History of Today in India – 16 April

Explore the history of today 16 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 16 April 2026, 04:20 AM

📜 Important Events on 16 April in World History

16 Apr 2024: The historic Børsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, is severely damaged by a fire. Read more
16 Apr 2018: The New York Times and The New Yorker win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for breaking news of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal. Read more
16 Apr 2016: Ecuador's worst earthquake in nearly 40 years kills 676 and injures more than 230,000. Read more
16 Apr 2014: The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities. Read more
16 Apr 2013: A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sistan and Balochistan province, Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others. Read more
16 Apr 2013: The 2013 Baga massacre is started when Boko Haram militants engage government soldiers in Baga. Read more
16 Apr 2012: The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway. Read more
16 Apr 2012: The Pulitzer Prize winners are announced. It was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize. Read more
16 Apr 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Baze v. Rees decision that execution by lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment. Read more
16 Apr 2007: Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho murders 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide. Read more
16 Apr 2003: The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union. Read more
16 Apr 2001: India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border. Read more
16 Apr 1972: Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Read more
16 Apr 1963: U.S. civil rights campaigner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his open letter from Birmingham Jail, sometimes known as "The Negro Is Your Brother", while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama, for protesting against segregation. Read more
16 Apr 1961: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism. Read more
16 Apr 1948: The Organization of European Economic Co-operation is formed. Read more
16 Apr 1947: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes Texas City in the state of Texas, United States, to catch fire, killing almost 600 people. Read more
16 Apr 1947: Bernard Baruch first applies the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. Read more
16 Apr 1945: World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights. Read more
16 Apr 1945: The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz). Read more
16 Apr 1945: More than 7,000 die when the German transport ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine. Read more
16 Apr 1944: World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter. Read more
16 Apr 1943: Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19. Read more
16 Apr 1942: King George VI awards the George Cross to the people of Malta in appreciation of their heroism. Read more
16 Apr 1941: World War II: The Italian-German Tarigo convoy is attacked and destroyed by British ships. Read more
16 Apr 1941: World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 is effected. Read more
16 Apr 1925: During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded. Read more
16 Apr 1922: The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed. Read more
16 Apr 1919: Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier. Read more
16 Apr 1919: Polish–Lithuanian War: The Polish Army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania. Read more
16 Apr 1917: Russian Revolution: Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia, from exile in Switzerland. Read more
16 Apr 1912: Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel. Read more
16 Apr 1910: The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time. Read more
16 Apr 1908: Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah. Read more
16 Apr 1881: In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle. Read more
16 Apr 1878: The Senate of the Grand Duchy of Finland issues a declaration establishing a city of Kotka on the southern part islands from the old Kymi parish. Read more
16 Apr 1863: American Civil War: During the Vicksburg Campaign, gunboats commanded by acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg. Read more
16 Apr 1862: American Civil War: Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia. Read more
16 Apr 1862: American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law. Read more
16 Apr 1858: The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is dissolved. Read more
16 Apr 1853: The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opens the first passenger rail in India, from Bori Bunder to Thane. Read more
16 Apr 1847: Shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand Wars. Read more
16 Apr 1838: The French Army captures Veracruz in the Pastry War. Read more
16 Apr 1818: The United States Senate ratifies the Rush–Bagot Treaty, limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 16 April in World History

16 Apr 2002: Sadie Sink, American actress Sadie Elizabeth Sink is an American actress. She began her career in theater, playing the title role in the musical Annie (2012–14) and young Elizabeth II in the historical play The Audience (2015) on Broadway. In 2016, she made her film debut in the biographical sports drama Chuck. Sink had her breakthrough portraying Max Mayfield in the Netflix science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things (2017–2025), and received critical praise for her performance. Read more
16 Apr 1996: Anya Taylor-Joy, Argentine-British actress Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy is an actress. Born in Miami, she grew up in Buenos Aires and London. She began pursuing an acting career at the age of 16. After a series of small television roles, her breakthrough came with a leading role in the horror film The Witch (2015). She had roles in the horror film Split (2016) and its sequel Glass (2019); Thoroughbreds (2017), a black comedy film; the television crime drama series Peaky Blinders (2019–2022). Taylor-Joy played Emma Woodhouse in the period drama Emma (2020). Read more
16 Apr 1996: Taylor Townsend, American tennis player Taylor Townsend is an American professional tennis player. She is a former WTA world No. 1 in doubles, achieved on July 28, 2025. Townsend has won two major doubles titles, at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and the 2025 Australian Open, both with Kateřina Siniaková. In addition, she has won eleven WTA Tour titles and also reached two other major finals, the 2022 US Open and the 2023 French Open. Townsend has a career-high singles ranking of No. 46, achieved on August 19, 2024. Read more
16 Apr 1993: Chance the Rapper, American rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. He gained widespread recognition with his second mixtape, Acid Rap (2013), which helped establish him as a leading figure in Chicago hip-hop and among independent artists. Read more
16 Apr 1993: Mirai Nagasu, Japanese-American figure skater Mirai Aileen Nagasu is an American former competitive figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist, the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist, and a seven-time U.S. national medalist. Read more
16 Apr 1992: Brian Poe Llamanzares, Filipino journalist and politician Brian Daniel Poe Llamanzares is a Filipino politician, businessman, journalist, and civic leader serving as the representative for the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list in the House of Representatives of the Philippines since June 30, 2025. He concurrently serves as an Assistant House Majority Leader in the 20th Congress of the Philippines. Read more
16 Apr 1991: Nolan Arenado, American baseball player Nolan James Arenado is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). Arenado is widely recognized as one of the best defensive third basemen of all time. He is the only infielder to win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first ten MLB seasons. He made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2013 and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 2021 season. With the Cardinals, Arenado and teammate Paul Goldschmidt became a highly-regarded infield duo, each of them being named finalists for the National League MVP Award in 2022. In January 2026, he was traded for the second time in his career, joining the Diamondbacks. Read more
16 Apr 1991: Kim Kyung-jung, South Korean footballer Kim Kyung-Jung is a South Korean association football player who currently plays for Suwon Samsung Bluewings as a striker. He had represented the South Korea national under-20 football team and participated in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Read more
16 Apr 1990: Reggie Jackson, American basketball player Reginald Shon Jackson, nicknamed Big Government and Mr. June, is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played three seasons for the Boston College Eagles before declaring for the 2011 NBA draft, where he was drafted 24th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jackson has also played for the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia 76ers. In 2023, Jackson won a championship with the Denver Nuggets. Read more
16 Apr 1990: Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player Evangelos "Vangelis" Mantzaris is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Mykonos of the Greek Basketball League. He is a 1.96 m tall point guard. He has also represented the senior Greek national team in international competition. Read more
16 Apr 1990: Tony McQuay, American sprinter Tony McQuay is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters. He is a member of the 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic teams, winning a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay in 2012 and a gold in the same event in 2016. He is also a two time World Champion in this event. Read more
16 Apr 1988: Kyle Okposo, American ice hockey player Kyle Henry Erovre Okposo is an American former professional ice hockey right winger who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers. He was drafted seventh overall by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL entry draft. Okposo won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2024. Read more
16 Apr 1987: Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player Cenk Akyol is a Turkish professional basketball coach and former player who played at the shooting guard position. He is assistant coach for Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Read more
16 Apr 1987: Aaron Lennon, English international footballer Aaron Justin Lennon is an English former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Read more
16 Apr 1986: Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer Shinji Okazaki is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is best known for winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016. He is currently the manager of FC Basara Mainz. Read more
16 Apr 1986: Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player Peter Regin Jensen is a Danish former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the third round of the 2004 NHL entry draft and played his first five NHL seasons with the organization. Before his NHL career, he played professionally in Europe. Read more
16 Apr 1986: Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast Epke Jan Zonderland is a Dutch artistic gymnast and the 2012 Olympic gold medallist on high bar. He is a 4-time Olympian (2008–20) and has also taken 3 World Championships golds on high bar at the 2013, 2014 and 2018 World Championships, the first man to secure this feat on that apparatus. He is nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman.” Read more
16 Apr 1985: Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player Luol Ajou Deng is a South Sudanese-born British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in South Sudan, then part of Sudan, Deng fled the country with his family as a child, eventually settling in the United Kingdom. He became a British citizen in 2006, and has played for the Great Britain national team. Read more
16 Apr 1985: Nate Diaz, American mixed martial artist Nathan Donald Diaz is an American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought for over 15 years after winning The Ultimate Fighter 5. Prior to signing with the UFC, Diaz competed in World Extreme Cagefighting, Strikeforce, and Pancrase. Diaz has the third most UFC bonus awards, with 16 in total. In 2012 he challenged for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Read more
16 Apr 1985: Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player Brendon Leonard is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Read more
16 Apr 1985: Katerina Stikoudi, Greek singer, actress, TV host, model, businesswoman, former champion swimmer and beauty pageant titleholder. Aikaterini "Katerina" Stikoudi is a Greek singer, actress, TV host, model, businesswoman, former champion swimmer and beauty pageant titleholder. After first gaining fame in 2001 by finishing fifth in the national swimming championship as PAOK swimming athlete she pursued a career in modeling, television, cinema and theatre. In 2005 she won the title of Miss Hellas 2005, on National Annual Beauty Pageant of Greece, followed by her participation on Miss World 2005 representing Greece. Read more
16 Apr 1985: Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer Taye Ismaila Taiwo is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Read more
16 Apr 1984: Teddy Blass, American composer and producer Teddy Blass is an American film composer and record producer. Read more
16 Apr 1984: Claire Foy, English actress Claire Elizabeth Foy is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix drama series The Crown, for which she received various accolades such as a Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Read more
16 Apr 1984: Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater Tucker Daniel Fredricks is an American speed skater and the former US record holder in the 500 meter event. He competed at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 Winter Olympics. Read more
16 Apr 1984: Paweł Kieszek, Polish footballer Paweł Kieszek is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for I liga club Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki. Read more
16 Apr 1984: Kerron Stewart, Jamaican sprinter Kerron Stewart is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is the 2008 Jamaican national champion in the 100 m clocking 10.80s. She defeated World Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the process and now is the 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist after she tied with Sherone Simpson in a time of 10.98s. She also earned a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a time of 22.00s. She was born in Kingston and retired after the 2018 season. Read more
16 Apr 1983: Marié Digby, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress Marié Christina Digby is an American singer-songwriter best known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's "Umbrella", which was featured on the MTV show The Hills and peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Read more
16 Apr 1983: Cat Osterman, American softball player Catherine Leigh Osterman is an American former softball player and currently the general manager for the Texas Volts of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Read more
16 Apr 1982: Gina Carano, American mixed martial artist and actress Gina Joy Carano is an American actress and mixed martial artist. She competed in Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7–1 record. Her popularity led to her being called the "face of women's MMA", although Carano rejected this title. She and Cris Cyborg were the first women to headline a major MMA event during their 2009 Strikeforce bout. Carano retired from competition after her first professional MMA defeat to Cyborg. Read more
16 Apr 1982: Boris Diaw, French basketball player Boris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod, better known as Boris Diaw, is a French basketball executive and former player who is the president of Metropolitans 92 of LNB Pro A. Diaw began his playing career in Pro A and returned to that league after 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the power forward position. In 2006, Diaw was named the NBA's Most Improved Player as a member of the Phoenix Suns. He won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Read more
16 Apr 1982: Jonathan Vilma, American football player Jonathan Polynice Vilma is an American color analyst and former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a linebacker and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. Read more
16 Apr 1981: Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer Anestis Agritis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. Read more
16 Apr 1981: Maya Dunietz, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist Maya Dunietz, is an Israeli musician and artist, combining a solo career with collaborations with renowned musicians: Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Roscoe Mitchell, John Tilbury, Habiluim, and many others. Her works are exhibited in venues such as Centre Pompidou Paris, Athens Onassis Center, Frac Paca, CCA Tel Aviv and Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. Read more
16 Apr 1981: Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player Matthieu Proulx is a former safety with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Read more
16 Apr 1979: Christijan Albers, Dutch racing driver Christijan Albers is a Dutch former professional racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from 2005 until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by the Spyker F1 team. In 2008, he returned to the DTM series as a driver for the Audi Futurecom TME team. Albers acted as Team Principal and CEO of the Caterham F1 Team from July to September 2014 after it was acquired by new team owners. His estimated net-worth is $50 million. Read more
16 Apr 1979: Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter Lars Börgeling is a German pole vaulter. Read more
16 Apr 1979: Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player Daniel Browne is currently playing club rugby for London Welsh in the Aviva Championship. He previously played for Bath, Northampton Saints and Leeds Carnegie in the English Premiership. Read more
16 Apr 1977: Freddie Ljungberg, Swedish footballer Karl Fredrik Ljungberg is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. He is also a former manager, and was most recently an assistant coach, and interim head coach of Arsenal. Read more
16 Apr 1976: Lukas Haas, American actor and musician Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor and musician. His acting career has spanned four decades, during which he has appeared in more than 50 feature films and a number of television shows and stage productions. His notable credits include the films Witness (1985), Lady in White (1988), Mars Attacks! (1996), Brick (2005), Inception (2010), The Revenant (2015), and First Man (2018). Read more
16 Apr 1976: Kelli O'Hara, American actress and singer Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages. Read more
16 Apr 1973: Akon, Senegalese-American singer, rapper and songwriter Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, is a Senegalese-American singer, songwriter, record producer, businessman and philanthropist. An influential figure in world music, he rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of his single "Locked Up". Styled in hip-hop, it preceded the release of his debut studio album Trouble (2004), which became his commercial breakthrough and spawned the R&B-styled follow-up, "Lonely", the following year. Read more
16 Apr 1973: Charlotta Sörenstam, Swedish golfer Petra Charlotta Sörenstam is a retired Swedish professional golfer. As an amateur competing for the Texas Longhorns, she won the NCAA Division I Championship individual title. As a professional, she won one tournament on the LPGA Tour and represented Europe in the Solheim Cup. Her elder sister by three years, Annika, is a Hall of Fame golfer. Read more
16 Apr 1973: Teddy Cobeña, Spanish-Ecuadorian expressionist and representational sculptor Teddy Cobeña Loor is a figurative expressionist sculptor with a surrealist component. He lives in Barcelona. Read more
16 Apr 1972: Conchita Martínez, Spanish-American tennis player Inmaculada Concepción "Conchita" Martínez Bernat is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was the first Spaniard to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon, doing so in 1994. Martínez also was the runner-up at the 1998 Australian Open and the 2000 French Open. She reached a career-high ranking of world No. 2 in October 1995, and was in the year-end top 10 for nine years. Martínez won 33 singles and 13 doubles titles during her 18-year career, as well as three Olympic medals. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2020. Read more
16 Apr 1972: Tracy K. Smith, American poet and educator Tracy K. Smith is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published five collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her 2011 collection Life on Mars. Her memoir, Ordinary Light, was published in 2015. Read more
16 Apr 1971: Cameron Blades, Australian rugby player Cameron Blades is an Australian international former rugby union player who played at the loosehead prop position, but could also cover at tighthead prop and hooker. He played professionally for New South Wales Waratahs and Glasgow Warriors. Read more
16 Apr 1971: Selena, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (died 1995) Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Queen of Tejano Music", she is known for her contributions to popular music and fashion, which made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. Media outlets called her the "Tejano Madonna" for her clothing choices. She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting the Tejano genre into the mainstream market. Read more
16 Apr 1971: Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver Seigo Yamamoto , known as "Boss", is a Japanese drift driver. Read more
16 Apr 1971: Natasha Zvereva, Belarusian tennis player Natalya "Natasha" Maratovna Zvereva is a former professional tennis player from Belarus. She was the first major athlete in the Soviet Union to demand publicly that she should be able to keep her tournament earnings. Zvereva and her main doubles partner Gigi Fernández are the most successful women's doubles team since Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. Read more
16 Apr 1970: Dero Goi, German singer-songwriter and drummer Stephan Musiol, known professionally as Dero Goi, is a German musician, best known as the former lead vocalist, drummer and founding member of Neue Deutsche Härte band Oomph! from 1989 to 2021. Read more
16 Apr 1970: Margreth Olin, Norwegian filmmaker Margreth Olin Mykløen is a Norwegian film director, screenwriter, and film producer. She is educated at the University of Bergen and Volda University College. She is best known for her documentaries, in which she highlights the weak in society. She has received many national and international awards for her work. Read more
16 Apr 1970: Walt Williams, American basketball player Walter Ander "the Wizard" Williams is an American former professional basketball player. A sharpshooting 6'8" swingman, Williams played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins from 1988 to 1992, and has been credited for helping to revive the school's basketball program. Read more
16 Apr 1969: Patrik Järbyn, Swedish skier Patrik Järbyn is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. Read more
16 Apr 1969: Fernando Viña, American baseball player and sportscaster Fernando Viña Spanish: [feɾˈnando ˈβiɲa]; born April 16, 1969) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball second baseman and former MLB analyst for ESPN. His parents Andres and Olga emigrated from Cuba in 1968. From 1993 through 2005, Viña played for the Seattle Mariners (1993), New York Mets (1994), Milwaukee Brewers (1995-1999), St. Louis Cardinals (2000-2003), and Detroit Tigers (2004). Read more
16 Apr 1968: Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager Vickie Lynn Benson, better known as Vickie Guerrero, is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling personality, and manager. She is signed to WWE as an ambassador. She is also known for her tenure in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Read more
16 Apr 1968: Rüdiger Stenzel, German runner Rüdiger Stenzel is a former German middle distance runner who participated in several international championships in the 1990s. Read more
16 Apr 1966: Jarle Vespestad, Norwegian drummer Jarle Vespestad is a Norwegian jazz musician (percussion), the younger brother of jazz musician Liz Tove Vespestad, and a central member of Tord Gustavsen's projects. Read more
16 Apr 1965: Yves-François Blanchet, Canadian politician Yves-François Blanchet is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Bloc Québécois (BQ) and member of Parliament (MP) for Beloeil—Chambly since 2019. Read more
16 Apr 1965: Jon Cryer, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Jonathan Niven Cryer is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in No Small Affair (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes-written film Pretty in Pink (1986). Cryer then had lead roles in the films Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987) and Hiding Out (1987), starring roles in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and Hot Shots! (1991), and the lead role of Teddy Zakalokis on the CBS sitcom The Famous Teddy Z (1989–1990). Read more
16 Apr 1965: Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor and comedian. Lawrence began his career doing comedy shows, including in The Improv. After his first acting role in the sitcom What's Happening Now!! (1987–1988), Lawrence co-created and played the titular character of the Fox television sitcom Martin (1992-1997), which helped catapult him into larger film roles. His first major lead role on the big screen was playing Detective Sergeant Marcus Burnett in the buddy cop action comedy Bad Boys (1995), a role he reprised in three sequels. Read more
16 Apr 1964: Esbjörn Svensson, Swedish pianist (died 2008) Bror Fredrik "Esbjörn" Svensson was a Swedish jazz pianist and founder of the jazz group Esbjörn Svensson Trio, commonly known as e.s.t. Read more
16 Apr 1963: Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer Saleem Malik is a Pakistani former cricketer. He played for the Pakistan national cricket team between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the team. He was a wristy, right-handed middle-order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His off break bowling was also quite effective. Despite playing more than 100 Tests he would go down in cricket history as the first of a number of international cricketers to be banned for match fixing around the start of the 21st century. Saleem is the brother-in-law of former teammate Ijaz Ahmed. He was a part of the Pakistani squad which won the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Read more
16 Apr 1963: Jimmy Osmond, American singer James Arthur Osmond is an American singer and businessman. He is the youngest member of the sibling musical group the Osmonds. As a solo artist, Osmond has accumulated six gold records, one platinum record, and two gold albums. He is best known for the 1972 Christmas number one "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool". Read more
16 Apr 1962: Anna Dello Russo, Italian journalist Anna Dello Russo is an Italian fashion journalist. She is a creative consultant and editor-at-large for Vogue Japan. Read more
16 Apr 1961: Jarbom Gamlin, Indian lawyer and politician, seventh Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (died 2014) Jarbom Gamlin was an Indian politician and a leader of the Indian National Congress political party in Arunachal Pradesh and briefly served as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Read more
16 Apr 1960: Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (died 2007) Ustadz Wahab M. Akbar was a Filipino politician who served three terms as governor of Basilan, during which time he was known for his "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" policy for dealing with kidnappers and terrorists in the province. He was later elected as congressman for the lone district of Basilan in the House of Representatives, but was one of 4 people killed in a bomb attack at the Batasang Pambansa. Police publicly suspected the attack was directed at him by political opponents. Read more
16 Apr 1960: Rafael Benítez, Spanish footballer and manager Rafael Benítez Maudes is a Spanish professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Super League Greece club Panathinaikos. Read more
16 Apr 1960: Pierre Littbarski, German footballer and manager Pierre Michael Littbarski is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder or winger. Littbarski was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990, and the runner-up in both 1982 and 1986. Littbarski was the caretaker manager of VfL Wolfsburg after taking over from Steve McClaren from 7 February to 17 March 2011. Read more
16 Apr 1959: Alison Ramsay, English-Scottish field hockey player and lawyer Alison Gail Ramsay MBE is a former Scottish field hockey player, who was a member of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She is one of the world's most capped women's hockey players, with over 250 appearances for Scotland and Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and received the MBE. Read more
16 Apr 1958: Tim Flach, English photographer and director Tim Flach is a British photographer who specialises in studio photography of animals. He has published several books of photographs. Read more
16 Apr 1958: Ulf Wakenius, Swedish guitarist Ulf Karl Erik Wakenius is a Swedish jazz guitarist, known as a member of Oscar Peterson's last quartet from 1997. He was also a member of the Ray Brown trio. Read more
16 Apr 1957: Patricia De Martelaere, Belgian philosopher, author, and academic (died 2009) Patricia De Martelaere was a Flemish philosopher, professor, author and essayist. Born in Zottegem, Belgium, her full name was Patricia Marie Madeleine Godelieve. She graduated in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven and then taught and lectured there and at the Catholic University of Brussels. Read more
16 Apr 1956: David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (died 2003) David McDowell Brown was a United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. He died on his first spaceflight, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Brown became an astronaut in 1996 but had not served on a space mission prior to the Columbia disaster. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Read more
16 Apr 1956: T Lavitz, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (died 2010) Terry "T" Lavitz was an American keyboardist, composer, and producer. He is best known for his work with the Dixie Dregs and Jazz Is Dead. Read more
16 Apr 1956: Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier Lise-Marie Morerod is a Swiss former slalom skier. In 1977, she was women's overall season champion. Read more
16 Apr 1955: Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri is a member of the grand ducal family of Luxembourg who reigned as Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 2000 until his abdication in 2025. Read more
16 Apr 1954: Ellen Barkin, American actress Ellen Rona Barkin is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film Diner, and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as Tender Mercies (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), The Big Easy (1986), Johnny Handsome, and Sea of Love. Read more
16 Apr 1954: John Bowe, Australian racing driver John Philip Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a BMW M4 in the GT4 Australia series. Read more
16 Apr 1954: Mike Zuke, Canadian ice hockey player Michael Zuke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centreman who played eight seasons in the NHL, between 1978 and 1986. Read more
16 Apr 1953: Peter Garrett, Australian singer-songwriter and politician Peter Robert Garrett is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. Read more
16 Apr 1952: Michel Blanc, French actor and director (died 2024) Michel Blanc was a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier, Marie-Anne Chazel and Gérard Jugnot. He also appeared in more serious roles, such as the title role in the Patrice Leconte film Monsieur Hire. Read more
16 Apr 1952: Esther Roth-Shahamorov, Israeli sprinter and hurdler Esther Roth-Shahamorov is a former Israeli track and field athlete. She specialized in the 100-meter hurdles and the 100-meter sprint. Read more
16 Apr 1951: Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian author and photographer Ioan Mihai Cochinescu is a Romanian novelist and essayist. He is also a film script author and director, an art photographer, teacher, musicologist and composer. Read more
16 Apr 1950: David Graf, American actor (died 2001) Paul David Graf was an American actor, best known for his role as Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy series of films. Read more
16 Apr 1950: Colleen Hewett, Australian singer and actress Colleen Hewett is an Australian singer and actress. Read more
16 Apr 1948: Reg Alcock, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Canadian President of the Treasury Board (died 2011) Reginald B. Alcock, was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Winnipeg South as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister Paul Martin. Alcock was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Read more
16 Apr 1947: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins as a center. A member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Abdul-Jabbar won a record six NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. He was a 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA Team member, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection. He was a member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, and was twice voted the NBA Finals MVP. He was named to three NBA anniversary teams. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Abdul-Jabbar broke the NBA's career scoring record in 1984, and held it until LeBron James surpassed him in 2023. Read more
16 Apr 1947: Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (died 2011) Gerald Rafferty was a Scottish singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Night Owl". Read more
16 Apr 1946: Margot Adler, American journalist and author (died 2014) Margot Susanna Adler was an American author, journalist, and lecturer. She worked as a correspondent for National Public Radio for 35 years, became bureau chief of the New York office, and could be heard frequently on nationally syndicated All Things Considered and Morning Edition on National Public Radio (NPR). A Wiccan high priestess, Adler wrote Drawing Down the Moon, a seminal work on neopaganism in America. Read more
16 Apr 1946: Ernst Bakker, Dutch politician (died 2014) Ernst Carel Bakker was a Dutch politician, alderman and member of the Democrats 66 political party. He served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1981 to 1982. He joined the Amsterdam City Council in 1990 before becoming a city alderman beginning in 1992. Bakker relocated to Hilversum in 1998 to become Mayor, a position he held until his retirement in 2011. Read more
16 Apr 1946: Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (died 2015) Johnnie N. Lewis was a Liberian lawyer and politician who served as the 18th Chief Justice of Liberia from 2006 to 2012. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as a circuit judge in Liberia's judicial system. Read more
16 Apr 1946: R. Carlos Nakai, American flute player Raymond Carlos Nakai is a Native American flutist of Navajo and Ute heritage. Nakai played brass instruments in high school and college, and auditioned for the Armed Forces School of Music after a two-year period in the United States Navy. He began playing a traditional Native American cedar flute after an accident left him unable to play the trumpet. Largely self-taught, he released his first album Changes in 1983, and afterward signed a contract with Canyon Records, who produced more than thirty of his albums in subsequent years. His music features original compositions for the flute inspired by traditional Native American melodies. Nakai has collaborated with musicians William Eaton, Peter Kater, Philip Glass, Nawang Khechog, Paul Horn, and Keola Beamer. He has received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his albums. Read more
16 Apr 1945: Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician Thomas Hodge Allen is an American author and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Maine's 1st congressional district and the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2008 against Republican incumbent senator Susan Collins. Allen lost to Collins 61.5% to 38.5%. Read more
16 Apr 1943: Petro Tyschtschenko, Austrian-German businessman Petro Taras Ostap Tyschtschenko is a German businessman best known for his role in developing the European market for the American computer company Commodore International. Read more
16 Apr 1943: John Watkins, Australian cricketer John Russell Watkins is a former Australian cricketer who played in one Test match in 1973. Read more
16 Apr 1942: Nikos Gioutsos, Greek footballer (died 2023) Nikos Gioutsos was a Greek footballer who played as a striker. From the special style of play and the passion together with the dynamism he brought to the matches, the fans shouted the slogan "Έμπαινε Γιούτσο" which became a song and line in old Greek movies. Read more
16 Apr 1942: Jim Lonborg, American baseball pitcher James Reynold Lonborg is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nicknamed "Gentleman Jim", he was known for fearlessly pitching on the inside of the plate throughout his fifteen-year career. Read more
16 Apr 1942: Sir Frank Williams, English businessman, founded the Williams F1 Racing Team (died 2021) Sir Francis Owen Garbett Williams was a British businessman, motorsport executive and racing driver. From 1977 to 2020, Williams served as co-founder, team principal and co-owner of Williams in Formula One, winning nine World Constructors' Championship titles between 1980 and 1997. Read more
16 Apr 1941: Allan Segal, American director and producer (died 2012) Allan Segal also known as Allan Fear-Segal was a BAFTA-winning documentary film maker. He spent the majority of his career working for Granada Television. Read more
16 Apr 1940: Benoît Bouchard, Canadian academic and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Transport Benoît Bouchard is a Canadian public official and former politician. Read more
16 Apr 1940: David Holford, Barbadian cricketer (died 2022) David Anthony Jerome Holford was a West Indian cricketer who played in 24 Test matches between 1966 and 1977. Read more
16 Apr 1940: Fotis Kafatos, Greek biologist, founding president of the European Research Council (ERC) (died 2017). Fotis Constantine Kafatos was a Greek biologist. Between 2007 and 2010, he was the founding president of the European Research Council (ERC). He chaired the ERC Scientific Council from 2006 to 2010. Thereafter, he was appointed Honorary President of the ERC. He was also an honorary fellow of the Hellenic Agricultural Academy. Read more
16 Apr 1940: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she is the second-longest-reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV. Read more
16 Apr 1940: Joan Snyder, American painter Joan Snyder is an American painter from New York. She is a MacArthur Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow (1974). Read more
16 Apr 1939: John Amabile, American football player and coach (died 2012) John Amabile was an American professional football scout for the New York Giants, high school football coach, and college football quarterback. Read more
16 Apr 1939: Dusty Springfield, English singer and record producer (died 1999) Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was an English singer born to Irish parents. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop, and dramatic ballads, with French chanson, country, and jazz also in her repertoire. During her 1960s peak, she ranked among the most successful British performers on both sides of the Atlantic. Her image – marked by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances – made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties. Read more
16 Apr 1938: Rich Rollins, American baseball player Richard John Rollins was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (1961–68), Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1970), and Cleveland Indians (1970). He was named an All-Star with the Twins in 1962. During a 10-year baseball career, Rollins's batting average was .269 with 77 home runs, and 399 runs batted in (RBI). Read more
16 Apr 1938: Gordon Wilson, Scottish lawyer and politician (died 2017) Robert Gordon Wilson was a Scottish politician and solicitor. He was the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1979 to 1990, and was SNP Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East from 1974 to 1987. He was Rector of the University of Dundee from 1983 to 1986. Read more
16 Apr 1937: Gert Potgieter, South African hurdler and coach Gerhardus Cornelius Potgieter is a retired South African Track and field athletics competitor, primarily known for the 400-metre and 440-yard hurdles. His innovation was to run 14 steps between the hurdles. For perspective, 1980's legend Edwin Moses' innovation was to run 13 steps. Former world record holder Kevin Young was able to achieve 12 steps between some hurdles. Read more
16 Apr 1937: George Steele, American wrestler and actor (died 2017) William James Myers, better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele, was an American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor. His career lasted from 1967 until 1988, though he made occasional wrestling appearances into the 1990s and 2000s. Read more
16 Apr 1936: Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (died 2015) Vadim Alekseyevich Kuzmin was a Russian theoretical physicist. Read more
16 Apr 1935: Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter Marcel Carrière is a Canadian film director and sound engineer. Read more
16 Apr 1935: Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (died 2013) Sarah Kirsch was a German poet. Read more
16 Apr 1935: Lennart Risberg, Swedish boxer (died 2013) Lennart Kurt Risberg was a Swedish boxer. He competed in the lightweight event at the 1956 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated in the first round. Read more
16 Apr 1935: Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (died 2013) Dominique Venner was a French journalist and essayist. Venner was a member of the Organisation armée secrète and later became a European nationalist, founding the neo-fascist Europe-Action, before withdrawing from politics to focus on a career as a historian. He specialized in military and political history. At the time of his death, he was the editor of the La Nouvelle Revue d'Histoire, a bimonthly history magazine. Read more
16 Apr 1935: Bobby Vinton, American singer Stanley Robert Vinton is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One of his most popular songs is "Blue Velvet" which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, No. 1 in Canada, and number 2 in the UK in 1990. Read more
16 Apr 1934: Vince Hill, English singer-songwriter (died 2023) Vincent Brian Hill was an English traditional pop singer, best known for his cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune "Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart. He recorded 25 studio albums and several soundtracks, wrote songs and plays and hosted TV shows during the 1970s and 1980s, including They Sold a Million (BBC), Musical Time Machine (BBC) and the chat show Gas Street (ITV). Outside of his work in show business, he was a patron of the Macular Society, a UK charity for people affected by central vision loss. Read more
16 Apr 1934: Robert Stigwood, Australian producer and manager (died 2016) Robert Colin Stigwood was an Australian music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, long based in the United Kingdom. He was best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical productions such as Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar; and film productions, including Grease and Saturday Night Fever. Read more
16 Apr 1934: Barrie Unsworth, Australian politician, 36th Premier of New South Wales Barrie John Unsworth is an Australian former politician, representing the Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988. Since the death of Steele Hall on 10 June 2024, Unsworth is the oldest living premier of an Australian state. Read more
16 Apr 1934: Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (died 2012) Vicar, a pseudonym for Víctor José Arriagada Ríos, was a Chilean cartoonist, known for his prolific career drawing Disney comics. Read more
16 Apr 1933: Marcos Alonso Imaz, Spanish footballer (died 2012) Marcos Alonso Imaz, nicknamed Marquitos, was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender. He was best known for his participation in Real Madrid's five European Cup conquests, mainly in the 1950s. Read more
16 Apr 1933: Joan Bakewell, English journalist and author Joan Dawson Bakewell, Baroness Bakewell, is an English journalist, television presenter and Labour Party peer. Baroness Bakewell is president of Birkbeck, University of London; she is also an author and playwright, and has received a Humanist of the Year award for services to humanism. Read more
16 Apr 1933: Perry Botkin Jr., American composer, arranger and musician (died 2021) Perry Botkin Jr. was an American composer, producer, arranger, and musician. Read more
16 Apr 1933: Vera Krepkina, Russian long jumper (died 2023) Vera Samuilovna Krepkina, née Kalashnikova, was a Soviet-Ukrainian track and field athlete. She competed for the Soviet Union at the 1952, 1956, and 1960 Olympics. At all these Olympics she finished fourth in the 4 × 100 m relay and was eliminated in the heats of the 100 m sprint. In 1960, she also took part in the long jump and won a surprise gold medal with an Olympic record of 6.37 m, ahead of the defending champion Elżbieta Krzesińska and the world record holder Hildrun Claus. Read more
16 Apr 1933: Ike Pappas, American journalist and actor (died 2008) Icarus Nestor Pappas, better known as Ike Pappas, was an American television journalist who worked as a CBS News correspondent for 25 years. Read more
16 Apr 1932: Maury Meyers, American lawyer and politician (died 2014) Maurice "Maury" Meyers was an American politician who served four non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Beaumont, Texas. He is well known in the city as a progressive and economic mind, who helped turn the city of Beaumont into an allegedly thriving community. Maury also led the charge to desegregate the school systems in Beaumont while in office. In 1990 he ran for congress as a Republican against the long-time Democratic incumbent, Jack Brooks. Meyers would lose 58% to 42%. He again thought about running for mayor in the early 2000s, but declined when his battle with Parkinson's disease made it unsafe to do so. The same Parkinson's disease led to his death in June 2014. He was survived by his wife Arline, his son (Casey), and four daughters In April 2025, Meyers' namesake bridge in the city was demolished Read more
16 Apr 1931: Julian Carroll, American politician, 54th Governor of Kentucky (died 2023) Julian Morton Carroll was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 54th governor of Kentucky from 1974 to 1979, succeeding Wendell Ford, who resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate. He last served a member of the Kentucky Senate, representing Anderson, Franklin, Woodford, Gallatin, and Owen counties from 2005 to 2021. He was the first Kentucky governor from the state's far-western Jackson Purchase region. Thelma Stovall, who served as lieutenant governor with him, was the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Read more
16 Apr 1930: Doug Beasy, Australian footballer and educator (died 2013) Douglas Edward Beasy was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Read more
16 Apr 1930: Herbie Mann, American flute player and composer (died 2003) Herbert Jay Solomon, known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet, but Mann was among the first jazz musicians to specialize on the flute. His most popular single was "Hi-Jack", which was a Billboard No. 1 dance hit for three weeks in 1975. Read more
16 Apr 1929: Roy Hamilton, American singer (died 1969) Roy Hamilton was an American singer. By combining semi-classical technique with traditional black gospel feeling, he brought soul to Great American Songbook singing. Read more
16 Apr 1929: Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist and ecologist (died 2012)

Ralph Owen Slatyer was an Australian ecologist, and the first Chief Scientist of Australia from 1989 to 1992. Read more
16 Apr 1929: Ed Townsend, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2003) Edward Benjamin Townsend was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He performed and composed "For Your Love", a rhythm and blues doo-wop classic, and co-wrote "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye. Read more
16 Apr 1928: Night Train Lane, American football player (died 2002) Richard Lane, commonly known as Dick "Night Train" Lane, was an American professional football cornerback who played for 14 years in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Los Angeles Rams (1952–1953), the Chicago Cardinals (1954–1959), and the Detroit Lions (1960–1965). Read more
16 Apr 1927: Edie Adams, American actress and singer (died 2008) Edie Adams was an American comedian, actress, singer and businesswoman who was prominent in the second half of the 1900s. She earned a Tony Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Read more
16 Apr 1927: Pope Benedict XVI (died 2022) Pope Benedict XVI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Following his resignation, he chose to be known as "pope emeritus", a title he held until his death on 31 December 2022. Read more
16 Apr 1927: Rolf Schult, German actor (died 2013)
Rolf Schult was a German actor who specializes in dubbing. He provided the German dub for actor Robert Redford, among many others. Until the film Hannibal (2001), he provided the voice for Anthony Hopkins, before he was replaced by Joachim Kerzel, and dubbed Patrick Stewart for much of his career. Read more
16 Apr 1926: Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (died 2013) Pierre Jacques Louis Fabre was a French pharmaceutical and cosmetics executive and pharmacist, who founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre in 1962. Fabre, a rugby enthusiast, was also the owner of Castres Olympique, a French rugby union club based in the city of Castres. Read more
16 Apr 1924: Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (died 1994) Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. Read more
16 Apr 1924: Madanjeet Singh, Indian diplomat, author, and philanthropist (died 2013) Madanjeet Singh was an Indian diplomat, painter, photographer, and writer. Read more
16 Apr 1923: Warren Barker, American composer (died 2006) Warren Barker was an American composer, arranger, and conductor known for work in film, radio, and television, as well as for original band and symphonic compositions. Read more
16 Apr 1923: Arch A. Moore Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of West Virginia (died 2015) Arch Alfred Moore Jr. was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 28th and 30th governor of West Virginia. He held office from 1969 to 1977 and again from 1985 to 1989, making him the longest-serving governor in the state's history with 12 years in office. Moore began his political career as a state legislator in 1952 and later became a prominent figure in West Virginia politics. He was the father of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and the grandfather of U.S. Representative Riley Moore. Read more
16 Apr 1922: Kingsley Amis, English novelist, poet, and critic (died 1995) Sir Kingsley William Amis was an English novelist, poet, critic and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social and literary criticism. He is best known for satirical comedies such as Lucky Jim (1954), One Fat Englishman (1963), Ending Up (1974), Jake's Thing (1978) and The Old Devils (1986). His biographer Zachary Leader called Amis "the finest English comic novelist of the second half of the twentieth century." In 2008, The Times ranked him ninth on a list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. He was the father of the novelist Martin Amis. Amis was knighted in 1990. Read more
16 Apr 1922: Lawrence N. Guarino, American colonel (died 2014) Lawrence Nicholas "Larry" Guarino was a United States Air Force officer, and veteran of three wars. Shot down on his 50th combat mission, he spent more than eight years as a prisoner of war (POW) during the Vietnam War and earned the Air Force Cross. Read more
16 Apr 1922: Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (died 2014) Leonard Clemence "Leo" Tindemans was a Belgian politician. He served as the prime minister of Belgium from 25 April 1974 until he resigned as minister on 20 October 1978. He was a member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party. Read more
16 Apr 1921: Wolfgang Leonhard, German historian and author (died 2014) Wolfgang Leonhard was a German political author and historian of the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and Communism. A German Communist whose family had fled Hitler's Germany and who was educated in the Soviet Union, after World War II Leonhard became one of the founders and leaders of the German Democratic Republic until he became disillusioned and fled in 1949, first defecting to Yugoslavia and then moving to West Germany in 1950 and later to the United Kingdom. In 1956 he moved to the United States, where he was a popular and influential professor at Yale University from 1966 to 1987, teaching the history of communism and the Soviet Union, topics about which he wrote several books. After the Cold War ended, he returned to Germany. Read more
16 Apr 1921: Peter Ustinov, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004) Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov was a British actor and humanitarian. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Laurel Award, a Silver Bear, a Photoplay Award, a CableACE Award, an Evening Standard British Film Award and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards, two Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, and a Gemini Award. In 1992, Ustinov was awarded with the British Academy Britannia Award. Read more
16 Apr 1920: Ananda Dassanayake, Sri Lankan politician (died 2012) Ananda Dassanayake was a Sri Lankan politician belonging to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He was the governor of Uva Province and Southern Province of Sri Lanka. He was a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for 17 years. Read more
16 Apr 1920: Prince Georg of Denmark (died 1986) Prince Georg of Denmark was a Danish diplomat and member of the Danish royal family as a great-grandson of Christian IX. He was a first cousin of Harald V of Norway, Baudouin of Belgium, and Albert II of Belgium, as well as a second cousin of George VI of the United Kingdom. Read more
16 Apr 1919: Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (died 2009) Mercier Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage, David Tudor, Brian Eno, and graphic artists Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Jasper Johns; and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo. Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance. Read more
16 Apr 1919: Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (died 2011) Adionilla Pizzi, known by her stage name Nilla Pizzi, was an Italian singer and actress. Read more
16 Apr 1919: Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect (died 2013) Pedro Ramírez Vázquez was a Mexican architect. He was persuaded to study architecture by writer and poet Carlos Pellicer. Read more
16 Apr 1918: Spike Milligan, Irish actor, comedian, and writer (died 2002) Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan was an Anglo-Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British India, where he spent his childhood before relocating in 1931 to England, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Read more
16 Apr 1917: Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli (died 2013) Doña Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba y Fernández de Henestrosa, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli, GE was a Spanish noblewoman and Grandee of Spain. She was the head of the Spanish noble House of Medinaceli and patron of the Ducal House of Medinaceli Foundation. In addition to her most senior title of Duchess of Medinaceli, she held an additional 49 other hereditary noble titles during her lifetime, making her the second-most titled noblewoman in Spain, just after Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba. She died in Seville on 18 August 2013, aged 96. Read more
16 Apr 1916: Behçet Necatigil, Turkish author, poet, and translator (died 1979) Behçet Necatigil, Turkish poet, teacher and translator who is often considered to be one of the most important poets of modern Turkish poetry. His paternal family originated from Kastamonu, a city in Turkey's Western Black Sea region. His father, Mehmet Necati Gönül, was from the Çörekçiler family of Kastamonu. The family moved to Kastamonu when Behçet was young, and he completed his primary education there. His interest in literature is noted to have begun during his middle school years in Kastamonu. He later returned to Istanbul to continue his education and career. Throughout his writing life he stood apart from all literary movements, and was known as an independent poet and intellectual. Besides poetry, he has produced works in many fields of literature, such as theater, mythology, lexicography, novel translations and radio plays. He contributed greatly to the adoption of radiophonic play as a branch of literature in Turkey with his plays, translations and adaptations. The artist, who is known as the "Poet of Houses", is also known for his identity as a teacher as well as his literary work. Read more
16 Apr 1914: John Hodiak, American actor (died 1955) John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film. Read more
16 Apr 1911: Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (died 1963) Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess was a British diplomat and Soviet double agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 to the Soviet Union, with his fellow spy Donald Maclean, led to a serious breach in Anglo-United States intelligence co-operation, and caused long-lasting disruption and demoralisation in Britain's foreign and diplomatic services. Read more
16 Apr 1910: Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (died 1994) Clarence Berton Roueché Jr. was an American medical writer who wrote for The New Yorker magazine for almost fifty years. He wrote twenty books, including Eleven Blue Men (1954), The Incurable Wound (1958), Feral (1974), and The Medical Detectives (1980). An article he wrote for The New Yorker was made into the 1956 film Bigger Than Life, and many of the medical mysteries on the television show House were inspired by Roueché's writings. Read more
16 Apr 1908: Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman and activist (died 2004) Ellis Louis Marsalis Sr. was an American businessman from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a former poultry farmer turned hotelier, Esso franchise owner and civil rights activist. Read more
16 Apr 1908: Ray Ventura, French jazz bandleader (died 1979) Raymond Ventura was a French jazz pianist and bandleader. He helped popularize jazz in France in the 1930s. His nephew was singer Sacha Distel. Read more
16 Apr 1907: Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (died 1964) Joseph-Armand Bombardier was a Canadian inventor and businessman who was the founder of Bombardier. His most famous invention was a snowmobile. Read more
16 Apr 1907: August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (died 1947) August Eigruber was an Austrian-born Nazi Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter of Reichsgau Oberdonau and Landeshauptmann of Upper Austria. He was convicted of war crimes at Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp and hanged. Read more
16 Apr 1905: Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (died 2005) Frederik Jacques "Frits" Philips was the fourth chairman of the board of directors of the Dutch electronics company Philips, which his uncle and father founded. For his actions in saving 382 Jews during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, he was recognized in 1996 by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. Read more
16 Apr 1904: Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian-American vaudevillian, actress, and singer (died 1983) Fifi D'Orsay was a Canadian and American actress and singer. Read more
16 Apr 1903: Paul Waner, American baseball player and manager (died 1965) Paul Glee Waner, nicknamed "Big Poison", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams between 1926 and 1945, most notably playing his first 15 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The greatest Pirate outfielder up to his retirement, he won the 1927 NL Most Valuable Player Award in his second season, collecting a team-record 237 hits that year. Waner set the team record for doubles in a season three times, including 1932 when he set the NL record for doubles in a season with 62. In the only postseason appearance of his career, he hit .333 in the Pirates' 1927 World Series loss against the New York Yankees. Waner won three National League (NL) batting titles, led the NL in hits twice, and collected over 200 hits eight times including four consecutive seasons from 1927 to 1930. Read more
16 Apr 1900: Polly Adler, Russian-American madam and author (died 1962) Pearl "Polly" Adler was an American madam and author, best known for her work A House Is Not a Home, which was adapted into a film of the same name. In 2021, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Debby Applegate published a comprehensive account of Adler's life and times entitled Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age with Doubleday. Read more
16 Apr 1899: Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (died 1988) Osman Achmatowicz was a Polish chemist of Lipka Tatar descent, who studied alkaloid natural products. His son, Osman Achmatowicz Jr., is credited with the Achmatowicz reaction in 1971. Read more
16 Apr 1896: Árpád Weisz, Hungarian footballer (died 1944) Árpád Weisz was a Hungarian footballer and manager. Weisz was Jewish and was murdered with his wife and children by the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II at Auschwitz. Read more
16 Apr 1895: Ove Arup, English-Danish engineer and businessman, founded Arup (died 1988) Sir Ove Nyquist Arup was a British engineer with Danish heritage who founded Arup, a multinational corporation offering engineering, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for building systems. Ove Arup is considered to be among the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time. Read more
16 Apr 1893: Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (died 1968) Germaine Guèvremont, born Grignon was a Canadian writer, who was a prominent figure in Quebec literature. Read more
16 Apr 1893: John Norton, American hurdler (died 1979) John Kelley Norton was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles. He was born in Santa Clara, California and died in New York City. Norton competed for the United States at the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium in the 400 metre hurdles where he won the silver medal. Read more
16 Apr 1892: Dora Richter, German transgender woman and the first known person to undergo complete male-to-female gender-affirming surgery (died 1966) Dora Rudolfine Richter was a German trans woman and the first known person to undergo complete male-to-female gender-affirming surgery. She was one of a number of transgender people in the care of sex-research pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld at Berlin's Institute for Sexual Research during the 1920s and early 1930s. Read more
16 Apr 1892: Howard Mumford Jones, American author, critic, and academic (died 1980) Howard Mumford Jones was an American intellectual historian, literary critic, journalist, poet, and professor of English at the University of Michigan and later at Harvard University. Read more
16 Apr 1891: Dorothy P. Lathrop, American author and illustrator (died 1980) Dorothy Pulis Lathrop was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Read more
16 Apr 1890: Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (died 1954) Charles Frederick Root was an English cricketer who played for England in 1926 and for Derbyshire between 1910 and 1920 and for Worcestershire between 1921 and 1932. Read more
16 Apr 1890: Gertrude Chandler Warner, American author and educator (died 1979) Gertrude Chandler Warner was an American author, mainly of children's stories. She was most famous for writing the original book of The Boxcar Children and for the next 18 books in the series. Read more
16 Apr 1889: Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (died 1977) Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was an English comic actor, filmmaker, film editor and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both accolade and controversy. Read more
16 Apr 1888: Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (died 1940) William James Minter, was a footballer, trainer, manager and assistant secretary at Tottenham Hotspur. He scored 101 goals for Tottenham, and was for a time the top scorer for the club. He also managed the club for three years, and after he resigned as manager he stayed at the club until his death in 1940. Read more
16 Apr 1886: Michalis Dorizas, Greek-American football player and javelin thrower (died 1957) Michális Dórizas was a Greek athlete who competed in throwing events at the 1906, 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the javelin throw in 1908 and a bronze in the stone throw in 1906. In the discus throw, his best achievement was fifth place in 1908; in the shot put, he placed 11th in 1912. Read more
16 Apr 1886: Ernst Thälmann, German politician (died 1944) Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann was a German communist politician, revolutionary, and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. Read more
16 Apr 1885: Leó Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (died 1960) Leó Weiner was one of the leading Hungarian music educators of the first half of the twentieth century, and a composer. Read more
16 Apr 1884: Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, journalist, and politician (died 1963) Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, was a British hereditary peer, Liberal politician, poet, author and newspaper editor. Read more
16 Apr 1882: Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (died 1972) Seth Daniels Bingham was an American organist and prolific composer. Read more
16 Apr 1878: R. E. Foster, English cricketer and footballer (died 1914) Reginald Erskine Foster, nicknamed Tip Foster, commonly designated R. E. Foster in sporting literature, was an English first-class cricketer and footballer. He is the only man to have captained England at both sports. Read more
16 Apr 1874: Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (died 1936) Jōtarō Watanabe was a general in the early Shōwa period Imperial Japanese Army, noted as one of the victims of the February 26 Incident. Read more
16 Apr 1871: John Millington Synge, Irish author, poet, and playwright (died 1909) Edmund John Millington Synge, popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, and collector of folklores. As a key figure of the Irish Literary Revival during the early 20th century, he is widely regarded by critics and scholars as one of the most influential dramatists of the Edwardian era, and by several of his peers, among them William Butler Yeats, as the most prolific playwright in Irish literature. Read more
16 Apr 1867: Wilbur Wright, American inventor (died 1912) The Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, four miles (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at what is now known as Kill Devil Hills. In 1904 the Wright brothers developed the Wright Flyer II, which made longer-duration flights including the first circle, followed in 1905 by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III. Read more
16 Apr 1866: José de Diego, Puerto Rican journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 1918) José de Diego y Martínez was a Puerto Rican statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later of Puerto Rican independence from the United States who was referred to by his peers as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement". Read more
16 Apr 1865: Harry Chauvel, Australian general (died 1945) General Sir Henry George Chauvel, was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps. As commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, he was responsible for one of the most decisive victories and fastest pursuits in military history. Read more
16 Apr 1851: Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, third Solicitor General of Sri Lanka (died 1930) Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician who served as Solicitor-General of Ceylon. Read more
16 Apr 1848: Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (died 1919) Kandukuri Veeresalingam was a social reformer and writer from the Madras Presidency, British India, current Andhra Pradesh. He was considered as the Father of the Telugu Renaissance movement. He was one of the early social reformers who encouraged the education of women and the remarriage of widows. He also fought against child marriage and the dowry system. He started a school in Dowlaiswaram in 1874, constructed the 'Brahmo Mandir' in 1887 and built the 'Hithakarini School' in 1908 in Andhra Pradesh. His novel Rajasekhara Charitramu is considered to be the first novel in Telugu literature. Read more
16 Apr 1847: Hans Auer, Swiss-Austrian architect, designed the Federal Palace of Switzerland (died 1906) Hans Wilhelm Auer was a Swiss-Austrian architect best known for his design of the Swiss Bundeshaus (1894–1902) in Bern. Read more
16 Apr 1844: Anatole France, French journalist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1924) Anatole France was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Française, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament". Read more
16 Apr 1839: Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì, Italian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1908) Antonio Starrabba , Marquess of Rudinì was an Italian statesman, Prime Minister of Italy between 1891 and 1892 and from 1896 until 1898. Read more
16 Apr 1834: Charles Lennox Richardson, English merchant (died 1862) Charles Lennox Richardson was a British merchant based in Shanghai, Qing Empire who was killed in Japan during the Namamugi Incident. His middle name is spelled Lenox in the census and family documents. Read more
16 Apr 1827: Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet and bookseller (died 1879) Octave Crémazie was a French Canadian poet and bookseller born in Quebec City. Recognized both during and after his lifetime for his patriotic verse and his significant role in the cultural development of Quebec, Crémazie has been called "the father of French Canadian poetry." Read more
16 Apr 1826: Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet, British politician (died 1891) Sir James Porter Corry, 1st Baronet was an Irish politician. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1874 to 1891 and an Irish Unionist Alliance MP until his death. Read more
16 Apr 1823: Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician and academic (died 1852) Ferdinand Gotthold Max Eisenstein was a German mathematician who made significant contributions to number theory and analysis. Born in Berlin, Prussia, to Jewish parents who converted to Protestantism before his birth, Eisenstein displayed exceptional mathematical talent from a young age. Read more
16 Apr 1821: Ford Madox Brown, French-English soldier and painter (died 1893) Ford Madox Brown was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work (1852–1865). Brown spent the latter years of his life painting the twelve works known as The Manchester Murals, depicting Mancunian history, for Manchester Town Hall. Read more
16 Apr 1812: Juraj Dobrila, Croatian bishop and national revivalist (died 1882) Juraj Dobrila was a Croatian Catholic bishop and benefactor from Istria who advocated for greater national rights for South Slavic peoples, Croats and Slovenes, in Istria under Austrian rule. Read more
16 Apr 1808: Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, sixth United States Secretary of the Interior (died 1864) Caleb Blood Smith was a United States representative from Indiana, the 6th U.S. secretary of the interior and a district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana. Read more
16 Apr 1800: George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, English field marshal and politician (died 1888) George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan,, styled Lord Bingham before 1839, was an Anglo-Irish peer and military officer. He was one of three men, along with Louis Nolan and Lord Raglan, responsible for the fateful order during the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 that led to the Light Brigade commander, the Earl of Cardigan, leading the Charge of the Light Brigade. He was subsequently promoted to field marshal. He was a ruthless landlord during the Great Famine in Ireland, evicting thousands of his tenants and renting his land to wealthy ranchers. He also came up with a solution that allowed Jews to sit in Parliament. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 16 April in World History

16 Apr 2025: Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist (born 1953) Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, known professionally as Nora Aunor, was a Filipino actress, producer, and singer. Known for her leading roles with patriotic, feminist and socio-political themes, she appeared in more than 170 motion pictures during a career that spanned over five decades. Regarded as the most awarded Filipino actress in history, she was known as the Philippines' "Superstar" and was conferred as a National Artist of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022. Read more
16 Apr 2024: Carl Erskine, American baseball player (born 1926) Carl Daniel Erskine, nicknamed "Oisk", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959. He was a pitching mainstay on Dodger teams which won five National League pennants and the 1955 World Series. Read more
16 Apr 2024: Bob Graham, American lawyer, author, and politician, 38th governor of Florida (born 1936) Daniel Robert Graham was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Read more
16 Apr 2021: Andrew Peacock, Australian politician (born 1939) Andrew Sharp Peacock was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served as a cabinet minister and went on to become leader of the Liberal Party on two occasions, leading the party to defeat at the 1984 and 1990 elections. Read more
16 Apr 2021: Helen McCrory, British actress (born 1968) Helen Elizabeth McCrory was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her professional stage debut in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1990. Other theatre roles include playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Rosalind in As You Like It in the West End for which she received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination, and Medea in the eponymous play at the Royal National Theatre. Read more
16 Apr 2021: Liam Scarlett, British choreographer (born 1986) Liam Scarlett was a British choreographer who was an artist in residence with The Royal Ballet and artistic associate with Queensland Ballet. He also choreographed new works for Ballet Black, Miami City Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, the BalletBoyz, English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Polish National Ballet, and the Royal Ballet School. Read more
16 Apr 2021: John Dawes, Welsh rugby union player (born 1940) Sydney John Dawes was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the 1971 British Lions and the Barbarians. He is credited with being a major influence in these teams' success, and in the attractive, attacking, free-flowing rugby they played. Dawes also had considerable success as a coach with Wales, and coached the 1977 British Lions. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1972 New Year Honours List for services as Lions captain. Read more
16 Apr 2018: Harry Anderson, American actor and magician (born 1952) Harry Laverne Anderson was an American actor, comedian, and magician. He is best known for his role as Judge Harold "Harry" T. Stone on the NBC sitcom Night Court (1984–1992). He later played Dave Barry on the CBS sitcom Dave's World (1993–1997). Read more
16 Apr 2015: Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (born 1948) Valery Konsantinovich Belousov was a Russian professional ice hockey coach and player. Read more
16 Apr 2015: Stanislav Gross, Czech lawyer and politician, fifth Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (born 1969) Stanislav Gross was a Czech lawyer and politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic and leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party from 2004 until 2005 when he resigned as a result of his financial irregularities. He previously served as minister of the Interior in cabinets of Miloš Zeman and Vladimír Špidla from 2000 to 2004. Gross was Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 1992 to 2004. Read more
16 Apr 2014: Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (born 1949) Charles Gyude Bryant was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional government was part of the peace agreement to end the country's second civil war, which had raged since the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebelled against President Charles Taylor in 1999. Bryant was previously a businessman and was chosen as chairman because he was seen as politically neutral and therefore acceptable to each of the warring factions, which included LURD, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), and loyalists of former President Taylor. He was a prominent member of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, and was critical of the governments of both Samuel Doe (1980–90) and Charles Taylor (1997–2003). Read more
16 Apr 2014: Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (born 1929) Taavi Aulis Rytkönen was a Finnish footballer. He became the country's first professional player when he signed for France's Toulouse FC in 1952. Read more
16 Apr 2014: Ernst Florian Winter, Austrian-American historian and political scientist (born 1923) Ernst Florian Winter was an American historian and political scientist, the first director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna after World War II, and chairman of the International Council of the Austrian Service Abroad. Read more
16 Apr 2013: Charles Bruzon, Gibraltarian politician (born 1938) Charles Arthur Bruzon was a Gibraltarian politician and former Roman Catholic priest. He was affiliated with the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP). In the general elections of 2011, he was elected to the Gibraltar Parliament and appointed Minister for Housing and the Elderly. Read more
16 Apr 2013: Ali Kafi, Algerian politician (born 1928) Ali Kafi was an Algerian politician who was Chairman of the High Council of State and acting President from 1992 to 1994. Read more
16 Apr 2013: Siegfried Ludwig, Austrian politician, 18th Governor of Lower Austria (born 1926) Siegfried Ludwig was an Austrian politician and Governor of Lower Austria from 1981 to 1992. Read more
16 Apr 2013: Pentti Lund, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player (born 1925) Pentti Alexander Lund was a Finnish Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played for the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Lund was often credited as being the first Finnish player in the NHL. Albert Pudas, however, played four games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1926–27. Although Pudas was born in Finland, he had Canadian citizenship. Read more
16 Apr 2013: George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (born 1909) George Beverly Shea was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records and television. Because of the large attendance at Graham's Crusades, it is estimated that Shea sang live before more people than anyone else in history. Read more
16 Apr 2013: Pat Summerall, American football player and sportscaster (born 1930) George Allen "Pat" Summerall was an American professional football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall announced 16 Super Bowls on network television, 26 Masters Tournaments, and 21 US Opens. He contributed to 10 Super Bowl broadcasts on CBS Radio as a pregame host or analyst. Read more
16 Apr 2013: Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (born 1919) Pedro Ramírez Vázquez was a Mexican architect. He was persuaded to study architecture by writer and poet Carlos Pellicer. Read more
16 Apr 2012: Sári Barabás, Hungarian soprano (born 1914) Sári Barabás was a Hungarian operatic soprano, particularly associated with coloratura roles. Read more
16 Apr 2012: Marian Biskup, Polish author and academic (born 1922) Marian Biskup was a Polish historian, author and academic, who specialized in the history of the Baltics, Pomerelia, Teutonic Order, Prussia, Toruń and Copernicus. He was a member of the International Commission for the study of the Teutonic Order. Read more
16 Apr 2012: Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and conductor (born 1938) Alan Ray Hacker was an English clarinettist, conductor, and music professor. Read more
16 Apr 2012: George Kunda, Zambian lawyer and politician, 11th Vice-President of Zambia (born 1956) George Kunda was a Zambian lawyer and politician who was the 11th vice-president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011. He served as the vice-president under President Rupiah Banda until the 2011 election. Read more
16 Apr 2012: Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish businessman (born 1913) Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller was a Danish shipping magnate. He was a longtime figure at A.P. Moller–Maersk Group, which was founded by his father. Read more
16 Apr 2012: Carlo Petrini, Italian footballer and coach (born 1948) Carlo Petrini was an Italian professional football player and coach. Read more
16 Apr 2011: Gerry Alexander, Jamaican cricketer and veterinarian (born 1928) Franz Copeland Murray Alexander OD, known as Gerry Alexander, was a Jamaican cricketer who played 25 Test matches for the West Indies. He was a wicket-keeper who had 90 dismissals in his 25 Test appearances and, though his batting average was around 30 in both Test and first class cricket, his only first-class century came in a Test on the 1960–61 tour of Australia. Read more
16 Apr 2011: Allan Blakeney, Canadian scholar and politician, tenth Premier of Saskatchewan (born 1925) Allan Emrys Blakeney was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982. Originally from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Blakeney moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, and worked in the province's civil service before running for office with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) under Tommy Douglas. Blakeney became leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1970. Altogether, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1960 to 1988. Read more
16 Apr 2011: Sol Saks, American screenwriter and producer (born 1910) Sol Saks was an American screenwriter best known as the creator of the television sitcom Bewitched. Read more
16 Apr 2010: Rasim Delić, Bosnian general and convicted war criminal (born 1949) Rasim Delić was the chief of staff of the Bosnian Army. He was a career officer in the Yugoslav Army but left it during the breakup of Yugoslavia and was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for failing to prevent and punish crimes committed by the El Mujahid unit under his command. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Read more
16 Apr 2010: Daryl Gates, American police officer, created the D.A.R.E. Program (born 1926) Daryl Francis Gates was an American police officer who served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only to that of William H. Parker. Gates is often credited with the creation of police SWAT teams and also co-founded the Drug Abuse Resistance Education ("D.A.R.E.") program. Read more
16 Apr 2009: Michael Martin Dwyer, Irish security guard (born 1984) Michael Dwyer was an Irish security guard and paramilitary, shot dead in 2009 by the Bolivian Police Special Forces in the Las Americas Hotel, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in disputed circumstances. Read more
16 Apr 2009: Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, Bolivian-Hungarian-Croatian mercenary, journalist, and actor (born 1960) Eduardo Rózsa-Flores was a Bolivian-Hungarian-Croatian soldier, journalist, actor and alleged intelligence agent. Read more
16 Apr 2008: Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (born 1917) Edward Norton Lorenz was an American mathematician and meteorologist who established the theoretical basis of weather and climate predictability, as well as the basis for computer-aided atmospheric physics and meteorology. He founded modern chaos theory, a branch of mathematics focusing on the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions. Read more
16 Apr 2007: Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (born 1909) Frank Maine Bateson was a New Zealand astronomer who specialised in the study of variable stars. Read more
16 Apr 2007: Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1962) Gaétan Joseph Pierre Duchesne was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played with the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He retired in 1995, then returned in 1996 and became a player-coach with the Quebec Rafales of the International Hockey League and later after retiring again in 1998, an assistant coach with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Read more
16 Apr 2007: Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer (born 1915) Maria Emma Hulga Lenk was a Brazilian swimmer, the first South American woman to participate in the Summer Olympic Games, in 1932. Read more
16 Apr 2007: Chandrabose Suthaharan, Sri Lankan journalist Chandrabose Suthaharan was a minority Sri Lankan Tamil editor of the Tamil magazine, Nilam, and also wrote for other Tamil news media. He had earlier worked for Virakesari. He was shot and killed on 16 April 2007, in Thirunavatkulam in Vavuniya. Read more
16 Apr 2005: Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (born 1911) Kathleen Walsh was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband, film director David Lean, with whom she worked on productions such as In Which We Serve and Oliver Twist. Read more
16 Apr 2003: Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (born 1930) Graham Powley Jarvis was a Canadian character actor in American films and television from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Read more
16 Apr 2003: Graham Stuart Thomas, English horticulturalist and author (born 1909) Graham Stuart Thomas was an English horticulturist, who is likely best known for his work with garden roses, his restoration and stewardship of over 100 National Trust gardens and for writing 19 books on gardening, many of which remain classics today. However, as he states in the Preface to his outstanding book, The Rock Garden and its Plants: From Grotto to Alpine House, "My earliest enthusiasms in gardening were for….alpines." p8 Read more
16 Apr 2002: Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (born 1952) William Ayre was an English footballer who played for three clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred League appearances in the process. After retiring from the playing side of the game, he became a manager, and took the helm at five clubs between 1984 and 2000. He guided Blackpool to two successive play-off finals, in 1991 and 1992, during his four years in charge of the club. Read more
16 Apr 2002: Ruth Fertel, American businesswoman, founded Ruth's Chris Steak House (born 1927) Ruth Ann Udstad Fertel was a Louisiana businesswoman best known as the founder of Ruth's Chris Steak Houses, which was founded in 1965. Read more
16 Apr 2002: Robert Urich, American actor (born 1946) Robert Michael Urich was an American film, television, and stage actor and television producer. Over the course of his 30-year career, he starred in a record 15 television series. Read more
16 Apr 2001: Robert Osterloh, American actor (born 1918)[better source needed] Robert Osterloh was an American actor. In a career spanning 20 years, he appeared in films such as The Dark Past (1948), The Wild One (1953), I Bury the Living (1958), and Young Dillinger (1965). Read more
16 Apr 2001: Michael Ritchie, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1938) Michael Brunswick Ritchie was an American film director, producer, and writer of films with comical or satirical leanings, such as The Candidate (1972) and Smile (1975). He scored commercial successes directing sports films like Downhill Racer (1969) and The Bad News Bears (1976), and comedies like Chevy Chase's Fletch (1985) and Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child (1986). Read more
16 Apr 2001: Alec Stock, English footballer and manager (born 1917) Alec William Alfred Stock was an English football player and manager. He briefly managed AS Roma, between long spells at Leyton Orient and Queens Park Rangers. At QPR, he won successive promotions, leading the club to the First Division for the first time, and winning the League Cup. Among managers for whom accurate statistics exist, he is the fourth most experienced manager of all time. Read more
16 Apr 1999: Skip Spence, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1946) Alexander "Skip" Spence was a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year, he released his only solo album, Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry. He had started his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service, and was the drummer on Jefferson Airplane's debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. He has been described on the AllMusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights"; however, his career was plagued by drug addiction coupled with mental health problems, and he has been described by a biographer as a man who "neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out." Read more
16 Apr 1998: Alberto Calderón, Argentinian-American mathematician and academic (born 1920) Alberto Pedro Calderón was an Argentine mathematician. His name is associated with the University of Buenos Aires, but first and foremost with the University of Chicago, where Calderón and his mentor, the analyst Antoni Zygmund, developed the theory of singular integral operators. This created the "Chicago School of (hard) Analysis". Read more
16 Apr 1998: Fred Davis, English snooker player (born 1913) Fred Davis was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards. He was an eight-time World Snooker Championship winner from 1948 to 1956, and a two-time winner of the World Billiards Championship. He was the younger brother of 15-time world snooker champion Joe Davis; the pair were the only two players to win both snooker and English billiards world championships, and Fred is second on the list of those holding most world snooker championship titles, behind Joe. Read more
16 Apr 1998: Marie-Louise Meilleur, Canadian super-centenarian (born 1880) Marie-Louise Fébronie Meilleur was a Canadian supercentenarian. She is the oldest validated Canadian ever and upon the death of longevity world record holder Jeanne Calment, became the world's oldest recognized living person. Read more
16 Apr 1997: Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician (born 1921) María Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid was a Colombian politician, suffragist and the first woman elected to the Senate of Colombia, serving from 1958 to 1961. Read more
16 Apr 1997: Roland Topor, French actor, director, and painter (born 1938) Roland Topor was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surreal black comedy nature of his work. He was of Polish-Jewish origin. His parents were Jewish émigrés from Warsaw, Poland. He spent the early years of his life in Savoy, where his family hid him from the Gestapo. Read more
16 Apr 1996: Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (born 1917) Lucille Bremer was an American film actress and dancer. Read more
16 Apr 1994: Paul-Émilien Dalpé, Canadian labor unionist (born 1919) Paul-Émilien Dalpé C.M., also known as Paul-Émile Dalpé, was a Canadian labour unionist and nurse. Read more
16 Apr 1994: Ralph Ellison, American novelist and critic (born 1913) Ralph Waldo Ellison was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953. Read more
16 Apr 1992: Neville Brand, American actor (born 1920) Lawrence Neville Brand was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas and films noir, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his performance in Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). Read more
16 Apr 1992: Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy and activist (born 1915) Alexandru Nicolschi was a Romanian communist activist, Soviet agent and officer, and Securitate chief under the Communist regime. Active until 1961, he was one of the most recognizable leaders of violent political repression. Read more
16 Apr 1992: Andy Russell, American singer and actor (born 1919) Andy Russell was an American popular singer, actor, and entertainer. He specialized in traditional pop and Latin music. He sold 8 million records in the 1940s wherein he sang bilingually in English and Spanish. His most successful songs included "Bésame Mucho", "Amor", and "What a Diff'rence a Day Made". He made appearances and performed on radio programs, most notably Your Hit Parade, in several movies, and on television. Read more
16 Apr 1991: David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1908) Sir David Lean was an English filmmaker and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of British cinema. He directed the large-scale epics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984). He also directed the film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), as well as the romantic drama Brief Encounter (1945). Read more
16 Apr 1989: Jocko Conlan, American baseball player and umpire (born 1899) John Bertrand "Jocko" Conlan was an American baseball umpire who worked in the National League (NL) from 1941 to 1965. He had a brief career as an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox before entering umpiring. He umpired in five World Series and six All-Star Games. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee. Read more
16 Apr 1989: Kaoru Ishikawa Japanese author and educator (born 1915) Kaoru Ishikawa was a Japanese organizational theorist and a professor in the engineering faculty at the University of Tokyo who was noted for his quality management innovations. He is considered a key figure in the development of quality initiatives in Japan, particularly the quality circle. He is best known outside Japan for the Ishikawa or cause and effect diagram, often used in the analysis of industrial processes. Read more
16 Apr 1989: Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (born 1940) John Miles Lawrence played first-class cricket for Somerset in 18 matches between 1959 and 1961. Read more
16 Apr 1989: Hakkı Yeten, Turkish footballer, manager and president (born 1910) Hakkı Yeten was a Turkish football player and president of the Istanbul-based football club Beşiktaş J.K., which he also coached. He is one of the most important names in Beşiktaş history. Read more
16 Apr 1988: Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian commander, founded Fatah (born 1935) Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir was a Palestinian leader and co-founder of the nationalist party Fatah. As a top aide of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, al-Wazir had considerable influence in Fatah's military activities, eventually becoming the commander of Fatah's armed wing al-Assifa. Read more
16 Apr 1988: Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (born 1954) Youri Aleksandrovich Egorov was a Soviet and Dutch classical pianist. Read more
16 Apr 1985: Scott Brady, American actor (born 1924) Scott Brady was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the television series Shotgun Slade (1959–1961). Read more
16 Apr 1980: Morris Stoloff, American composer (born 1898) Morris W. Stoloff was an American composer. He worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra. Read more
16 Apr 1978: Lucius D. Clay, American officer and military governor in occupied Germany (born 1898) Lucius Dubignon Clay was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1945; deputy military governor, Germany, in 1946; Commander in Chief, United States Forces in Europe and military governor of the United States Zone, Germany, from 1947 to 1949. Clay orchestrated the Berlin Airlift (1948–1949) when the USSR blockaded West Berlin. Read more
16 Apr 1973: István Kertész, Hungarian conductor and educator (born 1929) István Kertész was a Hungarian orchestral and operatic conductor who led many of the world's orchestras, including the Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Francisco and Minnesota Orchestras in the United States, as well as the London Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, and L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Read more
16 Apr 1972: Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899) Yasunari/Kōsei Kawabata was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read. Read more
16 Apr 1972: Frank O'Connor, Australian public servant (born 1894) Francis Alexander O'Connor was a senior Australian public servant. He was Secretary of the Department of Supply and Shipping (1946–1948) and later the Department of Supply (1953–1959). Read more
16 Apr 1970: Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (born 1892) Richard Joseph Neutra was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most notable works include the Kaufmann Desert House, in Palm Springs, California. Read more
16 Apr 1970: Péter Veres, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Defence (born 1897) Péter Veres was a Hungarian politician and writer, who served as Minister of Defence from 1947 to 1948. Read more
16 Apr 1969: Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator and painter (born 1904) Mom Luang Hem Vejakorn was a Thai artist and writer. He is best known for his illustrations for the covers of 10-satang pulp novels, which have in turn influenced subsequent generations of Thai artists and illustrators, and also his ghost stories. It is estimated that he produced more than 50,000 pieces of art, including pen and pencil drawings, watercolors, posters and oil paintings. He portrayed rural life, Thai history and figures from Thai classical literature. His works have been reproduced on Thai postage stamps and featured in art galleries. Read more
16 Apr 1968: Fay Bainter, American actress (born 1893) Fay Okell Bainter was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Jezebel (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Read more
16 Apr 1968: Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1885) Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat, Cimarron, Giant and Ice Palace (1958), which also received a film adaptation in 1960. She helped adapt her short story "Old Man Minick", published in 1922, into a play (Minick) and it was thrice adapted to film, in 1925 as the silent film Welcome Home, in 1932 as The Expert, and in 1939 as No Place to Go. Read more
16 Apr 1966: Eric Lambert, Australian author (born 1918)

Eric Frank Lambert was an Australian author and a sometime member of the Communist Party of Australia. Read more
16 Apr 1965: Francis Balfour, English soldier and colonial administrator (born 1884) Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Cecil Campbell Balfour was a British military officer and colonial administrator. Read more
16 Apr 1965: Sydney Chaplin, English actor, comedian, brother of Charlie Chaplin (born 1885) Sydney John Chaplin was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and in later life, served as his business manager. Read more
16 Apr 1961: Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (born 1912) Carl Iver Hovland was a psychologist working primarily at Yale University and for the US Army during World War II who studied attitude change and persuasion. He first reported the sleeper effect after studying the effects of the Frank Capra propaganda film Why We Fight on soldiers in the Army. In later studies on this subject, Hovland collaborated with Irving Janis who would later become famous for his theory of groupthink. Hovland also developed social judgment theory of attitude change. Carl Hovland thought that the ability of someone to resist persuasion by a certain group depended on your degree of belonging to the group. Read more
16 Apr 1960: Mihály Fekete, Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director (born 1884) Mihály Fekete was a Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director. Read more
16 Apr 1958: Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist and academic (born 1920) Rosalind Elsie Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, Franklin's contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely unrecognised during her life, for which Franklin has been variously referred to as the "wronged heroine", the "dark lady of DNA", the "forgotten heroine", a "feminist icon", and the "Sylvia Plath of molecular biology". James Watson believed that, had she not died, ideally, Franklin would have been awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Read more
16 Apr 1957: Pieter van der Hoog, Dutch bacteriologist, dermatologist, and Islamicist (born 1888) Pieter Henricus van der Hoog, also known after converting to Islam as Mohammed Abdul-Ali, was a Dutch bacteriologist, dermatologist, and Islamicist. Born in The Hague, Van der Hoog was pressured by his father to enter the Dutch military, for which he served as a doctor. During his time with the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies from 1913 through 1921, he practised in several areas but was censured and arrested. Returning to the Netherlands, he earned a doctoral degree from the University of Leiden in 1922. After some time practising medicine in the Netherlands, in 1926 he was sent to Curaçao; he was ultimately blacklisted by the Ministry of the Colonies for his continued attacks on the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles. Read more
16 Apr 1955: David Kirkwood, Scottish engineer and politician (born 1872) David Kirkwood, 1st Baron Kirkwood, PC, was a Scottish politician, trade unionist and socialist activist from the East End of Glasgow, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for nearly 30 years, and was as a leading figure of the Red Clydeside era. Read more
16 Apr 1950: Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, and critic (born 1905) Eduard Oja was an Estonian composer, conductor, music teacher and critic. His father was a forest warden. Between 1919 and 1925 he studied at Tartu Teachers' College at Tartu University, where he met Eduard Tubin, and he also worked for some time as a school teacher. He was not a particularly prolific composer, composing mainly orchestral and ensemble works and choral music. He was however much appreciated during his lifetime, and received awards and acclaim for several of his works. He also worked as a conductor, leading the Tartu Women's Singing Society's Women's Choir between 1930 and 1934, as well as a teacher of music theory at Tartu Higher School of Music. In addition, he was himself a practising violinist. A number of his works such as the opera Oath Redeemed and the choral work The Return Home have been lost, although the majority of his work has survived, and is valued in museums in Estonia today. The Eduard Tubin Museum of Alatskivi Castle contains exhibits related to him and his fellow students under Heino Eller, known as the "Tartu school", such as Eduard Tubin, Alfred Karindi, Olav Roots and Karl Leichter. Read more
16 Apr 1950: Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (born 1867) Anders Peter Nielsen was a Danish sport shooter who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in rifle shooting. He participated in Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won three silver medals in the military rifle in the kneeling, prone, and 3 positions categories. Read more
16 Apr 1947: Rudolf Höss, German SS officer (born 1900) Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss was a German SS officer and the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II, he lived under a false name until discovered by the British, who then turned him over to Polish authorities. Höss was convicted in Poland and executed for war crimes committed on the prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp and for his role in the Holocaust. Read more
16 Apr 1946: Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-American racing driver and engineer (born 1884) Arthur Chevrolet was an American racing driver and automobile manufacturer. Read more
16 Apr 1942: Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1878) Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was princess consort of Hohenlohe-Langenburg from her husband Ernst II's accession as prince in 1913 until her death in 1942. The fourth child and third daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, she was also a granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Read more
16 Apr 1942: Denis St. George Daly, Irish polo player (born 1862) Denis St George Daly was an Irish polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Read more
16 Apr 1941: Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, English economist and civil servant (born 1880) Josiah Charles Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp was an English industrialist, economist, civil servant, statistician, writer, and banker. He was a director of the Bank of England and chairman of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Read more
16 Apr 1940: Tony D'Arcy, Irish Republican died while on hunger strike (born 1908)

Tony D'Arcy was an Irish Republican militant and activist. A senior leader in the Irish Republican Army (IRA), he died on 16 April 1940 after a 52-day hunger strike, at the age of 32. Read more
16 Apr 1938: Steve Bloomer, English footballer and manager (born 1874) Stephen Bloomer was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem "Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at every Derby home game and there is a bust of him at the Pride Park Stadium. He is also listed in the Football League 100 Legends and English Football Hall of Fame. Read more
16 Apr 1937: Jay Johnson Morrow, American military engineer and politician, third Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (born 1870) Jay Johnson Morrow was an American military engineer who was Chief Engineer of the United States First Army and Deputy Chief Engineer of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I and Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1921 to 1924. Read more
16 Apr 1935: Panait Istrati, Romanian journalist and author (born 1884) Panait Istrati (Romanian: [panaˈit isˈtrati]; sometimes rendered as Panaït Istrati; was a Romanian working class writer, who wrote in French and Romanian, nicknamed The Maxim Gorky of the Balkans. Istrati appears to be the first Romanian author explicitly depicting a homosexual character in his work. Read more
16 Apr 1930: José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, philosopher, and activist (born 1894) José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira, sometimes referred to in Peru as El Amauta, was a Peruvian writer, sociologist, historian, journalist, politician, and Marxist philosopher. A prolific author despite his early death, Mariátegui is considered one of the greatest scholars of Latin America. His Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality (1928), a synthesis of his thought, became a reference work for the intelligentsia of the continent. Read more
16 Apr 1928: Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founded Henry Birks and Sons (born 1840) Henry Birks was a Canadian businessman and founder of Henry Birks and Sons, a chain of high-end Canadian jewellery stores. Read more
16 Apr 1928: Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (born 1900) Roman Steinberg, was an Estonian Greco-Roman wrestling bronze medal winner in middleweight class at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Steinberg was also three times Estonian wrestling champion 1921–1923, coached by Robert Oksa. He died after contracting tuberculosis, age 39, and was buried at Alexander Nevsky Cemetery, Tallinn. Read more
16 Apr 1925: Stefan Nerezov, Bulgarian general (born 1867) Stefan Mikhailov Nerezov was a Bulgarian General and Chief of the Bulgarian Army Staff. Read more
16 Apr 1915: Nelson W. Aldrich, American businessman and politician (born 1841) Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich was a prominent American politician and a leader of the Republican Party in the United States Senate, where he represented Rhode Island from 1881 to 1911. By the 1890s, he was one of the "Big Four" key Republicans who largely controlled the major decisions of the Senate, along with Orville H. Platt, William B. Allison, and John Coit Spooner. Because of his impact on national politics and central position on the pivotal Senate Finance Committee, he was referred to by the press and public alike as the "general manager of the Nation", dominating tariff and monetary policy in the first decade of the 20th century. Read more
16 Apr 1914: George William Hill, American astronomer and mathematician (born 1838) George William Hill was an American astronomer and mathematician. Working independently and largely in isolation from the wider scientific community, he made major contributions to celestial mechanics and to the theory of ordinary differential equations. The importance of his work was explicitly acknowledged by Henri Poincaré in 1905. In 1909 Hill was awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal, "on the ground of his researches in mathematical astronomy". Hill is remembered for the Hill differential equation, along with the Hill sphere. Read more
16 Apr 1904: Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (born 1888) Maximilian Kronberger, known familiarly as Maximin, was a German poet and a significant figure in the literary circle of Stefan George. Read more
16 Apr 1904: Samuel Smiles, Scottish-English author (born 1812) Samuel Smiles was a British author and government reformer. Although he campaigned on a Chartist platform, he promoted the idea that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His primary work, Self-Help (1859), promoted thrift and claimed that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits, while also attacking materialism and laissez-faire government. It has been called "the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism" and had lasting effects on British political thought. Read more
16 Apr 1899: Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (born 1875) Emilio Jacinto y Dizon was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution. He was one of the highest-ranking officers in the Philippine Revolution and was one of the highest-ranking officers of the revolutionary society Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan, or simply and more popularly called Katipunan, being a member of its Supreme Council. He was elected Secretary of State for the Haring Bayang Katagalugan, a revolutionary government established during the outbreak of hostilities. He is popularly known in Philippine history textbooks as the Brains of the Katipunan while some contend he should be rightfully recognized as the "Brains of the Revolution". Jacinto was present in the so-called Cry of Pugad Lawin with Andrés Bonifacio, the Supremo of the Katipunan, and others of its members which signaled the start of the Revolution against the Spanish government in the islands. Read more
16 Apr 1888: Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist and chemist (born 1845) Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski was a Polish physicist and chemist. Together with Karol Olszewski, he was the first scientist in the world to liquify nitrogen in 1883. Read more
16 Apr 1879: Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint (born 1844) Bernadette Soubirous, SCN, also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was a miller's daughter from Lourdes, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France, and is best known for experiencing apparitions of a "young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at the nearby cave-grotto. These apparitions occurred between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and the young lady who appeared to her identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception". Read more
16 Apr 1859: Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1805) Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville, was a French diplomat, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both, he analyzed the living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science. Read more
16 Apr 1850: Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (born 1761) Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud, commonly known as Madame Tussaud, was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London. Read more
16 Apr 1846: Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (born 1763) Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer with a three string double bass. He stayed for thirty years in his hometown of Venice, Republic of Venice and worked at the Opera Buffa, at the Chapel of San Marco and at the Grand Opera in Vicenza. By that time he had become notable throughout Europe and had turned down several opportunities, including offers from the Tsar of Russia. In 1794, he finally moved to London to play in the orchestra of the King's Theatre, and settled there for the remainder of his life. In fifty years, he became a prominent figure in the musical events of the English capital, performing at the concerts of the Philharmonic Society of London as well as in more private events, where he would meet the most influential persons in the country, like the Prince Consort and the Duke of Leinster. He was acquainted with composers Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, whom he visited on several occasions in Vienna, and to whom he showed the possibilities of the double bass as a solo instrument. His ability on the instrument also demonstrated the relevance of writing scores for the double bass in the orchestra separate from that of the cello, which was the common rule at the time. He is also remembered today for the Dragonetti bow, which he developed throughout his life. Read more
16 Apr 1828: Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and illustrator (born 1746) Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th- and 20th-century painters. Goya is often referred to as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of Western art. Read more

Why is 16 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 16 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 16 April in World history?

On 16 April, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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