History of Today in India – 05 April

Explore the history of today 05 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 05 April 2026, 04:23 AM

📜 Important Events on 05 April in World History

05 Apr 2018: Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid a slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 undocumented Hispanic workers in one of the largest workplace raids in the history of the United States. Read more
05 Apr 2010: Up to 50 people are killed and another 100 injured in two militant suicide bombings and attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan: the first on an Awami National Party rally in Timergara; the second on the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar. Read more
05 Apr 2010: Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Read more
05 Apr 2010: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-131 to resupply the International Space Station. Read more
05 Apr 2009: North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks. Read more
05 Apr 2007: The cruise ship MS Sea Diamond strikes a volcanic reef near Nea Kameni and sinks the next day. Two passengers were never recovered and are presumed dead. Read more
05 Apr 1999: Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands. Read more
05 Apr 1998: In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War. Read more
05 Apr 1991: An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter. Read more
05 Apr 1991: The Space shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-37 to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Read more
05 Apr 1983: The People's Armed Police is officially founded Read more
05 Apr 1977: The US Supreme Court rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the Sioux people's reservation thereby destroyed the tribe's jurisdictional authority over the area in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip. Read more
05 Apr 1976: In China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Carrie, the first novel by American author Stephen King, is published for the first time with a print run of 30,000 copies. Read more
05 Apr 1971: In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Read more
05 Apr 1966: During the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ personally attempts to lead the capture of the restive city of Đà Nẵng before backing down. Read more
05 Apr 1965: My Fair Lady won Best Picture at the 37th Academy Awards. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time. Read more
05 Apr 1956: Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. Read more
05 Apr 1951: Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union. Read more
05 Apr 1949: A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States. Read more
05 Apr 1946: Soviet troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm. Read more
05 Apr 1946: A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory". Read more
05 Apr 1943: World War II: United States Army Air Forces bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the residential area hit. Read more
05 Apr 1942: World War II: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 41 summarizing Case Blue, including the German Sixth Army's planned assault on Stalingrad. Read more
05 Apr 1942: World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Spanish Civil War: Two days after the Nationalist army occupied the Catalan city of Lleida, dictator Francisco Franco decrees the abolition of the Generalitat (the autonomous government of Catalonia), the self-government granted by the Republic, and the official status of the Catalan language. Read more
05 Apr 1936: Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Read more
05 Apr 1933: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 "forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates" by U.S. citizens. Read more
05 Apr 1933: Andorran Revolution: The Young Andorrans occupy the Casa de la Vall and force the government to hold democratic elections with universal male suffrage. Read more
05 Apr 1932: Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government. Read more
05 Apr 1922: The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated. Read more
05 Apr 1910: The Transandine Railway connecting Chile and Argentina is inaugurated. Read more
05 Apr 1902: A stand box collapses at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland, which led to the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 500 supporters during an international association football match between Scotland and England. Read more
05 Apr 1879: Bolivia declares war on Chile, and Chile declares war on Peru, starting the War of the Pacific. Read more
05 Apr 1862: American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins. Read more
05 Apr 1818: In the Battle of Maipú, Chile's independence movement, led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 05 April in World History

05 Apr 2003: Tetairoa McMillan, American football player Tetairoa McMillan, nicknamed "T-Mac", is an American professional football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats, earning Polynesian College Football Player of the Year honors in 2024. McMillan was selected by the Panthers eighth overall in the 2025 NFL draft. Read more
05 Apr 2001: Johnny Beecher, American ice hockey player John Beecher is an American professional ice hockey player who is a center for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 30th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2019 NHL entry draft. He played college ice hockey for the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team from 2019 to 2022. Read more
05 Apr 2001: Felipe Peña, Argentine footballer Felipe Peña Biafore is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lanús. Read more
05 Apr 1999: Bobby Miller, American baseball player Robert Anthony Miller is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Louisville Cardinals and was selected 29th overall by the Dodgers in the 2020 MLB draft. Read more
05 Apr 1998: Nathan Broadhead, Welsh football player Nathan Paul Broadhead is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for EFL Championship club Wrexham and the Wales national team. Read more
05 Apr 1997: Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer Borja Mayoral Moya is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Getafe. Read more
05 Apr 1997: Dominik Mysterio, American wrestler Dominik Óscar Gutiérrez, better known by the ring name Dominik Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand and is a member of The Judgment Day stable. He also appears in WWE's sister promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where he is the AAA Mega Champion in his first reign. Mysterio is also a former two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion. Read more
05 Apr 1996: Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver Nicolas Beer is a Danish former racing driver. Read more
05 Apr 1996: Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer Abdelraouf Benguit is an Algerian professional footballer who plays for CR Belouizdad. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Daniel Caesar, Canadian singer-songwriter Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds, known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two EPs, Praise Break (2014) and Pilgrim's Paradise (2015), Caesar released his debut studio album, Freudian, in 2017, which received three Grammy Award nominations, winning for the collaboration with American singer H.E.R. "Best Part". In 2019 he released his second studio album, Case Study 01, longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player Viliame Kikau is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League and Fiji at international level. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer Sei Muroya is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for FC Tokyo in the J1 League and for the Japan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer Gleb Rassadkin is a Belarusian professional football player. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer Björn Sebastian Starke Hedlund is a Swedish footballer who plays for Östers IF as a defender. Read more
05 Apr 1994: Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player Mateusz Bieniek is a Polish professional volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie and the Poland national team. With Poland, Bieniek won the 2018 World Champion title and took part in 3 Olympic Games – Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, winning a silver medal at the latter. Read more
05 Apr 1994: Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer Edem Rjaïbi is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1994: Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer Richard Sánchez Alcaraz is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for USL Championship side San Antonio FC. Born in the United States, he played for the Mexico national under-21 team. Read more
05 Apr 1993: Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer Andreas Bouchalakis is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Super League club Panetolikos. Read more
05 Apr 1993: Maya DiRado, American swimmer Madeline Jane "Maya" DiRado-Andrews is a retired American competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events. She attended and swam for Stanford University, where she won NCAA titles in the 200 and 400 meter individual medley in 2014 and graduated with a degree in management science and engineering. At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, DiRado qualified to swim the 200 meter and 400 meter individual medley events, as well as the 200 meter backstroke, at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal in the women's 4×200 meter freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 400 meter individual medley, a bronze medal in the women's 200 meter individual medley, and a gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke. Following the Olympics, DiRado retired from the sport. Read more
05 Apr 1993: Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer Laura Feiersinger is an Austrian footballer who plays as a midfielder for 1. FC Köln. She represented the Austria national team from 2010 until 2025, earning 126 caps and scoring 19 goals. Read more
05 Apr 1993: Benjamin Garcia, French rugby league player Benjamin Garcia is a French professional rugby league footballer who plays as a loose forward, hooker or second-row for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League and France at international level. Read more
05 Apr 1993: Scottie Wilbekin, American-Turkish basketball player Scottie Jordan Wilbekin is an American-born naturalized Turkish professional basketball player who last played for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, where he was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2014. Wilbekin played professional basketball in Australia, Greece, Turkey and Israel. He led Darüşşafaka to win the 2018 EuroCup title, while earning the EuroCup Finals and the Regular Season MVP awards. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Emmalyn Estrada, known professionally as Emmalyn, is a Canadian singer. Her first single, "Get Down", entered Billboard's Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of August 29, 2009, at number 88 and peaked at number 59 for the week of October 31, 2009. She is best known as a member of the girl group G.R.L., formed by Robin Antin. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer Shintaro Kurumaya is a Japanese footballer who plays as a left back for Kawasaki Frontale. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer Kaveh Rezaei is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Sepahan and the Iran national team. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer Dmytro Ryzhuk is a Ukrainian football midfielder for Atyrau. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer Yassine Bounou, also known as Bono mononymously, is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Morocco national team. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer Nathaniel Edwin Clyne is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back, right wing-back, or centre-back for Premier League club Crystal Palace. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer Adriano Grimaldi is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Joël Mall, Swiss footballer Joël Yves Mall is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Swiss Super League side Servette. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Cyprus national team after gaining citizenship in 2023. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer Guilherme dos Santos Torres, commonly known as Guilherme, is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder of Qatar Stars League football club Al Sadd. Born in Brazil, he plays for the Qatar national team. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer Amer Said Al-Shatri is an Omani international footballer who plays as a midfielder for Omani club Mirbat. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player Alex Cuthbert is an English-born Welsh former rugby union player. Born and raised in Gloucester, he played on the wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Patrick Dangerfield, Australian footballer Patrick Dangerfield is an Australian rules football player for the Geelong Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club from 2008 to 2015. He has served as Geelong captain since the 2023 season. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer Freddy Hinestroza Arias is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Colombian club Atlético Bucaramanga. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer Chen Huijia is a female Chinese swimmer, who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer (died 2020) Haruma Miura was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama Agri (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film Koizora (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the following years, Miura notably starred in the third season of Gokusen (2009), Bloody Monday (2009), Naoko (2009), Kimi ni Todoke (2010), Last Cinderella (2013), Boku no Ita Jikan (2013), The Eternal Zero (2013), Attack on Titan (2015), Gintama 2 (2018), and Two Weeks (2019). He also starred as Lola in the Japanese production of Kinky Boots (2016), winning Best New Actor and the Haruko Sugimura Award at the 24th Yomiuri Theater Awards. In addition to his acting career, Miura debuted as a singer in 2019 with the single "Fight for Your Heart." Read more
05 Apr 1990: Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer Ismaeel Mohammad Mohammad is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a winger for Al-Duhail in the Qatar Stars League and the Qatar national football team. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist Iryna Uladzimirauna Pamialova is a Belarusian canoer. She won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the K-4 500 metres event with Nadzeya Papok-Liapeshka, Volha Khudzenka, and Maryna Litvinchuk. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player Jakub Sedláček is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender who currently playing for HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer Sercan Yıldırım is a Turkish former football player who played as a forward. Read more
05 Apr 1990: Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer Género Zeefuik is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer Kader Amadou Dodo is a Nigerien footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for AS SONIDEP. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer Yémi Geoffrey Apithy is a French-Beninese sabre fencer representing Benin in international competitions, silver medalist at the 2014 and 2015 African Championships. He bore the flag for Benin at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter Liemarvin Bonevacia is a Dutch sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the event at the 2016 and 2024 European Athletics Championships, and the 2017 and 2021 European Indoor Championships. Bonevacia also earned five major medals for the 4 × 400 m relays, either men's or mixed, including silver medal in the men's relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Freddie Fox, English actor Frederick Samson Robert Morice Fox is an English film and stage actor. His prominent screen performances include roles as singer Marilyn in the BBC's Boy George biopic Worried About the Boy (2010), Freddie Baxter in series Cucumber (2015) and Banana (2015), Jeremy Bamber in White House Farm (2020) and Spider Webb in Slow Horses (2022–2023). Read more
05 Apr 1989: Emre Güral, Turkish footballer Emre Güral is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in Germany, he represented Turkey at 'A2' international level. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Justin Holiday, American basketball player Justin Alaric Holiday is an American professional basketball player for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies. He went undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft, but would sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013. He won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015. His brothers Jrue and Aaron are also NBA players. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Rachel Homan, Canadian curler Rachel Catherine Homan is a Canadian international curler and the reigning women's world champion. Homan is a former Canadian junior champion, a five-time Canadian national champion, and three-time World Champion, all as a skip. She was the skip of the Canadian women's curling team at the 2018 and 2026 Winter Olympics. The team won the bronze medal in 2026 edition of the event. She also competed in the mixed doubles event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Lily James, English actress Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson, known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series Just William (2010). Following a supporting role in the period drama series Downton Abbey (2012–2015), her breakthrough was the title role in the fantasy film Cinderella (2015). Read more
05 Apr 1989: Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater Trevor Marsicano is an American speed skater and silver medalist in the Winter Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer Jonathan "Johnny" Rossini is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He is also a former Switzerland international. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress Kiki Sukezane is a Japanese actress from Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, working mostly in American productions. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler Sosuke Takatani is an amateur Japanese freestyle wrestler, who competes in the middleweight category. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer Gerson Elías Acevedo Rojas is a Chilean footballer who plays as a midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player Teresa Patricia De Almeida nicknamed Bá is an Angolan handball player for Petro de Luanda and the Angolan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Quade Cooper, New Zealand-Australian rugby player and boxer Quade Santini Cooper is an Australian professional rugby union coach, former player, and occasional boxer. Although born in New Zealand, he has represented Australia in rugby at international level. Finishing his playing career with the Hanazono Liners in Japan, Cooper established his career with the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby. He went on to play for Toulon in the French Top 14 and also played for the Melbourne Rebels. His team position was fly-half, however Cooper was often deployed in the midfield earlier in his career, as well as fullback. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player Jonathan Davies is a former Welsh professional rugby union player who played at centre for the Scarlets and the Wales national team. His brother is James Davies, who also played professional rugby for Wales as a flanker. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer Gevorg Ghazaryan is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player Alisha Rebecca Glass Childress is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a setter for the Vegas Thrill of the Pro Volleyball Federation. Glass played collegiate volleyball for Penn State, where she led Penn State to three NCAA consecutive championships. Glass won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, and bronze at the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer Vurgun Huseynov is an Azerbaijani former professional footballer. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager Matthias Jaissle is a German professional football manager and former player who is the currently head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier Christopher Papamichalopoulos is an alpine skier from Cyprus. He competed for Cyprus at the 2010 Winter Olympics in the slalom and giant slalom. Christopher was Cyprus's flag bearer during the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player Zachary Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him 79th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
05 Apr 1988: Pape Sy, French basketball player Pape Ousseynou Sy is a French former professional basketball player. A versatile guard/forward, Sy was drafted by the Hawks as the 53rd overall pick in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft after spending five seasons with STB Le Havre. Read more
05 Apr 1988: Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete Alexey Anatolyevich Volkov is a Russian former biathlete. Read more
05 Apr 1987: Max Grün, German footballer Maximilian "Max" Grün is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Regionalliga Bayern club Viktoria Aschaffenburg. Read more
05 Apr 1987: Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player Balázs Hárai is a Hungarian water polo center forward. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a gold medal at the 2013 World Championships. Read more
05 Apr 1987: Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete Anton Sergeyevich Kokorin is a Russian sprint athlete. Anton was part of the team that finished third in Men's 4×400 m relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the team was disqualified after team mate Denis Alekseyev tested positive for doping. Read more
05 Apr 1987: Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer Fyodor Vasilievich Kudryashov is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a left back. He could also play as a centre back. Read more
05 Apr 1987: Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer Etiënne Reijnen is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is assistant manager at Eredivisie club Feyenoord. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Anna Sophia Berglund, American model and actress Anna Sophia Berglund is an American actress, model, Playmate, and reality show personality. She was Playmate of the Month for Playboy in January 2011. She was discovered originally by GXS Motorsports, where she spent two years as a promotional model. She went by the name Sophi Berglund until working for Playboy and resuming her original name. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler Anzor Adamovich Boltukayev is a Russian freestyle wrestler of Chechen descent. He competes in the 96 kg division and won the bronze medal in the same division at the 2013 World Wrestling Championships defeated Aleksey Krupnyakov of Kyrgyzstan. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Diego Chará, Colombian footballer Diego Ferney Chará Zamora is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and captains Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author and actress Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete Róbert Kasza is a Hungarian modern pentathlete. He was on the gold medal-winning relay team at the 2011 World Modern Pentathlon Championships. He also qualified for and participated in the modern pentathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Robert Kasza is represented by STRONGAA Management. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer Eetu Muinonen is a Finnish footballer, who plays for RoPS. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer Manuel Ruz Baños is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right back. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer Albert Shevketovich Selimov is a Russian former amateur boxer of Lezgin descent. He is best known for being the only man to defeat Vasiliy Lomachenko in the amateur ranks. Competing for Russia, he won the 2007 world title, the 2008 World Cup, and two European titles, in 2006 and 2010. After failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, he moved to Azerbaijan and representing that country, placed second at the 2015 World Championships and fifth at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Daniel Congré, French footballer Daniel Congré is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He could operate all across defence, although he was most adept at centre-back. He is noted for his pace. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Erwin l'Ami, Dutch chess player Erwin l'Ami is a Dutch chess grandmaster. He attained the title of grandmaster in 2005, and has reached a peak rating of 2651. l'Ami has represented the Netherlands at seven Chess Olympiads and won the 2015 Reykjavik Open. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete Jolanda Keizer is a Dutch heptathlete. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan is an Armenian violinist. Since 1993 he has lived in Germany where he gave his first orchestral concert at the age of nine in the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer Linas Pilibaitis is a Lithuanian former professional footballer. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster Jan Smeets is a Dutch chess grandmaster. He is a two-time Dutch Chess Champion. Read more
05 Apr 1985: Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist Kristof Vandewalle is a Belgian former professional road cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2015 for the Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator, Omega Pharma–Quick-Step and Trek Factory Racing teams. While a member of the Omega Pharma–Quick-Step squad, he won two successive World Team Time Trial Championships and two consecutive Belgian National Time Trial Championships. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Marshall Allman, American actor Marshall Scot Allman is an American actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as L. J. Burrows on the Fox television series Prison Break. He is also known for playing Tommy Mickens on True Blood. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian Aram Avetiki Sargsyan, known professionally as Aram Mp3, is an Armenian singer and comedian. He represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Not Alone", which finished in fourth place. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete Rune Brattsveen is a former Norwegian biathlete. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player Alexei Vladimirovich Glukhov is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward who last played under contract with HC Sibir Novosibirsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected by Tampa Bay Lightning in the 9th round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player Maartje Goderie is a Dutch field hockey player, who plays as forward for Dutch club HC Den Bosch. She also plays for the Netherlands national team and she was part of the Dutch squad that became World Champion at the 2006 Women's Hockey World Cup and which won the 2007 Champions Trophy. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Darija Jurak, Croatian tennis player Darija Jurak Schreiber is a Croatian tennis player. Her career-high doubles ranking is world No. 9, achieved on 15 November 2021. Her best WTA ranking in singles is 188 which she reached in April 2004. She qualified with Andreja Klepač for the 2021 WTA Finals after 20 years on the professional tour. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer Dejan Kelhar is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist Dmitry Anatolyevich Kozonchuk is a Russian professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI Professional Continental team Gazprom–RusVelo. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Shin Min-a, South Korean actress Yang Min-a, better known by the stage name Shin Min-a (신민아), is a South Korean actress who began her career as a model before debuting as an actress in 2000. She is known for her leading roles in television dramas A Love to Kill (2005), My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho (2010), Arang and the Magistrate (2012), Oh My Venus (2015), Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021), Our Blues (2022), and No Gain No Love (2024). Read more
05 Apr 1984: Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress Jess Sum Cheuk-ying is a Hong Kong actress previously under TVB. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Peter Penz, Austrian luger Peter Penz is an Austrian former luger who competed between 2003 and 2018. He and doubles partner Georg Fischler took two medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang: a silver in the doubles competition and a bronze in the team relay. They were also gold medallists in the doubles at the 2012 European Luge Championships in Paramonovo. In addition, the pair took six medals at the FIL World Luge Championships: four in the doubles and two in mixed team competitions. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer Samuele Preisig is a former footballer from Switzerland, who played as defender. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer Cristian Ionuț Săpunaru is a Romanian former professional footballer who played mainly as a centre-back. He also played as a right-back or a defensive midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer Fabio Vitaioli is a San Marinese footballer who currently plays for Murata and the San Marino national football team. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer Kisho Yano is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward or right-back for Tochigi SC. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model Saba Qamar Zaman is a Pakistani actress who works predominantly in Urdu films and television series. Qamar is one of Pakistan's most popular and highest-paid actresses. She is a recipient of several accolades including two Lux Style Awards and three PTV Awards alongside a Filmfare nomination.
The Government of Pakistan has honoured her with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 2012 and the Pride of Performance in 2016. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer Jaime Castrillón is a Colombian former footballer who last played for the Orlando SeaWolves in the Major Arena Soccer League. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer Jorge Andrés Martínez Barrios is a Uruguayan footballer who last played as a midfielder for Juventud de Las Piedras. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player Brock Radunske is a Canadian-born South Korean former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected in the third round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 79th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Yohann Sangaré, French basketball player Yohann Sangaré is a French former professional basketball player. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier Cécile Storti is a French cross-country skier who has competed since 2000. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of sixth in the 4 × 5 km relay at Vancouver in 2010. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player Shikha Devi Uberoi is an Indian-American former professional tennis player, who formerly represented India in international tournaments and a former Indian No. 1. After Nirupama Sanjeev, she is also the second Indian female player in history to crack the top 200 rankings by the WTA. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Hayley Atwell, English-American actress Hayley Elizabeth Atwell is an English and American actress. After appearing in various West End productions, Atwell gained popularity for her roles in period dramas, appearing in the films Brideshead Revisited (2008), The Duchess (2008) and the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010); for the latter two, she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, respectively. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer Matheus Coradini Vivian is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He also holds an Italian passport. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He is currently a board member at Serie A club Hellas Verona. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Kelly Pavlik, American boxer Kelly Robert Pavlik is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three successful defenses before losing them to Sergio Martínez in 2010. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Matt Pickens, American soccer player Matt Pickens is an American retired soccer player who is an assistant coach and goalkeeping coach for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Read more
05 Apr 1982: Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver Alexandre Prémat is a French racing driver. He won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016. He also won the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin, driving for DJR Team Penske. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete Danylo Sapunov, is a Kazakhstani and Ukrainian professional triathlete. From 2008 to 2010, Danylo Sapunov was married to the Ukrainian triathlete Yuliya Yelistratova. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist Hubert Schwab is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. In his final year as a professional he rode for UCI Continental team Price–Custom Bikes. He retired from cycling after 2011 in order to return to his studies. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer Marcel Seip is a Dutch former professional footballer who plays as a centre back for ACV in the Dutch Hoofdklasse. He previously played for Veendam, Heerenveen, Plymouth Argyle, Blackpool, Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, VVV Venlo, Central Coast Mariners and FC Emmen. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter Matthew D. Emmons is an American rifle shooter. He competed in various events at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2006) Michael Anthony Monsoor was a United States Navy SEAL who was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom during the Battle of Ramadi when he dove onto a grenade to shield his fellow SEALs, sacrificing his own life. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 2001 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training BUD/S class 250 in 2004. After further training he was assigned to Delta Platoon, SEAL Team 3. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter Mariqueen Maandig Reznor is a Filipino-American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is the vocalist for How to Destroy Angels, and the former vocalist of Los Angeles–based rock band West Indian Girl. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete Daba Modibo Keïta is a Malian taekwondo athlete. Keïta has competed in international competitions since 1996, and in 2007 became the heavyweight (+84 kg) division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in Beijing, and competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the +80 kg class. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Marissa Nadler, American musician Marissa Nadler is an American singer-songwriter. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her tenth full-length studio album, New Radiations, in August 2025. Her music has been characterized as blending "traditional folk, Gothic Americana, and dreamy pop into an original musical framework". Her music "is rooted in old-school country and folk but brings in elements of experimental and black metal". Sometimes the term "dream folk" has been invoked to describe her work. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Tom Riley, English actor and producer Tom Riley is an English actor, producer, and director. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer Mompati Thuma is a Motswana former footballer. He currently plays for the Botswana Defence Force XI in the Botswana Premier League. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist Pieter Weening is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2020 – for teams Rabobank (2004–2011), Orica–GreenEDGE (2012–2015), Roompot–Charles (2016–2019), and Trek–Segafredo (2020). During his career, Weening took a total of thirteen victories, including Grand Tour stage victories at the 2005 Tour de France, the 2011 Giro d'Italia and the 2014 Giro d'Italia. He also won the 2013 Tour de Pologne and 2016 Tour of Norway stage races. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Matt Bonner, American basketball player Matthew Robert Bonner, also known as the Red Rocket or Red Mamba, is an American former professional basketball player. Bonner played college basketball for the University of Florida before being selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. During his career Bonner played for the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs with whom he won two NBA championships. He is the only player in NBA history to be born in New Hampshire. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Alberta Brianti, Italian tennis player Alberta Brianti is a former professional tennis player from Italy. On 13 June 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55. On 13 February 2012, she peaked at No. 68 in the doubles rankings. She won one singles title on the WTA Tour defeating Simona Halep in her career, at Fes, Morocco in 2011. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Rafael Cavalcante, Brazilian mixed martial artist Rafael Cavalcante, often known by his nickname of Feijão, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who fights in the light heavyweight division. He is currently competing for Bellator MMA. He trains with Anderson Silva and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira as part of the Black House camp. He formerly competed in Strikeforce, where he was at one time Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. His nickname means "bean" in Portuguese. He holds notable wins over Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Yoel Romero. Read more
05 Apr 1980: David Chocarro, Argentinian baseball player and actor David Chocarro is an Argentine actor, model and former baseball player. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Mike Glumac, Canadian ice hockey player Michael Glumac is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who last played as Captain for Croatian hockey club KHL Medveščak Zagreb in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He is of Croatian descent. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Mario Kasun, Croatian basketball player Mario Kasun is a Croatian former professional basketball player. He played at the center position. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Lee Jae-won, South Korean DJ and singer Lee Jae-won is a South Korean singer, rapper and DJ. He is the former member of Korean groups H.O.T. and jtL. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer Joris Mathijsen is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is the director of football at Willem II. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Rasmus Quist Hansen, Danish rower Rasmus Quist Hansen, also known as Rasmus Quist, is a Danish rower and double World Champion in the lightweight double sculls, with his partner Mads Rasmussen. Read more
05 Apr 1980: Odlanier Solís, Cuban boxer Odlanier Solís Fonte is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2016. He challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2011. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics; 2001, 2003, and 2005 World Championships; 1999, and 2003 Pan American; and 2001 Goodwill Games. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Vlada Avramov, Serbian footballer Vlada Avramov is a Serbian football coach and former professional football player who is the goalkeeper coach of Al-Okhdood who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Josh Boone, American screenwriter and director Josh Boone is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the romantic drama The Fault in Our Stars (2014). Boone also wrote and directed the romantic comedy Stuck in Love (2012) and the superhero horror film The New Mutants (2020). In 2020, he directed the first and last episode of the miniseries The Stand. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Song Dae-nam, South Korean judoka Song Dae-Nam is a former South Korean judoka. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Timo Hildebrand, German footballer Timo Hildebrand is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Imany, French singer Nadia Mladjao, better known by her stage name Imany, is a French pop-soul recording artist of Comorian descent. Her debut album, The Shape of a Broken Heart, which was released in 2011, reached platinum status in France, Greece and triple platinum in Poland. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Barel Mouko, Congolese footballer Barel Morial Mouko is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Rostrenen FC. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Cesare Natali, Italian footballer Cesare Natali is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer Mitsuo Ogasawara is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Japan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Alexander Resch, German luger Alexander Resch is a German former luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with Patric Leitner, he won the men's doubles event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. They also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing sixth. At their last race at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, they won bronze. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Andrius Velička, Lithuanian footballer Andrius Velička is a Lithuanian retired professional association footballer who played as a striker for clubs in Russia, Kazakhstan, Scotland, England, Norway and Azerbaijan in addition to his homeland. He also played for the Lithuania national team. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Dante Wesley, American football player Dante Julius Wesley is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL draft. He played college football for the Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions. Wesley was also a member of the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions. Read more
05 Apr 1979: Chen Yanqing, Chinese weightlifter Chen Yanqing is a Chinese weightlifter who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal in the 58 kg class in both competitions, making her the first woman to win gold medals in weightlifting in two consecutive Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Dwain Chambers, British track sprinter Dwain Anthony Chambers is a British track sprinter. He has won international medals at World and European levels and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres, with a best of 9.97 seconds, which ranks him equal 9th on the British all-time list. He is the former European record holder for the 60 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay events with 6.42 seconds and 37.73 s respectively. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Marcone Amaral Costa, Qatari footballer Marcone Amaral Costa Jr., known as Marcone, is a former footballer. Born in Brazil, he represented Qatar at international level. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Tarek El-Said, Egyptian footballer Tarek El-Said Mohamed Aly Abdo is a former Egyptian footballer. He was a left winger who played for Al-Ahly, Zamalek, and Anderlecht in the Belgian First Division. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Jairo Patiño, Colombian footballer Jairo Leonard Patiño Rosero is a Colombian retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Sohyang, South Korean singer Kim So-hyang, known mononymously as Sohyang, is a South Korean singer-songwriter. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Stephen Jackson, American basketball player Stephen Jesse Jackson is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers. Jackson won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2003. Jackson emerged as an activist and spokesman for civil rights during the Black Lives Matter movement. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Arnaud Tournant, French cyclist Arnaud Tournant is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics. In track cycling, he is third behind Harrie Lavreysen (20) and Sir Chris Hoy (17) in the number of global gold medals in his palmares. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer Franziska van Almsick is a retired German swimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle. She was multiple World and European champion, in both Long and Short Course Championships. Read more
05 Apr 1978: Günther Weidlinger, Austrian long-distance runner Günther Weidlinger is an Austrian long-distance runner who is a former 3000 metres steeplechase specialist but now competes in the marathon. Read more
05 Apr 1977: Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is an Israeli former professional tennis player. During his career, he was mainly a doubles specialist, having won the men's doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open with Andy Ram. He attained his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 5 in July 2008. Erlich has reached 44 doubles finals and won 22, mostly with partner Andy Ram; together, they are known in Israel as "Andyoni". His Davis Cup doubles record, as of 2018, was 22–12. Read more
05 Apr 1977: Trevor Letowski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Trevor Letowski is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger and current assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the seventh round, 174th overall, by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Letowski also played for the Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Carolina Hurricanes. Following retirement from active play, he has served as head coach of the OHL's Sarnia Sting and Windsor Spitfires. Read more
05 Apr 1977: Daniel Majstorović, Swedish footballer Daniel Majstorović is a Swedish former footballer who played as a centre back. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Luis de Agustini, Uruguayan footballer Luis Alejandro Rubén de Agustini Varela, known simply as Luis de Agustini, is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Uruguay, he represented the Libya national team. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Péter Biros, Hungarian water polo player Péter Biros is a Hungarian former water polo player, who played on the gold medal squads at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, which makes him one of six male athletes who won three Olympic gold medals in water polo. He also competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Sterling K. Brown, American actor Sterling Kelby Brown is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award as well as a nomination for an Academy Award. He was included in Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka Aleksei Budõlin is an Estonian former judoka and current coach. At the 2000 Summer Olympics he won a bronze medal in the men's Half Middleweight (‍–‍81 kg) category, together with Nuno Delgado of Portugal. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer Simone Inzaghi is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Nicknamed "Il demone di Piacenza" because of his ability to find unexpected tactical solutions and his verbal and non-verbal coaching communication style, Inzaghi is known for helping revive the 3–5–2 tactical setup. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer and coach Fernando Morientes Sánchez is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Natascha Ragosina, Russian boxer Natalia Yurievna Ragozina, better known as Natascha Ragosina, is an undefeated retired Russian professional boxer who spent much of her career ranked as the top female super middleweight in the world. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer Henrik Olof Stenson is a Swedish professional golfer. In the late 1990s, Stenson turned pro and had much success on the European Tour, winning a number of events in the 2000s. In 2009, Stenson won the PGA Tour's flagship event, The Players Championship, and has primarily focused on the United States since then. Shortly thereafter, however, Stenson entered a drought where he fell out of the top 200 in the world. In 2013, however, Stenson had his most successful year, winning a number of significant worldwide titles and finishing runner-up at the Open Championship. Due to his success he won the season-ending titles for the PGA Tour, the FedEx Cup, and European Tour, the Race to Dubai. In 2016, Stenson won his only major championship, the Open Championship by three strokes over Phil Mickelson. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Valeria Straneo, Italian long-distance runner Valeria Straneo is an Italian long-distance runner, winner of the silver medal at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics and Italian record holder in the marathon. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Indrek Tobreluts, Estonian biathlete Indrek Tobreluts is an Estonian former biathlete and cross-country skier. He has competed at five Winter Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Anouska van der Zee, Dutch cyclist Annuska Johanna Maria 'Anouska' van der Zee is a retired Dutch racing cyclist. She participated both on track and at the road. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Sarah Baldock, English organist and conductor

Sarah Baldock is an English organist and choral conductor, formerly the Organist and Master of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral. She is notable as one of the earliest women to be appointed to the senior music post at a Church of England cathedral. She was married to counter-tenor David Hurley. Baldock has become known as a popular soloist in the UK and abroad. Read more
05 Apr 1975: John Hartson, Welsh footballer and coach John Hartson is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and TNT Sports. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Juicy J, American rapper and producer Jordan Michael Houston III, known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established in 1991. He released ten studio albums with the group, which began as an underground act until attaining mainstream recognition and signing with Loud Records, an imprint of Columbia Records in 2000. The group's 2005 single, "Stay Fly", yielded their furthest commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, they recorded the song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" for the film Hustle & Flow, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Serhiy Klymentiev, Ukrainian ice hockey player Serhiy Volodomyrovych Klymentiev is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Caitlin Moran, English journalist, author, and critic Catherine Elizabeth Moran is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at The Times, where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch". Read more
05 Apr 1975: Marcos Vales, Spanish footballer Marcos Vales Illanes is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Shammond Williams, American basketball player and coach Shammond Omar Williams is an American-born naturalized Georgian former professional basketball player. Standing at 1.85 m, he played at both point guard and shooting guard positions. During his career he played in the NBA and in Europe. He most recently served as the interim head coach for the Denver Pioneers men's basketball team after head coach Jeff Wellbrun was placed on leave for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. He was not retained on Tim Bergstraser's staff. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Sandra Bagarić, Croatian opera singer and actress Sandra Bagarić is a Bosnian and Croatian opera singer and actress. She was born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina where she attended the High School for Music. She continued her musical studies in Sarajevo, but due to the Bosnian War moved to Zagreb in 1992. In Zagreb she attended the Music Academy. She sang in many operas including Madame Troubadour, Countess Maritza, Die Fledermaus, Boccaccio and One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away. She participated in Dora 2007, together with Kraljevi ulice. They performed "Pjesma za novčić" and finished second overall. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Julien Boutter, French tennis player Julien Boutter is a former professional male tennis player from France. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Katja Holanti, Finnish biathlete Katja Minna Marita Holanti is a Finnish biathlete. She competed at the 1994, 1998 and the 2002 Winter Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Oleg Khodkov, Russian handball player Oleg Khodkov is a former Russian handball player. He is the current head coach of HBC CSKA Moscow. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Ariel López, Argentine footballer Ariel Maximiliano López is a former Argentine football player. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Lukas Ridgeston, Slovak actor and director Lukas Ridgeston is a Slovak actor and director in gay erotic movies and model in Bel Ami gay erotic magazines and books. He was born in Bratislava, then part of the former Czechoslovakia, now capital of Slovakia. Lukas Ridgeston is best known as "The King of Gay Porn" or just "The King". Read more
05 Apr 1974: Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Voronin is a Russian track and field athlete who specialised in the high jump. Read more
05 Apr 1973: Élodie Bouchez, French-American actress Élodie Bouchez is a French actress. She became internationally known for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show Alias and for playing Maïté Alvarez in the film Wild Reeds. Read more
05 Apr 1973: Brendan Cannon, Australian rugby player Brendan Cannon is a former Australian rugby union footballer who played for the national team, The Wallabies and three Australian teams in the Super 12 and Super 14 competitions. Read more
05 Apr 1973: Lidia Trettel, Italian snowboarder Lidia Trettel is an Italian snowboarder and Olympic medalist. She received a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Read more
05 Apr 1973: Pharrell Williams, American singer, songwriter and rapper Pharrell Lanscilo Williams, is an American musician, record producer and fashion designer. He initially became known as one half of the music production duo the Neptunes, which he established alongside Chad Hugo in 1992. Fifteen of their productions have peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, which includes four songs that peaked atop the chart. The two also formed the rock and hip-hop band N.E.R.D. with Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams served as lead vocalist. He has been regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern popular music. He has also contributed on all the Despicable Me films as a musical contributor. Read more
05 Apr 1972: Nima Arkani-Hamed, American-Canadian theoretical physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed is an Iranian-American-Canadian theoretical physicist, with interests in high-energy physics, quantum field theory, string theory, cosmology and collider physics. Arkani-Hamed is a member of the permanent faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he is also director of the Carl P. Feinberg Cross-Disciplinary Program in Innovation. He is also director of The Center for Future High Energy Physics (CFHEP) in Beijing, China. Read more
05 Apr 1972: Tom Coronel, Dutch race car driver Tom Romeo Coronel is a Dutch professional racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race in 1997, the Formula Nippon championship in 1999, and the 2006 and 2009 World Touring Car Championship Independents' Trophy. As of September 2016, Tom Coronel has driven over 1,000 races. Read more
05 Apr 1972: Paul Okon, Australian footballer and manager Paul Michael Okon is an Australian former soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1972: Duncan Spencer, English cricketer Duncan Spencer is an English former cricketer. Read more
05 Apr 1972: Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and director (died 2019) Yasuhiro Takemoto was a Japanese animator and television and film director. He worked at Kyoto Animation for almost his entire animation career after joining the company in 1996 until his death in 2019. Read more
05 Apr 1972: Junko Takeuchi, Japanese actress Junko Takeuchi is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. & BQMAP. Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters, with generally very quirky and goofy personalities. One of her most well-known roles includes Naruto Uzumaki in the popular anime series Naruto. She has played Takuya Kanbara in Digimon Frontier, Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge in Yes! PreCure 5, Metabee in Medabots, Mamoru Endou in Inazuma Eleven and Inazuma Eleven GO, Gon Freecss in the 1999 version of Hunter × Hunter, MrBeast in the Japanese dub of MrBeast, and GingerBrave in the Japanese dub of Cookie Run: Kingdom. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Dong Abay, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist Westdon Martin Abay, popularly known as Dong Abay, is a poet and a Pinoy rock musician. He was the founding member, songwriter and lead vocalist of the bands Yano, Pan, and dongabay, which are now all defunct. In 2005, he pursued a solo career as an independent artist by releasing an album entitled Sampol. In 2017, he formed a rock band named Dong Abay Music Organization or D.A.M.O. while having other endeavors such as a songwriting school. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Krista Allen, American actress Krista Allen is an American actress and model. Allen is known for playing soap opera roles, including Billie Reed on Days of Our Lives (1996–1999) and Taylor Hayes on The Bold and the Beautiful (2021–2023), earning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for the latter. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Austin Berry, Costa Rican footballer Austín Gerardo Berry Moya is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Simona Cavallari, Italian actress Simona Cavallari is an Italian actress of the cinema, theatre, and television. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Victoria Hamilton, English actress Victoria Hamilton is an English actress known for her roles in theatre and period dramas. Training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She starred alongside Clive Owen, and later Eddie Izzard, in the London stage play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (2002), making her Broadway debut a year later, and earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Nelson Parraguez, Chilean footballer Nelson Rodrigo Parraguez Riveros is a retired Chilean football midfielder who was capped 52 times for the Chile national team between 1991 and 2001, including three games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Read more
05 Apr 1971: Kim Soo-nyung, South Korean archer Kim Soo-nyung is a former member of the South Korean Olympic archery team in 1988, 1992, and 2000. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Soheil Ayari, French race car driver Soheil Ayari is a French-Iranian race car driver born in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, from an Iranian father and a French mother. He won the French Formula Ford championship of 1994, Formula Three championship of 1996 and the Macau Grand Prix of 1997. From 1997 until 2000, he competed in Formula 3000 where he won two races before moving on to the French Supertouring Championship in 2001 where he became champion in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Valérie Bonneton, French actress Valérie Bonneton is a French actress. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Diamond D, American hip hop producer Joseph Kirkland, better known by his stage name Diamond D, is an American hip hop MC and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T.C. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Petar Genov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster Petar Genov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster (2002). Read more
05 Apr 1970: Thea Gill, Canadian actress Thea Louise Gill is a Canadian actress best known for her starring role as Lindsay Peterson in the Showtime television series Queer as Folk. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Miho Hatori, Japanese singer-songwriter Miho Hatori is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and musician. She is best known as a solo artist, co-founder of New York City band Cibo Matto, and as the first person to provide the voice of Noodle in the virtual band Gorillaz, as well as for her work with the Beastie Boys, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Smokey Hormel, John Zorn, and many more. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Irina Timofeyeva, Russian long-distance runner Irina Nikolayevna Timofeyeva is a Russian former long-distance runner who specialized in running the marathon. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Dinos Angelidis, Greek basketball player Konstantinos "Dinos" Angelidis is an Austrian-born former Greek professional basketball player of mixed Greek-Austrian descent. Born in Vienna, he played professionally in the Greek Basket League, and he also represented the Greek national team at the senior level. He played as either a power forward or center. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Viatcheslav Djavanian, Russian cyclist Viatcheslav Djavanian is a Russian former professional road cyclist. He won the Tour de Pologne 1996. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Pontus Kåmark, Swedish footballer Sven Pontus Kåmark is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Västerås SK, IFK Göteborg, Leicester City and AIK, and won 57 caps for the Sweden national team. He was part of the Swedish team that finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Pavlo Khnykin, Ukrainian swimmer Pavlo Khnykin is a retired freestyle swimmer from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. He was born in Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Tomislav Piplica, Bosnian footballer and manager Tomislav Piplica is a Bosnian football manager who formerly played as goalkeeper. His nickname is "Pipi" and he is considered to be a cult-goalkeeper, in Germany as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Ravindra Prabhat, Indian writer and journalist Ravindra Prabhat is a Hindi-language novelist, journalist, poet, and short story writer from India. Read more
05 Apr 1968: Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter and pianist Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer and songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair, and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and that same year became the first woman to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" without a male collaborator. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Troy Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2017) Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo/solo act founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Montgomery. Although Gentry won a talent contest in 1994, he reunited with Eddie Montgomery after Gentry was unable to find a solo record deal, and Montgomery Gentry was formed in 1999. The duo is known for its Southern rock influences, and has collaborated with Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, Five for Fighting, and members of The Allman Brothers Band. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Franck Silvestre, French footballer Franck Claude Silvestre is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Erland Johnsen, Norwegian footballer Erland Johnsen is a Norwegian football manager and former professional footballer who is director of youth at Sarpsborg 08 FF. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Laima Zilporytė, Soviet cyclist Laima Zilporytė is a retired female cyclist, who trained at Dynamo sports society in Panevėžys and represented the USSR at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There she won the bronze medal in the women's individual road race, after being defeated in the sprint by the Netherlands' Monique Knol and West Germany's Jutta Niehaus. Read more
05 Apr 1966: Yoon Hyun, South Korean judoka Yoon Hyun is a South Korean judoka. Read more
05 Apr 1966: Mike McCready, American guitarist and songwriter Michael David McCready is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, and The Rockfords. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Pearl Jam in 2017 alongside the four other founding members, and former member Matt Cameron. Read more
05 Apr 1966: Peter Overton, English-Australian journalist and television host Peter John Overton, is an Australian television journalist and news presenter. Read more
05 Apr 1965: Aykut Kocaman, Turkish footballer and manager Aykut Kocaman is a former Turkish footballer, who played as a striker. Before he made his debut 1980 with the amateur club Kabataş Altınmızrak in Istanbul, Kocaman performed gymnastics at the club Eczacıbaşı, winning 40 medals and reaching second place at the national level. 1984, he moved to Sakaryaspor in Adapazarı, Sakarya and turned professional. In 1988, Kocaman signed a contract with Fenerbahçe, where he played and contributed much to the success of his club until he was transferred to Istanbulspor in 1996. Read more
05 Apr 1965: Lang Tzu-yun, Taiwanese actress Lang Tzu-yun is a Taiwanese actress. Read more
05 Apr 1965: Elizabeth McIntyre, American freestyle skier Elizabeth Geary McIntyre, sometimes known as Liz McIntyre, is an American freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. She received a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, in moguls. She finished 8th at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Read more
05 Apr 1965: Svetlana Paramygina, Belarusian biathlete Svetlana Paramygina is a former Belarusian biathlete. Her international biathlon career began in 1983. In the 1993/1994 season she won the overall World Cup. The following year she finished second overall. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer she won a silver medal in the sprint event.
After the 2000/2001 season she retired as a biathlete. Read more
05 Apr 1964: Neil Eckersley, British judoka Neil Eckersley is a retired judoka from the United Kingdom, who represented Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. There he won a bronze medal in the men's extra-lightweight division (‍–‍60 kg), alongside USA's Edward "Ed" Liddie. Read more
05 Apr 1964: Vakhtang Iagorashvili, Soviet modern pentathlete Vakhtang "Vaho" Iagorashvili is a Soviet modern pentathlete, who has been a member of three different Olympic teams during his sporting career. Read more
05 Apr 1964: Levon Julfalakyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Levon Julfalakyan is a former Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler. He is an Olympic, World, and European Champion and was merited Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1988. Julfalakyan is the current head coach of the Armenian national Greco-Roman wrestling team and President of the Union of Armenian Olympians, as well as a member of the executive committee of the NOC. Read more
05 Apr 1964: Marius Lăcătuș, Romanian footballer and coach Marius Mihai Lăcătuș is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. Read more
05 Apr 1963: Arthur Adams, American comic book artist and writer Arthur Adams is an American comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries Longshot. His subsequent interior comics work includes a number of Marvel's major books, including The Uncanny X-Men, Excalibur, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Ultimate Comics: X, as well as books by various other publishers, such as Action Comics, Vampirella, The Rocketeer, and The Authority. Adams has also illustrated books featuring characters for which he has a personal love, such as Godzilla, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Gumby, the latter of which garnered him a 1988 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue. Read more
05 Apr 1962: Lana Clarkson, American actress and model (died 2003) Lana Jean Clarkson was an American actress and fashion model. During the 1980s, she rose to prominence in several sword and sorcery films. In 2003, record producer and songwriter Phil Spector shot and killed Clarkson inside his home; he was charged with second-degree murder and convicted in 2009. Read more
05 Apr 1962: Sara Danius, Swedish scholar of literature and aesthetics (died 2019) Sara Maria Danius was a Swedish literary critic and philosopher, and a scholar of literature and aesthetics. Danius was professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University, docent of literature at Uppsala University and professor in literary science at Stockholm University. Read more
05 Apr 1962: Richard Gough, Swedish born Scottish international footballer Charles Richard Gough is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Read more
05 Apr 1962: Arild Monsen, Norwegian cross-country skier Arild Monsen is a former Norwegian cross-country skier who competed at international level from 1982 to 1989. He won the 4 × 10 km gold at the 1985 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld and finished seventh in the 15 km event at same championship. Read more
05 Apr 1962: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian businessman and politician, 1st President of Kalmykia Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Russian oligarch, administrator and politician. He was President of the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation from 1993 to 2010, and was president of FIDE, the chess international governing body, from 1995 to 2018. He has also been at the forefront of promoting chess in schools in Russia and overseas. He is the founder of Novy Vzglyad publishing house. Read more
05 Apr 1961: Andrea Arnold, English filmmaker and actress Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film Wasp in 2005. Her feature films include Red Road (2006), Fish Tank (2009) and American Honey (2016), all of which have won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, while her first documentary feature Cow premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Read more
05 Apr 1961: Anna Caterina Antonacci, Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci is an Italian soprano known for roles in the bel canto and Baroque repertories. She performed as a mezzo-soprano for several years, particularly performing the Rossini canon. Read more
05 Apr 1961: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahraini-Danish human rights activist Abdulhadi Abdulla Hubail al-Khawaja is a Bahraini political activist. On 22 June 2011, al-Khawaja and eight others were sentenced to life imprisonment following the suppression of pro-democracy protests against the Bahraini government. Al-Khawaja has previously gone on a series of hunger strikes while serving his life sentence, in protest of the political conditions in Bahrain. Read more
05 Apr 1961: Lisa Zane, American actress and singer Lisa Zane is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. Read more
05 Apr 1960: Asteris Koutoulas, Romanian-German record producer, manager, and author Asteris Koutoulas is a Greek-Romanian event and music producer, publicist, translator, filmmaker and author. He was the manager of Mikis Theodorakis and the event producer of Gert Hof. Koutoulas rose to prominence as a director when his documentary fiction film "Recycling Medea: Not an Opera Ballet Film" won the Cinema for Peace Most Valuable Documentary Film Award in 2014. Read more
05 Apr 1960: Larry McCray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Larry McCray, is an American blues guitarist and singer from Magnolia, Arkansas. Read more
05 Apr 1960: Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (died 2014) Ian Petrie Redford was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. He played for Dundee before joining Rangers for a then Scottish record transfer fee. At Rangers he won in three domestic cup finals. He then joined Dundee United where he scored in the 1987 UEFA Cup semi final win against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He then played for Ipswich Town, St Johnstone and Brechin City before wrapping up his career with two winners medals at Raith Rovers. Read more
05 Apr 1960: Hiromi Taniguchi, Japanese long-distance runner Hiromi Taniguchi is a former Japanese long-distance runner, best known from winning the gold medal in the marathon at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo. The favourite to win the race, Olympic champion Gelindo Bordin, only finished eighth. The marathon was run under extremely adverse conditions of heat and humidity, which are reflected in the slow winning time of 2:14:57h. Taniguchi is the only male Japanese runner ever to have won a gold medal at World Championships. Read more
05 Apr 1960: Adnan Terzić, Bosnian politician Adnan Terzić is a Bosnian politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2007. He was a longtime member of the Party of Democratic Action, until he left it to join the Union for a Better Future. Read more
05 Apr 1959: Paul Chung, Hong Kong actor and host (died 1989) Paul Chung Po Lo was a Hong Kong actor, MC and a DJ in the early 1980s. He committed suicide on 1 September 1989. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Kevin Dann, Australian rugby league player (died 2021) Kevin George Dann was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played his entire club football career with the Penrith Panthers, as a fullback. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Henrik Dettmann, Finnish basketball coach Henrik Dettmann is a Finnish professional basketball coach who last served as head coach of the French LNB Pro A team SIG Strasbourg and the Finnish national basketball team. He was the head coach of German national basketball team from 1997 to 2003, winning the bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship. In 2004, Dettman won FIBA EuroCup Challenge with Mitteldeutscher. He coached Finland national team on two occasions, for 23 years in total. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Ryoichi Kawakatsu, Japanese footballer Ryoichi Kawakatsu is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Johan Kriek, South African-American tennis player Johan Christiaan Kriek is a South African–American former professional tennis player. He won two Australian Open titles, beating Steve Denton in four sets in the 1981 final and the same opponent in the 1982 final in straight sets, when he tamed Denton's cannonball serve and "relentlessly whipped winners past him from all angles of the court". He reached the semifinals at the French Open and US Open, as well as the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships. Kriek won 14 professional singles and eight doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7 in September 1984. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Daniel Schneidermann, French journalist Daniel Schneidermann is a French journalist who focuses on the analysis of televised media. He is mainly active in weekly columns—in the past in Le Monde and presently in Libération and on a video channel: Arrêt sur images (Freeze-frame), formerly broadcast by the public TV channel France 5, but currently financed by subscription. The television show was canceled in 2007 by France 5 direction, an incident that led to the creation of the Arret Sur Images web site. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan lawyer and journalist (died 2009) Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge was a high-profile Sri Lankan journalist, politician, broadcaster, and human rights activist who was assassinated in January 2009. Read more
05 Apr 1957: Sebastian Adayanthrath, Indian bishop Sebastian Adayantharath is a Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop. He is the current bishop of Mandya and also a former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Read more
05 Apr 1957: Karin Roßley, German hurdler Karin Roßley, is a retired East German hurdler, who represented the sports team SC Cottbus. She was born in Cottbus. Read more
05 Apr 1956: Diamond Dallas Page, American wrestler and actor Dallas Page, is an American fitness instructor, actor, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Diamond Dallas Page. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wrestled for mainstream wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Read more
05 Apr 1956: Leonid Fedun, Russian businessman Leonid Arnoldovich Fedun is a Ukrainian-born Russian billionaire businessman known for co-founding Russian oil company Lukoil. Until retiring in 2022, Fedun was vice president of Lukoil. He formerly served as president of FC Spartak Moscow before selling 100% of his shares to Lukoil. Read more
05 Apr 1956: Reid Ribble, American politician Reid James Ribble is an American businessman and Republican politician from the Fox Cities region of Wisconsin. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 8th congressional district from 2011 to 2017. Read more
05 Apr 1956: T. V. Smith, English singer-songwriter Timothy "T. V." Smith is an English singer-songwriter who was part of punk band The Adverts in the late 1970s. Since then he has fronted other bands, as well as pursuing a solo career. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer, and screenwriter Anne-Charlotte de Turckheim is a French actress, screenwriter, comedian and film producer. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Ricardo Ferrero, Argentine footballer (died 2015) Ricardo Ferrero was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Cruz Azul, Barcelona, and Racing de Santander. He later became a manager with Deportivo Toluca. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Christian Gourcuff, French footballer and manager Christian Jean Gourcuff is a French former professional football player and manager. He spent a majority of his managerial career at Lorient, where he was the head coach for 25 years across three different spells. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Anthony Horowitz, English author and screenwriter Anthony John Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the Alex Rider series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spies for MI6, The Power of Five series, and The Diamond Brothers series. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Bernard Longley, English prelate Bernard Longley is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was named the Archbishop of Birmingham on 1 October 2009, and installed on 8 December 2009. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Akira Toriyama, Japanese illustrator (died 2024) Akira Toriyama was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors in the history of manga and created numerous highly influential and popular series, with his most famous being Dragon Ball. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Takayoshi Yamano, Japanese footballer Takayoshi Yamano is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist and radio host Guy Bertrand is a Canadian linguist and broadcast personality. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Peter Case, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Case is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Mohamed Ben Mouza, Tunisian footballer Mohamed Ali Ben Moussa was a Tunisian footballer who played as a forward for Club Africain and the Tunisia national team. He was part of Tunisia's 1978 FIFA World Cup. Ben Moussa died on 6 November 2025, at the age of 71. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Stanard "Stan" Ridgway is an American singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original lead singer and a founding member of the band Wall of Voodoo. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Yoshiichi Watanabe, Japanese footballer Yoshiichi Watanabe is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1953: Frank Gaffney, American journalist and radio host Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is an American defense policy analyst and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP). He founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1970s and 1980s, he worked for the federal government in multiple posts, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy from 1983 to 1987, and seven months as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan administration. He was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1987. In later years, he has been described as an anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist. Read more
05 Apr 1953: Keiko Han, Japanese actress Keiko Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She sang the theme songs in productions, such as Story of the Alps: My Annette and The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island. She is also a fortune teller of western horoscopes. She wrote books on the subject, and is employed by talent agency Never Land Arts. She was a former member of Aoni Production and 81 Produce. Read more
05 Apr 1953: Tae Jin-ah, South Korean singer Jo Bang-heon, better known by his stage name, Tae Jin-ah (태진아), is a South Korean trot singer and entertainer. He debuted in 1973 with the song, "My Heart Express Train," and rose to fame soon after with the song, "Memory of a Blue Hill." Since 2002, he has hosted a radio program on KBS Radio 2 called the Tae Jin Ah Show Show Show. He often appears on the KBS 1TV 'Golden Oldies(Korean: 가요무대)'. Read more
05 Apr 1953: Raleb Majadele, Israeli politician Raleb Majadele is an Israeli Arab politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party in three spells between 2004 and 2015, and became the country's first Muslim minister when appointed Minister without Portfolio on 28 January 2007. Between March 2007 – March 2009 he served as Minister of Science, Culture and Sport, the first Muslim minister in Israeli history. Read more
05 Apr 1953: Ian Swales, English accountant and politician Ian Cameron Swales is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Redcar in England. He is the only person ever to gain a North East Region Commons seat for the Liberal Democrats. Swales took Redcar from Labour incumbent Vera Baird for the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 general election, with a 21.8% swing adding over 11,000 votes to his 2005 general election total. This was the biggest swing against any Labour candidate in the election and was also the biggest majority overcome by any Liberal Democrat, until the 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election. He stood down at the 2015 general election. Read more
05 Apr 1952: Alfie Conn, Scottish international footballer Alfred James Conn is a Scottish former professional footballer, who was the first post-World War II player to play for both Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic. Read more
05 Apr 1952: John C. Dvorak, American author and editor John C. Dvorak is an American writer and broadcaster in the areas of technology and personal computing. He has been a columnist for multiple magazines since the 1980s and has written or co-authored over a dozen how-to books on software and technology. He was vice president of Mevio, and has been a host on TechTV and TWiT.tv. He is currently a co-host of the No Agenda podcast. Read more
05 Apr 1952: Sandy Mayer, American tennis player Alexander Mayer is a former tennis player from the United States. He won twelve titles in singles and twenty-four titles in doubles in his professional career, and was part of the winning tennis squad at Stanford University in 1973. Read more
05 Apr 1952: Dennis Mortimer, English footballer Dennis George Mortimer is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder and captained Aston Villa. He made nearly 600 appearances in the Football League playing for Coventry City, Aston Villa, Sheffield United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Birmingham City. Read more
05 Apr 1952: Mitch Pileggi, American actor Mitchell Pileggi is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in Shocker, Walter Skinner on The X-Files, Colonel Steven Caldwell on Stargate Atlantis, Ernest Darby in Sons of Anarchy, and Harris Ryland in the TNT revival of Dallas (2012–2014). Read more
05 Apr 1951: Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter James Leslie Binks was a Northern Irish heavy metal drummer. He is best-known for being the drummer for Judas Priest, where he was a member from 1977 to 1979. Read more
05 Apr 1951: Yevgeniy Gavrilenko, Belarusian hurdler Yevgeniy Mikhailovich Gavrilenko is a former Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles. He trained at Dynamo in Gomel. Read more
05 Apr 1951: Nedim Gürsel, Turkish writer Nedim Gürsel is a Turkish writer. In the late 1960s, he published novellas and essays in Turkish magazines. After graduating from Galatasaray High School in 1970, he studied at the Sorbonne. In 1974, he graduated from the Sorbonne's Department of Modern French Literature. In 1979, he received his doctorate in comparative literature after completing his dissertation on Louis Aragon and Nazim Hikmet. He returned to Turkey, but the unrest there in 1980 persuaded him to go back to France. Read more
05 Apr 1951: Dean Kamen, American inventor and businessman, founded Segway Inc. Dean Lawrence Kamen is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization FIRST with Woodie Flowers. Kamen holds over 1,000 patents. Read more
05 Apr 1951: Dave McArtney, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013) David Ewan McArtney was a New Zealand musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s with the band Hello Sailor and his band Dave McArtney & The Pink Flamingos. Read more
05 Apr 1951: Ubol Ratana, Thai Princess Ubol Ratana is a member of the Thai royal family. She is the eldest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, and the elder sister of King Vajiralongkorn. Read more
05 Apr 1950: Ann C. Crispin, American writer (died 2013) Ann Carol Crispin was an American science fiction writer and the author of 23 published novels. She wrote several Star Trek and Star Wars novelizations; she also created an original science fiction series called StarBridge. Read more
05 Apr 1950: Franklin Chang Díaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American astronaut and physicist Franklin Ramon Chang-Díaz is a Costa Rica born mechanical engineer, physicist, and former NASA astronaut. He is the sole founder and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company as well as a member of the Cummins' board of directors. He became a U. S. citizen in 1977. Read more
05 Apr 1950: Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Agneta Åse "Agnetha" Fältskog is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and a member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She rose to international stardom in the 1970s as a member of ABBA, which is one of the best-selling music acts in history. Read more
05 Apr 1950: Toshiko Fujita, Japanese actress, singer and narrator (died 2018) Toshiko Fujita was a Japanese actress, singer and narrator. She was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of her death. Read more
05 Apr 1950: Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor Predrag "Miki" Manojlović is a Serbian actor, famous for his starring roles in some of the most important films of Yugoslav cinema. Since the early 1990s, he successfully branched out into movies made outside the Balkans and became active in productions all over Europe. Read more
05 Apr 1949: Stanley Dziedzic, American wrestler Stanley Joseph Dziedzic Jr. is an American former welterweight freestyle wrestler. Read more
05 Apr 1949: Larry Franco, American film producer Larry Joseph Franco is an American film producer. He has also served as an actor, second unit director and assistant director. He is the father of former Atlanta Braves baseball player Matt Franco and Phronsie Franco. He is the ex-brother-in-law of actor Kurt Russell and the ex-son-in-law of actor Bing Russell. Franco attended UCLA film school. Read more
05 Apr 1949: Judith Resnik, American engineer and astronaut (died 1986) Judith Arlene Resnik was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She was the fourth woman, the second American woman and the first Jewish woman of any nationality to fly in space, logging 145 hours in orbit. Read more
05 Apr 1948: Pierre-Albert Chapuisat, Swiss footballer Pierre-Albert 'Gabet' Chapuisat is a Swiss retired football defender and manager. Read more
05 Apr 1948: Dave Holland, English drummer (died 2018) David Holland was an English drummer, best remembered for his time with the rock band Trapeze from 1969 to 1979 and Judas Priest from 1979 to 1989. Read more
05 Apr 1948: Roy McFarland, English footballer and manager Roy Leslie McFarland is an English former football manager and player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Đurđica Bjedov, Yugoslav swimmer Đurđa "Đurđica" Bjedov is a retired Croatian swimmer and the only Yugoslav Olympic champion in swimming. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Willy Chirino, Cuban-American musician Willy Chirino is a Cuban singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Filipino academic and politician, 14th President of the Philippines Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo, often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president since Ferdinand Marcos. Before her presidency, she was the 10th vice president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Estrada, becoming the first female vice president. She was also a senator from 1992 to 1998. After her presidency, she was elected as the representative of Pampanga's 2nd district in 2010 and continues to serve in this role. She also served as the speaker of the House from 2018 to 2019, and as deputy speaker from 2016 to 2017 and 2022 to 2023. Alongside former president Sergio Osmeña, she is one of only two Filipinos to hold at least three of the four highest offices: vice president, president, and house speaker. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Ramón Mifflin, Peruvian footballer Ramón Antonio Mifflin Páez is a former Peruvian football player. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Virendra Sharma, Indian-English lawyer and politician Virendra Kumar Sharma is a British-Indian Labour Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ealing Southall from 2007 to 2024. Read more
05 Apr 1946: Jane Asher, English actress Jane Asher is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress. She has worked extensively in film and television. Read more
05 Apr 1946: Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer Julio Ángel Fernández Alves is a Uruguayan astronomer and teacher, member of the department of astronomy at the Universidad de la República in Montevideo. He is also a member of PEDECIBA,, and the Uruguayan Society of Astronomy. From 2005 to 2010, he was the Dean of the Universidad de la Republica's Faculty of Sciences. The asteroid 5996 Julioangel, discovered in 1983, was named after him. Read more
05 Apr 1946: Björn Granath, Swedish actor (died 2017) Björn Gösta Tryggve Granath was a Swedish actor who appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Read more
05 Apr 1946: Georgi Markov, Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler Georgi Markov is a retired Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler. He was born in 1946, in Gorno Vyrshilo, Pazardzhik province. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Ove Bengtson, Swedish tennis player Ove Nils Bengtson is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won five doubles titles. Bengtson was a member of the Swedish Davis Cup team from 1967 to 1979, posting a 7–14 record in singles and a 15–14 record in doubles. He was part of the Swedish team winning the 1975 Davis Cup, defeating Czechoslovakia in the final in Stockholm. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Steve Carver, American director and producer (died 2021) Steve Carver was an American film director, producer, and photographer. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Cem Karaca, Turkish musician (died 2004) Muhtar Cem Karaca was a Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement. He was a graduate of Robert College. He worked with various Turkish rock bands such as Apaşlar, Kardaşlar, Moğollar and Dervişan. With these bands, he brought a new understanding and interpretation to Turkish rock. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Tommy Smith, English footballer (died 2019) Thomas Smith was an English footballer, who played as a defender at Liverpool for 16 years from 1962 to 1978. Known for his uncompromising defensive style, manager Bill Shankly once said of him: "Tommy Smith wasn't born, he was quarried". A central defender for most of his career, Smith's most memorable moment for the club probably came when he scored Liverpool's second goal in the 1977 European Cup Final against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Smith played once for England in 1971, and also played at club level for Tampa Bay Rowdies, Los Angeles Aztecs and Swansea City. Read more
05 Apr 1944: Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress and director Willy Geertje van Ammelrooij, known as Willeke van Ammelrooy, is a Dutch actress. Read more
05 Apr 1944: János Martonyi, Hungarian politician János Martonyi is a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union party. He was part of the Amato Group that unofficially drafted a new treaty for the European Union after the European Constitution was rejected by the French and Dutch voters. Read more
05 Apr 1944: Evan Parker, British musician Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Read more
05 Apr 1944: Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (died 2014) Lieutenant general Douangchay Phichit was a Laotian politician from Attapeu and a Politburo member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense. Read more
05 Apr 1944: Willy Planckaert, Belgian cyclist Willy Planckaert is a Belgian former road bicycle racer. His brothers, Eddy and Walter Planckaert, as well as his son Jo Planckaert, are also former professional road bicycle racers. Read more
05 Apr 1944: Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rican physician and politician, 7th Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Juan Rosselló González is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served two consecutive terms as the seventh democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. Rosselló was president of the New Progressive Party (PNP) from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008. He was also a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico for the district of Arecibo from 2005 to 2008. His son, Ricardo, was governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2019. Read more
05 Apr 1944: Peter T. King, American soldier, lawyer, and politician Peter Thomas King is an American former politician and novelist who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a South Shore Long Island district that includes parts of Nassau County and Suffolk County and was numbered as the 3rd and later the 2nd district. Read more
05 Apr 1943: Dean Brown, Australian politician, 41st Premier of South Australia Dean Craig Brown, AO is a politician who served as the Premier of South Australia between 14 December 1993 and 28 November 1996, and also served as 10th Deputy Premier of South Australia between 22 October 2001 and 5 March 2002, representing the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. He became premier when he led the party to a landslide win at the 1993 state election, and lost the office when he lost a leadership challenge to John Olsen in November 1996. Read more
05 Apr 1943: Max Gail, American actor and director Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations. Gail also won the 2019 and 2021 Daytime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mike Corbin on the soap opera General Hospital. Read more
05 Apr 1943: Fighting Harada, Japanese boxer Masahiko Harada, better known as Fighting Harada, is a Japanese former professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring undisputed flyweight titles from 1962 to 1963 and the WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed bantamweight titles from 1965 and 1968. He is currently the president of the Japanese boxing association. Read more
05 Apr 1943: Miet Smet, Belgian politician Miet Smet was a Belgian politician for the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). Read more
05 Apr 1943: Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (died 2018) Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he died, he had been the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2007 and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since the end of 2014. He was made a cardinal in 2003 and was the Cardinal Protodeacon from 2011 to 2014. His earlier career included almost thirty years in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and several years as the Vatican's chief archivist and librarian. Read more
05 Apr 1942: Allan Clarke, English singer-songwriter Harold Allan Clarke is an English singer and musician who was one of the founding members and the original lead singer of the Hollies. He achieved international hit singles with the group and is credited as co-writer on several of their best-known songs, including "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne", "Jennifer Eccles" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". He retired from performing in 2000, but returned to the music industry in 2019. Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 as a member of the Hollies. Read more
05 Apr 1942: Pascal Couchepin, Swiss politician Pascal Couchepin is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1998 to 2009. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD), he was President of the Swiss Confederation twice, in 2003 and 2008. Couchepin headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and Federal Department of Home Affairs from 2003 until 2009. Read more
05 Apr 1942: Juan Gisbert Sr., Spanish tennis player Juan Gisbert Sr. is a retired Spanish professional tennis. He was ranked world No. 14 in 1967. He was active from 1956 to 1976 and won 14 career singles titles. Read more
05 Apr 1942: Peter Greenaway, Welsh director and screenwriter Peter Greenaway, is a British filmmaker and visual artist. Read more
05 Apr 1941: Michael Moriarty, American-Canadian actor Michael Moriarty is an American actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries Holocaust and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the play Find Your Way Home. He starred as Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone for the first four seasons (1990–1994) of the television show Law & Order. Moriarty is also known for his roles in films such as Bang the Drum Slowly, Who'll Stop the Rain, Q: The Winged Serpent, The Stuff, Pale Rider, Troll, Courage Under Fire, and Shiloh. Read more
05 Apr 1941: Dave Swarbrick, English singer-songwriter and fiddler (died 2016) David Cyril Eric Swarbrick was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter who primarily played the violin. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second British folk revival, contributing to some of the most important groups and projects of the 1960s, and he became a much sought-after session musician, which led him throughout his career to work with many of the major figures in folk and folk rock music. Read more
05 Apr 1940: Tommy Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024) Tommy Cash was an American country musician. His elder brother was Johnny Cash. Read more
05 Apr 1940: Gilles Proulx, Canadian journalist, historian, and radio host Gilles Proulx is a Canadian radio and television host in the province of Quebec. His radio career began in 1962, notably working for CHMP-FM and currently for Quebecor and Radio Ville-Marie. A strong Quebec nationalist, known for his conservative views and criticism of the anglophone community, he’s published 153 opinion columns in the Le Journal de Montréal as of 2020. Read more
05 Apr 1939: Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania (died 2011) Leka, Crown Prince of Albania was the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine of Albania. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. After his father's death in 1961, Leka was the pretender to the Albanian throne, and his supporters referred to him as King Leka I. Read more
05 Apr 1939: Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (died 2010) Crispian St. Peters was an English pop singer-songwriter, best known for his work in the 1960s, particularly hit songs written by the duo The Changin' Times, including "The Pied Piper", and Ian & Sylvia's "You Were on My Mind". His popularity waned after he claimed he was a better performer than other well known singers and declared that he was a better songwriter than the Beatles. Read more
05 Apr 1939: Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, Prime Minister of Yemen Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas is a Yemeni politician. He was appointed Prime Minister of Yemen by President Ali Abdullah Saleh when the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and Yemen Arab Republic united in 1990 to form present-day Yemen. Al-Attas served until 1994. He is a member of the Yemeni Socialist Party. Read more
05 Apr 1939: Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (died 1995) Ronald Anthony White was an American baritone singer, best known as the co-founder of the Miracles and its only consistent original member. White was also known for bringing Stevie Wonder to the attention of Motown Records, and writing several hit singles for the Miracles as well as other artists including the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Mary Wells. White died of leukemia in 1995, at 57 years old. In 2012, White was a posthumous inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Miracles. Read more
05 Apr 1939: David Winters, English-American actor, choreographer and producer (died 2019) David Winters was an English-born American actor, dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. At a young age, he acted in film and television projects such as Lux Video Theatre, Naked City; Mister Peepers, Rock, Rock, Rock, and Roogie's Bump. He received some attention in Broadway musicals for his roles in West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). In the film adaptation of West Side Story (1961) he was one of the few actors to be re-cast in a different role than what he performed in the original stage version. West Side Story became the highest grossing motion picture of that year, and won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Colin Bland, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (died 2018) Kenneth Colin Bland was a Rhodesian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches for South Africa in the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders in the history of Test cricket. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Mal Colston, Australian educator and politician (died 2003) Malcolm Arthur Colston was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1975 to 1999. He was a member of the Labor Party until 1996, when he resigned to sit as an independent following a dispute over his candidacy for Deputy President of the Senate. Colston was a schoolteacher before entering politics, and held a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Queensland. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (died 2014) Nancy Holt was an American artist most known for her public sculpture, installation art, concrete poetry, and land art. Throughout her career, Holt also produced works in other media, including film and photography. Since 2018, her legacy has been cared for by Holt/Smithson Foundation. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Natalya Kustinskaya, Soviet actress (died 2012) Natalya Nikolayevna Kustinskaya was a Soviet actress, who was a Meritorious Artist of Russia from 1999. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Giorgos Sideris, Greek footballer Giorgos Sideris is a Greek former footballer, who played as striker. Read more
05 Apr 1937: Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and author (died 2024) Joseph Salem Lelyveld was an American journalist. He was executive editor of The New York Times from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He was a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author, and a contributor to the New York Review of Books. Read more
05 Apr 1937: Colin Powell, American general and politician, 65th United States Secretary of State (died 2021) Colin Luther Powell was an American Army general, diplomat, and statesman who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005, being the first Black American to hold the office, and was the highest-ranking Black American in the federal executive branch in American history until the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008. Initially politically independent, Powell joined the Republican Party in 1995. He was the 15th national security advisor from 1987 to 1989, and the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Read more
05 Apr 1937: Andrzej Schinzel, Polish mathematician (died 2021) Andrzej Bobola Maria Schinzel was a Polish mathematician studying mainly number theory. Read more
05 Apr 1937: Arie Selinger, Israeli volleyball player and manager Arie Selinger is an Israeli volleyball coach and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest volleyball coaches of all time. He is credited with transforming the United States women's national volleyball team into a powerhouse in the 1980s. Read more
05 Apr 1937: Juan Vicente Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer (died 2012) Juan Vicente Lezcano López was a Paraguayan football defender. Read more
05 Apr 1936: Ronnie Bucknum, American race car driver (died 1992) Ronald James Bucknum was an American race car driver, born in Alhambra, California. Read more
05 Apr 1936: Glenn Jordan, American director and producer Glenn Jordan is a retired American television director and producer. Read more
05 Apr 1936: Dragoljub Minić, Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster (died 2005) Dragoljub Minić was a Yugoslav Grandmaster of chess. He won the championship of Yugoslavia in 1962. Read more
05 Apr 1935: Giovanni Cianfriglia, Italian actor (died 2024) Giovanni Cianfriglia, also known as Ken Wood, was an Italian film actor and stuntman. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1958 to 2000. Read more
05 Apr 1935: Peter Grant, English talent manager (died 1995) Peter Grant was an English music manager, best known as the manager of Led Zeppelin from their creation in 1968 to their breakup in 1980. With his intimidating size and weight, confrontational manner, knowledge and experience, Grant was able to procure strong and unprecedented deals for Led Zeppelin, and is widely credited with improving pay and conditions for all musicians in dealings with concert promoters. Grant has been described as "one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history". Read more
05 Apr 1935: Donald Lynden-Bell, English astrophysicist and astronomer (died 2018) Donald Lynden-Bell CBE FRS was a British theoretical astrophysicist. He was the first to determine that galaxies contain supermassive black holes at their centres, and that such black holes power quasars. Lynden-Bell was President of the Royal Astronomical Society (1985–1987) and received numerous awards for his work, including the inaugural Kavli Prize for Astrophysics. He worked at the University of Cambridge for his entire career, where he was the first director of its Institute of Astronomy. Read more
05 Apr 1935: Frank Schepke, German rower (died 2017) Frank Schepke was a German rower who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1934: John Carey, English author and critic John Carey was a British literary critic, and post-retirement (2002) emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. He was a scholar on John Milton and he also published a number of books on various literary figures. He became known for his anti-elitist views on high culture, as expounded in several books such as The Intellectuals and the Masses and What Good Are the Arts? Carey twice chaired the Booker Prize committee, in 1982 and 2003, and chaired the judging panel for the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005. Read more
05 Apr 1934: Roman Herzog, German lawyer and politician, 7th President of Germany (died 2017) Roman Herzog was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as President of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elected after German reunification. He previously served as a judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, and he was president of the court from 1987 to 1994. Before his appointment as a judge, he was a professor of law. He received the 1997 Charlemagne Prize. Read more
05 Apr 1934: Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (died 2014) Moise Yacoub Safra was a Lebanese-Brazilian businessman and philanthropist of Syrian descent. He co-founded Banco Safra with his brothers Edmond Safra and Joseph Safra. Read more
05 Apr 1934: Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist and composer (died 2000) Stanley William Turrentine, nicknamed Mr. T, was an American Grammy nominated jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touching on jazz fusion during a stint on CTI in the 1970s. He was described by critic Steve Huey as "renowned for his distinctively thick, rippling tone [and] earthy grounding in the blues." In the 1960s Turrentine was married to organist Shirley Scott, with whom he frequently recorded, and he was the younger brother of trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, with whom he also recorded. Read more
05 Apr 1933: Feridun Buğeker, Turkish footballer (died 2014) Feridun İsmail Buğeker was a Turkish football forward who played for Turkey in the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Fenerbahçe S.K. between 1950–55 and 1961–63. Read more
05 Apr 1933: Frank Gorshin, American actor (died 2005) Frank John Gorshin Jr. was an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He made many guest appearances on television variety and talk shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show, Tonight Starring Steve Allen, The Dean Martin Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Read more
05 Apr 1933: Barbara Holland, American author (died 2010) Barbara Murray Holland was an American author who wrote in defense of such modern-day vices as cursing, drinking, eating fatty food and smoking cigarettes, as well as a memoir of her time spent growing up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. Read more
05 Apr 1933: K. Kailasapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and academic (died 1982) Kanagasabapathy Kailasapathy was a Sri Lankan journalist and academic. He was the first president of the Jaffna Campus of the University of Sri Lanka. Read more
05 Apr 1931: Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2013) Jack Henderson Clement was an American musician, songwriter, record producer, film producer, and music executive. Read more
05 Apr 1931: Héctor Olivera, Argentine director, producer and screenwriter Héctor Emilio Olivera is an Argentine film director, producer and screenwriter. Olivera worked mainly in the cinema of Argentina, but also has directed or contributed to several films made for the United States market. Read more
05 Apr 1930: Mary Costa, American singer and actress Mary Costa is an American retired actress and singer. Her most notable film credit is providing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney animated film Sleeping Beauty. She is the last surviving voice actress of the three Disney Princesses created in Walt Disney's lifetime and was named a Disney Legend in 1999. She is a recipient of the 2020 National Medal of Arts. Read more
05 Apr 1930: Pierre Lhomme, French director of photography (died 2019) Pierre Lhomme was a French cinematographer and filmmaker. Read more
05 Apr 1929: Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and painter (died 2008) Hugo Maurice Julien Claus was a leading Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, novels, and poetry; he also left a legacy as a painter and film director. He wrote primarily in Dutch, although he also wrote some poetry in English. He won the 2000 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Read more
05 Apr 1929: Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2025) Ivar Giaever was a Norwegian–American experimental physicist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics with Leo Esaki and Brian Josephson. One half of the prize was jointly awarded to Esaki and Giaever "for their experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors, respectively." Read more
05 Apr 1929: Nigel Hawthorne, English actor and producer (died 2001) Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role, he won four for British Academy Television Awards for Best Entertainment Performance. Read more
05 Apr 1929: Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (died 1967) Robert George "Joe" Meek was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio as an instrument, and becoming one of the first producers to be recognised for his individual identity as an artist. Meek pioneered space age and experimental pop music, and assisted in the development of recording practices like overdubbing, sampling and reverberation. Read more
05 Apr 1929: Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, Iranian wrestler Mahmoud Mollaghasemi Tabrizi is a retired Iranian freestyle wrestler. He won a silver medal at the 1951 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1928: Enzo Cannavale, Italian actor (died 2011) Vincenzo "Enzo" Cannavale was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films since 1949, including Cinema Paradiso, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990. He was awarded the Nastro d’Argento for Best Supporting Actor in 32 dicembre by Luciano De Crescenzo. Read more
05 Apr 1928: Tony Williams, American singer (died 1992) Samuel Edward "Tony" Williams was an American R&B singer. From 1953 to 1960, he was the lead vocalist of the Platters. Read more
05 Apr 1927: Thanin Kraivichien, Thai lawyer and politician, 14th prime minister of Thailand (died 2025) Thanin Kraivichien was a Thai judge, politician and law professor. He was the prime minister of Thailand between 1976 and 1977. He was then appointed to the Privy Council and became its president in 2016. With the death of Prem Tinsulanonda in May 2019, he became the oldest living former Thai Prime Minister. Read more
05 Apr 1927: Arne Hoel, Norwegian ski jumper (died 2006) Arne Hoel was a Norwegian ski jumper who competed in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen ski festival three times. Because of his successes, Hoel was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1956. He also finished sixth and eleventh in the individual large hill event at the 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics, respectively. Read more
05 Apr 1926: Roger Corman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2024) Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", “King of the Beatnik Movies”,"The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Read more
05 Apr 1926: Liang Yusheng, Chinese writer (died 2009) Chen Wentong, better known by his pen name Liang Yusheng, was a Chinese-born Australian novelist best known for being a pioneer of the "new school" of the wuxia genre in the 20th century. Along with Jin Yong and Gu Long, he was one of the best known wuxia writers in the later half of the 20th century. Throughout his career, he published a total of 35 wuxia novels. The more notable ones include Baifa Monü Zhuan, Yunhai Yugong Yuan, Qijian Xia Tianshan and Pingzong Xiaying Lu. Some of them have been adapted into films and television series, including The Bride with White Hair (1993) and Seven Swords (2005). Read more
05 Apr 1925: Janet Rowley, American human geneticist (died 2013) Janet Davison Rowley was an American human geneticist and the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia and other cancers, thus proving that cancer is a genetic disease. Rowley spent the majority of her life working in Chicago and received many awards and honors throughout her life, recognizing her achievements and contributions in the area of genetics. Read more
05 Apr 1925: Pierre Nihant, Belgian cyclist (died 1993) Pierre Nihant was a Belgian cyclist. He was born in Trembleur, in the province of Liège. He won a silver medal in the 1000m time trial at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Read more
05 Apr 1924: Igor Borisov, Soviet rower (died 2003) Igor Anddreyevich Borisov was a Russian rower who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1952 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1923: Ernest Mandel, German-born Belgian Marxist economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist (died 1995) Ernest Ezra Mandel, also known by various pseudonyms such as Ernest Germain, Pierre Gousset, Henri Vallin, Walter, was a Belgian Marxian economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist, and Holocaust survivor. He fought in the underground resistance against the Nazis during the occupation of Belgium. Read more
05 Apr 1923: Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (died 1995) Michael Vincenzo Gazzo was an American playwright who later in life became a movie and television actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Godfather Part II (1974). Read more
05 Apr 1923: Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (died 2001) Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF), became head of a military junta in 1965, and then president after winning a rigged election in 1967. He headed the government of South Vietnam until he resigned and left the nation and relocated to Taipei a few days before the fall of Saigon and the ultimate North Vietnamese victory. Read more
05 Apr 1922: Tom Finney, English footballer (died 2014) Sir Thomas Finney was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a outside left for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of England's greatest ever players. He was noted for his loyalty to Preston, for whom he made 433 Football League and 39 FA Cup appearances, scoring a total of 210 goals. He played for England 76 times, scoring 30 goals. Read more
05 Apr 1922: Harry Freedman, Polish-Canadian horn player, composer, and educator (died 2005) Harry Freedman , was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as The Bloody Brood (1959), Isabel (1968), The Act of the Heart (1970), The Pyx (1973) and The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog (1980), and composed a substantial amount of chamber music. He also composed music for six ballets, an opera, some incidental music for the theatre, and a few vocal art songs and choral works. He was awarded a Juno Award in 1996 for his symphonic work Touchings, which was recorded by the Esprit Orchestra on the Nexus label. He won the 1998 composition prize at the International Rostrum of Composers for Borealis, a symphonic work co-commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Soundstreams Canada, and CBC Radio. In 2002 the Canadian Music Centre released a commercial recording dedicated to his music, Canadian Composers Portraits: Harry Freedman. Read more
05 Apr 1922: Andy Linden, American race car driver (died 1987) Andrew Logan Linden was an American racecar driver. Read more
05 Apr 1922: Gale Storm, American actress and singer (died 2009) Josephine Owaissa Cottle, known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show. Six of her songs were top ten hits. Storm's greatest recording success was a cover version of "I Hear You Knockin'," which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1955. Read more
05 Apr 1921: Christopher Hewett, English actor and theatre director (died 2001) Christopher George Hewett was an English actor and theatre director best known for his role as Lynn Aloysius Belvedere on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere. Read more
05 Apr 1920: Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2001) Barend Willem Biesheuvel was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 6 July 1971 until 11 May 1973. Read more
05 Apr 1920: Arthur Hailey, English-Canadian soldier and author (died 2004) Arthur Frederick Hailey, AE was a British-Canadian novelist whose plot-driven storylines were set against the backdrops of various industries. His books, which include such best sellers as Hotel (1965), Airport (1968), Wheels (1971), The Moneychangers (1975), and Overload (1979), have sold 170 million copies in 38 languages. Read more
05 Apr 1920: Alfonso Thiele, Turkish-Italian race car driver (died 1986) Alfonso Thiele was an Italian and American racing driver. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 4 September 1960. He scored no championship points. Most of his career was spent in sports car racing. Read more
05 Apr 1920: John Willem Gran, Swedish bishop (died 2008) Willem Nicolaysen Gran was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo from 1963 to 1983. Read more
05 Apr 1919: Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan director, screenwriter, and producer (died 2018) Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Considered as the father of Sri Lankan cinema, Lester worked as a filmmaker from 1949 to 2006, and was involved in over 28 films, including shorts and documentaries. Read more
05 Apr 1917: Robert Bloch, American author (died 1994) Robert Albert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror, and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small amount of science fiction. His writing career lasted 60 years, including more than 30 years in television and film. He began his professional writing career immediately after graduation from high school, aged 17. He is best known as the writer of the novel Psycho (1959), the basis for the 1960 film Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft, who was the first to seriously encourage his talent. However, while he started emulating Lovecraft and his brand of cosmic horror, he later specialized in crime and horror stories, often emphasizing psychological aspects of the characters within. Read more
05 Apr 1917: Frans Gommers, Belgian footballer (died 1996) François Gommers was a Belgian footballer. He was a defender for Beerschot VAC with whom he was twice Belgian Champion in 1938 and 1939. Read more
05 Apr 1916: Gregory Peck, American actor, political activist, and producer (died 2003) Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema. Read more
05 Apr 1914: Felice Borel, Italian footballer (died 1993) Felice Placido Borel was an Italian football player who played as a striker. He was a member of the Italy national football team that won the 1934 FIFA World Cup. Read more
05 Apr 1913: Antoni Clavé, Catalan artist (died 2005) Antoni Clavé was a Catalan master painter, printmaker, sculptor, stage designer and costume designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work on the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. Read more
05 Apr 1913: Nicolas Grunitzky, 2nd President of Togo (died 1969) Nicolas Grunitzky was the second president of Togo and its third head of state. He was President from 1963 to 1967. Grunitzky was Prime Minister of Togo from 1956 to 1958 under the French Colonial loi cadre system, which created a limited "national" government in their colonial possessions. He was elected Prime Minister of Togo —still under French administration— in 1956. Following the 1963 coup which killed his nationalist political rival and brother-in-law Sylvanus Olympio, Grunitzky was chosen by the military committee of coup leaders to be Togo's second President. Read more
05 Apr 1913: Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (died 1958) Ruth Smith Nielsen was a Faroese artist. Read more
05 Apr 1912: Jehan Buhan, French fencer (died 1999) Jehan Buhan was a French fencer and Olympic champion in foil competition. Read more
05 Apr 1912: Habib Elghanian, Iranian businessman (died 1979) Habib (Habibollah) Elghanian was a prominent Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the Tehran Jewish Society and acted as the symbolic head of the Iranian Jewish community in the 1970s. He was arrested and sentenced to death by an Islamic revolutionary tribunal shortly after the Iranian Revolution for charges including corruption, contacts with Israel and Zionism, and "friendship with the enemies of God", and was executed by firing squad on 9 May 1979 in Tehran, Iran. He was the first Jew and businessman to be executed by the Council of the Islamic Revolution. Read more
05 Apr 1912: Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist (died 1975) Antonio Ferri was an Italian scientist, prominent in the field of aerodynamics, with a specialization in hypersonic and supersonic flight. Read more
05 Apr 1912: Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (died 2000) Carlos Guastavino was an Argentine composer, considered one of the foremost composers of his country. His production amounted to over 500 works, most of them songs for piano and voice, many still unpublished. His style was quite conservative, always tonal and lushly romantic. His compositions were clearly influenced by Argentine folk music. His reputation was based almost entirely on his songs, and Guastavino has sometimes been called "the Schubert of the Pampas". Some of his songs, for example Pueblito, mi pueblo, La rosa y el sauce and Se equivocó la paloma, became national favorites. Unlike most other composers, at any time or place, Guastavino earned enough from his royalties and performing rights that he had little need for other income. Read more
05 Apr 1912: Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (died 1997) Makar Mykhaylovych Honcharenko, was a Ukrainian football player and coach. During his career, he played as a forward for a number of clubs, but most noticeably for Dynamo Kyiv. Honcharenko is best known for being the last surviving player of The Death Match. Read more
05 Apr 1912: John Le Mesurier, English actor (died 1983) John Le Mesurier was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation comedy Dad's Army (1968–1977). A self-confessed "jobbing actor", Le Mesurier appeared in more than 120 films across a range of genres, normally in smaller supporting parts. Read more
05 Apr 1912: István Örkény, Hungarian author and playwright (died 1979) István György Örkény was a Hungarian writer whose plays and novels often featured grotesque situations. He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize in 1973. Read more
05 Apr 1912: Bill Roberts, English sprinter and soldier (died 2001) William Roberts was an English sprinter and winner of gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay for Great Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1911: Hedi Amara Nouira, Tunisian politician (died 1993) Hédi Amara Nouira was a Tunisian politician. He served as the second prime minister of Tunisia between 1970 and 1980. Read more
05 Apr 1911: Johnny Revolta, American golfer (died 1991) John F. Revolta was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. He won a major title, the 1935 PGA Championship, and had 20 career wins on tour. Read more
05 Apr 1910: Sven Andersson, Swedish politician (died 1987) Sven Olof Morgan Andersson was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He served as Minister for Defence from 1957 to 1973, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1976. Andersson also served as Minister for Communications (Transport) from 1951 to 1957. Read more
05 Apr 1910: Oronzo Pugliese, Italian football manager (died 1990) Oronzo Pugliese was an Italian football manager from Turi in the Province of Bari. Read more
05 Apr 1909: Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer, co-founded Eon Productions (died 1996) Albert Romolo Broccoli, nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and Eon Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the producer of many of the James Bond films. He and Harry Saltzman saw the films develop from relatively low-budget origins to large-budget, high-grossing extravaganzas. Broccoli's heirs Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson continued to produce new Bond films until 2025 when the franchise rights were sold to Amazon. Read more
05 Apr 1909: Giacomo Gentilomo, Italian film director and painter (died 2001) Giacomo Gentilomo was an Italian film director and painter. Read more
05 Apr 1909: Károly Sós, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 1991) Károly Sós, was a Hungarian footballer and manager. After playing for various clubs as a midfielder he became a coach, most notably with Ferencvárosi TC, Bp. Honvéd SE, East Germany and Hungary. Read more
05 Apr 1909: Erwin Wegner, German hurdler (died 1945) Erwin Wegner was a German athlete, born in Stettin. Wegner won the silver medal at the 1934 European Championships in the 110 metres hurdles and competed in the Olympic Games as both a hurdler and a decathlete. Read more
05 Apr 1908: Bette Davis, American actress (died 1989) Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Read more
05 Apr 1908: Kurt Neumann, German director (died 1958) Kurt Neumann was a German film director, screenwriter, and producer who spent much of his career in the United States. He was a prolific director of genre films from the 1930s through the 1950s, totaling over 60 feature film credits during that time. He was the principal director of the Tarzan films for many years, and specialized in science fiction films in his later career. Read more
05 Apr 1908: Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (died 1986) Jagjivan Ram, popularly known as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as a minister with various portfolios for over 30 years, making him the longest-serving Union Cabinet minister in Indian history. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India from January to July 1979. He played a pivotal role as the Defence Minister of India during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. As Union Agriculture Minister during two separate tenures, he contributed significantly to the Green Revolution and the modernization of Indian agriculture, particularly during the 1974 drought when he was entrusted with addressing a severe food crisis. Read more
05 Apr 1908: Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (died 1989) Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he sold 200 million records. Read more
05 Apr 1907: Sanya Dharmasakti, Thai jurist (died 2002) Sanya Dharmasakti was a Thai jurist, university professor and politician. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Thailand from 1973 to 1975. Read more
05 Apr 1906: Albert Charles Smith, American botanist (died 1999) Albert Charles Smith was an American botanist who served as director of the National Museum of Natural History and Arnold Arboretum and was the former president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Read more
05 Apr 1906: Fernando Germani, Italian organist (died 1998) Fernando Germani was an Italian organist of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome during the reign of Pope Pius XII. Read more
05 Apr 1906: Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer (died 1952) Edward "Ted" Morgan was a New Zealand boxer. He won the gold medal in the welterweight division at the 1928 Summer Olympics, despite competing throughout the tournament with a dislocated knuckle in his left hand. This was the first gold medal won for an athlete representing New Zealand. Read more
05 Apr 1904: Richard Eberhart, American poet and academic (died 2005) Richard Ghormley Eberhart was an American poet who published more than a dozen books of poetry and approximately twenty works in total. "Richard Eberhart emerged out of the 1930s as a modern stylist with romantic sensibilities." He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Selected Poems, 1930–1965 and the 1977 National Book Award for Poetry for Collected Poems, 1930–1976. He was the grandfather of Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington. Read more
05 Apr 1903: Marion Aye, American actress (died 1951) Marion Aye was an American actress of screen and stage who starred in several films during the 1920s, mostly comedies. She was sometimes credited as Maryon Aye. Read more
05 Apr 1902: Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-American rabbi (died 1994) Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an Orthodox rabbi and the Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century. Read more
05 Apr 1901: Curt Bois, German actor (died 1991) Curt Bois was a German actor with a career spanning over 80 years. He is best remembered for his performances as the pickpocket in Casablanca (1942) and the poet Homer in Wings of Desire (1987). Read more
05 Apr 1901: Chester Bowles, American diplomat and ambassador (died 1986) Chester Bliss Bowles was an American diplomat and ambassador, governor of Connecticut, congressman and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publicis Groupe. Bowles is best known for his influence on American foreign policy during Cold War years, when he argued that economic assistance to the Third World was the best means to fight communism, and even more important, to create a more peaceable world order. During World War II, he held high office in Washington as director of the Office of Price Administration, and control of setting consumer prices. Just after the war, he was the chief of the Office of Economic Stabilization, but had great difficulty controlling inflation. Moving into state politics, he served a term as governor of Connecticut from 1949 to 1951. He promoted liberal programs in education and housing, but was defeated for reelection by conservative backlash. Read more
05 Apr 1901: Melvyn Douglas, American actor (died 1981) Melvyn Douglas was an American actor, whose stage and screen careers spanned from the late 1920s until the early 1980s. He was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting – winning two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. Read more
05 Apr 1901: Doggie Julian, American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach (died 1967) Alvin Fred "Doggie" Julian was an American college football coach, a college basketball player and coach, and an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach. Read more
05 Apr 1900: Herbert Bayer, Austrian-American graphic designer, painter, and photographer (died 1985) Herbert Bayer was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He served as a design consultant to and then Chairman of the Department of Design at the Container Corporation of America. He helped design the campus of The Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado, where his seminal earthwork Grass Mound (1955) is located. He was also instrumental in the development of the Atlantic Richfield Company's corporate art collection until his death in 1985. Read more
05 Apr 1900: Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (died 1939) Roman Steinberg, was an Estonian Greco-Roman wrestling bronze medal winner in middleweight class at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Steinberg was also three times Estonian wrestling champion 1921–1923, coached by Robert Oksa. He died after contracting tuberculosis, age 39, and was buried at Alexander Nevsky Cemetery, Tallinn. Read more
05 Apr 1900: Spencer Tracy, American actor (died 1967) Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, from nine nominations. During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the ninth greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema. Read more
05 Apr 1899: Alfred Blalock, American surgeon and academic (died 1964) Alfred Blalock was an American surgeon most noted for his work on the medical condition of shock as well as tetralogy of Fallot – commonly known as blue baby syndrome. He created, with assistance from his research and laboratory assistant Vivien Thomas and pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig, the Blalock–Thomas–Taussig shunt, a surgical procedure to relieve the cyanosis from tetralogy of Fallot. This operation ushered in the modern era of neonatal cardiac surgery. He worked at both Vanderbilt University and Johns Hopkins University, where he studied medicine and later served as chief of surgery. He is known as a medical pioneer who won various awards, including Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award. Blalock was also nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Read more
05 Apr 1898: Solange d'Ayen, French noblewoman, Duchess of Ayen and journalist (died 1976) Solange Marie Christine Louise de Labriffe, Duchess of Ayen, known professionally as Solange d'Ayen, Solange de Noailles, and Solange de Labriffe, was a French noblewoman and journalist, known for being the fashion editor of French Vogue magazine from the 1920s until the 1940s. She also wrote for American Vogue. She was born into the House of Labriffe and was named Duchess of Ayen by marrying Jean Maurice Paul Jules de Noailles, the 6th Duke of Ayen in 1919, with whom she had two children. Read more
05 Apr 1897: Hans Schuberth, German politician (died 1976) Hans Schuberth was a German politician who from 1949 to 1953 was the first Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunications in Konrad Adenauer's first cabinet. Read more
05 Apr 1896: Einar Lundborg, Swedish aviator (died 1931) Einar Paul Albert Muni Lundborg was a Swedish aviator. Read more
05 Apr 1895: Mike O'Dowd, American boxer (died 1957) Michael Joseph O'Dowd was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from 1917 to 1920. Read more
05 Apr 1894: Lawrence Dale Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation (died 1956) Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell was an American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation. Read more
05 Apr 1894: Hans Hüttig, German SS officer (died 1980) Hans Benno Hüttig was a German SS functionary and Nazi concentration camp commandant. Read more
05 Apr 1894: Carl Rudolf Florin, Swedish botanist (died 1965) Carl Rudolf Florin was a Swedish biologist botanist, specialising in gymnosperms, including both modern and fossil material. Read more
05 Apr 1893: Frithjof Andersen, Norwegian wrestler (died 1975) Frithjof Andersen is a Norwegian wrestler and Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, from Oslo. Read more
05 Apr 1893: Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (died 1973) Arnold Clas ("Classe") Robert Thunberg was a Finnish speed skater who won five Olympic gold medals – three at the inaugural Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924 and two at the 1928 Winter Olympics held in St. Moritz. He was the most successful athlete at both of these Winter Olympics, sharing the honour for 1928 Winter Olympics with Johan Grøttumsbraaten of Norway.
No other athlete ever won such a high fraction of all Olympic events at a single Games.
He was born and died in Helsinki. Read more
05 Apr 1892: Raymond Bonney, American ice hockey player (died 1964) Raymond Leroy Bonney was an American ice hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was born in Phoenix, New York. He was the goaltender who competed in 1920 for the American ice hockey team, which won the silver medal. Read more
05 Apr 1891: Arnold Jackson, English runner, soldier, and lawyer (died 1972) Brigadier General Arnold Nugent Strode Strode-Jackson, was a British athlete, British Army officer, and a barrister. He was the winner of the 1500 m at the 1912 Summer Olympics, in what was hailed at the time as "the greatest race ever run". He was a brigadier general and amongst the most highly decorated British general officers of the First World War. Read more
05 Apr 1891: Laura Vicuña, Chilean nun (died 1904) Laura del Carmen Vicuña Pino was a Chilean child who was noted for her religious devotion. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988 as the patron of abuse victims, having herself experienced physical abuse. Read more
05 Apr 1890: Karl Kirk, Danish gymnast (died 1955) Karl Kirk was a Danish gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Danish team, which won the silver medal in the gymnastics men's team, Swedish system event. Read more
05 Apr 1890: William Moore, British track and field athlete (died 1956) William Craig Moore was a British track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1889: Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Brazilian martial artist (died 1981) Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, known as Mestre Pastinha, was a mestre of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira and a codifier of the traditional capoeira Angola style. Read more
05 Apr 1887: William Cowhig, British gymnast (died 1964) William Cowhig was a British gymnast who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics, the 1912 Summer Olympics and the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was part of the British team, which won the bronze medal in the gymnastics men's team, European system event in 1912. In the individual all-around competition he finished 29th. As a member of the British team in 1920 he finished fifth in the team, European system competition. Read more
05 Apr 1886: Gotthelf Bergsträsser, German linguist (died 1933) Gotthelf Bergsträsser was a German linguist specializing in Semitic studies, generally considered to be one of the greatest of the twentieth century. Bergsträsser was initially a teacher of classical languages before deciding to approach Semitic. Read more
05 Apr 1886: Frederick Lindemann, British physicist (died 1957) Frederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell, was a British physicist who was prime scientific adviser to Winston Churchill in World War II. Read more
05 Apr 1886: Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (died 1933) Gustavo Jiménez was a Peruvian colonel who served as Interim President of Peru, officially as the President of the Provisional Government Junta, in 1931. Read more
05 Apr 1885: Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian composer (died 1978) Dimitrie Cuclin was a Romanian classical music composer, musicologist, philosopher, translator, and writer. Read more
05 Apr 1884: Ion Inculeț, Bessarabian academic and politician, President of Moldova (died 1940) Ion Inculeț was a Bessarabian and Romanian politician. He served as President of the Country Council of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, Minister of the Interior of Romania, and, from 1918, a full member of the Romanian Academy. Read more
05 Apr 1883: Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (died 1950) Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, directed by his son John Huston. He is the patriarch of the four generations of the Huston acting family, including his son John, grandchildren Anjelica Huston and Danny Huston, as well as great-grandchild Jack Huston. Read more
05 Apr 1882: Song Jiaoren, Chinese revolutionary (died 1913) Song Jiaoren was a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuomintang (KMT). Song Jiaoren led the KMT to electoral victories in China's first democratic election. He based his appeal on the upper class gentry, landowners, and merchants. Historians have concluded that provisional president Yuan Shikai was responsible for his assassination on 22 March 1913. Read more
05 Apr 1882: Natalia Sedova, 2nd wife of Leon Trotsky (died 1962) Natalia Ivanovna Sedova was a Russian revolutionary and author known as the second wife of Leon Trotsky. She wrote on cultural matters pertaining to Marxism. Read more
05 Apr 1880: Eric Carlberg, Swedish Army officer, diplomat, shooter, fencer and modern pentathlete (died 1963) Gustaf Eric Carlberg was a Swedish Army officer, diplomat, sport shooter, fencer, and modern pentathlete who competed at the 1906, 1908, 1912 and 1924 Olympics alongside his twin brother Vilhelm. Read more
05 Apr 1880: Vilhelm Carlberg, Swedish Army officer and shooter (died 1970) Gustaf Vilhelm Carlberg was a Swedish Army officer and sports shooter. He competed at the 1908, 1912, and 1924 Olympics and won three gold and four silver. With three gold and two silver medals he was the most successful athlete at the 1912 Olympics. In 1913, he won two medals at the ISSF World Shooting Championships. His twin brother Eric competed alongside Gustaf at all those four Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1879: Arthur Berriedale Keith, Scottish lawyer (died 1944) Arthur Berriedale Keith, FBA was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, scholar of Sanskrit and Indologist. He became Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Lecturer on the Constitution of the British Empire in the University of Edinburgh. He served in this role from 1914 to 1944. Read more
05 Apr 1879: Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, German naval officer and author (died 1956) Nikolaus Burggraf und Graf zu Dohna-Schlodien was a German naval officer and author. Read more
05 Apr 1878: Albert Champion, French cyclist (died 1927) Albert Champion was a French track bicycle racer and later an industrialist who won the 1899 Paris–Roubaix. In 1905 he incorporated the Albert Champion Company in Boston to make porcelain spark plugs with his name on them. Three years later founded the Champion Ignition Company in Flint, Michigan. In 1922 he changed the name to AC Spark Plug Company, after his initials, to settle out of court with his original partners in the Albert Champion Company. The company is now known as ACDelco and is owned by General Motors. Read more
05 Apr 1878: Georg Misch, German philosopher (died 1965) Georg Misch was a German philosopher. Read more
05 Apr 1878: Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (died 1964) Paul Weinstein was a German athlete who competed in the early twentieth century. He was born in Wallendorf. Read more
05 Apr 1874: Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French Cardinal of the Catholic Church (died 1949) Emmanuel Célestin Suhard was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1940 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. He was instrumental in the founding of the Mission of France and the worker-priest movement, to bring the clergy closer to the people. Read more
05 Apr 1874: Manuel María Ponce Brousset, President of Peru (died 1966) Manuel María Ponce Brousset briefly served as the President of Peru in August 1930. Read more
05 Apr 1873: Joseph Rheden, Austrian astronomer (died 1946) Joseph Rheden was an Austrian astronomer, born in Amlach, East Tyrol, known for his astrographic observations of planets, minor planets and comets, and for the asteroids 744 Aguntina, 771 Libera, and 844 Leontina, which he discovered in 1913 and 1916, respectively. Read more
05 Apr 1872: Samuel Cate Prescott, American microbiologist and chemist (died 1962) Samuel Cate Prescott was an American food scientist and microbiologist who was involved in the development of food safety, food science, public health, and industrial microbiology. Read more
05 Apr 1871: Stanisław Grabski, Polish economist and politician (died 1949) Stanisław Grabski was a Polish economist and politician associated with the National Democracy political camp. As the top Polish negotiator during the Peace of Riga talks in 1921, Grabski greatly influenced the future of Poland and the Soviet Union. Read more
05 Apr 1870: Motobu Chōki, Japanese karateka (died 1944) Motobu Chōki was an Okinawan karate master and founder of Motobu-ryū. He was born into a branch of the Ryukyuan royal family, and at the age of 12, he and his older brother Motobu Chōyū were invited by Ankō Itosu to be taught karate. Read more
05 Apr 1869: Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (died 1942) Sergey Alexeyevich Chaplygin was a Russian and Soviet physicist, mathematician, and mechanical engineer. He is known for mathematical formulas such as Chaplygin's equation and for a hypothetical substance in cosmology called Chaplygin gas, named after him. Read more
05 Apr 1869: Albert Roussel, French composer (died 1937) Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His early works were strongly influenced by the Impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, while he later turned toward neoclassicism. Read more
05 Apr 1867: Ernest Lewis, British tennis player (died 1930) Ernest Wool Lewis was a British lawn tennis player who was active at the end of the 19th century. He twice won the Irish Championships in 1890 and 1891, and was a four time losing finalist in singles at the Wimbledon Championships in 1886, 1888, 1892 and 1894. He won the men's doubles championship title in 1892 partnered with Harry S. Barlow. Read more
05 Apr 1863: Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (died 1950) Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Princess Louis of Battenberg and then Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven, was the eldest daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. Read more
05 Apr 1862: Louis Ganne, French conductor (died 1923) Louis-Gaston Ganne was a conductor and composer of French operas, operettas, ballets, and marches. Read more
05 Apr 1862: Leo Stern, English cellist (died 1904) Leo Stern was an English cellist, best remembered for being the soloist in the premiere performance of Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor in London in 1896. Read more
05 Apr 1860: Harry S. Barlow, British tennis player (died 1917) Harry Sibthorpe Barlow was a British amateur lawn tennis player, active at the end of the 19th century. Read more
05 Apr 1859: Reinhold Seeberg, German theologian (died 1935) Reinhold Seeberg was a German Lutheran theologian. He was a professor of theology at Erlangen, where he had studied, and then in 1893 a professor of dogmatic theology at Friedrich Wilhelm University .
Read more
05 Apr 1858: Washington Atlee Burpee, Canadian businessman, founded Burpee Seeds (died 1915) Washington Atlee Burpee was the founder of the W. Atlee Burpee & Company, now more commonly known as Burpee Seeds. Read more
05 Apr 1857: Alexander of Battenberg (died 1893) Alexander Joseph, known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (knyaz) of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. Read more
05 Apr 1856: Booker T. Washington, African-American educator, essayist and historian (died 1915) Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite. Read more
05 Apr 1852: Émile Billard, French sailor (died 1930) François Alexandre Émile Billard was a French sailor who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Billard took the gold in the 10 to 20 ton. Read more
05 Apr 1852: Walter W. Winans, American marksman and sculptor (died 1920) Walter W. Winans was an American marksman, horse breeder, sculptor, and painter who participated in the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. He won two medals for shooting: a gold in 1908 and a silver in 1912, as well as demonstrating the sport of pistol duelling in the 1908 Games. He also won a gold medal for his sculpture An American Trotter at Stockholm in 1912. In addition, Winans wrote ten books. Read more
05 Apr 1852: Franz Eckert, German composer and musician (died 1916) Franz Eckert was a German composer and musician who composed the harmony for Japan's national anthem, "Kimigayo" and the national anthem of the Korean Empire, "Aegukga". Read more
05 Apr 1850: Enrico Mazzanti, Italian engineer and cartoonist (died 1910) Enrico Mazzanti was an Italian engineer and cartoonist, who illustrated the first edition of Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio. Read more
05 Apr 1848: Thure de Thulstrup, American illustrator (died 1930) Thure de Thulstrup was a Swedish-born American illustrator with contributions for numerous magazines, including three decades of work for Harper's Weekly. He primarily illustrated historical military scenes. Read more
05 Apr 1848: Ulrich Wille, Swiss army general (died 1925) Conrad Ulrich Sigmund Wille was a Swiss military officer who served as General of the Swiss Army during the First World War. Inspired by the Prussian techniques that he had been able to observe at the time of his studies in Berlin, he attempted to impress the Swiss Army with a spirit based on instruction, discipline and technical control. Read more
05 Apr 1846: Sigmund Exner, Austrian physiologist (died 1926) Sigmund Exner was an Austrian physiologist born in Vienna. Read more
05 Apr 1846: Henry Wellesley, British peer and politician (died 1900) Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington was a British peer and Conservative Party politician. Read more
05 Apr 1845: Friedrich Sigmund Merkel, German anatomist and histopathologist (died 1919) Friedrich Sigmund Merkel was a leading German anatomist and histopathologist of the late 19th century. In 1875, he provided the first full description of Tastzellen, which occur in the skin of all vertebrates. They were subsequently given the eponym "Merkel cells" in 1878 by Robert Bonnet (1851–1921). Read more
05 Apr 1845: Jules Cambon, French diplomat (died 1935) Jules-Martin Cambon was a French diplomat and brother of Paul Cambon. As the ambassador to Germany (1907–1914), he worked hard to secure a friendly détente. He was frustrated by French leaders such as Raymond Poincaré, who decided that Berlin was trying to weaken the Triple Entente of France, Russia and Britain and was not sincere in seeking peace. The French consensus was that war was inevitable. Read more
05 Apr 1842: Hans Hildebrand, Swedish archaeologist (died 1913) Hans Olof Hildebrand Hildebrand was a Swedish archeologist. He is internationally known as one of the pioneers of the archaeological technique of typology. Read more
05 Apr 1840: Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (died 1911) Ghazaros (Lazarus) Aghayan was an Armenian writer, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure. Read more
05 Apr 1839: Robert Smalls, African-American ship's pilot, sea captain, and politician (died 1915) Robert Smalls was an American politician who was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the still enslaved Smalls commandeered a Confederate transport ship in Charleston Harbor and sailed it from the Confederate-controlled waters of the harbor to the U.S. blockade that surrounded it. He then piloted the ship to the Union-controlled enclave in Beaufort–Port Royal–Hilton Head area, where it became a Union warship. In the process, he freed himself, his crew, and their families. His example and persuasion helped convince President Abraham Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the Union Army. Read more
05 Apr 1837: Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (died 1909) Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He was a major contributor to the Pre-Raphaelite movement in poetry, along with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris. His greatest works are the verse drama Atalanta in Calydon (1865), written in the form of an Ancient Greek tragedy, and his Pre-Raphaelite Poems and Ballads (1866). Read more
05 Apr 1835: Vítězslav Hálek, Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. (died 1874) Vítězslav Hálek was a Czech poet, writer, journalist and dramatist. He was known for his optimistic work, which earned him fame and recognition during his lifetime. Read more
05 Apr 1834: Prentice Mulford, American humorist and author (died 1891) Prentice Mulford was an American literary humorist, philosopher, and early figure in the development of the New Thought movement. Many of the principles that would become standard in the movement, including the Law of Attraction, the power of thought, spiritual autonomy, and mental healing, were clearly laid out in his Your Forces and How to Use Them, released as a series of essays during 1886–1892. Mulford’s writings laid foundational concepts that shaped later metaphysical and psychological systems, including auto-suggestion and personal magnetism. He is recognized as one of the earliest voices to articulate the idea that thought itself is a creative force that influences both personal health and external circumstances. Read more
05 Apr 1834: Wilhelm Olbers Focke, German medical doctor and botanist (died 1922) Wilhelm Olbers Focke was a medical doctor and botanist who in 1881 published a significant work on plant breeding entitled Die Pflanzen-Mischlinge, Ein Beitrag zur Biologie der Gewächse which briefly mentioned Gregor Mendel's discoveries on hybridization. Although Charles Darwin had a copy of Focke's book he passed it along to a colleague apparently without reading this particular section. The rediscovery of Mendel's work is generally considered to have taken place in the first years of the 20th century, however in Die Pflanzen-Mischlinge, Mendel is mentioned about 18 times – although Focke did not apparently take Mendel's work all that seriously. Along with hybridization, Focke analyzed the non-Mendelian phenomena of graft hybrids, pseudogamy, and xenia. Read more
05 Apr 1834: Frank R. Stockton, American writer and humorist (died 1902) Frank Richard Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century. Read more
05 Apr 1832: Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (died 1893) Jules François Camille Ferry was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He was a promoter of laicism and colonial expansion. Under the Third Republic, Ferry made primary education free and compulsory through several new laws. However, he was forced to resign following the Sino-French War in 1885 due to his unpopularity and public opinion against the war. Read more
05 Apr 1827: Joseph Lister, English surgeon and academic (died 1912) Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, was an English surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventive healthcare. Lister revolutionised the craft of surgery by the use of close anatomical observation, in the same manner that John Hunter revolutionised the science of surgery. Read more
05 Apr 1822: Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye, Belgian economist (died 1892) Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye was a Belgian economist. He was one of the co-founders of the Institut de Droit International in 1873. Read more
05 Apr 1820: Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, known by the pseudonym Nadar or Félix Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist who was a proponent of heavier-than-air flight. In 1858, he became the first person to take aerial photographs. Photographic portraits by Nadar are held by many of the great national collections of photographs. His son, Paul Nadar, continued the studio after his death. Read more
05 Apr 1814: Felix Lichnowsky, Czech soldier and politician (died 1848) Felix (von) Lichnowsky, fully Felix Maria Vincenz Andreas Fürst von Lichnowsky, Graf von Werdenberg was a son of the historian Eduard Lichnowsky who had written a history of the Habsburg family. Read more
05 Apr 1811: Jules Dupré, French painter (died 1889) Jules Louis Dupré was a French painter, one of the chief members of the Barbizon school of landscape painters. Read more
05 Apr 1810: Sir Henry Rawlinson, British East India Company army officer and politician (died 1895) Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, KLS was a British East India Company army officer, politician, and Orientalist, sometimes described as the Father of Assyriology. His son, also Henry, was to become a senior commander in the British Army during the First World War. Read more
05 Apr 1809: Karl Felix Halm, German scholar and critic (died 1882) Karl Felix Halm, was a German classical scholar and critic. Read more
05 Apr 1804: Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (died 1881) Matthias Jakob Schleiden was a German botanist and co-founder of cell theory, along with Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchow. He published some poems and non-scientific work under the pseudonym Ernst. Read more
05 Apr 1801: Félix Dujardin, French biologist (died 1860) Félix Dujardin was a French biologist born in Tours. He is remembered for his research on protozoans and other invertebrates. Read more
05 Apr 1801: Vincenzo Gioberti, Italian philosopher, publicist and politician (died 1852) Vincenzo Gioberti was an Italian Catholic priest, philosopher, publicist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sardinia from 1848 to 1849. He was a prominent spokesman for liberal Catholicism. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 05 April in World History

05 Apr 2024: C. J. Snare, American musician and songwriter (born 1959) Carl Jeffrey Snare was an American singer best known for being the frontman and founding member of the hard rock/glam metal band FireHouse. Read more
05 Apr 2022: Nehemiah Persoff, Israeli-American actor (born 1919) Nehemiah Persoff was an American actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions, and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years. Read more
05 Apr 2022: Jimmy Wang Yu, Taiwanese actor (born 1943) Jimmy Wang Yu was a Hong Kong-Taiwanese martial artist, actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. Initially a contract player for Shaw Brothers, he rose to fame for his starring role in The One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and its sequels, and was one of the first major stars of martial arts and wuxia cinema. At the height of his fame in the 1970s, he was the highest-paid martial arts actor in the world. According to The New York Times, Wang was "the biggest star of Asian martial arts cinema until the emergence of Bruce Lee." Read more
05 Apr 2021: Paul Ritter, English actor (born 1966) Simon Paul Adams, known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including Son of Rambow (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), The Eagle (2011), and Operation Mincemeat (2021), as well as television programmes including Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020), Vera (2011–2013), The Hollow Crown (2012), The Last Kingdom (2015), Chernobyl (2019), Belgravia (2020) and Resistance. Read more
05 Apr 2019: Sydney Brenner, South African biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1927) Sydney Brenner was a South African biologist. In 2002, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and Sir John E. Sulston. Brenner made significant contributions to work on the genetic code, and other areas of molecular biology while working in the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. He established the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for the investigation of developmental biology, and founded the Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkeley, California, United States. Read more
05 Apr 2018: Isao Takahata, Japanese director (born 1935) Isao Takahata was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (born 1943) Attilio Benfatto was an Italian professional road cyclist. He most notably won two stages of the Giro d'Italia. Throughout his career, he competed in eight editions of the Giro d'Italia and two editions of the Tour de France. His best placing was 25th overall in the 1969 Giro d'Italia. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (born 1929) Arthur Bernard Bisguier was an American chess player, chess promoter, and writer who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). Read more
05 Apr 2017: Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (born 1926) Paul G. Comba was an Italian-American computer scientist, an amateur astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (born 1931) Makoto Ōoka was a Japanese poet and literary critic. He pioneered the collaborative poetic form renshi in the 1990s, in which he has collaborated with such well-known literary figures as Charles Tomlinson, James Lasdun, Joseph Stanton, Shuntarō Tanikawa and Mikirō Sasaki. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Paul O'Neill, American rock composer and producer (born 1956) Paul O'Neill was an American composer, lyricist, record producer, and guitarist. He was the producer of the progressive metal band Savatage, and the founder of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Tim Parnell, British race car driver (born 1932) Reginald Harold Haslam "Tim" Parnell Jr. was a British racing driver from England. He was the son of Reg Parnell, another racing driver. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (born 1947) Amelio "Memè" Perlini was an Italian actor and film director. His directorial debut, Italian Postcards, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (born 1942) Atanase Sciotnic, also listed as Atanasie, was a Romanian sprint canoeist. He took part in the two-man and four man events at most major competitions between 1963 and 1974 and won two Olympic and nine world championships medals, including four gold medals. Read more
05 Apr 2017: Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (born 1958) Ilkka Antero Jouko Sinisalo was a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings. Later he was a scout for the Flyers. Read more
05 Apr 2016: Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (born 1936) Koço Kasapoğlu, also known as Yorgo or Kostas Kasapoğlu, was a Greek-Turkish football player and manager. A forward, throughout his career he was also nicknamed penaltı kralı because he scored 500 of the 501 penalties he took in his career and is considered the best penalty taker in Turkish football history. Read more
05 Apr 2015: Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (born 1949) Fredric Sheldon Brandt was an American physician, researcher, lecturer, author, and radio host specializing in cosmetic dermatology. Among the first to use botulinum toxin ("botox") and fillers, Brandt was noted for his role in the FDA approval of numerous fillers and botulinum toxins for cosmetic use in the United States. Read more
05 Apr 2015: Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (born 1936) Juan Carlos Cáceres was an Argentine musician. Read more
05 Apr 2014: Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (born 1920) James Alan Davie was a Scottish painter and musician. Read more
05 Apr 2014: Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (born 1939) Mariano Díaz Díaz was a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. In 1967, he won a stage of the 1967 Vuelta a España, and also won the mountains classification. He also competed in the individual road race and team time trial events at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 2014: Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (born 1927) Peter Matthiessen was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher, and onetime CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine The Paris Review, he is the only writer to have won the National Book Award in both nonfiction and fiction. He was also a prominent environmental activist. Read more
05 Apr 2014: John Pinette, American comedian (born 1964) John Paul Pinette was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and Broadway performer. He toured the comedy club circuit beginning in the 1980s and appeared in cinema and on television. Besides stand-up, Pinette did various impressions, among them Michael Jackson, The Chipmunks, Elvis Presley, Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Hervé Villechaize, an Ewok, actor Marlon Brando, as well as a range of regional accents. He occasionally sang in his stand-up routines, working in songs such as "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Will You Be There" from Free Willy, and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Read more
05 Apr 2014: José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (born 1947) José Wilker Almeida was a Brazilian film, stage, and television actor and director. He gained fame in telenovelas such as Roque Santeiro (1985), but became internationally known for his role as Vadinho, the husband who returns from the dead to tempt Sônia Braga's character in the film Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976). Read more
05 Apr 2013: Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (born 1921) Regina Bianchi was an Italian stage and film actress. Read more
05 Apr 2013: Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (born 1924) Piero de Palma was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with comprimario roles. Read more
05 Apr 2013: Nikolaos Pappas, Greek Navy admiral (born 1930) Nikolaos Pappas was a Hellenic Navy admiral who, as commander of the destroyer Velos, played a major part in the abortive rebellion of the Navy in May 1973 against the ruling military junta. After the restoration of democracy he served as chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff in 1982–1986 and Minister for Mercantile Marine in 1989–1990. Read more
05 Apr 2012: Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (born 1935) Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, also known by the nickname "Butzi", was a German-Austrian designer whose best known product was the first Porsche 911. He was the son of Ferry Porsche, and the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. Read more
05 Apr 2012: Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer (born 1921) Pedro Bartolomé Benoit Vanderhorst was a politician and military officer from the Dominican Republic. He served as the 7th provisional president of the Dominican Republic from 1 May until 7 May 1965. He was also a member of the Revolutionary Committee, which ruled the country for about few hours on 25 April 1965. Read more
05 Apr 2012: Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (born 1923) James Charles Marshall known as The Father of Loud or The Lord of Loud, was an English businessman and pioneer of guitar amplification. His company, Marshall Amplification, founded in 1962, has created equipment that is used by some of the biggest names in rock music, producing amplifiers with an iconic status. Read more
05 Apr 2012: Barney McKenna, Irish musician (born 1939) Bernard Noël McKenna, known as Barney McKenna or Banjo Barney, was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He is regarded as a major figure in the development of the tenor banjo in Irish traditional music, and is widely credited with establishing GDAE tuning as the instrument's standard tuning in the tradition. Read more
05 Apr 2012: Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (born 1934) Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who served as the third president of Malawi from 2004 until his death in 2012. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), he served as the party's president from 2005 to 2012, and was also the eighth chairperson of the African Union from 2010 to 2011. Read more
05 Apr 2011: Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925) Baruch Samuel Blumberg, known as Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, and co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for his work on the hepatitis B virus while an investigator at the NIH and at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. He was president of the American Philosophical Society from 2005 until his death. Read more
05 Apr 2011: Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (born 1937) Ange-Félix Patassé was a Central African politician who was president of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé in the 2003 coup d'état. Patassé was the first president in the CAR's history to be chosen in what was generally regarded as a fairly democratic election (1993) in that it was brought about by donor pressure on President André Kolingba and assisted by the United Nations Electoral Assistance Unit. Read more
05 Apr 2010: Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (born 1935) Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov was a Soviet cosmonaut and an engineer who flew on the Soyuz 9 and Soyuz 18 missions. Read more
05 Apr 2009: I. J. Good, British mathematician (born 1916) Irving John Good
was a British mathematician who worked as a cryptologist at Bletchley Park with Alan Turing. After the Second World War, Good continued to work with Turing on the design of computers and Bayesian statistics at the University of Manchester. Good moved to the United States where he was a professor at Virginia Tech. Read more
05 Apr 2008: Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (born 1923) Charlton Heston was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction films, and action films. He won an Academy Award in addition to earning nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and three Primetime Emmy Awards. He won numerous honorary accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1978, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1967, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1971, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003. Read more
05 Apr 2007: Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (born 1923) Maria Gripe, born Maja Stina Walter, was a Swedish author of books for children and young adults, which were often written in magical and mystical tone. She has written almost forty books, with many of her characters presented in short series of three or four books. For her lasting contribution to children's literature, she received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Writing in 1974. Read more
05 Apr 2007: Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (born 1908) Leela Majumdar was an Indian Bengali-language writer. Read more
05 Apr 2007: Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (born 1922) Werner Maser was a German historian, journalist and professor at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. Maser was the first historian to claim that the Hitler Diaries were forgeries. Read more
05 Apr 2007: Mark St. John, American guitarist (born 1956) Mark Leslie Norton, better known as Mark St. John, was an American guitarist best known for his brief stint with the hard rock band Kiss from April to November 1984. His work can be heard on the band's 1984 album Animalize and their 2023 live album Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY. After leaving Kiss, he co-founded the band White Tiger. Read more
05 Apr 2007: Thomas Stoltz Harvey, American pathologist (born 1912) Thomas Stoltz Harvey was an American pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Albert Einstein in 1955. Harvey afterwards preserved Einstein's brain on the condition that it would be studied for scientific purposes. Read more
05 Apr 2006: Allan Kaprow, American painter and educator (born 1927) Allan Kaprow was an American performance artist, installation artist, painter, and assemblagist. He helped to develop the "Environment" and "Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well as their theory. His Happenings — some 200 of them — evolved over the years. Eventually Kaprow shifted his practice into what he called "Activities", intimately scaled pieces for one or several players, devoted to the study of normal human activity in a way congruent to ordinary life. Fluxus, performance art, and installation art were, in turn, influenced by his work. Read more
05 Apr 2006: Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (born 1940) Gene Francis Alan Pitney was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Read more
05 Apr 2006: Yevgeny Seredin, Russian swimmer (born 1958) Yevgeny Alekseyevich Seredin was a Russian swimmer who competed in the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics. In 1980, he won a silver medal in the 4×100 m medley relay and placed fifth in the individual 100 m butterfly event. He held eight Soviet titles: in the 100 m butterfly, medley relay (1977–79), and 4×100 m and 4×200 m freestyle relays (1979). After retiring in 1983, Seredin coached swimmers in Saint Petersburg. He died of a heart attack. Read more
05 Apr 2006: Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (born 1923) Pasquale Macchi was a Catholic archbishop and the private secretary to Pope Paul VI. Read more
05 Apr 2005: Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915) Saul Bellow was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only writer to win the National Book Award for Fiction three times, and he received the National Book Foundation's lifetime Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 1990. Read more
05 Apr 2005: Robert Borg, American military officer and equestrian (born 1913) Robert John Borg was an American military officer and equestrian. He was born in Manila, Philippines. He placed fourth in individual dressage, and won a silver medal in team dressage at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He participated at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Read more
05 Apr 2005: Chung Nam-sik, South Korean footballer (born 1917) Chung Nam-sik was a Korean football player and manager. He played as a striker for the South Korea national team during the 1940s and 1950s, including at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 2004: Fernand Goyvaerts, Belgian footballer (born 1938) Fernand Goyvaerts was a Belgian international footballer. He played as an attacker. Read more
05 Apr 2004: Sławomir Rawicz, Polish lieutenant (born 1915) Sławomir Rawicz was a Polish Army lieutenant who was imprisoned by the NKVD after the Soviet invasion of Poland. In a ghost-written book called The Long Walk, he claimed that in 1941 he and six others had escaped from a Siberian Gulag camp and begun a long journey south on foot, supposedly travelling through the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and the Himalayas before finally reaching British Raj in the winter of 1942. Read more
05 Apr 2004: Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician and academic (born 1936) Heiner Zieschang was a German mathematician. He was a professor at Ruhr University in Bochum from 1968 till 2002. He was a topologist. In 1996 he was an honorary doctor of University of Toulouse and in 1997 he was an honorary professor of Moscow State University. Read more
05 Apr 2003: Keizo Morishita, Japanese painter (born 1944) Keizo Morishita was a Japanese painter who lived most of his life in Italy. Read more
05 Apr 2002: Layne Staley, American singer-songwriter (born 1967) Layne Thomas Staley was an American singer-songwriter. He was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement. He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with bandmate Jerry Cantrell. Before his success with Alice in Chains, Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains. He was also a part of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99. Read more
05 Apr 2002: Kim Won-gyun, North Korean composer and politician (born 1917) Kim Won-gyun was a North Korean composer and politician. He is considered one of the most prominent, if not the most celebrated, composer of North Korea. He composed "Aegukka" — the national anthem of the country — and "Song of General Kim Il Sung", in addition to revolutionary operas. Read more
05 Apr 2001: Aldo Olivieri, Italian footballer (born 1910) Aldo Olivieri was an Italian football goalkeeper from 1931 to 1943, and manager after World War II. Read more
05 Apr 2000: Heinrich Müller, Austrian footballer (born 1909) Heinrich "Wudi" Müller was an Austrian football player and coach. In the early 1930s he was an albeit minor part of Austria's all conquering Wunderteam. As coach he defined the post-World War II glory period of Austria Wien. Read more
05 Apr 2000: Lee Petty, American race car driver (born 1914) Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first stars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup champion. He is the father of Richard Petty, who went on to become one of the most successful stock car racing drivers in history. He is also the grandfather of Kyle Petty and great grandfather of Adam Petty. Read more
05 Apr 1999: Giulio Einaudi, Italian book publisher (born 1912) Giulio Einaudi was an Italian book publisher. The eponymous company that he founded in 1933 became "a European wellspring of fine literature, intellectual thought and political theory" and was once considered the most prestigious publishing house in Italy. He was also the author of books on literature, history, philosophy, art and science. Read more
05 Apr 1998: Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (born 1911) Sir Frederick Charles Frank, FRS was a British theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work on crystal dislocations, including the idea of the Frank–Read source of dislocations. He also proposed the cyclol reaction in the mid-1930s, and made many other contributions to solid-state physics, geophysics, and the theory of liquid crystals. Read more
05 Apr 1998: Cozy Powell, English drummer (born 1947) Cozy Powell was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, Brian May, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, and Black Sabbath. Read more
05 Apr 1997: Allen Ginsberg, American poet (born 1926) Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism and sexual repression and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on drugs, sex, multiculturalism, hostility to bureaucracy and openness to Eastern religions. Read more
05 Apr 1996: Charlene Holt, American actress (born 1928) Verna Charlene Stavely, professionally known as Charlene Holt, was an American actress known for her supporting roles in television and film. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Nicolaas Cortlever, Dutch chess player (born 1915) Nicolaas (Nico) Cortlever was a Dutch chess master. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Emilio Greco, Italian sculptor and engraver (born 1913) Emilio Greco was an Italian sculptor, engraver, medallist, writer and poet. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world in museums such as – Tate Modern (London), Hermitage, Museu de Arte Contemporânea e Centro de Arquitetura (Lisbon), and Hawke's Bay Museum. Read more
05 Apr 1995: Christian Pineau, French Resistance fighter (born 1904) Christian Pineau was a noted French Resistance fighter, who later served an important term as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1956 through 1958. Read more
05 Apr 1994: Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1967) Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establishment persona, he widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X, and is widely recognized as one of the most influential rock musicians. Read more
05 Apr 1993: Divya Bharti, Indian actress (born 1974) Divya Bharti was an Indian actress who predominantly worked in Hindi and Telugu cinema. Known for her acting, vivacity and beauty, she was among the highest-paid actresses of her time. She received a Filmfare Award and a Nandi Award for her performances. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Takeshi Inoue, Japanese footballer (born 1928) Takeshi Inoue was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Molly Picon, American actress (born 1898) Molly Picon was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller. Read more
05 Apr 1992: Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam's Club (born 1918) Samuel Moore Walton was an American business magnate best known for co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's largest corporation by revenue as well as the biggest private employer in the world. For a period of time, Walton was the richest person in the United States. His family has remained the richest family in the U.S. for several consecutive years, with a net worth of around $440.62 billion US as of January 2026. In 1992 at the age of 74, Walton died of blood cancer and was buried at the Bentonville Cemetery in his longtime home of Bentonville, Arkansas. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (born 1947) Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr., M.D., , was an American physician, professional soccer player, naval officer, aviator, and NASA astronaut who flew on STS-33. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Jay Miller, American basketball player (born 1943) Jay Julian Miller was an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA). Miller first played for the St. Louis Hawks before being selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1968 NBA expansion draft. After his time with the Bucks, he spent the rest of his career in the ABA, with the Los Angeles Stars and Indiana Pacers. Read more
05 Apr 1991: Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (born 1915) Jiří Mucha was a Czech journalist, writer, screenwriter, author of autobiographical novels and studies of the works of his father, the painter Alphonse Mucha. Read more
05 Apr 1991: William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle (born 1909) William Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, known as Lord De L'Isle and Dudley between 1945 and 1956, was a British Army officer, politician and Victoria Cross recipient who served as the 15th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1961 to 1965. He was the last non-Australian to hold the position and the last British national to be appointed Governor-General of any Commonwealth realm. Read more
05 Apr 1991: John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (born 1925) John Goodwin Tower was an American politician and military veteran who represented Texas in the United States Senate from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Reconstruction. Tower is known for leading the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair in the Reagan administration. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (born 1895) Frank Kent Foss was an American pole vaulter. He won a gold medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics, while breaking his own unofficial world record. Read more
05 Apr 1989: Karel Zeman, Czech director, artist, production designer and animator (born 1910) Karel Zeman was a Czech film director, artist, production designer and animator. He is best known for directing fantasy films combining live-action footage with animation, including Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955) and Invention for Destruction (1958). Because of his creative use of special effects and animation in his films, he has often been called the "Czech Méliès". Read more
05 Apr 1988: Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (born 1920) Alf Kjellin was a Swedish film actor and director, who also appeared on some television shows. Read more
05 Apr 1987: Leabua Jonathan, 2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho (born 1914) Joseph Leabua Jonathan was the first prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986. Read more
05 Apr 1986: Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (born 1903) Manly Wade Wellman was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Unknown and Strange Stories, Wellman is best remembered as one of the most popular contributors to the legendary Weird Tales and for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains, which draw on the native folklore of that region. Karl Edward Wagner referred to him as "the dean of fantasy writers." Wellman also wrote in a wide variety of other genres, including historical fiction, detective fiction, western fiction, juvenile fiction, and non-fiction. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Hans Lunding, Danish military officer (born 1899) Hans Mathiesen Lunding was a Danish military officer, eventing rider, resistance fighter and director of military intelligence in Denmark. Read more
05 Apr 1984: Giuseppe Tucci, Italian scholar of oriental cultures (born 1894) Giuseppe Tucci was an Italian orientalist, Indologist and scholar of East Asian studies, specializing in Tibetan culture and the history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian fascism, and he used idealized portrayals of Asian traditions to support Italian ideological campaigns. Tucci was fluent in several European languages, Sanskrit, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit, Chinese and Tibetan and he taught at the University of Rome La Sapienza until his death. He is considered one of the founders of the field of Buddhist studies. Read more
05 Apr 1983: Abd al-Quddus al-Ansari, Saudi Arabian historian, journalist and writer. (born 1907) Abd al-Quddus al-Ansari was a Saudi Arabian historian, journalist and writer, born and raised in Medina under Ottoman and Hashemite rule into a Khazraji family. Employed by local government just after graduation from a local madrasah in 1928, he held several official positions from 1928 to 1954. A self-taught historian and archaeologist, he was the author of works about the history of Medina and wrote about various topics of his region, the Hejaz. In 1937, he founded the monthly magazine “Al-Manhal”. He also wrote literary works like The Twins (1930), the first Hejazi-Saudi novel, but his many professional activities prevented him from writing more than one novel. He died at the age of 76 in Mecca due to an incurable disease and was buried in Al-Mu'alla Cemetery. Read more
05 Apr 1982: Abe Fortas, American lawyer and jurist (born 1910) Abraham Fortas was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated from Rhodes College and Yale Law School. He later became a law professor at Yale and then an advisor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fortas worked at the Department of the Interior under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was appointed by President Harry S. Truman to delegations that helped set up the United Nations in 1945. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Émile Hanse, Belgian footballer (born 1892) Émile Jean Ghislain Hanse was a Belgian football (soccer) player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the Belgium team, which won the gold medal in the football tournament. Hanse played for R.U. Saint-Gilloise and appeared in 254 matches and scored 23 goals. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter (born 1945) Robert Ernest Hite, also known as "The Bear", was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer who was the co-lead vocalist of the blues rock band Canned Heat from 1965 until his death in 1981. Read more
05 Apr 1981: Pinchus Kremegne, French artist (born 1890) Pinchus Krémègne, aka Pinchus Kremegne, was a Lithuanian Belarusian Jewish-French artist, primarily known as a sculptor, painter and lithographer. Read more
05 Apr 1977: Carlos Prío Socarrás, President of Cuba, (born 1903) Carlos Manuel Prío Socarrás was a Cuban politician. He served as the President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new elections were to be held. He was the first president of Cuba to be born in an independent Cuba and the last to gain his post through universal, contested elections. He went into exile in the United States, where he lived for 25 years before dying by suicide at age 73. Read more
05 Apr 1977: Yuri Zavadsky, Russian actor and director (born 1894) Yuri Aleksandrovich Zavadsky was a Soviet and Russian theater director, actor and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1948) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1973). Read more
05 Apr 1976: Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (born 1905) Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was an American aviator, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was one of the richest and most influential people in the world during his lifetime. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian surgeon and academic (born 1891) Wilder Graves Penfield was an American-Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of the brain such as the cortical homunculus. His scientific contributions on neural stimulation expand across a variety of topics including hallucinations, illusions, dissociation and déjà vu. Penfield devoted much of his thinking to mental processes, including contemplation of whether there was any scientific basis for the existence of the human soul. Read more
05 Apr 1976: Harry Wyld, British cyclist (born 1900) Frederick Henry "Harry" Wyld was a British track cyclist. He won bronze medals at the 1924 and the 1928 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Tell Berna, American middle and long-distance runner (born 1891) Tell Schirnding Berna was an American middle-distance and long-distance runner. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Victor Marijnen, Dutch politician (born 1917) Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 24 July 1963 until 14 April 1965. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (born 1887) Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who led the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 until his death in 1975. His government was based in mainland China until it was defeated in the Chinese Civil War by Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, after which he continued to lead the ROC government on the island of Taiwan. Read more
05 Apr 1975: Harold Osborn, American track and fielder (born 1899) Harold Marion Osborn D.O. was an American track athlete. He won a gold medal in Olympic decathlon and high jump in 1924 and was the first athlete to win a gold medal in both the decathlon and an individual event. Read more
05 Apr 1974: Bino Bini, Italian fencer (born 1900) Bino Bini was an Italian fencer. He won a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics and a silver and bronze at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Read more
05 Apr 1974: A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (born 1882) Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing together the artists of Montreal and Toronto. In addition to his work with the Group of Seven, his long career included serving as a war artist during World War I (1917–1919) and teaching at the Banff School of Fine Arts, from 1943 to 1949. In his later years he was artist-in-residence at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. Read more
05 Apr 1973: David Murray, British race car driver (born 1909) David Hugh Murray was a British racing driver from Scotland. He participated in five Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1950, and also founded the Ecurie Ecosse Scottish motor racing team, based at Merchiston Mews in Edinburgh. Read more
05 Apr 1973: Alla Tarasova, Russian ballerina (born 1898) Alla Konstantinovna Tarasova was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress and pedagogue. She was a leading actress of Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre from the late 1920s onward. People's Artist of the USSR (1937) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1973). Read more
05 Apr 1972: Isabel Jewell, American actress and singer (born 1907) Isabel Jewell was an American actress, who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were Ceiling Zero, Marked Woman, A Tale of Two Cities, Lost Horizon, and Gone with the Wind. Read more
05 Apr 1971: José Cubiles, Spanish pianist and conductor (born 1894) José Antonio Cubiles Ramos was a noted Spanish pianist, conductor and teacher. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (born 1877) Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus née Kensit was a South African botanist and taxonomist, and the longtime curator of the Bolus Herbarium, from 1903. Bolus also has the legacy of authoring more land plant species than any other female scientist, in total naming 1,494 species. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Alfred Sturtevant, American geneticist and academic (born 1891) Alfred Henry Sturtevant was an American geneticist. Sturtevant constructed the first genetic map of a chromosome in 1911. Throughout his career he worked on the organism Drosophila melanogaster with Thomas Hunt Morgan. By watching the development of flies in which the earliest cell division produced two different genomes, he measured the embryonic distance between organs in a unit which is called the sturt in his honor. On February 13, 1968, Sturtevant received the 1967 National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B. Johnson. Read more
05 Apr 1970: Karl von Spreti, German diplomat (born 1907) Karl Borromäus Maria Heinrich Graf von Spreti was a German diplomat. He is best known as the West German Ambassador to Guatemala from 1968 until his assassination in 1970. The story of his assassination by Guatemalan guerillas was depicted in a 1970 book, Why Karl von Spreti Died, by Ryszard Kapuściński. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Alberto Bonucci, Italian actor and director (born 1918) Alberto Bonucci was an Italian film actor and director. He appeared in 53 films between 1950 and 1967. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician (born 1917) Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. In 1948, he became the first freely elected president in Venezuela's history. He was removed from power after only nine months by a military coup. Read more
05 Apr 1969: Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian SS officer (born 1903) Ain Mere was an Estonian military officer in World War II. During the German occupation of Estonia, he served in the German-controlled Estonian Security Police and SD. Read more
05 Apr 1968: Félix Couchoro, Togolese writer (born 1900) Félix Couchoro was a Togolese writer and educator. Read more
05 Apr 1968: Lajos Csordás, Hungarian footballer (born 1932) Lajos Csordás was a Hungarian footballer. He won the gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics and was runner-up of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Read more
05 Apr 1968: Giuseppe Paris, Italian gymnast (born 1895) Giuseppe Paris was an Italian gymnast who competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics, the 1924 Summer Olympics and the 1928 Summer Olympics. He was born in Milan. He was part of the Italian team, which was able to win the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team, European system event in 1920 as well as in the team competition 1924. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (born 1891) Mischa Elman was a Russian-American violinist famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Johan Falkberget, Norwegian author (born 1879) Johan Falkberget, born Johan Petter Lillebakken, was a Norwegian author. He was nominated for the –Nobel Prize in Literature. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1890) Hermann Joseph Muller was an American geneticist who was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of the production of mutations by means of X-ray irradiation". Muller warned of long-term dangers of radioactive fallout from nuclear war and nuclear testing, which resulted in greater public scrutiny of these practices. Read more
05 Apr 1967: Herbert Johnston, British runner (born 1902) Herbert Arthur Johnston was a British runner who competed in events ranging from one to four miles. Read more
05 Apr 1965: Pedro Sernagiotto, Italian-Brazilian footballer (born 1908) Pedro Sernagiotto, also known as Pietro Sernagiotto or Ministrinho was an Italian Brazilian professional football player. He also held Italian citizenship and on October 22, 1933, played for the Italian national B team against Hungary. Read more
05 Apr 1965: Sándor Szalay, Hungarian figure skater (born 1893) Sándor Szalay was a Hungarian pair skater. With partner Olga Orgonista, he was the 1930 and 1931 European Champion. They won two medals at the World Figure Skating Championships, a bronze in 1929 and a silver in 1931. They placed 4th at the 1932 Winter Olympics. After the 1932 World Figure Skating Championships, Sándor and Olga retired. Sándor worked as a construction inspector in a rubber factory, and served as the president of the Hungarian Skating Federation from 1945 to 1950. Read more
05 Apr 1964: James Chapin, American ornithologist (born 1889) James Paul Chapin was an American ornithologist and curator of the American Museum of Natural History. Read more
05 Apr 1964: Aloïse Corbaz, Swiss artist (born 1886) Aloïse Blanche Corbaz was a Swiss outsider artist included in Jean Dubuffet's initial collection of psychiatric art. She is one of very few acclaimed female outsider artists. Read more
05 Apr 1964: Douglas MacArthur, American general (born 1880) Douglas MacArthur was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of staff of the United States Army from 1930 to 1935; as Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, from 1942 to 1945; as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers overseeing the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951; and as head of the United Nations Command in the Korean War from 1950 to 1951. MacArthur was nominated for the Medal of Honor three times, and awarded it for his WWII service in the Philippines. He is one of only five people to hold the rank of General of the Army, and the only person to hold the rank of Field Marshal in the Philippine Army. Read more
05 Apr 1963: Jacobus Oud, Dutch architect (born 1890) Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud was a Dutch architect. His fame began as a follower of the De Stijl movement. Read more
05 Apr 1962: Boo Kullberg, Swedish gymnast (born 1889) Anders Boo Georg Kullberg was a Swedish gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Swedish team, which won the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team, Swedish system event. Read more
05 Apr 1961: Nikolai Kryukov, Russian composer (born 1908)
Nikolai Nikolayevich Kryukov was a Russian composer active in the Soviet era. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria (born 1884) Prince Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria and Bourbon was a prince of the House of Wittelsbach and Infante of Spain, the eldest son and child of Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria and Infanta María de la Paz of Spain. He became an Infante of Spain on 20 October 1905 and renounced his rights to the throne of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1914. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Ásgrímur Jónsson, Icelandic painter (born 1876) Ásgrímur Jónsson was an Icelandic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. Read more
05 Apr 1958: Isidora Sekulić, Serbian writer (born 1877) Isidora Sekulić was a Serbian writer, novelist, essayist, polyglot and art critic. She was the first woman academic in the history of Serbia, after she joined the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1950. Read more
05 Apr 1956: William Titt, British gymnast (born 1881) William Titt was a British gymnast who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Cork. Originally named William Lebeau he took on the name of William Titt after his stepfather. When his stepfather died he reverted to the original Lebeau. As a member of the British team in 1908 he finished eighth in the team competition. He was part of the British team, which won the bronze medal in the gymnastics men's team, European system event in 1912. Read more
05 Apr 1955: Tibor Szele, Hungarian mathematician (born 1918) Tibor Szele was a Hungarian mathematician, working in combinatorics and abstract algebra. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Princess Märtha of Sweden, (born 1901) Princess Märtha of Sweden was Crown Princess of Norway as the spouse of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. As Olav only became king in 1957, Märtha never became Queen of Norway. Her son, Harald V, is the current king of Norway. Princess Märtha was also an elder sister of Queen Astrid of Belgium and a maternal aunt of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and Kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium. Read more
05 Apr 1954: Claude Delvincourt, French pianist and composer (born 1888) Claude Étienne Edmond Marie Pierre Delvincourt was a French pianist and composer of classical music. Read more
05 Apr 1952: Agnes Morton, British tennis player (born 1872) Agnes Morton was a British female tennis player. She twice reached the Ladies Singles finals at the 1908 and 1909 Wimbledon Championships and claimed victory in 1914 in Ladies Doubles with partner Elizabeth Ryan, the same year she reached the singles final at the Northern Championships. She placed fourth at the 1908 Summer Olympics in Ladies Lawn Tennis. Read more
05 Apr 1950: Hiroshi Yoshida, Japanese painter (born 1876) Hiroshi Yoshida was a 20th-century Japanese painter and woodblock printmaker. Along with Hasui Kawase, he is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin-hanga style, and is noted especially for his landscape prints. Yoshida made numerous trips around the world, with the aim of getting to know different artistic expressions and making works of different landscapes. He traveled widely, and was particularly known for his images of non-Japanese subjects done in traditional Japanese woodblock style, including the Taj Mahal, the Swiss Alps, the Grand Canyon, and other National Parks in the United States. Read more
05 Apr 1949: Erich Zeigner, Prime Minister of Saxony (born 1886) Erich Zeigner was a German politician. He was Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony during the attempted communist uprising of 1923. Read more
05 Apr 1948: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American socialite and philanthropist (born 1874) Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., the son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller Sr. Her father was Nelson W. Aldrich, who served as a senator from Rhode Island. Rockefeller was known for being the driving force behind the establishment of the Museum of Modern Art. She was the mother of Nelson Rockefeller, who served from 1974 to 1977 as the 41st vice president of the United States. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Bernhard Pankok, German painter, artist and architect (born 1872) Bernhard Wilhelm Maria Pankok was a German painter, graphic artist, architect, and designer. His works are characterized by the transition between Art Nouveau and the International Style. His furniture and book design, such as the catalog for the German section of the Exposition Universelle (1900) in Paris, have garnered him the most recognition. Read more
05 Apr 1947: Elis Strömgren, Swedish-Danish astronomer (born 1870) Svante Elis Strömgren was a Swedish–Danish astronomer. Read more
05 Apr 1946: Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (born 1898) Vincent Millie Youmans was an American Broadway composer and producer. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Heinrich Borgmann, German officer (born 1912) Heinrich Borgmann was a German officer during World War II. He was seriously injured by the 20 July plot bomb planted by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Read more
05 Apr 1945: Karl-Otto Koch, German SS officer (born 1897) Karl-Otto Koch was a German military officer who was a mid-ranking commander in the Schutzstaffel (SS) of Nazi Germany, and the first commandant of the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen. From September 1941 until August 1942, he served as the first commandant of the Majdanek concentration camp in occupied Poland, stealing vast amounts of valuables and money from murdered Jews. His wife, Ilse Koch, also participated in the crimes at Buchenwald. Read more
05 Apr 1941: Parvin E'tesami, Persian poet (born 1907) Rakhshandeh E'tesami, better known as Parvin E'tesami, was a 20th-century Iranian Persian-language poet. Read more
05 Apr 1941: Nigel Gresley, Scottish-English engineer (born 1876) Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific engines. An A1 Pacific, Flying Scotsman, was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and an A4, No. 4468 Mallard, still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph). Read more
05 Apr 1941: Franciszek Kleeberg, Polish general (born 1888) Franciszek Kleeberg was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and following the Polish Independence later the Polish Army. During the German Invasion of Poland he commanded Independent Operational Group Polesie. He never lost a battle in the Invasion of Poland, although he was eventually forced to surrender after his forces ran out of ammunition. Imprisoned in Oflag IV-B Koenigstein, he died in a hospital in Dresden on 5 April 1941 and was buried there. Read more
05 Apr 1940: Charles Freer Andrews, English-Indian priest, missionary, and educator (born 1871) Charles Freer Andrews was an Anglican priest and Christian missionary, educator and social reformer, and an activist for Indian independence. He became a close friend of Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi and identified with the Indian liberation struggle. He was instrumental in persuading Gandhi to return to India from South Africa, where Gandhi had been a leading light in the campaign for Indian civil rights. Read more
05 Apr 1940: Robert Maillart, Swiss civil engineer (born 1872) Robert Maillart was a Swiss civil engineer who revolutionized the use of structural reinforced concrete with such designs as the three-hinged arch and the deck-stiffened arch for bridges, and the beamless floor slab and mushroom ceiling for industrial buildings. His Salginatobel (1929–1930) and Schwandbach (1933) bridges changed the aesthetics and engineering of bridge construction dramatically and influenced decades of architects and engineers after him. In 1991 the Salginatobel Bridge was declared an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read more
05 Apr 1940: Jay O'Brien, American bobsledder (born 1883) Jay James O'Brien was an American bobsledder who competed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He won two medals at the Winter Olympics with a gold in the four-man event at Lake Placid, New York, in 1932 and a silver in the five-man event at St. Moritz in 1928. At 48 years old, he was the oldest Olympic champion. Read more
05 Apr 1940: Song Zheyuan, Chinese general (born 1885) Song Zheyuan was a Chinese general during the Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Read more
05 Apr 1938: Helena Westermarck, Finnish artist and writer (born 1857) Helena Charlotta Westermarck was a Swedish-speaking Finnish artist and writer. She is known for her pioneering biographies of women. Read more
05 Apr 1938: Verner Lehtimäki, Finnish revolutionary (born 1890) Verner Lehtimäki was a Finnish socialist, soldier, pilot, aerospace engineer and revolutionary who fought for the Reds during the Finnish Civil War. Read more
05 Apr 1937: Gustav Adolf Deissmann, (born 1866) Gustav Adolf Deissmann was a German Protestant theologian, best known for his leading work on the Greek language used in the New Testament, which he showed was the koine, or commonly used tongue of the Hellenistic world of that time. Read more
05 Apr 1937: José Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (born 1858) José Benlliure y Gil was a Spanish painter. Read more
05 Apr 1936: Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (born 1884) Henry Chandler Egan was an American amateur golfer and golf course architect of the early 20th century. Read more
05 Apr 1935: Achille Locatelli, Roman Catholic cardinal (born 1856) Achille Locatelli was a Roman Catholic cardinal. He worked in papal diplomacy, and among other positions, he was nuntius in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Read more
05 Apr 1935: Emil Młynarski, Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue (born 1870) Emil Szymon Młynarski was a Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue. Read more
05 Apr 1935: Franz von Vecsey, Hungarian violinist and composer (born 1893) Franz von Vecsey was a Hungarian violinist and composer, who became a well-known virtuoso in Europe through the early 20th century. He made his first public debut at the age of 10. An accomplished violinist, he went onto perform concerts in the early twentieth century in the United Kingdom, Europe and both North America and South America. Read more
05 Apr 1934: Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, playwright, songwriter and fascist intellectual (born 1860) Salvatore Di Giacomo was an Italian poet, songwriter, playwright and fascist, one of the signatories to the Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals. Read more
05 Apr 1934: Jiro Sato, Japanese tennis player (born 1908) Jiro Sato was a Japanese tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in 1933 but committed suicide in the Strait of Malacca during his trip to the Davis Cup in 1934. Read more
05 Apr 1933: Earl Derr Biggers, American novelist and playwright (born 1884) Earl Derr Biggers was an American novelist and playwright. His novels featuring the fictional Chinese American detective Charlie Chan were adapted into popular films made in the United States and China. Read more
05 Apr 1933: Hjalmar Mellin, Finnish mathematician and functional theorist (born 1854) Robert Hjalmar Mellin was a Finnish mathematician and function theorist. Read more
05 Apr 1932: María Blanchard, Spanish painter (born 1881) María Gutiérrez-Cueto y Blanchard was a Spanish painter. She was known for developing a unique style of Cubism. Read more
05 Apr 1929: Francis Aidan Gasquet, English Benedictine monk (born 1846) Francis Aidan Gasquet was an English Benedictine monk and historical scholar. He controversially challenged what he regarded as the anti-Catholic narrative of the English history of his age, and uncovered the extent of the Black Death in England. He was created a cardinal in 1914. Read more
05 Apr 1929: Ludwig von Sybel, German archeologist (born 1846) Ludwig von Sybel was a German archaeologist. Read more
05 Apr 1928: Roy Kilner, English cricketer and soldier (born 1890) Roy Kilner was an English professional cricketer who played nine Test matches for England between 1924 and 1926. An all-rounder, he played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1911 and 1927. In all first-class matches, he scored 14,707 runs at an average of 30.01 and took 1,003 wickets at an average of 18.45. Kilner scored 1,000 runs in a season ten times and took 100 wickets in a season five times. On four occasions, he completed the double: scoring 1,000 runs and taking 100 wickets in the same season, recognised as a sign of a quality all-rounder. Read more
05 Apr 1928: Viktor Oliva, Czech painter and illustrator (born 1861) Viktor Oliva was a Czech painter and illustrator. Read more
05 Apr 1924: Victor Hensen, German zoologist (born 1835) Christian Andreas Victor Hensen was a German zoologist and marine biologist (planktology). He coined the term plankton and laid the foundation for biological oceanography and quantitative studies. Read more
05 Apr 1923: George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and businessman (born 1866) George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon,, styled Lord Porchester until 1890, was an English peer and aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Read more
05 Apr 1921: Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (born 1862) Alphonsus Johannes Maria Diepenbrock was a Dutch composer, essayist and classicist. Read more
05 Apr 1921: Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer and translator (born 1853) Sophie Elkan was a Swedish writer and translator. Read more
05 Apr 1920: Laurent Marqueste, French sculptor (born 1848) Laurent-Honoré Marqueste was a French sculptor in the neo-Baroque Beaux-Arts tradition. He was a pupil of François Jouffroy and of Alexandre Falguière. Marqueste won the Prix de Rome in 1871. Read more
05 Apr 1918: George Tupou II, King of Tonga (born 1874) George Tupou II was the King of Tonga from 18 February 1893 until his death. He was officially crowned at Nukuʻalofa, on 17 March 1893. He was also the 20th Tuʻi Kanokupolu. Read more
05 Apr 1918: Paul Vidal de La Blache, French geographer (born 1845) Paul Vidal de La Blache was a French geographer. He is considered to be the founder of modern French geography and also the founder of the French School of Geopolitics. He conceived the idea of genre de vie, which is the belief that the lifestyle of a particular region reflects the economic, social, ideological and psychological identities imprinted on the landscape. Read more
05 Apr 1916: Maksim Kovalevsky, Russian sociologist (born 1851) Maksim Maksimovich Kovalevsky was a jurist and the main authority on sociology in the Russian Empire. He was vice-president (1895) and president (1905) of the International Institute of Sociology. He also held a chair in sociology at the Psycho-Neurological Institute. Kovalevsky was elected into the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1914. The Russian Sociological Society adopted his name in 1916. Read more
05 Apr 1914: Bernard Borggreve, German forestry scientist (born 1836) Bernard Robert August Borggreve was a German forestry scientist. He is known for introducing the "Borggreve method", a silvicultural process for selection cutting of trees. Read more
05 Apr 1906: Eastman Johnson, American painter (born 1824) Jonathan Eastman Johnson was an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, with his name inscribed at its entrance. He was best known for his genre paintings, paintings of scenes from everyday life, and his portraits both of everyday people and prominent Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His later works often show the influence of the 17th-century Dutch masters, whom he studied in The Hague in the 1850s; he was known as The American Rembrandt in his day. Read more
05 Apr 1904: Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (born 1830) Ernst, Prince of Leiningen was a German nobleman who served with distinction in the British Royal Navy. Read more
05 Apr 1904: Frances Power Cobbe, Irish writer (born 1822) Frances Power Cobbe was an Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, religious thinker, social reformer, anti-vivisection activist and leading women's suffrage campaigner. She founded a number of animal advocacy groups, including the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) in 1875 and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in 1898, and was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage. Read more
05 Apr 1902: Hans Ernst August Buchner, German bacteriologist (born 1850) Hans Ernst August Buchner was a German bacteriologist who was born and raised in Munich. He was the older brother of Eduard Buchner (1860–1917), winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Read more
05 Apr 1901: Angelo Messedaglia, Italian social scientist and statistician (born 1820) Angelo Messedaglia was an Italian social scientist, statistician and politician. Read more
05 Apr 1900: Joseph Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (born 1822) Joseph Louis François Bertrand was a French mathematician and historian of science whose work emphasized number theory, differential geometry, probability theory, economics and thermodynamics. Read more
05 Apr 1900: Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877 (born 1832) Osman Nuri Pasha, also known as Gazi Osman Pasha, was an Ottoman Turkish field marshal. Being one of the most respected and decorated Ottoman pashas of all time, many songs have been written for him, and many places named after him. This is mainly because he held the Bulgarian town of Plevna for five months against superior Russo-Romanian forces in 1877 during the Russo-Turkish War, though the city eventually fell. Read more
05 Apr 1891: Johann Hermann Bauer, Austrian chess master (born 1861) Johann Hermann Bauer was an Austrian chess master. Read more
05 Apr 1888: Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (born 1855) Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin was a Russian author of short stories. Read more
05 Apr 1882: Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play, (born 1806) Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play was a French engineer, sociologist and economist. Read more
05 Apr 1873: Milivoje Blaznavac, Serbian soldier and politician (born 1824) Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac was a Serbian general and politician who served as regent from 1868 to 1872, as well as head of government from 1872 to 1873. Read more
05 Apr 1872: Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier, French astronomer (born 1812) Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier was a French astronomer, one of two French astronomers referred to as M. Laugier. Read more
05 Apr 1871: Paolo Savi, Italian geologist and ornithologist (born 1798) Paolo Savi was an Italian geologist and ornithologist. Read more
05 Apr 1868: Karel Purkyně, Czech painter (born 1834) Karel Purkyně was a Czech painter and art critic. He was one of the most prominent proponents of realism in Czech art in the second half of the 19th century. Read more
05 Apr 1866: Thomas Hodgkin, British physician (born 1798) Thomas Hodgkin RMS was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphoma and blood disease, in 1832. Hodgkin's work marked the beginning of times when a pathologist was actively involved in the clinical process. He was a contemporary of Thomas Addison and Richard Bright at Guy's Hospital in London. Read more
05 Apr 1865: Manfredo Fanti, Italian general (born 1806) Manfredo Fanti was an Italian general; he is known as the founder of the Royal Italian Army. Read more
05 Apr 1862: Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Dutch artist (born 1803) Barend Cornelis Koekkoek was a Dutch landscape artist and lithographer, and the most famous member of the Koekkoek family of painters. Read more
05 Apr 1861: Ferdinand Joachimsthal, German mathematician (born 1818)
Ferdinand Joachimsthal was a German mathematician. Read more
05 Apr 1852: Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, (born 1800) Felix Ludwig Johann Friedrich, Prince of Schwarzenberg was a Bohemian nobleman and an Austrian statesman who restored the Austrian Empire as a European great power following the Revolutions of 1848. He served as Minister-President of the Austrian Empire and Foreign Minister of the Austrian Empire from 1848 to 1852. Read more
05 Apr 1842: Shah Shuja Durrani, 5th Emir of Afghanistan (born 1785) Shuja Shah Durrani was Shah of the Durrani Empire from 1803 until his deposition in 1809, and again from 1839 until his assassination in 1842. A son of Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja was of the Sadozai lineage of the Durrani clan of Pashtuns. He became the fifth King of the Durrani Empire. Read more
05 Apr 1831: Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, Belgian entomologist (born 1797) Pierre Léonard Vander Linden was a Belgian entomologist born in Brussels. In Italy, he studied under the botanist Antonio Bertoloni (1775–1869), the zoologist Camillo Ranzani (1775–1841) and the physician Giacomo Tommasini (1768–1846). During his studies, he worked on Odonata. In 1826 he was appointed as the first professor of zoology, at the Musée des Sciences et Lettres in Brussels. Read more
05 Apr 1830: Richard Chenevix, Irish chemist and playwright (born 1774) Richard Chenevix was an Irish chemist, mineralogist and playwright who also wrote on a range of other topics. He was known for his sharp cynicism and for engaging in combative criticism. Chenevix received the Copley Medal in 1803, "for his various Chemical Papers printed in the Philosophical Transactions." Read more
05 Apr 1808: Johann Georg Wille, German engraver (born 1715) Johann Georg Wille, or Jean Georges Wille was a German-born copper engraver, who spent most of his life in France. He also worked as an art dealer. Read more
05 Apr 1804: Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (born 1761) Divisional-General Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran the Austrian Netherlands and Dutch Republic in the Flanders campaign before fighting on the Rhine front. Pichegru's Royalist views subsequently led to his fall from grace and imprisonment in Cayenne following the Coup of 18 Fructidor in 1797. After escaping into exile in London and joining the staff of Alexander Korsakov, he returned to France and planned the Pichegru Conspiracy to remove Napoleon from power, which led to his arrest and suicide. Despite Pichegru's defection, his surname is one of the names inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe. Read more

Why is 05 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 05 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

👉 View complete History of Today archive

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 05 April in World history?

On 05 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.