April 15
Events
Pre-1600
- 769 - The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
- 1071 - Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
- 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
1601–1900
- 1632 - Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.
- 1642 - Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
- 1715 - The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
- 1736 - Foundation of the short-lived Kingdom of Corsica.
- 1738 - Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, receives its premiere performance in London, England.
- 1755 - Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
- 1817 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc found the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.
- 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 militiamen to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
- 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Three hours later, Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as president.
- 1892 - The General Electric Company is formed.
- 1896 - Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
- 1900 - Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
1901–present
- 1912 - The British passenger liner sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive.
- 1920 - Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
- 1922 - U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
- 1923 - Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
- 1923 - Racially motivated Nihon Shōgakkō fire lit by a serial arsonist kills 10 children in Sacramento, California.
- 1936 - First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
- 1941 - In the Belfast Blitz, 200 bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing some 1,000 people.
- 1942 - The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI.
- 1945 - Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
- 1947 - Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.
- 1952 - First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
- 1955 - McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
- 1960 - At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
- 1969 - The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.
- 1970 - During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
- 1986 - The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
- 1989 - Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
- 1989 - Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
- 1994 - Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
- 2002 - Air China Flight 129 crashes on approach to Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, killing 129 people.
- 2013 - Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring over 500 others.
- 2013 - A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
- 2014 - In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, more than 400 civilians are gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
- 2019 - The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.
- 2021 - A mass shooting occurred at a Fedex Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, killing nine and injuring seven.
Births
Pre-1600
- 68 BC - Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician
- 1282 - Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine
- 1442 - John Paston, English noble
- 1452 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect
- 1469 - Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru
- 1552 - Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer
- 1563 - Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader
- 1588 - Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar
- 1592 - Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal
1601–1900
- 1641 - Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer
- 1642 - Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan
- 1646 - Christian V of Denmark
- 1684 - Catherine I of Russia
- 1688 - Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer
- 1707 - Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist
- 1710 - William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist
- 1731 - William B. Whiting, New York politician
- 1741 - Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier
- 1771 - Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator
- 1772 - Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist
- 1793 - Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic
- 1795 - Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler
- 1800 - James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer
- 1808 - William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania
- 1809 - Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician
- 1817 - William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania
- 1828 - Jean Danjou, French captain
- 1832 - Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator
- 1841 - Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner
- 1841 - Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd
- 1843 - Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic
- 1856 - Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic
- 1858 - Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher
- 1861 - Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright
- 1863 - Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator
- 1874 - George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist
- 1874 - Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1875 - James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter
- 1877 - Georg Kolbe, German sculptor
- 1877 - William David Ross, Scottish philosopher
- 1878 - Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright
- 1879 - Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet
- 1883 - Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1885 - Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general
- 1886 - Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic
- 1887 - Felix Pipes, Austrian tennis player
- 1887 - William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland
- 1888 - Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author
- 1889 - Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator
- 1889 - A. Philip Randolph, American activist
- 1890 - Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat's eye
- 1892 - Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot
- 1892 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author
- 1894 - Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union
- 1894 - Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress
- 1895 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player
- 1895 - Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator
- 1896 - Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1898 - Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter
- 1900 - Ramón Iribarren, Spanish civil engineer
1901–present
- 1901 - Joe Davis, English snooker player
- 1901 - Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
- 1901 - René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France
- 1902 - Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist
- 1903 - John Williams, English-American actor
- 1904 - Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator
- 1907 - Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1908 - eden ahbez, American songwriter and recording artist
- 1908 - Lita Grey, American actress
- 1909 - Robert Edison Fulton Jr., American inventor and adventurer
- 1910 - Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter
- 1910 - Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician
- 1912 - William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor
- 1912 - Kim Il Sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea
- 1915 - Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator
- 1916 - Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman
- 1916 - Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter
- 1917 - Hans Conried, American actor
- 1917 - Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot
- 1917 - James Kee, American lawyer and politician
- 1918 - Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor
- 1919 - Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator
- 1920 - Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic
- 1920 - Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic
- 1920 - Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany
- 1921 - Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1921 - Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist
- 1922 - Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor
- 1922 - Donn F. Draeger, American martial arts practitioner
- 1922 - Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter
- 1922 - Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago
- 1922 - Graham Whitehead, English racing driver
- 1923 - Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author
- 1923 - Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen
- 1924 - M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician
- 1924 - Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian
- 1924 - Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor
- 1926 - Jurriaan Schrofer, Dutch sculptor, designer, and educator
- 1927 - Robert Mills, American physicist and academic
- 1929 - Gérald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1929 - Adrian Cadbury, English rower and businessman
- 1930 - Georges Descrières, French actor
- 1930 - Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Icelandic educator and politician, 4th President of Iceland
- 1931 - Kenneth Bloomfield, Northern Irish civil servant
- 1931 - Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate
- 1933 - Roy Clark, American musician and television personality
- 1933 - David Hamilton, English-French photographer and director
- 1933 - Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer
- 1935 - Stavros Paravas, Greek actor and producer
- 1936 - Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
- 1937 - Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1937 - Robert W. Gore, American engineer and businessman, co-inventor of Gore-Tex
- 1938 - Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
- 1938 - Hso Khan Pha, Burmese-Canadian geologist and politician
- 1939 - Marty Wilde, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1939 - Desiré Ecaré, Ivorian filmmaker
- 1940 - Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician
- 1940 - Penelope Coelen, South African actress, model, beauty queen and 1958 Miss World
- 1940 - Willie Davis, American baseball player and actor
- 1940 - Robert Lacroix, Canadian economist and academic
- 1940 - Robert Walker, American actor
- 1941 - Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
- 1942 - Francis X. DiLorenzo, American bishop
- 1942 - Walt Hazzard, American basketball player and coach
- 1942 - Kenneth Lay, American businessman and criminal
- 1942 - Tim Lankester, English economist and academic
- 1943 - Pınar Kür, Turkish author, playwright, and academic
- 1943 - Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1943 - Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater, English politician
- 1943 - Hugh Thompson, Jr., American soldier and pilot
- 1944 - Dave Edmunds, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1946 - John Lloyd, Scottish journalist and author
- 1946 - Pete Rouse, American politician, White House Chief of Staff
- 1947 - Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
- 1947 - Martin Broughton, English businessman
- 1947 - Lois Chiles, American model and actress
- 1947 - David Omand, English civil servant and academic
- 1947 - Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish nurse and politician, Swedish Minister for Social Security
- 1948 - Christopher Brown, English historian, curator, and academic
- 1948 - Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor
- 1948 - Phil Mogg, English singer-songwriter and musician
- 1949 - Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1949 - Craig Zadan, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1950 - Josiane Balasko, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1950 - Amy Wright, American actress
- 1950 - Karel Kroupa, Czech football player
- 1951 - Heloise, American journalist and author
- 1951 - John L. Phillips, American captain and astronaut
- 1951 - Stuart Prebble, English journalist and producer
- 1951 - Marsha Ivins, American engineer and astronaut
- 1952 - Kym Gyngell, Australian actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1952 - Brian Muir, English sculptor and set designer
- 1952 - Avital Ronell, Czech-American philosopher and academic
- 1952 - Glenn Shadix, American actor,
- 1955 - Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer
- 1955 - Joice Mujuru, Zimbabwean politician
- 1956 - Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 - Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach
- 1958 - Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 - John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer
- 1958 - Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1958 - Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright
- 1959 - Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1959 - Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1959 - Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
- 1960 - Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 - Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter
- 1960 - Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster
- 1960 - Tony Jones, English snooker player
- 1961 - Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician
- 1961 - Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
- 1961 - Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer
- 1962 - Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician
- 1962 - Tom Kane, American voice actor
- 1963 - Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist
- 1963 - Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
- 1963 - Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1964 - Andre Joubert, South African rugby player
- 1964 - Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 - Soichi Noguchi, Japanese engineer and astronaut
- 1965 - Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
- 1965 - Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player
- 1966 - Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1966 - Mott Green, American businessman
- 1967 - Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter
- 1967 - Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist
- 1968 - Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach
- 1968 - Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner
- 1968 - Ed O'Brien, English guitarist
- 1969 - Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
- 1969 - Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor
- 1969 - Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach
- 1970 - Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach
- 1971 - Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player
- 1971 - Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
- 1971 - Jason Sehorn, American football player
- 1971 - Josia Thugwane, South African runner
- 1971 - Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician
- 1972 - Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer
- 1972 - Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor
- 1974 - Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director
- 1974 - Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
- 1974 - Mike Quinn, American football player
- 1974 - Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer
- 1974 - Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player
- 1975 - Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist
- 1976 - Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1976 - Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer
- 1976 - Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1976 - Steve Williams, English rower
- 1977 - Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor
- 1977 - Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
- 1978 - Milton Bradley, American baseball player
- 1978 - Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
- 1978 - Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1978 - Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 - Luke Evans, Welsh actor and singer
- 1980 - Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer
- 1980 - James Foster, English cricketer
- 1980 - Raül López, Spanish basketball player
- 1980 - Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
- 1980 - Billy Yates, American football player
- 1981 - Andrés D'Alessandro, Argentinian footballer
- 1982 - Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
- 1982 - Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter
- 1982 - Albert Riera, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1982 - Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 - Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
- 1983 - Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1983 - Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 - Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier
- 1983 - Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
- 1983 - Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist
- 1984 - Antonio Cromartie, American football player
- 1984 - Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
- 1984 - Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 - Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 - Tom Heaton, English footballer
- 1986 - Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer
- 1988 - Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 - Steven Defour, Belgian footballer
- 1988 - Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher
- 1989 - Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 - Emma Watson, English actress
- 1991 - Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor
- 1991 - Javier Fernández López, Spanish figure skater
- 1992 - Remo Freuler, Swiss footballer
- 1992 - John Guidetti, Swedish footballer
- 1992 - Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player
- 1993 - Felipe Anderson, Brazilian footballer
- 1994 - Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player
- 1994 - Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter
- 1995 - Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer
- 1997 - Ashleigh Gardner, Australian cricketer
- 1997 - Sam Hughes, English footballer
- 1997 - Maisie Williams, English actress
- 1998 - Sexyy Red, American rapper
- 1999 - Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player
- 2001 - Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper
- 2003 - Matías Soulé, Argentine footballer
- 2006 - Izan Merino, Spanish footballer