Died on Saturday, 12th April – Famous Deaths

12/04/2025

Pilita Corrales, Filipino singer-songwriter and actress (born 1939)

Pilar "Pilita" Garrido Corrales was a Filipino singer, actress and comedian. She was known for her distinctive backbend when singing and was popularly referred to as the "Greatest singer in the Philippines" and "Asia's Queen of Songs" for her vocal style and longevity.

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12/04/2024

Roberto Cavalli, Italian fashion designer and inventor (born 1940)

Roberto Cavalli was an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He was known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The Roberto Cavalli fashion house sells luxury clothing, perfume, and leather accessories.

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Eleanor Coppola, American filmmaker (born 1936)

Eleanor Jessie Coppola was an American documentary film director, screenwriter, and artist. A member of the Coppola family, she was married to director Francis Ford Coppola from 1963 until her death. She was best known for her 1991 documentary film Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse as well as other documentaries chronicling the films of her husband and children.

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Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author (born 1931)

Robert Breckenridge Ware MacNeil, often known as Robin MacNeil, was a Canadian-American journalist, writer and television news anchor. He partnered with Jim Lehrer to create the landmark public television news program The Robert MacNeil Report in 1975. MacNeil co-anchored the program until 1995. The show eventually became the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour and is today PBS News Hour.

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12/04/2022

Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (born 1955)

Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was best known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York dialect, his squint, and his edgy, often controversial sense of humor. His numerous roles in film and television included voicing Iago in The Walt Disney Company's Aladdin franchise until his death in 2022, Mister Mxyzptlk in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Action, Digit LeBoid in PBS Kids' Cyberchase until his death, Kraang Subprime in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Aflac duck mascot before he was replaced by Daniel McKeague in 2011. He also played Mr. Peabody in the Problem Child franchise, the only actor in the series to reprise his role in all three films as well as the animated television series.

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12/04/2021

Joseph Siravo, American actor and producer (born 1955)

Joseph Siravo was an American actor. He acted on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning productions of Oslo and The Light in the Piazza. His roles in film and television included Johnny Soprano in The Sopranos and Fred Goldman in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

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12/04/2020

Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (born 1983)

Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Alabama State Hornets. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft.

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12/04/2017

Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (born 1959)

Charles Quinton Murphy was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was best known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show as well as the co-star of the sitcom Black Jesus. He was the older brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy.

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12/04/2016

Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (born 1930)

Mohamed Abdallah AlGaz, was a financier, developer, diplomat, central banker and philanthropist in the early years of the United Arab Emirates. AlGaz became a member of Dubai’s first generation of market-making investors and developers in the 1950s through his famous partnership with Juma al Majid.

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Anne Jackson, American actress (born 1925)

Anne Jackson was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-starred. In 1956, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Paddy Chayefsky's Middle of the Night. In 1963, she won an Obie Award for Best Actress for her performance in two Off-Broadway plays, The Typists and The Tiger.

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12/04/2015

Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (born 1924)

Paulo Brossard de Souza Pinto was a Brazilian jurist and politician. Born in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, he graduated in Law and served several terms as a parliamentarian in his state and in the National Congress as well. He also was a member of the Supreme Federal Court and the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil.

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Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (born 1950)

Patrice Dominguez was a French tennis player born in Algeria. He reached a career high ranking of No. 36 in 1973. He represented France in the Davis Cup between 1971 and 1979.

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Alfred Eick, German commander (born 1916)

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. A total of 7,321 awards were made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945. This number is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe —as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst and the Volkssturm. There were also 43 recipients in the military forces of allies of the Third Reich.

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André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (born 1957)

André Mba Obame was a Gabonese politician. After serving as an adviser to President Omar Bongo in the 1980s, he was a minister in the government of Gabon from 1990 to 1991 and again from 1997 to 2009; during that time, he was identified with the reformist wing of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). He held the key post of Minister of the Interior from 2006 to 2009 and then briefly served as Minister of the Coordination and Follow-up of Government Action in mid-2009. He was an independent candidate in the 30 August 2009 presidential election and placed third with 25.33% of the vote, according to official results, but he claimed victory and alleged that the PDG candidate, Ali Bongo, won through fraud.

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12/04/2014

Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (born 1947)

Pierre Autin-Grenier was a French author. The catalogue of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gives his date of birth as 1947, though later dates ranging through to 1953 are quoted on various web pages including at least one contributed by the author. All sources agree, however, that he was born in Lyon, France, and the only day quoted is 4 April. He is associated with the movement sometimes referred to as the extrême contemporain, and his work is experimental rather than conventional. Radicalised by the events of May 1968 in France, his political position is close to anarchism and much of his writing is anti-capitalist and anti-bourgeois. His recent work, Friterie-bar Brunetti, is a collection of pieces about the habitués of the former Lyons bar of that name, with an undercurrent of opposition to the multinational chain cafés that are replacing such indigenous establishments, and the increasing atmosphere of regulation that undermines their atmosphere.

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Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (born 1960)

Pierre-Henri Menthéour was a French professional road bicycle racer.

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Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (born 1990)

Maurício Alves Peruchi or simply Maurício, was a Brazilian football striker. He started his career in Fluminense FC and last played for US Boulogne in Championnat National.

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Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (born 1931)

Harold Raymond Smith was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1956–61) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1965). Born in Barling, Arkansas, Smith batted and threw right-handed; he stood 5 feet 10+1⁄2 inches tall and weighed 186 pounds (84 kg). After Smith's playing career was curtailed by a heart ailment during the 1961 season, he became a longtime employee of the Cardinals' organization as Major League coach, minor league manager and scout. He also served as a coach for the Pirates (1965–67), Cincinnati Reds (1968–69) and Milwaukee Brewers (1976–77).

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Billy Standridge, American race car driver (born 1953)

William Gerald Standridge was an American stock car racing driver. He was a competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Busch Series.

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12/04/2013

Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (born 1928)

Robert Eugene Byrne was an American chess player and chess author who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). He won the U.S. Championship in 1972, and was a World Chess Championship Candidate in 1974. Byrne represented the United States nine times in Chess Olympiads from 1952 to 1976 and won seven medals. He was the chess columnist from 1972 to 2006 for The New York Times, which ran his final column on November 12, 2006. Byrne worked as a university professor for many years, before becoming a chess professional in the early 1970s.

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Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (born 1964)

Johnny du Plooy was a South African former heavyweight boxer best known for his win over former WBA World Heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. He challenged once for the WBO World Heavyweight title in 1989.

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Michael France, American screenwriter (born 1962)

Michael France was an American screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the screenplays for Cliffhanger (1993), the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), and the comic book films Hulk (2003), The Punisher (2004), and Fantastic Four (2005).

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Brennan Manning, American priest and author (born 1934)

Richard Francis Xavier Manning, known as Brennan Manning, was an American author, laicized priest, and public speaker. He is best known for his bestselling book The Ragamuffin Gospel.

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Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (born 1961)

Annamária Szalai was a Hungarian journalist, politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Zala County, Fidesz (1998–2004). She became a member of the National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT) in 2004, and as a result resigned from her parliamentary seat. Szalai served as President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) from 2010 until her death.

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Ya'akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (born 1946)

Ya'akov Yosef was an Israeli rabbi and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shas between 1984 and 1988.

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12/04/2012

Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (born 1934)

Mohit Chattopadhyaya was a Bengali Indian playwright, screenwriter, dramatist and poet. He was a leading figure in modern Indian drama. Mohit Chottopadhya died on 12 April 2012 due to throat cancer.

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Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (born 1935)

Rodgers Lee Grant was an American jazz pianist, composer, and lyricist. After working with saxophonist Hugo Dickens in the 1950s, he became pianist for Mongo Santamaría in the 1960s. In 1963, Grant wrote the hit "Yeh! Yeh!" with Pat Patrick. Jon Hendricks wrote lyrics for the song and recorded it with Lambert and Bavan at the Newport Jazz Festival of 1963. Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames had a hit with the song in 1965.

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12/04/2011

Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (born 1962)

Karim Fakhrawi, also known as Abdulkarim Ali Ahmed Fakhrawi, was a Bahraini publisher who was the co-founder of Al-Wasat, considered one of the more popular newspapers in Bahrain by winning numerous awards. He died while in custody due to severe torture, according to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. He was the second professional media worker to be killed during the Bahraini uprising, and one of three journalists killed in total.

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12/04/2010

Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (born 1916)

Michel Chartrand was a Canadian trade union leader from Quebec.

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Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (born 1945)

Werner Schroeter was a German film director, screenwriter, and opera director known for his stylistic excess. Schroeter was cited by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as an influence both on his own work and on German cinema at large.

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12/04/2009

Marilyn Chambers, American actress

Marilyn Ann Taylor, known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer, and vice-presidential candidate. She was known for her 1972 hardcore film debut, Behind the Green Door, and her 1980 pornographic film Insatiable. She ranked at No. 6 on the list of Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time by AVN, and ranked as one of Playboy's Top 100 Sex Stars of the Century in 1999. Although she was primarily known for her adult film work, she made a successful transition to mainstream projects and has been called "porn's most famous crossover".

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12/04/2008

Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (born 1920)

Magdalena Cecilia Colledge was a British figure skater. She was the 1936 Olympic silver medalist, the 1937 World Champion, the 1937–1939 European Champion, and a six-time British national champion.

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Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (born 1923)

Patrick John Hillery was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Social Affairs from 1973 to 1976, Minister for External Affairs from 1969 to 1973, Minister for Labour from 1966 to 1969, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1965 to 1969 and Minister for Education from 1959 to 1965. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Clare constituency from 1951 to 1973.

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Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (born 1949)

Jerry Zucker was an Israeli-born American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.

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12/04/2007

Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (born 1936)

Kevin John Crease was a South Australian television presenter and news presenter. He was most noted for presenting South Australian edition of the Nine Network's National Nine News with Rob Kelvin between 1987 and 2007.

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12/04/2006

William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (born 1924)

William Sloane Coffin Jr. was an American Christian clergyman and peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. In his younger days he was an athlete, a talented pianist, a CIA officer, and later chaplain of Yale University, where the influence of H. Richard Niebuhr's social philosophy led him to become a leader in the civil rights movement and peace movements of the 1960s and 1970s. He also was a member of the secret society Skull and Bones. He went on to serve as senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City and President of SANE/Freeze, the nation's largest peace and social justice group, and prominently opposed United States military interventions in conflicts, from the Vietnam War to the Iraq War. He was also an ardent supporter of gay rights.

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12/04/2004

Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (born 1925)

Edward James Moran Campbell, was a Canadian physician. He was the founding Chair of the Department of Medicine at McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences from 1968 to 1975. He was also the inventor of the Venturi mask.

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12/04/2002

George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (born 1908)

George Shevelov was a Ukrainian-American professor, linguist, philologist, essayist, literary historian, and literary critic. A longtime professor of Slavic philology at Columbia University, he challenged the prevailing notion of a unified East Slavic language from which Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian later developed, instead proposing that these languages emerged independently from one another.

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12/04/2001

Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (born 1921)

Harvey Ross Ball was an American commercial artist. He played a major role in the adoption and design of the modern day smiley face, which became an enduring and notable international icon. Ball was approached by marketing director Joy Young of State Mutual Life Assurance Company in 1963, with the instructions to design “a little smile”.

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12/04/1999

Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (born 1931)

Lecil Travis Martin, whose stage name was Boxcar Willie, was an American country music singer-songwriter, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with overalls and a floppy hat. "Boxcar Willie" was originally a character in a ballad he wrote, but he later adopted it as his own stage name. His early musical career was parallel to service as an enlisted flight engineer in the United States Air Force.

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12/04/1998

Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (born 1915)

Robert Arthur Douglas Ford, was a Canadian poet, translator and diplomat.

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12/04/1997

George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906)

George Wald was an American scientist and activist who studied pigments in the retina. He won a share of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Haldan Keffer Hartline and Ragnar Granit.

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12/04/1992

Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (born 1911)

Ilario Bandini was an Italian businessman, racing driver, and racing car manufacturer.

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12/04/1989

Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (born 1936)

Abbot Howard Hoffman was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the Flower Power movement.

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Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (born 1921)

Walker Smith Jr., better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded as the greatest boxer of all time, pound-for-pound, and is ranked as such by BoxRec as of April 2025.

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12/04/1988

Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (born 1927)

Colette Deréal was a French actress and singer. She is best known for representing Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961.

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Alan Paton, South African historian and author (born 1903)

Alan Stewart Paton was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), Too Late the Phalarope (1953), and the short story The Waste Land.

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12/04/1986

Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (born 1897)

Valentin Petrovich Kataev was a Soviet writer and editor who managed to create penetrating works discussing post-revolutionary social conditions without running afoul of the demands of official Soviet style. Kataev is credited with suggesting the idea for The Twelve Chairs to his brother Yevgeny Petrov and Ilya Ilf. In return, Kataev insisted that the novel be dedicated to him, in all editions and translations. Kataev's relentless imagination, sensitivity, and originality made him one of the most distinguished Soviet writers.

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12/04/1984

Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalyst (born 1903)

Edwin Thomas Layton was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Layton is most noted for his work as an intelligence officer before and during World War II. He was the father of the historian Edwin T. Layton, Jr.

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12/04/1983

Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (born 1906)

Jørgen Juve was a Norwegian football player, jurist, journalist, and non-fiction writer. For most of his career, he played as a striker for Lyn. He also played for a season at Basel in Switzerland before retiring and earned a total of 45 caps for the Norway national team. He is the second highest-scoring player ever for Norway, with 33 goals in just 45 games, holding the record for most international goals in Norway from 1932 until 2024, when Erling Haaland surpassed his record. He was captain of the Norway team which won Olympic bronze medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He also had a career as a journalist for Dagbladet and Tidens Tegn, and wrote several books.

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Carl Morton, American baseball player (born 1944)

Carl Wendle Morton was an American professional baseball pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves. Morton was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 1970 and posted a career record of 87–92 with 650 strikeouts and a 3.73 ERA in 1648.2 innings.

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12/04/1981

Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (born 1887)

Prince Yasuhiko Asaka was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family and served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. He was the son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of Emperor Hirohito. He is most notable for being the commander of Japanese forces outside Nanjing in December 1937, when he presided over the mass murder and rape of hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians during the Nanjing Massacre.

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Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (born 1914)

Joseph Louis Barrow was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis has the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.

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12/04/1980

William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (born 1913)

William Richard Tolbert Jr. was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until his assassination in 1980.

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12/04/1977

Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (born 1894)

Philip Knight Wrigley was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the son of William Wrigley Jr.

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12/04/1976

Christos Kakkalos, Greek mountain guide (born 1882)

Christos Kakkalos was a Greek mountain guide. He led the 1913 expedition of the Swiss Daniel Baud-Bovy and Frédéric Boissonnas and is considered the first climber to have ascended Mytikas, the highest peak of Mount Olympus in Greece.

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12/04/1975

Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (born 1906)

Freda Josephine Baker, also spelled Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.

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12/04/1973

Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (born 1894)

Arthur Freed was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for An American in Paris and in 1958 for Gigi. Both films were musicals, and both were directed by Vincente Minnelli. In addition, he produced the film Singin' in the Rain, the soundtrack for which primarily consisted of songs he co-wrote earlier in his career. In the decades following his death, Freed has become the subject of several sexual harassment allegations, most notably from actress Shirley Temple and actress and dancer Barrie Chase.

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12/04/1971

Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (born 1886)

Edward Francis Lafitte was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12), Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–15), and Buffalo Blues (1915). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, at his family's home located at 319 Bourbon Street, he batted and threw right-handed.

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12/04/1968

Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (born 1899)

Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff was a German engineer who led the rebuilding of Volkswagen (VW) after World War II. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine on Feb. 15, 1954.

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12/04/1966

Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (born 1910)

Sydney Herbert Allard was a British businessman and rally and hillclimb driver. He was the founder of the Allard car company and competed in cars of his own manufacture.

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12/04/1962

Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (born 1923)

William Ronald Flockhart was a British racing driver. He participated in 14 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, achieving one podium finish and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race twice.

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12/04/1953

Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (born 1880)

Lionel George Logue was an Australian speech and language therapist and amateur stage actor who helped King George VI manage his stammer.

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12/04/1945

Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (born 1882)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president and the only one to have served more than two terms. His first two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth focused on US involvement in World War II. A member of the Democratic Party, Roosevelt served in the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913 and as the 44th governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.

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12/04/1943

Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (born 1889)

Viktor Puskar VR I/1 was an Estonian military commander (Colonel) during the Estonian War of Independence.

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12/04/1938

Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (born 1873)

Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.

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12/04/1937

Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (born 1852)

Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan was an early 20th-century Ottoman playwright and poet. He was one of the leading lights of the Turkish Romantic period. He is known in Turkish literature as "Şair-i Azam" and "Dahi-i Azam".

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12/04/1933

Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (born 1835)

Adelbert Ames was an American sailor, soldier, businessman and politician who served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. A Radical Republican, he was a military governor, U.S. Senator, and civilian governor in Reconstruction-era Mississippi. In 1898, he served as a United States Army general during the Spanish–American War. He was the last Republican to serve as the state governor of Mississippi until the election of Kirk Fordice, who took office in January 1992, 116 years after Ames vacated the office.

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12/04/1920

Vlasis Gavriilidis, Greek jourtnalist (born 1848)

Vlasis Gavriilidis was a prominent Greek journalist who in 1883 founded the progressive newspaper Akropolis in Athens. He played a significant role in the politics of the day, often supporting the demoticist movement in the Greek language question; at one stage, "It was said that a critical article by Gavriilidis could topple a Greek government."

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12/04/1912

Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (born 1821)

Clarissa Harlow "Clara" Barton was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not very formalized, and she did not attend nursing school, she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time before women had the right to vote. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.

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12/04/1906

Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (born 1836)

Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, was an Indian Sanskrit scholar during the Bengal Renaissance. He served as the principal of the Sanskrit College from 1876 to 1895 and was a colleague of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

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12/04/1902

Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (born 1842)

Marie Alfred Cornu was a French physicist and professor of École polytechnique. The Cornu spiral, a graphical device for the computation of light intensities in Augustin-Jean Fresnel's model of near-field diffraction, is named after him. The spiral is also used in geometric design of roads. The Cornu depolarizer is also named after him.

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12/04/1898

Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (born 1820)

Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1871 until his death in 1898. The first Canadian cardinal, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Leo XIII in 1886.

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12/04/1885

William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (born 1817)

William Lodewyk Crowther FRCS was a Tasmanian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 20 December 1878 to 29 October 1879.

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12/04/1879

Richard Taylor, Confederate general (born 1826)

Richard "Dick" Taylor was an American planter, politician, military historian, and Confederate general. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, Taylor joined the Confederate States Army, serving first as a brigade commander in Virginia and later as an army commander in the trans-Mississippi Theater. Taylor commanded the District of West Louisiana and opposed United States troops advancing through upper northwest Louisiana during the Red River Campaign of 1864. He was the only son of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States. After the war and Reconstruction, Taylor published a memoir about his experiences.

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12/04/1878

William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (born 1823)

William Magear "Boss" Tweed" was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and State.

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12/04/1872

Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (born 1795)

Nikolaos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros was a Greek-Italian composer, born in Corfu. He was a major representative and founder of the so-called Ionian school of music.

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12/04/1866

Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (born 1801)

Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England. Born Peter Hesketh, he changed his name by Royal assent to Hesketh-Fleetwood, incorporating the name of his ancestors, and was later created Baronet Fleetwood. Predeceased by an older brother, he inherited estates in west Lancashire in 1824. Inspired by the transport developments of the early 19th century, he decided to bring the railway to the Lancashire coast and develop a holiday resort and port. He hired architect Decimus Burton to design his new town, which he named Fleetwood; construction began in 1836. Hesketh-Fleetwood was instrumental in the formation of the Preston and Wyre Railway Company and with his financial support, a railway line was built between Preston and Fleetwood which opened in 1840.

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12/04/1850

Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (born 1788)

Adoniram Judson was an American Particular Baptist missionary who worked in Burma for almost 40 years. At the age of 25, Judson was sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the establishment of the Triennial Convention, the first national Baptist ecclesiastical organization, now called American Baptist Churches USA.

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12/04/1817

Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (born 1730)

Charles Messier was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the Messier objects, referred to with the letter M and their number between 1 and 110. Messier's purpose for the catalogue was to help astronomical observers distinguish between permanent and transient visually diffuse objects in the sky.

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12/04/1814

Charles Burney, English composer and historian (born 1726)

Charles Burney was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist and book donor to the British Museum. He was a close friend and supporter of Joseph Haydn and other composers.

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12/04/1795

Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (born 1710)

Johann Kaspar (Jean-Gaspard) Reichsgraf Basselet von La Rosée was a leading Bavarian general.

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12/04/1788

Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (born 1719)

Charles-Antoine Campion, italianized as Carlo Antonio Campioni was a French-Italian composer who was born in the Duchy of Lorraine. He was a prolific composer and represented a link between Baroque compositional methods and those of the Classical style.

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12/04/1782

Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (born 1698)

Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.

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12/04/1748

William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (born 1685)

William Kent was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but his real talent was for design in various media.

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12/04/1704

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (born 1627)

Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and literary stylist of the French language.

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12/04/1687

Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (born 1619)

Ambrose Dixon was an early American Quaker pioneer who was born in England and emigrated to America at an early age where he lived in the Virginia Colony before moving to Maryland.

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12/04/1684

Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (born 1596)

Nicola Amati, Nicolò Amati or Nicolao Amati was an Italian master luthier from Cremona, Italy. Amati is one of the most well-known luthiers from the Casa Amati. He was the teacher of illustrious Cremonese School luthiers such as Andrea Guarneri and Giovanni Battista Rogeri. While no clear documentation exists for their being apprentices in his shop, Amati may also have apprenticed Antonio Stradivari, Francesco Rugeri, and Jacob Stainer, as their work is heavily influenced by Amati.

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12/04/1675

Richard Bennett, English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (born 1609)

Richard Bennett was an English planter and Governor of the Colony of Virginia, serving 1652–1655. He had first come to the Virginia colony in 1629 to represent his merchant uncle Edward Bennett's business, managing his plantation known as Bennett's Welcome in Warrascoyack. Two decades later, Bennett immigrated to the Maryland colony with his family, and settled on the Severn River in Anne Arundel County.

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12/04/1555

Joanna, Queen of Castile and Aragon (born 1479)

Joanna was queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Joanna was married by arrangement to the Austrian archduke Philip the Handsome on 20 October 1496. Following the deaths of her elder brother John, elder sister Isabella, and nephew Miguel between 1497 and 1500, Joanna became the heir presumptive to the crowns of Castile and Aragon. When her mother died in 1504, she became queen of Castile. Her father proclaimed himself governor and administrator of Castile.

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12/04/1550

Claude, Duke of Guise (born 1496)

Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Guise was a French aristocrat and general. He became the first Duke of Guise in 1528.

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12/04/1530

Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (born 1462)

Joanna of Castile, known as la Beltraneja, was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.

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12/04/1500

Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (born 1440)

Leonhard was the last count of Gorizia from the Meinhardiner dynasty. He ruled at Lienz and Gorizia (Görz) from 1454 until his death. He also held the title and rights as a count palatine of Carinthia.

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12/04/1443

Henry Chichele, English archbishop (born 1364)

Henry Chichele was Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–1443) and founded All Souls College, Oxford.

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12/04/1256

Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (born c. 1217)

Margaret of Bourbon was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1234 until 1253 as the third wife of Theobald I of Navarre. After her husband's death, she ruled both the kingdom and the county as regent for three years in the name of their son, Theobald II of Navarre between 1253 and 1256.

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12/04/1167

Charles VII, king of Sweden (born c. 1130)

Karl Sverkersson or Charles VII was the ruler of Götaland, and then King of Sweden from c. 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated in a military attack by Knut Eriksson who then succeeded him as king.

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12/04/1125

Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (born 1065)

Vladislaus I was Duke of Bohemia from 1109 to 1117 and from 1120 until his death.

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12/04/0901

Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI

Eudokia Baïana was a Byzantine empress consort as the third wife of Leo VI the Wise.

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12/04/0434

Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople

Maximianus of Constantinople was the archbishop of Constantinople from 25 October 431 until his death on 12 April 434.

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12/04/0352

Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church

Pope Julius I was the bishop of Rome from 6 February 337 to his death on 12 April 352. He was appealed to by Athanasius when the latter was deposed from his position as patriarch by Arian bishops, Julius then supported Athanasius and condemned his deposition as unjust. He was notable for asserting the authority of the pope over the Arian Eastern bishops, as well as being attributed with the setting of December 25 as the official birthdate of Jesus.

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01/01/1970

Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general and politician (born 75 BC)

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was a Roman politician and general from the late Republic.

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