April 8
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is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). There are 267 days remaining.
Events
- 217 - Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated (and succeeded) by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
- 1492 - Death of Lorenzo de' Medici, dubbed "The Magnificent", ruler of Florence and patron of arts.
- 1730 - Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
- 1767 - Ayutthaya kingdom falls to Burmese invaders.
- 1820 - The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos.
- 1832 - Black Hawk War: Around 300 United States 6th Infantry troops leave Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield - Union General Nathaniel Banks' Red River Campaign is thwarted by Confederate General Richard Taylor's forces at Mansfield, Louisiana.
- 1886 - William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Home Rule bill into the House of Commons.
- 1893 - First recorded college basketball game occurs in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania when the Geneva College Covenanters defeat the New Brighton YMCA.
- 1895 - The United States Supreme Court declares income tax to be unconstitutional in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.
- 1899 - Martha Place becomes the first woman to be executed in an electric chair.
- 1904 - The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
- 1904 - Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
- 1913 - The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified requiring direct election of Senators.
- 1916 - In Corona, California, car racer Bob Burman crashes through a crowd barrier at the last Boulevard Race, killing himself, his mechanic and a track policeman, and badly injuring five spectators.
- 1918 - World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York, New York's financial district.
- 1929 - Indian Independence Movement: At Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts, and bombs in a corridor not to cause injury and courted arrest.
- 1935 - The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
- 1942 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad - Soviet Union forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
- 1945 - At the POW camp at Flossenbürg, pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged.
- 1952 - In a radio address to the nation from the White House, President Harry S. Truman calls for the seizure of all steel mills in the United States in order to prevent a nationwide strike.
- 1953 - Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by Kenya's British rulers.
- 1967 - In Vienna, Austria, Sandie Shaw wins the twelfth Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom singing "Puppet on a String".
- 1974 - At the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron breaks baseball great's Babe Ruth's record by hitting his 715th home run.
- 1975 - Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians manages his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager.
- 1985 - Bhopal disaster: India files suit against Union Carbide for the disaster which killed an estimated 2,000 and injured another 200,000.
- 1987 - Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid great controversy over racially-charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
- 1989 - South Africa: In Johannesburg, the Progressive Federal Party, Independent Party, National Democratic Movement and the force of "Ontevrede Afrikaners" or dissatisfied Afrikaners merge to form the Democratic Party.
- 1992 - Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces to the world that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
- 1999 - Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
- 2004 - Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- 2005 - Funeral of Pope John Paul II.
- 2006 - Shedden massacre: A farmer near Shedden, Ontario, Canada finds the bodies of eight men, all shot to death, in a field. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
Births
- 563 BC - Gautama Buddha, Indian religious leader (d. 483 BC)
- 1320 - King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
- 1533 - Claudio Merulo, Italian composer (d. 1604)
- 1541 - Michele Mercati, Italian physician and gardener (d. 1593)
- 1605 - King Philip IV of Spain, (d. 1665)
- 1641 - Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman (d. 1704)
- 1692 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (d. 1770)
- 1859 - Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1865 - Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist (d. 1940)
- 1868 - King Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
- 1869 - Harvey Cushing, American neuorosurgeon, pioneer of brain surgery (d. 1939)
- 1874 - Stanisław Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising (d. 1960)
- 1875 - King Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
- 1889 - Sir Adrian Boult, British conductor (d. 1983)
- 1892 - Mary Pickford, Canadian actress and studio founder (d. 1979)
- 1904 - John Hicks, British economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1989)
- 1905 - Helen Joseph, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 1992)
- 1905 - Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
- 1908 - Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (d. 1987)
- 1911 - Melvin Calvin, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
- 1911 - Emil Cioran, Romanian philosopher and essayist (d. 1995)
- 1912 - Alois Brunner, Austrian Nazi
- 1912 - Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (d. 1969)
- 1914 - María Félix, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States
- 1918 - Glendon Swarthout, Award-winning American author (d. 1992)
- 1919 - Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia
- 1921 - Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (d. 2003)
- 1923 - George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
- 1923 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (d. 1997)
- 1926 - Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian
- 1928 - John Gavin, American actor and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
- 1929 - Walter Berry, Austrian bass-baritone (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer and composer (d. 1978)
- 1930 - Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma, French-born fascist
- 1933 - Fred Ebb, American composer (d. 2004)
- 1934 - Kurokawa Kisho, Japanese architect
- 1937 - Seymour Hersh, American journalist
- 1938 - Kofi Annan, Ghanian United Nations Secretary General, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1940 - John Havlicek, American basketball player
- 1941 - Vivienne Westwood, British fashion designer
- 1942 - Roger Chapman, British rock singer (Family, Streetwalkers)
- 1943 - Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and theater director (d. 1987)
- 1943 - Miller Farr, American football player
- 1946 - Catfish Hunter, Hall of Fame baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1946 - Tim Thomerson, American actor
- 1947 - Tom DeLay, American politician
- 1947 - Steve Howe, British rock guitarist (Yes, Asia, GTR)
- 1947 - Robert Kiyosaki, American investor, businessman, and writer
- 1947 - Larry Norman, American singer and songwriter
- 1949 - John Madden, British director
- 1949 - Brenda Russell, American singer and songwriter
- 1954 - Gary Carter, baseball player
- 1955 - Joolz Denby, English poet and novelist
- 1955 - Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist
- 1960 - John Schneider, American actor
- 1962 - Izzy Stradlin, American musician (Guns N' Roses)
- 1963 - Julian Lennon, British musician and singer
- 1963 - Alec Stewart, British cricketer
- 1964 - Biz Markie, American rapper and disc jockey
- 1966 - Robin Wright Penn, American actress
- 1966 - Mazinho, Brazilian football player
- 1966 - Bobby Ologun, Nigerian television personality and martial artist
- 1968 - Patricia Arquette, American actress
- 1971 - Chino XL, American rapper
- 1972 - Paul Gray, American bassist (Slipknot)
- 1973 - Alex S. Gonzalez, American Major League Baseball player
- 1975 - Timo Pérez, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- 1977 - Mark Spencer, computer programmer
- 1979 - Alexi Laiho, Finnish guitarist and singer (Children of Bodom)
- 1980 - Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
- 1980 - Grace Park, American actress
- 1980 - Katee Sackhoff, American actress
- 1982 - Judy Star, Canadian ex porn star
- 1984 - Júlia Liptáková, Slovakian model
- 1984 - Kirsten Storms, American actress
- 1986 - Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress and model
- 1986 - Igor Akinfeev, Russian football player
Deaths
- 217 - Caracalla, Roman Emperor (b. 186)
- 956 - Gilbert of Chalon, Duke of Burgundy
- 1143 - John II Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1087)
- 1364 - King John II of France (b. 1319)
- 1461 - Georg Purbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
- 1492 - Lorenzo de Medici, ruler of Florence (b. 1449)
- 1586 - Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran reformer and theologian (b. 1522)
- 1587 - John Foxe, English writer (b. 1516)
- 1691 - Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect (b. 1611)
- 1697 - Niels Juel, Danish admiral (b. 1629)
- 1704 - Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (b. 1624)
- 1704 - Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman (b. 1641)
- 1725 - John Wise, English clergyman (b. 1652)
- 1848 - Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
- 1857 - Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier
- 1861 - Elisha Otis, US elevator builder (b. 1811)
- 1870 - Charles de Bériot, Belgian composer (b. 1802)
- 1919 - Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist (b. 1848)
- 1920 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (b. 1884)
- 1931 - Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
- 1936 - Robert Bárány, Austrian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1876)
- 1938 - Joe "King" Oliver, American musician (b. 1885)
- 1950 - Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish-born ballet dancer (b. 1890)
- 1965 - Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
- 1973 - Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (b. 1881)
- 1978 - Ford Frick, baseball commissioner (b. 1894)
- 1981 - Omar Bradley, U.S. general (b. 1893)
- 1984 - Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
- 1985 - J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (b. 1897)
- 1990 - Ryan White, American activist (AIDS) (b. 1971)
- 1991 - Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin, Norwegian musician (black metal)
- 1992 - Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
- 1993 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (b. 1897)
- 1994 - Kurt Cobain, American musician (b. 1967) (Date is for discovery of body - death probably occurred several days earlier)
- 1996 - Ben Johnson, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1997 - Laura Nyro, American singer and composer (b. 1947)
- 2000 - Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2002 - Maria Felix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Anita Borg, American computer scientist (b. 1949)
- 2004 - Bruce Edwards, golf caddy (b. 1954)
- 2006 - Gerard Reve, Dutch writer (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances
- Buddha's Birthday in Japan
- Saint Walter of Pontoise (died 1099)
- Saint Constance
- Saint Julie Billiart of Namur (died 1816).
External links
April 7 - April 9 - March 8 - May 8 -- listing of all days
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