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
Author: gil7
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
Historical Events for 20th April 2026
1799 – Friedrich von Schiller’s play “Wallensteins Tod” premieres in Weimar
1809 – Napoleon I and French forces defeat Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
1951 – Huge ticker-tape parade held in NYC for World War II and Korean War General Douglas MacArthur after he was relieved of Command by President Truman
1962 – OAS-leader ex-general Salan arrested in Algiers
1962 – NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong flies the experimental X-15 aircraft to an altitude of 63,250 meters
1991 – Mark Lenzi becomes the first diver to score more than 100 points on a single dive, earning 101.85 points
1996 – Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season
2012 – Plane crash near Islamabad, Pakistan, kills 127 people
Today in History for 20th April 2026
Historical Events
1931 – British House of Commons agrees to allow sports to be played on Sunday
1934 – Heinrich Himmler is appointed chief of all German police including the Prussian secret state police
1985 – Carlos Lopes runs world record marathon (2:07:12)
1998 – German terrorist group Red Army Faction, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group, disbands after 28 years
2009 – 113th Boston Marathon: Deriba Merga of Ethiopia wins men’s event in 2:08:42; Salina Kosgei of Kenya women’s champion in 2:32:16
Famous Birthdays
1857 – Charles Louis Philippe Zilcken, Dutch painter and author (HW Knife Day), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1930)
1894 – Martinus Nijhoff, Dutch poet and linguistic (spelling), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1953)
1955 – Donald Pettit, American chemical engineer and NASA astronaut, born in Silverton, Oregon
1961 – Don Mattingly, American MLB first baseman (6 x MLB All-Star; AL MVP 1985; 9 x Gold Glove; 3 x Silver Slugger; AL batting champion 1984; NY Yankees) and manager (LA Dodgers, Miami Marlins), born in Evansville, Indiana
1971 – Mikey Welsh, American bass player (Weezer, 1998-2001 – “Island In The Sun”), born in Syracuse, New York (d. 2011)
Famous Deaths
1164 – Victor IV [Ottaviano Montecello], Italian antipope (1159-64), dies
1960 – Paul Fort, French poet (founder of Vers et Prose), dies at 88
1970 – Paul Celan [Antschell], German-Romanian poet (Collected Prose), drowns himself at 49
1994 – Jean Carmet, French actor (Cache Cash, Miss Mona, Night Magic), dies of a heart attack at 72
2003 – Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
Famous Deaths for 19th April 2026
1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician, dies at 65
1892 – Fr. Thomas Dale SSC, Anglican clergyman prosecuted for Ritualist practices in the 1870s (b. 1821)
1937 – William Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English historian and explorer (Spitzbergen), dies at 81
1956 – Lionel Crabb “Buster”, British Royal Navy diver (WWII), disappears presumed dead on a job for M16 at 47
1978 – Emile de Strycker, Belgian philosopher and founder of the Antwerp University Faculty of Philosophy and Literature, dies at 70
1981 – Ernst Levy, Swiss composer, dies at 85
1992 – Alice Mary Riley, entertainer, dies of cancer at 51
1995 – Igor Hajek, Czech translator and writer, dies at 64
2011 – Grete Waitz, Norwegian long distance athlete (9 x NYC Marathon titles; World C’ship gold 1983; 5 x gold World Cross Country; WR x 4), dies of cancer at 57
2020 – Peter Beard, American wildlife photographer and diarist (The End of the Game, Eyelids of Morning), found dead in Camp Hero State Park at 82