April 2

April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 273 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Tuesday or Wednesday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Friday or Sunday (56).

Events

• 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sights land in what is now the United States state of Florida.
• 1755 – Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.
• 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
• 1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.
• 1801 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen: The British capture the Danish fleet.
• 1851 – Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.
• 1863 – Richmond bread riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia, and demand that the Confederate government release emergency supplies.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia.
• 1885 – Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, North-West Territories, Canada, killing nine.
• 1900 – The United States Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.
• 1902 – Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.
• 1902 – "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.
• 1911 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.
• 1912 – The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.
• 1917 – World War I: United States President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
• 1921 – The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.
• 1930 – After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
• 1945 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.
• 1956 – As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.
• 1972 – Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.
• 1973 – Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
• 1973 – The Liberal Movement breaks away from the Liberal and Country League in South Australia.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
• 1975 – Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Canada. It reaches 553.33 metres (1,815.4 ft) in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.
• 1979 – A Soviet biowarfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock.
• 1980 – United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.
• 1982 – Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
• 1986 – Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist most widely known for the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987.
• 1989 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
• 1991 – Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.
• 1992 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
• 1992 – 42 civilians were massacred in the town of Bijeljina.
• 2002 – Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated; a siege ensues.
• 2004 – Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted.
• 2006 – Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed.
• 2011 – India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final in Mumbai, thus becoming the first country to win the Cricket World Cup final on home soil.
• 2012 – A mass shooting at Oikos University in Oakland, California, leaves seven people dead and three injured.
• 2014 – A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood Army Base near the town of Killeen, Texas, with four people dead, including the gunman, and 16 others sustaining injuries.
• 2015 – Gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya, killing at least 148 people and wounding 79 others.

Births

• 742 – Charlemagne, Frankish king (d. 814)
• 1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
• 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois (d. 1568)
• 1565 – Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)
• 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
• 1647 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German-Dutch botanist and illustrator (d. 1717)
• 1653 – Prince George of Denmark (d. 1708)
• 1719 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)
• 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian explorer and author (d. 1798)
• 1788 – Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet and author (d. 1862)
• 1788 – Wilhelmine Reichard, German balloonist (d. 1848)
• 1789 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (d. 1871)
• 1792 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (d. 1840)
• 1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and academic (d. 1874)
• 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1875)
• 1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)
• 1827 – William Holman Hunt, English soldier and painter (d. 1910)
• 1835 – Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer (d. 1907)
• 1838 – Léon Gambetta, French lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of France (d. 1882)
• 1840 – Émile Zola, French novelist, playwright, journalist (d. 1902)
• 1841 – Clément Ader, French engineer, designed the Ader Avion III (d. 1926)
• 1861 – Iván Persa, Slovenian priest and author (d. 1935)
• 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
• 1867 – Eugen Sandow, German-English bodybuilder (d. 1925)
• 1869 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928)
• 1875 – Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (d. 1940)
• 1875 – William Donne, English cricketer and captain (d. 1942)
• 1884 – J. C. Squire, English poet, author, and historian (d. 1958)
• 1891 – Jack Buchanan, Scottish entertainer (d. 1957)
• 1891 – Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor, and poet (d. 1976)
• 1891 – Tristão de Bragança Cunha, Indian nationalist and anti-colonial activist from Goa (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Johnny Golden, American golfer (d. 1936)
• 1898 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (d. 1990)
• 1900 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1942)
• 1900 – Anis Fuleihan, Cypriot-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1970)
• 1900 – Alfred Strange, English footballer (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Jan Tschichold, German-Swiss graphic designer and typographer (d. 1974)
• 1903 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Alphonse-Marie Parent, Canadian priest and educator (d. 1970)
• 1907 – Harald Andersson, American-Swedish discus thrower (d. 1985)
• 1907 – Luke Appling, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
• 1910 – Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1980)
• 1910 – Chico Xavier, Brazilian spiritual medium (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Delfo Cabrera, Argentinian runner and soldier (d. 1981)
• 1920 – Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and civil servant (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Jack Stokes, English animator and director (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1922 – John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Clifford Scott Green, American sergeant and judge (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Gloria Henry, American actress
• 1923 – Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
• 1923 – G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician, psychologist, and author
• 1924 – Bobby Ávila, Mexican baseball player (d. 2004)
• 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish author and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television host (d. 1987)
• 1926 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (d. 2006)
• 1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer and soldier (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Howard Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (d. 2014)
• 1927 – Rita Gam, American actress (d. 2016)
• 1927 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
• 1927 – Ken Sansom, American actor and voice artist (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Kenneth Tynan, English author and critic (d. 1980)
• 1928 – Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
• 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (d. 1991)
• 1928 – Roy Masters, English-American radio host
• 1928 – David Robinson, Northern Irish horticulturist and academic (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Ed Dorn, American poet and educator (d. 1999)
• 1930 – Roddy Maude-Roxby, English actor
• 1930 – Yelizaveta Yermolayeva, Russian runner
• 1931 – Vladimir Kuznetsov, Russian javelin thrower (d. 1986)
• 1932 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (d. 2015)
• 1933 – György Konrád, Hungarian sociologist and author
• 1934 – Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Brian Glover, English wrestler and actor (d. 1997)
• 1934 – Carl Kasell, American journalist and game show host
• 1935 – Sharon Acker, Canadian actress
• 1936 – Shaul Ladany, Serbian-Israeli race walker and engineer
• 1937 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1938 – John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of The Salvation Army
• 1938 – Booker Little, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1961)
• 1938 – Al Weis, American baseball player
• 1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
• 1939 – Anthony Lake, American academic and diplomat, 18th United States National Security Advisor
• 1939 – Lise Thibault, Canadian journalist and politician, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
• 1940 – Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater and coach
• 1940 – Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (d. 1981)
• 1940 – Penelope Keith, English actress
• 1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio host
• 1942 – Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1942 – Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor
• 1943 – Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce, South African-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
• 1943 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer (d. 2007)
• 1943 – Larry Coryell, American guitarist
• 1943 – Antonio Sabàto, Sr., Italian actor
• 1944 – Bill Malinchak, American football player
• 1945 – Jürgen Drews, German singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Guy Fréquelin, French race car driver
• 1945 – Linda Hunt, American actress
• 1945 – Reggie Smith, American baseball player and coach
• 1945 – Don Sutton, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1945 – Anne Waldman, American poet
• 1946 – Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer
• 1946 – David Heyes, English politician
• 1946 – Judith Ann Lanzinger, American jurist
• 1946 – Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (d. 2014)
• 1946 – Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (d. 1997)
• 1947 – Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer-songwriter
• 1947 – Tua Forsström, Finnish writer
• 1947 – Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Camille Paglia, American author and critic
• 1948 – Roald Als, Danish author and illustrator
• 1948 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (d. 2012)
• 1948 – Daniel Okrent, American journalist and author
• 1948 – Joan D. Vinge, American author
• 1949 – Paul Gambaccini, American-English radio and television host
• 1949 – Bernd Müller, German footballer
• 1949 – Pamela Reed, American actress
• 1949 – David Robinson, American drummer
• 1950 – Lynn Westmoreland, American politician
• 1951 – Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer
• 1952 – Lennart Fagerlund, Swedish cyclist
• 1952 – Will Hoy, English race car driver (d. 2002)
• 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1953 – Jim Allister, Northern Irish lawyer and politician
• 1953 – James Vance, American author and playwright
• 1954 – Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1954 – Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1954 – Donald Petrie, American actor and director
• 1955 – Michael Stone, Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary
• 1957 – Caroline Dean, English biologist and academic
• 1957 – Giuliana De Sio, Italian actress
• 1958 – Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby player
• 1958 – Larry Drew, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Gelindo Bordin, Italian runner
• 1959 – David Frankel, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
• 1959 – Yves Lavandier, French director and producer
• 1959 – Steve Monarque, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and manager
• 1960 – Linford Christie, Jamaican-English sprinter
• 1960 – Brad Jones, Australian race car driver
• 1960 – Pascale Nadeau, Canadian journalist
• 1961 – Buddy Jewell, American singer-songwriter
• 1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
• 1961 – Keren Woodward, English singer-songwriter
• 1962 – Pierre Carles, French director and producer
• 1962 – Billy Dean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1962 – Clark Gregg, American actor
• 1963 – Karl Beattie, English director and producer
• 1963 – Mike Gascoyne, English engineer
• 1964 – Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player and coach
• 1964 – Jonathon Sharkey, American wrestler
• 1966 – Bill Romanowski, American football player and actor
• 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English footballer and coach
• 1967 – Greg Camp, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist
• 1967 – Phil Demmel, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1967 – Prince Paul, American DJ and producer
• 1969 – Ajay Devgan, Indian actor, director, and producer
• 1971 – Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, Brazilian footballer
• 1971 – Jason Lewry, English cricketer
• 1971 – Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Remo D'Souza, Indian choreographer and dancer
• 1972 – Calvin Davis, American sprinter and hurdler
• 1972 – Zane Lamprey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Dmitry Lipartov, Russian footballer
• 1973 – Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican-American actress
• 1973 – Aleksejs Semjonovs, Latvian footballer
• 1974 – Tayfun Korkut, Turkish football manager and former player
• 1975 – Randy Livingston, American basketball player
• 1975 – Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, German rower
• 1975 – Shawn Rhoden, Jamaican-American bodybuilder
• 1976 – Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter
• 1976 – Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer
• 1977 – Jelena Abbou, Serbian-American model and personal trainer
• 1977 – Per Elofsson, Swedish skier
• 1977 – Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor and producer
• 1977 – Hanno Pevkur, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
• 1977 – Marc Raquil, French sprinter
• 1977 – Aiden Turner, English actor
• 1978 – Nick Berg, American businessman (d. 2004)
• 1978 – John Gall, American baseball player
• 1978 – Scott Lynch, American author
• 1978 – Deon Richmond, American actor and producer
• 1978 – Ethan Smith, American actor, director, and producer
• 1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American keyboard player
• 1980 – Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist
• 1980 – Gavin Heffernan, Canadian director and screenwriter
• 1980 – Ricky Hendrick, American race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1980 – Wairangi Koopu, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1980 – Cristian Lizzori, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer
• 1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
• 1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Jeremy Bloom, American football player and skier
• 1982 – Bianca Chatfield, Australian netball player
• 1982 – Jack Evans, American wrestler
• 1982 – David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
• 1982 – Leyla Milani, Canadian model and actress
• 1983 – Félix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1983 – Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player
• 1983 – Owen Fussey, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Yung Joc, American rapper
• 1983 – Maksym Mazuryk, Ukrainian pole vaulter
• 1984 – Engin Atsür, Turkish basketball player
• 1984 – Nóra Barta, Hungarian diver
• 1984 – Jérémy Morel, French footballer
• 1985 – Barry Corr, Irish footballer
• 1985 – Thom Evans, Zimbabwean-Scottish rugby player
• 1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater
• 1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer
• 1986 – Andris Biedriņš, Latvian basketball player
• 1986 – Lee DeWyze, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1987 – Pablo Aguilar, Paraguayan footballer
• 1987 – Marc Pugh, English footballer
• 1988 – Jesse Plemons, American actor
• 1989 – Midhun Jith, Indian martial artist
• 1990 – Felipe Chalegre, Brazilian footballer
• 1990 – Roscoe Dash, American rapper
• 1990 – Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast
• 1990 – Leho Pent, Estonian weightlifter
• 1990 – Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer
• 1991 – Luke Jones, Australian rugby player
• 1991 – Paulina Schippers, Guatemalan tennis player
• 1995 – Abdou Nef, Algerian footballer (d. 2013)

Deaths

• 872 – Muflih al-Turki, Turkish general
• 1118 – Baldwin I of Jerusalem (b. 1058)
• 1244 – Henrik Harpestræng, Danish botanical and medical author
• 1272 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English husband of Sanchia of Provence (b. 1209)
• 1335 – Henry of Bohemia (b. 1265)
• 1412 – Ruy González de Clavijo, Spanish explorer and author
• 1502 – Arthur, Prince of Wales (b. 1486)
• 1507 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)
• 1640 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and poet (b. 1595)
• 1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)
• 1657 – Jean-Jacques Olier, French priest, founded the Society of Saint-Sulpice (b. 1608)
• 1672 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino missionary and saint (b. 1654)
• 1672 – Diego Luis de San Vitores, Spanish Jesuit missionary (b. 1627)
• 1720 – Joseph Dudley, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1647)
• 1742 – James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675)
• 1747 – Johann Jacob Dillenius, German-English botanist and mycologist (b. 1684)
• 1754 – Thomas Carte, English historian and author (b. 1686)
• 1787 – Thomas Gage, English general and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1719)
• 1791 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (b. 1749)
• 1801 – Thomas Dadford, Jr., English engineer (b. 1761)
• 1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish judge and politician (b. 1721)
• 1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German author and academic (b. 1740)
• 1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and educator (b. 1776)
• 1845 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1763)
• 1865 – A. P. Hill, American general (b. 1825)
• 1872 – Samuel Morse, American painter and academic, invented the Morse code (b. 1791)
• 1891 – Albert Pike, American lawyer and general (b. 1809)
• 1891 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek playwright and politician, 249th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1823)
• 1894 – Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (b. 1803)
• 1896 – Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (b. 1852)
• 1914 – Paul Heyse, German author, poet, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
• 1917 – Bryn Lewis, Welsh international rugby player (b.1891)
• 1923 – Topal Osman, Turkish colonel (b. 1883)
• 1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
• 1930 – Zewditu I of Ethiopia (b. 1876)
• 1933 – Ranjitsinhji, Indian cricketer (b. 1872)
• 1936 – Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (b. 1860)
• 1942 – Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (b. 1862)
• 1948 – Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (b. 1907)
• 1953 – Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (b. 1885)
• 1958 – Tudor Davies, Welsh tenor and actor (b. 1892)
• 1958 – Jōsei Toda, Japanese educator and activist (b. 1900)
• 1965 – Nils Kihlberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director (b. 1915)
• 1966 – C. S. Forester, English novelist (b. 1899)
• 1972 – Franz Halder, German general (b. 1884)
• 1972 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924)
• 1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial artist and educator (b. 1887)
• 1974 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (b. 1911)
• 1977 – Walter Wolf, German academic and politician (b. 1907)
• 1987 – Buddy Rich, American drummer, songwriter, and bandleader (b. 1917)
• 1989 – Manolis Angelopoulos, Greek singer (b. 1939)
• 1990 – Ted Hook, Australian public servant (b. 1910)
• 1992 – Juanito, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1954)
• 1992 – Tomisaburo Wakayama, Japanese actor, producer, and martial artist (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Betty Furness, American actress and journalist (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
• 1995 – Harvey Penick, American golfer and coach (b. 1904)
• 1997 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese director and producer (b. 1910)
• 1998 – Rob Pilatus, American singer and dancer (b. 1965)
• 2000 – Tommaso Buscetta, Italian-American mobster (b. 1928)
• 2001 – Charles Daudelin, Canadian sculptor and painter (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress and production assistant (b. 1972)
• 2002 – Levi Celerio, Filipino composer and songwriter (b. 1910)
• 2002 – John R. Pierce, American engineer and author (b. 1910)
• 2003 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
• 2004 – John Argyris, Greek computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
• 2006 – Lloyd Searwar, Guyanese anthologist and diplomat (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Bernard Seigal, American guitarist and critic (b. 1957)
• 2007 – Henry L. Giclas, American astronomer and academic (b. 1910)
• 2008 – Paul Arden, English author (b. 1940)
• 2008 – Ray Poole, American football player and coach (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Yakup Satar, Turkish soldier (b. 1898)
• 2009 – Albert Sanschagrin, Canadian bishop (b. 1911)
• 2009 – Bud Shank, American saxophonist and flute player (b. 1926)
• 2010 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1937)
• 2010 – Chris Kanyon, American wrestler (b. 1970)
• 2010 – Thomas J. Moyer, American lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
• 2011 – John C. Haas, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Jesús Aguilarte, Venezuelan captain and politician (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Warren Bonython, Australian explorer, author, and engineer (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Elizabeth Catlett, American-Mexican sculptor and illustrator (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Allie Clark, American baseball player and politician (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Mauricio Lasansky, American graphic designer and academic (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Jimmy Little, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Fred, French author and illustrator (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Chuck Fairbanks, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Jesús Franco, Spanish director, screenwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Duke Kimbrough McCall, American pastor and activist (b. 1914)
• 2013 – Milo O'Shea, Irish-American actor (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Benjamin Purcell, American colonel and politician (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Maria Redaelli, Italian super-centenarian (b. 1899)
• 2014 – Al Bolton, American soldier and meteorologist (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Harris Goldsmith, American pianist, educator, and critic (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Lyndsie Holland, English actress and singer (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Lucy Hood, American businesswoman, founded Fox Mobile Entertainment (b. 1957)
• 2014 – Glyn Jones, South African actor and screenwriter (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Miloš Mikeln, Slovene director and playwright (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Carl Epting Mundy, Jr., American general (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Urs Widmer, Swiss author and playwright (b. 1938)
• 2015 – Per Vilhelm Brüel, Danish physicist and engineer (b. 1915)
• 2015 – Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 2015 – Robert H. Schuller, American pastor and author (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician, Governor of Limburg (b. 1954)
• 2016 – Gallieno Ferri, Italian comic book artist and illustrator (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Abundius of Como
  • Amphianus of Lycia
  • Æbbe the Younger
  • Bronach of Glen-Seichis (Irish martyrology)
  • Francis of Paola
  • Francisco Coll Guitart
  • Henry Budd (Anglican Church of Canada)
  • Nicetius of Lyon
  • Pedro Calungsod
  • Urban of Langres
  • April 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• International Children's Book Day (International observance)
• Malvinas Day (Argentina)
• Odisha Day (Odisha, India)
• Thai Heritage Conservation Day (Thailand)
• Unity of Peoples of Russia and Belarus Day (Belarus)
• World Autism Awareness Day (International observance)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada^{[permanent dead link]}