Birthdays in History on April 1

Sophie Germain (1776-1831)

French mathematician, born in Paris, France

1785 Ferdinand Olivier, German painter (Nazarene movement), born in Dessau (d. 1841)
1807 Fredrik Cygnaeus, Finnish poet, literary critic and nationis , born in Hämeenlinna, Finland (d. 1881)
1809 Willem Ruys, Dutch ship owner (d. 1889)

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)

German chancellor (1866-90) who helped unify Germany, born in Schönhausen, Prussia

1823 Simón Bolívar Buckner, Lt Gen (Confederate Army), (d. 1914)
1834 Big Jim Fisk, American entrepreneur (d. 1872)
1843 Ludwig Enneccerus, German politician and legal scholar, born in Neustadt am Rübenberge (d. 1928)
1847 Jules-Nicolas Crevaux, French naval doctor and explorer (French Guiana and the Amazon), born in Lorquin, France (d. 1882)
1852 Edward Austin Abbey, American painter (Quest of the Holy Grail mural at Boston Public Library), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1911)
1854 Bill Traylor, American artist (d. 1949)
1856 Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician who identified the plague in Bombay, born in Apora, Portuguese India (d. 1933)
1858 Arnold Aletrino, Dutch physician, criminologist and author (From Life), born in Amsterdam (d. 1916)
1858 Gaetano Mosca, Italian sociologist (Circulation of Elite), born in Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (d. 1941)
1864 Marie Jungius, Dutch fairy tale writer and feminist (d. 1908)
1865 Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist (1925 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work colloids), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1929) [1]
1866 Sophonisba Breckenridge, American professor, teacher and social activist (1st woman to graduate from Chicago Uni Law School), born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 1948) [1]
1868 Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (Cyrano de Bergerac), born in Marseille, France (d. 1918)
1869 Peter Egge, Norwegian writer (De Droom), bornin Trondheim, Norway (d. 1959)

Edgar Wallace (1875-1932)

English novelist, playwright and journalist (The Terror, The Four Just Men) who created King Kong, born in Greenwich, England

1878 Carl Sternheim, German playwright (Hyperion/Tabula Rasa), born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1942)
1880 Agha Petros, Assyrian general (d. 1932)
1885 Clementine Churchill, British life peer and wife of Winston Churchill, born in London, England (d. 1977)
1887 Leonard Bloomfield, American linguist (Structural Linguistics), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1949)
1898 Pola Gojawiczynska, Polish writer (Stolica), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1963)
1898 Roger Bastide, French sociologist (study of Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Caribbean religions), born in Nimes, France (d. 1974)
1898 William James Sidis, American genius (d. 1944)
1899 Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (d. 1968)
1899 Lida Durdikova, Czech children's author (Children with extinguished eyes) and publisher (Père Castor), born in Prague (d. 1955)
1900 Robert McDowell, Mayor of Maryborough, Queensland (d. 1988)
1901 Whittaker Chambers, American writer, editor, and defector (d. 1961)
1902 Maria Polydouri, Greek poet (d. 1930)
1904 Juan Gil-Albert, Spanish poet and writer, born in Alcoy (d. 1994)
1905 Clara Hale 'Mother Hale', American social activist (Hale House Center for disadvantaged children), born in Elizabeth Town, North Carolina (d. 1992)

Gaston Eyskens (1905-1988)

Prime Minister of Belgium (1949, 1958-61, 1968-72), born in Lier, Belgium

1908 Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (Maslow's hierarchy of needs), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1970)
1919 Joseph Murray, American surgeon, Nobel laureate, (d. 2012)
1922 William Manchester, Attleboro Mass, historian (Death of a President)
1924 Brendan Byrne, Governor of New Jersey
1925 Sala Burton, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1983-87), born in Białystok, Poland (d. 1987)

Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011)

American sci-fi author (Dragonflight, Dragondrums), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts

1928 Dimitri Frenkel Frank, Dutch writer/director (Hadimassa)
1929 Milan Kundera, Czech-French poet and novelist (The Joke: The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Immortality), born in Brno, Czechoslovakia
1931 Charles Price, American Businessman and diplomat, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2012)
1931 Rolf Hochhuth, German playwright (Der Stellvertreter), born in Eschwege, Germany (d. 2020)
1933 Dan Flavin, American minimalist sculptor, born in New York City (d. 1996)
1933 Stan Weston, US toy licensing agent, had concept for G.I. Joe, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2017)
1934 Vladimir Posner, Russian-French-American journalist who represented and explained the views of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, born in Paris
1935 Larry McDonald, American politician (d. 1983)
1936 Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician, president of the Confederation in 1989 and 1996 (d. 1998)

Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)

Kenyan environmentalist and political activist, founder of the Green Belt Movement, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (2004) and Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (2006), born in Ihithe village, Kenya

1942 Samuel R. Delany Jr, American sci-fi author (Towers of Toron; Neveryona), born in Harlem, New York
1945 Ali Ahmed Aslam, Pakistani-Scottish restaurateur (credited with creation of Chicken Tikki Masala), born near Lahore, British Raj (now Pakistan) (d. 2022)
1946 William Frederick Fisher, American MD & astronaut (STS 51-I), born in Dallas, Texas
1947 Alain Connes, French mathematician
1949 Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman (Engie), born in Paris, France
1949 Paul Manafort, American political consultant (Trump campaign chairman), born in New Britain, Connecticut
1950 Ed[uardus] HTM Nijpels, Dutch minister of Environment (VVD)
1950 Leonard van Spirit, Dutch-British food magnate
1950 Samuel Alito, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (2006-), born in Trenton, New Jersey
1951 John Philip Abizaid, U.S. Army General, former CENTCOM commander
1952 Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi, Tripoli Libya, bomber (Pan Am 103), (d. 2012)
1952 Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher
1953 Barry Sonnenfeld, director (Get Shorty, Men in Black), born in NYC, New York
1955 Gregg Jarrett, American television anchor
1957 Peter Deutsch, American politician (US Representative (D)-Florida, 1993-2005), born in The Bronx, New York
1962 Dave Ulliott, English poker player (World Series of Poker bracelet 1997; World Poker Open 2003), born in Kingston upon Hull, England (d. 2015)
1966 Chris Evans, English disc jockey
1981 Aimee Chan, Miss Hong Kong 2006