- 885 Methodius, Greek apostle of the slaves/archbishop of Sirmium, dies
- 912 Nottker "the Stamelaar", benedictine monk/poet, dies at about 71
- 1147 Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
Richard the Lionheart
1199 Richard I, the Lion-hearted, King of England (1189-99), dies at 41
- 1199 Pierre Basile, French soldier
- 1252 Peter of Verona, [Peter Martyr], Italian inquisitor/st, dies at 45
- 1348 Petrarch's Laura, dies of plague
- 1362 Jacques de Bourbon, count of Marche, killed in battle
- 1472 Pieter Bladelin, Belgian land owner (Middelburg castle), dies
- 1489 Hans Waldmann, Swiss military/mayor (Zurich), beheaded
- 1490 Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, dies
- 1528 Albrecht Durer, German painter and graphic artist, dies in Germany at 56
- 1551 Joachim Vadianus, Swiss physician/mayor of Sankt Gallen, dies at 66
- 1571 John Hamilton, Scottish prelate and politician
- 1590 Francis Walsingham, English secretary of state, dies at about 57
- 1593 Henry Barrow, English puritian/Congressionalist, hanged
- 1593 John Greenwood, English Congressionalist, hanged
- 1605 John Stow, English historian (Survey of London), dies
- 1655 David Blondel, French Protestant clergyman (b. 1591)
- 1661 John Webster, colonial Governor of Connecticut (Fundamental Orders of Connecticut), dies at about 71
- 1686 Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman, dies at 71
- 1707 Willem Van de Velde, the Young, Dutch seascape painter, dies a 73
- 1755 Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (b. 1690)
- 1825 Vladimir Borovikovsky [Vоlоdymyr Borovyk], Russian painter, died at 67
- 1829 Niels H Able, Norwegian mathematician (infinite series), dies at 26
- 1833 Adamántios Koraïs, Greek humanist scholar, dies at 84
- 1838 José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian statesman, dies at 74
- 1854 William Strickland, US architect, dies
- 1862 Adley Hogan Gladden, Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 51
- 1862 Albert Sidney Johnston, US Confederate general, dies in battle at 59
- 1865 John Austin Wharton, American lawyer and Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 36
- 1865 Reuben B Boston, US Confederate cavalery colonel, dies in battle
- 1883 Benjamin Wright Raymond, American politician (b. 1801)
- 1884 Emanuel Geibel, writer, dies at 68
- 1888 Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and founder of Clemson University, dies at 80
- 1902 Gleb Uspensky, Russian author (Power of the Soil), dies at 58
- 1906 Alexander L Kielland, Norwegian writer (Working People), dies at 57
- 1918 John Q. A. Brackett, American politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (1890-91), dies at 75
- 1926 Giovanni Amendola, Italian anti-fascist and editor-in-chief (Il Mondo), dies at 43
- 1933 Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author, public speaker and wife of George Armstrong Custer, dies at 90
- 1935 Edward Arlington Robinson, American poet, dies
- 1939 Robert Courtneidge, British theater producer, dies
- 1947 Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture), dies at 50
- 1953 Idris Davies, Welsh poet (b. 1905)
- 1961 Jules Bordet, Belgian bacteriologist (syphillis, Nobel 1919), dies at 90
- 1962 J C Heldring, Dutch businessman, dies at 74
- 1963 Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)
- 1968 Robert "Bobby" Hutton, American Black Panther leader and treasurer, shot to death by Oakland police at 17
- 1970 Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)
- 1974 Willem Dudok, Dutch architect (Hilversum Town Hall/Beehive Rotterdam), dies at 89
- 1974 Hudson Fysh, Australian aviator and businessman (b.1895)
Chiang Kai-shek
1975 Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese political and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (1928-1975), dies at 87
Chiang Kai-shek
- 1976 Ruth P Thomson, writer, dies
- 1976 Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
- 1982 Paul Wiens, German writer and Stasi informant, dies at 59
- 1983 Ana Maria, Salvador guerilla leader, murdered
- 1990 Nancy Hawkes, (1946 best dress woman), dies at 73
- 1990 Ronald E Evans, astronaut (Apollo 17), dies of a heart attack at 57
Isaac Asimov
1992 Isaac Asimov, Russian scientist and sci-fi writer (I Robot, Foundation Trilogy), dies from kidney failure at 72
Isaac Asimov
- 1993 Hedi Amira Nouira, Prime Minister of Tunisia (1970-80), dies
- 1994 Theo Bosch, Dutch humanist and architect (Amsterdam), dies of cardiac arrest at 54
- 1994 Cyprien Ntaryamira, 5th President of Burundi (1994), assassinated by missile strike on the plane he was travelling on over Kigali, Rwanda at 39
Juvénal Habyarimana
1994 Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan General, Dictator and President of Rwanda (1973-94), assassinated by missile strike on his plane over Kigali, Rwanda at 57
Juvénal Habyarimana
- 1995 Vieno J Sukselainen, Prime Minister of Finland (1959-61), dies
- 1997 Stephan Hermlin, German writer, dies at 81
- 2000 Habib Bourguiba, 1st president of Tunisia (1957-87), dies at 96
- 2003 David Bloom, American reporter (b. 1963)
- 2003 Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter, Canadian religious figure (b. 1912)
- 2004 Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (b. 1929)
- 2005 Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (1949-2005), dies at 81
- 2006 Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)
- 2010 Wilma Mankiller, Native American activist, 1st woman chief of the Cherokee Nation, dies of cancer at 64
- 2012 Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist/dissident, dies at 76
- 2012 Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi, dies from heart attack at 78
- 2012 Thomas Kinkade, American artist, dies from acute intoxication at 54
- 2014 Mickey Rooney, American Emmy award-winning actor (Boys Town, The Black Stallion), dies at 93
- 2018 Daniel Akaka, American educator and politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii), dies at 93
- 2019 Richard Green, American sexologist, lawyer, and author who advocated for gay and transexual rights, dies of oesophageal cancer at 82
April in History
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, 1957Lionheart 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, 1199The 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, 1832Step 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
