Events

• 37 – Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
• 193 – Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
• 364 – Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
• 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
• 1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
• 1794 – Allies under the prince of Coburg defeat French forces at Le Cateau.
• 1795 – Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland, a northern fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
• 1802 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.
• 1809 – Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the Battle of Medelin.
• 1834 – The United States Senate censures President Andrew Jackson for his actions in de-funding the Second Bank of the United States.
• 1854 – Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.
• 1860 – First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass – in New Mexico, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle began on March 26.
• 1871 – The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
• 1889 – The Yngsjö murder occurs in Yngsjö, Sweden and Anna Månsdotter is arrested along with her son.
• 1910 – Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.
• 1913 – Guatemala becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1920 – Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
• 1930 – Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara.
• 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid.
• 1940 – Construction begins of the exhibition center to host the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.
• 1941 – World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan – in the Mediterranean Sea, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the Royal Navy in the destruction of three major Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers.
• 1942 – World War II: In occupied France, British naval forces raid the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire.
• 1946 – Cold War: The United States State Department releases the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
• 1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
• 1969 – The McGill français movement protest occurs, the second largest protest in Montreal's history with 10,000 trade unionists, leftist activists, CEGEP students, and even some McGill students at McGill's Roddick Gates. This led to the majority of the protesters getting arrested.
• 1978 – The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
• 1979 – In Pennsylvania, operators fail to recognize that a relief valve is stuck open in the primary coolant system of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor following an unexpected shutdown. As a result, enough coolant drains out of the system to allow the core to overheat and partially melt down.
• 1990 – President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
• 1994 – In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.
• 2000 – A Murray County, Georgia, school bus is hit by a CSX freight train (3 children die in this accident).
• 2003 – In a "friendly fire" incident, two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National Guard's 190th Fighter Squadron attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull.
• 2005 – The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1965.
• 2006 – At least 1 million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law.

Births

• 1472 – Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (d. 1517)
• 1515 – Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun (d. 1582)
• 1522 – Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (d. 1557)
• 1569 – Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1622)
• 1592 – Comenius, Czech bishop (d. 1670)
• 1599 – Witte Corneliszoon de With, Dutch naval officer (d. 1658)
• 1609 – King Frederick III of Denmark (d. 1670)
• 1613 – Xiaozhuangwen Grand Empress Dowager, Empress of Manchu (d. 1688)
• 1652 – Samuel Sewall, American magistrate (d. 1730)
• 1725 – Andrew Kippis, English clergyman and biographer (d. 1795)
• 1750 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan revolutionary (d. 1816)
• 1760 – Thomas Clarkson, British abolitionist (d. 1846)
• 1773 – Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (d. 1844)
• 1793 – Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer and geologist (d. 1864)
• 1795 – Georg Heinrich Pertz, German historian (d. 1876)
• 1806 – Thomas Hare, English barrister (d. 1891)
• 1815 – Arsène Houssaye, French novelist (d. 1896)
• 1818 – Wade Hampton III, American soldier and politician (d. 1902)
• 1819 – Sir Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (d. 1891)
• 1836 – Frederick Pabst, American brewer (d. 1904)
• 1840 – Emin Pasha, Equatorian politician (d. 1892)
• 1842 – William Harvey Carney, American Civil War officer (d. 1908)
• 1849 – James Darmesteter, French author and antiquarian (d. 1894)
• 1851 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese politician (d. 1944)
• 1862 – Aristide Briand, French politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1932)
• 1866 – Jimmy Ross, Scottish footballer (d. 1902)
• 1868 – Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d. 1936)
• 1871 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (d. 1951)
• 1890 – Paul Whiteman, American bandleader (d. 1967)
• 1892 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
• 1892 – Tom Maguire, Irish republican (d. 1993)
• 1893 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive (d. 1971)
• 1895 – Christian Herter, 59^th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1966)
• 1895 – Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader (d. 1985)
• 1897 – Sepp Herberger, German football coach (d. 1977)
• 1899 – Harold B. Lee, American religious leader (d. 1973)
• 1899 – August Anheuser Busch, Jr., brewing magnate and American baseball executive (d. 1989)
• 1899 – Ernst Lindemann, German naval officer (d. 1941)
• 1899 – Buck Shaw, American football coach (d. 1977)
• 1900 – Edward Wagenknecht, American literary critic (d. 2004)
• 1902 – Dame Flora Robson, English actress (d. 1984)
• 1902 – Jaromír Vejvoda, Czech composer (d. 1988)
• 1903 – Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (d. 1991)
• 1903 – Charles Starrett, American actor (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Marlin Perkins, American naturalist and television host (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Pandro S. Berman, American film producer (d. 1996)
• 1907 – "Swifty" Lazar, American talent agent (d. 1993)
• 1909 – Nelson Algren, American writer (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr., American Librarian (d. 2001)
• 1910 – Jimmie Dodd, American actor (d. 1964)
• 1910 – Queen Ingrid of Denmark (d. 2000)
• 1911 – J. L. Austin, British philosopher of language (d. 1960)
• 1912 – A. Bertram Chandler Australian author (d. 1984)
• 1912 – Marina Raskova, Russian navigator (d. 1943)
• 1914 – Edward Anhalt, American screenwriter (d. 2000)
• 1914 – Bohumil Hrabal, Czech writer (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Edmund Muskie, American politician (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Kenneth Richard Norris, Australian entomologist (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Jay Livingston, American composer and songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1919 – Vic Raschi, American baseball player (d. 1988)
• 1921 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Herschel Grynszpan, German political assassin
• 1922 – Neville Bonner, Australian politician (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Felice Chiusano, Italian singer (d. 1990)
• 1922 – Joey Maxim, American boxer (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Freddie Bartholomew, Irish actor (d. 1992)
• 1925 – Dorothy DeBorba, American child actress
• 1926 – Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
• 1927 – Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish author (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. National Security Adviser
• 1928 – Alexander Grothendieck, German mathematician
• 1929 – Paul England, Australian racing driver
• 1930 – Robert Ashley, American composer
• 1930 – Elizabeth Bainbridge, English opera singer
• 1930 – Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1933 – Tete Montoliu, Catalonian jazz pianist (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Frank Murkowski, American politician
• 1934 – Lester Brown, American environmentalist
• 1935 – Michael Parkinson, English broadcaster
• 1936 – Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian author and politician
• 1937 – Liz Trotta, American journalist
• 1940 – Tony Barber, Australian television personality
• 1941 – Alf Clausen, America orchestra conductor
• 1941 – Jim Turner, American football player
• 1941 – Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, American author
• 1942 – Daniel Dennett, American philosopher
• 1942 – Neil Kinnock, British politician
• 1942 – Mike Newell, English film director
• 1942 – Samuel Ramey, American opera singer
• 1942 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d. 1998)
• 1942 – Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and head coach
• 1943 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress
• 1944 – Rick Barry, American basketball player
• 1944 – Ken Howard, American actor
• 1945 – Count Björn Hamilton, Swedish politician
• 1946 – Alejandro Toledo, President of Peru
• 1946 – Henry Paulson Jr., Former U.S. Treasury Secretary
• 1946 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut
• 1947 – John Landecker, American disk jockey
• 1948 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
• 1948 – Gerry House, American radio personality
• 1948 – John Evan, British musician (Jethro Tull)
• 1948 – Milan Williams, American musician The Commodores (d. 2006)
• 1948 – Matthew Corbett, English retired actor
• 1948 – Jayne Ann Krentz, née Castle (Amanda Quick), American novelist
• 1950 – Claudio Lolli, Italian singer-songwriter
• 1951 – Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina
• 1951 – Matti Pellonpää, Finnish actor and musician (d. 1995)
• 1952 – Tony Brise, racing driver (d. 1975)
• 1953 – Melchior Ndadaye, Burundian politician (d. 1993)
• 1954 – Morris Mason, American convicted rapist and murderer (d. 1985)
• 1955 – John Alderdice, Northern Irish politician
• 1955 – Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
• 1956 – April Margera, Bam Margera's mother
• 1958 – Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
• 1958 – Edesio Alejandro, Cuban music composer.
• 1959 – Chris Myers, American sportscaster
• 1960 – Chris Barrie, British actor
• 1960 – José Maria Neves, Cape Verdeian politician
• 1960 – Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French author and dramatist
• 1961 – Orla Brady, Irish actress
• 1961 – Byron Scott, American basketball player and head coach
• 1962 – Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
• 1962 – Terry Szopinski, American pro-wrestler
• 1965 – Steve Bull, English footballer
• 1967 – John Ziegler, American talk-show host
• 1968 – Iris Chang, American author (d. 2004)
• 1968 – Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
• 1968 – Jon Lee, British drummer (d. 2002)
• 1968 – Tim Lovejoy, British television presenter
• 1968 – Max Perlich, American actor
• 1969 – Brett Ratner, American film director
• 1969 – Rodney Atkins, American country music singer-songwriter
• 1970 – Vince Vaughn, American actor
• 1970 – Michelle Gildernew, Irish republican politician
• 1970 – Aiga Zagorska, Lithuanian track and road cyclist
• 1971 – Mr. Cheeks, American rapper
• 1972 – Nick Frost, English comedian and actor
• 1972 – Keith Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
• 1972 – Eby J. Jose, Indian Journalist and Human Rights Activist
• 1973 – Eddie Fatu, Samoan professional wrestler
• 1973 – Matt Nathanson, American singer-songwriter
• 1974 – Mark King, English snooker player
• 1974 – Scott Mills, British radio disc jockey
• 1975 – Shanna Moakler, former beauty queen
• 1975 – Iván Helguera, Spanish footballer
• 1975 – Matt Reis, American soccer goalkeeper
• 1975 – Richard Kelly, American film director
• 1975 – Derek Hill, American racing driver
• 1975 – Kate Gosselin, TV personality, Former Nurse
• 1976 – David Keuning, American guitar player (The Killers)
• 1977 – Erik Rasmussen, American ice hockey player
• 1977 – Lauren Weisberger, American novelist
• 1979 – Park Chae-rim, South Korean actress
• 1979 – Crystal Cox, American Olympian/reality television contestant
• 1980 – Stiliani Pilatou, Greek long jumper
• 1980 – Luke Walton, American basketball player
• 1980 – Chitrangada Singh, Bollywood Actress
• 1981 – Julia Stiles, American actress
• 1981 – Gareth David-Lloyd, Welsh Actor
• 1981 – Edwar Ramirez, American baseball player
• 1981 – Lindsay Frimodt, American model
• 1982 – Sonia Agarwal, Indian actress
• 1983 – Ryan Ashington, English footballer
• 1984 – Christopher Samba, French-born footballer
• 1984 – Nikki Sanderson, British actress and model
• 1984 – Yordanos Abay, Ethiopian footballer
• 1984 – Ol Drake, lead guitarist with Thrash Metal band Evile
• 1986 – J-Kwon, American rapper
• 1986 – Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
• 1986 – Lady Gaga,American singer and songwriter
• 1988 – Lacey Turner, British soap actress
• 1989 – Marek Suchý, Czech footballer
• 1989 – Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
• 1989 – Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
• 1990 – Zac Clarke, an Australian rules footballer
• 1991 – Amy Bruckner, American actress

Deaths

• 193 – Pertinax, Roman Emperor (b. 126)
• 1072 – Ordulf, Duke of Saxony
• 1239 – Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b. 1180)
• 1285 – Pope Martin IV
• 1563 – Heinrich Glarean, Swiss music theorist (b. 1488)
• 1566 – Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat and historian (b. 1486)
• 1677 – Václav Hollar, Czech-born etcher (b. 1607)
• 1687 – Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b. 1596)
• 1794 – Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1743)
• 1818 – Antonio Capuzzi, Italian composer (b. 1755)
• 1850 – Gerard C. Brandon, American politician (b. 1788)
• 1866 – Solomon Foot, American politician (b. 1802)
• 1868 – James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, British military leader (b. 1797)
• 1870 – George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
• 1874 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish astronomer (b. 1795)
• 1881 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (b. 1839)
• 1884 – Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, son of Queen Victoria (b. 1853)
• 1910 – David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1837)
• 1910 – Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (b. 1838)
• 1928 – Nathan Stubblefield, American inventor (b. 1860)
• 1929 – Lomer Gouin, Quebec politician (b. 1861)
• 1939 – Francis Matthew John Baker, Australian politician (b. 1903)
• 1941 – Virginia Woolf, English feminist writer (b. 1882)
• 1941 – Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian Police Commissioner (b. 1877)
• 1942 – Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet, death in prison (b. 1910)
• 1943 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist (b. 1873)
• 1944 – Stephen Leacock, Canadian humorist (b. 1869)
• 1946 – Chick Fullis, baseball player (b. 1904)
• 1947 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b. 1897)
• 1949 – Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (b. 1889)
• 1953 – Jim Thorpe, American athlete (b. 1887)
• 1958 – William Christopher Handy, American composer (b. 1873)
• 1962 – Hugo Wast, Argentine writer (b. 1883)
• 1965 – Jack Hoxie, American actor and rodeo performer (b. 1885)
• 1965 – Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (b. 1888)
• 1969 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
• 1969 – Aryeh Levin, Orthodox Jewish rabbi (b. 1885)
• 1974 – Dorothy Fields, American librettist and lyricist (b. 1905)
• 1976 – Arthur Crudup, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1905)
• 1976 – Richard Arlen, American actor (b. 1898)
• 1977 – Eric Shipton, British explorer and mountaineer (b. 1907)
• 1978 – Dino Ciani, Italian pianist (b. 1941)
• 1979 – Emmett Kelly, American clown (b. 1898)
• 1980 – Dick Haymes, Argentine-born singer and actor (b. 1918)
• 1982 – William Giauque, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
• 1984 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor, composer and arranger (b. 1914)
• 1985 – Marc Chagall, Russian-born painter (b. 1887)
• 1986 – Virginia Gilmore. American actress (b. 1919)
• 1987 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
• 1989 – Robert J. Wilke, American actor (b. 1914)
• 1993 – Scott Cunningham, Occult author (b. 1956)
• 1994 – Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-born French playwright (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Hugh O'Connor, American actor (b. 1962)
• 1999 – Freaky Tah, American rapper (Lost Boyz) (b. 1971)
• 2000 – Anthony Powell, British novelist (b. 1905)
• 2001 – Moe Koffman, Canadian musician (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Art James, American game show host (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Peter Ustinov, British actor (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Dame Moura Lympany, British pianist (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Caspar Weinberger, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Charles Schepens, American ophthalmologist (b. 1912)
• 2006 – Kevin Pro Hart, Australian artist (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, Irish musician (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Vethathiri Maharishi, Indian Philosopher (b. 1911)

Holidays and observances

• China – Serfs Emancipation Day
• Slovakia, Czech Republic – Teachers' Day.
• Saint Castor
• Saint Gontram (d. 592)
• Saint Priscus
• Saint Sixtus III

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada