Juan Ponce de León
1460 Juan Ponce de León, Spanish explorer and conquistador who searched for the fountain of youth and the first European to discover Florida, born in Santervás de Campos, Castile, Spain (d. 1521)
Juan Ponce de León
- 1541 Michele Mercati, Italian physician and gardener, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1593)
- 1582 Phineas Fletcher, English poet, born in Cranbrook (d. 1650)
- 1605 Louis de Vadder, Flemish painter, born in Brussels (d. 1655)
- 1605 Philip IV, King of Spain & Portugal (1621-65), born in Royal Palace of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain (d. 1665)
- 1631 Cornelis de Heem, Dutch painter, born in Leiden, Netherlands (d. 1695)
- 1641 Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman, born in Paris (d. 1704)
- 1655 Louis Willem I, Margrave of Baden-Baden, born in Paris (d. 1707)
- 1695 Johann Christian Gunther, German poet, born in Striegau, Silesia (d. 1723)
- 1726 Lewis Morris, American landowner and farmer (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Morrisania, New York (d. 1798)
- 1732 David Rittenhouse, American astronomer, inventor, and mathematician, born in Paper Mill Run, Pennsylvania (d. 1796)
- 1775 Adam A earl von Neipperg, Austrian general and Napoleon's wife Marie lover, born in Vienna (d. 1829)
- 1783 John Claudius Loudon, Scottish horticulturist, born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 1843)
- 1816 Frederic William Burton, Irish painter, born in Wicklow, Ireland (d. 1900)
- 1818 Christian IX, King of Denmark (1863-1906), born in Gottorf Castle, Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig (d. 1906)
- 1826 Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (Costa Rica's first woman in the military), born in Cartago, Costa Rica (d. 1890)
- 1827 Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat, born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico (d. 1898)
- 1828 George Baird Hodge, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Fleming County, Kentucky (d. 1892)
- 1831 Allard Pierson, Dutch theologist, philosopher and art historian, born in Amsterdam (d. 1896)
- 1832 Alfred von Waldersee, Prussian field marshal and Chief of the German General Staff, born in Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1904)
- 1842 Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author, public speaker and wife of George Armstrong Custer, born in Monroe, Michigan (d. 1933)
- 1850 William H. Welch, American pathologist who founded John Hopkins Hospital, born in Norfolk, Connecticut (d. 1934)
- 1859 Edmund Husserl, German philosopher (founded School of Phenomenology), born in Proßnitz, Margraviate of Moravia, Austrian Empire (d. 1938)
- 1869 Harvey Cushing, American neurosurgeon (blood pressure studies), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1939)
- 1871 Clarence Hudson White, American photographer, born in Newark, Ohio (d. 1925)
- 1874 Stanisław Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising, born in Mieszków, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland (d. 1960)
- 1875 Albert I, King of Belgium (1909-34), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1934)
- 1883 R. P. Keigwin, English academic, born in Lexden, Essex (d. 1972)
- 1886 Margaret Ayer Barnes, American playwright and writer (Years of Grace), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1967)
- 1888 Dennis Chavez, American politician (d. 1964)
- 1892 Richard Neutra, American architect (d. 1970)
- 1893 Henri Puvrez, Belgian sculptor (Sereniteit)
- 1898 Achiel H Acker, Belgian premier (1945-46, 1954-58)
- 1898 Cecil [Maurice] Bowra, British classics expert (Greek experience)
- 1904 John R Hicks, British economist (Nobel 1972)
- 1905 Hans Scherfig, Danish marxist/writer (Idealister, Frydenholm)
- 1905 Helen B M Fennell Joseph, anti-apartheid writer (Side by Side)
- 1905 Pierre Wigny, Belgian minister of Foreign affairs (1958-61) [or 4/18]
- 1906 Charles J B Jonckheere, Flemish poet/writer (Mirror of the Sea)
- 1907 Maurice Stacey, chemist
- 1908 Neil Lawson, British high court judge
- 1909 George Dixon, trumpet/sax
- 1909 William James Millar Mackenzie, political scientist
- 1911 Douglas Hyde, England political journalist, born in Worthing, England (d. 1996)
- 1911 Emil Mihai Cioran, writer/aphorist
- 1911 Melvin Calvin, US chemist (photosynthesis, Nobel 1961)
- 1913 H Ernst, bishop (Breda Neth)
Betty Ford
1918 Betty [Bloomer] Ford, US 1st lady (1974-77) and founder of the Betty Ford Center clinic, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2011)
Betty Ford
- 1918 Glendon Swarthout, American author (d. 1992)
- 1919 [Douglas] Ian Smith, premier of Rhodesia (1964-..)
- 1923 George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
- 1924 Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English soldier and historian (d. 2006)
- 1926 Henry N. Cobb, American architect
- 1926 Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian
- 1928 Mary Zeldenrust-Noordanus, CEO (NVSH)
- 1928 Leah Rabin, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (d. 2000)
- 1929 Renzo de Felice, historian
- 1930 Julien Van Remoortere, [Piet Mortelman], Flemish writer (Fist)
- 1930 Mary Moore, principal (St Hilda's College, Oxford)
- 1930 Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma
- 1934 Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect (d. 2007)
- 1935 Albert G Bustamante, (Rep-D-TX, 1985- )
- 1935 Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, epidemiologist (Living legacy award-1984)
- 1937 Ronald Anthony "Tony" Clegg, property trader
- 1937 Seymour Hersh, award winning investigative reporter (NY Times)
Kofi Annan
1938 Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006), born in Comassie, Gold Coast (d. 2018)
Kofi Annan
- 1941 Dame Vivienne Westwood, Tintwistle England, English fashion designer
- 1942 Douglas Trumbull, director (Silent Running, Brainstorm)
- 1942 Eduard Visser, Dutch writer (Fyffes are now called Chiquita)
- 1943 Michael Bennett, aids victim/choreographer (Chorus Line)
- 1943 Tony Banks, English politician (Labour)
- 1943 William Garth Morrison, Chief scout
- 1943 James Herbert, horror writer (The Rats), born in London, England (d. 2013)
- 1944 Anthony Farrar Hockley, military historian
- 1944 Christoph Hein, writer
- 1944 Santiago Jimenez Jr, US accordionist (El Mero Mero, Viva Seguin)
- 1944 Odd Nerdrum, Norwegian painter
- 1945 Derrick Walker, British racing team owner
- 1947 Hsiao-hsien Hou, Taiwanese direstor (Cheerful Wind, City of Sadness, The Puppetmaster), born in Mei County, China
- 1947 Tom DeLay, Laredo, Texas, American politician (Rep-R-Texas, 1985-2006)
- 1947 Robert Kiyosaki, American investor
Robert Allen Litchfield
1948 Robert A. Litchfield, American bank robber who was on the FBI most wanted list in the 1980s
Robert Allen Litchfield
- 1948 Michael Leshner, Canadian lawyer and gay rights advocate
- 1954 G.V. Loganathan, American professor (d. 2007)
- 1955 John Campbell, harness racer (3-time winner of Hambletonian)
- 1955 Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist
- 1955 David Wu, Taiwanese-born American politician
- 1963 Erica Terwillegar, Nelsonville NJ, lugist
- 1963 Seth Tobias, American financial commentator (d. 2007)
- 1974 Holger Hott Johansen, Norwegian orienteerist
- 1974 Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Nigerian American writer
- 1974 Chris Kyle, Odessa, Texas, Navy SEAL sniper (160 kills), (d. 2013)
- 1977 Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist (d. 2008)
- 1977 Mark Spencer, American computer programmer
- 1979 David Petruschin, American drag queen (Raven) and make-up artist, born in Victorville, California
April in History
![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![Step Aboard the Titanic – Las Vegas Style]()
Step Aboard the Titanic – Las Vegas Style
Even by Las Vegas standards it was controversial, a $1.2 billion recreation of the doomed Titanic, along with the iceberg that caused its destruction.
April 8, 1999![Yes, We Have Some Bananas]()
Yes, We Have Some Bananas
A strange fruit went on sale in London on this day, the like of which nobody had seen before. Known to scientists as the Plantaine fruit, it is now unremarkable.
April 10, 1633
