History of Today in India – 09 April

Explore the history of today 09 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 09 April 2026, 04:22 AM

📜 Important Events on 09 April in World History

• 09 Apr 2021: Burmese military and security forces commit the Bago massacre, during which at least 82 civilians are killed. Read more
• 09 Apr 2021: Soyuz MS-18 is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying three members of the Expedition 64 crew to the International Space Station. Read more
• 09 Apr 2020: Soyuz MS-16 is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the Expedition 62/63 crew to the International Space Station. Read more
• 09 Apr 2017: The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place. Read more
• 09 Apr 2017: After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Express flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh is forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to major criticism of United Airlines. Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča. Read more
• 09 Apr 2011: Six people and the perpetrator are killed and 17 injured in a mass shooting at a shopping mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. Read more
• 09 Apr 2009: In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili. Read more
• 09 Apr 2003: Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces. Read more
• 09 Apr 1994: Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-59. Read more
• 09 Apr 1992: A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison. Read more
• 09 Apr 1991: Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union. Read more
• 09 Apr 1990: An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR. Read more
• 09 Apr 1990: The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement is signed for 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 mi2) in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic. Read more
• 09 Apr 1990: An Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 over Gadsden, Alabama, killing both of the Cessna's occupants. Read more
• 09 Apr 1989: Tbilisi massacre: An anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Read more
• 09 Apr 1981: The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it and killing two Japanese sailors. Read more
• 09 Apr 1980: The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture. Read more
• 09 Apr 1969: The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford with Brian Trubshaw as the test pilot. Read more
• 09 Apr 1967: The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight. Read more
• 09 Apr 1960: Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg. Read more
• 09 Apr 1959: Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven". Read more
• 09 Apr 1957: The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis. Read more
• 09 Apr 1952: Hugo Ballivián's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines Read more
• 09 Apr 1952: Japan Air Lines Flight 301 crashes into Mount Mihara, Izu Ōshima, Japan, killing 37. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist terror groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100 Palestinians. Read more
• 09 Apr 1947: The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Read more
• 09 Apr 1947: The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel. Read more
• 09 Apr 1947: United Nations Security Council Resolution 22 relating to Corfu Channel incident is adopted. Read more
• 09 Apr 1946: About 500 postal workers in Tel Aviv and Jaffa went on strike. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident, is executed by the Nazi regime. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: World War II: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed. Read more
• 09 Apr 1942: World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends and the Bataan Death March begins. Read more
• 09 Apr 1942: World War II: An Indian Ocean raid by Japan's 1st Air Fleet sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire. Read more
• 09 Apr 1940: World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Read more
• 09 Apr 1940: Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway. Read more
• 09 Apr 1939: African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Read more
• 09 Apr 1937: The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe. Read more
• 09 Apr 1918: World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders. Read more
• 09 Apr 1917: World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge. Read more
• 09 Apr 1909: The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act. Read more
• 09 Apr 1865: American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the war. Read more
• 09 Apr 1860: On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the first known recording of an audible human voice. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 09 April in World History

• 09 Apr 2004: TommyInnit, English YouTuber and streamer Thomas Michael Simons, better known as TommyInnit, is a British YouTuber, Twitch streamer and comedian. He gained popularity from creating Minecraft-related videos and live streams, including collaborations with fellow YouTubers and streamers in the Dream SMP. Read more
• 09 Apr 2003: Hwang Do-yun, South Korean footballer Hwang Do-yun is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for K League 1 club FC Seoul. He trained in the club's youth system before making his debut appearance in the 2023 K League 1 season. Read more
• 09 Apr 2001: Nika Mühl, Croatian basketball player Nika Mühl is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Portland Fire of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Sopron Basket of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A. She played college basketball as a point guard for the UConn Huskies. Twice named Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year while in college, Mühl is UConn's all-time leader in career assists, with 686, and also holds the program records for most assists in a single season and in a single game. She was selected 14th overall by Seattle in the 2024 WNBA draft and also plays for Beşiktaş JK of the Women's Basketball Super League in Turkey. Read more
• 09 Apr 2000: Tiago Djaló, Portuguese footballer Tiago Emanuel Embaló Djaló is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Portugal national team. Read more
• 09 Apr 2000: Jackie Evancho, American singer Jacqueline Marie Evancho is an American singer who gained wide recognition at an early age, singing primarily classical crossover covers. Since 2009, she has issued nine albums, a platinum-selling EP and two further EPs; three of her discs debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. She has also presented three solo PBS concert specials. Read more
• 09 Apr 1999: Stanley Nsoki, French footballer Stanley Pierre Nsoki is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for German Bundesliga club Union Berlin on loan from TSG Hoffenheim. Read more
• 09 Apr 1999: Lil Nas X, American rapper Montero Lamar Hill, better known by his stage name Lil Nas X, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road", which spent a then-record 19 weeks atop the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Simultaneously, he came out as gay, the first artist to do so while having a number-one record. Read more
• 09 Apr 1999: Rúben Vinagre, Portuguese footballer Rúben Gonçalo da Silva Nascimento Vinagre is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back for Ekstraklasa club Legia Warsaw. Read more
• 09 Apr 1998: Elle Fanning, American actress Mary Elle Fanning is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golden Globe Awards. Read more
• 09 Apr 1997: Luis Arráez, Venezuelan baseball player Luis Sangel Arráez is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, and San Diego Padres. Arráez represents the Venezuelan national team in international competitions. He is nicknamed "La Regadera". Read more
• 09 Apr 1996: Jayden Brailey, Australian rugby league player Jayden Brailey is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). Read more
• 09 Apr 1996: Giovani Lo Celso, Argentine footballer Giovani Lo Celso is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis and the Argentina national team. Read more
• 09 Apr 1995: Domagoj Bošnjak, Croatian basketball player Domagoj Bošnjak is a Croatian professional basketball player who last played for Široki of the Basketball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and ABA League Second Division. Standing at 1.98 m he plays the shooting guard and small forward positions. Read more
• 09 Apr 1995: Robert Bauer, German-Kazakhstani footballer Robert Bauer is a German professional footballer who plays for Iraq Stars League club Al-Mosul SC. Bauer represented the Germany national under-20 football team at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand and won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Germany Olympic football team. Read more
• 09 Apr 1995: Demi Vermeulen, Dutch Paralympic equestrian Demi Vermeulen is a Dutch Paralympic equestrian. Read more
• 09 Apr 1994: Bladee, Swedish rapper and singer Benjamin Thage Dag Reichwald, known professionally as Bladee, is a Swedish rapper and singer. In 2013, he formed the Drain Gang music collective alongside childhood friends Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor. Bladee began releasing music that same year, and gained attention after collaborating with Yung Lean. Read more
• 09 Apr 1994: Joey Pollari, American actor Joey Pollari is an American actor, musician, and director who became well known for his role as Eric Tanner on ABC's second season of American Crime, and in 2018, appeared in the film Love, Simon, as Lyle, one of Simon's potential boyfriends. In 2020, Pollari released his debut album, About Men. A follow-up second album, I'll Be Romance, was released on April 5, 2024. Read more
• 09 Apr 1993: Alexandra Hunt, American politician Alexandra M. Hunt is an American political candidate, public health worker, published research scientist, and activist from Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Hunt has run to represent Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and to serve as city controller of Philadelphia. Read more
• 09 Apr 1992: Joshua Ledet, American singer Joshua Ledet is an American singer from Westlake, Louisiana. In 2012 he placed third in the eleventh season of American Idol. He is known for his
  "soaring, church-bred brand of old school soul music." In 2017, he released a self-titled EP. Read more
• 09 Apr 1992: Raheem Mostert, American football player Dominique Raheem Mostert is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers. Read more
• 09 Apr 1991: Gai Assulin, Israeli footballer Gai Yigaal Assulin is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He last played for Serie D club Crema. Read more
• 09 Apr 1991: Ryan Kelly, American basketball player Ryan Matthew Kelly is an American professional basketball player for the Fukui Blowinds of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for Duke University. Read more
• 09 Apr 1991: Mary Killman, American synchronized swimmer Mary Killman is an American synchronized swimmer. After switching to synchronized swimming from race swimming, Killman was a member of the teams that won silver medals in the duet and team competitions at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico and 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Read more
• 09 Apr 1990: Kristen Stewart, American actress Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress and filmmaker. Her career spans from major blockbusters to intimate arthouse dramas, and she has earned a reputation for portraying complex, introspective characters. As a performer, she is known for her subtle and naturalistic style of acting. Stewart has been ranked among the world's highest paid actors and her works have collectively grossed over $4 billion worldwide. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Read more
• 09 Apr 1990: Ryan Williams, American football player Ryan Gene Williams is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Read more
• 09 Apr 1989: Bianca Belair, American wrestler Bianca Nicole Crawford is an American professional wrestler and fitness and figure competitor. As of April 2016, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bianca Belair. Belair is one of two women to win at a WrestleMania main event and her 420-day reign as Raw Women's Champion stands as the longest in the championship's history. Read more
• 09 Apr 1989: Danielle Kahle, American figure skater Danielle "Dani" Kahle is an American former competitive figure skater. She won four medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, including gold in Croatia in 2003, and finished 11th at the 2004 World Junior Championships. She won one senior international medal, silver, at the 2006 Karl Schäfer Memorial. Read more
• 09 Apr 1988: Jeremy Metcalfe, English race car driver Jeremy Metcalfe is a British motor racing driver who last competed in 2008 in the British GT Championship where he finished the season as Vice-Champion along with team-mate Luke Hines. Racing in the Formula Renault UK championship prior to his move into GT, Metcalfe enjoyed a good level of success. He also had a productive career in karting, taking the Parma Industrials Karting Championship, a championship that was previously won by Scuderia Ferrari reserve driver Giancarlo Fisichella. Read more
• 09 Apr 1987: Kassim Abdallah, French-Comorian footballer Kassim Abdallah Mfoihaia is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championnat National 3 team Marseille II. Born in France, he played for the Comoros national team. Read more
• 09 Apr 1987: Graham Gano, American football player Graham Gano is a Scottish–American professional football placekicker. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Gano has also played for the Las Vegas Locomotives in the United Football League (UFL), the Washington Redskins and the Carolina Panthers. During his time with the Panthers, he achieved the franchise's record for longest field goal at 63 yards in 2018. Read more
• 09 Apr 1987: Craig Mabbitt, American singer Craig Edward Mabbitt is an American singer who is the frontman of the rock band Escape the Fate. He was formerly the lead vocalist for Blessthefall and The Word Alive. He is also the lead vocalist of his side-project band Dead Rabbitts. Read more
• 09 Apr 1987: Jesse McCartney, American singer-songwriter and actor Jesse McCartney is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined the boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career. Additionally, McCartney has appeared on shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Summerland, and Greek. McCartney has had an extensive voice acting career, voicing characters such as Theodore in the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks film series, JoJo McDodd in Horton Hears a Who!, Terence in the Tinker Bell series, Dick Grayson in Young Justice, and Roxas and Ventus in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. Read more
• 09 Apr 1987: Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league player Jarrod Stephen Mullen is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He last played for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative, he played at five-eighth and halfback. He previously played for Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL). Read more
• 09 Apr 1987: Jazmine Sullivan, American singer-songwriter Jazmine Marie Sullivan is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She has won two Grammy Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, and two BET Awards over the course of her career. In 2022, Time placed her on their list of the 100 Most Influential People. Read more
• 09 Apr 1986: Mike Hart, American football player Leon Michael Hart is an American football coach and former player, currently the running backs coach at Boston College. Hart played college football as a running back at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2007, and holds the Michigan Wolverines career rushing record with 5,040 yards. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2008 NFL draft, and played for three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Hart has previously worked as an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Western Michigan University, Syracuse University and Indiana University Bloomington. Read more
• 09 Apr 1986: Leighton Meester, American actress Leighton Marissa Meester is an American actress, singer, and model. She is known for her starring role as Blair Waldorf on the CW television series Gossip Girl (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films such as Killer Movie (2008), Country Strong (2010), The Roommate (2011), Monte Carlo (2011), The Oranges (2011), The Judge (2014), The Weekend Away (2022), and EXmas (2023). She portrayed Angie D'Amato on the ABC sitcom Single Parents (2018–2020). Meester made her Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men (2014). For her leading role in the CW/Stan comedy drama series Good Cop/Bad Cop (2025–present), Meester was nominated for the Australian Logie Award for Best Actress. Read more
• 09 Apr 1985: Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer Antonio Nocerino is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He was formerly the head coach of USL Championship club Las Vegas Lights FC. Read more
• 09 Apr 1985: David Robertson, American baseball player David Alan Robertson, nicknamed "D-Rob", is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played for eight teams during a 17-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB). Robertson won a World Series ring in 2009 as a member of the New York Yankees and made the American League All-Star Team in 2011. Read more
• 09 Apr 1984: Habiba Ghribi, Tunisian runner Habiba Ghribi is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. She is also the Tunisian record holder in the event, having run 9:05.36 at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels in September 2015. Read more
• 09 Apr 1984: Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player Adam Alexander Loewen is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Read more
• 09 Apr 1984: Óscar Razo, Mexican footballer Oscar Francisco Razo Ventura is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defender. He previously played for CD Veracruz, and made 16 appearances for them in 2006–07. He retired on 1 January 2015. Read more
• 09 Apr 1983: Ryan Clark, Australian actor Ryan James Clark is an Australian lifeguard and former television and film actor. He became known for his portrayal of Sam Marshall in Home and Away over the course of a decade, before becoming a Waverley Council lifeguard on Bondi Beach and featuring in Bondi Rescue. Read more
• 09 Apr 1982: Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise (2010–2019), and for his lead roles in the comedies Fanboys (2009), She's Out of My League (2010), and This Is the End (2013). Baruchel was the co-lead in the Disney action-fantasy film The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010). Films in which Baruchel has had a starring role have grossed over $1.28 billion at the worldwide box office as of 2024. Read more
• 09 Apr 1982: Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer Carlos Gerardo Hernández Valverde, known simply as Carlos Hernández, is a former Costa Rican football player who last played as an attacking midfielder. Read more
• 09 Apr 1982: Kathleen Munroe, Canadian-American actress Kathleen Munroe is a Canadian actress. Read more
• 09 Apr 1981: Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player Milan Bartovič is a Slovak former professional ice hockey left winger, who last played for HK Dukla Trenčín in the Slovak Extraliga. He was drafted 35th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Read more
• 09 Apr 1981: A. J. Ellis, American baseball player Andrew James Ellis, is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently a special assistant to the general manager in the front office of the San Diego Padres. Ellis played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, and the Padres, before retiring following the 2018 season. Read more
• 09 Apr 1981: Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer Ireneusz Jeleń is a Polish footballer who plays as a right-winger or striker for CKS Piast Cieszyn. Read more
• 09 Apr 1981: Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player Dennis Scott Sarfate is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Saitama Seibu Lions, and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). While an average reliever in MLB, Sarfate became one of the greatest closers in NPB history after moving his career overseas. Sarfate holds several NPB records, including most saves in a season and most by a foreign-born pitcher. As of 2020, his 234 career saves rank fifth-most in NPB history. He is a 3× NPB All-Star, a 3× Pacific League saves leader, a 5× Japan Series Champion, won the Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award, won the Pacific League MVP Award, and won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award. Read more
• 09 Apr 1981: Eric Harris, American mass murderer, responsible for the Columbine High School massacre (died 1999) Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold were American high school seniors and a mass murderer duo who perpetrated the massacre at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, in Columbine, Colorado. Harris and Klebold killed 13 students and one teacher and wounded 23 others. After killing most of their victims in the school library, the two died by suicide. At the time, the attack was the deadliest high school shooting in United States history. The ensuing media frenzy and moral panic turned "Columbine" into a byword for school shootings, and the event into one of the most infamous mass shootings. Read more
• 09 Apr 1980: Sarah Ayton, English sailor Sarah Lianne Ayton is an English former professional sailor. Read more
• 09 Apr 1980: Luciano Galletti, Argentinian footballer Luciano Martín Galletti is an Argentine retired professional footballer who played as a right winger. Read more
• 09 Apr 1980: Albert Hammond Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist Albert Louis Hammond Jr. is an American musician who is a member of the rock band the Strokes. He is best known for his role as rhythm and lead guitarist, as well as occasionally a keyboard player and backing vocalist for the band. Hammond has released extensive solo work, including five solo albums. Read more
• 09 Apr 1979: Jeff Reed, American football player Jeffrey Montgomery Reed is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Reed was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2002 until 2010, and is third all-time behind Gary Anderson and Chris Boswell for the most points scored by a Steeler. Read more
• 09 Apr 1979: Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress Keshia Knight Pulliam is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. She landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), and became the youngest person to be nominated for an Emmy Award, when she earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. She later reprised the character on the spin-off series A Different World (1987–88). Knight Pulliam is also known for her portrayal of Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy drama Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–present). Read more
• 09 Apr 1978: Kousei Amano, Japanese actor Hironari Amano is a Japanese actor. In 2008 he changed his name to Kousei Amano , maintaining the kanji in his name. In 2013, he married actress Akiko Hinagata. Read more
• 09 Apr 1978: Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer Jorge Manuel Almeida Gomes de Andrade is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Read more
• 09 Apr 1978: Rachel Stevens, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress Rachel Lauren Stevens is an English singer and actress. She has been a member of the pop group S Club, which was active from 1998 to 2003, and has reformed once again since 2023. She released her solo debut studio album Funky Dory in September 2003. The album reached number nine on the UK album chart and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded it with a gold certification in October 2003. Two singles, "Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex" and "Funky Dory", were initially released from the album: "Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex" peaked at number two in the UK and received a silver certification from the BPI. Read more
• 09 Apr 1977: Gerard Way, American singer-songwriter and comic book writer Gerard Arthur Way is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, Hesitant Alien, in 2014. Read more
• 09 Apr 1976: Kyle Peterson, American baseball player and sportscaster Kyle Johnathan Peterson is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1999 and 2001. Read more
• 09 Apr 1975: Robbie Fowler, English footballer and manager Robert Bernard Fowler is an English football coach and former player. He most recently managed Saudi First Division League side Al-Qadsiah. Read more
• 09 Apr 1975: David Gordon Green, American director and screenwriter David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. Green began his career in 1997 and gained fame with the independent film George Washington (2000). He directed two additional independent dramas, All the Real Girls (2003) and Snow Angels (2007), as well as the thriller Undertow (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote. Read more
• 09 Apr 1974: Megan Connolly, Australian actress (died 2001) Megan Jennifer Connolly was an Australian actress, mainly of soap opera. She grew up in the northern Sydney suburb of St Ives, New South Wales. Read more
• 09 Apr 1974: Jenna Jameson, American actress and pornographic performer Jenna Marie Massoli, known professionally as Jenna Jameson, is an American businesswoman, writer, television personality, and former pornographic film actress. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn". Read more
• 09 Apr 1974: Alexander Pichushkin, Russian serial killer Alexander Yuryevich Pichushkin, also known as the Chessboard Killer and the Bitsa Park Maniac, is a Russian serial killer and former warehouse worker who is believed to have killed at least forty-nine people, and possibly as many as sixty, between 1992 and 2006. Pichushkin was active in Moscow's Bitsa Park, where a number of the victims' bodies were found. On 29 October 2007, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. At time of imprisonment, he was unmarried with no children. Read more
• 09 Apr 1972: Bernard Ackah, German-Japanese martial artist and kick-boxer Bernard Ackah is a German taekwondo practitioner, kickboxer, mixed martial artist and comedian. Read more
• 09 Apr 1972: Siiri Vallner, Estonian architect Siiri Vallner is an industrious Estonian architect. She works mostly in community projects, as well as in many competitions. She is a member of the Union of Estonian Architects. Read more
• 09 Apr 1971: Peter Canavan, Irish footballer and manager Peter Canavan is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. Read more
• 09 Apr 1971: Leo Fortune-West, English footballer and manager Leopold Paul Osborne Fortune-West is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the Football League for Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Rotherham United, Brentford, Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Torquay United and Shrewsbury Town. Read more
• 09 Apr 1971: Austin Peck, American actor Austin Peck is an American actor. He is best known for his work in daytime soap operas. Read more
• 09 Apr 1971: Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve is a Canadian former racing driver who competed in IndyCar from 1994 to 1995, and Formula One from 1996 to 2006. Villeneuve won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1997 with Williams, and won 11 Grands Prix across 11 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Villeneuve won the IndyCar World Series and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 with Team Green. Read more
• 09 Apr 1970: Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (died 2013) Alexandre Magno Abrão, known professionally as Chorão, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, skateboarder, filmmaker, screenwriter and businessman. Best known for being a founding member and the vocalist/main lyricist of the influential rock band Charlie Brown Jr., Folha de S.Paulo critic André Barcinski considered him "the nearest thing to a punk hero Brazilian mainstream music ever had", and Eduardo Tristão Girão of Portal Uai called him "the bad boy of Brazilian rock" and "the spokesman of the youth of the 1990s". Having been born and raised for most of his childhood in São Paulo, Chorão was the only Charlie Brown Jr. member not to be a Santos native, and its only founding member to remain consistently in all of the group's line-ups. Read more
• 09 Apr 1969: Barnaby Kay, English actor Barnaby Kay is a British actor who has played roles in television, stage, film and performance art. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Read more
• 09 Apr 1969: Linda Kisabaka, German runner Linda Kisabaka is a retired German middle distance runner. She ran the 400 metres until 1996, when she began specialising in the 800 metres. She retired in 2001, having represented the sports clubs Bayer 04 Leverkusen and LAZ Leipzig during her active career. Read more
• 09 Apr 1968: Jay Chandrasekhar, American actor, comedian, writer and director Jayanth Jambulingam Chandrasekhar is an American comedian, film director, screenwriter, actor and editor. He is best known for his work with the sketch comedy group Broken Lizard and for directing and starring in the Broken Lizard films Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest and Super Troopers 2. Since 2001, he has also worked frequently as a television director on many episodes of Community and The Goldbergs, among dozens of comedy series. He has also occasionally worked as a film director outside of Broken Lizard projects, most notably on the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard. Read more
• 09 Apr 1967: Natascha Engel, German-English translator and politician Natascha Engel is a British former politician. She served as Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Derbyshire from 2005 until her defeat at the 2017 general election. Read more
• 09 Apr 1967: Sam Harris, American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist Samuel Benjamin Harris is an American neuroscientist, philosopher, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, determinism, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics, philosophy of mind, politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence. Harris came to prominence for his criticism of religion, and he is known as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett. Read more
• 09 Apr 1966: John Hammond, English weather forecaster John Michael Hammond is a meteorologist and an English weather forecaster, newsreader and continuity announcer for the BBC. In the past he could be seen presenting weather forecasts on BBC One news bulletins, the BBC News Channel, BBC Red Button and BBC World News. He is currently presenting for the BBC in Birmingham, including the regional news programme Midlands Today. He is a newsreader and continuity announcer for BBC Radio 4. Read more
• 09 Apr 1966: Cynthia Nixon, American actress Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, activist, and theatre director. During her career, she has received various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award, making her one of the few actresses to have won three of the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT). She has also been nominated for six Golden Globe Awards. Nixon may be best known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City (1998–2004) and films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), as well as the television show And Just Like That… (2021–2025). Read more
• 09 Apr 1965: Helen Alfredsson, Swedish golfer Helen Christine Alfredsson is a Swedish professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is also a life member of the Ladies European Tour. She won the LPGA major Nabisco Dinah Shore and twice finished second in the U.S. Women's Open. She also won the Women's British Open once and the Evian Masters three times before those events were designated as majors in women's golf by the LPGA Tour. In 2019, she won a "senior slam" by winning both of the senior women's major championships. Read more
• 09 Apr 1965: Paulina Porizkova, Czech-born Swedish-American model and actress Paulina Porizkova is a fashion model, author and actress. Born in Czechoslovakia, she moved to Sweden in 1973 and began modelling in France at the age of 15. In 1984, Porizkova became the first Central European woman to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Read more
• 09 Apr 1965: Jeff Zucker, American businessman Jeffrey Adam Zucker is an American businessman and media executive. Zucker was the president of CNN Worldwide from 2013 to 2022. He oversaw CNN, CNN International, HLN, and CNN Digital. He was previously CEO of NBCUniversal. Read more
• 09 Apr 1965: Mark Pellegrino, American actor Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor. He is best known for his work as Lucifer in Supernatural, Paul Bennett in Dexter, Jacob in Lost, James Bishop in Being Human, Clayton Haas in Quantico, Joe Messing in Mulholland Drive, and Deputy Bill Standall in 13 Reasons Why. Read more
• 09 Apr 1964: Rob Awalt, German-American football player Robert Mitchell Awalt is a German-American former professional football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at San Diego State University. Read more
• 09 Apr 1964: Juliet Cuthbert, Jamaican sprinter Juliet Samantha Cuthbert-Flynn, née Cuthbert, is a Jamaican politician and retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres. As an athlete, Cuthbert-Flynn competed at four Olympic Games, winning two silver medals at the 1992 games held in Barcelona. Read more
• 09 Apr 1964: Doug Ducey, American politician and businessman, 23rd Governor of Arizona Douglas Anthony Ducey is an American businessman and Republican politician who served as the 23rd governor of Arizona from 2015 to 2023 and as Arizona State Treasurer from 2011 to 2015. He was CEO of the ice cream parlor chain Cold Stone Creamery from 1995 to 2007. Read more
• 09 Apr 1964: Peter Penashue, Canadian businessman and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Peter Penashue, is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador. He was elected as the Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament for the riding of Labrador in the 2011 federal election. Penashue was the first Innu from Labrador to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada and the first Innu cabinet minister in Canadian history. He was also the first centre-right MP to be elected from the riding of Labrador since 1968, and only the second ever to win it since Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949. Read more
• 09 Apr 1964: Margaret Peterson Haddix, American author Margaret Peterson Haddix is an American writer known best for the two children's series, Shadow Children (1998–2006) and The Missing (2008–2015). She also wrote the tenth volume in the multiple-author series The 39 Clues. Read more
• 09 Apr 1964: Rick Tocchet, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach Richard Tocchet is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 121st overall, by the Flyers in the 1983 NHL entry draft and played 11 seasons with them over two stints. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Phoenix Coyotes, winning the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 1992. Read more
• 09 Apr 1963: Marc Jacobs, American-French fashion designer Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was discontinued after the 2015 fall/winter collection. At its peak, it had over 200 retail stores in 80 countries. He was the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton from 1997 to 2014. Jacobs was on Time magazine's "2010 Time 100" list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and was #14 on Out magazine's 2012 list of "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America". He married his longtime partner Charly Defrancesco on April 6, 2019. Read more
• 09 Apr 1963: Joe Scarborough, American journalist, lawyer, and politician Charles Joseph Scarborough is an American television host and former politician who is the co-host of Morning Joe on MS NOW with his wife Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. He previously hosted Scarborough Country on the same network. A former member of the Republican Party, Scarborough was in the United States House of Representatives for Florida's 1st district from 1995 to 2001. He was appointed to the President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce in 2002 and was a visiting fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He was named in the 2011 Time 100 as one of the most influential people in the world. Read more
• 09 Apr 1962: John Eaves, American production designer and illustrator John Eaves is a designer and illustrator best known for his work on the Star Trek franchise, starting with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. He served as a production illustrator on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise and was involved in all four Next Generation movies, specifically being responsible for the design of the Sovereign-class Enterprise-E. He also worked on a variety of films, such as Top Gun, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Valkyrie and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Read more
• 09 Apr 1962: Ihor Podolchak, Ukrainian director, producer, and screenwriter Ihor Podolchak is a Ukrainian filmmaker and visual artist. He is a co-founder of the creative association Masoch Fund, and a participant in the Ukrainian New Wave. Read more
• 09 Apr 1962: Imran Sherwani, English field hockey player Imran Ahmed Khan Sherwani was a British international field hockey player. He won gold with the Great Britain squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Read more
• 09 Apr 1962: Jeff Turner, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster Jeffrey Steven Turner is an American former professional basketball player and broadcasting announcer. Turner played ten NBA seasons, spending time with the New Jersey Nets as well as the Orlando Magic. He ended his NBA career with 3,697 career points. Turner was a 6' 9" forward/center. After his career ended he spent nine years as a radio color commentator for the Magic. He then served as the head boys basketball coach at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida from to 2005 to 2013, where he compiled a 151–72 record and won the state title in 2013. From 2011 to 2013 he was also a studio analyst for Magic games. In 2013, Turner was named television color commentator for the Magic. Read more
• 09 Apr 1961: Mark Kelly, Irish keyboard player Mark Colbert Kelly is an Irish keyboardist and a member of the neo-prog band Marillion. Read more
• 09 Apr 1961: Kirk McCaskill, Canadian-American baseball and hockey player Kirk Edward McCaskill is a Canadian-American former Major League Baseball pitcher and former professional ice hockey player. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels and Chicago White Sox between 1985 and 1996, and played in the American Hockey League for the Sherbrooke Jets during the 1983–84 season. Read more
• 09 Apr 1960: Jaak Aab, Estonian educator and politician, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia Jaak Aab is an Estonian politician who has served as Minister of Education and Research and three times as the Minister of Public Administration from 2017 to 2018, from 2019 to 2020 and from 2011 to 2022 and as the Minister of Social Affairs from 2005 to 2007. From 1994 until 5 January 2024, he was a member of the Estonian Centre Party before joining the Social Democratic Party. He is the former mayor of Võhma and has served in the IX, XI, XIV and XV Riigikogu. Read more
• 09 Apr 1959: Bernard Jenkin, English businessman and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich and North Essex, previously Colchester North then North Essex, since 1992. He also served as chair of the Liaison Committee. Read more
• 09 Apr 1958: Nadey Hakim, British-Lebanese surgeon and sculptor Nadey S. Hakim FASMBS, is a British-Lebanese professor of transplantation surgery at Imperial College London and general surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic London. He is also a writer, musician and sculptor, known for kidney and pancreas transplantations, and being part of the surgical team that performed the world's first hand transplantation in 1998 and then the double arm transplantation in 2000. Read more
• 09 Apr 1958: Tony Sibson, English boxer Tony Sibson is a former professional boxer. Read more
• 09 Apr 1957: Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer and architect (died 2011) Severiano Ballesteros Sota was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 international tournaments in his career, including five major championships between 1979 and 1988; The Open Championship three times and the Masters Tournament twice. He gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19, he finished second at The Open. He played a leading role in the re-emergence of European golf, helping the European Ryder Cup team to five wins both as a player and captain. Read more
• 09 Apr 1957: Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela is a Belgian fashion designer, artist, and founder of the French luxury fashion house Maison Margiela. Throughout his career, Margiela has maintained a low profile, refusing to grant face-to-face interviews or be photographed. Since leaving fashion in 2008, he has emerged as an artist, exploring the themes that made him an iconic figure in fashion. He is considered to be one of the most influential fashion designers in recent history for his iconic deconstructed, upcycled aesthetic and oversized silhouette. Read more
• 09 Apr 1957: Jamie Redfern, English-born Australian television presenter and pop singer Jamie Redfern is an Australian television presenter and personality and pop singer. Redfern was an original cast member of children's variety show, Young Talent Time from April 1971 to early 1972, before leaving the show to tour in the US with Liberace. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, he "possessed a booming, mature voice which belied his tender age… [he] scored four Top 40 hit singles and sold more than $1.3 million worth of records." His equal highest-charting singles were the double-A sided covers of "Rainbow on the River"/"We'll Meet Again", and "Venus", which each peaked at No. 8 on the Go-Set national charts. Read more
• 09 Apr 1956: Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentinian footballer and coach Miguel Ángel Russo was an Argentine professional football player and manager who played as a defensive midfielder. As a player, Russo spent his entire career in Estudiantes de La Plata. As a manager, he coached for over 1,000 matches within more than 30 years of career. Read more
• 09 Apr 1956: Nigel Shadbolt, English computer scientist and academic Sir Nigel Richard Shadbolt is Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, and Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford. He is chairman of the Open Data Institute which he co-founded with Tim Berners-Lee. He is also a visiting professor in the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. Shadbolt is an interdisciplinary researcher, policy expert and commentator. His research focuses on understanding how intelligent behaviour is embodied and emerges in humans, machines and, most recently, on the Web, and has made contributions to the fields of psychology, cognitive science, computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, computer science and the emerging field of web science. Read more
• 09 Apr 1956: Marina Zoueva, Russian ice dancer and coach Marina Olegovna Zoueva or Zueva is a Russian figure skating coach, choreographer, and former competitor in ice dancing. Representing the Soviet Union with Andrei Vitman, she placed 5th at the 1977 World Championships and won two medals at Skate Canada International. She has coached a number of skaters to Olympic medals, including Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov, Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir, Meryl Davis / Charlie White, and Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani. Read more
• 09 Apr 1956: Nigel Slater, English food writer and author Nigel Slater is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for The Observer Magazine for more than a decade and is the principal writer for the Observer Food Monthly supplement. Prior to this, Slater was a food writer for Marie Claire magazine for five years. Read more
• 09 Apr 1955: Yamina Benguigui, Algerian-French director and politician Yamina Benguigui is a French film director and politician of Algerian descent. She is known for her films on gender issues in the North African immigrant community in France. Through her films, Benguigui gave a voice to many from the Maghrebi population in France. Read more
• 09 Apr 1955: Joolz Denby, English poet and author Joolz Denby is an English poet, novelist, artist and tattooist based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Read more
• 09 Apr 1954: Ken Kalfus, American journalist and author Ken Kalfus is an American author and journalist. Three of his books have been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Read more
• 09 Apr 1954: Dennis Quaid, American actor Dennis William Quaid is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many successful films, including Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Dragonheart (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), In Good Company (2004), Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), and Vantage Point (2008). In 2003, Quaid received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Far from Heaven (2002). Read more
• 09 Apr 1954: Iain Duncan Smith, British soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Sir George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford and Woodford Green, formerly Chingford, since 1992. Read more
• 09 Apr 1953: John Howard, English singer-songwriter and pianist John Howard is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and recording artist and published author. With his February 1975 debut album Kid in a Big World, Howard emerged as a late voice of the glam-pop wave of the early 1970s. Across a musical career that has included two main periods of recording activity – 1974-84 and 2004–present – Howard has released 21 studio albums and 12 studio EPs. In March 2018, he became a published author, his first autobiography, Incidents Crowded With Life, covering his childhood up to 1976, was published by Fisher King Publishing. In August 2020, the second volume of his autobiography, Illusions of Happiness, covering the years 1976 – 1986, was published by Fisher King Publishing. In February 2022, the third volume of his autobiography, In The Eyeline of Furtherance, covering 1986 to 2001, was published by Fisher King Publishing. In September 2023, Howard's first novel, Across My Dreams With Nets of Wonder, was published by Fisher King Publishing. Read more
• 09 Apr 1953: Hal Ketchum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2020) Hal Michael Ketchum was an American country music singer and songwriter. Born in Greenwich, New York, he began his professional music career in Texas. After an independent release in the late 1980s, he signed with Curb Records in 1990, for which he would record until 2008. Ketchum recorded nine albums and one greatest-hits package for Curb, and a final album for Music Road in 2014. The 1991 release Past the Point of Rescue was his most commercially successful, having been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Between 1991 and 2006, Ketchum had 17 entries on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three that reached the number two position: his debut single "Small Town Saturday Night", as well as a cover of Mick Hanly's "Past the Point of Rescue", and "Hearts Are Gonna Roll". Ketchum's music is defined by his songwriting, tenor singing voice, and minimalist production, with generally favorable reception for his influences of folk music and country musicians from Texas. Ketchum retired from the music business in 2019 following a diagnosis of dementia. Read more
• 09 Apr 1953: Stephen Paddock, American mass murderer responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting (died 2017) Stephen Craig Paddock was an American mass murderer who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Paddock opened fire into a crowd of about 22,000 concertgoers attending a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 60 people and injuring approximately 867. Paddock killed himself in his hotel room following the shooting after seeing police SWAT teams coming towards the hotel. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting by a lone shooter in United States history. Paddock's motive remains officially undetermined, and the possible factors are the subject of speculation. Read more
• 09 Apr 1952: Robert Clark, American author Robert Clark is an American novelist and writer of nonfiction. He has received the Edgar, James Beard and Julia Child awards, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, and the Washington State Book Award as well as being a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the IMPAC Dublin Award. He has also been a Guggenheim Fellow and his books have been TLS and New York Times Notable Books of the Year. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, he lives in New York City. Read more
• 09 Apr 1952: Bruce Robertson, New Zealand rugby player (died 2023) Bruce John Robertson was a New Zealand rugby union player. A centre, he represented Counties at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, from 1972 to 1981. He played 102 matches for the All Blacks, including 34 internationals, and scored 30 tries, four of which were in test matches. Read more
• 09 Apr 1952: Tania Tsanaklidou, Greek singer and actress Soultana (Tania) Tsanaklidou is a Greek artist, both singer and actress, who represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. Read more
• 09 Apr 1949: Tony Cragg, English sculptor Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg is an Anglo-German sculptor, resident in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress and politician Jaya Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician.
  She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party since 2004. Having worked in Hindi films and Bengali films, she is noted for reinforcing a natural style of acting in both mainstream and arthouse cinema. A recipient of several accolades, she has won ten Filmfare Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour awarded by the Government of India. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Tito Gómez, Puerto Rican salsa singer (died 2007) Tito Gómez was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Michel Parizeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Michel Gérard Parizeau is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and head coach who played two seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Patty Pravo, Italian singer Nicoletta Strambelli, known professionally as Patty Pravo, is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in popularity in the following decade, she experienced a career revival in mid-late 1990s and reinstated her position on Italian music charts. Her most popular songs include "La bambola" (1968), "Pazza idea" (1973), "Pensiero stupendo" (1978), and "…E dimmi che non vuoi morire" (1997). Pravo has sold over 110 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling Italian music artists. She scored fourteen top 10 albums and twelve top 10 singles in her native Italy. Pravo participated at the Sanremo Music Festival eleven times, most recently in 2026, and has won three critics' awards. She also performed twelve times at the Festivalbar. Read more
• 09 Apr 1947: Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Italian economist and academic (died 2024) Giovanni Andrea Cornia was an Italian development economist. He was professor of economics, department of economics and management, at the University of Florence. He had previously been the director of the Regional Institute of Economic Planning of Tuscany, the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), in Helsinki, and the Economic and Policy Research Program, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, in Florence. He was formerly also chief economist, UNICEF, New York. His main areas of professional interest were income and asset inequality, poverty, growth, child well-being, human development and mortality crises, transition economics, and institutional economics. He was author of over a dozen books and dozens of articles, reports and working papers on practical development economics issues in individual countries, regions and globally. Born on 9 April 1947, he died in July 2024, at the age of 77. Read more
• 09 Apr 1946: Nate Colbert, American baseball player (died 2023) Nathan Colbert Jr. was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1966 to 1976, most prominently as a member of the newly formed San Diego Padres, who joined the league as an expansion team in 1969. He was among the inaugural inductees into the Padres Hall of Fame. Read more
• 09 Apr 1946: Alan Knott, English cricketer Alan Philip Eric Knott is a former cricketer who represented England at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). Knott is widely regarded as one of the most eccentric characters in cricket and as one of the greatest wicket-keepers ever to play the game. He was described by cricket journalist Simon Wilde as "a natural gloveman, beautifully economical in his movements and armed with tremendous powers of concentration". Read more
• 09 Apr 1946: Sara Parkin, Scottish activist and politician Sara Parkin is a Scottish nurse and political activist. She started her working life as a nurse in Edinburgh but rose to prominence as a green political activist during and after the 1989 European Parliament election, in which the UK Green Party gained 15% of the votes but no seats. She resigned from the party in 1992, at odds with the party's anti-leadership stance, and went on to found the Forum for the Future with Jonathon Porritt and Paul Ekins. Her current campaigning focus is sustainability literacy as an essential outcome of formal education, especially in universities and colleges. She lives in Hackney, East London. Read more
• 09 Apr 1946: David Webb, English footballer, coach, and manager David James Webb is an English former professional footballer who made 555 appearances in the Football League playing for Leyton Orient, Southampton, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Derby County, AFC Bournemouth and Torquay United. He became a manager, taking charge of Bournemouth, Torquay United, Southend United, Chelsea, Brentford and Yeovil Town. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Steve Gadd, American drummer and percussionist Stephen Kendall Gadd is an American drummer and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1984. Gadd's performances on Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (1976) and "Late in the Evening" (1980), Herbie Mann's "Hi-jack" (1975) and Steely Dan's "Aja" (1977) are examples of his style. He has worked with other popular musicians from many genres including Van McCoy, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Randy Crawford, Eric Clapton, Michel Petrucciani, Paul McCartney, and David Gilmour. Read more
• 09 Apr 1944: Joe Brinkman, American baseball player and umpire Joseph Norbert Brinkman is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League (AL) from 1972 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 until his retirement during the 2006 season. Read more
• 09 Apr 1944: Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg, German shot putter Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg is a retired East German shot putter. Read more
• 09 Apr 1943: Leila Khaled, Palestinian activist Leila Khaled is a Palestinian activist and former militant who is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). She is famous for her role in two plane-hijackings, and was the second woman to be involved in such an operation. Read more
• 09 Apr 1943: Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2004) Terry Knight was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but considerable success as the original manager-producer for Grand Funk Railroad and the producer for Bloodrock. Read more
• 09 Apr 1943: Clive Sullivan, Welsh rugby league player (died 1985) Clive Anthony Sullivan MBE was a Welsh rugby league footballer. A Great Britain and Wales international winger, he played for Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers in his career, winning Challenge Cup medals with both clubs, and also played for Oldham and Doncaster. Captaining Great Britain in 1972, he was the first black captain for Great Britain in any sport. He was part of the Great Britain team which won the 1972 Rugby League World Cup. His son, Anthony Sullivan, had a successful career with Hull Kingston Rovers, St. Helens, Wales in both rugby league and union, and Cardiff RFC. Read more
• 09 Apr 1942: Brandon deWilde, American actor (died 1972) Andre Brandon deWilde was an American actor, who had a successful career as both a child actor and in adulthood, on both stage and screen. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding. He won a Donaldson Award for his performance, becoming the youngest actor to win one, and starred in the subsequent film adaptation, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. Read more
• 09 Apr 1941: Kay Adams, American singer-songwriter Princetta Kay Adams is an American country music singer. Read more
• 09 Apr 1941: Hannah Gordon, Scottish actress Hannah Campbell Grant Gordon is a Scottish actress and presenter who is known for her television work in the United Kingdom, including My Wife Next Door (1972), Upstairs, Downstairs (1974–75), Telford's Change (1979), Joint Account (1989–90) and an appearance in the final episode of One Foot in the Grave, broadcast in 2000. She has presented the Channel 4 lifestyle show Watercolour Challenge from 1998 to 2001 and played Ann Treves in David Lynch's 1980 film The Elephant Man. She is sometimes credited under her first married name of Hannah Warwick. Read more
• 09 Apr 1940: Hans-Joachim Reske, German sprinter Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Reske is a West German former track and field athlete, who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He won a silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and in 1962, at the European championships, he finished in third place in the individual 400 m and his team won the 4 × 400 metre relay. Read more
• 09 Apr 1940: Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (died 2015) James Wilfred Roberts, known as Jim Roberts or Jimmy Roberts, was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and forward. Read more
• 09 Apr 1939: Michael Learned, American actress Michael Learned is an American actress, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series The Waltons (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series four times, which is tied for the record of most wins with Tyne Daly. Three of the wins were for The Waltons, while the other was for Nurse (1982). Read more
• 09 Apr 1939: Margo Smith, American singer-songwriter (died 2024) Margo Smith was an American country and Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In the 1990s, she transitioned towards the Christian market and released two successful albums. She is also known for her yodeling vocal skills and is often referred to as "The Tennessee Yodeler". Read more
• 09 Apr 1938: Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian businessman and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (died 2010) Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union, after which he became first chairman of Gazprom energy company and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Russia (1992–1998) based on consecutive years. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s and a participant in the transition from a planned to a market economy. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to Ukraine. After that, he was designated as a presidential adviser. Read more
• 09 Apr 1937: Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (died 2023) Simon Denis Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, was a British barrister and judge. He was a Law Lord, then a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2012. Read more
• 09 Apr 1937: Marty Krofft, Canadian screenwriter and producer (died 2023) Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft, known as The Krofft Brothers and born as Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas, were a Canadian sibling team of television creators, writers and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they made numerous children's television and variety show programs in the U.S., particularly in the 1970s, including H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Their fantasy programs often featured large-headed puppets, high-concept plots, and extensive use of low-budget special effects. Read more
• 09 Apr 1937: Valerie Singleton, English television and radio host Valerie Singleton is an English television and radio presenter. She is best known as a regular presenter of the BBC Television children's series Blue Peter from 1962 to 1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 PM programme for ten years, as well as a series of radio and television programmes on financial and business issues, including the BBC's The Money Programme from 1980 to 1988. Read more
• 09 Apr 1936: Jerzy Maksymiuk, Polish pianist, composer, and conductor Jerzy Jan Maksymiuk is a Polish composer, pianist and orchestra conductor. Read more
• 09 Apr 1936: Drew Shafer, American LGBT rights activist from Missouri (died 1989) Drew Shafer was an American gay activist from Kansas City, Missouri, known for his LGBTQ activism. Read more
• 09 Apr 1936: Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist author, attempted murderer (died 1988) Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist known for her attempt to murder the artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Read more
• 09 Apr 1935: Aulis Sallinen, Finnish composer and academic Aulis Heikki Sallinen is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. His music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic". Sallinen studied at the Sibelius Academy, where his teachers included Joonas Kokkonen. He has had works commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, and has also written seven operas, eight symphonies, concertos for violin, cello, flute, horn, and English horn, as well as several chamber works. He won the Nordic Council Music Prize in 1978 for his opera Ratsumies. Read more
• 09 Apr 1935: Avery Schreiber, American actor and comedian (died 2002) Avery Lawrence Schreiber was an American actor and comedian. He was a veteran of stage, television, and movies who came to prominence in the 1960s in a comedy duo with Jack Burns. He acted in an array of roles mostly on television sitcoms and a series of popular advertisements for Doritos tortilla chips. Read more
• 09 Apr 1934: Bill Birch, New Zealand surveyor and politician, 38th New Zealand Minister of Finance Sir William Francis Birch, usually known as Bill Birch, is a New Zealand retired politician. He served as Minister of Finance from 1993 to 1999 in the fourth National Government. Read more
• 09 Apr 1934: Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (died 1962) Thomas Edward Phillis was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He won the 1961 125cc motorcycle road racing World Championship and was the first person to lap the Isle of Man TT mountain circuit at over 100 mph on a pushrod engined motorcycle. He was also the first person to win a World Championship motorcycle race on a Japanese machine. Read more
• 09 Apr 1934: Mariya Pisareva, Russian high jumper (died 2023) Mariya Pisareva was a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the High Jump. She trained at Zenit in Moscow. Read more
• 09 Apr 1933: Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor and producer (died 2021) Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo was a French actor, producer and distributor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s thanks to the success of the film Breathless (1960), he also acted in other films that modernized cinema such as Two Women (1960), Le Doulos (1962), That Man from Rio (1964), Greed in the Sun (1964), Weekend at Dunkirk (1964). With the film That Man from Rio, he also became a stuntman. Read more
• 09 Apr 1933: René Burri, Swiss photographer and journalist (died 2014) René Burri was a Swiss photographer. Burri was a member of Magnum Photos and photographed major political, historical and cultural events and key figures of the second half of the 20th century. He made portraits of Che Guevara and Pablo Picasso as well as iconic pictures of São Paulo and Brasília. Read more
• 09 Apr 1933: Fern Michaels, American author (died 2025) Mary Ruth Kuczkir, known by the pen name Fern Michaels, was an American writer of romance and thriller novels. Her books include Family Blessings, Pretty Woman, and Crown Jewel, as well as the Texas quartet and the Captive series. She wrote over 200 books and sold an estimated 150 million copies, with more than 150 New York Times and USA Today best sellers. Read more
• 09 Apr 1933: Richard Rose, American political scientist and academic Richard Rose is a political scientist, author, and academic whose comparative studies in social science have significantly influenced political science and public policy in both practice and theory. He is a Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde (UOS) in Scotland, and is a Visiting Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute and the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. Read more
• 09 Apr 1933: Gian Maria Volonté, Italian actor (died 1994) Gian Maria Volonté was an Italian actor and activist. He is known for his roles in Italian Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964), El Indio in Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima's Face to Face (1967) as well as high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri – We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971), and Todo modo (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge (1970), Giuliano Montaldo's Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) and Giordano Bruno (1973), and Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979). Read more
• 09 Apr 1932: Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (died 2006) Armin Jordan was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner. Read more
• 09 Apr 1932: Peter Moores, English businessman and philanthropist (died 2016)
  Sir Peter Moores was a British businessman, art collector and philanthropist who was chairman of the Liverpool-based Littlewoods football pools and retailing business in the United Kingdom between 1977 and 1980. Read more
• 09 Apr 1932: Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1998) Carl Lee Perkins was an American country, rockabilly, and rock and roll guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio in Memphis in 1954. Among his best known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby". Read more
• 09 Apr 1931: Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (died 1991) Richard Bennett Hatfield was a Canadian politician who served as the premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987. He was the longest-serving premier in New Brunswick history. Read more
• 09 Apr 1930: Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist and author (died 2014) Nathaniel Branden was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem. A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand, Branden also played a prominent role in the 1960s in promoting Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. Rand and Branden split acrimoniously in 1968, after which Branden focused on developing his own psychological theories and modes of therapy. Read more
• 09 Apr 1930: F. Albert Cotton, American chemist and academic (died 2007) Frank Albert Cotton FRS was an American chemist. He was the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. He authored over 1600 scientific articles. Cotton was recognized for his research on the chemistry of the transition metals. Read more
• 09 Apr 1930: Jim Fowler, American zoologist and television host (died 2019) James Mark Fowler was an American professional zoologist and host of the acclaimed wildlife documentary television show Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Read more
• 09 Apr 1930: Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, founded McCain Foods (died 2011) George Wallace Ferguson McCain was a Canadian businessman and co-founder of McCain Foods. With an estimated net worth of $US 4.15 billion, McCain was ranked by Forbes as the 13th wealthiest Canadian and 512th in the world. Read more
• 09 Apr 1929: Sharan Rani Backliwal, Indian sarod player and scholar (died 2008) Sharan Rani was an Indian classical sarod player and music scholar. Read more
• 09 Apr 1929: Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist (died 1993) Frederick Cossom Hollows was a New Zealand–Australian ophthalmologist who became known for his work in restoring eyesight for people in Australia and many other countries through initiatives such as The Fred Hollows Foundation. Read more
• 09 Apr 1929: Paule Marshall, American author and academic (died 2019) Paule Marshall was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel Brown Girl, Brownstones. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant. Read more
• 09 Apr 1928: Paul Arizin, American basketball player (died 2006) Paul Joseph Arizin, nicknamed "'Pitchin Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. He was a high-scoring forward at Villanova University before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA. Read more
• 09 Apr 1928: Tom Lehrer, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and mathematician (died 2025) Thomas Andrew Lehrer was an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy, humorous, and often political songs that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs parodied popular musical forms, often with original melodies. Read more
• 09 Apr 1927: Tiny Hill, New Zealand rugby player (died 2019) Stanley Frank "Tiny" Hill was a New Zealand international rugby union player and selector. A lock and flanker, Hill represented Canterbury and Counties at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1955 to 1959. He played 19 matches for the All Blacks, two of which were as captain, including 11 internationals. After retiring as a player, Hill served as New Zealand Army and Canterbury selector, and as an All Black selector from 1981 to 1986. Read more
• 09 Apr 1926: Gerry Fitt, Northern Irish soldier and politician; British life peer (died 2005) Gerard Fitt, Baron Fitt, was a politician from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was a founder and the first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), a social democratic and Irish nationalist party. Read more
• 09 Apr 1926: Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founded Playboy Enterprises (died 2017) Hugh Marston Hefner was an American magazine publisher and businessman. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, a publication with revealing photographs, quality articles and fiction, and lengthy interviews with politicians, musicians, artists, and writers. Hefner extended the Playboy brand into a world network of Playboy Clubs. He also resided in luxury mansions where Playboy Playmates shared his wild partying life, fueling media interest. Read more
• 09 Apr 1926: Harris Wofford, American politician, author, and civil rights activist (died 2019) Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr. was an American attorney, civil rights activist, and Democratic Party politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1991 to 1995. A noted advocate of national service and volunteering, Wofford was also the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College from 1970 to 1978, served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in 1986, served as Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry in the cabinet of Governor Bob Casey Sr. from 1987 to 1991, and was a surrogate for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He introduced Obama in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center before Obama's speech on race in America, "A More Perfect Union." Read more
• 09 Apr 1925: Virginia Gibson, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2013) Virginia Gibson was an American dancer, singer and actress of film, television and musical theater. Read more
• 09 Apr 1925: Art Kane, American photographer (died 1995) Art Kane was an American fashion and music photographer active from the 1950s through the early 1990s. He created many portraits of contemporary musicians, including Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, Sonny and Cher, Aretha Franklin, Frank Zappa, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, the Rolling Stones, and The Who. Read more
• 09 Apr 1924: Arthur Shaw, English professional footballer (died 2015) Arthur Shaw was an English professional footballer who played as a wing half in the Football League for Brentford, Arsenal and Watford. Read more
• 09 Apr 1923: Leonard Levy, American historian and author (died 2006) Leonard Williams Levy was an American historian, the Andrew W. Mellon All-Claremont Professor of Humanities and chairman of the Graduate Faculty of History at the Claremont Graduate School, California, who specialized in the history of basic American constitutional freedoms. Read more
• 09 Apr 1922: Carl Amery, German author and activist (died 2005) Carl Amery, the pen name of Christian Anton Mayer, was a German writer and environmental activist. Born in Munich, he studied at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). He was a participant of Gruppe 47. He died in Munich. Read more
• 09 Apr 1921: Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (died 2008) Jean-Marie Balestre was a French motorsport administrator and journalist. From 1978 to 1991, Balestre served as president of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA); from 1985 to 1993, he also served as president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Read more
• 09 Apr 1921: Yitzhak Navon, Israeli politician (died 2015) Yitzhak Rachamim Navon was an Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author. He served as the president of Israel between 1978 and 1983 as a member of the centre-left Alignment party. He was the first Israeli president born in Jerusalem and the first Sephardi Jew to serve in that office. Read more
• 09 Apr 1921: Frankie Thomas, American actor (died 2006) Frank Marion Thomas Jr., was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was best known for his starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. Read more
• 09 Apr 1921: Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (died 2005) Mary Jackson was an American aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which in 1958 was succeeded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for most of her career. She started as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division in 1951. In 1958, after taking engineering classes, she became NASA's first black female engineer. Read more
• 09 Apr 1919: J. Presper Eckert, American engineer, invented the ENIAC (died 1995) John Adam Presper "Pres" Eckert Jr. was an American electrical engineer and computer pioneer. With John Mauchly, he designed the first general-purpose electronic digital computer (ENIAC), presented the first course in computing topics, founded the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, and designed the first commercial computer in the U.S., the UNIVAC, which incorporated Eckert's invention of the mercury delay-line memory. Read more
• 09 Apr 1918: Jørn Utzon, Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House (died 2008) Jørn Oberg Utzon was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the basis for the landmark, although it was not completed until 1973. Read more
• 09 Apr 1917: Johannes Bobrowski, German songwriter and poet (died 1965) Johannes Bobrowski was a German lyric poet, narrative writer, adaptor and essayist. Read more
• 09 Apr 1917: Ronnie Burgess, Welsh international footballer and manager (died 2005) William Arthur Ronald Burgess was a Welsh international footballer, who played in the wing half position. Read more
• 09 Apr 1917: Brad Dexter, American actor (died 2002) Brad Dexter was an American actor and film producer. He is known for tough-guy and western roles, including the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven (1960), and producing several films for Sidney J. Furie such as Lady Sings the Blues. He is also known for a short marriage to Peggy Lee, a friendship with Marilyn Monroe and for saving Frank Sinatra from drowning. Dexter's tough-guy roles contrasted with his easygoing and friendly real-life personality. Read more
• 09 Apr 1917: Henry Hewes, American theater writer (died 2006) Henry Hewes was an American theater writer who worked as the drama critic for the Saturday Review weekly literary magazine from 1955 to 1979. He was the first major critic to regularly review regional and international theater. His interest in regional theater led him to found the American Theater Critics Association, the Tony Award for regional theater, and the American Theater Wing's design award, now called the Hewes Award. In 2002, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Read more
• 09 Apr 1916: Julian Dash, American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist (died 1974) St. Julian Bennett Dash was an American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, probably better known for his work with Erskine Hawkins and Buck Clayton. Read more
• 09 Apr 1916: Heinz Meyer, German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) during World War II (died 1987) The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. A total of 7,321 awards were made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945. This number is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe —as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst and the Volkssturm. There were also 43 recipients in the military forces of allies of the Third Reich. Read more
• 09 Apr 1916: Bill Leonard, American journalist (died 1994) William Augustus Leonard was an American journalist and television executive who served as President of CBS News from 1979 to 1982. Read more
• 09 Apr 1915: Daniel Johnson Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Quebec (died 1968) Francis Daniel Johnson Sr. was a Canadian politician and the 20th premier of Quebec from 1966 until his death in 1968. Read more
• 09 Apr 1912: Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (died 1997) Lev Zalmanovich (Zinovyevich) Kopelev was a Soviet author and dissident. Read more
• 09 Apr 1910: Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (died 1998) Abraham Alexander Ribicoff was an American politician from the state of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and was the 80th governor of Connecticut and secretary of health, education, and welfare in President John F. Kennedy's cabinet. He was Connecticut's first and to date only Jewish governor. Read more
• 09 Apr 1909: Robert Helpmann, Australian dancer, actor, and choreographer (died 1986) Sir Robert Murray Helpmann was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, choreographer, and director. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet under its creator, Ninette de Valois. He became one of the company's leading men, partnering Alicia Markova and later Margot Fonteyn. When Frederick Ashton, the company's chief choreographer, was called up for military service in the Second World War, Helpmann took over from him while continuing as a principal dancer. Read more
• 09 Apr 1908: Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (died 1980) Joseph Quincy Krumgold was an American writer of books and screenplays. He was the first person to win two annual Newbery Medals for the most distinguished new American children's book. Read more
• 09 Apr 1908: Paula Nenette Pepin, French composer, pianist and lyricist (died 1990) Antonietta Paule Pepin Fitzpatrick, also known as Nenette, was a French composer, pianist and lyricist. Read more
• 09 Apr 1906: Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (died 1996) Rafaela Díaz Valiente better known as Rafaela Aparicio was a famous Spanish film and theatre actress. Read more
• 09 Apr 1906: Antal Doráti, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (died 1988) Antal Doráti was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Read more
• 09 Apr 1906: Hugh Gaitskell, British politician and leader of the Labour Party (died 1963) Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant, he was elected to Parliament in 1945 and held office in Clement Attlee's governments, notably as Minister of Fuel and Power following the bitter winter of 1946–47, and eventually joining the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Facing the need to increase military spending in 1951, he imposed National Health Service charges on dentures and spectacles, prompting the leading left-winger Aneurin Bevan to resign from the Cabinet. Read more
• 09 Apr 1906: Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (died 1997) Victor Vasarely was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement. Read more
• 09 Apr 1905: J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (died 1995) James William Fulbright was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. As of 2023, Fulbright is the longest-serving chairman in the history of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his strong multilateralist positions on international issues, opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War, and the creation of the international fellowship program bearing his name, the Fulbright Program. Read more
• 09 Apr 1904: Sharkey Bonano, American singer, trumpet player, and bandleader (died 1972) Joseph Gustaf "Sharkey" Bonano, also known as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas, was an American jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist. His musical abilities were sometimes overlooked because of his love of being an entertainer; he would often sing silly lyrics in a high raspy voice and break into dance on stage. Read more
• 09 Apr 1903: Ward Bond, American actor (died 1960) Wardell Edwin Bond was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series Wagon Train from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert the cop in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Captain Clayton in John Ford's The Searchers (1956). Read more
• 09 Apr 1902: Théodore Monod, French explorer and scholar (died 2000) Théodore André Monod was a French naturalist, humanist, scholar and explorer. Read more
• 09 Apr 1901: Jean Bruchési, Canadian historian and author (died 1979) Jean Bruchési, FRSC was a Canadian writer, historian, public servant, and diplomat. He was the president of the Royal Society of Canada for 1953–4. Read more
• 09 Apr 1901: Paul Willis, American actor and director (died 1960) Paul Gregory Willis was an American actor of the silent film era. Read more
• 09 Apr 1900: Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (died 1974) Allen Curtis Jenkins was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charlie Dibble in the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon series Top Cat (1961–62). Read more
• 09 Apr 1898: Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach (died 1965) Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin settler, George Whitney Calhoun, founded the Green Bay Packers in 1919. He served as team captain in the team's first year before becoming player-coach in 1920. As a player, Lambeau lined up as a halfback, which in the early years of the NFL was the premier position. He was the team's primary runner and passer, accounting for 35 touchdowns in 77 games. He won an NFL championship in 1929 and subsequently retired from playing. Read more
• 09 Apr 1898: Paul Robeson, American singer, actor, and activist (died 1976) Paul Leroy Robeson was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances. Read more
• 09 Apr 1897: John B. Gambling, American radio host (died 1974) John Bradley Gambling was an American radio personality. He was a member of the Gambling family, 3 generations of whom—John B., John A. and John R.—were hosts of WOR Radio's morning show Rambling with Gambling over the course of over 75 years. Read more
• 09 Apr 1895: Mance Lipscomb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1976) Beau De Glen "Mance" Lipscomb was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. Read more
• 09 Apr 1895: Michel Simon, Swiss-French actor (died 1975) Michel Simon was a Swiss actor of German origin active primarily in France. He appeared in many notable French films, including La Chienne (1931), Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932), L'Atalante (1934), Port of Shadows (1938), The Head (1959), and The Train (1964). Charlie Chaplin said he was ‘the greatest actor in the world’. Read more
• 09 Apr 1893: Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (died 1967) Charles Ephraim Burchfield was an American painter and visionary artist, known for his passionate watercolors of nature scenes and townscapes. The largest collection of Burchfield's paintings, archives and journals are in the collection of the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo. His paintings are in the collections of more than 109 museums in the USA and have been the subject of exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hammer Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as other prominent institutions. Read more
• 09 Apr 1893: Victor Gollancz, English publisher, founded Victor Gollancz Ltd (died 1967) Sir Victor Gollancz was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian socialist and an internationalist. He used his publishing house, Victor Gollancz Ltd, chiefly to promote pacifist and socialist non-fiction, and he launched the Left Book Club. Read more
• 09 Apr 1893: Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian linguist, author, and scholar (died 1963) Rahul Sankrityayan was an Indian author, essayist, playwright, historian, and scholar of Buddhism who wrote in Hindi and Bhojpuri. Known as the "father of Hindi travel literature", Sankrityayan played a pivotal role in giving Hindi travelogue a literary form. He was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years away from his home, exploring regions such as Russia, Tibet, China, and Central Asia. Read more
• 09 Apr 1888: Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American talent manager (died 1974) Sol Hurok was a 20th-century American impresario. Read more
• 09 Apr 1887: Konrad Tom, Polish actor, writer, singer, and director (died 1957) Konrad Tom, born Konrad Runowiecki, was a Polish Jewish actor, writer, singer and director born in Warsaw. He wrote song lyrics in Polish and in Yiddish for stage, film and cabaret, including szmonces. His wife was actress Zula Pogorzelska."Yiddish talkies were not only comparable to those of the Polish mainstream but were produced by the same people. The most successful Yiddish talkies were directed by established industry figures including Waszyński, Ford, Henryk Szaro, Jan Nowina-Przybylski, Leon Trystan, and Konrad Tom." Read more
• 09 Apr 1883: Frank King, American cartoonist (died 1969) Frank Oscar King was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip Gasoline Alley. In addition to innovations with color and page design, King introduced real-time continuity in comic strips by showing his characters aging over generations. Read more
• 09 Apr 1882: Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (died 1946) Frederick Francis IV was the last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and regent of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He inherited the throne when he was fifteen years old in 1897 and was forced to renounce it in 1918. Read more
• 09 Apr 1882: Otz Tollen, German actor (died 1965) Otz Tollen was a German actor and film director. Read more
• 09 Apr 1880: Jan Letzel, Czech architect (died 1925) Jan Letzel was a Czech architect who was active in early 20th century Japan. He is most famous for designing the Hiroshima Products Exhibition Hall that was partially destroyed in the atomic bombing of the city. The ruins of the Exhibition Hall is now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as the A-Bomb Dome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more
• 09 Apr 1875: Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (died 1912) Jacques Heath Futrelle was an American journalist and mystery writer. He is best known for writing short detective stories featuring Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, also known as "The Thinking Machine" for his use of logic. Futrelle died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Read more
• 09 Apr 1872: Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1950) André Léon Blum was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. Read more
• 09 Apr 1867: Chris Watson, Chilean-Australian journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Australia (died 1941) John Christian Watson was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia from April to August 1904. He held office as the inaugural federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1901 to 1907 and was the first member of the party to serve as prime minister. Read more
• 09 Apr 1867: Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor, discus thrower, and shot putter (died 1932) Charles Gustav Wilhelm Winckler was a Danish thrower, swimmer, and tug of war competitor. He was set to compete in three swimming events at the 1896 Summer Olympics but did not start in any. He then competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in the men's discus throw and men's shot put on behalf of Denmark, though he did not reach the finals of either event. Alongside Swedish competitors, he won the gold medal in the tug of war tournament at the games. Read more
• 09 Apr 1865: Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician (died 1937) Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a Prussian-born German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. After his appointment as First Quartermaster General of the Great General Staff in 1916, Ludendorff oversaw virtually all decisions regarding Germany's strategy and war effort until the country's defeat in 1918. Later during the years of the Weimar Republic, he took part in the failed 1920 Kapp Putsch and Adolf Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, thereby contributing significantly to the Nazis' rise to power. Read more
• 09 Apr 1865: Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Polish-American mathematician and engineer (died 1923) Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a Prussian-American mathematician and electrical engineer and professor at Union College. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers. He made ground-breaking discoveries in the understanding of hysteresis that enabled engineers to design better electromagnetic apparatus equipment, especially electric motors for use in industry. Read more
• 09 Apr 1848: Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz, Spanish Augustinian Recollect priest and saint (died 1906) Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz was a Spanish Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Pasto from 1895 to 1906. He was a member of the Order of Augustinian Recollects and previously served as a missionary to the Philippines and as Vicar Apostolic of Casanare in Colombia. Read more
• 09 Apr 1846: Paolo Tosti, Italian-English composer and educator (died 1916) Sir Francesco Paolo Tosti KCVO was an Italian composer and music teacher. Today, he is remembered mostly for his light-hearted songs, which are popular among vocal students. Read more
• 09 Apr 1835: Leopold II of Belgium (died 1909) Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Read more
• 09 Apr 1835: Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (died 1913) Somerset Richard Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore,, styled as Viscount Corry from 1841 to 1845, was an Irish nobleman and Conservative politician who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1868 to 1872. Read more
• 09 Apr 1830: Eadweard Muybridge, English photographer and cinematographer (died 1904) Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. Read more
• 09 Apr 1821: Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic (died 1867) Charles-Pierre Baudelaire was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, and are based on observations of real life. Read more
• 09 Apr 1807: James Bannerman, Scottish theologian and academic (died 1868) James Bannerman was a Scottish theologian. He is best known for his classic work on Presbyterian ecclesiology, The Church of Christ. Read more
• 09 Apr 1806: Isambard Kingdom Brunel, English engineer, designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge (died 1859) Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions". Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including the first purpose-built transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. Read more
• 09 Apr 1802: Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (died 1884) Elias Lönnrot was a Finnish polymath, physician, philosopher, poet, musician, linguist, journalist, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for synthesizing the Finnish national epic, Kalevala from short ballads and lyric poems he gathered from Finnish oral tradition during several field expeditions in Finland, Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and Baltic countries. In botany, he is remembered as the author of the 1860 Flora Fennica, the first scientific text written in Finnish rather than in Latin. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 09 April in World History

• 09 Apr 2025: Ray Shero, American ice hockey player and executive (born 1962) Rejean "Ray" Shero was an American ice hockey executive in the National Hockey League (NHL) who served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils franchises from 2006 to 2020. Read more
• 09 Apr 2023: Karl Berger, German-American jazz pianist (born 1935) Karl Hans Berger was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He was a leading figure in jazz improvisation from the 1960s when he settled in the United States for life. He founded the educational Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, in 1972 with his wife and Ornette Coleman, to encourage international students to pursue their own ideas about music. Read more
• 09 Apr 2022: Dwayne Haskins, American football player (born 1997) Dwayne Haskins Jr. was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, setting Big Ten Conference records for single-season passing yards and passing touchdowns as a sophomore in 2018. He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy and Kellen Moore Award, along with several conference honors. Read more
• 09 Apr 2021: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born 1921) Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and served as consort of the British monarch from her accession on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving royal consort in British history. Read more
• 09 Apr 2021: DMX, American rapper and actor (born 1970) Earl Simmons, known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper, songwriter, and actor. His accolades included an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and six Grammy Award nominations. Regarded as an influential figure in the late 1990s and early 2000s and one of the greats of hip-hop, his music is characterized by his "aggressive" rapping style, with lyrical content varying from hardcore themes to prayers. His violent lyricism helped popularize the horrorcore genre. Read more
• 09 Apr 2021: Nikki Grahame, British reality-TV icon (born 1982) Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame was an English television personality and author. She was a contestant on the seventh series of the reality show Big Brother in 2006, which she finished in fifth place. Following the show, she starred in her own reality series Princess Nikki, and won a National Television Award for Most Popular TV Contender. In 2010, Grahame was runner-up in Ultimate Big Brother, and in 2015, she appeared as a guest housemate on the sixteenth series of Big Brother. In 2016, she competed in the fourth season of Big Brother Canada, finishing in sixth place. Read more
• 09 Apr 2021: Ian Gibson, British scientist and Labour Party politician (born 1938) Ian Gibson was a British Labour politician and scientist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich North from 1997 to 2009. Read more
• 09 Apr 2021: Ramsey Clark, American lawyer (born 1927) William Ramsey Clark was an American lawyer, activist, and federal government official. A progressive, New Frontier liberal, he occupied senior positions in the United States Department of Justice under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, serving as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969; previously, he was Deputy Attorney General from 1965 to 1967 and Assistant Attorney General from 1961 to 1965. Read more
• 09 Apr 2019: Charles Van Doren, American writer and editor (born 1926) Charles Lincoln Van Doren was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the United States Congress that he had been given the correct answers by the producers of the NBC quiz show Twenty-One. Terminated by NBC, he joined Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. in 1959, becoming a vice-president and writing and editing many books before retiring in 1982. Read more
• 09 Apr 2017: John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, writer, and satirist (born 1948) John Morrison Clarke was a New Zealand comedian, writer and satirist who lived and worked in Australia from the late 1970s. He was a highly regarded actor and writer whose work appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in both radio and television and also in print. He is principally known for his character Fred Dagg and his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist Bryan Dawe, which lasted from 1989 to his death in 2017, as well as for his success as a comic actor in Australian and New Zealand film and television. Read more
• 09 Apr 2016: Duane Clarridge, American spy (born 1932) Duane Ramsdell "Dewey" Clarridge was an American senior operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supervisor for more than 30 years. At various points, he had been stationed in Nepal, India, Turkey and Italy and Nicaragua. Clarridge was the chief of the Latin American division from 1981 to 1987 and a key figure in the Iran-Contra Affair. Clarridge pleaded not guilty to seven counts of perjury and making false statements relating to 1985 shipment to Iran. Read more
• 09 Apr 2016: Will Smith, American football player (born 1981) William Raymond Smith III was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft, where he played for the entirety of his career. On April 9, 2016, Smith was murdered by firearm during an altercation after a traffic crash. Read more
• 09 Apr 2015: Paul Almond, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1931) Paul Almond was a Canadian television and motion picture screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is most known for being the director of the first film in the Up series. Read more
• 09 Apr 2015: Margaret Rule, British marine archaeologist (born 1928) Margaret Helen Rule was a British archaeologist. She is most notable for her involvement with the project that excavated and raised the Tudor warship Mary Rose in 1982. Read more
• 09 Apr 2015: Nina Companeez, French director and screenwriter (born 1937) Nina Companeez was a French screenwriter and film director. Nina Companeez was the younger daughter of Russian Jewish émigré screenwriter Jacques Companéez and younger sister of contralto Irène Companeez. She was the mother of actress Valentine Varela. Read more
• 09 Apr 2015: Alexander Dalgarno, English physicist and academic (born 1928) Alexander Dalgarno FRS was a British physicist who was a Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. Read more
• 09 Apr 2015: Ivan Doig, American journalist and author (born 1939) Ivan Doig was an American author and novelist, widely known for his sixteen fiction and non-fiction books set mostly in his native Montana, celebrating the landscape and people of the post-war American West. Read more
• 09 Apr 2015: Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, Chinese-American academic (born 1909) Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, also known as T.H. Tsien, was a Chinese-American bibliographer, librarian, and sinologist who served as a professor of Chinese literature and library science at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School, and was curator of its East Asian Library from 1949 to 1978. He is known for studies of the history of the Chinese book, Chinese bibliography, paleography, and science and technology, especially the history of paper and printing in China, notably Paper and Printing, Volume 5 Pt 1 of British biochemist and sinologist Joseph Needham's Science and Civilisation in China. He is also known for risking his life to smuggle tens of thousands of rare books outside of Japanese-occupied China during World War II. Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: Gil Askey, American trumpet player, composer, and producer (born 1925)

  Gilbert Askey was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988. Read more

• 09 Apr 2014: Chris Banks, American football player (born 1973) Warren Christopher Banks was an American professional football guard in the National Football League (NFL). Drafted out of the University of Kansas by the Broncos with the 226th overall pick in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL draft, Banks won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Broncos' Super Bowl XXXIII championship team in 1998. Banks also played for the Barcelona Dragons and Atlanta Falcons. Banks died at his home in Abingdon, Maryland, on April 9, 2014. Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: Rory Ellinger, American lawyer and politician (born 1941) Rory Vincent Ellinger was an American lawyer and politician. Ellinger was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as the Representative for Pagedale, University City, and Wellston in St. Louis County in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2010 on the Democratic Party ticket. Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: Norman Girvan, Jamaican economist, academic, and politician (born 1941) Norman Paul Girvan was a Jamaican professor, Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States between 2000 and 2004. He was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica. He died aged 72 in Cuba on 9 April 2014, after having suffered a fall while hiking in Dominica in early 2014. He had been a member of the United Nations Committee on Development Policy since 2009, and in 2010 was appointed the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's personal representative on the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. He was Professor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: Aelay Narendra, Indian politician (born 1946) Ale Narendra was an Indian politician who was a member of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Medak Lok Sabha in 1999 and Medak in 2004. He was 3 time MLA from Himayatnagar Constituency in 1983, 1988, 1992. He was one of the biggest proponents for Telangana statehood. Ale Narendra and other individuals associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: A. N. R. Robinson, Trinbagonian politician, 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago (born 1926) Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who served as the third President of Trinidad and Tobago from 1997 to 2003 and the third Prime Minister from 1986 to 1991. He is known for his resilience within the government, resigning from Eric Williams’ administration in 1970 promoted by the State of Emergency imposed on Black Power protests, and is recognized for his proposal that led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court. He is also remembered for being held hostage during the 1990 Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt, during which he ordered the army to “attack with full force” while being held at gunpoint. Read more
• 09 Apr 2014: Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Serbian author (born 1933) Svetlana Velmar-Janković was a Serbian novelist, essayist, chronicler of Belgrade, and first female laureate of the Isidora Sekulić Award. She was considered to be one of the most important Serbian female authors of her time. In 2001, the French President Jacques Chirac honored her with the Chevalier medal of Legion of Honor because she always took care to preserve the humanist values which unite her and her country with the rest of Europe. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: David Hayes, American sculptor and painter (born 1931) David Vincent Hayes was an American sculptor. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: Greg McCrary, American football player (born 1952) Gregory Alonza McCrary was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, and the San Diego Chargers. He played college football for the Clark Atlanta Panthers and was selected in the fifth round of the 1975 NFL draft. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: Mordechai Mishani, Israeli lawyer and politician (born 1945) Mordechai "Motti" Mishani was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for One Israel and Gesher between 2001 and 2003. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: McCandlish Phillips, American journalist and author (born 1927) John McCandlish Phillips Jr. was an American journalist and author on religious subjects. He worked at The New York Times from 1952 to 1973. McCandlish was most well known for writing a story for the Times which revealed that senior Ku Klux Klan and former American Nazi Party official Dan Burros was ethnically Jewish, which resulted in Burros committing suicide. Read more
• 09 Apr 2013: Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (born 1919) Paolo Soleri was an Italian architect and urban planner. He established the educational Cosanti Foundation and Arcosanti. Soleri was a lecturer in the College of Architecture at Arizona State University and a National Design Award recipient in 2006. He coined the concept of 'arcology' – a synthesis of architecture and ecology as the philosophy of democratic society. He died at home of natural causes on 9 April 2013 at the age of 93. Read more
• 09 Apr 2012: Malcolm Thomas, Welsh rugby player and cricketer (born 1929) Malcolm Campbell Thomas was a Welsh and British Lions international rugby union player. A centre, he played club rugby for Newport. He won 27 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the British Lions on two tours of Australia and New Zealand. Read more
• 09 Apr 2012: Boris Parygin, Soviet philosopher, psychologist, and author (born 1930) Boris Dmitrievitch Parygin was a Soviet and Russian philosopher, sociologist and one of the founders of social psychology and member of a wide range of international academies. Parygin was a specialist in a sphere of philosophical and psychological problems of social psychology – its history, methodology, theory and praxeology. Read more
• 09 Apr 2011: Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri, Bahraini journalist (born 1971) Zakariya Rashid Hassan Al-Ashiri, also spelled Al Asheri and Aushayri,, was a forty-year-old Bahraini blogger and journalist, worked as an editor and writer for a local blog news website in Al Dair, Bahrain. He was killed on April 9, 2011, while in custody of the Bahraini Government. Al-Ashiri was the first journalist in Bahrain to die in direct relation to his work since The Committee to Protect Journalists started keeping records in 1992, and he was the first to die in the Bahraini uprising (2011–present). Read more
• 09 Apr 2011: Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1924) Sidney Arthur Lumet was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to directing television in 1950, and then directing films from 1957, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York dramas that focused on the working class, tackled social injustices, and often questioned authority. He received various accolades including an Academy Honorary Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for nine British Academy Film Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Read more
• 09 Apr 2010: Zoltán Varga, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1945) Zoltán Varga was a Hungarian footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s.
  He was an Olympic gold medalist at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He played for Ferencvárosi TC when they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1965, beating Juventus 1–0 in the final. He also played for Ajax Amsterdam. Read more
• 09 Apr 2009: Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (born 1986) Nicholas James Adenhart was an American right-handed baseball starting pitcher who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In just four career games, Adenhart pitched 18 innings and posted a win-loss record of 1–0. Read more
• 09 Apr 2007: Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and poet (born 1930) Egon Bondy, born Zbyněk Fišer, was a Czech writer, with prolific and distinctive output in poetry, prose and philosophy, one of the leading personalities of the Prague underground within Communist Czechoslovakia. From the 1950s down to the 1980s, his non-conformism made him a target of the totalitarian regime, but he himself also collaborated with the regime's secret police (StB) by informing on other dissidents in his circle. Read more
• 09 Apr 2007: Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (born 1907) Ellen Dorrit Hoffleit was an American senior research astronomer at Yale University. She is best known for her work in variable stars, astrometry, spectroscopy, meteors, and the Bright Star Catalog. She is also known for her mentorship of many young women and generations of astronomers. Read more
• 09 Apr 2006: Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, manager (born 1916) William Clyde Hitchcock was an American professional baseball infielder, coach, manager and scout. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he was primarily a third baseman, second baseman and shortstop who appeared in 703 games over nine years with five American League teams. After 18 years as a coach, manager, and scout he became an executive in Minor League Baseball, serving as president of the Double-A Southern League from 1971 to 1980. His older brother, Jimmy Hitchcock, played briefly for the 1938 Boston Bees. Read more
• 09 Apr 2006: Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director and screenwriter (born 1924) David Harald Vilgot Sjöman was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingmar Bergman with the avant garde style of the French New Wave. He is best known as the director of the films 491 (1964), I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967), and I Am Curious (Blue) (1968), which stretched the boundaries of acceptability of what could then be shown on film, deliberately treating their subjects in a provocative and explicit manner. Read more
• 09 Apr 2003: Jerry Bittle, American cartoonist (born 1949) Jerry Bittle was a cartoonist who drew the comic strips Geech and Shirley and Son. Read more
• 09 Apr 2002: Pat Flaherty, American race car driver (born 1926) George Francis "Pat" Flaherty was an American racing driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1956. Read more
• 09 Apr 2002: Leopold Vietoris, Austrian soldier, mathematician, and academic (born 1891) Leopold Vietoris was an Austrian mathematician, World War I veteran and supercentenarian. He was born in Radkersburg and died in Innsbruck. Read more
• 09 Apr 2001: Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (born 1940) Wilver Dornell Stargell, nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Among the most feared power hitters in baseball history, Stargell had the most home runs (296) of any player in the 1970s decade. During his career, he batted .282 with 2,232 hits, 1,194 runs, 423 doubles, 475 home runs, and 1,540 runs batted in, helping his team win six National League (NL) East division titles, two NL pennants, and two World Series championships in 1971 and 1979, both over the Baltimore Orioles. Stargell was a seven-time All-Star and two-time NL home run leader. In 1979, at the age of 39, he became the first and currently only player to win the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the NL Championship Series MVP Award and the World Series MVP Award in one season. In 1982, the Pirates retired his uniform number 8. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 in his first year of eligibility. Read more
• 09 Apr 2000: Tony Cliff, Trotskyist activist and founder of the Socialist Workers Party (born 1917) Tony Cliff was a Trotskyist activist. Born to a Jewish family in Ottoman Palestine, he moved to Britain in 1947 and by the end of the 1950s had assumed the pen name of Tony Cliff. A founding member of the Socialist Review Group, which became the International Socialists and then the Socialist Workers Party, in 1977. Cliff was effectively the leader of all three. Read more
• 09 Apr 1999: Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Nigerien general and politician, President of Niger (born 1949) General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled Niger from 1996 until his assassination in 1999. He seized and lost power in military coups. Read more
• 09 Apr 1998: Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (born 1953) Thomas Henry Corra, better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, Butch Morris, and the Ex, and was a member of Curlew, Third Person and Skeleton Crew. Read more
• 09 Apr 1997: Mae Boren Axton, American singer-songwriter (born 1914) Mae Boren Axton was an American singer-songwriter. She was known in the music industry as the "Queen Mother of Nashville". She co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit single "Heartbreak Hotel" with Tommy Durden. She worked with Mel Tillis, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Eddy Arnold, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Tillotson, and Blake Shelton. Read more
• 09 Apr 1997: Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (born 1916) Helene Hanff was an American writer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best known as the author of the book 84, Charing Cross Road, which became the basis for a stage play, television play, and film of the same name. Read more
• 09 Apr 1996: Richard Condon, American author and publicist (born 1915) Richard Thomas Condon was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were written in distinctive Condon style, which combined a fast pace, outrage, and frequent humor while focusing almost obsessively on monetary greed and political corruption. Condon himself once said: "Every book I've ever written has been about abuse of power. I feel very strongly about that. I'd like people to know how deeply their politicians wrong them." Condon's books were occasionally bestsellers, and a number of his books were made into films; he is primarily remembered for his 1959 The Manchurian Candidate and, many years later, a series of four novels about a family of New York gangsters named Prizzi. Read more
• 09 Apr 1993: Joseph B. Soloveitchik, American rabbi and philosopher (born 1903) Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty. Read more
• 09 Apr 1991: Forrest Towns, American hurdler and coach (born 1914) Forrest Grady "Spec" Towns was an American track and field athlete and coach. He was the 1936 Olympic champion in the 110 m hurdles and broke the world record in that event three times. Read more
• 09 Apr 1988: Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1931) Benjamin Franklin Peay, known professionally as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter whose music transcended rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres in the 1950s and 1960s, with hits such as "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "Endlessly". Read more
• 09 Apr 1988: Hans Berndt, German footballer (born 1913) Hans "Hanne" Berndt was a German footballer who played for Tennis Borussia Berlin and VfB Königsberg. He was also capped three times for the Germany national team, scoring two goals. Read more
• 09 Apr 1988: Dave Prater, American singer (born 1937) David Prater Jr. was an American Southern soul and rhythm & blues singer and musician, who was the deeper baritone/tenor vocalist of the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 until his death in 1988. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1992), the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (1997), and he was a Grammy Award–winning (1967) and multiple Gold Record award-winning recording artist. Read more
• 09 Apr 1982: Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1896) Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier, was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving as the orchestra's first artistic director and conductor from 1935 to 1941. He had a long and fruitful partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City that began with his appointment as a rehearsal accompanist in 1917; ultimately working there as one of the company's conductors in mainly the French opera repertoire from 1929 to 1950. From 1951 to 1966, he was the principal conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. He was also a featured conductor for a number of RCA Victor recordings, including an acclaimed reading of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem featuring baritone Mack Harrell and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and chorus. Read more
• 09 Apr 1980: Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric and philosopher (born 1935) Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, also known as al-Shahid al-Khamis, was an Iraqi Islamic scholar, philosopher, and the ideological founder of the Islamic Dawa Party. He was the father-in-law to Muqtada al-Sadr, a cousin of Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr and Musa al-Sadr. His father Haydar al-Sadr was a well-respected high-ranking Shi'a cleric. His lineage can be traced back to Muhammad through the seventh Shia Imam Musa al-Kazim. Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was executed in 1980 by the regime of Saddam Hussein along with his sister, Amina Sadr bint al-Huda. Read more
• 09 Apr 1978: Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed Portmeirion (born 1883) Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architecture in the first half of the 20th century, as well as working on commissions across the UK and Ireland, in a variety of styles and building types. He also campaigned widely for the preservation of rural England and Wales, for which he was knighted. Read more
• 09 Apr 1976: Dagmar Nordstrom, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1903) Dagmar Nordstrom was an American composer, pianist and singer. She performed together with her sister Siggie as a cabaret singing duo known as The Nordstrom Sisters. Read more
• 09 Apr 1976: Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1940) Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter, protest singer, and political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, and political commentary. He wrote about 200 songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums. Read more
• 09 Apr 1976: Renato Petronio, Italian rower (born 1891) Renato Petronio was an Italian rowing coxswain who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 09 Apr 1970: Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish-American illustrator and animator (born 1896) Gustaf Adolf Tenggren was a Swedish illustrator and animator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces. Tenggren was a chief illustrator for The Walt Disney Company in the late 1930s, in what has been called the Golden Age of American animation, when animated feature films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi and Pinocchio were produced. Read more
• 09 Apr 1963: Eddie Edwards, American trombonist (born 1891) Edwin Branford Edwards was an early jazz trombonist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. Read more
• 09 Apr 1963: Xul Solar, Argentinian painter and sculptor (born 1887) Xul Solar was the adopted name of Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari, an Argentine painter, sculptor, writer, and inventor of imaginary languages. Read more
• 09 Apr 1961: Zog I of Albania (born 1895) Zog I was an Albanian statesman and aristocrat who served as the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever prime minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as king (1928–1939). Read more
• 09 Apr 1959: Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (born 1867) Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and mentoring hundreds of apprentices in his Taliesin Fellowship. Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture". Read more
• 09 Apr 1953: Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (born 1877) Edward Bulwer Cochems was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College—now known as North Dakota State University (1902–1903), Clemson University (1905), Saint Louis University (1906–1908), and the University of Maine (1914). During his three years at Saint Louis, he was the first football coach to build an offense around the forward pass, which became a legal play in the 1906 college football season. Using the forward pass, Cochems' 1906 team compiled an undefeated 11–0 record, led the nation in scoring, and outscored opponents by a combined score of 407 to 11. He is considered by some to be the "father of the forward pass" in American football. Read more
• 09 Apr 1953: C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and television host (born 1891) Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad was an English philosopher, author, teacher and broadcasting personality. He appeared on The Brains Trust, a BBC Radio wartime discussion programme. He popularised philosophy and became a celebrity, before his downfall in a scandal over an unpaid train fare in 1948. Read more
• 09 Apr 1953: Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher from the Vienna Circle (born 1891) Hans Reichenbach was a leading philosopher of science, educator, and proponent of logical empiricism. He founded the Gesellschaft für empirische Philosophie in Berlin in 1928, also known as the "Berlin Circle". Carl Gustav Hempel, Richard von Mises, David Hilbert and Kurt Grelling all became members of the Berlin Circle. Read more
• 09 Apr 1951: Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (born 1862) Vilhelm Friman Koren Bjerknes was a Norwegian geophysicist and meteorologist who did much to lay the foundation of the modern practice of weather forecasting. He formulated the primitive equations that are still in use in numerical weather prediction and climate modeling. He founded the so-called Bergen School of Meteorology, which was successful in advancing weather prediction and meteorology in the early 20th century. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: George Carpenter, Australian 5th General of The Salvation Army (born 1872) George Lyndon Carpenter was an Australian writer who was the fifth General of The Salvation Army from 1939 to 1946. Read more
• 09 Apr 1948: Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Colombian Minister of National Education (born 1903) Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was a Colombian politician and statesman who was the leader of the Liberal Party. A nationalist, he served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936–37, the national Education Minister from 1940–41, and the Labor Minister from 1943–44. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (born 1906) Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential; his 1937 book The Cost of Discipleship is described as a modern classic. Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship, including vocal opposition to Nazi euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of Jews. He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel Prison for a year and a half. Later, he was transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (born 1887) Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral and the chief of the Abwehr from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, Canaris turned against Hitler and committed acts of both passive and active resistance during World War II following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Johann Georg Elser, German carpenter (born 1903) Johann Georg Elser was a German carpenter who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich. Elser constructed and placed a bomb near the platform from which Hitler was to deliver a speech. It did not kill Hitler, who left earlier than expected, but it did kill 8 people and injured 62 others. Elser was held as a prisoner for more than five years until he was executed at Dachau concentration camp less than a month before the surrender of Nazi Germany. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Hans Oster, German general (born 1887) Generalmajor Hans Paul Oster was a general in the Wehrmacht and a leading figure of the anti-Nazi German resistance from 1938 to 1943. As deputy head of the counter-espionage bureau in the Abwehr, Oster was in a good position to conduct resistance operations under the guise of intelligence work. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Karl Sack, German lawyer and jurist (born 1896) Karl Sack was a German jurist and member of the resistance movement during World War II. Read more
• 09 Apr 1945: Hans von Dohnányi, Austrian-German lawyer and jurist (born 1902) Hans von Dohnanyi was a German jurist. He used his position in the Abwehr to help Jews escape Germany, worked with German resistance against the Nazi régime, and after the failed 20 July Plot, he was accused of being the "spiritual leader" of the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, and executed by the SS in 1945. Read more
• 09 Apr 1944: Yevgeniya Rudneva, Ukrainian lieutenant and pilot (born 1920) Yevgeniya Maksimovna Rudneva was the head navigator of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment posthumously awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Prior to World War II she was an astronomer, the head of the Solar Department of the Moscow branch of the Astronomical-Geodesical Society of the USSR. Read more
• 09 Apr 1940: Mrs Patrick Campbell, English actress (born 1865) Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner, better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie. These included Shaw's Pygmalion where she originated the role of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle in the West End in 1914. She also toured the United States and appeared briefly in films. Read more
• 09 Apr 1936: Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (born 1855) Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. He co-founded the German Sociological Association together with Max Weber and Georg Simmel and many other founders. He was president of the society from 1909 to 1933, after which he was ousted for having criticized the Nazis. Tönnies was regarded as the first proper German sociologist and published over 900 works, contributing to many areas of sociology and philosophy. Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel are considered the founding fathers of classical German sociology. Though there has been a resurgence of interest in Weber and Simmel, Tönnies has not drawn as much attention. Read more
• 09 Apr 1926: Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (born 1857) William Henry Johnson, known as Zip the Pinhead, was an American freak show performer known for his tapered head. Read more
• 09 Apr 1922: Hans Fruhstorfer, German entomologist and explorer (born 1866) Hans Fruhstorfer was a German explorer, insect and shell trader and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He collected and described new species of exotic butterflies, especially in Adalbert Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World. He is best known for his work on the butterflies of Java. Read more
• 09 Apr 1917: James Hope Moulton, English philologist and scholar (born 1863)
  The Reverend James Hope Moulton was a British non-conformist divine. He was also a philologist and made a special study of Zoroastrianism. Read more
• 09 Apr 1915: Raymond Whittindale, English rugby player (born 1883) Raymond Whittindale was a British rugby union player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the British rugby union team, which won the silver medal. Read more
• 09 Apr 1909: Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (born 1840) Helena Modrzejewska, known professionally in the United States as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish-American actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles. She was also a philanthropist and a socialite. Read more
• 09 Apr 1904: Isabella II, Spanish queen (born 1830) Isabella II was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Read more
• 09 Apr 1889: Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist and academic (born 1786) Michel Eugène Chevreul was a French chemist whose work contributed to significant developments in science, medicine, and art. Chevreul's early work with animal fats revolutionized soap and candle manufacturing and led to his isolation of the heptadecanoic (margaric), stearic, and oleic fatty acids. In the process, Chevreul became the first scientist to define the concept of a chemical compound and the first to formally characterize the nature of organic compounds; he is consequently considered a founder of modern organic chemistry. Read more
• 09 Apr 1882: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (born 1828) Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti, generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. Rossetti inspired many contemporary artists and writers, such as Algernon Charles Swinburne, William Morris, and Edward Burne-Jones in particular. His work also influenced the European Symbolists and was a major precursor of the Aesthetic movement. Read more
• 09 Apr 1876: Charles Goodyear, American lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1804) Charles Goodyear was a banker, attorney, and politician from New York. He was most notable for his service as a United States representative from 1845 to 1847 and 1865 to 1867. Read more
• 09 Apr 1872: Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (born 1794) Erastus Corning was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. A Democrat, he was most notable for his service as mayor of Albany from 1834 to 1837, in the New York State Senate from 1842 to 1845, and two nonconsecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1859, and from 1861 to 1863. Read more
• 09 Apr 1806: William V, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (born 1748) William V was Prince of Orange and the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795. Read more
• 09 Apr 1804: Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (born 1732) Jacques Necker was a Genevan banker, financier and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchist, a political economist, and a moralist, who wrote a severe critique of the new principle of equality before the law. Read more

Why is 09 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 09 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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On 09 April, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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