1014 – Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, dies in battle at Clontarf at 72 or 73
1728 – Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, Spanish organist, composer (La púrpura de la rosa), and maestro de capilla (Catedral de Lima, Peru, 1676-1707), dies at 83
1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer, dies at 50
1823 – Joseph Nollekens, English sculptor (portrait busts, patronized by George III), dies at 85
1986 – Harold Arlen [Hyman Arluck], American popular song composer (“Over the Rainbow”; “It’s Only A Paper Moon”; “Stormy Weather”), dies of cancer at 81
1986 – Otto Preminger, Austro-Hungarian-American theatre and film director, producer (Laura; Advise and Consent; Anatomy of A Murder), and actor (Stalag 17), dies of lung cancer at 80
1999 – Tullio Pandolfini, Italian water polo athlete (Olympic gold, 1948), dies at 84
2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (PvdA), dies at 86
2022 – Orrin Hatch, American politician (US Senator from Utah (R), 1977-2019) longest-serving Utah US Senator, dies at 88
2025 – Jonnie Boer, Dutch chef with three Michelin Stars and a pioneer of the New Nordic food movement, dies of a pulmonary embolism at 60
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 23rd April 2026
1851 – Canada issues its first postage stamp, a Three-Pence Beaver
1918 – Zeebrugge Raid: Dover Patrol attempted to block Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge to prevent German U-boats from leaving port
1942 – 4-day allied bombing on Rostock, Germany begins
1950 – NBA Championship: Minneapolis Lakers beat Syracuse Nationals, 110-95 to take series, 4 games to 2
1958 – Robert Kurka’s “The Good Soldier Schweik”, with libretto written by Abe Meeropol, premieres at the New York City Opera
1963 – Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s musical “She Loves Me”, based on the film “The Shop Around the Corner”, opens at Eugene O’Neill Theater, NYC; runs for 302 performances and a Tony Award for Jack Cassidy
2013 – “Star Trek Into Darkness” directed by J. J. Abrams starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Sydney
2017 – Adam Ondra sets a new highpoint for the Project indoor sport route in Stockholm, Sweden
Today in History for 23rd April 2026
Historical Events
1516 – Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria endorses “The German Beer Purity Law” (Reinheitsgebot) and adds to it standards for the sale of beer in Bavaria, ensuring beer is only brewed from three ingredients: water, barley, and hops
1949 – Netherlands annex several German territories, including Elten and Tuddern, as apart of post-Wold War II border adjustments
1977 – Czech chess master, Vlastimil Hort, plays 201 games simultaneously; won-174, drew-17, lost-10
2012 – Rangers F.C. owner, Craig Whyte, is banned for life from any involvement in Scottish football
2019 – At least 54 jade miners buried by a mudslide in Kachin state, Myanmar
Famous Birthdays
1725 – Saint Gerard Majella, Catholic saint, born in Muro, Naples, Italy (d. 1755)
1881 – Claude Carter, South African cricket spin bowler (19 Tests, 28 wickets, BB 6/50; Natal, Transvaal), born in Durban, South Africa (d. 1952)
1900 – Henry Barraud, French composer, born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1997)
1918 – James Kirkup, British travel writer, poet and novelist (African in Greenland), born in South Shields, England (d. 2009)
1960 – Jodie Mudd, American golfer (Players C’ship 1990), born in Louisville, Kentucky
Famous Deaths
1762 – Johann Samuel Endler, German composer, musician, and conductor, dies at 67
1986 – Jim Laker, English cricket spin bowler (46 Tests; 193 wickets; world best 19-90 4th Test v Australia 1956), dies from complications of gall bladder surgery at 64
1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director (Distant Thunder, Agantuk), dies at 70
2006 – Johnnie Checketts, New Zealand fighter pilot, dies at 94
2025 – Jonnie Boer, Dutch chef with three Michelin Stars and a pioneer of the New Nordic food movement, dies of a pulmonary embolism at 60
Famous Deaths for 22nd April 2026
835 – Kūkai, Japanese Buddhist monk and poet (founded Shingon school of Buddhism), dies at 60
1951 – Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (British Ants), dies at 81
1976 – Frutuoso de Lima Viana, Brazilian pianist and composer, dies at 79
1982 – Melville Bell Grosvenor, American photographer and president of National Geographic Society, dies at 80
1989 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian physicist and Nobel laureate (discovered the elements technetium, astatine and the sub-atomic antiparticle antiproton), dies at 84 of a heart attack
2003 – Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman, dies at 91
2005 – (John) Norman Bird, British stage, wireless, and screen character actor (Worzel Gummidge, 1979–81 – “Mr Braithwaite”), dies at 80
2009 – Jack Cardiff, British cinematographer (Black Narcissus), dies at 94
2022 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian Hockey HOF right wing (5 x Stanley Cup, 2 x NHL MVP, NHL Playoff MVP Montreal Canadiens; NY Rangers, Quebec Nordiques), dies of lung cancer at 70
2025 – Keith Stackpole, Australian cricket batsman (43 Tests, 7 x 100, 14 x 50, HS 207; Victoria), dies at 84
Historical Events for 22nd April 2026
1728 – Pierre de Marivaux’s play “Le Triomphe de Plutus” premieres in Paris
1823 – Baltic Club (Exchange) forms in London
1848 – Captain James Fitzjames and 105 surviving crew depart their ice-trapped ships for safety in Arctic Canada; all later perish as part of John Franklin’s doomed Northwest Passage expedition
1957 – All NL baseball teams integrate, John Irwin Kennedy becomes the 1st Black player for the Philadelphia Phillies
1969 – Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 days of non-stop sailing to become the 1st person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
1971 – Soyuz 10 launches as the world’s first mission to the first-ever space station (the Salyut 1) however the docking was unsuccessful and the cosmonauts returned to Earth
1998 – 33rd Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and George Strait win
2006 – Nepalese security forces open fire on pro-democracy protesters demonstrating against King Gyanendra, injuring hundreds. The protesters secure the restoration of parliament and a federal state
Today in History for 22nd April 2026
Historical Events
1601 – First expedition of the English East India Company to the Spice Islands of the Moluccas departs Torbay
1988 – Women are allowed to compete in Little 500 bicycle race (Indiana)
1990 – Lebanon release US hostage Robert Polhill after 39 months
1993 – Pete Townshend’s rock musical “The Who’s Tommy” adapted for theatrical stage, opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 899 performances, winning 5 Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award
1994 – Schelto Patijn appointed Mayor of Amsterdam
Famous Birthdays
1729 – Michael Hillegas, American merchant and first Treasurer of the United States (1775-89), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1804)
1863 – C. A. J. van Dishoeck, Dutch publisher, born in Zierikzee, Netherlands (d. 1931)
1919 – Donald J. Cram, American biochemist (development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity – Nobel 1987), born in Chester, Vermont (d. 2001)
1935 – Mario Machado, Chinese-American eight-time Emmy Award-winning television and radio broadcaster, first Chinese-American on-air news anchor in Los Angeles, born in Shanghai (d. 2013)
1950 – (Jesse) “Pete” Carr, American guitarist and session musician (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section; LeBlanc and Carr), born in Daytona Beach, Florida (d. 2020)
Famous Deaths
1865 – Francis Washburn, US Union colonel/gen major, dies of injuries
1992 – Billy Wayne White, American murderer, executed in Texas at 34
1996 – Erma Bombeck, American humorist (The Grass is Greener over the Septic Tank), dies at 69
2003 – Felice Bryant [Matilda Scaduto], American songwriter, with husband Boudleaux (“Bye Bye Love”; “Wake Up Little Susie”), dies of cancer at 77
2011 – Moin Akhter, Pakistani actor, dies at 60
Famous Deaths for 21st April 2026
1868 – Henry James O’Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
1898 – Louis Théodore Gouvy, French-German composer, dies at 78
1920 – Maria Stanford, American pioneering educator and professor, dies at 83
1970 – Earl Hooker, American blues slide guitar player (“Blue Guitar”), dies of tuberculosis at 40
1973 – Arthur Fadden, 13th Prime Minister of Australia, dies at 79
1990 – Erté [Romain de Tirtoff], Russian-French artist and designer, dies at 97
1995 – Bob Wyatt, English cricket all-rounder and captain (40 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 149, 18 wickets; Warwickshire CCC, Worcestershire CCC), dies at 93
2007 – Lobby Loyde [John Lyde], Australian rock guitarist and songwriter (The Purple Heart; Wild Cherries; Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs), dies at 65
2010 – Ludvigsen [Gustav Lorentzen], Norwegian pop and bilhdren;s music singer-songwriter (Knutsen and Ludvigsen), musical therapist, and UNCEF ambassador, dies of cardiac arrest at 63
2015 – Duncan Watson, British solicitor and disability activist (President of World Blind Union, 1988-92), dies at 88
Historical Events for 21st April 2026
1930 – Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 322
1944 – NFL Chic Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers merge (dissolves on Dec 3)
1980 – Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWWW Detroit, Michigan
1991 – French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio discovers the San Diego, Dutch galleon sunk in 1600 off Fortune Island in the Philippines
1994 – Serbian army bombs distress clinic in Goradze Bosnia, 28 killed
1997 – 101st Boston Marathon: Lameck Aguta of Kenya wins men’s event in 2:10:34; Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia women’s champion in 2:26:23
2017 – Taliban attack army base at Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, killing more than 100
2018 – Oakland A’s left hander Sean Manaea no-hits the Boston Red Sox
Today in History for 21st April 2026
Historical Events
1789 – John Adams sworn in as 1st US Vice President (9 days before Washington)
1862 – Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorodo
1960 – Founding of the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith in Washington, DC
1983 – £1 coin is introduced in the United Kingdom
1995 – FBI arrests Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case; he is indicted on 160 state offenses and 11 federal offenses, including use of a weapon of mass destruction
Famous Birthdays
1911 – Leonard Warren [Warenoff], American baritone (Metropolitan Opera, 1939-60) who died on stage, born in The Bronx, New York City (d. 1960)
1924 – Ira Louvin [Loudermilk], American country singer and mandolin player (Louvin Brothers – “The Only Way Out (Is to Walk Over Me)”), born in Section, Alabama (d. 1965)
1942 – Brendan Malone, American basketball coach (RI Uni; Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers), born in New York City (d. 2023)
1945 – Diana Darvey [Rollof], British actress, singer and dancer (The Benny Hill Show), born in Cheadle, Cheshire, England (d. 2000)
1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author and Hot Wheels historian, born in Utica, New York
Famous Deaths
1073 – Alexander II [Anselmo da Baggio], Pope (1061-73), dies
1718 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer, known for his work on conic sections, dies at 78
1899 – Heinrich Kiepert, German cartographer and geographer (1st modern maps of classical world and Ottoman Empire), dies at 80
1975 – Jack Westrup, English composer, dies at 70
2008 – Al Wilson, American soul singer (“Show and Tell”; “The Snake”), dies of kidney failure at 68
Famous Deaths for 20th April 2026
1632 – Nicolas Antoine, French Protestant theologian who attempted to convert to Judaism, burned at the stake for heresy aged about 30 in Geneva, Switzerland
1769 – Pontiac, Ottawa Indian leader, murdered by a Peoria warrior at 48 or 49
1977 – Len Johnson, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 6 wickets, BB 3/8; Queensland), dies at 58
1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer, 13th person and 1st Bulgarian to climb Mt Everest, dies during his descent at 41 (b. 1943)
1992 – Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer and guitarist, dies at 76
1999 – “Ravishing” Rick Rude, American professional wrestler, dies at 40
2014 – Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, American boxer (famous murder conviction overturned after 19 years imprisonment), dies of prostate cancer at 76
2017 – Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish fiber artist and sculptor, dies at 86
2018 – Avicii [Tim Bergling], Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer (“Levels”; “Wake Me Up”; “Sunshine”), commits suicide at 28
2018 – Allan B. Swift, American broadcast journalist and politician (US Representative for Washington (D), 1979-95), dies at 82