April 8

Events

Pre-1600

* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated by Innocent II for supporting Anacletus II as pope for seven years, even though Roger had already publicly recognized Innocent's claim to the papacy.
*1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
*1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.

1601–1900

*1605 – The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
*1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in continental North America, is dedicated.
*1812 – Czar Alexander I, the Russian Emperor and the Grand Duke of Finland, officially announces the transfer of the status of the Finnish capital from Turku to Helsinki.
*1820 – The '' Venus de Milo'' is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
*1832 – Black Hawk War: Around 300 United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
*1866 – Austro-Prussian War: Italy and Prussia sign a secret alliance against the Austrian Empire.
*1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
*1895 – In '' Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.'' the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.

1901–present

*1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the '' Entente cordiale''.
*1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dies.
*1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
*1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
*1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
*1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City's financial district.
*1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk's Reforms.
*1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
*1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
*1940 – The Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party elects Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal as General Secretary, marking the beginning of his 44-year-long tenure as ''de facto'' leader of Mongolia.
*1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
*1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
*1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
*1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
*1946 – Électricité de France, the world's largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
*1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
*1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
*1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya's rulers.
*1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
* 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
*1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
* 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
*1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
*1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
*1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers accidentally strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
*1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager.
*1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racist remarks he had made while on ''Nightline''.
*1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.

*1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
* 1993 – The Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' is launched on mission STS-56.
*2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government, the Justice and Equality Movement, and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.
*2005 – A solar eclipse occurs, visible over areas of the Pacific Ocean and Latin American countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela.
*2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
*2008 – The construction of the world's first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
*2010 – U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the New START Treaty.
*2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.
*2014 – Windows XP reaches it's standard End Of Life and is no longer supported
*2020 – Bernie Sanders ends his presidential campaign, leaving Joe Biden as the Democratic Party's nominee.

Births

Pre-1600

*1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
*1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
*1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
*1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
*1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
*1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
*1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
*1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)

1601–1900

*1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
* 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
*1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
*1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
*1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
*1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
*1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
*1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
*1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
*1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
* 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
*1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
*1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
*1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
*1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
*1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
*1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
*1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
*1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
*1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
* 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
*1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
*1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
*1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
* 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
*1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
*1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
*1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
*1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
*1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designer of the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
* 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of United Artists (d. 1979)
*1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
*1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)

1901–present

*1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
* 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
*1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
* 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
*1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
* 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
* 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
*1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
*1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
*1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
*1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
*1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
* 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
*1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
* 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
*1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/ Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
*1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
*1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
* 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
* 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
* 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
*1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
* 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
*1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
*1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
*1920 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
* 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
* 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
*1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
* 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
*1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
* 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
* 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
* 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
*1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
* 1926 – Shecky Greene, American comedian
* 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
*1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
* 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
*1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
*1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
* 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
*1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
*1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
*1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
* 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
*1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
*1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
* 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
*1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)
* 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
* 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
*1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
* 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
* 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
*1939 – Manolis Angelopoulos, Greek singer, composer and songwriter (d. 1989)
* 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
* 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
*1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
*1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
*1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
* 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist (d. 2022)
*1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
* 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
* 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
* 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
*1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
* 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
*1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
* 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
*1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
* 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
*1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
* 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
* 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
* 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
* 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
*1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
*1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
* 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
* 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
* 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
*1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
*1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
* 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
* 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
* 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
* 1951 – Phil Schaap, American jazz disc jockey and historian (d. 2021)
*1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
*1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
* 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
* 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
*1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
* 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
* 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
* 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
*1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
* 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
* 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
*1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
* 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
*1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
*1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
*1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
* 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
*1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
* 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
*1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
* 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
* 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
* 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
* 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
*1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2021)
* 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
*1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
* 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
*1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
* 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
* 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
* 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
* 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
* 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
* 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
* 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
* 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
*1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
*1968 – Patricia Arquette, American actress and director
* 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
* 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
*1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
* 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
*1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
* 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
*1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
* 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
*1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
* 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
* 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
* 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
*1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
* 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
* 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
*1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
* 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
* 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
* 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
* 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
*1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2020)
* 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
*1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
* 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
* 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
*1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
* 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
*1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
* 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
*1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
*1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
* 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
* 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
*1985 – Patrick Schliwa

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