April 16
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April 16 is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 259 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 1178 BC - A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War.
- 73 - Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.
- 1071 - Bari falls to Robert Guiscard, ending Byzantine rule in Italy.
- 1346 - Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe.
- 1395 - Azzo X d'Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops.
- 1521 - Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
- 1582 - Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
- 1746 - Battle of Culloden
- 1780 - The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.
- 1799 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
- 1853 - The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
- 1858 - The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, was wound up.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.
- 1862 - American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia became law.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- 1881 - In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
- 1912 - Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
- 1917 - Vladimir Lenin returns to Saint Petersburg from exile in Finland.
- 1919 - Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the British slaughter of Indian protestors in the Amritsar Massacre.
- 1922 - The Treaty of Rapallo, in which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow, is signed.
- 1925 - During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
- 1941 - World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
- 1943 - Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.
- 1945 - The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin.
- 1945 - The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) Prisoner of War camp Oflag IVc .
- 1945 - More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
- 1946 - Syria gains independence.
- 1947 - Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
- 1947 - Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht Britannia.
- 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
- 1963 - Great Train Robbery - 12 men are sentenced to a total of 307 years.
- 1972 - Apollo program: Apollo 16 launches towards the Moon from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.
- 1987 - British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London charged with gross indecency.
- 1988 - In Forlì, Italy, Red Brigades kill Italian Senator Roberto Ruffilli, an advisor of Prime Minister Ciriaco de Mita.
- 1992 - The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
- 2003 - The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
- 2007 - Virginia Tech massacre: the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, in which a gunman shoots 32 people to death and injures 23 others before committing suicide.
Births
- 778 - King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
- 1319 - King John II of France (d. 1364)
- 1495 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
- 1646 - Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
- 1660 - Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
- 1661 - Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
- 1682 - John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)
- 1693 - Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
- 1728 - Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
- 1738 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
- 1755 - Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
- 1800 - George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
- 1821 - Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
- 1823 - Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
- 1827 - Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (d. 1879)
- 1844 - Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
- 1847 - Hans Auer, Swiss architect, (d. 1906)
- 1848 - Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Social Reformer of Andhra Pradesh, India (d. 1919)
- 1859 - Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (d. 1924)
- 1865 - Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
- 1866 - José de Diego, Puerto Rico statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
- 1867 - Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
- 1871 - John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
- 1878 - Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
- 1886 - Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
- 1889 - Charles Chaplin, English actor, writer, and film producer (d. 1977)
- 1895 - Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
- 1896 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
- 1904 - Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
- 1905 - Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
- 1907 - August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
- 1907 - Joseph-Armand Bombardier, French-Canadian inventor and businessman (Bombardier) (d. 1964)
- 1912 - Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1912 - Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
- 1915 - Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
- 1917 - Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1918 - Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Joan Alexander, American actress
- 1918 - Dick Gibson, British racing driver
- 1919 - Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer
- 1919 - Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
- 1921 - Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
- 1922 - Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
- 1924 - John Harvey-Jones, Industrialist (d. 2008)
- 1924 - Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
- 1924 - Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
- 1927 - Edie Adams, American actress
- 1927 - Pope Benedict XVI
- 1927 - Peter Mark Richman, American actor
- 1928 - "Night Train" Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
- 1929 - Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
- 1929 - Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
- 1935 - Sarah Kirsch, German poet
- 1935 - Bobby Vinton, American singer
- 1938 - Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
- 1938 - Rich Rollins, American baseballer
- 1939 - Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
- 1939 - Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor
- 1940 - Margrethe II of Denmark, queen regnant
- 1940 - Benoît Bouchard, French-Canadian politician
- 1942 - Sir Frank Williams, English F1 constructor and team principal (WilliamsF1)
- 1942 - Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
- 1943 - Ruth Madoc, British actress
- 1943 - Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
- 1946 - Margot Adler, American journalist
- 1947 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
- 1947 - Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter
- 1948 - Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
- 1949 - Melody Patterson, American actress
- 1950 - David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1951 - Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, French photographer
- 1951 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
- 1951 - Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
- 1952 - Bill Belichick, American football coach
- 1952 - Michel Blanc, French actor
- 1952 - Billy West, American voice actor
- 1953 - Peter Garrett, Australian musician (Midnight Oil)
- 1953 - J. Neil Schulman, American writer
- 1954 - Ellen Barkin, American actress
- 1954 - John Bowe, Australian racing driver
- 1955 - Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
- 1956 - David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1956 - Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- 1959 - Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
- 1960 - Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
- 1960 - Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
- 1960 - Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
- 1961 - Doris Dragović, Croatian singer
- 1962 - Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
- 1963 - Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)
- 1964 - Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)
- 1964 - David Kohan, American television producer
- 1965 - Jon Cryer, American actor
- 1965 - Martin Lawrence, American actor
- 1965 - Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
- 1969 - Fernando Viña, American Baseball Player
- 1971 - Peter Billingsley, American actor
- 1971 - Selena, American singer (d. 1995)
- 1971 - Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
- 1971 - Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
- 1972 - Conchita Martinez, Spanish tennis player
- 1973 - Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
- 1974 - Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah)
- 1974 - Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director
- 1975 - Sean Maher, American actor
- 1975 - Nick Pickard, British actor
- 1975 - Robert S. Bird, American polymath, musician, photographer.
- 1976 - Lukas Haas, American actor
- 1976 - Dan Kellner, American fencer
- 1976 - Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
- 1977 - Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel
- 1977 - Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
- 1978 - Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
- 1978 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress
- 1979 - Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver
- 1979 - Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
- 1980 - Paul London, American professional wrestler
- 1982 - Boris Diaw, French basketball player
- 1982 - Barry Jones, Scottish magician
- 1982 - Jonathan Vilma, American football player
- 1983 - Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
- 1983 - George Patis, Greek badminton player
- 1983 - Marié Digby, American Singer
- 1984 - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
- 1985 - Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
- 1985 - Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
- 1985 - Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor and singer
- 1986 - Paul di Resta, British racing driver
- 1987 - Aaron Lennon, English footballer
- 1990 - Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
- 1994 - Liliana Mumy, American actress
Deaths
- 69 - Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
- 744 - al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
- 924 - Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
- 1113 - Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
- 1118 - Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
- 1198 - Duke Frederick I of Austria
- 1645 - Tobias Hume, English composer
- 1687 - George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
- 1689 - Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
- 1783 - Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
- 1788 - Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
- 1828 - Francisco de Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
- 1846 - Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
- 1850 - Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
- 1859 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
- 1879 - Bernadette Soubirous, French shepherd girl (b. 1844)
- 1888 - Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
- 1904 - Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
- 1904 - Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
- 1914 - George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
- 1915 - Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
- 1928 - Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
- 1930 - José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
- 1938 - Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
- 1946 - Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
- 1947 - Rudolf Hoess, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
- 1958 - Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
- 1968 - Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
- 1970 - Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
- 1972 - Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1978 - Lucius Clay, American general (b. 1897)
- 1985 - Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1991 - David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
- 1992 - Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1992 - Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1994 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
- 1995 - Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
- 1995 - Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
- 1996 - Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
- 1997 - Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
- 1997 - Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
- 1998 - Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
- 1998 - Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)
- 2001 - Michael Ritchie, American film director (b. 1920)
- 2001 - Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
- 2002 - Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
- 2002 - Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2003 - Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
- 2003 - Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
- 2005 - Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
- 2005 - Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
- 2005 - Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
- 2006 - Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
- 2007 - Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
- 2007 - Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
- See List of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre for the complete list
- 2007 - Seung-Hui Cho, Korean American murderer (b. 1984)
- 2007 - Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, American instructor of French (b. 1958)
- 2007 - Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
- 2007 - Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics (b. 1930)
- 2007 - G. V. Loganathan, Hindu American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
- 2007 - Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
Holidays and observances
in the Roman Catholic Church:
- Saint Benedict Joseph Labre
- Saint Drogo
- Saint Fructuosus
- Saint Paternus
- Saint Turibius
- Martyrs of Zaragoza, martyrs of 304
- Saint Bernadette