1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (Versa est in luctum), dies at 62
1695 – George Savile, 1st marquis of Halifax and author (Character of a Trimmer), dies at 61
1735 – Samuel Wesley, English poet (b. 1662)
1934 – Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet and songwriter during “Golden Age of Neapolitan Song”, dies at 74
1951 – Edward Rigby, British actor (Star Look Down, Young and Innocent), dies at 72
2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician (b. 1936)
2005 – Dale Messick [Dalia Messick], American comic strip artist (Brenda Starr, Reporter), dies at 98
2012 – Jim Marshall, British businessman and electric guitar amplifier pioneer known as “The Father of Loud”, dies at 88
2014 – John Pinette, American comedian and actor (The Punisher, Junior), dies from an pulmonary embolism at 50
2021 – Paul Ritter [Simon Paul Adams], British actor (Friday Night Dinner; Chernobyl; Quantum of Solace), dies of a brain tumor at 54
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 5th April 2024
1895 – Oscar Wilde loses libel case against Marquess of Queensberry, who accused him of homosexual practices
1927 – Johnny Weissmuller sets world records in both the 100m and 200m free style swimming events
1946 – 100th Grand National: Capt. Robert Petre wins aboard 25/1 shot Lovely Cottage; first true GN since 1940 due to World War II; last on a Friday
1956 – Ceylon’s Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), led by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike wins the general elections in a landslide
1965 – 37th Academy Awards: “My Fair Lady”, Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady) and Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins) win
1990 – NY Rangers beat NY Islanders 2-1 in 1st game of preliminary
1994 – Miami Heat beat NY Knicks ending 15 game NBA winning streak
2012 – A three-run homer by J.P. Arencibia off Jairo Asencio gives the Toronto Blue Jays a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians; 16 inning game duration a MLB Opening Day record
2012 – International internet group Anonymous hack several Chinese bureaus in opposition to censorship
2021 – India records over 100,000 new daily COVID cases for the first time, more than half in the state of Maharashtra, which begins a new lockdown
Today in History for 5th April 2024
Historical Events
1609 – Daimyo (Lord) of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa
1847 – Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park, opens in Birkenhead, England, designed by Joseph Paxton
1908 – British Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman resigns
1941 – San Francisco Castro and Fillmore streetcars replaced by buses
1976 – Harold Wilson resigns as James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1991 – Detroit Pistons Joe Dumaars ends NBA free throw streak of 62 games
Famous Birthdays
1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1510)
1698 – Georg Gottfried Wagner, German composer, born in Mühlberg, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1756)
1899 – William Hornby Steer, Conservative Party politician and barrister (d. 1993)
1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian independence activist and politician, born in Chandwa, Bhojpur, Bihar, British India (d. 1986)
1937 – Stuart May, senior partner (Theodore Goddard)
1944 – Peter T. King, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from New York, born in Manhattan, New York
Famous Deaths
1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
1943 – Aleš Hrdlička, Austro-Hungarian anthropologist and curator (US National Museum), dies at 74
1973 – John Coleman, Australian rules footballer (b. 1928)
1994 – Kurt Cobain, American grunge rocker (Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), commits suicide at 27 by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun
2005 – Dale Messick [Dalia Messick], American comic strip artist (Brenda Starr, Reporter), dies at 98
2012 – Ferdinand A. Porsche, German car designer (Porsche 911), dies at 76
Famous Deaths for 4th April 2024
1662 – Davis Mell, British violinist, composer, and clockmaker, dies at 57
1766 – John Taylor, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
1806 – Friedrich Gottlob Fleischer, composer, dies at 84
1831 – Isaiah Thomas, American journalist, editor and historian (Massachusetts Spy), dies at 82
1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan soccer forward (51 caps; Nacional, FC Barcelona, FC Inter Milan, Palermo FC), dies at 68
1983 – Jacqueline Logan, American actress and silent film leading lady (WAMPAS Baby Star), dies at 78
1992 – Arthur Russell, American experimental classical-pop fusion cellist, and composer, dies of AIDS at 40
2010 – Clifford M. Hardin, American politician (17th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture), dies at 94
2020 – Forrest Compton, American actor (Gomer Pyle USMC, Edge of Night), dies at 94
2023 – Craig Breedlove, American auto racer (5 x world land speed record holder; first to reach 500mph (800km/h) and 600mph (970km/h), dies of cancer at 86
Historical Events for 4th April 2024
1081 – Alexius I Comnenus occupies Byzantine throne
1905 – Earthquake in Kangra India, kills 20,000
1912 – Army fires on striking mine workers at Lena-gold fields in Siberia
1949 – WKRC TV channel 12 in Cincinnati, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting
1958 – The CND Peace Symbol displayed in public for the first time in London
1960 – Senegal declares independence from France
1973 – World Trade Center, then the world’s tallest building, opens in New York (110 stories). Later destroyed in 9/11 terrorist attacks.
1986 – Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record with 213th point of season
1994 – American actor Tony Curtis (68) undergoes heart-bypass surgery
2012 – Somalia’s National Theater is struck by a suicide bomber killing ten people including the presidents of the Somali Olympic Committee and Football Federation
Today in History for 4th April 2024
Historical Events
1828 – Casparus van Wooden patents chocolate milk powder in Amsterdam
1862 – Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia begins (Yorktown campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
1913 – 75th Grand National: Percy Woodland wins aboard 100/9 chance Covertcoat; owner Sir Charles Assheton-Smith’s 2nd straight GN victory and 3rd overall
1939 – Faisal II ascends to throne of Iraq
1971 – Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 524 performances, then most expensive Broadway musical at the time
2013 – 9 people have been killed on an axe-murdering rampage in Chhattisgarh state, India
Famous Birthdays
1716 – Johann Evangelist Schreiber, Swiss Baroque composer, born in Arth, Switzerland (d. 1800)
1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of Breslov Hasidut, born in Międzybóż, Kingdom of Poland (d. 1810)
1870 – George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of Latter-day Saints, born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 1951)
1919 – Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (Metropolitan Opera 1957), born in London (d. 1987)
1957 – Paul Downton, English cricketer (England wicket-keeper in 80’s), born in Farnborough, London
1988 – Frank Fielding, English football goalkeeper, born in Blackburn, Lancashire
Famous Deaths
1643 – Simon Episcopius [Bisschop], Dutch theologist, dies at 60
1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier (b. circa 1580)
1662 – Davis Mell, British violinist, composer, and clockmaker, dies at 57
1693 – Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, Portuguese-Jewish rabbi, scholar and religious writer prominent in Amsterdam and in Dutch Brazil, dies at 88
1905 – Constantin Meunier, Belgian painter and sculptor, dies at 73
1988 – Ludwig Stiel, German pianist, composer, and conductor, dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 3rd April 2024
1525 – Giovanni Rucellai, Italian humanist and poet (The Bees – one of the 1st famous poems in blank verse), dies at 49
1747 – Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, dies at 89
1897 – Johannes Brahms, German composer and conductor (Hungarian Dances; A German Requiem), dies at 63
1930 – Emma Albani, Canadian operatic soprano, dies at 82
1936 – Bruno Hauptmann, German kidnapper of Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, executed at 36
1962 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek opera composer, dies at 78
2015 – Sarah Brady, American gun-control activist, dies at 73
2020 – Tom Dempsey, American NFL kicker (Pro Bowl, First-team All-Pro 1969; New Orleans Saints; longest winning field goal, 63 yards), dies of COVID-19 complications at 73
2022 – Tommy Davis, American baseball utility (3 x MLB All Star; World Series 1963; NL batting champion 1962, 63 LA Dodgers), dies at 83
2023 – Nigel Lawson, British journalist and politician (UK Chancellor 1983-89, reformed tax laws), dies at 91
Historical Events for 3rd April 2024
1559 – Spain and France sign 2nd Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambrésis
1856 – Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes badly damaged by gunpowder explosion, kills 4,000 on island of Rhodes
1868 – A Hawaiian surfs on highest wave ever – a 50-foot tidal wave
1925 – Netherlands and Belgium sign accord of Westerschelde
1948 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start a policy of “Vietnamization”, reducing American involvement
1986 – Maureen O’Boyle (future host of “A Current Affair”) is raped
2016 – ANA Inspiration Women’s Golf, Mission Hills CC: Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins by 1 from Charley Hull and Chun In-gee for her second major title
2019 – Ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak goes on trial for the 1MDB corruption scandal in Kuala Lumpur, pleads not guilty
2022 – Return engagement of David Byrne’s musical revue “American Utopia” closes at St. James Theatre, NYC, after 134 performances
Today in History for 3rd April 2024
Historical Events
1312 – 2nd council of Vienna, Knights Templars suppressed
1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start a policy of “Vietnamization”, reducing American involvement
1977 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s 1st meeting with US President Jimmy Carter
2006 – 68th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Florida beats UCLA, 73-57; Gators first title; center Joakim Noah named tournament Most Outstanding Player
2013 – 50 people are killed by flooding across Argentina
2017 – Bomb on St Petersburg metro kills 11, 2nd bomb defused
Famous Birthdays
1904 – Sally Rand, American burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress known for her ostrich feather fan and balloon bubble dances, born in Elkton, Missouri (d. 1979)
1914 – Katherine Stammers Menzies, English doubles tennis player (Wimb 1935), born in St Albans, England (d. 2005)
1930 – Max Frankel, American journalist (Tables of Id of Organic Compounds), born in Gera, Germany
1934 – Jane Goodall, British primatologist, anthropologist, and writer (Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe), born in Hampstead, London, England
1964 – Nigel Farage, British politician and leader of the UKIP who campaigned for Brexit, born in Downe, Kent
1980 – Trevor Moore, American actor and comedian (The Whitest Kids U’ Know), born in Montclair, New Jersey
Famous Deaths
628 – Khosrow II, Sāsānian King of Persia (579-628), murdered by his son Kavad at about 57
1822 – Friedrich Justin Bertuch, German publisher and patron, dies at 74
1983 – Danny Rapp, American pop singer (Danny and The Juniors – “At The Hop”), takes his own life at 41
2003 – Homer Banks, American singer and songwriter (“Be What You Are”), dies at 61
2003 – Michael Kelly, American journalist (b. 1957)
2010 – Dusan Radic, Serbian composer, dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 2nd April 2024
1507 – Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)
1864 – Princess Hildegard of Bavaria, seventh child and fourth daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, dies at 38
1865 – Richard Cobden, English politician and manufacturer (founder of the Anti-Corn-Law League), dies at 60
1995 – Hannes Alfven, physicist (Nobel prize), dies at 86
1997 – Anthony Bushell, British actor (Journey’s End, A Night to Remember), dies at 92
2000 – Tommaso Buscetta, Sicilian mafioso and pentito (b. 1928)
2009 – Frank Springer, American comics artist (The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist), dies at 79
2020 – Sergio Rossi, Italian shoe designer, dies of COVID-19 complications at 84
2020 – Carl Tacy, American college basketball coach (Wake Forest University 1972-85; 222-149 record), dies at 87
2023 – Salim Durani, Indian cricket all-rounder (29 Tests, 1 x 100, 74 wickets, BB 6/73; Saurashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan), dies from cancer at 88