April 7 is the 97th day of the year (98th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 268 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 451 – Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.
- 529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
- 1348 – Charles University is founded in Prague.
- 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
- 1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
- 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion BWV 245 at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
- 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767)
- 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward.
- 1788 – American Pioneers to the Northwest Territory arrive at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, establishing Marietta, Ohio, as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory, and opening the westward expansion of the new country.
- 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
- 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
- 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year.
- 1829 – Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
- 1831 – D. Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil, resigns. He goes to his native Portugal to become King D. Pedro IV.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh ends – the Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant defeats the Confederates near Shiloh, Tennessee.
- 1868 – Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation is assassinated by the Irish, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, and the only one of a federal politician.
- 1890 – Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
- 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
- 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
- 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
- 1922 – Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior leases Teapot Dome petroleum reserves in Wyoming.
- 1927 – First distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
- 1933 – Prohibition is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment.
- 1939 – World War II: Italy invades Albania.
- 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
- 1943 – Holocaust: In Terebovlia, Ukraine, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress to their underwear and march through the city of Terebovlia to the nearby village of Plebanivka where they are shot dead and buried in ditches.
- 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the WWII Axis Occupation.
- 1945 – World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed, is sunk by American planes 200 miles north of Okinawa while en-route to a suicide mission in Operation Ten-Go.
- 1945 – World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
- 1946 – Syria's independence from France is officially recognised.
- 1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
- 1948 – A Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai, China, leaving twenty monks dead.
- 1954 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.
- 1956 – Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.
- 1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
- 1967 – Film critic Roger Ebert published his very first film review in the Chicago Sun-Times.
- 1969 – The Internet's symbolic birth date: publication of RFC 1.
- 1971 – President Richard Nixon announces his decision to increase the rate of American troop withdrawals from Vietnam.
- 1976 – Former British Cabinet Minister John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party.
- 1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
- 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
- 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first space shuttle spacewalk.
- 1985 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declares a moratorium on the deployment of middle-range missiles in Europe.
- 1989 – Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
- 1990 – Iran Contra Affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
- 1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry M/S Scandinavian Star, killing 158 people.
- 1992 – Republika Srpska announces its independence.
- 1994 – Rwandan Genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
- 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to hijack FedEx Express Flight 705 and crash it to insure his family with his life insurance policy. The crew subdues him and lands the aircraft safely.
- 1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
- 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
- 2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched.
- 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.
- 2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
- 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
Births
- 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish Roman Catholic missionary, co-founder of the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
- 1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter (d. 1584)
- 1613 – Gerhard Douw, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
- 1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi, French soldier (d. 1730)
- 1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English statesman and poet (d. 1721)
- 1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
- 1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and music theorist (d. 1801)
- 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish preacher, author, and rhetorician (d. 1800)
- 1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist (d. 1806)
- 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian double bass virtuoso and composer (d. 1846)
- 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
- 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher (d. 1837)
- 1780 – William Ellery Channing, Unitarian theologian (d. 1842)
- 1803 – James Curtiss, American politician, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
- 1803 – Flora Tristan, French philosopher (d. 1844)
- 1848 – Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1930)
- 1853 – Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, (d. 1884)
- 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player, coach, and writer (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American industrialist and food manufacturer, founder of the Kellogg's Company (d. 1951)
- 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist (d. 1953)
- 1870 – Gustav Landauer, German anarchist and revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino historian, scholar and lawyer (d. 1927)
- 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
- 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician (d. 1934)
- 1883 – Gino Severini, Italian painter (d. 1966)
- 1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player (d. 1971)
- 1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American conservationist and writer (d. 1998)
- 1890 – Paul Berth, Danish football player (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish carpenter and toy maker, founder of the Lego Group toy company (d. 1958)
- 1893 – Allen Dulles, American Central Intelligence Agency director (d. 1969)
- 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
- 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect (d. 1974)
- 1897 – Erich Loewenhardt, German flying ace of World War I (d. 1918)
- 1897 – Walter Winchell, American broadcaster and journalist (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist (d. 1972)
- 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American Navy officer (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Robert Charroux, French writer (d. 1978)
- 1911 – Hervé Bazin, French writer (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Charles Vanik, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American bandleader, conductor, pianist, composer, and arranger (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer and songwriter (d. 1959)
- 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American writer (d. 1958)
- 1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor
- 1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player
- 1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian novelist and writer (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer
- 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian musician and composer
- 1922 – Mongo Santamaria, Cuban jazz musician (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian writer (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
- 1928 – James Garner, American actor
- 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director and producer (d. 1998)
- 1928 – James White, Irish writer (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier and mercenary (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
- 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founder of the cosmetics brand Yves Rocher (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Andrew Sachs, English actor
- 1931 – Donald Barthelme, American author (d. 1989)
- 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American military analyst
- 1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor
- 1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter
- 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician
- 1936 – Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist
- 1938 – Jerry Brown, American politician
- 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Dinosaurs, and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy) (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2008)
- 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director
- 1939 – David Frost, English broadcaster and television host
- 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American audio engineer, co-founder of the Record Plant recording studios
- 1941 – Cornelia Frances, Australian actress
- 1941 – Gorden Kaye, British actor
- 1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
- 1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor
- 1942 – Nam Gi-nam, Korean director
- 1944 – Julia Phillips, American producer and writer (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German politician
- 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
- 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch ASCAP award winning record producer and songwriter
- 1945 – Martyn Lewis, British news anchor
- 1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer, songwriter, and writer
- 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef
- 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director
- 1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
- 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Acadian poet and playwright
- 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects artist, makeup artist, and director (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer (The Chiffons)
- 1947 – Florian Schneider, German musician (Kraftwerk and Organisation)
- 1947 – Eliseo Soriano, Filipino televangelist
- 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
- 1948 – Carol Douglas, American singer
- 1949 – Mitch Daniels, American politician, governor of Indiana
- 1949 – John Oates, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Hall & Oates)
- 1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American Deputy Press Secretary in the United States Department of Homeland Security
- 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer, songwriter, musician, and author
- 1952 – Clarke Peters, American actor
- 1952 – Gilles Valiquette, Canadian singer, record producer, and actor
- 1954 – Jackie Chan, Chinese actor, director, producer, and martial artist
- 1954 – Tony Dorsett, American football player
- 1955 – Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist
- 1955 – Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
- 1956 – Annika Billström, Swedish politician
- 1956 – Christopher Darden, American lawyer, writer, and lecturer, prosecutor in O. J. Simpson murder case
- 1957 – Kim Kap-su, Korean actor
- 1960 – Buster Douglas, American boxer
- 1961 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player
- 1961 – Brigitte van der Burg, Dutch politician
- 1961 – Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
- 1962 – Andrew "Andy" Hampsten, American cyclist
- 1962 – Hugh O'Connor, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1962 – Ram Gopal Varma, Indian director and producer
- 1963 – Jaime de Marichalar, Duke of Lugo
- 1963 – Paul Michael Robinson, American actor, photographer, and model
- 1964 – Jace Alexander, American director
- 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand actor
- 1964 – Steve Graves, Canadian hockey player
- 1965 – Bill Bellamy, American actor and comedian
- 1965 – Alison Lapper, British artist
- 1966 – Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
- 1967 – Artemis Gounaki, composer, writer and producer
- 1968 – Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer
- 1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American director
- 1969 – Ricky Watters, American football player
- 1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist
- 1971 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (d. 2008)
- 1971 – Victor Kraatz, Canadian figure skater
- 1971 – Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, American actress
- 1973 – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch politician
- 1973 – Ève Salvail, Canadian model
- 1973 – Brett Tomko, American baseball player
- 1974 – Nathan Baesel, American actor
- 1974 – Antonia Bennett, American singer and actress
- 1974 – Christina Davis, Australian ballet dancer and contestant on the first season of Big Brother Australia
- 1974 – Tygo Gernandt, Dutch actor
- 1975 – Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer (The Knife and Honey Is Cool)
- 1975 – Ronde Barber, American football player
- 1975 – Tiki Barber, American football player
- 1975 – Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
- 1975 – Jeremy Taggart, Canadian drummer (Our Lady Peace)
- 1976 – Kevin Alejandro, American actor
- 1976 – Barbara Jane Reams, American actress
- 1977 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
- 1978 – Jo Appleby, English soprano (Amici Forever)
- 1978 – Duncan James, English singer and actor (Blue)
- 1979 – Adrián Beltré, Dominican baseball player
- 1979 – Patrick Crayton, American football player
- 1979 – Pascal Dupuis, Canadian hockey player
- 1979 – Robert Jozinović, Australian actor
- 1979 – Anika Knudsen, American model
- 1979 – Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1980 – Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer
- 1981 – Sharka Blue, Czech porn actress
- 1981 – Alex Lanipekun, British actor
- 1981 – Vanessa Olivarez, American singer, songwriter, and actress
- 1981 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
- 1981 – Kelli Young, English singer (Liberty X)
- 1982 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
- 1982 – Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler
- 1982 – Soledad Fandiño, Argentine actress and model
- 1983 – Kyle Labine, Canadian actor
- 1983 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
- 1983 – Jon Stead, British footballer
- 1984 – Norman D. Golden II, American actor
- 1984 – Yonah Higgins, English singer and actress (Cleopatra)
- 1984 – Matt McDonald, American roofing foreman and contestant on the 9th season of Big Brother
- 1985 – KC Concepcion, Filipina actress and singer
- 1985 – Ariela Massotti, Brazilian actress
- 1986 – Brooke Brodack, American comedian
- 1987 – Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist (Eme 15)
- 1987 – Jaimee Kaire-Gataulu, New Zealand actress
- 1987 – Jack Johnson, American actor
- 1987 – Patricia Joxelius, Swedish singer (Bubbles)
- 1987 – Sandra Joxelius, Swedish singer (Bubbles)
- 1987 – Alexis Love, Mexican-American porn actress and model
- 1987 – April O'Neil, American porn actress
- 1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch athlete, specialising in the decathlon
- 1988 – Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Ed Speleers, English actor and producer
- 1988 – Sarah Walker, Australian actress
- 1989 – Alexa Demara, American actress, model, writer and martial artist
- 1989 – Franco Di Santo, Argentine footballer
- 1990 – Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer
- 1991 – Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer
- 1992 – Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast
- 1992 – Alexis Jordan, American singer and actress
- 1992 – Jessica Sara, American actress
- 1999 – Conner Rayburn, American actor
Deaths
- 1498 – Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
- 1614 – El Greco, Greek artist (b. 1541)
- 1638 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese ruler of Satsuma (b. 1576)
- 1651 – Lennart Torstenson, Swedish soldier and engineer (b. 1603)
- 1658 – Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic (b. 1595)
- 1661 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English soldier and politician (b. 1604)
- 1663 – Francis Cooke, Mayflower pilgrim (b. c.1583)
- 1668 – William Davenant, English poet (b. 1606)
- 1719 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French saint (b. 1651)
- 1739 – Dick Turpin, English highwayman (b. 1705)
- 1747 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian field marshal (b. 1676)
- 1766 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
- 1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer (b. 1715)
- 1782 – Taksin, King of Thailand (b. 1734)
- 1789 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1725)
- 1789 – Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist (b. 1722)
- 1801 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (b. 1724)
- 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian Revolutionary (b. 1743)
- 1811 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
- 1823 – Jacques Charles, French chemist (b. 1746)
- 1833 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Polish politician (b. 1775)
- 1836 – William Godwin, English political writer (b. 1756)
- 1850 – William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
- 1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian music publisher, editor, and composer (b. 1781)
- 1868 – Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Irish Nationalist, journalist, and Father of Canadian confederation (b. 1825)
- 1871 – Alexander Loyd, American politician, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
- 1871 – Prince Alexander John of Wales (b. 1871)
- 1885 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (b. 1804)
- 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American showman, businessman, scam artist, and entertainer (b. 1810)
- 1920 – Karl Binding, German jurist (b. 1841)
- 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician and philosopher (b. 1873)
- 1932 – Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1939 – Joseph Lyons, Australian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
- 1943 – Jovan Dučić, Serbian poet (b. 1871)
- 1943 – Alexandre Millerand, French politician, President of France (b. 1859)
- 1947 – Henry Ford, American automobile manufacturer and industrialist, founder of the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863)
- 1950 – Walter Huston, Canadian actor (b. 1884)
- 1955 – Theda Bara, American actress (b. 1885)
- 1960 – Henri Guisan, Swiss army officer, General of the Swiss Army during World War II (b. 1874)
- 1965 – Roger Leger, Canadian hockey player (b. 1919)
- 1968 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (b. 1936)
- 1972 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (b. 1929)
- 1972 – Abeid Karume, African political leader, first president of Zanzibar (b. 1905)
- 1981 – Kit Lambert, British record producer and manager (b. 1935)
- 1981 – Norman Taurog, American director (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Brenda Benet, American actress (b. 1945)
- 1982 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver (b. 1948)
- 1984 – Frank Church, American Senator (b. 1924)
- 1985 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and theorist (b. 1888)
- 1990 – Ronald Evans, American astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1992 – Ace Bailey, Canadian hockey player (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Antonis Tritsis, Greek politician (b. 1937)
- 1994 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer and politician (b. 1923)
- 1994 – Golo Mann, German historian (b. 1909)
- 1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
- 1997 – Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player (b. 1923)
- 1997 – Georgi Shonin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1935)
- 1997 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese movie producer (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Heinz Lehmann, Canadian psychiatrist (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Broery Marantika, Indonesian singer (b. 1944)
- 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
- 2001 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
- 2002 – John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French author (b. 1903)
- 2003 – David Greene, British director (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
- 2004 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (b. 1901)
- 2005 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Cliff Allison, British race car driver (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Mark Speight, English television presenter (b. 1965)
- 2008 – Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese writer (b. 1915)
- 2009 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Mike Wallace, American journalist (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
External links