April 7th in History

451 - Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.

1521 - Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.

1767 - End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767)


1798 - The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.

1805 - Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.

1829 - Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.


1906 - Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.

1906 - The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.

1908 - H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman

1939 - World War II: Italy invades Albania.

1945 - World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed, is sunk by American planes 200 miles north of Okinawa while en route to a suicide mission in Operation Ten-Go.


1946 - Syria's independence from France is officially recognised.

1948 - The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.


1955 - Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.

1956 - Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.

1985 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declares a moratorium on the deployment of middle-range missiles in Europe.


1990 - A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry M/S Scandinavian Star, killing 158 people.

1992 - Republika Srpska announces its independence.

1994 - Rwandan Genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.

1995 - First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.


2001 - Mars Odyssey is launched.

2003 - US troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.

Famous Birthdays

1506 - St. Francis Xavier, Saint and missionary, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, Apostle to the Far East

1652 - Pope Clement XII

1853 - Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

1860 - Will Keith Kellogg, industrialist and food manufacturer, founder of the Kellogg's Company

1891 - Ole Kirk Christiansen, carpenter and toy maker, founder of the Lego Group toy company

1930 - Yves Rocher, businessman, founder of the cosmetics brand Yves Rocher

1944 - Julia Phillips, producer and writer

1952 - Clarke Peters, actor

1954 - Jackie Chan, actor, director, producer, and martial artist

1962 - Hugh O'Connor, actor

1965 - Bill Bellamy, actor and comedian

1976 - Kevin Alejandro, actor

1985 - Ariela Massotti, actress

1987 - Jack Johnson, actor

1989 - Franco Di Santo, footballer

1992 - Jessica Sara, actress

April 6th in History

46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) in the battle of Thapsus.

1199 - King Richard I of England dies from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder.

1320 - The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.

1453 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.

1712 - The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.


1812 - British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.

1814 - Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.


1862 - American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins – in Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.

1865 - American Civil War: The Battle of Sayler's Creek – Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.

1896 - In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.


1917 - World War I: The United States declares war on Germany

1919 - Mohandas Gandhi orders a general strike.

1924 - First round-the-world flight commences.

1930 - Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." beginning the Salt Satyagraha.


1941 - World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).

1945 - World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.

1947 - The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.

1972 - Vietnam War: Easter Offensive – American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.

1998 - Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.

2008 - 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activities

Famous Birthdays

1632 - Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empire Empress

1871 - Prince Alexander John of Wales

1886 - Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople

1890 - Anthony Fokker, aviation engineer

1916 - Phil Leeds, actor

1935 - Douglas Hill, writer

1938 - Paul Daniels, magician

1955 - Michael Rooker, actor

1965 - Frank Black, singer-songwriter

1969 - Paul Rudd, actor

1975 - Joel West, actor and model

1980 - Matthew Carey, actor

1984 - Michaël Ciani, footballer

1990 - Kyle Swann, actor

April 5th in History

1242 - During a battle on the ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.


1621 - The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.

1722 - The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.

1792 - US President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.

1818 - In the Battle of Maipú, Chile's independence movement – led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín – win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.


1862 - American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.

1879 - Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.


1932 - Alcohol prohibition in Finland ends. Alcohol sales begin in Alko liquor stores.


1943 - World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. The target is the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.

1944 - World War II: 270 inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.


1951 - Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for performing espionage for the Soviet Union.

1956 - Fidel Castro declares himself at war with the President of Cuba.

1969 - Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many US cities.

1992 - The Siege of Sarajevo begins when Serb paramilitaries murder peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić on the Vrbanja Bridge.

2009 - North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.

Famous Birthdays


1288 - Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan

1472 - Bianca Maria Sforza, Holy Roman Empress, second wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

1604 - Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine

1863 - Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine

1920 - Barend Biesheuvel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

1933 - Barbara Holland, writer

1947 - Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,14th President of the Philippines

1950 - Agnetha Fältskog, singer

1961 - Lisa Zane, actress

1966 - Mike McCready, musician

1972 - Krista Allen, actress

1979 - Timo Hildebrand, footballer

1984 - Marshall Allman, actor

1986 - Anna Sophia Berglund, model

1988 - Alex Valentini, footballer

April 4th in History

1147 - First historical record of Moscow.


1581 - Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.

1660 - Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of England.

1721 - Sir Robert Walpole takes office as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under King George I.


1814 - Napoleon abdicates for the first time.

1818 - The United States Congress adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20)

1850 - Los Angeles, California is incorporated as a city.

1865 - American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.

1887 - Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.

1930 - The Communist Party of Panama is founded.


1939 - Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.

1944 - World War II: First bombardment of Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.

1945 - World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.

1960 - France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.

1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

1973 - The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.

1975 - Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico

1976 - Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.

2002 - The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.

2007 - 15 British Royal Navy personnel held in Iran are released by the Iranian President.

Famous Birthdays

188 - Caracalla, Roman Emperor

1752 - Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, composer

1853 - Tad Lincoln, son of president Abraham Lincoln

1920 - Ignatius IV of Antioch, patriarch

1944 - Craig T. Nelson, actor

1946 – Dave Hill, guitarist

1963 - A. Michael Baldwin, actor, producer, and screenwriter

1966 - Nancy McKeon, actor

1976 - James Roday, actor

1987 - Devon Anderson, actor

1992 - Alexa Nikolas, actress

April 3rd in History

1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.

1559 - The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.

1834 - The generals in the Greek War of Independence stand trial for treason.

1865 - American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.

1882 - American Old West: Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford.

1922 - Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1933 - First flight over Mount Everest, a British expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston

1942 - World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.

1948 - President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.

1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.

1969 - Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.

1997 - The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.

2004 - Islamic terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.

Famous Birthdays

1366 - Henry IV of England

1643 - Charles V, Duke of Lorraine

1814 - Lorenzo Snow, 5th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1881 - Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister of Italy

1893 - Princess Maud of Fife

1915 - Piet de Jong, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

1928 - Emmett Johns, formerly a catholic priest, founder of the organization Le Bon Dieu Dans La Rue (Dans La Rue)

1934 - Jane Goodall, primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace

1944 - Tony Orlando, singer

1951 - Mitch Woods, pianist and singer

1972 - Leigh-Allyn Baker, actress

1978 - John Smit, rugby player

1986 - Amanda Bynes, actress

1990 - Madison Brengle, tennis player

April 2nd in History

1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sights land in what is now Florida.


1792 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.

1800 - Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.

1801 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen – The British capture the Danish fleet.

1851 - Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.

1865 - American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken – Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.


1911 - The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.

1912 - The ill fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.

1930 - After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia.

1972 - Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.

1975 - Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

1982 - Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.

2002 - Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.

Famous Birthdays

742 - Charlemagne, King of the Franks

1653 - Prince George of Denmark, Prince consort of Anne, Queen of Great Britain

1798 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, poet

1921 - Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza,  industrialist and art collector

1932 - His Eminence Edward Egan, Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of New York


1938 - John Larsson, 17th General of The Salvation Army

1943 - Larry Coryell, jazz guitarist

1954 - Donald Petrie, director

1961 - Keren Woodward, singer

1975 - Adam Rodriguez, actor

1979 - Jesse Carmichael, musician

1983 - Paul Capdeville, tennis player

1984 - Ashley Peldon, actress

1990 - Amy Castle, actress

April 1st in History

286 - Emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian to co-emperor with the rank of Augustus and gives him control over the Western regions of the Roman Empire.

325 - Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age 4, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.

1572 - In the Eighty Years' War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Spaniards, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.


1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks.

1867 - Singapore becomes a British crown colony.

1891 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.


1922 - Six Irish Catholic civilians are shot and beaten-to-death by a gang of policemen in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1924 - Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch". However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes Mein Kampf.

1933 - The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.


1937 - Aden becomes a British crown colony.

1937 - Jaén, Spain is bombed by Nazi forces.

1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg – United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.

1947 - Paul becomes king of Greece, on the death of his childless elder brother, George II.

1955 - The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of obtaining the desired unification ("enosis") with Greece.

1971 - Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.

1976 - Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne

1979 - Iran becomes an Islamic Republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.

1992 - Start of the Bosnian war.

2001 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first country to allow it.


2009 - Croatia and Albania join NATO.

2011 - After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.

Famous Birthdays

1220 - Emperor Go-Saga of Japan

1815 - Otto von Bismarck, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire

1885 - Clementine Churchill, Wife of Sir Winston Churchill

1904 - Sid Field, comedian and actor

1921 - Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, musician and songwriter

1930 - Grace Lee Whitney, actress

1942 - Phil Margo, musician

1952 - Annette O'Toole, actress

1961 - Mark White, guitarist

1972 - Jesse Tobias, musician

1983 - Matt Lanter, actor and model

1986 - Hillary Scott, singer

1990 - Julia Fischer, athlete