April 7 is the 97th day of the year (98th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 268 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
- 1348 - Charles University is founded in Prague.
- 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
- 1541 - Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
- 1795 - France adopts the metre as the basic measure of length.
- 1798 - The Mississippi Territory is organized from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina and is later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the U.S. and Spain.
- 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 - First public performance of Beethoven's Third Symphony (Eroica).
- 1827 - John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match. He had invented it in the previous year.
- 1829 - Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
- 1856 - Foundation of Nelson College, Nelson, New Zealand.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh ends - Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant defeat the Confederates near Shiloh, Tennessee.
- 1868 - Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers Of Confederation is assassinated by the Irish, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, the only one at the federal level.
- 1867 - Johnson C. Smith University is established.
- 1890 - Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
- 1906 - Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
- 1906 - The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
- 1908 - H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
- 1922 - Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior leases Teapot Dome petroleum reserves in Wyoming.
- 1927 - First distance public television broadcast (from Washington, DC to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
- 1933 - Prohibition was repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of XXI amendment.
- 1939 - World War II: Italy invades Albania.
- 1940 - Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
- 1943 - Holocaust: In Terebovlia, Ukraine, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress to their underwear and march through the city of Terebovlia to the nearby village of Plebanivka. They were then shot dead and buried in ditches.
- 1945 - World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed, is sunk 200 miles north of Okinawa while en-route on a suicide mission in Operation Ten-Go.
- 1945 - Kantaro Suzuki becomes the 42nd Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1945 - World War II: Visoko was liberated by the 7th, 9th and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
- 1946 - Syria's independence from France is officially recognised.
- 1948 - The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
- 1948 - Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai, China, leaving twenty monks dead.
- 1954 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.
- 1955 - Anthony Eden of the Conservative Party, becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1956 - Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.
- 1963 - Yugoslavia is proclaimed to be a Socialist republic and Josip Broz Tito is named President for life.
- 1964 - IBM announces the System/360.
- 1969 - The Internet's symbolic birth date: publication of RFC 1.
- 1971 - U.S. President Richard Milhous Nixon announces his decision to increase the rate of American troop withdrawals from Vietnam.
- 1976 - Former British Cabinet Minister John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party, leaving Prime Minister James Callaghan in power.
- 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 U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
- 1980 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions following the taking of American hostages on November 4, 1979.
- 1983 - During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first space shuttle spacewalk.
- 1985 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declares a moratorium on the deployment of middle-range missiles in Europe.
- 1989 - Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
- 1990 - Iran Contra Affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction was reversed on appeal).
- 1992 - Republika Srpska announces its independence.
- 1994 - Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
- 1999 - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
- 2001 - Mars Odyssey is launched.
- 2003 - U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.
Births
- 1506 - Saint Francis Xavier, Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
- 1539 - Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter (d. 1584)
- 1613 - Gerhard Douw, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
- 1644 - François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi, French soldier (d. 1730)
- 1648 - John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English statesman and poet (d. 1721)
- 1652 - Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
- 1718 - Hugh Blair, Scottish preacher and man of letters (d. 1800)
- 1727 - Michel Adanson, French botanist (d. 1806)
- 1770 - William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
- 1772 - Charles Fourier, French philosopher (d. 1837)
- 1803 - Flora Tristan, French feminist and socialist philosopher (d. 1844)
- 1803 - James Curtiss, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
- 1848 - Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1930)
- 1859 - Walter Camp, sports authority known as the "Father of American Football" (d. 1925)
- 1860 - Will Keith Kellogg, American cereal manufacturer (d. 1951)
- 1867 - Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist (d. 1953)
- 1870 - Gustav Landauer, German anarchist and revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1873 - John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
- 1883 - Gino Severini, Italian painter (d. 1966)
- 1886 - Ed Lafitte, American baseball player (d. 1971)
- 1889 - Gabriela Mistral, Chilean writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
- 1890 - Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American conservationist and writer (d. 1998)
- 1891 - Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish inventor (d. 1958)
- 1893 - Allen Dulles, American Central Intelligence Agency director (d. 1969)
- 1897 - Walter Winchell, American broadcaster and journalist (d. 1972)
- 1899 - Robert Casadesus, French pianist (d. 1972)
- 1908 - Percy Faith, Canadian composer and musician (d. 1976)
- 1909 - Robert Charroux, French writer (d. 1978)
- 1911 - Hervé Bazin, French writer (d. 1996)
- 1913 - Charles Vanik, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1915 - Stanley Adams, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1915 - Billie Holiday, American singer (d. 1959)
- 1915 - Henry Kuttner, American writer (d. 1958)
- 1916 - Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1917 - R.G. Armstrong, American actor
- 1918 - Bobby Doerr, American baseball player
- 1919 - Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer
- 1919 - Roger Lemelin, Quebec novelist and television writer (d. 1992)
- 1920 - Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar player
- 1922 - Mongo Santamaria, Cuban musician (d. 2003)
- 1924 - Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian writer
- 1927 - Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (d. 2003)
- 1928 - James Garner, American actor
- 1928 - Alan J. Pakula, American film producer and director (d. 1998)
- 1928 - James White, Northern Irish science fiction writer (d. 1999)
- 1929 - Bob Denard, French mercenary (d. 2007)
- 1930 - Andrew Sachs, English actor
- 1931 - Donald Barthelme, American author
- 1933 - Wayne Rogers, American actor
- 1934 - Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (d. 2007)
- 1935 - Bobby Bare, American musician
- 1935 - Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician
- 1936 - Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist
- 1938 - Jerry Brown, American politician
- 1938 - Spencer Dryden, American drummer (Jefferson Airplane) (d. 2005)
- 1938 - Freddie Hubbard, American jazz trumpeter
- 1939 - Francis Ford Coppola, American film director
- 1939 - Sir David Frost, English broadcaster and TV host
- 1941 - Gorden Kaye, British actor
- 1942 - Jeetendra, Indian actor
- 1944 - Julia Phillips, American film producer and writer (d. 2002)
- 1944 - Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor of Germany
- 1944 - Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
- 1945 - Martin Lewis, British newsreader
- 1945 - Megas, Icelandic singer, songwriter and writer
- 1945 - Joël Robuchon, French chef
- 1945 - Werner Schroeter, German film director
- 1946 - Colette Besson, French runner (d. 2005)
- 1947 - Patricia Bennett, American singer (The Chiffons)
- 1947 - Florian Schneider, German musician (Kraftwerk)
- 1947 - Eliseo Soriano, Philippine evangelist
- 1948 - Carol Douglas, American singer
- 1949 - John Oates, American musician (Hall & Oates)
- 1951 - Janis Ian, American singer and songwriter
- 1954 - Jackie Chan, Hong Kong actor
- 1954 - Tony Dorsett, American football player
- 1955 - Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
- 1956 - Annika Billström, Swedish politician
- 1956 - Christopher Darden, American O.J. Simpson prosecutor
- 1957 - Kim Kap-su, South Korean actor
- 1961 - Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
- 1962 - Andrew "Andy" Hampsten, American cyclist
- 1962 - Hugh O'Connor, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1962 - Alain Robert, French rock and urban climber
- 1963 - Jaime de Marichalar, duke of Lugo, Spanish royalty
- 1964 - Russell Crowe, New Zealand actor
- 1964 - Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 - Bill Bellamy, American actor and comedian
- 1965 - Alison Lapper, British artist
- 1966 - Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
- 1967 - Artemis Gounaki, composer, writer and music producer
- 1968 - Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer
- 1969 - Ricky Watters, American football player
- 1970 - Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist
- 1971 - Guillaume Depardieu, French actor
- 1971 - Victor Kraatz, Canadian figure skater
- 1971 - Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, American actress
- 1973 - Carole Montillet, French skier
- 1973 - Ève Salvail, Canadian model
- 1973 - Brett Tomko, American baseball player
- 1975 - Ronde Barber, American football player
- 1975 - Tiki Barber, American football player
- 1975 - Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
- 1976 - Kevin Alejandro, American actor
- 1977 - Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
- 1977 - Guido van der Werve, Dutch artist
- 1978 - Vladimir Voltchkov, Belarusian tennis player
- 1979 - Tony Malone, British designer and activist
- 1979 - Adrián Beltré, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 - Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
- 1982 - Sonjay Dutt, Indian American professional wrestler
- 1986 - Brooke Brodack, American internet celebrity
Deaths
- 1307 - Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I of England (b. 1271)
- 1498 - King Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
- 1614 - El Greco, Greek-born artist (b. 1541)
- 1638 - Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese ruler of Satsuma (b. 1576)
- 1651 - Lennart Torstenson, Swedish soldier and engineer (b. 1603)
- 1658 - Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic (b. 1595)
- 1661 - Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English soldier and politician (b. 1604)
- 1663 - Francis Cooke, Mayflower pilgrim (b. c. 1583)
- 1668 - William Davenant, English poet (b. 1606)
- 1719 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French saint (b. 1651)
- 1739 - Dick Turpin, English highwayman (hanged) (b. 1706)
- 1747 - Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian field marshal (b. 1676)
- 1761 - Thomas Bayes, English mathematician (b. 1702)
- 1766 - Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
- 1767 - Franz Sparry, composer (b. 1715)
- 1782 - Taksin, King of Thailand (b. 1734)
- 1789 - Abd-ul-Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1725)
- 1789 - Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist (b. 1722)
- 1801 - Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (b. 1724)
- 1804 - Toussaint Louverture, Haitian Revolutionary (b. 1743)
- 1811 - Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
- 1823 - Jacques Charles, French chemist (b. 1746)
- 1833 - Antoni Radziwiłł, Polish politician (b. 1775)
- 1836 - William Godwin, English political writer (b. 1756)
- 1850 - William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
- 1858 - Anton Diabelli, Austrian music publisher, editor, and composer (b. 1781)
- 1868 - D'Arcy McGee, Canadian journalist and Father of Confederation (b. 1825)
- 1871 - Alexander Lloyd, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
- 1885 - Carl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (b. 1804)
- 1891 - P. T. Barnum, American circus impresario (b. 1810)
- 1920 - Karl Binding, German jurist (b. 1841)
- 1928 - Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician and philosopher (b. 1873)
- 1939 - Joseph Lyons, tenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
- 1943 - Jovan Dučić, Serbian poet
- 1943 - Alexandre Millerand, President of France (b. 1859)
- 1947 - Henry Ford, American automobile manufacturer and industrialist (b. 1863)
- 1950 - Walter Huston, Canadian-born actor (b. 1884)
- 1955 - Theda Bara, American film actress (b. 1885)
- 1968 - Jim Clark, OBE, Scottish race car driver and two-time F1 world champion (b. 1936)
- 1981 - Kit Lambert, British record producer and manager (The Who) (b. 1935)
- 1981 - Norman Taurog, American film director (b. 1899)
- 1982 - Brenda Benet, American actress (b. 1945)
- 1982 - Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (b. 1948)
- 1984 - Frank Church, U.S. Senator from Idaho (b. 1924)
- 1990 - Ronald Evans, American astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1992 - Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1903)
- 1994 - Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer and politician (b. 1923)
- 1994 - Golo Mann, German historian (b. 1909)
- 1994 - Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
- 1997 - Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player (b. 1923)
- 1997 - Georgi Shonin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1935)
- 1997 - Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese film producer (Godzilla) (b. 1910)
- 1998 - Broery Marantika, Indonesian singer
- 2001 - David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
- 2001 - Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
- 2002 - John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (b. 1903)
- 2004 - Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
- 2005 - Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer (b. 1922)
- 2005 - Bob Kennedy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Cliff Allison, British racing driver (b. 1932)
- 2007 - Johnny Hart, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
- 2007 - Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2007 - Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
Holidays and observances
- World Health Day - April 7th of every year is designated as World Health Day and celebrated by the 191 member countries of the World Health Organization to emphasize significant issues in public health of worldwide concern. Observed annually since 1948.
- Mozambique - Women's Day.
- Compton, California - Eazy-E Day
- The feast of Annunciation is celebrated by the Western Orthodox Church.
- Saint John Baptist de La Salle (d. 1719)
