From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
April 15 is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 260 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 1912 The British passenger liner, the RMS Titanic, sinks in the North Atlantic, after hitting an iceberg two and a half hours earlier, the previous day.
- 1920 Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti allegedly murder two security guards while robbing a shoe store.
- 1921 Black Friday, mine owners announce increase in wages and price cuts leading to the threat of a strike all across England
- 1923 Insulin becomes generally available for use by diabetics.
- 1924 Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
- 1940 The Allies begin their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which is occupied by Nazi Germany.
- 1941 In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attack Belfast, Northern Ireland killing one thousand people.
- 1942 George Cross is awarded to "to the island fortress of Malta its people and defenders" by King George VI.
- 1943 An Allied bomber attack misses the Minerva automobile factory and hits the Belgian town of Mortsel instead, killing 936 civilians.
- 1945 The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
- 1947 Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.
- 1952 The maiden flight of the B-52 Stratofortress
- 1957 White Rock, British Columbia officially separates from Surrey, British Columbia and is incorporated as a new city.
- 1967 Scotland defeats rival England 3-2 at Wembley Stadium, causing the Scots fans to jokingly claim their side as "Unofficial world Champions", creating the phenomenon of the Unofficial Football World Championships.
- 1979 A disastrous earthquake (of M 7.1) on Montenegro coast.
- 1986 The United States launches its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
- 1989 Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of football club Sheffield Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool F.C. fans.
- 1989 Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China.
- 1992 The National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- 1994 Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and initiating the World Trade Organization (effective January 1, 1995).
- 2002 An Air China Boeing 767-200, flight CA129 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Busan, South Korea, killing 128.
- 2008 6 Students and 1 teacher from Elim Christian College situated in Auckland, New Zealand tragically drowned in a flash flood in the Mangetepopo River.
[edit] Births
- 1452 Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance polymath (d. 1519)
- 1469 Guru Nanak Dev, Founder of Sikhism (d. 1539)
- 1489 Sinan, Ottoman architect (d. 1588)
- 1552 Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (d. 1626)
- 1588 Claudius Salmasius, French classical scholar (d. 1653)
- 1641 Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician (d. 1722)
- 1642 Suleiman II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1691)
- 1646 King Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
- 1646 Pierre Poiret, French mystic (d. 1719)
- 1684 Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
- 1688 Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (d. 1758)
- 1707 Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (d. 1783)
- 1710 William Cullen, Scottish physician (d. 1790)
- 1721 Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, English military leader (d. 1765)
- 1741 Charles Willson Peale, American painter, soldier and naturalist (d. 1827)
- 1772 Ιtienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist (d. 1844)
- 1793 Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer (d. 1864)
- 1794 Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist (d. 1867)
- 1800 James Clark Ross, English explorer (d. 1862)
- 1809 Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician (d. 1877)
- 1832 Wilhelm Busch, German poet (d. 1908)
- 1841 Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian distillery founder (d. 1919)
- 1843 Henry James, American author (d. 1916)
- 1858 Ιmile Durkheim, French sociologist (d. 1917)
- 1861 Bliss Carman, Canadian poet (d. 1929)
- 1874 George Harrison Shull, American plant geneticist (d. 1954)
- 1874 Johannes Stark, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
- 1875 James J. Jeffries, American heavyweight boxer (d. 1953)
- 1878 Robert Walser, Swiss writer (d. 1956)
- 1879 Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer (d. 1980)
- 1883 Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
- 1885 Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
- 1886 Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet (d. 1921)
- 1888 Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (d. 1904)
- 1889 Thomas Hart Benton, American muralist (d. 1975)
- 1889 A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
- 1892 Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (d. 1983)
- 1892 Theo Osterkamp, World War I and World War II German fighter pilot (d. 1975)
- 1894 Bessie Smith, American blues singer (d. 1937)
- 1895 Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards player (d. 1980)
- 1896 Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, Russian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)
- 1901 Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
- 1902 Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
- 1904 Arshile Gorky, Armenian Artist (d. 1948)
- 1907 Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ethologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)
- 1908 Eden Ahbez, American songwriter (d. 1995)
- 1908 Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1910 Miguel Najdorf, Argentine chess grandmaster (d. 1997)
- 1912 Kim Il-sung, President of North Korea (d. 1994)
- 1916 Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
- 1917 Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1917 James Kee, American politician (d. 1989)
- 1920 Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist
- 1920 Richard von Weizsδcker, President of Germany
- 1921 Georgi Beregovoi, Russian cosmonaut (d. 1995)
- 1922 Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor
- 1922 Harold Washington, American politician (d. 1987)
- 1924 Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor
- 1927 Robert Mills, American physicist (d. 1999)
- 1930 Vigdνs Finnbogadσttir, President of Iceland
- 1933 Roy Clark, American musician
- 1933 David Hamilton, British photographer, film director and producer
- 1933 Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1933 Boris Strugatsky, Russian author
- 1936 Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
- 1937 Bob Luman, American country singer (d. 1978)
- 1938 Hso Khan Pha, Burmese politician
- 1939 Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born actress
- 1939 Marty Wilde, British singer
- 1940 Jeffrey Archer, British author
- 1940 Willie Davis, American baseball player
- 1940 Woodie Fryman, American baseball player
- 1940 Robert Lacroix, French Canadian professor of economics
- 1940 Robert Walker Jr., American actor
- 1941 Howard Berman, American politician
- 1942 Francis X. DiLorenzo, American Catholic prelate
- 1942 Walt Hazzard, American basketball player
- 1942 Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
- 1944 Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (d. 1996)
- 1944 Dave Edmunds, Welsh musician
- 1947 Lois Chiles, American actress
- 1947 Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish politician
- 1947 Mike Chapman, British songwriter
- 1947 Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American writer and television producer
- 1948 Michael Kamen, American composer (d. 2003)
- 1949 Tonio K, American singer
- 1949 Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer
- 1949 Craig Zadan, American film producer
- 1950 Josiane Balasko, French actress, director and screenwriter
- 1950 Amy Wright, American actress
- 1951 Heloise, American newspaper columnist
- 1952 Bengt Gingsjφ, Swedish swimmer
- 1952 Kym Gyngell, Australian comedian
- 1952 Sam McMurray, American actor
- 1954 Seka, American pornographic actress
- 1955 Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997)
- 1956 Michael Cooper, American basketball player
- 1957 Evelyn Ashford, American athlete
- 1958 Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 Dolores Gordon-Smith, British Writer
- 1958 Noni Ιoannidou, Greek fashion model and actress
- 1958 Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer
- 1959 Fruit Chan, Hong Kong film director
- 1959 Emma Thompson, English actress
- 1959 Thomas F. Wilson, American actor
- 1959 Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player and general manager
- 1960 Tony Jones (snooker), English snooker player
- 1960 Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist
- 1960 HRH Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, heir to the Belgian throne
- 1962 Surjit Bindrakhia, Punjabi Bhangra singer
- 1962 Nawal El Moutawakel, Morrocan hurdler
- 1962 Tom Kane, American voice actor
- 1963 Bobby Pepper, American journalist
- 1965 Linda Perry, American musician
- 1966 Samantha Fox, English singer
- 1967 Frankie Poullain, British musician (The Darkness)
- 1967 Dara Torres, American swimmer
- 1967 Alt, Brazilian comic creator
- 1968 Ed O'Brien, British musician (Radiohead)
- 1968 Stacey Williams, American model
- 1969 Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
- 1969 Jimmy Waite, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1970 Flex Alexander, American actor
- 1971 Katy Hill, British television presenter
- 1971 Sarah Jane Hamilton, British pornographic actress
- 1971 Jason Sehorn, American football player
- 1972 Lou Romano, American voice actor
- 1972 Arturo Gatti, Canadian boxer
- 1974 Mike Quinn, American football player
- 1974 Keith Malley, American comedian and podcaster (Keith and The Girl)
- 1974 Danny Pino, American actor
- 1974 Douglas Spain, American actor
- 1974 Josh Todd, American musician (Buckcherry)
- 1975 Paul Dana, American race car driver (d. 2006)
- 1976 Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 Susan Ward, American actress
- 1977 Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
- 1978 Austin Aries, American wrestler
- 1978 Milton Bradley, American baseball player
- 1978 Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
- 1980 Natalie Casey, British actress
- 1980 James Foster, English cricketer
- 1980 Raϊl Lσpez, Spanish basketball player
- 1980 Victor Nϊρez, Costa Rican footballer
- 1980 Willie Mason, Australian Rugby League Player
- 1980 Frδnk Schleck, Luxembourgish cyclist
- 1981 Andrιs D'Alessandro, Argentine football player
- 1981 Seth Wulsin, American artist
- 1982 Anthony Green, American musician
- 1982 Seth Rogen, Canadian actor and writer
- 1982 Albert Riera, Spanish footballer
- 1982 Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
- 1983 Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
- 1983 Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
- 1983 Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 Bronson La'Cassie, Australian professional golfer
- 1984 Rodney Carney, NBA athlete
- 1984 Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
- 1984 Ben Kasica, Guitarist of rock band Skillet
- 1985 John Danks, American baseball player
- 1985 Aaron Laffey, American baseball player
- 1986 Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Dutch footballer
- 1986 Tom Heaton, English footballer
- 1990 Emma Watson, English actress
- 1991 Daiki Arioka, Japanese Actor and Singer
- 1992 Amy Diamond, Swedish singer
- 1993 Madeleine Martin, American television actress
[edit] Deaths
- 1053 Godwin, Earl of Wessex
- 1220 Adolf of Altena, Archbishop of Cologne
- 1415 Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek humanist and grammarian
- 1446 Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377)
- 1610 Robert Parsons, English Jesuit priest (b. 1546)
- 1621 John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony
- 1632 George Calvert, Proprietor of the Avalon (Maryland) Colony (b. 1580)
- 1641 Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (b. 1581)
- 1652 Patriarch Joseph, head of the Russian Orthodox Church
- 1659 Simon Dach, German poet (b. 1605)
- 1704 Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (b. 1628)
- 1719 Franηoise d'Aubignι, marquise de Maintenon, second wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
- 1754 Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (b. 1676)
- 1761 Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician (b. 1682)
- 1761 William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (b. 1696)
- 1764 Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1721)
- 1764 Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer (b. 1679)
- 1765 Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scientist and writer (b. 1711)
- 1788 Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
- 1793 Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary and geographer (b. 1718)
- 1804 Charles Pichegru, French general (strangled in prison) (b. 1761)
- 1854 Arthur Aikin, English chemist, mineralogist, and writer (b. 1773)
- 1865 Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
- 1888 Matthew Arnold, English poet (b. 1822)
- 1889 Father Damien, Belgian missionary (b. 1840)
- 1898 Kepa Te Rangihiwinui, Maori military leader
- 1912 Edward Smith, captain of the RMS Titanic (b. 1850)
- 1912 Jack Phillips, British wireless telegraphist. (b. 1887)
- 1912 John Jacob Astor IV, billionaire (b. 1864)
- 1912 Thomas Andrews (shipbuilder), was an Irish-born businessman and shipbuilder. (b. 1873)
- 1912 William T. Stead American author and journalist. (b. 1849)
- 1927 Gaston Leroux, French writer (b. 1868)
- 1938 Cιsar Vallejo, Peruvian poet (b. 1892)
- 1942 Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (b. 1880)
- 1943 Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1882)
- 1945 Hermann Florstedt, Nazi leader (b. 1895)
- 1948 Radola Gajda, Czech military commander and politician (d. 1892)
- 1949 Wallace Beery, American actor (b. 1885)
- 1957 Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer (b. 1917)
- 1962 Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1881)
- 1962 Arsenio Lacson, Filipino politician and sportswriter (b. 1911)
- 1963 Edward "Carji" Greeves, Australian rules footballer (b. 1903)
- 1969 Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain (b. 1887)
- 1970 Ripper Collins, American baseball player (b. 1904)
- 1971 Dan Reeves, American football team owner (b. 1912)
- 1974 Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (b. 1906)
- 1975 Richard Conte, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1980 Raymond Bailey, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1980 Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1905)
- 1982 Arthur Lowe, British actor (b. 1915)
- 1983 Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (b. 1892)
- 1984 Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician (b. 1921)
- 1984 Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer (b. 1925)
- 1986 Jean Genet, French author (b. 1910)
- 1988 Kenneth Williams, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 1988 Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist (b. 1954)
- 1989 Nesuhi Ertegόn, American record executive (b. 1917)
- 1989 Hu Yaobang, Chinese politician (b. 1915)
- 1990 Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b. 1905)
- 1992 Otis Barton, American deep-sea diver, inventor and actor (b. 1899)
- 1993 John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist (b. 1908)
- 1993 Leslie Charteris, Singapore-born author (b. 1907)
- 1994 John Curry, English figure skater (b. 1949)
- 1995 Harry Shoulberg, American painter, serigrapher (b. 1903)
- 1998 Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (b. 1925)
- 1999 Harvey Postlethwaite, British engineer and racing car designer (b. 1944)
- 2000 Edward Gorey, American illustrator (b. 1925)
- 2001 Joey Ramone, American musician and singer (The Ramones) (b. 1951)
- 2002 Damon Knight, American author (b. 1922)
- 2002 Byron "Whizzer" White, American football player and U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917)
- 2003 Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (b. 1941)
- 2003 Reg Bundy, British performer (b. 1941)
- 2004 Ray Condo, Canadian musician (b. 1950)
- 2005 John Fred, American singer (b. 1941)
- 2007 Brant Parker, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
- 2008 Krister Stendahl, Swedish Lutheran theologian and bishop (b. 1921)
- 2008 Benoξt Lamy, Belgian movie director (b. 1945)
[edit] Holidays and observances