1690 – Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Austrian field marshal, dies at 47
1824 – Edward Jones, Welsh harpist and composer, dies at 72
1861 – August Neithardt, German composer, dies at 67
1917 – Moritz von Bissing, Prussian general, dies at 73
1917 – Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist, professor, and writer (The Forensic Psychopathology), dies of renal failure at 59
1947 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak politician (President of the First Slovak Republic), executed for treason for collaborating with Nazi Germany at 59
1983 – Alan Melville, South African cricket batsman (11 Tests, 4 x 100, HS 189; Natal, Oxford University CC, Sussex CCC, Transvaal), dies at 72
2005 – Kenneth Schermerhorn, American conductor (American Ballet), dies at 75
2016 – Brian Asawa, Japanese-American countertenor, dies of liver failure at 49
2024 – Peter Hordern, British Conservative Party politician known for promoting monetarism, dies on his 95th birthday
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 18th April 2025
1899 – John McGraw, at 26, has his managerial debut as Oriole manager
1915 – French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
1946 – International Court of Justice opens at The Hague Netherlands
1947 – “New Orleans”, an American musical romance film premieres; Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, in her only feature film, play supporting roles
1950 – 1st opening night-game, Cards beat Pirates, 4-2
1970 – France beats England, 35-13 at Stade Colombes, Paris to earn a share of the Five Nations Rugby Championship with Wales
1993 – Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: American Tom Wargo pars second playoff hole to beat Bruce Crampton of Australia and take his first and only major title
2020 – Canada’s worst modern mass shooting as a gunman kills 18 people, including a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, across Nova Scotia
2024 – United States vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution recognising Palestine as a state with the UK and Switzerland abstaining
2024 – Fossil evidence of the largest known snake 11-15 meters long named Vasuki indicus, 66 million years old, published from a mine in Panandhro, western India
Today in History for 18th April 2025
Historical Events
1899 – John McGraw, at 26, has his managerial debut as Oriole manager
1955 – 1st Bandoeng Conference opens in Indonesia, attended by 29 nations – first international assembly of Asian-African nations
1966 – Bill Russell becomes first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)
1991 – US Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census
2017 – British Prime Minister Teresa May announces she will seek a “snap” election
Famous Birthdays
1944 – Rudy Shackelford, American organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Newport News, Virginia
1947 – Dorothy Lyman, American actress (All My Children. 1981-83 -“Opal”; Mama’s Family – “Naomi”), and director, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1949 – Geoff Bodine, American race car driver, born in Chemung, New York
1956 – Melody Thomas Scott, American actress (The Young and the Restless, 1979-present – “Nikki Newman”), born in Los Angeles, California
1979 – Matthew Upson, English footballer (England national team World Cup 2010), born in Eye, England
Famous Deaths
1674 – John Graunt, English statistician and founder of science of demography, dies at 53
1689 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, Welsh judge, dies at 43
2012 – Robert O. Ragland, American film score composer (The Thing With Two Heads), dies at 80
2013 – Storm Thorgerson, British graphic designer and music video director (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, The Cranberries), dies of cancer at 69
2024 – Wally Harris, Canadian ice hockey referee (6 x Stanley Cup series; first NHL Director of Officiating), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 17th April 2025
1630 – Christian I, German Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg who led an army of 21,000 Bohemians at the Battle of White Mountain, dies at 61
1679 – John van Kessel, Flemish painter, dies at 53
1910 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican lawyer and diplomat (Secretary of Foreign Affairs), dies at 80
1937 – Yi Sang, Korean author and poet (Dying Words, Wings, Child’s Bone), dies of tuberculosis in a Japanese prison camp at 26
1983 – Dutch Leonard, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1940, 43, 44, 45, 51; Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs), dies of congestive heart failure at 74
1995 – Anton Murray, South African cricket all-rounder (10 Tests; 1 x 100; 18 wickets), dies at 72
2006 – Henderson Forsythe, American actor (As the World Turns, Crisis at Central High), dies at 88
2016 – Warren Davis, American doo-wop singer (The Monotones – “The Book of Love”), dies at 77
2019 – Alan García, President of Peru (Peruvian Aprista Party: 1985-90, 2006-11), commits suicide by shooting himself as police try to arrest him on corruption charges at 69
2022 – James Olsen, American stage and screen actor (Rachel, Rachel; Moon Zero Two; The Andromeda Strain), dies at 91
Historical Events for 17th April 2025
1875 – Modern Snooker invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain, a bored British officer in Jabalpur, India
1922 – 26th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in race record 2:18:10; his 2nd race victory; first of 3 consecutive wins
1927 – Japan’s Wakarsoeki government falls, Baron Tanaka becomes premier
1935 – Provincial-National elections (Musserts NSB achieves 7.9%, 44 chairs)
1942 – POW French General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein
1981 – Carl Gottlieb’s movie “Caveman”, starring Ringo Starr, Shelley Long, Barbara Bach, Dennis Quaid, Jack Gilford, and John Matuszak premieres
1991 – Railroad workers go on strike in US
1999 – NFL Draft: University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch first pick by Cleveland Browns
2001 – A letter between Gale Norton and Jeb Bush is released, stating that the Bush administration has decided to go ahead with plans to auction 6 million acres of potentially oil-and-gas-rich seabed in the Gulf of Mexico
2023 – New Research shows the Great Pacific Garbage Patch now has coast creatures living and breeding in it, including jellyfish, sponges and worms raising concerns about the spread of invasive species
Today in History for 17th April 2025
Historical Events
1492 – Christopher Columbus signs a contract with the Spanish monarchs to find the “Indies” with the stated goal of converting people to Catholicism. This promises him 10% of all riches found, and the governorship of any lands encountered.
1684 – Dutch East India Company signs treaty with Sultan Hadji of Banten (Java) to aid him in a civil war with his father in exchange for sole right to trade in the Sultanate
1977 – Christian-democrats win Belgium parliamentary election
1983 – Grete Waltz runs female world record marathon (2:25:29)
2017 – 121st Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Geoffrey Kirui takes men’s title in 2:09:37; Edna Kiplagat women’s champion in 2:21:52
Famous Birthdays
1622 – Henry Vaughan, English poet (Silex Scintillans), born in Newton St. Bridget, Brecknockshire, Wales (d. 1695)
1845 – Isabel Barrows, American editor and penologist (Conference on Negro Question), born in Irasburg, Vermont (d. 1913)
1947 – Linda Martin, Irish singer and TV presenter, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1961 – Norman Cowans, Jamaican cricketer (England fast bowler in 19 Tests 1982-85), born in St. Mary, Jamaica
1971 – David Oliver, Canadian NHL right wing (Edmonton Oilers), born in Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
Famous Deaths
858 – Benedict III, Italian Pope (855-58), dies
1713 – David Hollatz, Pomeranian dogmatician (b. 1648)
1948 – Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum, Dutch diplomat (Governor General of the Dutch East Indies 1916-21), dies at 75
1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, Irish-British owner of Mirror Group Newspapers, dies at 86
2003 – Robert Atkins, American cardiologist, known for the Atkins diet, dies at 72
Famous Deaths for 16th April 2025
1879 – Peter Kosler, German-Slovenian lawyer and cartographer who made the first map of Slovene land (Kosler’s Map), dies at 55
1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet, dies at 16
1916 – Tom Horan, Australian cricket all-rounder (15 Tests, 1 x 100, 11 wickets; Victoria CA), dies a 62
1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman and founder of Henri Birks and Sons, dies at 87
1938 – Bertram Mills, British circus proprietor (Bertram Mills Circus), dies at 70
1959 – Charles Halton, British stage actor (Dr Cyclops, Tugboat Annie Sails Again), dies at 83
2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
2011 – Gerry Alexander, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (25 Tests, top score 108, 90 dismissals), dies at 82
2016 – Charlie Hodge, French Canadian goalkeeper (Montreal Canadians), dies at 82
2021 – Mike Mitchell, American rock guitarist (The Kingsmen -“Louie, Louie”), dies on his 77th birthday
Historical Events for 16th April 2025
1799 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre
1917 – 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy in 2:28:37.2
1945 – World War II: Dutch town of Arnhem, site of failed Operation Market Garden, is freed by British and Canadian forces
1973 – 77th Boston Marathon: American double; Jon Anderson men’s champion in 2:16:03; Jacqueline Hansen wins women’s title in 3:05:59
1979 – Failed Palestinian attack on Zaventem Airport, Belgium
1987 – Peter Taylor’s “Summons to Memphis” wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction
1992 – “Metro” opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 13 performances
2006 – Colin Farrell reaches a confidential settlement with ex-girlfriend Nicole Narain to keep their 13-minute sex tape private
2007 – “Spider-Man 3” directed by Sam Raimi and starring Toby Maguire and Kristen Dunst premieres at the Tokyo Film Festival
2020 – Nationwide State of Emergency declared in Japan till 6 May due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak
Today in History for 16th April 2025
Historical Events
1912 – Pirates turn a rare 5-3-7 doubleplay (left fielder covers 2nd base)
1922 – Annie Oakley sets women’s record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row
1980 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 – “Copperfield” opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 13 performances
1985 – “Grind” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 79 performances
Famous Birthdays
1697 – Johann Gottlieb Gorner, German composer, born in Penig, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1778)
1935 – Bobby Vinton, American pop singer, known as “The Polish Prince” (“Roses Are Red (My Love)”; “Blue Velvet”; “My Melody Of Love”), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer (memorable Pakistani and Essex batsman), born in Kayerpora, Lahore, Pakistan
1968 – Grace Kim, South Korean-American tennis star, born in South Korea
1975 – Joanna Ławrynowicz, Polish classical pianist, born in Warsaw, Poland
Famous Deaths
1879 – Peter Kosler, German-Slovenian lawyer and cartographer who made the first map of Slovene land (Kosler’s Map), dies at 55
1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
1989 – Tawfieq Yusuf Awwaad, Lebanese writer, dies
2011 – Paul Des Marais, American composer, dies at 90
2011 – Harold Volkmer, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri, dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 15th April 2025
1502 – Jan IV of Chalon-Arnay, prince of Orange and lord of Arlay, dies at 59
1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (Republican: 1861-65), dies from gunshot wounds at 56
1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (Dover Beach), dies at 65
1949 – Wallace Beery, American circus performer (Ringling Brothers Circus) and actor (Alias a Gentleman, Dinner at 8), dies from a heart attack at 64
1984 – Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer, dies at 58
1988 – Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist, dies at 33
1990 – Ulrich Becher, German writer and playwright, dies at 80
1993 – Harry Alexander, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, Bodyline series 1933, 1 wicket; Victoria), dies at 87
1995 – Harry Shoulberg, American expressionist painter, dies at 91
1995 – Cleo Brown, American jazz pianist, dies at 85