April 19

### Up to 1900

- 69 – Vitellius is accepted as Roman Emperor.
- 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Ar–Raqaah, Syria.
- 1529 – Protestant Reformation: Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism.
- 1587 – English seafarer Francis Drake attacks a Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbor.
- 1689 – Amalienborg castle in Denmark is destroyed by fire.
- 1770 – James Cook sights the East coast of Australia.
- 1770 – Marie Antoinette marries the future King Louis XVI of France.
- 1775 – The American Revolutionary War begins at Lexington, Massachusetts.
- 1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic's recognition of the United States as an independent state.
- 1809 – An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn.
- 1810 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparan, Governor of the Captaincy General, is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.
- 1839 – The Treaty of London creates Belgium fully as a kingdom, also separating Luxembourg from Belgium.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861 – A Pro–Secession mob in Baltimore, Maryland, attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
- 1865 – The funeral of Abraham Lincoln takes place in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC.
- 1882 – Charles Darwin dies aged 73.
- 1892 – Charles Duryea claims to have driven the first automobile across the United States.
- 1897 – The first Boston Marathon takes place.
- 1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, the oldest man ever, is born in Japan.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1902 – A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Guatemala, killing 2,000 people.
- 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom begins in present–day Moldova, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western World.
- 1904 – A fire in Toronto destroys 104 buildings.
- 1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in prison for obscenity for her play Sex.
- 1943 – Holocaust: German troops enter the Warsaw Ghetto.
- 1945 – The Soviet Union and Guatemala establish diplomatic relations.
- 1948 – Burma joins the UN.
- 1950 – Argentina signs the Buenos Aires Convention.
- 1951 – Douglas MacArthur retires from the US military.
- 1954 – The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan recognizes Urdu and Bengali as the country's official languages.
- 1956 – Prince Rainier III of Monaco marries Hollywood actress Grace Kelly.
- 1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide democracy protest against President Rhee Syng-man, who resigns a week later.
- 1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a Republic, with Siaka Stevens as President.
- 1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
- 1975 – India's first satellite, Aryabhata, is launched.
- 1984 – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold become the official national colors.
- 1985 – The Soviet Union carries out nuclear tests in eastern Kazakhstan.
- 1987 – The Simpsons premiere on the Tracey Ullman Show.
- 1989 – A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
- 1993 – The 51–day siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, ends as fire breaks out, killing 82 cult members, including David Koresh.
- 1993 – George S. Mickelson, Governor of South Dakota, is killed along with six others, when an airplane crashes in Iowa.
- 1995 – Timothy McVeigh carries out the Oklahoma City bombing, killing 169 people.
- 1997 – Grand Forks, South Dakota, is overwhelmed by flooding from the Red River.
- 1998 – Thomas Klestil is elected to a second term as President of Austria.
- 1999 – The German Bundestag moves its seat to Berlin.
- 2000 – A Philippine Airlines Boeing 737–200 crashes on landing at the island of Sanal in the Philippines, killing all 131 people on board.

### From 2001

- 2005 – Joseph Alois Ratzinger is chosen to become Pope. He chooses to be known as Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2011 – Fidel Castro resigns from the Communist Party of Cuba's central committee, after 45 years.
- 2013 – Jiroemon Kimura becomes the first man to reach the age of 116 years. He is the oldest man ever; the oldest–ever person is Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122.
- 2013 – Aftermath of 2013 Boston Marathon bombings: A police officer is shot dead in the early hours of the morning, before one of the suspects is killed in shoot–out with police, after which a lock–down is enforced in Boston. The second suspect is later arrested after a stand–off in the Watertown area of Greater Boston.
- 2013 – Nicolas Maduro becomes President of Venezuela. He had already served in a caretaker capacity after the death of Hugo Chávez on March 5.
- 2015 – A migrant boat sinks off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, killing an estimated 700 people, making this the deadliest such tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea to date.
- 2018 – Miguel Diaz-Canel is chosen to succeed Raul Castro as President of Cuba.
- 2018 – Mswati III of Swaziland, on his 50th birthday, announces a change to the country's official name from "Kingdom of Swaziland" to "Kingdom of eSwatini".

### Up to 1800

- 1320 – King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
- 1452 – King Ferdinand II of Aragon (d. 1504)
- 1603 – Michel le Tellier, French statesman (d. 1685)
- 1605 – Antonio Bertali, Italian composer and violinist (d. 1669)
- 1613 – Christoph Bach, grandfather of Johann Sebastian Bach (d. 1661)
- 1658 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (d. 1716)
- 1665 – Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer (d. 1721)
- 1686 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian statesman (d. 1750)
- 1721 – Roger Sherman, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (d. 1793)
- 1721 – Thomas McKean, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (d. 1817)
- 1759 – August Wilhelm Iffland, German actor and dramatist (d. 1814)
- 1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French composer (d. 1858)
- 1791 – William Orlando Butler, American politician (d. 1880)
- 1793 – Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)

### 1801 – 1900

- 1832 – José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize winner (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Eva Gonzales, French painter (d. 1883)
- 1874 – Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
- 1877 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian–American inventor (d. 1934)
- 1882 – Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil (d. 1954)
- 1883 – Richard von Mises, Austrian mathematician (d. 1953)
- 1883 – Henry Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1938)
- 1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer (d. 1983)
- 1894 – Elizabeth Dilling, American writer and activist (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, Japanese supercentenarian, world's oldest man and oldest man ever (d. 2013)
- 1898 – Constance Talmadge, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1899 – George O'Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Richard Hughes, British novelist (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Roland Michener, Governor–General of Canada (d. 1991)
- 1900 – Aleksandr Ptushko, Soviet–Russian movie director and screenwriter (d. 1973)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Eliot Ness, American lawman (d. 1957)
- 1912 – Glenn Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Ugo Poletti, Italian cardinal (d. 1997)
- 1917 – Sven Hassel, Danish writer (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Roberto Tucci, Italian cardinal (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Erich Hartmann, fighter pilot with the most amount of kills (352) (d. 1993)
- 1924 – Werner Kohlmeyer, German footballer (d. 1974)
- 1925 – Hugh O'Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Azlan Shah of Perak, 9th Yang–di Pertuan Agong (Head of State) of Malaysia and Sultan of Perak (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Alexis Korner, musician (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Dick Sargent, actor (d. 1994)
- 1932 – Fernando Botero, Colombian painter and sculptor
- 1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (d. 1967)
- 1933 – Dickie Bird, English cricket umpire
- 1934 – Jean Ziegler, Swiss sociologist and politician
- 1934 – Ox Baker, American wrestler and actor (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, musician, comedian, composer (d. 2002)
- 1935 – Justin Francis Rigali, American cardinal
- 1936 – Wilfried Martens, former Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Séamus Pattison, Irish politician (d. 2018)
- 1937 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
- 1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino actor and politician, former President of the Philippines
- 1937 – Antonio Carluccio, Italian–English chef and writer (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Gil Santos, American sports announcer (d. 2018)
- 1940 – Dougal Haston, Scottish mountaineer (d. 1977)
- 1940 – Genya Ravan, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1941 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian singer and composer
- 1941 – Alan Price, English musician
- 1941 – Michel Roux, French–British chef and restaurateur
- 1942 – Bas Jan Ader, Dutch artist (d. 1975)
- 1942 – Frank Elstner, German entertainer
- 1943 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish businessman
- 1944 – James Heckman, American economist, Nobel Prize
- 1944 – Bernie Worrell, keyboardist (P Funk)
- 1946 – Tim Curry, British actor
- 1946 – Mary Jo Slater, American casting director and producer
- 1947 – Murray Perahia, American pianist
- 1949 – Joachim Sauer, husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
- 1949 – Paloma Picasso, designer, daughter of Pablo Picasso

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Jóannes Eidesgaard, former Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
- 1952 – Alexis Argüello, Nicaraguan boxer and politician (d. 2009)
- 1953 – Sara Simeoni, Italian athlete
- 1953 – Ruby Wax, American–born British television personality
- 1954 – Trevor Francis, English footballer
- 1956 – Sue Barker, English tennis player and television presenter
- 1956 – Lane Hoppen, American singer–songwriter and musician (Orleans)
- 1956 – Randy Carlyle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1957 – Tony Martin, English singer and musician
- 1958 – Denis O'Brien, Irish businessman
- 1960 – Nicoletta Braschi, Italian actress and producer
- 1960 – Ara Gevorgyan, Armenian musician, composer and musical producer
- 1960 – Frank Viola, American baseball player
- 1960 – Roger Merrett, Australian footballer
- 1962 – Al Unser, Jr., race car driver
- 1963 – Mika Kojonskoski, Finnish ski jumper
- 1964 – Gordon Marshall, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1965 – Suge Knight, record producer
- 1965 – Natalie Dessay, French soprano
- 1967 – Philippe Sainte-André, French rugby player and coach
- 1967 – Steven H Silver, science fiction editor
- 1967 – Dar Williams, American musician and songwriter
- 1968 – Mswati III, King of Swaziland
- 1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress
- 1968 – Arshad Warsi, Indian actor, singer and producer
- 1968 – Pascal Kleiman, Spanish DJ, producer and songwriter
- 1969 – Susan Polgar, Hungarian–American chess player
- 1970 – Kelly Holmes, British athlete, double Olympic champion
- 1970 – Luis Miguel, Mexican singer
- 1972 – Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
- 1972 – Django Asül, German actor and comedian
- 1973 – Alessandro Preziosi, Italian actor
- 1975 – Jason Gillespie, Australian cricketer

### From 1976

- 1976 – Scott Padgett, American basketball player, coach and radio host
- 1978 – James Franco, American actor
- 1978 – Gabriel Heinze, Argentine footballer
- 1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress
- 1979 – Zhao Junzhe, Chinese footballer
- 1980 – Jason Blaine, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Robyn Regehr, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
- 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, actress
- 1981 – James Hibberd, English cricketer
- 1981 – Ryuta Hara, Japanese footballer
- 1985 – Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer
- 1986 – Heather Kuzmich, American model
- 1987 – Joe Hart, English footballer
- 1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
- 1987 – Lauren Wilson, Canadian figure skater
- 1988 – Haruna Kojima, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48)
- 1989 – Daisuke Watabe, Japanese footballer
- 1990 – Damien Le Tallec, French footballer
- 1992 – Nick Pope, English footballer
- 1994 – Lee Areum, South Korean singer
- 2016 – Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland, Swedish royal

### Up to 1900

- 1012 – Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 954)
- 1054 – Pope Leo IX (b. 1002)
- 1321 – Patriarch Gerasimus I of Constantinople
- 1390 – King Robert II of Scotland (b. 1316)
- 1560 – Philipp Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (b. 1497)
- 1578 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1530)
- 1588 – Paolo Veronese, Italian painter (b. 1528)
- 1608 – Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, English statesman and poet (b. 1536)
- 1689 – Christina of Sweden (b. 1626)
- 1733 – Elizabeth Villiers, mistress to William III of England (b. 1655)
- 1768 – Canaletto, Italian artist (b. 1697)
- 1791 – Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (b. 1723)
- 1824 – Lord Byron, English poet (b. 1788)
- 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Charles Darwin, British naturalist (b. 1809)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1906 – Pierre Curie, French scientist (b. 1859)
- 1906 – Spencer Gore, British tennis player and cricketer (b. 1850)
- 1914 – Charles Sanders Peirce, American philosopher (b. 1838)
- 1916 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer (b. 1839)
- 1949 – Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
- 1950 – Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (b. 1886)
- 1958 – Artur Kukk, Estonian wrestler (b. 1899)
- 1966 – Javier Solis, Mexican singer (b. 1931)
- 1967 – Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1974 – Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (b. 1907)
- 1988 – Kwon Ki-ok, first female pilot in Korea (b. 1901)
- 1989 – Daphne du Maurier, British writer (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Stanley Hawes, British–Australian producer, director and administrator (b. 1905)
- 1992 – Frankie Howerd, British comedian and actor (b. 1917)
- 1993 – David Koresh, American cult leader (b. 1959)
- 1993 – George S. Mickelson, 28th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Octavio Paz, Mexican writer (b. 1914)

### From 2001

- 2001 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr., 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Norris McWhirter, co–founder of the Guinness Book of World Records (b. 1925)
- 2004 – John Maynard Smith, British theoretical evolutionary biologist (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American engineer, pilot and astronaut (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and Resistance activist (b. 1907)
- 2009 – J. G. Ballard, British writer (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Guru, American rapper (b. 1961)
- 2011 – Elisabeth Sladen, British actress (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Grete Waitz, Norwegian marathon runner (b. 1953)
- 2012 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
- 2012 – Levon Helm, American musician and actor (b. 1940)
- 2013 – François Jacob, French biologist (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Al Neuharth, American journalist, writer and publisher (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Frits Thors, Dutch journalist (b. 1909)
- 2014 – Mimi Kok, Dutch actress (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Sonia Silvestre, Dominican singer (b. 1952)
- 2014 – Luciano do Valle, Brazilian sports commentator (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Elio Toaff, Italian rabbi (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Tom McCabe, Scottish politician (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Uche Chukwumerije, Nigerian politician (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Theodosia Okoh, Ghanaian flag designer and sports administrator (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Raymond Carr, British historian (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Ali Abu Mukhammad, Dagestani–Russian Islamist leader (b. 1972)
- 2016 – Patricio Aylwin, President of Chile (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Estelle Balet, Swiss snowboarder (b. 1994)
- 2016 – Ronit Elkabetz, Israeli actress (b. 1964)
- 2016 – Walter Kohn, Austrian–American theoretical physicist (b. 1923)
- 2016 – Mehrdad Oladi, Iranian footballer (b. 1985)
- 2016 – Milt Pappas, American baseball player (b. 1939)
- 2016 – Billy Redmayne, Manx motorcycle racer (b. 1990)
- 2017 – Delbert Daisey, American conservationist (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Aaron Hernandez, American football player (b. 1989)
- 2017 – Lyda Ann Thomas, American politician (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Cornelius Jakobs, Estonian–Russian Orthodox hierarch (b. 1924)
- 2018 – Luis Montes Mieza, Spanish anaesthetist and activist (b. 1949)
- 2018 – Walter Moody, American murderer (b. 1935)
- 2018 – Gil Santos, American sports announcer (b. 1938)
- 2019 – Martin Böttcher, German film composer and conductor (b. 1927)
- 2019 – Massimo Marino, Italian television presenter (b. 1960)
- 2019 – Patrick Sercu, Belgian cyclist (b. 1944)
- 2019 – Rodolfo Severino Jr., Filipino diplomat (b. 1936)
- 2019 – Okiharu Yasuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1939)

## Observances

- **Bicycle Day**
- Dutch–American friendship day
- King Mswati III's birthday (Swaziland)
- Patriots' Day (Massachusetts, Maine, Wisconsin)
- Beginning of Independence Movement (Venezuela)
- Most common date for Easter, last in 1992