April 16 is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 259 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 1457 BC – Likely date of the Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh, the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.
- 1178 BC – The calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus' return home from the Trojan War.
- 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.
- 1346 – Dušan the Mighty is proclaimed Emperor, with the Serbian Empire occupying much of the Balkans.
- 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.
- 1521 – Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
- 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
- 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland after the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
- 1780 – The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.
- 1799 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
- 1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada.
- 1847 – The accidental shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand land wars.
- 1853 – The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
- 1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
- 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
- 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
- 1917 – Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Switzerland.
- 1919 – Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British.
- 1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
- 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
- 1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
- 1941 – World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
- 1941 – Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
- 1944 – Allied forces started bombing of Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
- 1945 – 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.
- 1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
- 1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
- 1947 – Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
- 1947 – Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1953 – Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia.
- 1962 – Walter Cronkite takes over as the lead news anchor of the CBS Evening News, during which time he would become "the most trusted man in America".
- 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
- 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1990 – The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
- 1992 – The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
- 2001 – India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
- 2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
- 2007 – Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest spree shooting in modern American history. Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 and injures 23 before committing suicide.
- 2007 – President of Côte d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo declares the First Ivorian Civil War to be over.
[edit] Births
- 778 – King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
- 1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
- 1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
- 1516 – Tabinshwehti, King of Burma (d. 1550)
- 1646 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
- 1660 – Sir Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
- 1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
- 1682 – John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)
- 1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer (d. 1738)
- 1693 – Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
- 1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German composer and organist (d. 1778)
- 1728 – Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
- 1730 – Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
- 1755 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
- 1786 – John Franklin, British navy officer and Arctic explorer (d. 1847)
- 1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
- 1821 – Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
- 1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
- 1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet (d. 1879)
- 1844 – Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
- 1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss architect (d. 1906)
- 1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian social reformer (d. 1919)
- 1859 – Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, Welsh socialite (d. 1924)
- 1865 – Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
- 1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
- 1867 – Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
- 1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
- 1878 – Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
- 1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and prolific composer (d. 1972)
- 1885 – Leo Weiner, Hungarian composer and music educator (d. 1960)
- 1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
- 1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and filmmaker (d. 1977)
- 1890 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek javelin thrower, Olympic medal winner (d. 1957)
- 1893 – Germaine Gučvremont, Canadian novelist (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
- 1896 – Pat Clayton, British surveyor and explorer (d. 1962)
- 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
- 1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
- 1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
- 1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman (d. 1964)
- 1908 – Ray Ventura, French bandleader (d. 1979)
- 1910 – Berton Roueché, American medical writer (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Joan Alexander, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Dick Gibson, British racing driver (d. 2010)
- 1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
- 1922 – Pat Peppler, American pro football coach and executive
- 1922 – Léo Tindemans, Belgian politician
- 1924 – Sir John Harvey-Jones, British industrialist (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
- 1927 – Edie Adams, American actress (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
- 1927 – Peter Mark Richman, American actor
- 1928 – Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
- 1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
- 1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1930 – Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
- 1933 – Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
- 1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet
- 1935 – Marcel Carričre, Canadian film director and screenwriter
- 1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
- 1937 – George "The Animal" Steele, American professional wrestler
- 1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
- 1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player
- 1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
- 1939 – Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008)
- 1940 – Margrethe II of Denmark
- 1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian politician
- 1942 – Sir Frank Williams, English Formula One constructor and team principal
- 1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
- 1943 – Ruth Madoc, Welsh actress
- 1943 – Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
- 1944 – Richard Bradshaw British opera conductor
- 1945 – Tom Allen, American politician
- 1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist
- 1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
- 1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1948 – Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
- 1949 – Melody Patterson, American actress
- 1950 – Robert Dutil, Canadian politician
- 1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
- 1951 – Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
- 1951 – Mordechai Ben David, American Yiddish singer
- 1952 – Bill Belichick, American football coach
- 1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor
- 1952 – Billy West, American voice actor
- 1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer (Midnight Oil)
- 1953 – J. Neil Schulman, American writer
- 1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
- 1954 – John Bowe, Australian racing driver
- 1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
- 1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 1956 – David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- 1959 – Scott McKinsey, American television director
- 1959 – Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
- 1959 – Robert Casilla, American artist and illustrator
- 1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
- 1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
- 1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
- 1961 – Doris Dragović, Croatian singer
- 1962 – Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
- 1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)
- 1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1964 – Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)
- 1964 – David Kohan, American television producer
- 1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor
- 1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor
- 1965 – Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
- 1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American professional wrestling personality
- 1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish alpine ski racer
- 1969 – Fernando Vińa, American baseball player
- 1970 – Dero Goi, German musician (Oomph!)
- 1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
- 1971 – Max Beesley, English musician and actor
- 1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor
- 1971 – Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
- 1971 – Selena, American Tejano singer (d. 1995)
- 1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
- 1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Russian tennis player
- 1972 – Ed Byrne, Irish comedian
- 1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish tennis player
- 1973 – Akon, American singer and song writer
- 1973 – Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
- 1974 – Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah)
- 1974 – Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director
- 1974 – Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
- 1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player
- 1975 – Sean Maher, American actor
- 1975 – Kelli O'Hara, American singer/actress
- 1975 – Nick Pickard, British actor
- 1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor
- 1976 – Dan Kellner, American fencer
- 1976 – Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
- 1977 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
- 1977 – Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel
- 1978 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress
- 1978 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
- 1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver
- 1979 – Sean Costello, American blues musician (d. 2008)
- 1979 – Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
- 1980 – Paul London, American professional wrestler
- 1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player
- 1982 – Gina Carano, American Mixed Martial Arts fighter
- 1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
- 1982 – Barry Jones, Scottish magician
- 1982 – Michael Ratajczak, German footballer
- 1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
- 1983 – Marié Digby, American singer
- 1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
- 1983 – George Patis, Greek badminton player
- 1984 – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
- 1984 – Noah Fleiss, American actor
- 1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
- 1985 – Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
- 1985 – Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
- 1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
- 1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
- 1986 – Laura Langman, New Zealand netball player
- 1986 – Paul di Resta, British racing driver
- 1986 – Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player
- 1987 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
- 1990 – Lily Loveless, English actress
- 1990 – Evangelos Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
- 1990 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
- 1992 – Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg
- 1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
- 1994 – Liliana Mumy, American actress
- 1996 – T. Geer, Olympic Swimmer
- 2003 – Alina Foley, American actress
- 2008 – Princess Eléonore of Belgium
[edit] Deaths
- 69 – Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
- 665 – Fructuosus of Braga
- 744 – al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
- 924 – Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
- 1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
- 1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
- 1198 – Duke Frederick I of Austria
- 1645 – Tobias Hume, English composer
- 1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
- 1689 – Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
- 1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
- 1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
- 1828 – Francisco Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
- 1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
- 1850 – Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
- 1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
- 1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, Saint of the Roman Catholic Church and visionary of Lourdes, France during 1858 (b. 1844)
- 1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
- 1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (b. 1875)
- 1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
- 1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
- 1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
- 1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
- 1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
- 1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
- 1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
- 1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
- 1947 – Rudolf Höß, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
- 1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish labor leader (b. 1872)
- 1958 – Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
- 1968 – Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
- 1970 – Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
- 1972 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian orchestral and operatic conductor (b. 1929)
- 1973 – Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (b. 1944)
- 1978 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (b. 1897)
- 1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)
- 1991 – Sir David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1992 – Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1994 – Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
- 1995 – Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
- 1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
- 1997 – Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
- 1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
- 1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)
- 2001 – Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
- 2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
- 2005 – Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
- 2006 – Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
- 2007 – Seung-Hui Cho, American student, perpetrator of the Virginia Tech Massacre (b. 1984)
- 2007 – Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
- 2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Canadian instructor of French at Virginia Tech (b. 1958)
- 2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
- 2007 – Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Holocaust survivor (b. 1930)
- 2007 – G. V. Loganathan, Indian American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
- 2008 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Joseph Solman, American painter (b. 1909)
- 2010 – Rasim Delic, Bosnian military chief of staff and war criminal (b. 1949)
[edit] Holidays and observances
