- 397 Saint Ambrose, Governor of Liguria and Bishop of Milan (374-97), dies at about 57
- 636 Saint Isidore of Seville, Church Father and the proposed patron of the Internet (b. cira 560)
- 896 Formosus, Pope (891-96), dies
- 1229 Hugo van Pierrepont, bishop of Liege, dies
- 1284 Alfonso X, "El Sabio" King of Castile/Leon (1252-84), dies at 62
- 1292 Nicholas IV, [Girolamo Masci], Pope (1288-92), dies
- 1305 Jeanne of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France (b. circa 1217)
- 1393 Floris van Wevelinkhoven, bishop of Utrecht, dies
- 1406 Robert III, King of Scots (1390-1406), dies, succeeded by 12 year old son James I
- 1417 John van Touraine, 1st husband of Jacoba of Bavaria, dies
- 1536 Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1486-1536), dies at 75
- 1585 Caspar de Robles, Spanish viceroy of Frisia, dies at about 57
- 1588 Frederick II, King of Denmark and Norway (1559-88), dies at 53
- 1604 Thomas Churchyard, poet/pamphleteer, dies
- 1609 Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (b. 1526)
John Napier
1617 John Napier, Scottish mathematician and inventor (logarithms), dies from effects of gout at 67
John Napier
- 1643 Simon Episcopius, [Bisschop], Dutch theologist, dies at 60
- 1661 Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier (b. circa 1580)
- 1662 Leonhart Kern, German sculptor, dies at about 73
- 1664 Adam Willaerts, Dutch seascape painter, dies
- 1701 Joseph Haines, entertainer and author
- 1714 Karel, duke of Berry/French heir to the throne, dies
- 1734 Johann C van Erckel, old Catholic theologist, dies at about 79
- 1743 Daniel Neal, English historian, dies at 64
- 1761 Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler (b. 1722)
- 1766 John Taylor, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
- 1774 Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist and dramatist (She Stoops to Conquer), dies at 45
- 1784 Mary Mead, wife of English radical and journalist John Wilkes (b. 1715)
- 1792 James Sykes, American politician (b. 1725)
- 1807 Joseph Jerome Le Francais de Lalande, French astronomer, dies
- 1817 André Masséna, Duke of Rivoli, Prince d'Essing and Marshal of France (b. 1758)
William Henry Harrison
1841 William Henry Harrison, 9th US President (Whig: March 4-April 4, 1841), dies of pneumonia and becomes 1st president to die in office
William Henry Harrison
Ludwig Leichhardt
1848 Ludwig Leichhardt, German explorer of northern and central Australia, dies on an expedition at 34
Ludwig Leichhardt
- 1861 John McLean, American Supreme Court Justice (1829-61) and Postmaster General, dies at 76
- 1862 Harmen S Sytstra, Dutch poet/editor (Iduna), dies at 45
- 1863 Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver, dies at 73
- 1864 Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer (b. 1808)
- 1870 Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
- 1874 Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
- 1878 Richard Brewer, American gunslinger/cowboy (b. 1850)
- 1879 Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, Prussian physicist and meteorologist, dies at 75
- 1883 Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (Cooper Union, steam locomotive), dies at 92
- 1884 Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist and diarist (b. 1860)
- 1889 Thomas T H Jorissen, historian, dies at 56
- 1890 Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, French Canadian politician (1st Premier of Quebec), dies at 69
- 1890 Edmond Hébert, French geologist, dies at 77
- 1893 Alphonse LPP de Candolle, Swiss botanist, dies at 86
- 1900 Edward VII, King, assassinated
- 1905 Constantin Meunier, Belgian painter and sculptor, dies at 73
- 1919 William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (Crookes-pipe, thallium), dies at 86
- 1923 L Martov, [Joulij O Tsederbaum], Russ revolutionary, dies at 49
- 1923 John Venn, English mathematician (Venn Diagram), dies at 88
- 1930 Vladimir Majakovski, Russian poet, dies
André Michelin
1931 Andre Michelin, French industrialist, tire manufacturer and publisher of the Michelin Guide, dies at 78
André Michelin
- 1932 Ottokar Czernin, Austro-Hungarian diplomat (Imperial Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary) and politician, dies at 59
- 1932 Wilhelm Ostwald, physical chemist (Nobel 1909), dies
- 1937 Frantisek X Salda, Czech writer/critic, dies at 69
- 1941 Max Frisch, writer, dies at 29
- 1943 Oskar Schlemmer, German painter, sculptor and choreographer (Triadisches Ballett), dies at 54
- 1944 John Peale Bishop, American poet (Undertaker's Garland), dies at 51
- 1947 William O'Donnell, Irish politician (b. ?)
- 1951 George Albert Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church) (b. 1870)
- 1953 Carol II, King of Romania (1930-40), dies at 59
- 1953 Rachilde, [Marguerite Vallette-Eymery], French author, dies at 93
- 1957 E. Herbert Norman, Canadian diplomat (b. 1909)
- 1958 Hendrik Heyman, Belgian minister of Nijverheid/mayor, dies at 78
- 1961 Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician (b. 1873)
- 1962 James Hanratty, executed at Bedford Prison, England, for the murder of Michael Gregsten (b. 1936)
Martin Luther King Jr.
1968 Martin Luther King Jr., American clergyman and leader of the Civil Rights Movement (Nobel 1964), assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee at 39
Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1970 Victor Otto Stomps, German writer and publisher, dies at 72
- 1972 Adam Clayton Powell Jr, American politician (Rep-D-NY), dies at 63
- 1972 John A H J S Bruins Slot, co-founder/editor in chief (illegal), dies
- 1976 Harry Nyquist, Swedish contributor to information theory (b. 1889)
- 1979 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani president, hanged in Pakistan at 51
- 1984 Oleg Antonov, Soviet airplane engineer (b. 1906)
- 1985 Kate Roberts, Welsh nationalist and writer (b. 1891)
- 1986 Frank Mortelmans, Belgian painter, dies at 87
- 1987 C. L. Moore, American science fiction and fantasy writer (Judgment Night), dies at 76
- 1991 John Heinz, American businessman and Republican politician (Senator from Pennsylvania, 1977-1991), dies in a plane crash at 52
- 1991 Max Frisch, Swiss architect/writer (Stiller, Biedermann), dies at 79
- 1992 Karl Tunberg, US scriptwriter (Ben Hur), dies
- 1993 Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game inventor (Scrabble), dies at 93
- 1994 Olga Lowina, Dutch yodeler (Edelweisskapel), dies at 69
- 1995 Jo Sinclair [Ruth Seid], American writer (Wasteland), dies at 81
- 1996 Frederick Denison Maurice Hocking, pathologist, dies at 97
- 1996 Seamas NacNeill, Classical physicist and piper, dies at 79
- 1997 Vladimir Solouchin, Russian writer, dies at 72
- 2001 Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American custom car designer (b. 1932)
- 2004 Casey Sheehan, American soldier, son of Cindy Sheehan (b. 1979)
- 2005 Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman (b. 1924)
- 2010 Clifford M. Hardin, American politician (17th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture), dies at 94
- 2013 Carmine Infantino, American comic book artist, dies at 87
- 2015 John Read, British businessman, CEO (TSB Group), dies at 97
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
