April 2

### 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.

### 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

### 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)