EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST. 24/4

• 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty).
• 1547 – Battle of Mühlberg. Duke of Alba, commanding Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles I of Spain, defeats the troops of Schmalkaldic League.
• 1558 – Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
• 1704 – The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.
• 1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".
• 1877 – Russo-Turkish War: Russian Empire declares war on Ottoman Empire.
• 1885 – American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
• 1895 – Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop "Spray".
• 1913 – The Woolworth Building, a skyscraper in New York City, is opened.
• 1914 – The Franck–Hertz experiment, a pillar of quantum mechanics, is presented to the German Physical Society.
• 1915 – The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
• 1916 – Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.
• 1916 – Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for the crew of the sunken Endurance.
• 1918 – World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs.
• 1922 – The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation.
• 1926 – The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.
• 1932 – Benny Rothman leads the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, leading to substantial legal reforms in the United Kingdom.
• 1933 – Nazi Germany begins its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.
• 1944 – World War II: The SBS launches a raid against the garrison of Santorini in Greece.
• 1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
• 1955 – The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
• 1957 – Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.
• 1963 – Marriage of HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent to the Hon Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
• 1965 – Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d'état against Juan Bosch.
• 1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
• 1967 – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily".
• 1970 – The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President.
• 1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
• 1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
• 1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
• 1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.
• 1996 – In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is passed into law.
• 2004 – The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
• 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
• 2013 – A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people and injuring 2,500 others.
• 2013 – Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China's Xinjiang results in death of 21 people.

• 1086 – Ramiro II of Aragon (d. 1157)
• 1492 – Sabina of Bavaria, Bavarian duchess and noblewoman (d. 1564)
• 1532 – Thomas Lucy, English politician (d. 1600)
• 1533 – William I of Orange, founding father of the Netherlands (d. 1584)
• 1538 – Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (d. 1587)
• 1545 – Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, English Earl (d. 1581)
• 1562 – Xu Guangqi, Ming Dynasty Chinese politician, scholar and lay Catholic leader (d. 1633)
• 1581 – Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (d. 1660)
• 1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, third son of King Henry IV of France (d. 1660)
• 1620 – John Graunt, English demographer and statistician (d. 1674)
• 1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1780)
• 1718 – Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish-English painter and educator (d. 1784)
• 1743 – Edmund Cartwright, English clergyman and engineer, invented the power loom (d. 1823)
• 1784 – Peter Vivian Daniel, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1860)
• 1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist, essayist, and short story writer (d. 1882)
• 1823 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician, President of Mexico (d. 1889)
• 1845 – Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
• 1856 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (d. 1951)
• 1860 – Queen Marau, last Queen of Tahiti (d.1935)
• 1862 – Tomitaro Makino, Japanese botanist (d. 1957)
• 1868 – Sandy Herd, Scottish golfer (d. 1944)
• 1876 – Erich Raeder, German admiral (d. 1960)
• 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss-French painter (d. 1958)
• 1879 – Susanna Bokoyni, Hungarian-American circus performer (d. 1984)
• 1880 – Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer and businessman, developed the zipper (d. 1954)
• 1880 – Josef Müller, Croatian entomologist (d. 1964)
• 1882 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish-English air marshal (d. 1970)
• 1885 – Thomas Cronan, American triple jumper (d. 1962)
• 1885 – Con Walsh, Irish-Canadian hammer thrower and footballer (d. 1961)
• 1887 – Denys Finch Hatton, English hunter (d. 1931)
• 1888 – Pe Maung Tin, Burma-based scholar and educator (d. 1973)
• 1889 – Stafford Cripps, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1952)
• 1889 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and academic (d. 1924)
• 1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican colonel and politician, 45th President of Mexico (d. 1955)
• 1897 – Benjamin Lee Whorf, American linguist, anthropologist, and engineer (d. 1941)
• 1899 – Oscar Zariski, Russian-American mathematician and academic (d. 1986)
• 1900 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author and educator (d. 1984) ^[1][2]
• 1903 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician, founded the Falange (d. 1936)
• 1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American painter and educator (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Al Bates, American long jumper (d. 1999)
• 1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (d. 1989)
• 1906 – William Joyce, American-born Irish-British Nazi propaganda broadcaster (d. 1946)
• 1906 – Mimi Smith, English nurse (d. 1991)
• 1907 – Gabriel Figueroa, Mexican cinematographer (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Marceline Day, American actress (d. 2000)
• 1908 – Inga Gentzel, Swedish runner (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (d. 1963)
• 1912 – Ruth Osburn, American discus thrower (d. 1994)
• 1913 – Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
• 1914 – William Castle, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
• 1914 – Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
• 1914 – Justin Wilson, American chef and author (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2002)
• 1919 – David Blackwell, African-American mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
• 1919 – Glafcos Clerides, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 4th President of Cyprus (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Gino Valenzano, Italian race car driver (d. 2011)
• 1922 – Marc-Adélard Tremblay, Canadian anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Doris Burn, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)
• 1924 – Clement Freud, German-English radio host, academic, and politician (d. 2009)
• 1924 – Ruth Kobart, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
• 1925 – Franco Leccese, Italian sprinter (d. 1992)
• 1926 – Marilyn Erskine, American actress
• 1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Swedish farmer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2016)
• 1927 – Josy Barthel, Luxembourgian runner and politician, Luxembourgian Minister for Energy (d. 1992)
• 1928 – Tommy Docherty, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1928 – Johnny Griffin, American saxophonist (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Dr. Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (d. 2006)
• 1930 – Jerome Callet, American instrument designer, educator, and author
• 1930 – Richard Donner, American actor, director, and producer
• 1930 – José Sarney, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Brazil
• 1931 – Abdelhamid Kermali, Algerian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Bridget Riley, English painter and illustrator
• 1934 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (d. 2015)
• 1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1936 – David Crombie, Canadian educator and politician, 56th Mayor of Toronto
• 1936 – Jill Ireland, English actress (d. 1990)
• 1937 – Joe Henderson, African-American saxophonist and composer (d. 2001)
• 1940 – Sue Grafton, American author (d. 2017)
• 1941 – Richard Holbrooke, American journalist, banker, and diplomat, 22nd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2010)
• 1941 – John Williams, Australian-English guitarist and composer
• 1942 – Richard M. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 54th Mayor of Chicago
• 1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, activist, and producer
• 1943 – Richard Sterban, American country & gospel bass singer
• 1943 – Gordon West, English footballer (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Peter Cresswell, English judge
• 1944 – Maarja Nummert, Estonian architect
• 1944 – Tony Visconti, American record producer, musician and singer
• 1945 – Doug Clifford, American drummer and songwriter
• 1946 – Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Josep Borrell, Spanish engineer and politician, 22nd President of the European Parliament
• 1947 – João Braz de Aviz, Brazilian cardinal
• 1947 – Claude Dubois, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Denise Kingsmill, Baroness Kingsmill, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician
• 1947 – Roger D. Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1948 – Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2013)
• 1948 – Eliana Gil, Ecuadorian-American psychiatrist, therapist, and author
• 1949 – Eddie Hart, American sprinter
• 1949 – Véronique Sanson, French singer-songwriter and producer
• 1950 – Rob Hyman, American singer-songwriter and musician
• 1951 – Ron Arad, Israeli architect and academic
• 1951 – Christian Bobin, French author and poet
• 1951 – Nigel Harrison, English bass player and songwriter
• 1951 – Enda Kenny, Irish educator and politician, 13th Taoiseach of Ireland
• 1952 – Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
• 1952 – Ralph Winter, American film producer
• 1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
• 1954 – Mumia Abu-Jamal, American journalist, activist, and convicted murderer
• 1954 – Jack Blades, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1955 – Marion Caspers-Merk, German politician
• 1955 – John de Mol Jr., Dutch businessman, co-founded Endemol
• 1955 – Eamon Gilmore, Irish trade union leader and politician, 25th Tánaiste of Ireland
• 1955 – Margaret Moran, British politician and criminal
• 1955 – Guy Nève, Belgian race car driver (d. 1992)
• 1955 – Michael O'Keefe, American actor
• 1955 – Bill Osborne, New Zealand rugby player
• 1956 – James A. Winnefeld, Jr., American admiral
• 1957 – Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed, Pakistani-English businessman and politician
• 1958 – Brian Paddick, English police officer and politician
• 1959 – Paula Yates, British-Australian television host and author (d. 2000)
• 1961 – Andrew Murrison, English physician and politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
• 1962 – Clemens Binninger, German politician
• 1962 – Stuart Pearce, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1962 – Steve Roach, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1963 – Paula Frazer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1963 – Billy Gould, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
• 1963 – Mano Solo, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2010)
• 1964 – Helga Arendt, German sprinter (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1964 – Djimon Hounsou, Beninese-American actor and producer
• 1964 – Witold Smorawiński, Polish guitarist, composer, and educator
• 1965 – Jeff Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1966 – Pierre Brassard, Canadian comedian and actor
• 1966 – Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1966 – David Usher, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1967 – Omar Vizquel, Venezuelan-American baseball player and coach
• 1968 – Aidan Gillen, Irish actor
• 1968 – Todd Jones, American baseball player
• 1968 – Roxanna Panufnik, English composer
• 1968 – Hashim Thaçi, Kosovan soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Kosovo
• 1969 – Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
• 1969 – Rory McCann, Scottish actor
• 1969 – Eilidh Whiteford, Scottish academic and politician
• 1970 – Damien Fleming, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
• 1971 – Kumar Dharmasena, Sri Lankan cricketer and umpire
• 1971 – Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
• 1972 – Chipper Jones, American baseball player
• 1972 – Jure Košir, Slovenian skier and singer
• 1973 – Gabby Logan, English gymnast and radio host
• 1973 – Damon Lindelof, American screenwriter and producer
• 1973 – Brian Marshall, American bass player and songwriter
• 1973 – Eric Snow, American basketball player and coach
• 1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
• 1973 – Toomas Tohver, Estonian footballer
• 1973 – Lee Westwood, English golfer
• 1974 – Eric Kripke, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1974 – Stephen Wiltshire, English illustrator
• 1975 – Dejan Savić, Yugoslavian and Serbian water polo player
• 1976 – Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
• 1976 – Frédéric Niemeyer, Canadian tennis player and coach
• 1977 – Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1977 – Diego Placente, Argentine footballer
• 1978 – Diego Quintana, Argentine footballer
• 1980 – Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
• 1980 – Karen Asrian, Armenian chess player (d. 2008)
• 1981 – Taylor Dent, American tennis player
• 1981 – Yuko Nakanishi, Japanese swimmer
• 1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1982 – David Oliver, American hurdler
• 1982 – Simon Tischer, German volleyball player
• 1983 – Hanna Melnychenko, Ukrainian heptathlete
• 1985 – Mike Rodgers, American sprinter
• 1986 – Aaron Cunningham, American baseball player
• 1987 – Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1987 – Kris Letang, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Rein Taaramäe, Estonian cyclist
• 1987 – Jan Vertonghen, Belgian footballer
• 1987 – Varun Dhawan, Indian actor
• 1989 – Elīna Babkina, Latvian basketball player
• 1989 – David Boudia, American diver
• 1989 – Taja Mohorčič, Slovenian tennis player
• 1990 – Kim Tae-ri, South Korean actress
• 1990 – Jan Veselý, Czech basketball player
• 1991 – Sigrid Agren, French-Swedish model
• 1991 – Morgan Ciprès, French figure skater
• 1991 – Batuhan Karadeniz, Turkish footballer
• 1992 – Joe Keery, American actor
• 1992 – Laura Kenny, English cyclist
• 1993 – Ben Davies, Welsh footballer
• 1994 – Caspar Lee, British-South African Youtuber
• 1996 – Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player
• 1997 – Lydia Ko, New Zealand golfer
• 1997 – Veronika Kudermetova, Russian tennis player
• 1998 – Ryan Newman, American actress

• 624 – Mellitus, saint and archbishop of Canterbury
• 1149 – Petronille de Chemillé, abbess of Fontevrault
• 1288 – Gertrude of Austria (b. 1226)
• 1338 – Theodore I, Marquess of Montferrat (b. 1291)
• 1479 – Jorge Manrique, Spanish poet (b. 1440)
• 1513 – Şehzade Ahmet, Ottoman prince (b. 1465)
• 1617 – Concino Concini, Italian-French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1575)
• 1622 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, German friar and saint (b. 1577)
• 1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
• 1731 – Daniel Defoe, English journalist, novelist, and spy (b. 1660)
• 1748 – Anton thor Helle, German-Estonian clergyman and translator (b. 1683)
• 1779 – Eleazar Wheelock, American minister and academic, founded Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
• 1794 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1719)
• 1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1783)
• 1891 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, German field marshal (b. 1800)
• 1924 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (b. 1844)
• 1931 – David Kldiashvili, Georgian author and playwright (b. 1862)
• 1935 – Anastasios Papoulas, Greek general (b. 1857)
• 1938 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
• 1939 – Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
• 1941 – Karin Boye, Swedish author and poet (b. 1900)
• 1942 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
• 1944 – Charles Jordan, American magician (b. 1888)
• 1945 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
• 1947 – Hans Biebow, German SS officer (b. 1902)
• 1947 – Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1873)
• 1948 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (b. 1863)
• 1954 – Guy Mairesse, French race car driver (b. 1910)
• 1960 – Max von Laue, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
• 1961 – Lee Moran, American actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1888)
• 1962 – Milt Franklyn, American composer (b. 1897)
• 1964 – Gerhard Domagk, German pathologist and bacteriologist (b. 1895)
• 1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
• 1966 – Simon Chikovani, Georgian poet and author (b. 1902)
• 1967 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
• 1967 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1885)
• 1970 – Otis Spann, American singer and pianist (b. 1930)
• 1972 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (b. 1892)
• 1974 – Bud Abbott, American comedian and producer (b. 1895)
• 1975 – Pete Ham, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
• 1976 – Mark Tobey, American-Swiss painter and educator (b. 1890)
• 1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (b. 1904)
• 1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish runner (b. 1896)
• 1983 – Erol Güngör, Turkish sociologist, psychologist, and academic (b. 1938)
• 1983 – Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
• 1984 – Rafael Pérez y Pérez, Spanish author (b. 1891)
• 1993 – Oliver Tambo, South African lawyer and activist (b. 1917)
• 1993 – Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese philosopher and theorist (b. 1917)
• 1995 – Lodewijk Bruckman, Dutch painter (b. 1903)
• 1997 – Allan Francovich, American director and producer (b. 1941)
• 1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and activist (b. 1927)
• 1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Josef Peters, German race car driver (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Johnny Valentine, American wrestler (b. 1928)
• 2002 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourgian sculptor (b. 1908)
• 2004 – José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and producer (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
• 2006 – Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)
• 2006 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Romanian-American rabbi and author (b. 1914)
• 2008 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect, designed Haas House (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1948)
• 2014 – Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (b. 1968)
• 2014 – Tadeusz Różewicz, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1921)
• 2015 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1922)
• 2016 – Tommy Kono, American weightlifter and coach (b. 1930)
• 2017 – Robert Pirsig, American author and philosopher (b. 1928)