April 7

Events

Pre-1600

* 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town.
* 529 – First ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
* 1141 – Empress Matilda becomes the first female ruler of England, adopting the title "Lady of the English".
*1348 – Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV charters Prague University.
* 1449 – Felix V abdicates his claim to the papacy, ending the reign of the final Antipope.
*1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
*1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.

1601–1900

* 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's ''St John Passion'', BWV 245, at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
* 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67).
* 1788 – Settlers establish Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent settlement created by U.S. citizens in the recently organized Northwest Territory.
* 1795 – The French First Republic adopts the kilogram and gram as its primary unit of mass.
*1790 – Greek War of Independence: Greek revolutionary Lambros Katsonis loses three of his ships in the Battle of Andros.
*1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and the Spanish Empire. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
*1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
*1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premieres his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
* 1831 – Pedro II becomes Emperor of Brazil.
*1862 – American Civil War: The Union's Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
* 1868 – Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist.

1901–present

* 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
* 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
*1922 – Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms.
* 1926 – Violet Gibson attempts to assassinate Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini.
*1927 – AT&T transmits the first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
*1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
* 1933 – Nazi Germany issues the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service banning Jews and political dissidents from civil service posts.
*1939 – Benito Mussolini declares an Italian protectorate over Albania and forces King Zog I into exile.
* 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
*1943 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches.
* 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.
* 1943 – The National Football League makes helmets mandatory.
*1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship '' Yamato'', one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by United States Navy aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
*1946 – The Soviet Union annexes East Prussia as the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
*1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
*1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.
*1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
*1956 – Francoist Spain agrees to surrender its protectorate in Morocco.
*1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
*1965 – Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate in Washington, D.C. against the termination of the Colville tribe.
*1968 – Two-time Formula One British World Champion Jim Clark dies in an accident during a Formula Two race in Hockenheim.
*1969 – The Internet's symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.
*1971 – Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization.
* 1972 – Vietnam War: Communist forces overrun the South Vietnamese town of Loc Ninh.
*1976 – Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party after being arrested for faking his own death.
*1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
*1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
*1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.
*1982 – Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh is arrested.
*1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
*1988 – Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov orders the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.
*1989 – Soviet submarine ''Komsomolets'' sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway, killing 42 sailors.
*1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry ''Scandinavian Star'', killing 159 people.
* 1990 – John Poindexter is convicted for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. In 1991 the convictions are reversed on appeal.
*1994 – Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda, and soldiers kill the civilian Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana.
* 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy.
*1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
*2001 – NASA launches the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter.
*2003 – Iraq War: U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime falls two days later.
*2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
* 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
*2011 – The Israel Defense Forces use their Iron Dome missile system to successfully intercept a BM-21 Grad launched from Gaza, marking the first short-range missile intercept ever.
*2017 – A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people in Stockholm, Sweden, killing five people and injuring fifteen others.
* 2017 – U.S. President Donald Trump orders the 2017 Shayrat missile strike against Syria in retaliation for the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.
*2018 – Former Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is arrested for corruption by determination of Judge Sérgio Moro, from the “ Car-Wash Operation”. Lula stayed imprisoned for 580 days, after being released by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
* 2018 – Syria launches the Douma chemical attack during the Eastern Ghouta offensive of the Syrian Civil War.
*2020 – COVID-19 pandemic: China ends its lockdown in Wuhan.
* 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic: Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigns for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' and the dismissal of Brett Crozier.
*2021 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces that the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States.
*2022 – Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed for the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming the first black female justice.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1206 – Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1253)
* 1330 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English nobleman (d. 1352)
* 1470 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1498)
* 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
*1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)

1601–1900

*1613 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
*1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (d. 1730)
*1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1721)
*1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
*1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
* 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (d. 1800)
*1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist, entomologist, and mycologist (d. 1806)
* 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846)
*1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
* 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher (d. 1837)
*1780 – William Ellery Channing, American preacher and theologian (d. 1842)
*1803 – James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
* 1803 – Flora Tristan, French author and activist (d. 1844)
*1811 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1881)
*1817 – Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (d. 1881)
*1848 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (d. 1930)
* 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player and coach (d. 1925)
*1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (d. 1951)
* 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (d. 1953)
*1870 – Gustav Landauer, German theorist and activist (d. 1919)
*1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (d. 1927)
* 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
*1874 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (d. 1939)
*1876 – Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1945)
*1882 – Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (d. 1971)
* 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
*1883 – Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (d. 1966)
* 1884 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (d. 1963)
*1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1971)
*1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
*1890 – Paul Berth, Danish footballer (d. 1969)
* 1890 – Victoria Ocampo. Argentine writer (d. 1979)
* 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (d. 1998)
*1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (d. 1958)
*1892 – Julius Hirsch, German footballer (d. 1945)
* 1893 – José Sobral de Almada Negreiros, Portuguese artist (d. 1970)
*1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
*1895 – John Bernard Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (d. 1942)
* 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
* 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (d. 1974)
* 1897 – Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
* 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
* 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
*1900 – Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (d. 1975)
* 1900 – Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (d. 1984)

1901–present

*1902 – Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (d. 1941)
*1903 – M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
* 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (d. 1984)
*1904 – Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (d. 1996)
* 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
* 1908 – Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (d. 1994)
*1909 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (d. 1978)
*1910 – Melissanthi, Greek poet, teacher and journalist (d. 1990)
*1913 – Louise Currie, American actress (d. 2013)
* 1913 – Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
*1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
* 1914 – Domnitsa Lanitou-Kavounidou, Greek sprinter (d. 2011)
*1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1977)
* 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
* 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American author (d. 1958)
*1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
* 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (d. 2012)
*1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
*1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1992)
* 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (d. 2012)
*1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (d. 2012)
*1921 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
*1922 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (d. 2003)
*1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
*1925 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (d. 2011)
* 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
*1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
* 1927 – Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper
*1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
* 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
* 1928 – James White, Northern Irish author and educator (d. 1999)
*1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier (d. 2007)
* 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
*1930 – Jane Priestman, English interior designer (d. 2021)
* 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (d. 2009)
* 1930 – Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
* 1930 – Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (d. 2015)
*1931 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1989)
* 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
*1932 – Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
*1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
* 1933 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (d. 2004)
*1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (d. 2007)
*1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
*1937 – Charlie Thomas, American singer
*1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California
* 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (d. 2005)
* 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
* 1938 – Iris Johansen, American author
*1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)
* 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (d. 1977)
* 1939 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (d. 1992)
* 1940 – Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
*1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
* 1941 – Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator
* 1941 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (d. 2018)
* 1941 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (d. 2017)
*1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer
*1943 – Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1943 – Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager
*1944 – Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist
* 1944 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
* 1944 – Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor
* 1944 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (d. 2002)
* 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany
* 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
*1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter
* 1945 – Gerry Cottle, English circus owner (d. 2021)
* 1945 – Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic
* 1945 – Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author
* 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (d. 2018)
* 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
* 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer
*1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
* 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner and educator (d. 2005)
* 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
* 1946 – Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate
* 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (d. 2008)
*1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer
* 1947 – Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (d. 2020)
* 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
*1948 – John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer
* 1948 – Arnie Robinson, American athlete (d. 2020)
*1949 – Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana
*1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary
* 1950 – Neil Folberg, American-Israeli photographer
*1951 – Bruce Gary, American drummer (d. 2006)
* 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1952 – David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic
* 1952 – Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete
* 1952 – Gilles Valiquette

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