Title: April 2 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 999 - Pope Sylvester II is elected. * 1285 - Pope Martin IV is elected. * 1453 - The Ottoman Empire's Sultan Mehmed II begins the Siege of Constantinople. * 1513 – Florida is sighted by a European for the first time. * 1744 – The first official golf tournament is held in Leith, near Edinburgh, Scotland. * 1783 – The Duke of Portland replaces the Earl of Shelburne as Prime Minister of Great Britain. * 1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony. * 1801 – British forces under Horatio Nelson defeat Denmark in the naval Battle of Copenhagen. * 1814 - The French senate declares Napoleon Bonaparte removed from power. * 1845 - Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau and Jean Bernard Leon Foucault take the first photograph of the Sun. * 1851 – Mongkut (Rama IV) is crowned King of Siam. * 1865 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis and his cabinet flee Richmond, Virginia. * 1865 - American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken, as Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia. * 1885 - Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories, killing 9 people. * 1900 - The United States Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule. === 1901 2000 === * 1902 - The Electric Theater, the first full-time movie theater in the US, opens in Los Angeles, California. * 1911 – Australia's first census is held. * 1912 – The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials. * 1917 – Woodrow Wilson asks US Congress for war with Germany. * 1921 - The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government covering present-day Iran, is created. * 1930 - Haile Selassie becomes Emperor of Ethiopia. * 1932 – Charles Lindbergh paid a $50,000 ransom for the return of his kidnapped son. * 1943 – Off Bermuda, the British ship Melbourne Star is torpedoed by the German U-boat U 129. It explodes and sinks within two minutes, killing 114 people. * 1945 – The Soviet Union and Brazil establish diplomatic relations. * 1962 - In road use, the first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station in London. * 1972 – Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled as a Communist during the Red Scare of the 1950s. * 1974 - The Westfalenstadion stadium in Dortmund is opened. It is currently the home of the Borussia Dortmund football team, and hosts international matches. * 1975 - Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese forces. * 1975 – The CN Tower in Toronto is completed. * 1978 – The television show Dallas is shown for the first time. * 1982 – The Falklands War begins, as Argentine forces invade. * 1984 – Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian in space on board the Soyuz T-11. * 1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, for talks with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations. * 1991 – The eruption of the Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines begins. * 1991 - Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province, in British Columbia. * 1992 – Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering. * 1998 – Former French minister Maurice Papon is found guilty of war crimes over the deportation of more than 1,700 Jews during World War II. === From 2001 === * 2004 – Spanish police prevent an attempt by Islamist terrorists to blow up a high speed train near Madrid. * 2005 – Pope John Paul II dies at the age of 84 years, after more than 26 years as Pope. * 2006 – 60 tornadoes break out in the United States. Tennessee is the worst affected with 29 people killed. * 2007 – A magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits the Solomon Islands, with resulting tsunamis destroying villages, killing 52 people, and making 5,000 homeless. * 2011 - India wins the Cricket World Cup for the second time. * 2012 – President of Hungary Pal Schmitt resigns after losing his doctorate in a Plagiarism scandal. * 2013 - Major flooding affects Buenos Aires and La Plata in Argentina, killing 62 people. * 2015 - A trawler sinks in the Sea of Okhotsk, west of Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, killing at least 50 sailors on board. * 2015 - Al-Shabaab militants attack a university in Garissa, Kenya, killing 147 people. * 2019 - Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria with immediate effect, ending his almost-20-year Presidency, after several weeks of protests. * 2019 - Lori Lightfoot is elected Mayor of Chicago, making her the first African American Lesbian woman chosen to govern a major city in the United States. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 742 – Charlemagne (d. 814) * 1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish mapmaker (d. 1598) * 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois, French princess and Queen of Spain (d. 1568) * 1565 - Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599) * 1614 – Jahanara Begum Sahib, Imperial princess and daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (d. 1681) * 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663) * 1647 - Maria Sibylla Merian, German botanist (d. 1717) * 1653 – Prince George of Denmark (d. 1708) * 1719 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803) * 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian writer (d. 1798) * 1745 - Richard Bassett, Governor of Delaware (d. 1815) * 1788 - Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862) * 1788 - Wilhelmine Reichard, first female German balloonist (d. 1848) * 1791 - David Henshaw, 14th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1852) * 1792 - Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician (d. 1840) * 1798 – Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874) * 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer and poet (d. 1875) * 1814 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879) * 1826 - George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (d. 1914) * 1827 - William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910) * 1838 – Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882) * 1840 – Émile Zola, French writer (d. 1902) * 1841 - Clement Ader, French aviation pioneer (d. 1926) * 1852 - Frederick B. Fancher, Governor of North Dakota (d. 1944) * 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat and educator (d. 1947) * 1863 - William Adamson, Scottish trade union leader and politician (d. 1936) * 1867 - Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925) * 1869 - Hughie Jennings, American baseball player (d. 1928) * 1875 – Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940) * 1891 – Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976) * 1891 - Jack Buchanan, Scottish actor, singer, director and producer (d. 1957) * 1898 - Harindranath Chatoopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (d. 1990) * 1899 - Heinrich Rau, German politician (d. 1961) * 1900 - Robert Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942) === 1901 1950 === * 1906 - Dan K. Moore, Governor of North Carolina (d. 1986) * 1907 - Luke Appling, American baseball player (d. 1991) * 1912 – Herbert Mills, American singer (d. 1989) * 1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000) * 1916 - Oleg Lundstrem, Russian jazz composer and conductor (d. 2005) * 1917 - Dabbs Greer, American actor (d. 2007) * 1919 - Delfo Cabrera, Argentine long-distance runner (d. 1981) * 1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director and producer (d. 1982) * 1922 - John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician (d. 2015) * 1923 - Gloria Henry, American actress * 1923 - G. Spencer-Brown, English polymath (d. 2016) * 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, British writer (d. 2008) * 1925 - Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television presenter (d. 1987) * 1926 - Jack Brabham, Australian racing driver (d. 2014) * 1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer (d. 2012) * 1927 – Ferenc Puskas, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006) * 1927 - Rembert Weakland, former Archbishop of Milwaukee * 1927 - Howard H. Callaway, American politician (d. 2014) * 1927 - Ken Sansom, American actor (d. 2012) * 1927 - Billy Pierce, American baseball player (d. 2015) * 1927 - Rita Gam, American actress (d. 2016) * 1928 - Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996) * 1928 - Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Senegalese writer * 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, songwriter, actor and director (d. 1991) * 1929 - Hans Koschnick, German politician (d. 2016) * 1932 – Edward Egan, American Roman Catholic cardinal and former Archbishop of New York City (d. 2015) * 1933 - György Konrád, Hungarian writer (d. 2019) * 1934 - Richard Portman, American sound engineer (d. 2017) * 1934 - Carl Kasell, American radio journalist and quiz show judge (d. 2018) * 1936 - Shaul Ladany, Israeli Olympic race walker * 1936 - Cynthia Lynn, American actress (d. 2014) * 1938 - John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of the Salvation Army * 1938 - Booker Little, American trumpeter and composer (d. 1961) * 1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984) * 1939 - Lise Thibault, Quebec politician * 1940 – Penelope Keith, British actress * 1940 - Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater * 1940 - Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1981) * 1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio presenter * 1942 – Leon Russell, American pianist and conductor (d. 2016) * 1942 - Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor * 1943 - Tom Polanic, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2019) * 1944 - Francisco Massiani, Venezuelan writer and painter (d. 2019) * 1945 - Don Sutton, American baseball player * 1945 - Linda Hunt, American actress * 1946 - Sue Townsend, English novelist (d. 2014) * 1946 - Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist (d. 1997) * 1947 - Emmylou Harris, American singer * 1947 - Camille Paglia, American author * 1947 - Tua Forsström, Finnish writer * 1947 - Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer * 1948 - Bob Lienhard, American basketball player (d. 2018) * 1949 - Paul Gambaccini, American-British radio and television presenter === 1951 1975 === * 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001) * 1953 - Krzysztof Krauze, Polish movie director, cinematographer and actor (d. 2014) * 1954 - Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer * 1954 - Donald Petrie, American director * 1957 - Barbara Jordan, American tennis player * 1959 - David Frankel, American director, screenwriter and producer * 1959 - Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and coach * 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish rally driver * 1960 – Linford Christie, British athlete * 1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor * 1961 – Keren Woodward, British singer (Bananarama) * 1962 - Pierre Carles, French director and producer * 1962 - Clark Gregg, American actor, director and screenwriter * 1963 - Shane Barbi and Sia Barbi, American models, writers and animal rights activists * 1963 - Mike Gascoyne, British engineer * 1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (d. 2012) * 1965 - David Gamkrelidze, Georgian politician * 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English footballer * 1967 - Greg Camp, American musician * 1967 - Renée Estevez, American actress * 1969 - Ajay Devgan, Indian actor, director and producer * 1971 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player * 1971 – Edmundo, Brazilian footballer * 1971 – Zeebra, Japanese rapper * 1973 – Tine Wittler, German actress and writer * 1975 – Adam Rodriguez, American actor === From 1976 === * 1977 – Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor * 1977 - Annett Louisan, German singer * 1977 - Aiden Turner, British actor * 1977 - Nicki Pedersen, Danish speedway rider * 1978 - Grisella Siciliani, Argentine actress and singer * 1979 - Lindy Booth, Canadian actress * 1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5) * 1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer * 1980 – Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist * 1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer * 1981 - Kapil Sharma, Indian comedian * 1981 - Bethany Joy Lenz, American actress, singer and filmmaker * 1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer * 1982 – David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player * 1982 - Jack Evans, American professional wrestler * 1983 - Felix Borja, Ecuadorean footballer * 1983 - Arthur Boka, Ivory Coast footballer * 1983 - Laura Carmine Puerto, Puerto Rican-Mexican actress * 1983 – Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player * 1984 - Meryl Cassie, South African-New Zealand actress * 1985 - Gordon Aikman, Scottish ALS campaigner (d. 2017) * 1985 - Thom Evans, Scottish rugby player * 1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater * 1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer * 1986 – Lee DeWyze, American singer * 1986 - Drew Van Acker, American actor * 1986 - R3hab, Dutch DJ and record producer * 1987 - Molly Smitten-Downes, English singer * 1987 - Dalma Maradona, Argentine actress * 1988 - Francesca Catalano, American actress * 1990 - Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast * 1990 - Miralem Pjanic, footballer from Bosnia and Herzegovina * 1993 - Aaron Kelly, American singer * 1993 - Bruno Zuculini, Argentine footballer == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 1118 – Baldwin I of Jerusalem (b. 1058) * 1305 - Joan I of Navarre (b. 1273) * 1506 – Prince Arthur Tudor of England (b. 1486) * 1507 - Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint (b. 1416) * 1640 - Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish writer and poet (b. 1595) * 1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608) * 1709 - Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian painter (b. 1639) * 1720 - Joseph Dudley, English Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647) * 1742 - James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675) * 1791 - Henri Gabriel Riqueti, French statesman (b. 1749) * 1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politician and judge (b. 1721) * 1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German writer (b. 1740) * 1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b. 1776) * 1872 – Samuel F. B. Morse, American inventor (b. 1791) * 1894 - Achille Vianelli, Italian painter (b. 1803) === 1901 2000 === * 1914 – Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse, German writer (b. 1830) * 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884) * 1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist (b. 1868) * 1930 – Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876) * 1933 - Ranjitsinhji, Indian cricketer (b. 1872) * 1948 - Sabahattin Ali, Turkish novelist, writer, poet and journalist (b. 1907) * 1951 – Simon Barere, Russian pianist (b. 1896) * 1958 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (b. 1892) * 1972 - Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924) * 1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial arts grandmaster (b. 1887) * 1974 – Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911) * 1987 – Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1917) * 1992 – Juan Gomez Gonzalez, Spanish footballer (b. 1954) * 1994 – Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916) * 1995 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b. 1908) * 1998 – Rob Pilatus, American model, dancer and singer (b. 1965) === From 2001 === * 2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972) * 2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920) * 2006 – Nina von Stauffenberg, widow of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 1914) * 2007 – Paul Reed, American actor (b. 1909) * 2012 - Elizabeth Catlett, American- Mexican artist and sculptor (b. 1915) * 2013 - Jesus Franco, Spanish movie director, writer, cinematographer and actor (b. 1930) * 2013 - Jane Henson, American puppeteer and voice actress (b. 1934) * 2013 - Milo O'Shea, Irish- American actor (b. 1926) * 2013 - Maria Redaelli, Italian supercentenarian (b. 1899) * 2014 - Urs Widmer, Swiss writer (b. 1938) * 2014 - Carl Epting Mundy, Jr., American military officer (b. 1935) * 2014 - Richard Brick, American movie producer (b. 1945) * 2014 - Glyn Jones, South African actor, writer and director (b. 1931) * 2014 - Lucy Hood, American television executive (b. 1958) * 2014 - Consuelo Moure, Colombian actress (b. 1947) * 2014 - Joseph Willaert, Belgian painter (b. 1936) * 2015 - Luis Delgado Aparicio, Peruvian politician (b. 1940) * 2015 - Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese movie director and screenwriter (b. 1908) * 2015 - Rudolph R. Perz, American advertising executive (b. 1925) * 2015 - Olga Sawicka, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1932) * 2015 - Robert H. Schuller, American televangelist (b. 1926) * 2015 - Steve Stevaert, Belgian politician (b. 1954) * 2015 - Doug Sax, American audio engineer (b. 1936) * 2015 - Abdelhadi Tazi, Moroccan scholar and diplomat (b. 1921) * 2016 - Gato Barbieri, Argentine musician and bandleader (b. 1932) * 2016 - Gallieno Ferri, Italian comic book artist (b. 1929) * 2016 - Boris Hybner, Czech actor and mime artist (b. 1941) * 2016 - Amber Rayne, American pornographic actress (b. 1984) * 2017 - Kenneth J. Donnelly, American politician (b. 1950) * 2017 - Leonard Litwin, American real estate developer (b. 1914) * 2018 - Susan Anspach, American actress (b. 1942) * 2018 - Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist (b. 1923) * 2018 - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South African activist (b. 1936) * 2019 - Jamshid Mashayekhi, Iranian actor (b. 1934) * 2019 - J. Mahendran, Indian film director, screenwriter and actor (b. 1939) * 2019 - Don Williamson, American businessman and politician (b. 1934) == Observances == * International Children's Book Day - Birthday of Hans Christian Andersen * Thai Heritage Conservation Day * World Autism Awareness Day * Malvinas Day (Argentina) April 02