April 12

### Up to 1900

- 238 – Gordian II loses the Battle of Carthage against Numidian forces loyal to Maximinus Thrax and is killed. His father, Gordian I, commits suicide.
- 240 – Shapur I is crowned as King of the Sasanian Empire.
- 467 – Anthemius becomes Emperor of the West Roman Empire.
- 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Bishop Paulinus of York.
- 1204 – Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople (present–day Istanbul) and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
- 1557 – The city of Cuenca, in Ecuador, is founded.
- 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of the two united Kingdoms of Scotland and England.
- 1633 – Galileo Galilei's trial before the inquisition begins.
- 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester cause it to collapse.
- 1861 – The American Civil War begins when Fort Sumter, South Carolina, is attacked.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama falls to the Union Army.
- 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes Transvaal.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
- 1927 – Chiang Kai-shek orders Communist Party of China members to be executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
- 1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
- 1934 – The strongest wind gust, outside of Antarctica or not within a tornado, is measured at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, at 231 miles per hour (372 kilometres per hour).
- 1935 – First flight of the Bristol Blenheim aircraft.
- 1937 – Frank Whittle ground–tests the first jet engine to power an aircraft.
- 1945 – US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. Harry S. Truman is sworn in as his successor.
- 1946 – The last French troops leave Syria.
- 1954 – Bill Haley and His Comets record their hit song Rock Around the Clock.
- 1955 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is declared safe and effective.
- 1961 – Yuri Gagarin is the first cosmonaut in space, sent by the U.S.S.R on Vostok 1.
- 1963 – Soviet nuclear–powered submarine K–33 collides with the Finnish merchant navy vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.
- 1968 – A day after the attack on student activist Rudi Dutschke, protests and riots erupt across several cities in West Germany.
- 1970 – Soviet submarine K–8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay near France and Spain four days after a fire on board.
- 1980 – Terry Fox starts his _Marathon of Hope_ across Canada in St. John's, Newfoundland.
- 1980 – In Liberia, Samuel K. Doe takes power in a coup, in which President William Tolbert is killed.
- 1981 – Space Shuttle _Columbia_ is launched.
- 1992 – Disneyland Paris opens, as Euro Disneyland.
- 1998 – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Slovenia.

### From 2001

- 2002 – In a US–backed military coup in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez is replaced as Head of State by Pedro Carmona. After 36 hours, Chavez is reinstated as president.
- 2002 – A female suicide bomber detonates herself in Jerusalem, killing 7 people and injuring 104.
- 2007 – A suicide bomber attacks the Iraqi parliament.
- 2009 – Zimbabwe abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency, after a severe economic crisis in the country.
- 2010 – A train crash near Merano, Italy, kills 9 people, after running into a landslide.
- 2014 – A wildfire ravages the Chilean city of Valparaiso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

### Up to 1800

- 599 BC – Mahavira, Indian founder of Jainism (d. 527 BC)
- 812 – Muhammad at-Taqi, Arabian Shia Imam (d. 835)
- 1116 – Richeza of Poland, Queen of Sweden (d. 1156 or after)
- 1432 – Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)
- 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546)
- 1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (d. 1574)
- 1526 – Muretus, French humanist (d. 1585)
- 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English politician (d. 1604)
- 1577 – King Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
- 1710 – Caffarelli, Italian opera singer (d. 1783)
- 1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (d. 1796)
- 1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian composer and violinist (d. 1796)
- 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (d. 1793)
- 1724 – Lyman Hall, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1790)
- 1726 – Charles Burney, English music historian (d. 1814)
- 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (d. 1836)
- 1760 – Juan Manuel Olivares, Venezuelan composer (d. 1797)
- 1777 – Henry Clay, American statesman and five–time Presidential candidate (d. 1852)
- 1792 – John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English statesman (d. 1840)
- 1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (d. 1847).
- 1796 – George N. Briggs, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
- 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1855)

### 1801 – 1900

- 1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)
- 1823 – Alexandr Ostrovsky, Russian dramatist (d. 1886)
- 1828 – Charles Foster, Governor of Ohio and United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1904)
- 1839 – Nikolai Przhevalsky, Russian explorer (d. 1888)
- 1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer (d. 1928)
- 1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (d. 1939)
- 1856 – William Martin Conway, English art critic and mountaineer (d. 1937)
- 1866 – Princess Viktoria of Prussia (d. 1929)
- 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
- 1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (d. 1941)
- 1874 – William B. Bankhead, American politician (d. 1940)
- 1879 – Fred H. Brown, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1955)
- 1883 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer (d. 1976)
- 1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player (d. 1959)
- 1884 – Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German doctor, won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1951)
- 1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
- 1885 – Robert Delaunay, French artist (d. 1941)
- 1887 – Harold Lockwood, American silent movie actor (d. 1918)
- 1888 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (d. 1964)
- 1892 – Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1940)
- 1893 – Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920)
- 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, President of Portugal (d. 1964)
- 1898 – Lily Pons, American soprano (d. 1976)

### 1901 – 1925

- 1902 – Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
- 1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Zawgyi, Burmese poet, writer and academic (d. 1990)
- 1908 – Ida Pollock, British writer (d. 2013)
- 1910 – Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018)
- 1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Hamengkubuwono IX, 2nd Vice president of Indonesia (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
- 1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese judoka (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Adriaan Blaauw, Dutch astronomer (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Gretel Bergmann, German athlete (d. 2017)
- 1916 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Beverly Cleary, American writer (d. 2021)
- 1917 – Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015)
- 1917 – Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, 2nd Vice president of Zambia (d. 1980)
- 1923 – Ann Miller, American actress and dancer (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Eddie Turnbull, Scottish footballer (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Raymond Barre, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Oliver Postgate, British animator, puppetteer and writer (d. 2008)

### 1926 – 1950

- 1926 – Jane Withers, American actress (d. 2021)
- 1927 – Alvin Sargent, American screenwriter (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor
- 1928 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Luis Vigoreaux, Puerto Rican TV and radio personality (d. 1983)
- 1930 – John Landy, Australian athlete and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria (d. 2022)
- 1930 – Bryan Magee, British philosopher
- 1931 – Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, comedian, writer and composer (d. 2012)
- 1932 – Tiny Tim, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1932 – Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)
- 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Catalan–Spanish operatic soprano (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Michael Grzimek, German moviemaker and zoologist (d. 1959)
- 1936 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1936 – Tony Earl, 41st Governor of Wisconsin
- 1936 – Kennedy Simmonds, 1st Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- 1937 – Dennis Banks, American teacher, activist and writer (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Igor Volk, Soviet–Ukrainian cosmonaut (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Enayat Michael Ali, Trinidadian professional cricketer
- 1940 – John Hagee, American pastor and theologian
- 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American musician
- 1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Jacob Zuma, former President of South Africa
- 1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentine racing driver and politician (d. 2021)
- 1943 – Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician
- 1944 – Lisa Jardine, English historian, writer and academic (d. 2015)
- 1944 – John Kay, German–Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
- 1945 – Lee Jong-Wook, South Korean Director–General of the WHO (d. 2006)
- 1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, former Secretary–General of NATO
- 1946 – Ed O'Neill, American actor
- 1947 – Martin Brasier, English palaeobiologist and astrobiologist (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Alex Briley, American singer (Village People)
- 1947 – Woody Johnson, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1947 – Dan Lauria, American actor
- 1947 – David Letterman, American comedian and TV host
- 1947 – Tom Clancy, American writer (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Joschka Fischer, German politician
- 1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian football manager
- 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, British television presenter (d. 2008)
- 1948 – Lois Reeves, American singer
- 1949 – Scott Turow, American writer
- 1950 – Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi
- 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer and actor (d. 2017)
- 1950 – Maia Danziger, American actress
- 1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman
- 1950 – Larry Kemp, Film editor

### 1951 – 1975

- 1954 – John Faulkner, Australian politician
- 1954 – Jon Krakauer, American writer and mountaineer
- 1955 – Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson, Icelandic writer
- 1956 – Andy Garcia, American actor
- 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer and actor
- 1956 – Walter Salles, Brazilian movie director
- 1957 – Vince Gill, American Country singer
- 1957 – Adam Parfrey, American novelist, editor and publisher (d. 2018)
- 1958 – Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler
- 1958 – J. Alexander, American television personality
- 1959 – Jackson Carlaw, Scottish politician
- 1960 – Dennis Bateman, American voice actor
- 1961 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian musician
- 1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor
- 1967 – Mellow Man Ace, American rapper
- 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
- 1970 – Nick Hexum, singer and guitarist
- 1971 – Nicholas Brendon, actor
- 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress
- 1973 – Christian Panucci, Italian footballer
- 1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 – Marley Shelton, American actress

### From 1976

- 1976 – Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner
- 1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorean footballer
- 1978 – Guy Berryman, British musician (Coldplay)
- 1979 – Claire Danes, American actress
- 1979 – Mateja Kezman, Serbian footballer
- 1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress
- 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer (Westlife)
- 1981 – Nicolas Burdisso, Argentine footballer
- 1981 – Grant Holt, English footballer
- 1982 – Gary Caldwell, Scottish footballer
- 1982 – Riley Smith, model and actor
- 1983 – Jelena Dokic, Serbian–Australian tennis player
- 1985 – James Alexandrou, British actor
- 1985 – Olga Seryabkina, Russian singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Lorena, Spanish singer
- 1986 – Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player
- 1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
- 1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer of Panic! at the Disco
- 1988 – Ricardo Gabriel Alvarez, Argentine footballer
- 1989 – Miguel Angel Ponce, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Travis Tatum Mill, American singer
- 1990 – Francesca Halsall, British swimmer
- 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, Irish actress
- 1994 – Airi Suzuki, Japanese actress and singer
- 1996 – Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player
- 1997 – Katelyn Dhashi, American gymnast
- 2000 – Suzanna von Nathusius, Polish actress

### Up to 1900

- 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general
- 65 – Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist
- 238 – Gordian I, Roman Emperor
- 238 – Gordian II, Roman heir
- 352 – Pope Julius I
- 434 – Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople
- 1125 – Vladislaus I of Bohemia (b. 1065)
- 1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)
- 1555 – Juana of Castile, wife of Philip I of Castile (b. 1479)
- 1675 – Richard Bennett, British Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
- 1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)
- 1782 – Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (b. 1698)
- 1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French composer (b. 1719)
- 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer (b. 1730)
- 1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer (b. 1795)
- 1878 – William H. Tweed, American politician (b. 1823)
- 1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse (b. 1821)
- 1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician (b. 1835)
- 1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
- 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer (b. 1899)
- 1971 – Igor Tamm, Russian physicist (b. 1895)
- 1975 – Josephine Baker, American dancer, singer and actress (b. 1906)
- 1980 – William Tolbert, President of Liberia (b. 1913)
- 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)
- 1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, of Japan (b. 1887)
- 1988 – Alan Paton, South African writer (b. 1903)
- 1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
- 1997 – George Wald, American neurologist (b. 1906)
- 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American musician (b. 1931)
- 1999 – Marion Pruett, American spree killer (b. 1949)

### From 2001

- 2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Rajkumar, Indian movie actor and singer (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli–American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)
- 2009 – Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, American academic scholar (b. 1950)
- 2009 – Marilyn Chambers, American pornographic actress (b. 1952)
- 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German movie director (b. 1945)
- 2014 – Brita Koivunen, Finnish singer (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Fred Ho, American musician, composer, playwright, writer and activist (b. 1957)
- 2014 – Hal Smith, American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)
- 2015 – Patrice Dominguez, French tennis player (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Alfred Eick, German U–boat commander (b. 1916)
- 2016 – Hector A. Cafferata, Jr., American soldier (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Paul Carey, American radio broadcaster (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Gianroberto Casaleggio, Italian entrepreneur (b. 1954)
- 2016 – Pedro de Felipe, Spanish footballer (b. 1944)
- 2016 – David Gest, American television personality (b. 1953)
- 2016 – Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Balls Mahoney, American professional wrestler (b. 1972)
- 2016 – Arnold Wesker, English playwright (b. 1932)
- 2017 – Akhilesh Das, Indian politician, Mayor of Lucknow (b. 1961)
- 2017 – Michael Ballhaus, German cinematographer (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Charlie Murphy, American comedian (b. 1959)
- 2017 – Sheila Abdus-Salaam, American judge (b. 1952)
- 2017 – Tom Coyne, American music engineer (b. 1954)
- 2017 – Wayne Hardin, American football player (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Toby Smith, British keyboardist (b. 1970)
- 2018 – Brij Bhushan Kabra, Indian musician (b. 1937)
- 2018 – John Melcher, American politician (b. 1924)
- 2018 – Sergio Pitol, Mexican novelist and politician (b. 1933)
- 2018 – Deborah Coleman, American blues singer–songwriter (b. 1956)
- 2018 – Bob Pickens, American wrestler and football player (b. 1943)
- 2019 – Ivor Broadis, English footballer (b. 1922)
- 2019 – Dina, Portuguese singer (b. 1956)
- 2019 – Forrest Gregg, American football player (b. 1933)
- 2019 – Tommy Smith, English footballer (b. 1945)
- 2019 – Georgia Engel, American actress (b. 1948)

## Observances

- Cosmonauts' Day (Russia), celebrating Yuri Gagarin's space flight in 1961