- 1170 Isabella of Hainault, Queen of France (1180-90), born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1190)
- 1288 Emperor Go-Fushimi, 93rd Emperor of Japan (1298-1301) (d. 1336)
- 1472 Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1510)
- 1523 Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer, born in Saint-Pourçain, France (d. 1596)
Thomas Hobbes
1588 Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (Leviathan), born in Westport, England (d. 1679)
Thomas Hobbes
- 1604 Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (1624-75), born in Nancy, France (d. 1675)
- 1622 Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician (Viviani's theorem), born in Florence, Italy (d. 1703)
- 1626 Jan van Kessel, Flemish painter, born in Antwerp (d. 1679)
- 1643 Charles V Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Austrian fieldmarshal, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1690)
- 1649 Elihu Yale, English merchant and philanthropist (benefactor of Yale University), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1721)
- 1732 Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter (The Swing), born in Paris (d. 1806)
- 1761 Sybil Ludington, American revolutionary heroine (rode to alert militia), born in Kent, New York (d. 1839)
- 1788 Franz Pforr, German painter and cartoonist (Lukasbund), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1812)
- 1795 Henry Havelock, British soldier (War in Afghanistan 1838-39), born in Bishopwearmouth, County Durham (d. 1857)
- 1816 Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, born in Richmond, Kentucky (d. 1890)
- 1818 Lewis Baldwin Parsons, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Perry, New York (d. 1907)
- 1820 Nadar [Félix Tournachon], French photographer, born in Paris (d. 1910)
- 1822 James Nagle, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 1866)
- 1824 Sydney Thompson Dobell, English poet, born in Cranbrook, Kent (d. 1874)
- 1825 David Rumph Jones, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina (d. 1863)
- 1827 Joseph Lister, British surgeon (pioneer of antiseptic surgery), born in Upton House, West Ham, England (d. 1912)
- 1832 Jules Ferry, French statesman, born in Saint-Dié, France (d. 1893)
- 1837 Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet (Atalanta in Calydon), born in London (d. 1909)
- 1838 Alpheus Hyatt, American zoologist and paleontologist, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1902)
- 1839 Robert Smalls, African-American congressman (1875-87), born in Beaufort, South Carolina (d. 1915)
- 1845 Jules Cambon, French ambasador, to U.S. (1897), Spain (1902–07) and Germany (1907–14), born in Paris (d. 1935)
Booker T. Washington
1856 Booker T. Washington, American education pioneer and 1st African American on a US stamp, born in Hale's Ford, Virginia (d. 1915)
Booker T. Washington
- 1857 Alexander-Jozef von Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria (1879-86), born in Verona, Lombardy–Venetia (d. 1893)
- 1869 Sergei Chaplygin, Russian physicist and engineer, born in Chaplygin, Lipetsk Oblast, Russia (d. 1942)
- 1871 Mirko Seljan, Croatian explorer, born in Karlovac, Croatia (d. 1913)
- 1872 Samuel Cate Prescott, American food scientist and microbiologist, born in South Hampton, New Hampshire (d. 1962)
- 1887 Hedwig Kohn, Jewish physics pioneer, born in Breslau, Province of Silesia (Poland) (d. 1964)
- 1899 William Hornby Steer, Conservative Party politician and barrister (d. 1993)
- 1901 Alexander Alexeieff, Russian-French painter and graphic artist, born in Kazan, Russia (d. 1982)
- 1901 Chester Bowles, American ambassador and writer (Conscience of a Liberal), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
- 1906 Guy Clutton-Brock, English social worker (declared as national hero in Zimbabwe), born in Northwood, Middlesex (d. 1995)
- 1907 Jan Zeldenrust, Dutch pathologist and anatomist, born in Gronigen, Netherlands (d. 1990)
- 1908 Jagjivan Ram, Indian independence activist and politician, born in Chandwa, Bhojpur, Bihar, British India (d. 1986)
- 1913 Father Alan Cheales, Dominican priest for 33 years, born in Zimbabwe (d. 1996)
- 1916 Baroness Delacourt-Smith of Alteryn [Margaret Rosalind Delacourt-Smith], British Labour politician, born in Newport, Wales (d. 2010)
- 1916 Bernard Baily, American comic artist (co-creator of DC Comics), born in New York (d. 1996)
- 1917 Robert Bloch, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Psycho), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1994)
- 1919 Douglas Henley, British auditor-general, born in Beckenham, Kent (d. 2003)
- 1919 Les Munro, New Zealand WWII pilot (Dambusters), born in Gisbourne (d. 2015)
- 1920 Arthur Hailey, English novelist (Hotel, Airport), born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England (d. 2004)
- 1920 Barend Biesheuvel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1971-73), born in Haarlemmerliede, Netherlands (d. 2001)
- 1920 Rafiq Zakaria, Indian politician and Islamic religious cleric, born in Nala Sopara, British India (d. 2005)
- 1921 Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher, Irish politician and founder (British Women Caring Trust), born in Donaghadee, County Down, Ireland (d. 1995)
- 1923 Ernest Mandel, Belgian philosopher and economist (Marxist), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1995)
Nguyen Van Thieu
1923 Nguyen Van Thieu, South Vietnamese President (1965-75), born in Phan Rang, Vietnam (d. 2001)
Nguyen Van Thieu
- 1923 Stanley Orme, British Labour Party politician, born in Sale, Cheshire
- 1924 Mart Kempers, Dutch graphic artist and sculptor, born in Enschede, Netherlands (d. 1993)
- 1927 John Gilbert, British politician and Minister (Labour), born in London (d. 2013)
- 1928 Peter Moore, British academic (Professor of Statistics at London Business School) (d. 2010)
- 1929 Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (Cool Lover, Sugar), born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 2008)
- 1931 Denis Lawton, director (London University Institute of Educ)
- 1934 Tina Maria Stone, runner (1 year distance record of 15,472 miles)
- 1934 Roman Herzog, President of Germany (1994-99), born in Landshut, Bavaria, Germany (d. 2017)
- 1935 Donald Lynden-Bell, British theoretical astrophysicist, born in Dover, Kent (d. 2018)
- 1936 John Albert, professor (Master of University College Oxford)
- 1936 Michael Livesay, British admiral, Royal Navy officer, born in Middlesbrough, North Riding, Yorkshire (d. 2003)
- 1936 John Kelly, Irish republican politician, born in Belfast, Ireland (d. 2007)
Colin Powell
1937 Colin Powell, American General and Assistant to the President (Nat Sec Affairs), born in The Bronx, New York
Colin Powell
- 1937 Stuart May, senior partner (Theodore Goddard)
- 1937 Allan R. Thieme, American inventor (first Power operated vehicle/scooter), born in Bridgeport, Michigan
- 1938 Nancy Holt, American artist (land art), born in Worcester, Massachusetts
- 1939 Andrew Buxton, CEO (Barclays Bank)
- 1941 Dave Swarbrick, British folk fiddler (Fairport Convention), born in New Malden, Surrey (d. 2016)
- 1944 Ann Maxwell, American sci-fi author (Jaws of Menx), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1944 James Buckley, CEO (Baltic Exchange)
- 1944 Peter T. King, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from New York, born in Manhattan, New York
- 1944 Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rican politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Puerto Rico, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 1946 Robert E McKee, CEO/managing director (Conoco-UK)
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
1947 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines (2001-2010), born in San Juan
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
- 1949 Judith Arlene Resnik, ast (STS 41D, 51L-Chal disaster), born in Akron, Ohio
- 1950 Franklin Chang-Diaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American NASA astronaut (STS 61C, 34,46,60,75, sk:91), born in San José, Costa Rica
- 1951 Roosevel Ferguson, Arkansas, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
- 1951 Dean Kamen, American engineer and inventor (Segway), born in Long Island, New York
- 1954 Michael W Butler, computer programmer (created TODAY program)
- 1955 Janice Long, British radio host (Crash FM), born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England
- 1955 Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist, born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
- 1958 Cammie Lusko, Guinness' World Strongest Woman, born in Los Angeles, California
- 1961 Jim LeRoy, Airshow Pilot
- 1967 Gary Gait, Canadian lacrosse player
- 1981 Michael A. Monsoor, United States Navy SEAL killed in Iraq and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, born in Long Beach, California
April in History
![Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!]()
Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!
An excited crowd looked up in astonishment and wonder when, in 1877, the first human cannonball flew above their heads.
April 2, 1877![The Computer That Came By Truck]()
The Computer That Came By Truck
It didn't have the sleek lines that Steve Jobs would admire and it needed to be carried on a truck, but the computer age had finally arrived in rural England.
April 3, 1957![Lionheart Richard, The Stranger King]()
Lionheart Richard, The Stranger King
Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood’s king is considered one of the great English monarchs. Yet he cost his country a fortune and barely lived there.
April 6, 1199![The Man Who Sold His Wife]()
The Man Who Sold His Wife
Most modern readers believe Thomas Hardy was plunging into deep fiction when he wrote about a man selling his wife in, The Mayor of Casterbridge. He wasn't.
April 7, 1832
