From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

April 20 is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 255 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1303 – The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII.
• 1453 – The last naval battle in Byzantine history occurs, as three Genoese galleys escorting a Byzantine transport fight their way through the huge Ottoman blockade fleet and into the Golden Horn.
• 1534 – Jacques Cartier begins the voyage during which he discovers Canada and Labrador.
• 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
• 1657 – Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
• 1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
• 1689 – The former King James II of England, now deposed, lays siege to Derry.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: the Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
• 1792 – France declares war on Austria, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
• 1809 – Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon I of France at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four day campaign which ended in a French victory.
• 1810 – The Governor of Caracas declares independence from Spain.
• 1828 – René Caillié becomes the first non-Muslim to enter Timbouctou.
• 1836 – U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
• 1862 – Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the first pasteurization tests.
• 1871 – The Civil Rights Act of 1871 becomes law.
• 1884 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum Genus.
• 1902 – Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
• 1908 – Opening day of competition of the New South Wales Rugby League.
• 1912 – Opening day for baseball stadiums Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1914 – Forty-five men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a Colorado coal-miner's strike.
• 1916 – The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings
• 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day.
• 1926 – Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.
• 1939 – Billie Holiday records the first Civil Rights song "Strange Fruit".
• 1945 – World War II: US troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
• 1945 – World War II: Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
• 1961 – Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed troops against Cuba.
• 1964 – BBC Two launches with the power cut because of the fire at Battersea Power Station.
• 1968 – English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
• 1972 – Apollo 16 landed on the moon commanded by John Young.
• 1978 – Korean Air Flight 902 is shot down by Soviets.
• 1980 – Climax of Berber Spring in Algeria as hundreds of Berber political activists are arrested.
• 1984 – Good Friday Massacre was a horrific ice hockey playoff game in Montreal, Canada.
• 1985 – ATF raid on The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord compound in northern Arkansas.
• 1986 – Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
• 1986 – Professional basketball player Michael Jordan sets all-time record for points in an NBA playoff game with 63 against the Boston Celtics.
• 1998 – German terrorist group Red Army Faction announces their dissolution after 28 years.
• 1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado.
• 2007 – Johnson Space Center Shooting: A man with a handgun barricades himself in NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.
• 2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.

Births

• 571 – Muhammad, (traditional date) Prophet and founder of Islam (d. 632)
• 702 – Jafar Sadiq, Shi'a Imam and Muslim scholar (d. 765)
• 1494 – Johannes Agricola, German Protestant reformer (d. 1566)
• 1586 – Saint Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
• 1633 – Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (d. 1654)
• 1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist (d. 1704)
• 1650 – William Bedloe, English informer (d. 1680)
• 1668 – Yuri Troubetzkoy, Governor of Belgorod (d. 1739)
• 1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
• 1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American Continental Congress delegate (d. 1781)
• 1727 – Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-born Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
• 1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
• 1808 – Napoleon III of France, Emperor of the French (d. 1873)
• 1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-born inventor (d. 1893)
• 1826 – Dinah Craik, English author (d. 1887)
• 1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (d. 1931)
• 1851 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (d. 1875)
• 1870 – Maulvi Abdul Haq, Pakistani scholar (d. 1961)
• 1871 – Sydney Chapman, British economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
• 1879 – Paul Poiret, French couturier (d. 1944)
• 1882 – Holland Smith, U.S. General (d. 1967)
• 1884 – Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
• 1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish-born businessman and activist (d. 1996)
• 1889 – Adolf Hitler, German Nazi dictator (d. 1945)
• 1890 – Maurice Duplessis, premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
• 1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1893 – Edna Parker, American supercentenarian (d. 2008)
• 1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Emile Christian, American musician (d. 1973)
• 1896 – Wop May, Canadian aviator (d. 1952)
• 1896 – Henry de Montherlant, French writer (d. 1972)
• 1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1904 – George Stibitz, American scientist (d. 1995)
• 1907 – Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haitian president (d. 1971)
• 1908 – Lionel Hampton, American musician (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African–born psychotherapist (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Edward L. Beach, Jr., American naval officer, author (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian pilot and author (d. 1943)
• 1920 – John Paul Stevens, American jurist
• 1920 – Ronald Speirs, WWII Veteran (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Janine Sutto, French-Canadian actress
• 1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster
• 1923 – Tito Puente, American musician (d. 2000)
• 1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor
• 1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-born American actress (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Karl Alexander Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Gerald S. Hawkins, English astronomer (d. 2003)
• 1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, British businessman and peer
• 1936 – Pat Roberts, American politician
• 1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
• 1937 – George Takei, American actor
• 1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author
• 1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway
• 1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer
• 1941 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• 1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish writer
• 1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
• 1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor
• 1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
• 1946 – Julien Poulin, French Canadian actor
• 1946 – Gordon Smiley, American racecar driver (d. 1982)
• 1946 – Mel Winkler, American voice actor
• 1947 – Björn Skifs, Swedish singer (Blue Swede)
• 1947 – Ken Scott, English record producer and recording engineer
• 1947 – Andrew Tobias, American journalist and author
• 1947 – David Leland, British actor, director and screenwriter
• 1948 – Craig Frost, American musician (Grand Funk & Bob Seger)
• 1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor
• 1948 – Rémy Trudel, French Canadian politician
• 1949 – Massimo D'Alema, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
• 1949 – Veronica Cartwright, American actress
• 1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater and artist
• 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
• 1950 – Steve Erickson, American novelist
• 1950 – Aleksandr Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
• 1950 – Chandra Babu Naidu, Indian politician
• 1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1952 – Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball coach
• 1953 – Sebastian Faulks, British novelist
• 1954 – Gilles Lupien, French-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – Don Pettit, American Astronaut and Inventor
• 1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician
• 1957 – Geraint Wyn Davies, Welsh-born Canadian actor
• 1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1959 – Clint Howard, American actor
• 1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player
• 1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
• 1961 – Barry Smolin, American radio host, writer, and musician
• 1961 – Ralph Cirella, American radio personality
• 1962 – Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr. (AKA: Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf), American radio personality (d. 2001)
• 1963 – Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver
• 1963 – Aubrey de Grey, British biomedical gerontologist
• 1964 – Crispin Glover, American actor
• 1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor
• 1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
• 1965 – Kostas Hatzidakis, Greek politician
• 1965 – Adrian Fernández, Mexican racing driver
• 1965 – April March, American musician
• 1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher
• 1967 – Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
• 1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer (Dream Theater)
• 1967 – Lara Jill Miller, American actress
• 1968 – J. D. Roth, American game show host and television personality
• 1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor
• 1970 – Adriano Moraes, Brazilian rodeo performer
• 1971 – Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer
• 1971 – Allan Houston, American basketball player
• 1971 – Tina Cousins, English singer
• 1972 – Carmen Electra, American actress
• 1972 – Le Huynh Đuc, Vietnamese footballer
• 1972 – Stephen Marley, Jamaican musician
• 1973 – Geoff Lloyd, British radio presenter
• 1976 – Joey Lawrence, American actor
• 1976 – Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
• 1976 – Shay Given, Irish footballer
• 1977 – Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli, professional wrestler
• 1978 – Mirei Kuroda, Japanese gravure idol
• 1979 – Quinn Weng, Taiwanese singer (Seraphim)
• 1980 – Jasmin Wagner, German singer
• 1980 – Chris Duffy, American baseball player
• 1981 – Matus Valent, male fitness model
• 1983 – Danny Granger, American basketball player
• 1983 – Terrence J, American television host
• 1983 – Joanne King, Irish/English Actress
• 1983 – Miranda Kerr, Australian supermodel
• 1985 – Greg Lutzka, American Skateboarder
• 1984 – Tyson Griffin, American mixed martial artist
• 1986 – Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (d. 2003)
• 1987 – John Patrick Amedori, American actor

Deaths

• 1176 – Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English soldier (b. 1130)
• 1314 – Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
• 1521 – Zhengde, Emperor of China (b. 1491)
• 1534 – Elizabeth Barton, English nun (executed)
• 1558 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German reformer (b. 1485)
• 1643 – Christoph Demantius, German composer (b. 1567)
• 1703 – Lancelot Addison, English royal chaplain (b. 1632)
• 1765 – Abigail Williams, American accuser in the Salem witch trials (b. 1674)
• 1769 – Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa
• 1831 – John Abernethy, English surgeon (b. 1764)
• 1873 – William Tite, English architect (b. 1798)
• 1874 – Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (b. 1817)
• 1887 – Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Egyptian statesman (b. 1826)
• 1899 – Joseph Wolf, German artist (b. 1820)
• 1912 – Bram Stoker, Irish author (b. 1847)
• 1918 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
• 1929 – Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia (b. 1862)
• 1932 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (b. 1858)
• 1945 – Erwin Bumke, German jurist (b. 1874)
• 1947 – King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
• 1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
• 1964 – Eddie Dyer, American baseball player (b. 1899)
• 1977 – Sepp Herberger, German football coach (b. 1897)
• 1982 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet and Librarian of Congress (b. 1892)
• 1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer (b. 1943)
• 1986 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist, journalist and writer (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Doru Davidovici, Romanian writer and fighter pilot (b. 1945)
• 1991 – Steve Marriott, British singer and songwriter (Humble Pie) (b. 1947)
• 1991 – Don Siegel, American film director (b. 1912)
• 1993 – Cantinflas, Mexican comedian and actor (b. 1911)
• 1994 – Jean Carmet, French actor (b. 1920)
• 1996 – Christopher Robin Milne, son of A.A. Milne (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
• 1999 – Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist and comedian (b. 1896)
• 1999 – Eric David Harris, perpetrator of the Columbine High massacre (b. 1981)
• 1999 – Dylan Klebold, perpetrator of the Columbine High massacre (b. 1981)
• 1999 – Cassie Bernall, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
• 1999 – Rachel Joy Scott, Columbine High School massacre victim (b. 1981)
• 2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
• 2002 – Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
• 2003 – Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
• 2003 – Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Fumio Niwa, Japanese novelist (b. 1904)
• 2005 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (b. 1943)
• 2006 – Anna Svidersky (b. 1988)
• 2007 – Andrew Hill, American jazz composer and pianist (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931).
• 2007 – Fred Fish, a computer programmer on the GNU Debugger and "Fish disks" (b. 1952)
• 2008 – VL Mike, American rapper (b. 1976)
• 2008 – Monica Lovinescu, Romanian essayist, literary critic and journalist (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Beata Asimakopoulou, Greek actress (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Ridván begins at sunset (Bahá'í Faith).
• Saint Agnes of Montepulciano
• Saint Theotimus (d. 407)
• Blessed Oda (d. 1158)
• 4/20, a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis that is known simply as "4/20"

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped. ~ Elbert Hubbard

• selected by Kalki

2005

Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the Lord's vineyard. The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. ~ Pope Benedict XVI (recent papal election)

• selected by Kalki

2006

Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. ~ Dinah Craik (born 20 April 1826)

• selected by Kalki

2007

It may often be noticed, the less virtuous people are, the more they shrink away from the slightest whiff of the odour of un-sanctity. The good are ever the most charitable, the pure are the most brave. ~ Dinah Craik

• proposed by Kalki

2008

The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. ... Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story. ~ Peter S. Beagle in The Last Unicorn

• proposed by Kalki

2009

Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. I say cultivate, because to very few people — as may be noticed of most young children — does truth, this rigid, literal veracity, come by nature. To many, even who love it and prize it dearly in others, it comes only after the self-control, watchfulness, and bitter experience of years. ~ Dinah Craik

• proposed by Kalki

2010

Suggestions

Society, in the aggregate, is no fool. It is astonishing what an amount of "eccentricity" it will stand from anybody who takes the bull by the horns, too fearless or too indifferent to think of consequences. ~ Dinah Craik

• 3 Kalki 18:38, 18 April 2007 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
• 4 InvisibleSun 07:48, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 23:58, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

There was never a night that had no morn. ~ Dinah Craik

• 3 Kalki 18:38, 18 April 2007 (UTC) with a strong lean towards a 4, but for tactical reasons ranking the first Craik quote a 4 for this year.
• 2 InvisibleSun 07:48, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 23:58, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

If freedom is short of weapons, we must compensate with willpower. ~ Adolf Hitler (born April 20)

• 3 Zarbon 06:12, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki 17:13, 19 April 2008 (UTC) The statements and innumerable hypocrisies of Hitler are not such things as if find to be great material for qoute of the day.

I have not come into this world to make men better, but to make use of their weaknesses. ~ Adolf Hitler (born April 20)

• 3 Zarbon 06:12, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki 17:13, 19 April 2008 (UTC) I might have some desire to use this eventually, but no strong desire to use anything by Hitler for quote of the day.

The god of war has gone over to the other side. ~ Adolf Hitler (born April 20)

• 4 Zarbon 06:12, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 17:13, 19 April 2008 (UTC) I have some desire to use this eventually, but no desire to use it any time soon.

Life never forgives weaknesses. ~ Adolf Hitler (born April 20)

• 3 Zarbon 06:12, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki 17:13, 19 April 2008 (UTC) I might have some desire to use this eventually, but no strong desire to use anything by Hitler for quote of the day.

Schmendrick stepped out into the open and said a few words. They were short words, undistinguished either by melody or harshness, and Schmendrick himself could not hear them for the Red Bull's dreadful bawling. But he knew what they meant, and he knew exactly how to say them, and he knew that he could say them again when he wanted to, in the same way or in a different way. Now he spoke them gently and with joy, and as did so he felt his immortality fall from him like an armour, or like a shroud. ~ Peter S. Beagle in The Last Unicorn

• 3 Kalki 17:48, 19 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 18:59, 19 April 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 23:58, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

The rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be. ... In all their wars against the French they never showed such conduct, attention, and perseverance as they do now. ~ General Thomas Gage, on the Siege of Boston, which began on 20 April 1776

• 3 Kalki 20:48, 20 April 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 23:58, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

My people are in the world again. No sorrow will live in my heart as long as that joy — save one, and I thank you for that, too. ~ Peter S. Beagle in The Last Unicorn

• 2 Kalki 00:58, 18 April 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3 or an eventual 4.
• 1 Zarbon 15:21, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

The Unicorn Sonata ... tells us that our true home is often right around the corner, if we'd only open our eyes — and our ears — to find it. ~ Peter S. Beagle

• 3 Kalki 00:58, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:21, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Games released on April 20.

From Familypedia

April 20 is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 255 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII.
• 1534 - Jacques Cartier begins his voyage, in which he will discover Canada and Labrador.
• 1653 - Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
• 1657 - Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
• 1657 - Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
• 1689 - The former King James II of England, now deposed, lays siege to Derry.
• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: the siege of Boston begins, which followed the first battles at Lexington and Concord.
• 1792 - France declares war on Austria, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
• 1810 - The Governors of Caracas declares the national sovereignty from Spain.
• 1828 - René Caillié is first non-Muslim to enter in Timbouctou.
• 1836 - U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
• 1862 - The first pasteurization test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard.
• 1871 - Civil Rights Act of 1871
• 1884 - Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical, Humanum Genus.
• 1902 - Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
• 1908 - Opening day of competition of the New South Wales Rugby League.
• 1912 - Opening day for baseball stadiums Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1914 - Seventeen men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a bitter Colorado coal-miner's strike.
• 1918 - Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day.
• 1926 - Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.
• 1945 - World War II: US troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
• 1945 - World War II: U.S. B-29 bombers destroy the Musashi Aircraft plants, halting production of the Nakajima Ki-84 fighter planes.
• 1945 - Mayor of Leipzig, Germany, killed himself along with his wife and daughter
• 1961 - Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US troops against Cuba.
• 1962 - First production of Bentlage brand cigars, Habana, Cuba.
• 1964 - BBC Two launches with the power cut because of the fire at Battersea Power Station.
• 1967 - A Swiss Bristol Britannia turboprop crashes at Nicosia, Cyprus, killing 126.
• 1968 - A South African Airways Boeing 707 crashes during takeoff at Windhoek, South-West Africa, killing 122.
• 1968 - English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
• 1972 - Apollo 16 lands on the Moon.
• 1978 - Korean Air Flight 902 shot down by Soviets.
• 1980 - Climax of Berber Spring in Algeria as hundreds of Berber political activists are arrested.
• 1985 - ATF raid on The Covenant compound in northern Arkansas.
• 1986 - Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performed in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
• 1986 - Professional basketball player Michael Jordan sets all-time record for points in a NBA playoff game with 63 against the Boston Celtics.
• 1998 - TAME Boeing 727-200 chartered by Air France crashes into Cerro El Cable mountain after takeoff from Bogotá, Colombia, killing 53.
• 1998 - German terrorist group Red Army Faction announces their dissolution after 28 years.
• 1999 - The Columbine High School massacre leaves 15 people (including the two gunmen) dead and 24 wounded in Jefferson County, Colorado.
• 2004 - In Iraq, 12 mortars are fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents, killing 22 detainees and wounding 92.
• 2007 - Johnson Space Center Shooting: A man with a hand gun barricades himself in NASA's Johnson Space Center before killing a male hostage and himself.

Births

• 570 - Prophet Muhammed, founder of Islam (d. 632) (date disputed)
• 702 - Jafar Sadiq, Muslim scholar (d. 765)
• 1494 - Johannes Agricola, German Protestant reformer (d. 1566)
• 1586 - Saint Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
• 1633 - Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (d. 1654)
• 1646 - Charles Plumier, French botanist (d. 1704)
• 1650 - William Bedloe, English informer (d. 1680)
• 1668 - Yuri Troubetzkoy, Governor of Belgorod (d. 1739)
• 1718 - David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
• 1723 - Cornelius Harnett, American delegate to the Continental Congress (d. 1781)
• 1745 - Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826)
• 1808 - Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (d. 1873)
• 1818 - Heinrich Göbel, German-born inventor (d. 1893)
• 1826 - Dinah Craik, English author (d. 1887)
• 1850 - Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (d. 1931)
• 1851 - Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (d. 1875)
• 1870 - Maulvi Abdul Haq, Father of Urdu, Pakistani scholar (d.1961)
• 1879 - Paul Poiret, French couturier (d. 1944)
• 1882 - Holland Smith, U.S. General (d. 1967)
• 1889 - Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish-born businessman and social activist (d. 1996)
• 1889 - Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)
• 1890 - Maurice Duplessis, premier of Québec, known as "Le Chef" (d. 1959)
• 1891 - Caresse Crosby, American poet (d. 1970)
• 1893 - Harold Lloyd, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1893 - Joan Miró, Spanish Catalan painter (d. 1983)
• 1895 - Emile Christian, American musician (d. 1973)
• 1896 - Wop May, Canadian aviator (d. 1952)
• 1904 - Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1904 - George Stibitz, American scientist (d. 1995)
• 1908 - Lionel Hampton, American musician (d. 2002)
• 1914 - Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1915 - Joseph Wolpe, South African-born psychotherapist (d. 1997)
• 1918 - Edward L. Beach, American naval officer, author (d. 2002)
• 1918 - Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1919 - Richard Hillary, Australian Spitfire pilot and author (d. 1943)
• 1920 - John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• 1920 - Ronald Speirs, WWII Veteran (d. 2007)
• 1921 - Janine Sutto, French Canadian actress
• 1923 - Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster
• 1923 - Tito Puente, American musician (d. 2000)
• 1924 - Leslie Phillips, English actor
• 1925 - Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (d. 2006)
• 1927 - Karl Alexander Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1928 - Johnny Gavin, Irish footballer (d. 2007)
• 1928 - Gerald S. Hawkins, English astronomer (d. 2003)
• 1936 - Pat Roberts, American politician
• 1937 - George Takei, American actor
• 1939 - Peter S. Beagle, American author
• 1939 - Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway
• 1939 - Johnny Tillotson, American singer
• 1941 - Ryan O'Neal, American actor
• 1943 - John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
• 1943 - Edie Sedgwick, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1945 - Michael Brandon, American actor
• 1945 - Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
• 1946 - Julien Poulin, French Canadian actor
• 1946 - Mel Winkler, American voice actor
• 1947 - Björn Skifs, Swedish singer (Blue Swede)
• 1947 - Andrew Tobias, American journalist and author
• 1947 - David Leland, British actor, director and screenwriter
• 1948 - Craig Frost, American musician (Grand Funk & Bob Seger)
• 1948 - Adolf Lu Hitler Marak, Indian politician
• 1948 - Gregory Itzin, American actor
• 1948 - Rémy Trudel, French Canadian politician
• 1949 - Massimo D'Alema, Prime Minister of Italy
• 1949 - Veronica Cartwright, American actress
• 1949 - Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater and artist
• 1949 - Jessica Lange, American actress
• 1950 - Steve Erickson, American novelist
• 1950 - Aleksandr Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
• 1950 - Chandra Babu Naidu, Indian politician
• 1951 - Luther Vandross, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1952 - Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball coach
• 1953 - Sebastian Faulks, British novelist
• 1953 - Michael Q. Schmidt, American actor and model
• 1954 - Gilles Lupien, French Canadian ice hockey player
• 1956 - Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician
• 1957 - Geraint Wyn Davies, Welsh-Canadian actor
• 1958 - Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1961 - Don Mattingly, American baseball player
• 1961 - Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
• 1963 - Mauricio Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver
• 1963 - Aubrey de Grey, English pro-life activist
• 1964 - Crispin Glover, American actor
• 1964 - Andy Serkis, English actor
• 1964 - Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
• 1965 - Ralph Cirella, stylist and friend of Howard Stern
• 1965 - Adrian Fernández, Mexican racing driver
• 1967 - Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
• 1967 - Mike Portnoy, American drummer (Dream Theater)
• 1967 - Lara Jill Miller, American actress
• 1968 - J.D. Roth, American game show host and television personality
• 1970 - Shemar Moore, American actor
• 1970 - Adriano Moraes, Brazilian rodeo performer
• 1971 - Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer
• 1971 - Allan Houston, basketball player
• 1971 - Tina Cousins, English singer
• 1972 - Carmen Electra, American actress
• 1972 - Le Huynh Đuc, Vietnamese footballer
• 1972 - Stephen Marley, Jamaican musician
• 1973 - Geoff Lloyd, British radio presenter
• 1976 - Joey Lawrence, American actor
• 1976 - Shay Given, Irish footballer
• 1977 - Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli, professional wrestler
• 1978 - Mirei Kuroda, Japanese gravure idol
• 1980 - Jasmin Wagner, German singer
• 1981 - Matus Valent, male fitness model
• 1983 - Terrence J, American television host
• 1986 - Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (d. 2003)

Deaths

• 1176 - Richard de Clare, English soldier (b. 1130)
• 1314 - Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
• 1521 - Zhengde, Emperor of China (b. 1491)
• 1534 - Elizabeth Barton, English nun (executed)
• 1558 - Johannes Bugenhagen, German reformer (b. 1485)
• 1643 - Christoph Demantius, German composer (b. 1567)
• 1703 - Lancelot Addison, English royal chaplain (b. 1632)
• 1765 - Abigail Williams, American accuser in the Salem witch trials (b. 1674)
• 1769 - Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawa
• 1831 - John Abernethy, English surgeon (b. 1764)
• 1874 - Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (b. 1817)
• 1887 - Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Egyptian statesman (b. 1826)
• 1873 - William Tite, English architect (b. 1798)
• 1899 - Joseph Wolf, German artist (b. 1820)
• 1912 - Bram Stoker, Irish author (b. 1847)
• 1918 - Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
• 1932 - Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (b. 1858)
• 1945 - Erwin Bumke, German jurist (b. 1874)
• 1947 - King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
• 1951 - Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
• 1964 - Eddie Dyer, baseball player (b. 1899)
• 1977 - Sepp Herberger, German football coach (b. 1897)
• 1982 - Archibald MacLeish, American poet and Librarian of Congress (b. 1892)
• 1984 - Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer (b. 1943)
• 1986 - Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist, journalist and writer (b. 1916)
• 1989 - Doru Davidovici, Romanian writer and fighter pilot (b. 1945)
• 1991 - Don Siegel, American film director (b. 1912)
• 1992 - Benny Hill, British comedian (b. 1924)
• 1993 - Cantinflas, Mexican comedian and actor (b. 1911)
• 1994 - Jean Carmet, French actor (b. 1920)
• 1996 - Christopher Robin Milne, son of A.A. Milne (b. 1920)
• 1999 - Victims of the Columbine High School massacre
• 1999 - Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
• 1999 - Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist and comedian (b. 1896)
• 2001 - Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
• 2002 - Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
• 2003 - Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
• 2003 - Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
• 2005 - Fumio Niwa, Japanese novelist (b. 1904)
• 2005 - Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (b. 1943)
• 2006 - Anna Svidersky (b. 1988)
• 2007 - Andrew Hill, American jazz composer and pianist (b. 1931)
• 2007 - Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances

• Ridván begins at sunset (Bahá'í Faith).
• 4/20 in cannabis culture.

Liturgical feasts

• Saint Agnes of Montepulciano
• Saint Marcellinus
• Saint Victor (d. 303)
• Saint Theotimus (d. 407)
• Blessed Oda (d. 1158)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada