12 April

Events

Pre-1600

* 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
* 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York.
*1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír, who flees to Poland.
*1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.

1601–1900

*1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships.
* 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
* 1807 – The Froberg mutiny on Malta ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli.
*1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
* 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse.
*1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Sumter. The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
*1862 – American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw).
*1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
*1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
*1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
*1900 – One day after its enactment by the Congress, President William McKinley signs the Foraker Act into law, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.

1901–present

* 1910 – , one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
*1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
*1927 – Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Chinese Communist Party members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
* 1927 – Rocksprings, Texas is hit by an F5 tornado that destroys 235 of the 247 buildings in the town, kills 72 townspeople and injures 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history.
*1928 – The ''Bremen'', a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
*1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed.
* 1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
*1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
*1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt's death.
* 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reaches Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.
*1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
*1961 – Space Race: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first crewed orbital flight, Vostok 1.
*1963 – The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine '' K-33'' collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S ''Finnclipper'' in the Danish straits.
*1970 – Soviet submarine ''K-8'', carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.
*1980 – The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed.
* 1980 – Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport, in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed.
* 1980 – Canadian runner and athlete, Terry Fox begins his Marathon of Hope Run in St. John's, NF
*1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (''Columbia'') takes place: The STS-1 mission.
*1983 – Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
*1990 – Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
*1992 – The ''Euro Disney Resort'' officially opens with its theme park '' Euro Disneyland''; the resort and its park's name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
*1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.
*2002 – A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104.
*2007 – A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
*2009 – Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.
*2010 – Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28.
*2013 – Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.
*2014 – The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

Births

Pre-1600

* 811 – Muhammad al-Jawad, the ninth Imam of Shia Islam (d. 835)
* 959 – En'yū, emperor of Japan (d. 991)
*1116 – Richeza of Poland, queen of Sweden and Grand Princess of Minsk (d. 1156)
* 1432 – Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)
* 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace and St. Peter's Basilica (d. 1546)
* 1484 – Maharana Sangram Singh, Rana of Mewar (d. 1527)
*1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (d. 1574)
* 1526 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (d. 1585)
* 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier and politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1604)
* 1577 – Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)

1601–1900

* 1612 – Simone Cantarini, Italian painter and engraver (d. 1648)
*1639 – Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician (d. 1712)
* 1656 – Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian (d. 1738)
* 1705 – William Cookworthy, English minister and pharmacist (d. 1780)
*1710 – Caffarelli, Italian actor and singer (d. 1783)
*1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (d. 1796)
* 1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)
* 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)
*1724 – Lyman Hall, American physician, clergyman, and politician, 16th Governor of Georgia (d. 1790)
* 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (d. 1836)
*1777 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
*1792 – John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English soldier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1840)
*1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (d. 1847)
*1796 – George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
* 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1855)
* 1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)
* 1816 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (d. 1903)
*1823 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian playwright and translator (d. 1886)
*1839 – Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (d. 1888)
*1845 – Gustaf Cederström, Swedish painter (d. 1933)
*1851 – José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican soldier and poet (d. 1880)
* 1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer and author (d. 1928)
*1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1939)
*1856 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English mountaineer, cartographer, and politician (d. 1937)
* 1863 – Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (d. 1895)
*1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d. 1918)
* 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
*1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1941)
*1874 – William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1940)
*1880 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1911)
*1883 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer and educator (d. 1976)
* 1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player, cricketer, and sailor (d. 1959)
* 1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
* 1884 – Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
*1885 – Robert Delaunay, French painter (d. 1941)
*1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor and director (d. 1918)
*1888 – Dan Ahearn, Irish-American long jumper and police officer (d. 1942)
* 1888 – Cecil Kimber, English automobile engineer (d. 1945)
* 1892 – Henry Darger, American writer and artist (d. 1973)
*1894 – Dorothy Cumming, Australian-American actress (d. 1983)

* 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)
*1898 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)

1901–present

*1901 – Lowell Stockman, American farmer and politician (d. 1962)
* 1902 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, 36th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
*1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
*1907 – Zawgyi, Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic (d. 1990)
* 1907 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (d. 2003)
*1908 – Ida Pollock, English author and painter (d. 2013)
* 1908 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot and general (d. 2006)
* 1910 – Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018)
* 1910 – Irma Rapuzzi, French politician (d. 2018)
* 1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)
*1912 – Frank Dilio, Canadian businessman (d. 1997)
* 1912 – Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988)
* 1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
*1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist (d. 2013)
*1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (d. 2013)
*1916 – Beverly Cleary, American author (d. 2021)
* 1916 – Russell Garcia, American-New Zealander composer and conductor (d. 2011)
* 1916 – Benjamin Libet, American neuropsychologist and academic (d. 2007)
*1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer and actress (d. 1999)
* 1917 – Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978)
* 1917 – Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015)
*1919 – István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian composer and educator (d. 2012)
* 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)
*1921 – Robert Cliche, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1978)
*1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (d. 1980)
*1923 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2004)
*1924 – Raymond Barre, French economist and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
* 1924 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician and academic (d. 2003)
* 1924 – Curtis Turner, American race car driver (d. 1970)
*1925 – Evelyn Berezin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2018)
* 1925 – Ned Miller, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
* 1925 – Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
*1926 – Jane Withers, American actress (d. 2021)
*1927 – Thomas Hemsley, English baritone (d. 2013)
* 1927 – Alvin Sargent, American screenwriter (d. 2019)
*1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor (d. 2022)
* 1928 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (d. 2013)
*1929 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
* 1929 – Mukhran Machavariani, Georgian poet and educator (d. 2010)
*1930 – John Landy, Australian runner and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria (d. 2022)
* 1930 – Bryan Magee, English philosopher and politician (d. 2019)
* 1930 – Manuel Neri, American sculptor and painter
* 1930 – Pythagoras Papastamatiou, Greek lyricist and playwright (d. 1979)
* 1930 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (d. 2006)
*1931 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (d. 1995)
* 1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 5th Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2005)
* 1932 – Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)
* 1932 – Tiny Tim, American singer and ukulele player (d. 1996)
*1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 2018)
*1934 – Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer and manager (d. 2017)
*1935 – Jimmy Makulis, Greek singer (d. 2007)
*1936 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011)
* 1936 – Kennedy Simmonds, Kittitian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
*1937 – Dennis Banks, American author and activist (d. 2017)
* 1937 – Igor Volk, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
*1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English director and playwright
* 1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2022)
*1940 – Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)
* 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American pianist, composer, and bandleader
*1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)
*1942 – Bill Bryden, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter
* 1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentinian race car driver and politician (d. 2021)
* 1942 – Jacob Zuma, South African politician, 4th President of South Africa
*1943 – Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician, 16th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
*1944 – Lisa Jardine, English historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
* 1944 – John Kay, German-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
*1945 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (d. 2006)
* 1946 – John Dunsworth, Canadian actor and comedian (d. 2017)
* 1946 – Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian
* 1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO
*1947 – Roy M. Anderson, English epidemiologist, zoologist, and academic
* 1947 – Martin Brasier, English palaeontologist, biologist, and academic (d. 2014)
* 1947 – Tom Clancy, American historian and author (d. 2013)
* 1947 – David Letterman, American comedian and talk show host
*1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television host and producer (d. 2008)
* 1948 – Joschka Fischer, German academic and politician
* 1948 – Christos Iakovou, Greek weightlifter
* 1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian footballer, manager, and coach
*1949 – Scott Turow, American lawyer and author
*1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman
* 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
* 1950 – Joyce Banda, Malawian politician, 4th president of Malawi
* 1950 – Nick Sackman, English composer and educator
*1951 – Tom Noonan, American actor
*1952 – Reuben Gant, American football player
* 1952 – Leicester Rutledge, New Zealand rugby player
* 1952 – Gary Soto, American poet, novelist, and memoirist
* 1952 – Ralph Wiley, American journalist (d. 2004)
* 1953 – Tanino Liberatore, Italian author and illustrator
* 1954 – John Faulkner, Australian educator and politician, 52nd Australian Minister for Defence
* 1954 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician (d. 2015)
* 1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1955 – Fabian Hamilton, English graphic designer, engineer, and politician
*1956 – Andy Garcia, Cuban-American actor, director, and producer
* 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer-songwriter and actor
*1957 – Greg Child, Australian mountaineer and author
* 1957 – Vince Gill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1957 – Tama Janowitz, American novelist and short story writer
* 1958 – Will Sergeant, English guitarist
* 1958 – Klaus Tafelmeier, German javelin thrower
* 1958 – Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler
*1960 – David Thirdkill, American basketball player
*1961 – Corrado Fabi, Italian racing driver
* 1961 – Charles Mann, American football player and sportscaster
* 1961 – Magda Szubanski, English-Australian actress, comedian and writer
*1962 – Art Alexakis, American singer-songwriter and musician
* 1962 – Carlos Sainz, Spanish racing driver
* 1962 – Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial artist and wrestler, founded Hustle
*1963 – Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and author
*1964 – Chris Fairclough, English footballer and coach
* 1965 – Amy Ray, American folk-rock singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer
*1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor and director
* 1965 – Chi Onwurah, English politician
* 1965 – Gervais Rufyikiri, Burundian politician
* 1965 – Mihai Stoica, Romanian footballer and manager
*1966 – Nils-Olav Johansen, Norwegian guitarist and singer
* 1966 – Lorenzo White, American football player
*1967 – Sarah Cracknell, English singer-songwriter
*1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
* 1968 – Toby Gad, German songwriter and producer
* 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
*1969 – Jörn Lenz, German footballer and manager
* 1969 – Lucas Radebe, South African footballer and sportscaster
* 1969 – Michael Jackson, American football player and politician (d. 2017)
*1970 – Sylvain Bouchard, Canadian speed skater
*1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor
* 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer
*1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player and sportscaster
*1973 – J. Scott Campbell, American author and illustrator
* 1973 – Ryan Kisor, American trumpet player and composer
* 1973 – Antonio Osuna, Mexican-American baseball player
* 1973 – Christian Panucci, Italian footballer and manager
*1974 – Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (d. 2006)
* 1974 – Bryan Fletcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
* 1974 – Roman Hamrlík, Czech ice hockey player
* 1974 – Marley Shelton, American actress
*1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
*1976 – Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner
* 1976 – Brad Miller, American basketball player
*1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer
* 1977 – Sarah Monahan, Australian actress
* 1977 – Jason Price, Welsh footballer
* 1977 – Glenn Rogers, Australian-Scottish cricketer
*1978 – Guy Berryman, Scottish bass player and producer
* 1978 – Scott Crary, American director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1978 – Svetlana Lapina, Russian high jumper
* 1978 – Robin Walker, English businessman and politician
*1979 – Claire Danes, American actress
* 1979 – Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast
* 1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
* 1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress
* 1979 – Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer
* 1979 – Lee Soo-young, South Korean singer
*1980 – Sara Head, Welsh Paralympic table tennis champion
* 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter
*1981 – Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russian runner
* 1981 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer
* 1981 – Tulsi Gabbard, American politician
* 1981 – Grant Holt, English footballer and professional wrestler
* 1981 – Hisashi Iwakuma, Japanese baseball pitcher
*1983 – Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player
* 1983 – Luke Kibet, Kenyan runner
*1984 – Aleksey Dmitrik, Russian high jumper
*1985 – Brennan Boesch, American baseball player
* 1985 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer
*1986 – Brad Brach, American baseball pitcher
* 1986 – Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer
* 1986 – Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player
* 1986 – Jonathan Pitroipa, Burkinabé footballer
*1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
* 1987 – Shawn Gore, Canadian football player
* 1987 – Josh McCrone, Australian rugby league player
* 1987 – Luiz Adriano, Brazilian professional footballer
* 1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist
*1988 – Ricky Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
* 1988 – Stephen Brogan, English footballer
* 1988 – Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer
* 1988 – Jessie James Decker, American singer-songwriter
*1989 – Bethan Dainton, Welsh rugby union player
* 1989 – Miguel Ángel Ponce, American-Mexican footballer
* 1989 – Ádám Hanga, Hungarian basketball player
* 1989 – Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian-American ice dancer
* 1989 – Valentin Stocker, Swiss footballer
*1990 – Francesca Halsall, English swimmer
* 1990 – Hiroki Sakai, Japanese footballer
*1991 – Torey Krug, American ice hockey player
* 1991 – Lionel Carole, French professional footballer
* 1991 – Oliver Norwood, English born Northern Irish international footballer
* 1991 – Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player
* 1991 – Jazz Richards, Welsh international footballer
*1992 – Chad le Clos, South African swimmer
*1993 – Robin Anderson (tennis), Robin Anderson, American tennis player
* 1993 – Jordan Archer (goalkeeper, born 1993), Jordan Archer, English-Scottish footballer
* 1993 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player
*1994 – Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer
* 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress
* 1994 – Oh Se-hun (entertainer), Oh Sehun, South Korean musician
* 1994 – Eric Bailly, Ivorian professional footballer
* 1994 – Guido Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
*1995 – Pedro Cachín, Argentine tennis player
*1996 – Matteo Berrettini, Italian tennis player
*1996 – Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player

Deaths

Pre-1600

*45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius (son of Pompey the Great), Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general and politician (b. 75 BC)
* 352 – Pope Julius I, Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church
* 434 – Maximianus of Constantinople, Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople
* 901 – Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI the Wise, Leo VI
*1125 – Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065)
*1167 – Charles VII of Sweden, Charles VII, king of Sweden (b. c. 1130)
*1256 – Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (b. c. 1217)
*1443 – Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364)
*1500 – Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (b. 1440)
*1530 – Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (b. 1462)
* 1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)
*1555 – Joanna of Castile, nominal Queen of Castile, Aragon and so on (b. 1479)

1601–1900

*1675 – Richard Bennett (Governor), Richard Bennett, English politician, List of colonial governors of Virginia, colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
*1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)
*1687 – Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619)
*1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627)
* 1748 – William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685)
*1782 – Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698)
*1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719)
*1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
*1814 – Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726)
*1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730)
*1850 – Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788)
*1866 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801)
*1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795)
*1878 – William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
*1879 – Richard Taylor (Confederate general), Richard Taylor, Confederate general (b. 1826)
*1885 – William Crowther (Australian politician), William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1817)
*1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)

1901–present

* 1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842)
*1906 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836)
*1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821)
*1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)
*1937 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852)
*1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)
*1943 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889)
*1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
* 1953 – Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880)
*1962 – Ron Flockhart (racing driver), Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1923)
*1966 – Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard Motor Company, Allard car company (b. 1910)
*1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899)
*1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886)
*1973 – Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894)
*1975 – Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (b. 1906)
*1976 – Christos Kakkalos, Greek mountain guide (b. 1882)
*1977 – Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894)
*1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913)
*1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
* 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (b. 1914)
*1983 – Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (b. 1906)
* 1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
*1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalysis, cryptanalyst (b. 1903)
*1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897)
*1988 – Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (b. 1927)
* 1988 – Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903)
*1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936)
* 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
*1992 – Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (b. 1911)
*1997 – George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
*1998 – Robert Ford (poet), Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915)
*1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
*2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921)
*2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908)
*2004 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925)
*2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
*2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936)
*2008 – Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (b. 1920)
* 2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923)
* 2008 – Jerry Zucker (businessman), Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)
*2010 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (b. 1916)
* 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945)
*2011 – Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded ''Al-Wasat (Bahraini newspaper), Al-Wasat'' (b. 1962)
*2012 – Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934)
* 2012 – Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
*2013 – Robert Byrne (chess player), Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (b. 1928)
* 2013 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964)
* 2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962)
* 2013 – Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934)
* 2013 – Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961)
* 2013 – Ya'akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946)
*2014 – Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947)
* 2014 – Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960)
* 2014 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990)
* 2014 – Hal Smith (catcher), Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
* 2014 – Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953)
*2015 – Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924)
* 2015 – Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950)
* 2015 – Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916)
* 2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)
*2016 – Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925)
*2016 – Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (b. 1930)
*2017 – Charlie Murphy (actor), Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (b. 1959)
*2020 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (b. 1983)
*2021 – Joseph Siravo, American actor and producer (b. 1955)
*2022 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1955)

Holidays and observances

* Children's Day (Bolivia)
* Christian calendar of saints, feast day:
** Adoniram Judson (Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church), Episcopal Church)
** Alferius
** Angelo Carletti di Chivasso, Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso
** Erkembode
** Pope Julius I
** Teresa of the Andes
** Zeno of Verona
** April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
** Cosmonautics Day (Russia)
** International Day of Human Space Flight
** Yuri's Night (International observance)
* Halifax Day (North Carolina)
* National Redemption Day (Liberia)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
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Historical Events on April 12

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Days of the year
April