April 5

### Up to 1900

- 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I.
- 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1242 – During a battle on the ice of Chudskoye Lake, Russian forces rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
- 1566 – Two–hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Netherlands.
- 1614 – In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
- 1621 – The _Mayflower_ sets sail from Plymouth on a return trip to Great Britain.
- 1654 – The Treaty of Westminster is signed, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1690 – Patrizio Cardinal Ficca is elected pope and takes the name Patricius I.
- 1710 – The Statute of Anne receives the Royal Assent, establishing the copyright law of Great Britain.
- 1722 – Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen reaches an island in the South Pacific on Easter Sunday. He names it Easter Island. He is the first European to visit the island.
- 1792 – United States President George Washington vetos a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto is used in the United States.
- 1804 – The first recorded meteorite falls in Possil, Scotland (High Possil Meteorite).
- 1815 – Tambora's eruption in Indonesia begins.
- 1818 – Battle of Maipu: Chile's independence movement, led by Bernardo O'Higgins and Jose de San Martin, wins a decisive victory over Spain, with 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chileans patriots dying in the battle.
- 1847 – Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park in the United Kingdom, is opened in Birkenhead.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Yorktown. The battle begins when Union forces under General George McClellan close in on the Confederate capital Richmond, Virginia.
- 1879 – Chile declares war on Peru and Bolivia.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1902 – A stand at the Ibrox stadium in Glasgow collapses during a Scotland v. England football match, killing 25 people.
- 1904 – First international rugby league game.
- 1908 – The Germany national football team played its first–ever match, losing 5–3 to the Switzerland national football team, which recorded its first–ever win.
- 1922 – The American Birth Control League is incorporated.
- 1923 – Firestone Tire and Rubber Company starts production of balloon–tires.
- 1930 – In an act of civil disobedience, Mohandas Gandhi breaks British law after marching to the sea and making salt.
- 1932 – Alcohol prohibition in Finland ends.
- 1932 – Dominion of Newfoundland: 10,000 rioters seize the Colonial Building, leading to the end of self–government.
- 1936 – Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak: A F5 tornado slams into the north side of Tupelo, Mississippi, killing 233. It is the 4th deadliest tornado in United States history.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese Navy attacks Colombo in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Royal Navy cruisers HMS _Cornwall_ and HMS _Dorsetshire_ are sunk southwest of the island.
- 1943 – World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally kill over 900 civilians in the town of Mortsel, Belgium.
- 1944 – World War II: 270 people living in the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by German troops.
- 1945 – Georgian Uprising of Texel takes place.
- 1945 – Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip "Tito" Broz signs an agreement with the USSR allowing "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory."
- 1946 – Soviet troops leave the island of Bornholm, Denmark, after an 11–month occupation.
- 1949 – _Fireside Theatre_ is first broadcast on television.
- 1949 – A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, United States, kills 77 people.
- 1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for performing espionage for the Soviet Union.
- 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
- 1956 – In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna won the general elections by many votes and S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister.
- 1956 – Fidel Castro declares himself to be at war with the President of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista.
- 1957 – In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala. E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first chief minister.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations are held in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the United States.
- 1971 – In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches insurrection against the United Front government of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese forces invade Binh Long Province, launching a second front of the Nguyen Hue Offensive.
- 1973 – Pierre Messmer becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1976 – In the People's Republic of China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen incident.
- 1976 – James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Labour Party, replacing Harold Wilson in both positions.
- 1980 – A memorial to Chiang Kai-shek is opened in Taipei, Taiwan, on the fifth anniversary of his death.
- 1986 – Bombing of the La Belle discothèque in West Berlin, Germany, kills three.
- 1991 – ASA Embraer EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, killing all 23 aboard.
- 1992 – Several hundred–thousand abortion rights demonstrators march in Washington, D.C..
- 1992 – The Siege of Sarajevo begins when Serb paramilitaries murder peace protestor Suada Dilberovic on the Skenderija Bridge.
- 1993 – The Child Support Act 1991, administered by the Child Support Agency, comes into effect in the United Kingdom.
- 1994 – Kurt Cobain, popular musician in the rock music band Nirvana, commits suicide at the age of 27. His body is found three days later.
- 1998 – In Japan, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge linking Shikoku with Honshu and costing about US$3.8 billion, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.
- 1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
- 1999 – In Laramie, Wyoming, United States, Russell Henderson pleads guilty to kidnapping and felony murder in order to avoid a possible death penalty conviction for the hate crime killing of Matthew Shepard.

### From 2001

- 2005 – ABC News anchor Peter Jennings announces on _World News Tonight_ that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. It was his last on–air appearance.
- 2009 – North Korea launches the Kwangmyongsong rocket, which passed over Japan, and led to international condemnation.
- 2012 – President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika dies aged 78; Joyce Banda replaces him.
- 2016 – Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigns after his name appeared in the Panama Papers about tax schemes of the rich and famous.

### Up to 1800

- 1170 – Isabella of Hainault (died 1190)
- 1288 – Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (died 1336)
- 1315 – James III of Mallorca (died 1349)
- 1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan and wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1510)
- 1479 – Guru Amar Das, third Sikh Guru (died 1574)
- 1568 – Pope Urban VIII (died 1644)
- 1588 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (died 1679)
- 1593 – George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg (died 1603)
- 1595 – John Wilson, English composer and educator (died 1674)
- 1604 – Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (died 1675)
- 1622 – Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician (died 1703)
- 1649 – Elihu Yale, American university benefactor (died 1721)
- 1692 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (died 1730)
- 1719 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish statesman and soldier (died 1794)
- 1726 – Benjamin Harrison V, American politician (died 1791)
- 1727 – Pasquale Anfossi, Italian composer (died 1797)
- 1732 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French artist (died 1806)
- 1761 – Sybil Ludington, heroine of the American Revolutionary War (died 1839)
- 1784 – Louis Spohr, German violinist and composer (died 1859)

### 1801 – 1900

- 1816 – Samuel Freeman Miller, United States Supreme Court justice (died 1890)
- 1820 – Nadar, French photographer, writer and balloonist (died 1910)
- 1827 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon (died 1912)
- 1832 – Jules Ferry, French statesman (died 1893)
- 1837 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet (died 1909)
- 1839 – Robert Smalls, American pilot and politician (died 1915)
- 1840 – Ghazars Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (died 1911)
- 1856 – Booker T. Washington, American educator (died 1915)
- 1857 – Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria (died 1893)
- 1863 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (died 1950)
- 1869 – Sergei Chaplygin, Russian physicist and engineer (died 1942)
- 1869 – Albert Roussel, French composer (died 1937)
- 1871 – Mirko Seljan, Croatian explorer
- 1875 – Mistinguett, French vaudeville performer (died 1956)
- 1877 – Walter Sutton, American geneticist (died 1916)
- 1878 – Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (died 1964)
- 1883 – Walter Huston, Canadian–born American actor (died 1950)
- 1884 – Ion Iaculet, Romanian statesman (died 1940)
- 1893 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (died 1973)
- 1899 – Alfred Blalock, American surgeon (died 1964)
- 1899 – Elsie Thompson, American supercentenarian (died 2013)
- 1900 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (died 1967)
- 1900 – Herbert Bayer, Austrian–American graphic designer (died 1985)
- 1900 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (died 1928)

### 1901 – 1925

- 1901 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (died 1981)
- 1901 – Chester Bowles, American politician, Governor of Connecticut (died 1986)
- 1904 – Richard Eberhart, American poet (died 2005)
- 1905 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Prime Minister of Thailand (died 2002)
- 1905 – Bill Raisch, American actor (died 1984)
- 1908 – Bette Davis, American actress (died 1989)
- 1908 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (died 1989)
- 1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician (died 1986)
- 1909 – Albert R. Broccoli, American movie producer (died 1996)
- 1911 – Hedi Amaira Nouira, Prime Minister of Tunisia (died 1993)
- 1912 – John Le Mesurier, British actor (died 1983)
- 1912 – Ricardo Arias, 29th President of Panama (died 1993)
- 1912 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer (died 1997)
- 1912 – Bill Roberts, English sprinter (died 2001)
- 1913 – Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (died 1958)
- 1916 – Gregory Peck, American actor (died 2003)
- 1917 – Robert Bloch, American writer (died 1994)
- 1919 – Les Munro, New Zealand pilot (died 2015)
- 1920 – Barend Biesheuvel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2001)
- 1920 – Chatichai Choonhavan, Prime Minister of Thailand (died 1998)
- 1920 – Arthur Hailey, American writer (died 2004)
- 1922 – Tom Finney, English footballer (died 2014)
- 1922 – Gale Storm, American singer and actress
- 1922 – Christopher Hewett, British actor (died 2001)
- 1923 – Nguyen Van Thieu, South Vietnamese president (died 2001)
- 1923 – Michael Gazzo, American actor (died 1995)

### 1926 – 1950

- 1926 – Roger Corman, American movie director, producer, and writer
- 1929 – Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (died 2008)
- 1929 – Ivar Giaever, Norwegian physicist
- 1929 – Joe Meek, English record producer (died 1967)
- 1929 – Nigel Hawthorne, British actor (died 2001)
- 1930 – Mary Costa, American singer and actress
- 1931 – Boris Strugatsky, Russian writer (died 1991)
- 1933 – Larry Felser, American sports columnist and writer
- 1934 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (died 2005)
- 1934 – Roman Herzog, German politician, former President of Germany (died 2017)
- 1934 – Richard Peck, American novelist (died 2018)
- 1935 – Donald Lynden-Bell, English astrophysicist and astronomer
- 1937 – Colin Powell, 65th United States Secretary of State (died 2021)
- 1939 – Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, Albanian royal and pretender (died 2011)
- 1939 – David Winters, English–American actor and choreographer (died 2019)
- 1939 – Crispian St. Peters, British singer
- 1941 – Michael Moriarty, American actor and political activist
- 1942 – Pascal Couchepin, Swiss politician
- 1942 – Allan Clarke, English singer
- 1942 – Peter Greenaway, Welsh movie director
- 1943 – Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (died 2018)
- 1943 – Max Gail, American actor
- 1944 – Peter T. King, American politician
- 1945 – Tommy Smith, English footballer (died 2019)
- 1946 – Jane Asher, English actress and writer
- 1947 – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 14th President of the Philippines
- 1947 – Virendra Sharma, Indian–English actor
- 1948 – Dave Holland, English musician
- 1948 – Les Binks, Northern Irish drummer
- 1949 – Judith Resnik, American astronaut (died 1986)
- 1950 – Spencer Bohren, American guitarist (died 2019)
- 1950 – Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer (ABBA)

### 1951 – 1975

- 1952 – Alfie Conn Jr., Scottish footballer
- 1954 – Stan Ridgway, American musician
- 1955 – Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist
- 1955 – Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer and screenwriter
- 1955 – Anthony Horowitz, British writer
- 1956 – Akmal Shaikh, British citizen executed for drug trafficking in China (died 2009)
- 1958 – Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan journalist (died 2009)
- 1958 – Johan Kriek, South African tennis player
- 1961 – Lisa Zane, American actress
- 1962 – Lana Clarkson, American actress (died 2003)
- 1962 – Richard Gough, Scottish footballer
- 1964 – Steve Beaton, English darts player
- 1964 – Princess Erika, French singer-songwriter and actress
- 1965 – Mike McCready, American musician (Pearl Jam)
- 1965 – Aykut Kocaman, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Krishnan Guru-Murthy, British journalist
- 1970 – Miho Hatori, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Ayoko Nishikawa, Japanese television personality, entertainer, comedian and surgeon
- 1972 – Paul Okon, Australian footballer
- 1972 – Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and movie director
- 1973 – Pharrell Williams, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
- 1974 – Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
- 1975 – John Hartson, Welsh footballer
- 1975 – Caitlin Moran, English journalist, writer and critic

### From 1976

- 1976 – Kim Collins, Saint Kitts and Nevis athlete
- 1976 – Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Stella Creasy, English psychologist and politician
- 1978 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
- 1978 – Dwain Chambers, British athlete
- 1978 – Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
- 1979 – Imany, French singer
- 1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer, goalkeeper
- 1979 – Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer
- 1979 – Daniel Majstorovic, Swedish footballer
- 1979 – Andrius Velicka, Lithuanian footballer
- 1980 – Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer
- 1980 – Erik Audé, American actor, stuntman and poker player
- 1981 – Stefan Ludik, Namibian cricketer, actor and singer
- 1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American soldier (d. 2006)
- 1982 – Hayley Atwell, British actress
- 1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
- 1982 – Matt Pickens, American footballer
- 1983 – Jorge Andrés Martinez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
- 1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
- 1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer
- 1984 – David Dillehunt, American movie director, producer and composer
- 1985 – Kim Ji-hoo, South Korean model and actor (died 2008)
- 1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model
- 1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
- 1990 – Sophia Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
- 1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor
- 1992 – Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer and dancer

### Up to 1900

- 517 – Timothy I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
- 582 – Eutychus, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
- 1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1350)
- 1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
- 1676 – John Winthrop, the Younger, American politician (b. 1606)
- 1693 – Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (b. 1627)
- 1697 – King Charles IX of Sweden (b. 1655)
- 1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
- 1735 – William Derham, English minister and philosopher (b. 1657)
- 1735 – Samuel Wesley, English clergyman and poet (b. 1662)
- 1765 – Edward Young, English poet (b. 1683)
- 1794 – Georges Danton, French Revolutionary leader (b. 1759)
- 1794 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (b. 1760)
- 1804 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)
- 1834 – Richard Goodwin Keats, English admiral (b. 1757)
- 1864 – Alaric Alexander Watts, English poet and journalist (b. 1797)
- 1900 – Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician (b. 1822)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1918 – George Tupou II, King of Tonga (b. 1874)
- 1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier (b. 1886)
- 1936 – Chandler Egan, American golfer (b. 1884)
- 1940 – Charles Freer Andrews, English priest, missionary and educator (b. 1871)
- 1945 – Karl Otto Koch, German SS officer (b. 1897)
- 1946 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (b. 1898)
- 1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist (b. 1890)
- 1969 – Ain-Erven Mere, Estonian military officer (b. 1903)
- 1970 – Alfred Henry Sturtevant, American geneticist (b. 1891)
- 1972 – Brian Donleavy, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1972 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (b. 1907)
- 1975 – Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
- 1975 – John A. Burns, Governor of Hawaii (b. 1909)
- 1976 – Howard Hughes, American aviator (b. 1905)
- 1981 – Bob Hite, American singer (b. 1945)
- 1987 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish naturalist, writer and photographer (b. 1932)
- 1991 – Sonny Carter, American astronaut (b. 1947)
- 1992 – Sam Walton, American businessman (b. 1918)
- 1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer/songwriter, frontman of Nirvana. (b. 1967)
- 1997 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Cozy Powell, English musician (b. 1947)

### From 2001

- 2002 – Layne Staley, American musician (b. 1967)
- 2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician (b. 1936)
- 2005 – Saul Bellow, Canadian writer (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Dale Messick, American cartoonist (b. 1906)
- 2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Mark St. John, American musician (b. 1956)
- 2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2010 – Vitali Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1935)
- 2011 – Ange-Félix Patassé, former President of the Central African Republic (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Barney McKenna, Irish musician (Dubliners) (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Jim Marshall, businessman and founder of Marshall Amplification (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German businessman (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Peter Matthiessen, American writer (b. 1927)
- 2014 – John Pinette, American actor and comedian (b. 1964)
- 2014 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director and producer (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Wayne Henderson, American jazz trombonist and record producer (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Donald N. Levine, American sociologist, social theorist and writer (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Julie Wilson, American actress (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Richard Dysart, American actor (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Lon Simmons, American sports broadcaster (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Gordon Moyes, Australian radio evangelist and politician (b. 1938)
- 2016 – Roman Gribbs, American politician (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Zyta Gilowska, Polish politician (b. 1949)
- 2016 – Zena Latto, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1925)
- 2016 – E. M. Nathanson, American writer (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess player (b. 1929)
- 2017 – John Chittick, American health activist (b. 1948)
- 2017 – David Gove, American ice hockey player (b. 1978)
- 2017 – Paul O'Neill, American producer, composer and songwriter (b. 1956)
- 2017 – Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (b. 1947)
- 2017 – Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (b. 1942)
- 2017 – Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (b. 1958)
- 2018 – Yuriy Abramochkin, Russian photographer and photojournalist (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Eric Bristow, English darts player (b. 1957)
- 2018 – Frederick D. Reese, American civil rights activist (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Isao Takahata, Japanese film director, animator and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2018 – Cecil Taylor, American jazz pianist and poet (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Tim O'Connor, American actor (b. 1927)
- 2018 – Jaime Thorne León, Peruvian politician (b. 1943)
- 2019 – Sydney Brenner, South African–British biologist (b. 1927)
- 2019 – Nikolay Kovalyov, Russian politician (b. 1949)
- 2019 – Gianfranco Leoncini, Italian footballer (b. 1939)
- 2019 – Lasse Pöysti, Finnish actor, director, theatre manager and writer (b. 1927)
- 2019 – Shawn Smith, American singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1965)

## Observances

- Feast Day of Saint Vincent Ferrer (Roman Catholicism)
- Sikmogil (South Korea)
- Children's Day (Palestinian territories)