archaeologist and professor Martin Rundkvist is a Swedish archaeologist and associate professor at the University of Łódź in Poland. His research focuses on the Bronze, Iron, and Middle Ages of Scandinavia, including significant excavations in the province of Östergötland. Read more
• 04 Apr 1972: Jill Scott, American singer-songwriter and actress Jill Heather Scott is an American singer, songwriter, model, poet, and actress. Her 2000 debut album, Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1, went platinum and the follow-ups Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2 (2004) and The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 (2007) both achieved gold status. Read more
• 04 Apr 1972: Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish bass player Magnus Sveningsson is best known as the bassist in the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. Read more
• 04 Apr 1971: Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Yanic Jacques Perreault is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played a total of fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League. He is often considered one of the best face-off men in league history and holds the NHL record for the highest face-off winning percentage in a career (62.86%) as of the conclusion of the 2023-24 NHL season. Read more
• 04 Apr 1971: Malik Yusef, American actor, producer, and poet Malik Yusef el-Shabazz Jones is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, record producer, and director based in Chicago, Illinois. Read more
• 04 Apr 1971: John Zandig, American wrestler and promoter John Corson, better known by the ring name John Zandig, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is the founder and former owner of the promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Georgios Amanatidis, Greek footballer and manager Georgios Amanatidis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender. Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Dimitris Basis, Greek singer Dimitrios Bibasis, better known by his stage name Dimitris Basis, is a Greek singer and musician. He is from the village of Cherso, near the city of Kilkis in Central Macedonia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Greg Garcia, American director, producer, and screenwriter Gregory Thomas Garcia is an American television writer, producer and director. He is the creator/executive producer of several long-running sitcoms, including Yes, Dear, My Name Is Earl, The Guest Book, Raising Hope, and Sprung. He has also worked for the series Family Matters and as a consulting producer on Family Guy. Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Barry Pepper, Canadian actor and producer Barry Robert Pepper is a Canadian-American actor. His best-known film roles include Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Corrections Officer Dean Stanton in The Green Mile (1999), Roger Maris in 61* (2001), Joseph L. Galloway in We Were Soldiers (2002), Charlie Halliday in The Snow Walker (2003), Mike Norton in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), Sergeant Michael Strank in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Lucky Ned Pepper in True Grit (2010), DEA Agent Cooper in Snitch (2013), Vince in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), and David Keller in Crawl (2019). Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player Jason Stoltenberg is an Australian former professional tennis player. Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Josh Todd, American singer-songwriter and actor Joshua Todd is an American singer and actor. He is the frontman and last remaining original member of hard rock band Buckcherry. Read more
• 04 Apr 1970: Yelena Yelesina, Russian high jumper Yelena Borisovna Yelesina is a Russian female high jumper. She won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics with 2,01m, one centimetre behind her personal best jump. She also won several other medals outside her Olympic gold. Read more
• 04 Apr 1969: Piotr Anderszewski, Polish pianist and composer Piotr Anderszewski is a Polish pianist. Based in Paris where he spent part of his childhood, he has enjoyed an international career and has recorded widely, winning several awards. Read more
• 04 Apr 1969: Karren Brady, English journalist and businesswoman Karren Rita Brady, Baroness Brady, is a British business executive and television personality. She is a former managing director of Birmingham City F.C. and current vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C., and an aide to Alan Sugar on The Apprentice. She is a Conservative member of the House of Lords and has been a Small Business Ambassador for the UK government. Read more
• 04 Apr 1968: Jesús Rollán, Spanish water polo player (died 2006) Jesús Miguel Rollán Prada was a water polo goalkeeper from Spain who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1967: Edith Masai, Kenyan-German runner Edith Chewanjel Masai is a Kenyan former long-distance runner who specialised in cross country and track races, then road races in her late career. She represented Kenya at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her best achievements are three individual gold medals in the short race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships between 2002 and 2004. Read more
• 04 Apr 1967: George Mavrotas, Greek water polo player and politician George Mavrotas is a former member of the Greek Parliament, while also being a retired Greek water polo player and associate professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. In July 2019 he was designated as General Secretary of Sport in the Greek Government. Read more
• 04 Apr 1966: Nancy McKeon, American actress Nancy Justine McKeon is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life and Jinny Exstead on The Division. Read more
• 04 Apr 1966: Mike Starr, American bass player (died 2011) Michael Christopher Starr was an American musician best known as the original bassist for the rock band Alice in Chains, with which he played from the band's formation in 1987 until January 1993. He was also a member of Sato, Gypsy Rose, Sun Red Sun, and Days of the New. Read more
• 04 Apr 1966: Christos Tsekos, Greek basketball player Christos Tsekos is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He played professionally in the Greek Basket League, and he represented Greece at the senior level. Read more
• 04 Apr 1965: Vinny Burns, English guitarist and producer Vinny Burns is an English hard rock guitarist and producer, best known for his work with the bands Dare, Ten and Bob Catley. He has also been a member of Asia, Ultravox, Hugo, FM, The Ladder, Phoenix Down, and on his own project with Sam Blue, Burns Blue. He is active as a producer and owns his one recording studio. The last album he produced was the debut album of the rock band The Beautiful Sleazy, "All Fired Up". Read more
• 04 Apr 1965: Robert Downey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter. Robert John Downey Jr. is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.3 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Downey was the highest-paid actor in the world annually from 2013 to 2015. Known for his versatility across roles, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two British Academy Film Awards. Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal, better known as Branco, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a left back. A member of the triumphant Brazilian team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Branco was a free kick specialist with accurate placing of the ball. Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: Dr. Chud, American drummer and singer David Calabrese, known professionally as Dr. Chud, is an American horror punk drummer best known for his work with the Misfits. He has also been a member of Graves, Gorgeous Frankenstein, Doyle and Blitzkid, and fronts his own solo project Dr. Chud's X-Ward. Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: Anthony Clark, American actor Anthony Clark is an American actor and comedian who starred in the CBS sitcom Yes, Dear, in which he played the character Greg Warner. Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: David Cross, American actor, producer, and screenwriter David Cross is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television producer. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawke in the first three Alvin and the Chipmunks movies, and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom Arrested Development. He has been described as "one of the defining figures of cult Gen X comedy". Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: Satoshi Furukawa, Japanese surgeon and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa is a Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/29 (2011) and Expedition 69/70 (2023-2024). Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: Paul Parker, England international footballer and TV pundit Paul Andrew Parker is an English sports television pundit and former professional football player and manager. Read more
• 04 Apr 1964: Đặng Thân, Vietnamese writer and poet Đặng Thân is a Pushcart Prize-nominated bilingual poet, fiction writer, essayist and critic, based in Vietnam. There he is regarded "the typical figure of Post-Doi Moi Literature", and considered "the best humourist ever" and even an "awesomely brilliant genius". Unfortunately, it was repeatedly said that leading governmental departments in Vietnam instructed the "state-controlled" literary circle that his works were "harmful". From 2008 up to 2011 and from 2014 up to present, all publishing houses there had not been allowed to print any book of his for no righteous reasons, and official state-run newspapers had been ordered to leave him in the dark. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: A. Michael Baldwin, American actor, producer, and screenwriter A. Michael Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He came to public notice as a child actor, appearing as Mike Pearson in Phantasm (1979) and its sequels. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: Jack Del Rio, American football player and coach Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Paris Musketeers of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football for the USC Trojans from 1981 to 1984 and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 1985 NFL draft. Del Rio also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins before retiring in 1996. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2020) Dale Martin Hawerchuk was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Drafted first overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL entry draft, Hawerchuk played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 16 seasons as a member of the Jets, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, and Philadelphia Flyers. He won the NHL's Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 1982 and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility in 2001. Hawerchuk served as the head coach of the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League from 2010 to 2019. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: Jane McDonald, English singer and broadcaster Jane Ann McDonald is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. She first became known following her appearance on the BBC One show The Cruise in 1998. Later that year, her eponymous debut studio album topped the UK Albums Chart for three weeks and has had five UK top 10 albums. Her eleventh studio album, Living the Dream, was released in March 2026. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host Graham William Walker, known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show (2007–present). He has received the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance three times for the chat show So Graham Norton (1998–2002). He has been noted for his innuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style. Read more
• 04 Apr 1962: Craig Adams, English bass player and songwriter Craig David Adams is an English musician, bass guitarist and songwriter. Over his career he has worked with a variety of rock bands, the most notable being the Sisters of Mercy and the Mission. Read more
• 04 Apr 1962: Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politician Kailasho Devi Saini is a political and social worker and a member of parliament elected from Kurukshetra constituency in the Indian state of Haryana being an Indian National Lok Dal candidate. Read more
• 04 Apr 1961: Hildi Santo-Tomas, American interior decorator Hildi Santo-Tomas is an American interior designer and television personality. She is best known for being a designer on the TLC reality program Trading Spaces from 2000 to 2008, where she became known for her outlandish and often unpopular designs. Read more
• 04 Apr 1960: Jonathan Agnew, English cricketer and sportscaster Jonathan Philip Agnew, is an English cricket broadcaster and a former cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers" and, less commonly, "Spiro" – the latter, according to Debrett's Cricketers' Who's Who, after former US Vice-President Spiro Agnew. Read more
• 04 Apr 1960: Jane Eaglen, English soprano Jane Eaglen is an English dramatic soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's Norma and Puccini's Turandot. Her career at the Metropolitan Opera started with her Brunhilde in the Ring Cycle. Eaglen has performed at all major houses globally such as La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera House and many others. She currently resides in Boston, MA as a voice teacher at the New England Conservatory. She is the President and founder of the Boston Wagner Society. Eaglen spends her summers instructing at the Merola opera training program for emerging artists. Every year she judges several voice competitions, including the Laffont-Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Read more
• 04 Apr 1960: Godknows Igali, Nigerian diplomat, civil servant and technocrat Godknows Boladei Igali is a Nigerian public servant, diplomat, author and scholar. He was appointed by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in September 2007 as an ambassador to the Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway, a position he occupied until he was appointed a Federal Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources on 4 May 2010. Read more
• 04 Apr 1960: Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-Australian actor and producer Hugo Wallace Weaving is an English stage, screen, and voice actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to British parents, Weaving has lived in Australia since 1976, although he retains British citizenship. He undertook his acting training at NIDA in Sydney. He became known internationally for his appearances in the Australian films Proof (1991) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), and more widely known as Agent Smith in the first three The Matrix films (1999–2003) and Elrond in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), which were American productions. Read more
• 04 Apr 1959: Phil Morris, American actor and screenwriter Phil Morris is an American film and television actor. He played Jackie Chiles in Seinfeld, Martian Manhunter in Smallville, and Silas Stone in Doom Patrol. As a voice actor, he is known for voicing Dr. Sweet in Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Doc Saturday in The Secret Saturdays. Read more
• 04 Apr 1958: Peter Baltes, German bass player Peter Baltes is a German musician, best known as former bassist of heavy metal band Accept and as current bassist of U.D.O. Read more
• 04 Apr 1958: Cazuza, Brazilian singer-songwriter (died 1990) Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, born in Rio de Janeiro. Along with Raul Seixas, Renato Russo and Os Mutantes, Cazuza, both while fronting Barão Vermelho and at solo career, is considered one of the best exponents of Brazilian rock music. In his 9-year career, he sold more than 5 million albums and achieved 11 number one singles and 18 Top 10 singles in Brazil. Read more
• 04 Apr 1958: Rodney Eade, Australian footballer and coach Rodney Eade is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the Australian Football League. He is a former coach of the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Football Club. He has, to date, coached 377 games of AFL football, placing him first on the all-time AFL/VFL list of most games coached without a premiership. Read more
• 04 Apr 1957: Paul Downton, English cricketer Paul Rupert Downton is a retired cricketer and cricket administrator. Read more
• 04 Apr 1957: Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter Aki Olavi Kaurismäki is a Finnish filmmaker. He is best known for films such as Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989), Drifting Clouds (1996), The Man Without a Past (2002), Le Havre (2011), The Other Side of Hope (2017), and Fallen Leaves (2023). Read more
• 04 Apr 1957: Graeme Kelling, Scottish guitarist (died 2004) Graeme Hunter Kelling was a Scottish musician and the original guitarist with the Scottish pop band, Deacon Blue. Read more
• 04 Apr 1957: Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese singer and trumpet player Nobuyoshi Kuwano is a Japanese television performer, former member of Rats & Star. His nickname is "Kuwa-man" (桑マン). In Rats & Star, he took charge of the trumpet and vocals. After the group broke up, he shifted to a television comedian and co-starred with The Drifters' Ken Shimura and Masashi Tashiro. He took over as lead vocalist of Rats & Star during Masayuki Suzuki's solo concert tour. Read more
• 04 Apr 1956: Evelyn Hart, Canadian ballerina Evelyn Anne Hart is a Canadian ballerina and former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Read more
• 04 Apr 1956: Tom Herr, American baseball player and manager Thomas Mitchell Herr is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. Although he never won a Gold Glove Award, Herr retired with the highest all-time career fielding percentage for National League second basemen (.989), a figure that was matched and surpassed a few years later when Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg retired. Read more
• 04 Apr 1956: David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer David Edward Kelley is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including Doogie Howser, M.D., Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice and its spin-off Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Goliath, Big Little Lies, and Big Sky. Kelley is one of very few screenwriters to have created shows that have aired on all four top commercial American television networks as well as cable giant HBO. Read more
• 04 Apr 1953: Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician (died 2022) Robert "Bob" Bertrand was a Canadian politician. He was born in Fort-Coulonge, Quebec. Read more
• 04 Apr 1953: Henry Fotheringham, South African cricketer Henry Richard Fotheringham is a retired South African cricketer. Read more
• 04 Apr 1953: Simcha Jacobovici, Canadian director, producer, journalist, and author Simcha Jacobovici is a Canadian–Israeli journalist and documentary filmmaker. He has created documentaries on Israel, biblical history, Atlantis, and the transatlantic slave trade, among other topics. Several scholars consider him to be a pseudo-archeologist and pseudo-historian. Read more
• 04 Apr 1953: Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician, 31st Lord Mayor of Belfast Samuel Wilson is a British politician who has served as Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Commons since 2019. Wilson has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Antrim since 2005. Read more
• 04 Apr 1953: Chen Yi, Chinese violinist and composer Chen Yi is a Chinese-American composer of contemporary classical music and violinist. Chen Yi has earned global fame as a prolific composer who integrates Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries. She was the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts (M.A.) in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Chen was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition Si Ji, and has received awards from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2010, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The New School and in 2012, she was awarded the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2019. Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Rosemarie Ackermann, German high jumper Rosemarie "Rosi" Ackermann is a German former high jumper, Olympic champion and multiple world record holder. In Berlin on 26 August 1977, she became the first female high jumper to clear a height of two metres. Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2010) Patrick John Joseph Burns was a National Hockey League head coach. Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he coached in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils, and he won the Stanley Cup in 2003 with the Devils. Burns retired in 2005 after being diagnosed with recurring cancer, which eventually claimed his life five years later. Burns won the Jack Adams Award three times, which is the most by a coach in NHL history. In fourteen seasons, he reached the postseason eleven times. Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Gregg Hansford, Australian race car driver and motorcycle racer (died 1995) Gregory John "Gregg" Hansford was an Australian professional motorcycle and touring car racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1978 to 1981 and in Australian touring car championships from 1982 to 1994. Hansford was a two-time vice-champion in the 250cc road racing world championships. With 10 Grand Prix victories to his credit, he is ranked fourth for the most Grand Prix wins by an Australian behind Mick Doohan, Casey Stoner (38) and Wayne Gardner (18). Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Cherie Lunghi, English actress and dancer Cherie Mary Lunghi is an English film, television, theatre actress and voice-over artist. She is known for her roles in many British dramas. Her international fame stems from her role as Guenevere in the 1981 film Excalibur. Lunghi's long list of screen, stage and TV credits include football manager Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and a series of advertisements for Kenco coffee. She also competed in the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing. She is the mother of the actress Nathalie Lunghi. Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Karen Magnussen, Canadian figure skater and coach Karen Diane Magnussen, OC is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1972 Olympic silver medallist and 1973 World champion. She was Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1971 and 1972, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1973. Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Gary Moore, Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2011) Robert William Gary Moore was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal and jazz fusion. Read more
• 04 Apr 1952: Villy Søvndal, Danish educator and politician, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Villy Søvndal is a Danish politician who served as Denmark's Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2013. He represented the Socialist People's Party in Parliament (Folketinget) from 1994 to 2013. He was selected as party leader in a 2005 vote, succeeding Holger K. Nielsen. Read more
• 04 Apr 1951: John Hannah, American football player and coach John Allen Hannah, is an American former football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the New England Patriots. Nicknamed "Hog", he is considered one of the greatest offensive linemen of all time. Read more
• 04 Apr 1950: Christine Lahti, American actress and director Christine Ann Lahti is an American actress and filmmaker. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1984 film Swing Shift. Her other film roles include …And Justice for All (1979), Housekeeping (1987), Running on Empty (1988), Leaving Normal (1992), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). For her directorial debut with the 1995 short film Lieberman in Love, she won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Read more
• 04 Apr 1949: Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican-American singer (died 1999)

  Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite was a reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica and the youngest member of the vocal group, The Wailing Wailers. Read more

• 04 Apr 1949: Litsa Diamanti, Greek singer Litsa Diamanti is a Greek laïko singer who became famous in the 1960s and 1970s. She has been described as the "child-wonder of the Sixties decade and the absolute diva of metapolitefsi." Her hits have been described as "all-time classics." Read more
• 04 Apr 1949: Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese-American mathematician and academic Shing-Tung Yau is a Chinese-American mathematician. He is the director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University and professor emeritus at Harvard University. Until 2022, Yau was the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard, at which point he moved to Tsinghua. Read more
• 04 Apr 1948: Abdullah Öcalan, Turkish activist Abdullah Öcalan, also known as Apo, is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Read more
• 04 Apr 1948: Berry Oakley, American bass player (died 1972) Raymond Berry Oakley III was an American bassist and one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band. Known for his long, melodic bass runs, he was ranked number 46 on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Allman Brothers Band in 1995. Read more
• 04 Apr 1948: Richard Parsons, American lawyer and businessman (died 2024) Richard Dean Parsons was an American business executive, notably the chairman of Citigroup and the chairman and CEO of Time Warner. He had also been the interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the interim chairman of the board for CBS. Read more
• 04 Apr 1948: Dan Simmons, American author (died 2026) Daniel Joseph Simmons was an American science fiction and horror writer. He was the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works that span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes within a single novel. Simmons's genre-intermingling Song of Kali (1985) won the World Fantasy Award. He also wrote mysteries and thrillers, some of which feature the continuing character Joe Kurtz. Read more
• 04 Apr 1948: Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor Derek Thompson is a British actor and former singer who is best known as Charlie Fairhead in Casualty, a role he portrayed for 38 years from the show's inception in 1986 to 2024. Read more
• 04 Apr 1948: Pick Withers, English drummer David "Pick" Withers is an English drummer. He was the original drummer of the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations". Withers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018. Read more
• 04 Apr 1947: Wiranto, Indonesian general and politician Wiranto is an Indonesian politician and retired army general, who is serving as the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council, since December 2019. Previously, he was the Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces from February 1998 to October 1999 during Indonesia's transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. He ran unsuccessfully for President of Indonesia in 2004 and for the vice-presidency in 2009. On 27 July 2016, Wiranto was appointed Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, replacing Luhut Binsar Panjaitan. Read more
• 04 Apr 1947: Ray Fosse, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2021) Raymond Earl Fosse was an American professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as an All-Star player for the Cleveland Indians, and then as a two-time World Series champion with the Oakland Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s. He also played for the Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers. After his playing career, Fosse was a popular television and radio color commentator for the Athletics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1947: Eliseo Soriano, Filipino minister and television host (died 2021) Eliseo "Eli" Fernando Soriano was a Filipino preacher and televangelist. He was the "Overall Servant" of the Members Church of God International (MCGI), an international Christian religious organization with headquarters in Apalit, Pampanga, Philippines. He was the main host of the radio and television program Ang Dating Daan, which is considered as the longest-running religious program in the Philippines. Read more
• 04 Apr 1946: Colin Coates, Australian speed skater Colin Victor Coates, is a former ice speed skater from Australia, who represented his native country in a record six consecutive Winter Olympics, starting in 1968 in Grenoble, France. Read more
• 04 Apr 1946: Dave Hill, English guitarist David John Hill is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. Read more
• 04 Apr 1946: Katsuaki Satō, Japanese martial artist and coach Katsuaki Satō is the founder and director of Satojuku Karate, also known as Odo karate. The Satojuku honbu (headquarters) is located in Tachikawa, Japan. Read more
• 04 Apr 1946: György Spiró, Hungarian author and playwright György (George) Spiró is a dramatist, novelist and essayist who has emerged as one of post-war Hungary's most prominent literary figures. He is a member of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts. Read more
• 04 Apr 1946: Bubba Wyche, American football player and coach Bubba Wyche is a former American and Canadian football quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and World Football League (WFL). He played in the CFL for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the WFL for the Chicago Fire, Detroit Wheels, and Shreveport Steamers. After playing for North Fulton High School, Wyche played college football at Tennessee. Read more
• 04 Apr 1945: Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French-German educator and politician Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit is a French-German politician. Born stateless to a German-Polish Ashkenazi Jewish family, Daniel Cohn-Bendit obtained German citizenship in 1959 and French citizenship in 2015. Read more
• 04 Apr 1945: Caroline McWilliams, American actress (died 2010) Caroline Margaret McWilliams was an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Marcy Hill in the television series Benson. McWilliams had also appeared in nine episodes of its parent-series Soap, as Sally. She was a regular on the CBS soap Guiding Light for several years and appeared in a short-term role on the NBC soap Another World. She also had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210 playing the mother of Jamie Walters's character, Ray Pruit. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician Magdalena Godelieve Hilda Aelvoet is a Belgian politician in Flanders. She was a provincial senator for Antwerp between 1985 and 1991 and a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the district of Leuven between 1991 and 1994, when she also served in the Flemish Council. She was a member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1999, where she was the chair of the Greens. Aelvoet was appointed deputy prime minister and the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Environment in the Verhofstadt I government between 1999 and 2002 and became a Minister of State in 1995. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Mary Kenny, Irish journalist, author, and playwright Mary Kenny is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost feminists, often contributes columns to the Irish Independent and has been described as "the grand dame of Irish journalism". She is based in England. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Bob McDill, American country music songwriter Robert Lee McDill is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including The Grateful Dead, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Anne Murray, and B. J. Thomas. His music credits in film include Primary Colors, The Thing Called Love, Texasville, and the documentary Grizzly Man. In addition to four Grammy nominations McDill received Songwriter of the Year awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. In October 2012, McDill was awarded ASCAP's Golden Note Award in recognition of his "extraordinary place in American popular music." In September 2015 he received the Academy of Country Music's Poet's Award for lifetime achievement. In October 2023 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is the author of numerous articles as well as two books: Tales of the Old River Rod and Gun, Bloody Mary Society and Gentleman's Club and The Ancestors and Descendants of Robert Nathanial McDill. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Craig T. Nelson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Hayden Fox in the ABC sitcom Coach, Deputy Warden Ward Wilson in Stir Crazy (1980), Steve Freeling in Poltergeist (1982), Burt Nickerson in All the Right Moves (1983), Peter Dellaplane in Action Jackson (1988), Chief Howard Hyde in Turner & Hooch (1989), Alex Cullen in The Devil's Advocate (1997), Chief Jack Mannion in the CBS drama The District (2000–2004), Coach Goddard in Blades of Glory (2007), The Warden in the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl (2007), and the voice of Mr. Incredible in the 2004 film The Incredibles and its 2018 sequel. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Nelson Prudêncio, Brazilian triple jumper and educator (died 2012) Nelson Prudêncio was a Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump. He won silver medals at the 1967 and 1971 Pan American Games and 1968 Summer Olympics, and a bronze at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Prudêncio was ranked world's #2 in 1968, #3 in 1972, #5 in 1975, and #8 in 1971. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (died 2013) Toktamış Ateş was a Turkish academic, political commentator, columnist and writer. He was professor of political sciences at Istanbul University. Read more
• 04 Apr 1943: Paulette Jiles, American writer (died 2025) Paulette Kay Jiles was an American poet, memoirist and novelist. Read more
• 04 Apr 1942: Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager (died 2014) James Louis Fregosi was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1978, primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Read more
• 04 Apr 1942: Kitty Kelley, American journalist and biographer Katherine Kelley is an American journalist and author of best-selling unauthorized biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British royal family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey. Read more
• 04 Apr 1942: Elizabeth Levy, American author Elizabeth Levy is an American author who has written over eighty children's books in a variety of genres. Born in Buffalo, New York, she is currently living in New York City. She has appeared as a contestant on Billy on the Street on TruTV. Her cousin is children's author Robie Harris. Read more
• 04 Apr 1941: Zia Uddin, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician Mufakkir al-Islām Ḍiyā' ad-Dīn ibn Muqaddas ʿAlī, better known simply as Zia Uddin or reverentially as Nazim Saheb Huzur, is a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, politician and educationist. He is currently the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh and Azad Dini Adarah-e-Talim, and an advisor to Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh. Uddin is also the director of Jamia Madania Angura-Muhammadpur and a member of Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh's permanent committee. He has played important roles in the 2013 Shapla Square protests and Khatme Nabuwwat movement, and has spoken out against the construction of the Tipaimukh Dam. Read more
• 04 Apr 1940: Richard Attwood, English race car driver Richard James David "Dickie" Attwood is a British motor racing driver from England. During his career he raced for the BRM, Lotus and Cooper Formula One teams. He competed in 17 World Championship Grands Prix, achieved one podium and scored a total of 11 championship points. He was also a successful sports car racing driver and won the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race, driving a Porsche 917, the first of Porsche's record 19 victories at the famous race. Read more
• 04 Apr 1940: Sharon Sheeley, American singer-songwriter (died 2002) Sharon Kathleen Sheeley was an American songwriter who wrote songs for Glen Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, and Eddie Cochran. Read more
• 04 Apr 1939: JoAnne Carner, American golfer JoAnne Gunderson Carner is an American professional golfer. Her 43 victories on the LPGA Tour led to her induction in the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is the only woman to have won the U.S. Girls' Junior, U.S. Women's Amateur, and U.S. Women's Open titles, and was the first person to win three different USGA championship events. Tiger Woods is the only man to have won the equivalent three USGA titles. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Carol Semple Thompson have also won three different USGA titles. Read more
• 04 Apr 1939: Darlene Hooley, American educator and politician Darlene Kay Olson Hooley is an American politician and former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represented the state's 5th congressional district. Read more
• 04 Apr 1939: Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer (died 2018) Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass". Read more
• 04 Apr 1938: A. Bartlett Giamatti, American businessman and academic (died 1989) Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti was an American professor of English Renaissance literature, the president of Yale University, and the seventh commissioner of Major League Baseball. Read more
• 04 Apr 1935: Geoff Braybrooke, English-New Zealand soldier and politician (died 2013) Geoffrey Bernard Braybrooke was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 2002, representing the Labour Party. He was notably one of the party's more socially conservative MPs. Read more
• 04 Apr 1935: Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (died 2011) Kenneth Mars was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in The Producers (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in Young Frankenstein (1974). He also co-starred in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972) as well as appearing in Woody Allen's Radio Days (1987) and Shadows and Fog (1991). Read more
• 04 Apr 1935: Trevor Griffiths, English playwright and educator (died 2024) Trevor Griffiths was an English dramatist. Read more
• 04 Apr 1934: Helen Hanft, American actress (died 2013) Helen Hanft was an American actress. Read more
• 04 Apr 1934: Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (died 1996) Kronid Arkadyevich Lyubarsky was a Russian journalist, dissident, human rights activist and political prisoner. Read more
• 04 Apr 1933: Bill France Jr., American businessman (died 2007) William Clifton France, better known as Bill France Jr. or Little Billy, was an American motorsports executive who served from 1972 to 2000 as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NASCAR, the sanctioning body of the American-based stock car racing. He succeeded his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. as its CEO. His son, Brian France, was the CEO from 2003 to 2018. Read more
• 04 Apr 1933: Brian Hewson, English runner (died 2022) Brian Stanford Hewson was a middle-distance runner who represented Great Britain at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. He won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1958 European Championships. Read more
• 04 Apr 1933: Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (died 2020) Rameshchandra Gangaram "Bapu" Nadkarni was an Indian international cricketer, mainly known for being an economical bowler. The chances of scoring against him was either nil, or negligible. Read more
• 04 Apr 1932: Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records and J Records Clive Jay Davis is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. Read more
• 04 Apr 1932: Richard Lugar, American lieutenant and politician, 44th Mayor of Indianapolis (died 2019) Richard Green Lugar was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Read more
• 04 Apr 1932: Anthony Perkins, American actor (died 1992) Anthony Perkins was an American actor. Born in Manhattan, he began his acting career as a teenager in summer stock theatre, and appeared in films prior to his Broadway debut. His first film role was in The Actress (1953). That same year, he debuted on Broadway in Tea and Sympathy, a performance for which he received critical acclaim. Read more
• 04 Apr 1932: Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American author Johanna Reiss is a Dutch-American writer whose work focuses on her experiences as a Jewish child during the Second World War. Her books have been compared to the writing of Anne Frank. Read more
• 04 Apr 1932: Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and producer (died 1986) Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. His films explore spiritual and metaphysical themes and are known for their slow pacing and long takes, dreamlike visual imagery and preoccupation with nature and memory. Read more
• 04 Apr 1931: James Dickens, English politician (died 2013) James McCulloch York Dickens was a British Labour Party politician. Read more
• 04 Apr 1931: Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence officer Bobby Ray Inman is a retired United States Navy admiral who held several influential positions in the United States Intelligence Community. Inman is mainly known for holding executive leadership positions at virtually all major U.S. intelligence agencies and for his brief but controversial 1993 nomination to become U.S. Secretary of Defense, which was ultimately unsuccessful. His thirty-one-year military career, which began with his commissioning in the Naval Reserve in 1952, culminated in him achieving the permanent rank of four-star Admiral, becoming the first naval intelligence specialist to ever attain that rank. Read more
• 04 Apr 1931: Catherine Tizard, New Zealand politician, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand (died 2021) Dame Catherine Anne Tizard was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first woman to hold either office. Read more
• 04 Apr 1930: Netty Herawaty, Indonesian actress (died 1989) Netty Herawaty was an Indonesian actress who made more than fifty films between 1949 and 1986. She was the part of Classical Indonesian Cinema. Read more
• 04 Apr 1929: Humbert Allen Astredo, American actor (died 2016) Humbert Allen "Bud" Astredo, Jr. was an American stage, film, and television actor. He made several notable Broadway and Off-Broadway theatrical performances, but was best known for the numerous roles he performed on the daytime Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows, most notably that of the warlock Nicholas Blair. Read more
• 04 Apr 1928: Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (died 2014) Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. Read more
• 04 Apr 1928: Jimmy Logan, Scottish actor, director, and producer (died 2001) James Allan Short, OBE, FRSAMD, known professionally as Jimmy Logan, was a Scottish performer, theatrical producer, impresario and director. Read more
• 04 Apr 1928: Monty Norman, English singer-songwriter and producer (died 2022) Monty Norman was a British film score composer and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the "James Bond Theme", first heard in the 1962 film Dr. No. He was an Ivor Novello Award and Olivier Award winner, and a Tony Award nominee. Read more
• 04 Apr 1927: Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (died 1998) Joseph Orlando was an Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of Mad and the vice president of DC Comics, where he edited numerous titles and ran DC's Special Projects department. Read more
• 04 Apr 1926: Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (died 2014) Ronnie Masterson was an Irish actress. Read more
• 04 Apr 1925: Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (died 2015) Dettmar Cramer was a German football manager who led Bayern Munich to the 1975 and 1976 European Cups. He was born in Dortmund. Cramer is commonly considered to be the father of modern football in Japan and was a member of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class. He coached the Egypt national football team and also briefly coached the United States national team. Read more
• 04 Apr 1925: Frank Truitt, American basketball player and coach (died 2014) Frank Wilson Truitt, Jr., was an American multi-sport collegiate coach and a veteran of World War II. Read more
• 04 Apr 1925: Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (died 1979) Claude Wagner was a Canadian judge and politician in the province of Quebec, Canada. Throughout his career, he was a Crown prosecutor, professor of criminal law and judge. Read more
• 04 Apr 1925: Emmett Williams, American poet and author (died 2007) Emmett Williams was an American poet and visual artist. He was married to British visual artist Ann Noël. Read more
• 04 Apr 1924: Bob Christie, American race car driver (died 2009) Bob Christie was an American racecar driver. Christie raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1956-1963 seasons, with 15 career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 race in that span. He finished in the top-ten five times, with his best finish in third position in 1959 at Daytona. He died in Grants Pass, Oregon. Read more
• 04 Apr 1924: Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (died 1972) Gilbert Raymond Hodges was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. An eight-time All-Star, he anchored the infield for the Dodgers through six pennant winners and two World Series titles before leading the New York Mets to their first World Series title in 1969. One of the most beloved and admired players in major league history, Hodges was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022, fifty years after his sudden death. Read more
• 04 Apr 1923: Peter Vaughan, English actor (died 2016) Peter Ewart Ohm, known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage. Read more
• 04 Apr 1923: Gene Reynolds, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020) Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He was one of the developers and producers of the TV series M*A*S*H. Read more
• 04 Apr 1922: Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (died 2004) Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 original film scores, as well as scores for nearly 80 television productions. For his work, he received an Academy Award for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and a Primetime Emmy Award. He also received seven Golden Globe Awards, five Grammy Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. Read more
• 04 Apr 1921: Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (died 2014) Orunamamu was an American/Canadian professional storyteller, raconteur and griot. Her peripatetic storytelling led her on extensive, demanding and often impromptu journeys across the United States including Alaska, overseas to the United Kingdom and Egypt and finally to Canada. She is included in a number of books, journals, articles and two documentaries. Her performance medium was the spoken voice in performances to audiences. For Orunamamu storytelling became her cause as well as her art form, because "[s]torytelling demonstrates the humanity in every culture." Orunamamu died in Calgary, Alberta on 4 September 2014 at the age of 93. She was booked to perform at the Calgary Spoken Word Festival in the summer of 2014. Orunamamu has been the subject of countless portraits over many decades and in many countries, including photographers such as Arthur Koch (Oakland), Kenneth Locke (Calgary) and Jim Hair. Many of these are shared through social media. Read more
• 04 Apr 1921: Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (died 2015) Elizabeth Welter Wilson was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years in film and television. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Sticks and Bones. Wilson was also a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Award nominee, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006. Read more
• 04 Apr 1920: Ignatius IV of Antioch, Greek patriarch (died 2012) Patriarch Ignatius IV was the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All The East from 1979 to 2012. Read more
• 04 Apr 1918: George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English soldier and politician, Leader of the House of Lords (died 2007) George Patrick John Rushworth Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, Baron Jellicoe of Southampton, was a British politician, diplomat and businessman. Read more
• 04 Apr 1916: Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian general and politician, 10th President of Serbia (died 2005) Nikola Ljubičić was the President of the Presidency of Serbia (1982–1984), a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1984–1989), and the Minister of Defence of Yugoslavia (1967–1982). He received numerous medals both from Yugoslavia and abroad, including the Order of the National Hero of Yugoslavia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1916: Mickey Owen, American baseball player and coach (died 2005) Arnold Malcolm "Mickey" Owen was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a catcher for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1937 and 1954 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. Considered an outstanding defensive catcher, his career was nonetheless marred by a crucial error that he committed during the 1941 World Series. Read more
• 04 Apr 1916: David White, American actor (died 1990) David White was an American stage, film, and television actor best known for playing Darrin Stephens's boss Larry Tate from 1964 to 1972 on the ABC situation comedy Bewitched. Read more
• 04 Apr 1915: Louis Archambault, Canadian sculptor (died 2003) Louis Archambault was a Quebec sculptor and ceramicist, who was one of the members of the "new sculpture" movement in Canada that moved away from traditional methods towards abstraction. Read more
• 04 Apr 1914: Richard Coogan, American actor (died 2014) Richard Charles Potter Coogan was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video in Captain Video and His Video Rangers from 1949 to 1950. Read more
• 04 Apr 1914: Marguerite Duras, French novelist, screenwriter, and director (died 1996) Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu, known as Marguerite Duras, was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film Hiroshima mon amour (1959) earned her a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Read more
• 04 Apr 1914: David W. Goodall, Australian ecologist and botanist (died 2018) David William Goodall was an English-born Australian botanist and ecologist. He was influential in the early development of statistical methods in plant communities. He worked as researcher and professor in England, Australia, Ghana and the United States. He was editor-in-chief of the 30-volume Ecosystems of the World series of books, and author of over 100 publications. He was known as Australia's oldest working scientist, still editing ecology papers at age 103. Long an advocate of voluntary euthanasia legalisation, he ended his own life in Switzerland via physician-assisted suicide aged 104. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Dave Brown, Australian rugby league player (died 1974) David Michael Brown was one of Australia's greatest rugby league footballers. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Rosemary Lane, American actress and singer (died 1974) Rosemary Lane was an American actress and singer. She is known for her performances with Lola and Priscilla as the Lane Sisters and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians in the 1930s, and for her film career in the 1930s to 1940s. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Frances Langford, American actress and singer (died 2005) Frances Langford was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Jules Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Governor General of Canada (died 1980) Joseph Jules Léger was a Canadian diplomat and statesman who served as the 21st governor general of Canada from 1974 to 1979. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1983) McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues". His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude". Read more
• 04 Apr 1910: Đặng Văn Ngữ, Vietnamese physician and academic (died 1967) Đặng Văn Ngữ (1910–1967) was a Vietnamese medical doctor and intellectual. Read more
• 04 Apr 1907: Robert Askin, Australian sergeant and politician, 32nd Premier of New South Wales (died 1981) Sir Robert William Askin, was an Australian politician and the 32nd premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971. Before being knighted in 1972, however, he was generally known as Bob Askin. Born in Sydney in 1907, Askin was educated at Sydney Technical High School. After serving as a bank officer and as a sergeant in the Second World War, Askin joined the Liberal Party and was elected to the seat of Collaroy at the 1950 election. Read more
• 04 Apr 1906: Bea Benaderet, Turkish-Irish-American television, radio, and voice actress (died 1968) Beatrice Benaderet was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that spanned over three decades. Benaderet first specialized in voice-over work in the golden age of radio, appearing on numerous programs while working with comedians of the era such as Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, and Lucille Ball. Her expertise in dialect and characterization led to her becoming Warner Bros.' leading voice of female characters in their animated cartoons of the early 1940s through the mid-1950s. Read more
• 04 Apr 1906: John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (died 1995) John Cameron Swayze was an American anchorman, news commentator, and game show panelist during the 1940s and 1950s. He later became best known as a product spokesman. Read more
• 04 Apr 1905: Eugène Bozza, French composer and conductor (died 1991) Eugène Joseph Bozza was a French composer and violinist. He was one of the most prolific composers of chamber music for wind instruments. Bozza's large ensemble works include five symphonies, operas, ballets, large choral work, wind band music, concertos, and many works for large brass or woodwind ensembles. Outside of France, he is best known for his chamber music, rather than his larger works. Read more
• 04 Apr 1905: Erika Nõva, Estonian architect and engineer (died 1987) Erika Nõva née Volberg was an Estonian architect, remembered mainly for her farmhouse designs. She was the first woman to graduate as an architect in Estonia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1902: Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, French journalist and author (died 1969) Marie Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, commonly known as Louise de Vilmorin, was a French novelist, poet and journalist. Vilmorin was best known as a writer of delicate but mordant tales, often set in aristocratic or artistic milieu. Read more
• 04 Apr 1902: Stanley G. Weinbaum, American author and poet (died 1935) Stanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction writer. His first story, "A Martian Odyssey", was published to great acclaim in July 1934; the alien Tweel was arguably the first character to satisfy John W. Campbell's challenge: "Write me a creature who thinks as well as a man, or better than a man, but not like a man." Weinbaum wrote more short stories and a few novels, but died from lung cancer less than a year and a half later. Read more
• 04 Apr 1899: Hillel Oppenheimer, German-Israeli botanist and academic (died 1971) Hillel Oppenheimer, was an Israeli professor of botany. He was awarded the Israel Prize for his work in Botany in 1959. Read more
• 04 Apr 1898: Agnes Ayres, American actress (died 1940) Agnes Ayres was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of silent films. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino. Read more
• 04 Apr 1897: Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (died 1975) Pierre Fresnay was a French stage and film actor. Read more
• 04 Apr 1896: Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright and screenwriter (died 1955) Robert Emmet Sherwood was an American playwright and screenwriter. Read more
• 04 Apr 1895: Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (died 1991) Arthur Murray was an American ballroom dancer and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name. Read more
• 04 Apr 1892: Italo Mus, Italian painter (died 1967) Italo Mus was an Italian painter. Read more
• 04 Apr 1892: Edith Södergran, Swedish-Finnish poet (died 1923) Edith Irene Södergran was a Swedish-speaking Finnish poet. One of the first modernists within Swedish-language literature, her influences came from French Symbolism, German expressionism, and Russian futurism. At the age of 24 she released her first collection of poetry entitled Dikter ("Poems"). Södergran died at the age of 31, having contracted tuberculosis as a teenager. She did not live to experience the worldwide appreciation of her poetry, which has influenced many lyrical poets. Södergran is considered to have been one of the greatest modern Swedish-language poets, and her work continues to influence Swedish-language poetry and musical lyrics, for example, in the works of Mare Kandre, Gunnar Harding, Eva Runefelt, Heidi Sundblad-Halme, and Eva Dahlgren. Read more
• 04 Apr 1889: Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian journalist, poet, and playwright (died 1968) Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi, also called Pandit ji, was an Indian poet, writer, essayist, playwright and
  who is particularly remembered for his participation in India's national struggle for independence and his contribution to Chhayavaad, the Neo-romanticism movement of Hindi literature. He was awarded the first Sahitya Akademi Award in Hindi for his work Him Tarangini in 1955. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1963. For his works reinforcing Indian nationalism during the British Raj, he is referred to as the Yug Charan. Read more
• 04 Apr 1888: Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (died 1958) Tristram Edgar Speaker, nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1907 to 1928. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345. His 792 career doubles represent an MLB career record. His 3,514 hits are fifth in the all-time hits list. Defensively, Speaker holds career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. He held the major league career record for putouts by a center fielder (6,592) until he was surpassed by Willie Mays in 1971. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die." Read more
• 04 Apr 1888: Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish historian and academic (died 1975) Zdzisław Żygulski was a Polish literary historian and Germanist. He was a professor at the universities of Łódź and Wrocław. An expert of German literature of 18th–19th century and antique drama, he published, with Marian Szyrocki, a German literature history textbook Geschichte der deutschen Literatur. His notable works includes Gerhart Hauptmann. Człowiek i twórca (1968), Fryderyk Schiller (1975). His son, also named Zdzisław, was an art historian, academic and educator. Read more
• 04 Apr 1886: Frank Luther Mott, American historian and journalist (died 1964) Frank Luther Mott was an American academic, historian and journalist, who won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for History for Volumes II and III of his series, A History of American Magazines. Read more
• 04 Apr 1884: James Alberione, Italian priest, founded the Society of St. Paul (died 1971) James Alberione, SSP, was an Italian Catholic priest, and the founder of the Society of St. Paul, of the Daughters of St. Paul, of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master, of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, of the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, of the Sisters of Mary Queen of the Apostles, and other religious institutes, which form the Pauline Family. The first two groups are best known for promoting the Catholic faith through various forms of modern media. Read more
• 04 Apr 1884: Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (died 1943) Isoroku Yamamoto was an admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the Pacific War in 1941 and Japan's initial successes and defeats before his plane was shot down by U.S. fighter aircraft over New Guinea. Read more
• 04 Apr 1879: Gustav Goßler, German rower (died 1940) Gustav Ludwig Goßler was a German rower who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1878: Walter Conrad Arensberg, American art collector, critic and poet (died 1954) Walter Conrad Arensberg was an American art collector, critic and poet. His father was part owner and president of a crucible steel company. He majored in English and philosophy at Harvard University. With his wife Louise, he collected art and supported artistic endeavors. Read more
• 04 Apr 1878: Stylianos Lykoudis, Greek admiral and historian (died 1958) Stylianos Lykoudis was a Royal Hellenic Navy rear admiral, best known for his long service as head of the Navy's Lighthouse Service. He was also a scholar and historian, becoming a member of the Academy of Athens. Read more
• 04 Apr 1876: Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter and poet (died 1958) Maurice de Vlaminck was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were united in their use of intense colour. Vlaminck was one of the Fauves at the controversial Salon d'Automne exhibition of 1905. Read more
• 04 Apr 1875: Pierre Monteux, Sephardic Jewish French-American viola player and conductor (died 1964) Pierre Benjamin Monteux was a French conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1907. He came to prominence when, for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company between 1911 and 1914, he conducted the world premieres of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and other prominent works including Petrushka, The Nightingale, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, and Debussy's Jeux. Thereafter he directed orchestras around the world for more than half a century. Read more
• 04 Apr 1869: Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (died 1958) Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter was an American architect and designer. She was one of the very few female American architects in her day. She was the designer of many landmark buildings and spaces for the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railroad, notably in Grand Canyon National Park. Her work had enormous influence as she helped to create a style, blending Spanish Colonial Revival and Mission Revival architecture with Native American motifs and Rustic elements, that became popular throughout the Southwest. Colter was a perfectionist, who spent a lifetime advocating and defending her aesthetic vision in a largely male-dominated field. Read more
• 04 Apr 1868: Philippa Fawcett, English mathematician and educator (died 1948) Philippa Garrett Fawcett was an English mathematician and educator. She was the first woman to obtain the top score in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos exams. She taught at Newnham College, Cambridge, and at the normal school in Johannesburg, and she became an administrator for the London County Council. Read more
• 04 Apr 1853: Remy de Gourmont, French poet, novelist, and critic (died 1915) Remy de Gourmont was a French Symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling Rémy de Gourmont is incorrect, albeit common. Read more
• 04 Apr 1851: James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (died 1931) James Henry Mussen Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy,, was an Irish lawyer, politician in the British Parliament and later in the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State. He was also Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Read more
• 04 Apr 1846: Comte de Lautréamont, Uruguayan-French poet and educator (died 1870) Comte de Lautréamont was the nom de plume of Isidore Lucien Ducasse, a French poet, born in Uruguay. His only works, Les Chants de Maldoror and Poésies, had a major influence on modern arts and literature, particularly on the Surrealists and the Situationists. Ducasse died at the age of 24. Read more
• 04 Apr 1843: William Henry Jackson, American painter and photographer (died 1942) William Henry Jackson was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of America's national symbol Uncle Sam. He was the great-grandfather of cartoonist Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead comics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1842: Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (died 1891) François Édouard Anatole Lucas was a French mathematician. Lucas is known for his study of the Fibonacci sequence and the Tower of Hanoi. The related Lucas sequences and Lucas numbers are named after him. Read more
• 04 Apr 1835: John Hughlings Jackson, English physician and neurologist (died 1911) John Hughlings Jackson was an English neurologist. He is best known for his research on epilepsy. Read more
• 04 Apr 1829: Owen Suffolk, Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author (died ?) Owen Hargrave Suffolk was an English-born Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author of Days of Crime and Years of Suffering (1867). Read more
• 04 Apr 1826: Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (died 1901) Zénobe Théophile Gramme was a Belgian electrical engineer. He was born at Jehay-Bodegnée on 4 April 1826, the sixth child of Mathieu-Joseph Gramme, and died at Bois-Colombes on 20 January 1901. He invented the Gramme machine, a type of direct current dynamo capable of generating smoother and much higher voltages than the dynamos known to that point. Read more
• 04 Apr 1821: Linus Yale Jr., American engineer and businessman (died 1868) Linus Yale Jr. was an American businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and metalsmith. He was a co-founder with millionaire Henry R. Towne of the Yale Lock Company, which became the premier manufacturer of locks in the United States. He was the country's leading expert on bank locks and its most important maker. By the early 20th century, about three-quarters of all banks in America used his bank locks. He is best remembered for his inventions of locks, especially the cylinder lock, and his basic lock design is still widely distributed today, and constitutes a majority of personal locks and safes. Read more
• 04 Apr 1819: Maria II of Portugal (died 1853) Dona Maria II also known as "the Educator" or as "the Good Mother", was Queen of Portugal from 1826 to 1828, and again from 1834 to 1853. Her supporters considered her to be the rightful queen also during the period between her two reigns. Read more
• 04 Apr 1818: Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American author and poet (died 1883) Thomas Mayne Reid was an Irish British novelist who fought in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). His many works on American life describe colonial policy in the American colonies, the horrors of slave labour, and the lives of American Indians. "Captain" Reid wrote adventure novels akin to those by Frederick Marryat (1792–1848), and Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894). They were set mainly in the American West, Mexico, South Africa, the Himalayas, and Jamaica. He was an admirer of Lord Byron. His novel Quadroon (1856), an anti-slavery work, was later adapted as a play entitled The Octoroon (1859) by Dion Boucicault and produced in New York. Read more
• 04 Apr 1802: Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (died 1887) Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American advocate on behalf of the poor mentally ill. By her vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, she helped create the first generation of American mental asylums. During the Civil War, she served as a Superintendent of Army Nurses. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 04 April in World History

• 04 Apr 2025: Manoj Kumar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1937) Harikrishan Giri Goswami, professionally known as Manoj Kumar, was an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most accomplished actors of Indian cinema. He is noted for his acting in patriotism-themed films. In a career spanning over four decades, he worked in 55 films. Read more
• 04 Apr 2025: Tony Rundle, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Tasmania (born 1939) Anthony Maxwell Rundle AO was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Tasmania from March 1996 until September 1998. He succeeded Ray Groom and was succeeded himself by Jim Bacon. He was a Liberal who held the seat of Braddon between 1986 and 2002. A former journalist, he was married to Caroline Watt. He had twin daughters from his first marriage. Read more
• 04 Apr 2024: Lynne Reid Banks, British author (born 1929) Lynne Reid Banks was a British author of books for children and adults, including The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 15 million copies and has been successfully adapted to film. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, published in 1960, was an instant and lasting best seller. It was later made into a movie of the same name and led to two sequels, The Backward Shadow and Two is Lonely. Banks also wrote a biography of the Brontë family, entitled Dark Quartet, and a sequel about Charlotte Brontë, Path to the Silent Country. Read more
• 04 Apr 2024: Thomas Gumbleton, American Roman Catholic prelate (born 1930) Thomas John Gumbleton was an American Catholic prelate and a prominent social activist. Gumbleton served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit from 1968 to 2006. According to Gumbleton, the Vatican forced him to resign as auxiliary bishop when he publicly supported the passage of a state legislative bill in another diocese without the approval of that diocese's bishop. Read more
• 04 Apr 2024: Pat Zachry, American baseball player (born 1952) Patrick Paul Zachry was an American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies from 1976 to 1985. Read more
• 04 Apr 2016: Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (born 1930) María Jesús Lampreave Pérez, known professionally as Chus Lampreave, was a Spanish character actress who starred in more than 70 films.
  She is known internationally for her roles in films by Pedro Almodóvar. Read more
• 04 Apr 2015: Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysian engineer and politician (born 1951) Jamaluddin bin Mohd Jarjis was a Malaysian politician, diplomat and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. He served as the Chairman of the 1 Malaysia Peoples' Housing (PR1MA) and Malaysian special envoy to the United States. Read more
• 04 Apr 2015: Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1918) Elmer James Lach was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). A centre, he was a member of the Punch line, along with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. Lach led the NHL in scoring twice and was awarded the Hart Trophy in 1945 as the league's most valuable player. Read more
• 04 Apr 2015: Donald N. Levine, American sociologist and academic (born 1931) Donald Nathan Levine was an American sociologist, educator, social theorist and writer at the University of Chicago, where he served as Dean of the college. Within sociology, he is perhaps best known for his work in sociological theory and his translations and interpretations of Georg Simmel's classical texts into English, which led to a resurgence of interest in Simmel's work in the discipline. He was also a central figure in Ethiopian Studies. Read more
• 04 Apr 2015: Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (born 1931) Klaus Rifbjerg was a Danish writer. He authored more than 170 novels, books and essays. In 1965 he co-produced the film 4×4 which was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. Read more
• 04 Apr 2014: İsmet Atlı, Turkish wrestler and trainer (born 1931) İsmet Atlı was a Turkish wrestler, coach and sports columnist. Competing in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, he won the gold medal in the men's freestyle light heavyweight event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He also won freestyle medals at the 1954 World Wrestling Championships, the 1957 World Wrestling Championships, the 1956 Wrestling World Cup and the 1951 Mediterranean Games, and later added a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1962 World Wrestling Championships. Read more
• 04 Apr 2014: Wayne Henderson, American trombonist and producer (born 1939) Wayne Maurice Henderson was an American jazz fusion and soul jazz trombonist and record producer. In 1961, he co-founded the soul jazz/jazz fusion group The Jazz Crusaders. Henderson left the group in 1976 to pursue a career in producing, but revived The Jazz Crusaders in 1995. Read more
• 04 Apr 2014: Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean soldier and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (born 1953) Kumba Yalá Embaló, also spelled Ialá, was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was president from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003. He belonged to the Balanta ethnic group and was President of the Social Renewal Party (PRS). In 2008 he converted to Islam and took the name Mohamed Yalá Embaló. He was the founder of the Party for Social Renewal. Read more
• 04 Apr 2014: Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (born 1943) Margo Symington MacDonald was a Scottish politician, teacher and broadcaster. She was the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Govan from 1973 to 1974 and was Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party from 1974 to 1979. She later served as an SNP and then Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Lothian from 1999 until her death. Read more
• 04 Apr 2014: Curtis Bill Pepper, American journalist and author (born 1917) Curtis Bill Pepper was an American journalist and author, who published seven books. He was Newsweek's Mediterranean bureau chief in Rome from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s. He also worked for Edward R. Murrow at the Rome bureau of CBS, and covered the Vatican for United Press. His last work, Leonardo, was a biographical novel of Leonardo da Vinci. It was conceived in the years following his studies of the Italian Renaissance at the University of Florence. Read more
• 04 Apr 2014: Muhammad Qutb, Egyptian author and academic (born 1919) Muhammad Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb was an Islamic scholar and the younger brother of the Egyptian revolutionary Sayyid Qutb. After his brother was executed by the Egyptian government, Muhammad moved to Saudi Arabia, where he promoted his brother's ideas. Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: Bengt Blomgren, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1923) Bengt Bertil Blomgren was a Swedish actor, film director and screenwriter, born in Stockholm. Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (born 1942) Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and Spike Lee, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic", and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America". Per The New York Times, "The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture. Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw." Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (born 1925) Carmine Infantino was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are the Black Canary and the Silver Age version of the Flash with writer Robert Kanigher, Elongated Man with John Broome, the Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl with writer Gardner Fox, Deadman with writer Arnold Drake, and Christopher Chance, the second iteration of the Human Target, with Len Wein. Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1928) Thomas Tycho AM MBE DMus was a Hungarian-born Australian pianist, conductor, composer and arranger. He was active in both classical music and pop. Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: Ian Walsh, Australian rugby player and coach (born 1933) Ian John Walsh was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. He was a hooker with the St. George Dragons from 1962 to 1967 and played in the last five of the Dragons' historic 11 consecutive premiership winning teams. He captained St. George in the last of its 11 successive Grand Final wins in 1966 and led The Saints again when their premiership winning streak ended in 1967. He was a representative for Australia and captained them in 10 Test matches from 1963 to 1966. Read more
• 04 Apr 2013: Noboru Yamaguchi, Japanese author (born 1972) Noboru Yamaguchi was a Japanese light novel and game scenario author from Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. He was well known for being the author of The Familiar of Zero light novels and visual novels by Frontwing. Read more
• 04 Apr 2012: A. Dean Byrd, American psychologist and academic (born 1948) Albert Dean Byrd was a former president of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), a research organization that advocates sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). He was a psychologist who focused on SOCE, and wrote on the topic. Although raised by a Buddhist mother and a Baptist father, Byrd converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was very active in the debate within the church on issues involving homosexuality. Read more
• 04 Apr 2012: Dimitris Christoulas, Greek pensioner who committed suicide in public (born 1935) Dimitris Christoulas was a Greek pensioner who committed suicide in Syntagma Square in Athens on April 4, 2012. Read more
• 04 Apr 2012: Anne Karin Elstad, Norwegian author and educator (born 1938) Anne Karin Elstad was a Norwegian author known for her book series featuring the character Julie. Read more
• 04 Apr 2012: Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1942) Claude Miller was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Read more
• 04 Apr 2012: Dubravko Pavličić, Croatian footballer (born 1967) Dubravko Pavličić was a Croatian footballer who played as a central defender. Read more
• 04 Apr 2012: Roberto Rexach Benítez, Puerto Rican academic and politician, 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico (born 1929) Roberto Nicolás Rexach Benítez also known as his stage name Bobby, was a Puerto Rican politician, and former Senator and Representative. Rexach Benítez served as the tenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1996. He also served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976, under the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and as a member of the Senate (1985–1998) under the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP). Read more
• 04 Apr 2011: Scott Columbus, American drummer (born 1956) Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy and mythology as well as numerous songs celebrating the genre and its core audience. The band is also known for a loud and emphatic sound. In an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras… so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that". In 1984, Manowar was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record that they have since broken on two occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for five hours and one minute in Bulgaria in 2008. They are known for their slogan "death to false metal". Read more
• 04 Apr 2011: Ned McWherter, American politician, 46th Governor of Tennessee (born 1930) Ned Ray McWherter was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th governor of Tennessee, from 1987 to 1995. Prior to that, he served as the speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1973 to 1987, the longest tenure as Speaker up to that time. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Read more
• 04 Apr 2011: Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (born 1958) Juliano Mer-Khamis was an Israeli–Palestinian actor, director, filmmaker, and political activist of Jewish and Palestinian Eastern Orthodox Christian parentage. On 4 April 2011, he was assassinated by a masked gunman in the city of Jenin, where he had established The Freedom Theatre. Read more
• 04 Apr 2009: Maxine Cooper, American actress, activist and photographer (born 1924) Gladys Maxine Cooper was an American actress, activist, and photographer. She was perhaps best known for her role as private detective Mike Hammer's secretary Velda in the 1955 film Kiss Me Deadly, which the Los Angeles Times called a "film noir classic." Read more
• 04 Apr 2008: Francis Tucker, South African race car driver (born 1923) Francis Bagnal Kidger Tucker was a South African rally driver, who was the 1966 South African Rally Drivers Champion. Read more
• 04 Apr 2007: Bob Clark, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1941) Benjamin Robert Clark was an American film director and screenwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film history such as Black Christmas (1974), Murder by Decree (1979), Tribute (1980), Porky's (1981) and A Christmas Story (1983). He won a trio of Genie Awards with two additional nominations. Read more
• 04 Apr 2007: Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (born 1935) Karen Ida Boalth Spärck Jones was a self-taught programmer and a pioneering British computer and information scientist responsible for the concept of inverse document frequency (IDF), a technology that underlies most modern search engines. She was an advocate for women in computer science, her slogan being, "Computing is too important to be left to men." In 2019, The New York Times published her belated obituary in its series Overlooked, calling her "a pioneer of computer science for work combining statistics and linguistics, and an advocate for women in the field." From 2008, to recognise her achievements in the fields of information retrieval (IR) and natural language processing (NLP), the Karen Spärck Jones Award is awarded annually to a recipient for outstanding research in one or both of her fields. Read more
• 04 Apr 2005: Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (born 1924) Edward Maurice Bronfman was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family. Read more
• 04 Apr 2004: Briek Schotte, Belgian cyclist and coach (born 1919) Alberic "Briek" Schotte was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron Briek". Read more
• 04 Apr 2003: Anthony Caruso, American actor (born 1916) 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
• 04 Apr 2001: Liisi Oterma, Finnish astronomer (born 1915) Liisi Oterma was a Finnish astronomer, the first woman to get a Ph.D. degree in astronomy in Finland. Read more
• 04 Apr 2001: Ed Roth, American illustrator and engineer (born 1932) Edward "Big Daddy" Roth was an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure in Southern California's Kustom Kulture and hot rod movement of the late 1950s and 1960s. Read more
• 04 Apr 2001: Maury Van Vliet, American-Canadian academic (born 1913) Maurice Lewis (Maury) Van Vliet, was a USA-born Canadian academic who taught physical education and fitness. Read more
• 04 Apr 1999: Lucille Lortel, American actress, artistic director and producer (born 1900) Lucille Lortel was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for Tony Awards: As Is by William M. Hoffman, Angels Fall by Lanford Wilson, Blood Knot by Athol Fugard, Mbongeni Ngema's Sarafina!, and A Walk in the Woods by Lee Blessing. She also produced Marc Blitzstein's adaptation of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, a production which ran for seven years and according to The New York Times "caused such a sensation that it…put Off-Broadway on the map." Read more
• 04 Apr 1999: Early Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1920) Early Wynn Jr., nicknamed "Gus", was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, during his 23-year MLB career. Wynn was identified as one of the most intimidating pitchers in the game, having combined his powerful fastball with a hard attitude toward batters. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Read more
• 04 Apr 1997: Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (born 1900) Leo Picard, was an Israeli geologist and an expert in the field of hydrogeology. Read more
• 04 Apr 1997: Alparslan Türkeş, Turkish colonel and politician, 39th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1917) Alparslan Türkeş was a Turkish politician, who was the founder and president of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grey Wolves (Ülkü Ocakları). He ran the Grey Wolves training camps from 1968 to 1978. More than 600 people are said to have fallen victim of political murders by the Grey Wolves between 1968 and 1980. He represented the far-right of the Turkish political spectrum. He was and still is called Başbuğ ("Leader") by his devotees. Read more
• 04 Apr 1996: Barney Ewell, American runner and long jumper (born 1918) Henry Norwood "Barney" Ewell was an American athlete, and winner of one gold and two silver medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1996: Boone Guyton, American lieutenant and pilot (born 1913) Boone Tarleton Guyton United States Navy, was a naval aviator, experimental test pilot, author and businessman. In a flying career spanning the biplane era through the jet age, Guyton was perhaps best known for his test pilot years at Vought-Sikorsky and his participation in the development of the F4U Corsair and various other military aircraft including the OS2U Kingfisher and the radical Vought V-173 flying pancake. Read more
• 04 Apr 1995: Kenny Everett, English radio and television host (born 1944) Kenny Everett was an English radio DJ and television comedian, known for his zany comedic style. Read more
• 04 Apr 1995: Priscilla Lane, American actress (born 1915) Priscilla Lane was an American actress, and the youngest sibling in the Lane Sisters' family of singers and actresses. She is best remembered for her roles in the films The Roaring Twenties (1939) co-starring with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart; Saboteur (1942), an Alfred Hitchcock film in which she plays the heroine; and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), in which she portrays Cary Grant's fiancée and bride. Read more
• 04 Apr 1993: Alfred Mosher Butts, American game designer, invented Scrabble (born 1899) Alfred Mosher Butts was an American architect, famous for inventing the board game Scrabble in 1931. Read more
• 04 Apr 1993: Douglas Leopold, Canadian radio and television host (born 1947) Douglas Leopold, nicknamed Coco, was a television and radio personality in Quebec, along with being a public relations specialist. Read more
• 04 Apr 1992: Yvette Brind'Amour, Canadian actress and director (born 1918) Yvette Brind'Amour, was a Canadian actress. Read more
• 04 Apr 1992: Jack Hamilton, Australian footballer (born 1928) Jack Hamilton was an Australian rules football player in the Victorian Football League (VFL) before becoming a prominent administrator. Read more
• 04 Apr 1992: Arthur Russell, American singer-songwriter and cellist (born 1951) Charles Arthur Russell Jr. was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. After studying contemporary composition and Indian classical music in California, Russell relocated to New York City in the mid-1970s, where he became involved in Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community and later the city's burgeoning disco scene. His eclectic music was often marked by adventurous production choices and his soft tenor vocals. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (born 1920) Edmund "Adam" Adamkiewicz was a German footballer. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (born 1911) Max Rudolf Frisch was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity, individuality, responsibility, morality, and political commitment. The use of irony is a significant feature of his post-war output. Frisch was one of the founders of Gruppe Olten. He was awarded the 1965 Jerusalem Prize, the 1973 Grand Schiller Prize, and the 1986 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: H. John Heinz III, American soldier and politician (born 1938) Henry John Heinz III was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 1977 until his death in 1991. An heir to the Heinz family fortune, Heinz entered politics in 1971 when he won a special election to replace Robert Corbett to represent Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district. In 1976, Heinz ran to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott. Heinz narrowly won in the Republican primary over future Senator Arlen Specter and defeated William Green III in the general election. Heinz won re-election in 1982 and 1988 by large margins. On April 4, 1991, Heinz was killed when his plane, facing mechanical problems, collided with a helicopter inspecting the plane, killing all involved in the crash. Read more
• 04 Apr 1991: Graham Ingels, American illustrator (born 1915) Graham John Ingels was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt, horror titles written and edited by Al Feldstein, and The Vault of Horror, written and edited by Feldstein and Johnny Craig. Ingels' flair for horror led EC to promote him as Ghastly Graham Ingels, and he began signing his work "Ghastly" in 1952. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: C. L. Moore, American author and academic (born 1911) Catherine Lucille Moore was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, who first came to prominence in the 1930s writing as C. L. Moore. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Moore's work paved the way for many other female speculative fiction writers. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan guru, poet, and scholar (born 1939) Chögyam Trungpa, formally named the 11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso, was a Tibetan Buddhist master and holder of both Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He was recognized by both Tibetan Buddhists and other spiritual practitioners and scholars as a preeminent teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a major figure in the dissemination of Buddhism in the West, founding Vajradhatu and Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method. The 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, he was a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of Shambhala Buddhist tradition. Read more
• 04 Apr 1987: Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian journalist and author (born 1911) Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan, popularly known by his pen name Agyeya, was an Indian writer, poet, novelist, literary critic, journalist, translator and revolutionary in Hindi language. He pioneered modern trends in Hindi poetry, as well as in fiction, criticism and journalism. He is regarded as the pioneer of the Prayogavaad (experimentalism) movement in modern Hindi literature. Read more
• 04 Apr 1985: Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (born 1891) Kate Roberts was one of the foremost Welsh-language authors of the 20th century. Styled Brenhines ein llên, she is known mainly for her short stories, but also wrote novels. Roberts was a prominent Welsh nationalist. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Welsh scholar Idris Foster. Read more
• 04 Apr 1984: Oleg Antonov, Russian-Ukrainian engineer and businessman, founded Antonov Design Bureau (born 1906) Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov was a Soviet aeroplane designer. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Gloria Swanson, American actress (born 1899) Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award. Read more
• 04 Apr 1983: Bernard Vukas, Croatian football player, played for 1953 FIFA's "Rest of the World" team against England at Wembley (born 1927) Bernard Vukas was a Croatian footballer who played for Yugoslavia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1980: Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1917) Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck-driving country songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples are "Giddyup Go" (1965) and "Teddy Bear" (1976), both of which topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (born 1928) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto NPk was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth prime minister of Pakistan from 1973 until his overthrow in 1977. He was also the founder and first chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) from 1967 until his execution in 1979. Read more
• 04 Apr 1979: Edgar Buchanan, American actor (born 1903) William Edgar Buchanan II was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s. Read more
• 04 Apr 1977: Andrey Dikiy, Ukrainian-American journalist, historian, and politician (born 1893) Andrey Ivanovich Dikiy, real surname Zankevich (Занкевич) was a white émigré Russian Nazi collaborator, writer and journalist who served as the Deputy Head of the civilian administration of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR) and as a volunteer for the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) under Andrey Vlasov. Known for his radical antisemitism and anti-Ukrainian sentiment, Dikiy has been described by Christian essayist Dmitry Talantsev as one of the main theorists of Judeophobia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1976: Harry Nyquist, Swedish engineer and theorist (born 1889) Harry Theodor Nyquist was a Swedish-American physicist and electronic engineer who made important contributions to communication theory. Read more
• 04 Apr 1972: Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American pastor and politician (born 1908) Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress from New York, as well as the first from any state in the Northeast. Re-elected for nearly three decades, Powell became a powerful national politician of the Democratic Party, and served as a national spokesman on civil rights and social issues. He also urged United States presidents to support emerging nations in Africa and Asia as they gained independence after colonialism. Read more
• 04 Apr 1972: Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and academic (born 1902) Stefan Wolpe was a German-born American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz movement to the Eighth Street Artists' Club, Black Mountain College, and the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. He lived and worked in Berlin (1902–1933) until the Nazi seizure of power forced him to move first to Vienna (1933–34) and Jerusalem (1934–38) before settling in New York City (1938–72). In works such as Battle Piece (1942/1947) and "In a State of Flight" in Enactments for Three Pianos (1953), he responded self-consciously to the circumstances of his uprooted life, a theme he also explored extensively in voluminous diaries, correspondence, and lectures. His densely eclectic music absorbed ideas and idioms from diverse artistic milieus, including post-tonality, bebop, and Arab classical musics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1968: Martin Luther King Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated) (born 1929) Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination, which most commonly affected African Americans. Read more
• 04 Apr 1967: Al Lewis, American songwriter (born 1901) Al Lewis was an American lyricist, songwriter and music publisher. He is thought of mostly as a Tin Pan Alley era lyricist; however, he did write music on occasion as well. Professionally he was most active during the 1920s working into the 1950s. During this time, he most often collaborated with songwriters such as Al Sherman and Abner Silver. Among his most famous songs are "Blueberry Hill" and "You Gotta Be a Football Hero". Read more
• 04 Apr 1967: Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer and manager (born 1898) Héctor Pedro Scarone Berreta was a Uruguayan footballer who played as inside forward. Known as "the Gardel of Football" and El Mago due to his extraordinary skills with the ball, Scarone was considered one of the best players in the world during his time. He was crowned world champion three times, after winning the editions of the 1924 and 1928 Olympic football tournaments, along with the first World Cup in 1930. Read more
• 04 Apr 1963: Oskari Tokoi, Finnish socialist and the Chairman of the Senate of Finland (born 1873) Antti Oskari Tokoi was a Finnish socialist politician who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. Tokoi became Chairman of the Senate of Finland in 1917, and thus, he was the world's first social democratic leader of the government. During the short-lived Revolution of 1918, Tokoi participated as a leading figure in the revolutionary government. Tokoi later emigrated to the United States, where he served as the long-time editor of Raivaaja, the newspaper of the Finnish Socialist Federation. Read more
• 04 Apr 1961: Harald Riipalu, Estonian military commander (born 1912) Harald Riipalu was an Estonian commander in the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Read more
• 04 Apr 1961: Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician and academic (born 1873) Simion Stoilow or Stoilov was a Romanian mathematician, creator of the Romanian school of complex analysis, and author of over 100 publications. Read more
• 04 Apr 1959: Florence Goodenough, American child psychologist (born 1886) Florence Laura Goodenough was an American psychologist and professor at the University of Minnesota who studied child intelligence and various problems in the field of child development. She was president of the Society for Research in Child Development from 1946 to 1947. She is best known for publishing the book Measurement Of Intelligence By Drawings, where she introduced the Goodenough Draw-A-Man test to assess intelligence in young children through nonverbal measurement. She is noted for developing the Minnesota Preschool Scale. In 1931, she published two books, titled Experimental Child Study and Anger in Young Children, which analyzed the methods used in evaluating children. She wrote the Handbook of Child Psychology in 1933, becoming the first known psychologist to critique ratio IQ. Read more
• 04 Apr 1958: Johnny Stompanato, American soldier and bodyguard (born 1925) John Stompanato Jr. was a United States Marine and gangster who became a bodyguard and enforcer for the gangster Mickey Cohen. Read more
• 04 Apr 1957: E. Herbert Norman, Canadian historian and diplomat (born 1909) Egerton Herbert Norman was a Canadian diplomat and historian. Born in Japan to missionary parents, he became a historian of modern Japan before joining the Canadian foreign service. His most influential book was Japan's Emergence as a Modern State (1940) where he argued that persisting feudal class relations were responsible for government oppression at home and the imperialistic expansion that led to World War II in Asia. During the Red Scare of the 1950s Norman was accused of being a communist or even a spy, though investigations found no corroboration and he was defended by Canadian authorities. He committed suicide in 1957. Read more
• 04 Apr 1953: Carol II of Romania (born 1893) Carol II was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 following a coup that deposed his son until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of King Ferdinand I, he was crown prince from the death of his granduncle, King Carol I, in 1914 until he was forced to renounce his right to the throne in 1925. Read more
• 04 Apr 1951: George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1870) George Albert Smith Sr. was an American religious leader who served as the eighth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read more
• 04 Apr 1944: Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (born 1878) Morris Homans Whitehouse was an American architect whose work included the design of the Gus Solomon United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon. Read more
• 04 Apr 1933: Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (born 1842) Elizabeth Bacon Custer was the wife of George Armstrong Custer, United States Army. She spent most of their twelve-year marriage in relative proximity to him despite his numerous military campaigns in the American Civil War and subsequent postings on the Great Plains as a commanding officer in the United States Cavalry. Read more
• 04 Apr 1932: Wilhelm Ostwald, Latvian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1853) Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst and Svante Arrhenius.
  He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his scientific contributions to the fields of catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities. Read more
• 04 Apr 1931: André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (born 1853) André Jules Michelin was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company in 1888 in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand. Read more
• 04 Apr 1929: Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (born 1844) Carl Friedrich Benz was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885 is considered the first practical, modern automobile and the first car to be put into series production. He received a patent for the motorcar in 1886, the same year he first publicly drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Read more
• 04 Apr 1928: Konstantinos Maleas, Greek painter (born 1879) Konstantinos Maleas was one of the most important Post-Impressionist Greek painters of the 20th century. Along with Konstantinos Parthenis, he is sometimes considered Greece's most important modern artist. Read more
• 04 Apr 1923: John Venn, English mathematician and philosopher, created the Venn diagram (born 1834) John Venn, FRS, FSA was an English mathematician, logician and philosopher noted for introducing Venn diagrams, which are used in logic, set theory, probability, statistics, and computer science. In 1866, Venn published The Logic of Chance, a groundbreaking book which espoused the frequency theory of probability, arguing that probability should be determined by how often something is forecast to occur as opposed to "educated" assumptions. Venn then further developed George Boole's theories in the 1881 work Symbolic Logic, where he highlighted what would become known as Venn diagrams. Read more
• 04 Apr 1919: William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (born 1832) Sir William Crookes was an English chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing the Crookes tube, which was made in 1875. Observing cathode rays generated in these tubes, Crookes posited that "radiant matter" was a unique fourth state of matter, a foundational contribution to plasma physics. Read more
• 04 Apr 1919: Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (born 1908) Francisco de Jesus Marto and Jacinta de Jesus Marto were siblings from Aljustrel, a small hamlet near Fátima, Portugal, who, with their cousin Lúcia dos Santos (1907–2005), reportedly witnessed three apparitions of the Angel of Peace in 1916, and several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Cova da Iria in 1917. The title Our Lady of Fátima was given to the Virgin Mary as a result, and the Sanctuary of Fátima became a major centre of global Catholic pilgrimage. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Emmanouil Argyropoulos, Greek pioneer aviator (born 1889) Emmanouil Argyropoulos was a Greek pioneer aviator of the early 20th century. Apart from being the first Greek aviator who performed a flight over his homeland, he also became the first casualty of Greek military aviation. Read more
• 04 Apr 1913: Konstantinos Manos, Greek politician, poet, soldier and sportsman (born 1869) Konstantinos Manos was a Greek politician, poet, soldier and sportsman and former mayor of Chania. Read more
• 04 Apr 1912: Charles Brantley Aycock, American lawyer and politician, 50th Governor of North Carolina (born 1859) Charles Brantley Aycock was the 50th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. After starting his career as a lawyer and teacher, he became active in the Democratic Party during the Solid South period, and made his reputation as a prominent segregationist as the lead perpetrator of the Wilmington massacre. Read more
• 04 Apr 1912: Isaac K. Funk, American minister, lexicographer, and publisher, co-founded Funk & Wagnalls (born 1839) Isaac Kaufmann Funk was an American Lutheran minister, editor, lexicographer, publisher, and spelling reformer. He was the co-founder of Funk & Wagnalls Company, the father of author Wilfred J. Funk, and the grandfather of author Peter Funk, who continued his father's authorship of Word Power until 2003. Funk & Wagnalls Company published The Literary Digest, The Standard Dictionary of the English Language, and Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia. Read more
• 04 Apr 1890: Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (born 1820) Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the leader of the Conservative Party, he won the provincial elections of 1867 and 1871. He resigned as premier and his seat in the provincial Legislative Assembly in 1873. Read more
• 04 Apr 1890: Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (born 1812) Edmond Hébert, French geologist, was born at Villefargau, Yonne. Read more
• 04 Apr 1883: Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (born 1791) Peter Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb, founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, served as its first president, and stood for election as the Greenback Party's candidate in the 1876 presidential election. Read more
• 04 Apr 1879: Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist and meteorologist (born 1803) Heinrich Wilhelm Dove was a Prussian physicist and meteorologist. Read more
• 04 Apr 1878: Richard M. Brewer, American criminal (born 1850) Richard M. Brewer, was an American cowboy and Lincoln County lawman. He was the founding leader of the Regulators, a deputized posse that fought in the Lincoln County War. Read more
• 04 Apr 1875: Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (born 1837) Karl Gottlieb Mauch was a German explorer and geographer of Africa. He reported on the archaeological ruins of Great Zimbabwe in 1871 during his search for the biblical land of Ophir. Read more
• 04 Apr 1874: Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (born 1826) Charles Ernest Beulé was a French archaeologist and politician. Read more
• 04 Apr 1870: Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (born 1802) Heinrich Gustav Magnus was a German experimental scientist. His training was mostly in chemistry but his later research was mostly in physics. He spent the great bulk of his career at the University of Berlin, where he is remembered for his laboratory teaching as much as for his original research. He did not use his first given name, and was known throughout his life as Gustav Magnus. Read more
• 04 Apr 1864: Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American commander and paleontologist (born 1808) Joseph Pitty Couthouy was an American naval officer, conchologist, and invertebrate palaeontologist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he entered the Boston Latin School in 1820. He married Mary Greenwood Wild on 9 March 1832. Read more
• 04 Apr 1863: Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (born 1790) Ludwig Emil Grimm was a German painter, art professor, etcher and copper engraver. Read more
• 04 Apr 1861: John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (born 1785) John McLean was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice of the Ohio and United States Supreme Courts. He was often discussed for the Whig Party nominations for president, and is also one of the few people who served in all three branches of government. Read more
• 04 Apr 1846: Solomon Sibley, American lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Detroit (born 1769) Solomon Sibley was an American politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory who became the first mayor of Detroit. Read more
• 04 Apr 1841: William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (born 1773) William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causing a brief constitutional crisis, since presidential succession was not then fully defined in the U.S. Constitution. Harrison was the last president born as a British subject in the Thirteen Colonies. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia, and a son of Benjamin Harrison V, who was a U.S. Founding Father. His own son John Scott Harrison was the father of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd U.S. president. Read more
• 04 Apr 1817: André Masséna, French general (born 1758) André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli, was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon I, who nicknamed him "the dear child of victory". He is considered to be one of the greatest generals of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Read more
• 04 Apr 1807: Jérôme Lalande, French astronomer and academic (born 1732) Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande was a French astronomer, freemason and writer. He is known for having estimated a precise value of the astronomical unit using measurements of the transit of Venus in 1769. Read more

Why is 04 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 04 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 04 April in World history?

On 04 April, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

Is History of Today important for competitive exams?

Yes, History of Today is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, and State PSC exams as part of static GK and current awareness sections.