- 1533 William I, Prince of Orange (1544-84), born in Dillenburg, County of Nassau, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1584)
- 1538 Gugliemo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (1550-87), born in Mantua, Italy (d. 1587)
- 1581 Vincent de Paul, French Roman Catholic Saint, born in Pouy, Gascony, France (d. 1660)
- 1620 John Graunt, English statistician, founder of science of demography, born in London (d. 1674)
- 1660 Cornelis Dusart, Dutch painter and engraver, born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1704)
- 1718 Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, born in Dublin (d. 1784)
- 1743 Edmund Cartwright, English inventor (power loom), born in Marnham, Nottinghamshire, England (d. 1823)
- 1750 Simon-Antoine-Jean Lhuillier, Swiss mathematician, born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1840)
- 1766 Robert Bailey Thomas, American journalist and founder (The Farmer's Almanac), born in Grafton, Massachusetts (d. 1846)
- 1773 Harman W. Muntinghe, Dutch lawyer and colonial director, born in Amsterdam (d. 1827)
- 1784 Peter Vivian Daniel, American jurist, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1841-60), born in Stafford County, Virginia (d. 1860)
- 1791 Nikolaj Bestuzhev, Russian Navy officer, writer and painter (Decembrist revolt), born in Saint Petersburg (d. 1855)
- 1796 Karl Leberecht Immermann, German writer, born in Magdeburg (d. 1840)
- 1804 Thomas Oliver Selfridge, American Navy Officer (d. 1902)
- 1807 Charles Ferguson Smith, American Major General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1862)
- 1814 Vicente Fidel López, Argentine historian (La Novia del Hereje), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1903)
- 1815 Anthony Trollope, English novelist and poet (Barchester Towers), born in London (d. 1882)
- 1815 James E. Harrison, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Greenville District, South Carolina (d. 1875)
- 1822 Erastus Barnard Tyler, American businessman, merchant, and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in West Bloomfield, New York (d. 1891)
- 1824 François Fournier, Swiss-French postage stamp forger, born in Croix-de-Rozon, Switzerland (d. 1917)
- 1828 Robert Brank Vance, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina (1873-85), born in Buncombe, North Carolina (d. 1899)
- 1829 George Peabody Estey, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (d. 1881)
- 1836 Jeltje de Bosch Kemper, Dutch feminist, born in Amsterdam (d. 1916)
- 1837 Friedrich von Holstein, German civil servant (head of the political department of the German Foreign Office), born in Schwedt, Brandenburg, Germany (d. 1909)
- 1845 Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet (Prometheus & Epimetheus; Nobel 1919), born in Liestal, Switzerland (d. 1924)
- 1849 Joseph Gallieni, French general (Battle of Marne) and military governor of Paris, born in Saint-Béat, France (d. 1916)
- 1851 Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Uruguayan writer (Ismael, Grito de Gloria), born in Uruguay, Montevideo (d. 1921)
Philippe Pétain
1856 Philippe Pétain, French marshal and Chief of the French State (1940-44), born in Cauchy-à-la-Tour, France (d. 1951)
Philippe Pétain
- 1864 George August Alexander Alting von Geusau, Dutch Minister of War (1918-20), born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1937)
- 1867 Fannie Thomas, American who became the oldest known American at her death (113 years 273 days at death), born in Denver, Illinois (d. 1981)
- 1873 Theodor Korner von Siegringen, 5th President of Austria (1951-57), born in Újszőny by Komorn, Austria-Hungary (d. 1957)
- 1874 John Russell Pope, American architect (Jefferson Memorial, National Archives and Records Administration), born in NYC, New York (d. 1937)
- 1874 Willem Roelofs, Dutch painter and cartoonist (d. 1940)
- 1876 Erich Raeder, German naval commander (1928–43), born in Wandsbek, Germany (d. 1960)
- 1878 Jean Crotti, Swiss-French artist, born in Bulle, Fribourg, Switzerland (d. 1958)
- 1882 Hugh Dowding, commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, born in Moffat, Scotland (d. 1970)
- 1883 Jaroslav Hašek, Czech writer (Brave soldier Schweik), born in Prague, Austria-Hungary [or April 30]
- 1886 Kurt Pinthus, German-American writer, born in Erfurt (d. 1975)
- 1887 Denys Finch Hatton, English big-game hunter, born in Kensington, London (d. 1931)
- 1889 Stafford Cripps, British Labour politician, born in London (d. 1952)
- 1889 Lyubov Popova, Russian avant-garde artist and painter, born in Ivanovskoe, Moscow (d. 1924)
- 1895 S Constantine Timoshenko, Russian marshal/people's commissioner
- 1897 Benjamin Lee Whorf, American linguist (the relation of language to thinking and cognition), born in Winthrop, Massachusetts (d. 1941)
- 1897 Manuel Ávila Camacho, 45th President of Mexico (1940-46), born in Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico (d. 1955)
- 1899 Oscar Zariski, Russian mathematician (algebraic geometry), born in Kobrin, Russian Empire (d. 1986)
- 1903 Jose A Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician (founder of Spanish Falange), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1936)
- 1903 Siegfried Frederick Nadel, Austrian-British anthropologist (Black Byzantium), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1956)
- 1904 Willem De Kooning, Dutch artist (North Atlantic Light), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1997)
- 1905 Robert Penn Warren, American poet and novelist (All the King's Men, Pulitzer 1946), born in Guthrie, Kentucky (d.1989)
- 1906 William Joyce, American-born Irish Fascist politician, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1946)
- 1909 Bernhard Grzimek, German zoologist (West Germany), born in Neisse, Prussian Silesia, German Empire (d. 1987)
- 1911 Karl Schiller, German economist and politician (Minister of Economics), born in Breslau, Silesia (d. 1994)
- 1916 Stanley Kauffmann, American playwright (Red Handkerchief Man), born in NYC, New York (d. 2013)
- 1924 Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2009)
- 1926 Thorbjorn Falldin, Swedish politician, Prime Minister (1976-78, 79-82) and sheep farmer, born in Hogsjo (d. 2016)
- 1931 Bridget Riley, British painter (op-art), born in Norwood London, England
- 1935 Louis Keith, physician (expert on multiple-births), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1940 Sue Grafton, American author of detective novels ("A" Is for Alibi), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 2017)
- 1942 Richard M. Daley, American politician, 43rd Mayor of Chicago (1989-2011), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1942 Valeri Abramovich Voloshin, Russian pilot cosmonaut, born in Yangiyul, Tashkent
- 1947 Josep Borrell, 22nd President of the European Parliament (2004-07), born in La Pobla de Segur, Lérida, Spain
- 1947 Roger D. Kornberg, American biochemist (Nobel 2006), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- 1948 Benzion Freshwater, English multi-millionaire property investor, born in Sassov, Galicia, Poland
- 1948 Paul Cellucci, American politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada, born in Hudson, Massachusetts (d. 2013)
- 1951 Andrew John Fairclough, trade union educator
- 1952 Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer (Hermès), born in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France
- 1953 John P. Hiler, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana (1981-91), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1954 Mumia Abu-Jamal, American journalist and political activist sentenced to death and then to life in prison, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1955 Jack Kingston, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia (1993-2015), born in Bryan, Texas
- 1955 John de Mol Jr., Dutch media businessman, born in The Hague, Netherlands
- 1958 Brian Paddick, British former deputy assistant commissioner and most senior openly gay police officer, born in London
- 1959 Yvonne Cagle, American astronaut and physician, born in West Point, New York
- 1959 Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer (Jaguar Racing), born in Sydney, Australia
- 1968 Hashim Thaçi, Kosovan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Kosovo (2008-14) and $th President of Kosovo, born in Srbica, Yugoslavia
- 1977 Siarhey Balakhonau, Belarusian writer, born in Gomel Region, Belarus
- 1979 Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne, born in Singapore
- 1983 Princess Iman bint Al Hussein of Jordan, daughter of King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan, born in Amman, Jordan
April in History
![A Son, A Son – My Wife For A Son!]()
A Son, A Son – My Wife For A Son!
Henry VIII, who became King of England on this day in history, disposed of two wives in his quest for a son and heir – and was to marry four others.
April 21, 1509![Who Wrote Shakespeare?]()
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Could the son of a provincial glove-maker, born on this day in history, be the author of the world's greatest plays? The argument rages on.
April 23, 1564![Hitler's Diaries Fail Forensic Tests]()
Hitler's Diaries Fail Forensic Tests
German Magazine revealed the scoop of the century on this day but it's “Hitler’s Diaries” sensation failed a forensic test and was quickly proved a hoax.
April 25, 1983![Oscar Wilde Presses Self-Destruct Button]()
Oscar Wilde Presses Self-Destruct Button
When Oscar Wilde sued the Marquess of Queensberry for libel over a sodomite slur, he opened the door to social and financial ruin that would lead to his death.
April 26, 1895
