April 5 in history

223 sourced entries recorded on April 5, from 517 CE to 2023 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

710Emperor Zhong Zong of the Tang dynasty has his chief ministers of court, sons-in-law, and high-ranking military officers engage (during the Cold Food Festival) in the festive game of tug of war, within a palace of Chang'an.source
823Lothair I, eldest son of Emperor Louis I, is crowned co-emperor again by Pope Paschal I at Rome (initiating the papal practice of handing the imperial sword over, as a symbol of temporal power in the Holy Roman Empire).source
919The Fatimid Caliphate of Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia) launch the second Fatimid invasion of Egypt (919–921) in an attempt to seize Egypt from its Abbasid rulers. The expedition fails and the Fatimids will be forced to retreat.source
1242Battle of Lake Peipus (or Battle on the Ice): Russian forces led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by a Crusader army (some 2,600 men), including German Teutonic Knights. The opposing armies meet upon the frozen surface of Lake Peipus. The outnumbered Teutonic Knights are defeated on the slippery surface, by Alexander's elite druzhina and the Novgorod forces.source
1264Battle of Northampton: English forces under Roger Mortimer, advance over the water meadows south of Northampton to attack its main gate with engines. Meanwhile, another party rides clockwise along the built-up area's western perimeter, looking for an easier entrance. While the townsmen entrust to hold up the initial attack, the outflanking detachment founds a breach in the garden wall of St. Andrew's Priory, at the north of the town. Simon de Montfort the Younger (son of Simon de Montfort) reacts to the break-in – riding upon his horse with his squire, and some followers to contest the breach. But Simon is captured and throws the defenders into disarray. Simon de Montfort mounts a rearguard to relieve his son, but on April 6 the castle falls.source
1327Edward II is moved to Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. He is kept under the custody of Roger Mortimer's son-in-law, Thomas Berkeley and John Maltravers, who are given £5 a day to look after him. Despite records showing luxury goods being bought for him, Edward is possibly mistreated by his captors.source
13424th Earl of Kildare is granted livery of his lands.source
1355Charles IV is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.source
1398The Teutonic Knights conquer the island of Gotland, near Sweden, which has previously been run by the piratical Victual Brothers. In the agreement of surrender, the city of Visby and the entire island are ceded to Johan of Mecklenburg, and merchants from the Hanseatic League are allowed free trade. In addition, the Knights receive the opportunity to clear all known pirates and other enemies from Gotland.source
1424King James returns to Scotland for the first time since 1406, after being escorted to the border along with his wife Joan Beaufort, Queen consort, by English and Scottish nobles.source
1431In Germany, Jacob of the House of Zähringen becomes the new Margrave of Baden-Baden upon the death of his father, Bernard I.source
1456Skanderbeg, leader of the Albanians in their fight against the Ottomans, pardons Moisi Galemi, a former officer who had defected to the Ottomans and was then defeated by Skanderbeg at the Battle of Oranik.source
1563The English galleon ship HMS Grehound strikes a sandbar off of the coast of Rye, East Sussex and sinks with all hands in the English Channel, including the Admiral of the Narrow Seas, John Malyn.source
1566The Compromise of Nobles is presented to Margaret of Parma, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, but it succeeds only in delaying the beginning of the Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands.source
1609Invasion of Ryukyu in Japan: Soldiers of the Shimazu clan capture the castle on Ryukyu Island, beginning to make the Ryukyu Kingdom a vassal of Satsuma Han, but Ryukyu is still allowed to keep itself a tribute state of the Ming and Qing dynasties.source
1621The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, on a return trip to England.source
1654The Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War, is signed.source
1654signing of the Treaty of Westminster ends the First Anglo-Dutch War, and the Dutch agree to observe the Navigation Acts.source
1664Passing of the Triennial Parliaments Act 1664.source
1693The Order of Saint Louis, the first medal to be awarded in France to military personnel who are not members of nobility, is created by order of King Louis XIV, and named after his ancestor, King Louis IX.source
1697Charles XII becomes king of Sweden at age 14 on the death of his father, Charles XI, from stomach cancer.source
1700The coronation of Frederick IV and Queen Louise at Frederiksborg Castle.source
1705Anne, Queen of England dissolves the English House of Commons that had been elected in 1702, and orders new elections.source
1710Pylyp Orlyk, a Cossack of Ukraine, is elected as the Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host and immediately issues the Pacts and Constitutions of Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhian Host.source
1711April 5 (Easter Sunday) – The central tower of Elgin Cathedral in northeast Scotland collapses.source
17115 April (Easter Sunday) – Elgin Cathedral's central tower collapses.source
17115 April (Easter Sunday) – the central tower of Elgin Cathedral in northeast Scotland collapses.source
1722April 5 (Easter Sunday) – Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen lands on what is now Easter Island.source
1737French Jesuit priest Jean-François Régis is canonized as Saint Regis by the Roman Catholic Church under the reign of Pope Clement XII.source
1737Jesuit priest Jean-François Régis is canonized as Saint Regis by the Roman Catholic Church under the reign of Pope Clement XII.source
1758Founding of Ludwigsburg porcelainsource
1762France issues a new ordinance requiring all black and mixed-race Frenchmen to register their identity information with the offices of the Admiralty Court, upon the advice of Guillaume Poncet de la Grave, adviser to King Louis XV. The new rule, which requires both free and enslaved blacks and mulattoes to list data including their age, surname, purpose for which they are residing in France, whether they have been baptized as Christians, where they emigrated from in Africa and the name of the ship upon which they arrived. Previously, the Declaration of 1738 required slave-owners to register their slaves, but placed no requirement on free people.source
1762France issues a new ordinance requiring all black and mixed-race Frenchmen to register their identity information with the offices of the Admiralty Court, upon the advice of Guillaume Poncet de la Grave, adviser to Louis XV, requiring both free and enslaved blacks and mulattoes to list data including their age, surname, purpose for which they are residing in France, whether they have been baptized as Christians, where they emigrated from in Africa and the name of the ship upon which they arrived (the declaration of 1738 required slave-owners to register their slaves, but had placed no such requirement on free people)source
1764Parliament passes the Sugar Act.source
1764The Sugar Act is passed in Great Britain.source
1765After completing the portion of the Mason–Dixon line marking the semi-circular boundary between Pennsylvania and Delaware, English surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon begin the two-and-a-half-year process of plotting out the 230-mile boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland along the latitude of 39°43′20″ N.source
1768The New York Chamber of Commerce, first of its kind in the American colonies, is founded by 20 New York merchants at Bolton and Sigel's Tavern at 54 Pearl Street in New York City. Former New York City mayor John Cruger Jr. is elected the Chamber's first president.source
1792United States President George Washington vetoes a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto is used in the United States.source
1795The Peace of Basel is signed, between France and Prussia.source
1797Manifesto of three-day corveesource
1803Ludwig van Beethoven puts on a big Akademie concert at the Theater an der Wien, in Vienna consisting of the premieres of his second symphony, third piano concerto, and his oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives.source
1804The High Possil meteorite, the first recorded meteorite to fall in Scotland in modern times, falls at High Possil.source
1804High Possil meteorite, the first recorded meteorite to fall in Scotland in modern times, falls at Possil.source
1807April 4–12 – Froberg mutiny: The British suppress a mutiny at Fort Ricasoli, Malta, by men of the irregularly-recruited Froberg Regiment.source
1811April 5–6 – Revolutionary riots occur in Buenos Aires.source
1816March 29–April 10 – The Second Bank of the United States obtains its charter.source
1816March 30–April 11 – In Philadelphia, the African Methodist Episcopal Church is established by Richard Allen and other African-American Methodists, the first such denomination in the U.S. completely independent of White churches.source
1818Chilean War of Independence – Battle of Maipú: Patriot rebels, led by José de San Martín, decisively defeat the Spanish Royalists.source
1847The world's first municipally-funded civic public park, Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead on Merseyside, England, is opened.source
1857April 1–8 – Reform War: Crabb Massacresource
1876River Dee Ferry Boat Disaster: 32 drown.source
1879War of the Pacific: Chile formally declares war on Bolivia and Peru.source
1883Oxygen is liquefied for the first time.source
1891Census in the United Kingdom: 15.6 million people live in cities of 20,000 or more in England and Wales, and cities of 20,000 or more account for 54% of the total English population.source
1898Annie Oakley promotes the service of women in combat situations, with the United States military. On this day, she writes a letter to President William McKinley "offering the government the services of a company of 50 'lady sharpshooters' who would provide their own arms and ammunition should war break out with Spain."source
1899A team of prospectors sets out from Northern Rhodesia to explore the minerals of central Africa for the British company Tanganyika Concessions (TCL). Discovering that the most valuable copper deposits are in the Congo Free State, TCL makes an unsuccessful attempt to purchase full rights from King Leopold of Belgium.source
1902The original Ibrox disaster: a stand at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow collapses during an England versus Scotland football match. 25 people die and 517 are injured.source
1902the first Ibrox disaster: a stand at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow collapses during an England versus Scotland football match. 25 people die and 517 are injured.source
1905The body of John Paul Jones, "Father of the American Navy", is located in Paris almost 113 years after his death.source
1906Mount Vesuvius in Campania erupts, killing over 100 people and ejecting the most lava ever recorded from a Vesuvian eruption. Italian authorities were preparing to hold the 1908 Summer Olympics when Mount Vesuvius erupted, devastating the province of Naples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, requiring a new location for the Olympics to be found.source
1908The Italian Parliament enacts a basic law to unite all of the parts of southern Somalia into an area called Somalia Italiana.source
1908Portuguese legislative election, 1908.source
1908Cyrille Van Hauwaert from Belgium wins the 2nd Milan–San Remo.source
1910The Transandine Railway connecting Chile and Argentina is inaugurated.source
1913The United States Soccer Federation is formed.source
1914The Italian rider Ugo Agostoni wins the 8th Milan–San Remo bicycle race.source
1915Boxer Jess Willard defeats Jack Johnson with a 26th-round knockout in sweltering heat, at Havana, Cuba. Willard becomes very popular among white Americans, for "bringing back the championship to the white race".source
1927Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 forbids strikes of support.source
1929Ivar Giaever, physicist, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973source
1932The first Alko stores are opened in Finland at 10 in the morning (local time) following the end of Prohibition in that country, resulting in a new mnemonic "543210".source
1933United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a national emergency and issues Executive Order 6102, making it illegal for U.S. citizens to own substantial amounts of monetary gold or bullion.source
1933The International Court of Justice in The Hague decides that Greenland belongs to Denmark, and condemns Norwegian landings on eastern Greenland. Norway submits to the decision.source
1936A tornado hits Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, killing 216 people and injuring over 700 (the 4th deadliest tornado in U.S. history).source
1936A tornado hits Tupelo, Mississippi, killing 216 and injuring over 700 (the 4th deadliest tornado in U.S. history).source
1942WWII: Easter Sunday Raid – Aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attack Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.source
1946USS Missouri carried the remains of the Turkish Ambassador to the United States, Münir Ertegün, from New York to İstanbulsource
1946A British Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.source
19481947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine: Haganah launches Operation Nachshon, provoking the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight.source
1948The Lëtzebuerger Journal begins publication.source
1948The 1948 Gatow air disaster was a mid-air collision in the airspace above Berlin, Germany that occurred on 5 April 1948.source
1951Elias Corneliussen, naval officer (born 1881).source
1951Queen Sirikit gives birth to a daughter Ubol Ratana.source
1955Richard J. Daley defeats Robert Merrian to become Mayor of Chicago, by a vote of 708,222 to 581,555.source
1955Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, due to ill-health, at the age of 80.source
1957The Communist Party of India wins the elections in Kerala, making E. M. S. Namboodiripad its first chief minister.source
1961The New Guinea Council of Western Papua is installed.source
1965At the 37th Academy Awards, My Fair Lady wins 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Rex Harrison wins an Oscar for Best Actor. Mary Poppins takes home 5 Oscars. Julie Andrews wins an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the title role. Sherman Brothers receives 2 Oscars including Best Song, "Chim Chim Cher-ee".source
1966During the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese military prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ personally attempts to lead the capture of the restive city of Đà Nẵng before backing down.source
1967An emperor penguin is found at Oreti Beach, Southland, becoming the first recorded sighting of an emperor penguin in New Zealand. The following day, it is released into Foveaux Strait.source
1968Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company takes over operations from the Ulster Transport Authority, managing Northern Ireland Railways, Ulsterbus, Northern Ireland Carriers and Northern Ireland Airports.source
1971In Ceylon, a group calling themselves the People's Liberation Front begins a rebellion against the Bandaranaike government.source
1971Mount Etna erupts in Sicily.source
1973Fahri Korutürk becomes the sixth president of Turkey.source
1973Pioneer 11 is launched on a mission to study the Solar System.source
1974Carrie, the debut novel by Stephen King, is published.source
1975The Soviet crewed space mission (Soyuz 18a) ends in failure during its ascent into orbit when a critical malfunction occurs in the second and third stages of the booster rocket during staging at an altitude of 192 km, resulting in the cosmonauts and their Soyuz spacecraft having to be ripped free from the vehicle. Both cosmonauts (Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov) survive.source
1976Segovia prison break: in Spain's largest prison break since the Spanish Civil War, 29 political prisoners escape from Segovia prison.source
1981April 2–6. First council of Independent Students’ Association takes place in Kraków.source
1981Hennie Kuiper wins Tour of Flanders cycling race.source
1983Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Henry Pybus Bell-Irving summons Premier Bennett to Government House. The L-G issues emergency warrants to cover spending until a snap election.source
1985A fire erupts at Notre-Dame Cathedral, in Luxembourg City, destroying the belfry and damaging the roof of the nave.source
19861986 Berlin discotheque bombing: The West Berlin discothèque La Belle, a known hangout for United States soldiers, is bombed, killing three and injuring 230; Libya is held responsible.source
1987Schoharie Creek Bridge Collapse: I-90 bridge collapse near Fort Hunter leaves 10 people dead. Investigators conclude that the bridge's piers had been weakened by structural flaws and significant scour. The accident leads to stricter safety standards in bridge design and inspection. The body of the 10th victim will ultimately be recovered from the Mohawk River more than two years later.source
1988Kuwait Airways Flight 422 is hijacked while en route from Bangkok, Thailand, to Kuwait. The hijackers demand the release of 17 Shiite Muslim prisoners held by Kuwait. Kuwait refuses to release the prisoners, leading to a 16-day siege across 3 continents. Two passengers are killed before the siege ends.source
1988Kuwait Airways Flight 422 hijacked by Lebanese guerillas (suspected Hezbollah) after departing from Bangkok. During the incident the flight, initially forced to land in Iran, travelled 3,200 miles from Mashhad in northeastern Iran to Larnaca, Cyprus, and finally to Algiers. Two hostages were killed, prior to the crisis ending on 20 April.source
1989The Polish Government and the Solidarity trade union sign an agreement restoring Solidarity to legal status, and agreeing to hold democratic elections on June 4 (Polish Round Table Agreement), which initiates the 1989 revolution and the overthrow of communism in Central Europe.source
1989The National Disaster Office (ONAD) declares a yellow alert status (2nd of the 4 levels) due to seismic activity from the Galeras stratovolcano.source
1991Space Shuttle Atlantis leaves an observatory in Earth's orbit to study gamma rays before returning on April 11. It is followed by Space Shuttle Discovery, which studies instruments related to the Strategic Defense Initiative from April 29 to May 6. Space Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab into orbit on June 5.source
1992The Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (without the presence of Serb political delegates) proclaims independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.source
1992Bosnian War: Serb troops, following a mass rebellion of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Bosnian declaration of independence from Yugoslavia, besiege the city of Sarajevo.source
1994Economic rehabilitation program (known as bitter recipe)source
1995The Israeli reconnaissance satellite Ofek-3 is launched.source
1995May 26: Eruption of the volcano Pico do Fogo,source
1998In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge linking Shikoku with Honshū and costing about US$3.6 billion, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.source
1999In Laramie, Wyoming, Russell Henderson pleads guilty to kidnapping and felony murder, in order to avoid a possible death penalty conviction for the apparent hate crime killing of Matthew Shepard.source
1999Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over to Scottish authorities for eventual trial in the Netherlands. The United Nations suspends sanctions against Libya.source
1999Libya hands over two suspects, reportedly linked to Libyan intelligence, to Dutch authorities for trial in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.source
2002At the Council of Australian Governments Meeting in Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard concedes ground to the States on human embryo research.source
2002The first recruits of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland graduate.source
2002The genome sequence for indica rice is published.source
2009North Korea launches a rocket from its Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, which it says is carrying the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.source
2010Julian Assange leaks footage of a 2007 airstrike in Iraq titled "Collateral Murder" on the website WikiLeaks.source
2016April 1–5 – 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: Clashes occur along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact with the Artsakh Defense Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other. The US State Department estimates that a total of 350 people have been killed in the clashes, which have been defined as "the worst" since the 1994 ceasefire.source
2018Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid a slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 undocumented Hispanic workers in one of the largest immigration raids in the history of the U.S., prompting protests and federal lawsuits.source
2018April 4–15 – The 2018 Commonwealth Games are held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.source
2019The Botswana Democratic Party announces that President Masisi is its next presidential candidate following the withdrawal of Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi.source
2020COVID-19 pandemic: The first case of COVID-19 in a zoo animal is reported: a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.source
2021Goabaone Taylor is appointed as the CEO of the Botswana Football Association.source
2022Latvia closes the Russian consulates in Daugavpils and Liepāja.source
2023Clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli police happen at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.source

Births

1170Isabella of Hainault, queen of France (died 1190)source
1219Wonjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (died 1274)source
1279Al-Nuwayri, Egyptian encyclopedist (died 1333)source
1288Go-Fushimi, emperor (tenno) of Japan (died 1336)source
1315King James III of Majorca, who will be nicknamed "James the Unfortunate".(died 1349)source
1447Catherine of Genoa, Italian author and nurse (died 1510)source
1472Bianca Maria Sforza, Pavian-born Holy Roman Empress as consort to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1510)source
1498Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, Italian condottiero (died 1526)source
1508Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Italian noble (died 1559)source
1514Joachim Mörlin, German bishop (died 1571)source
1521Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (died 1570)source
1523Blaise de Vigenère, French diplomat and cryptographer (died 1596)source
1523Blaise de Vigenère, French diplomat, translator and the creator of the Vigenère cipher.(d.1596)source
1526Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (died 1593)source
1549Princess Elizabeth of Sweden was born, princess (died 1597)source
1568Pope Urban VIII (died 1644)source
1586Christopher Levett, English explorer (died 1630)source
1588Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (died 1679)source
1604Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (died 1675)source
1622Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician and scientist (died 1703)source
1648Nicolas Pasquin, early pioneer in New France (now Quebec) (died 1708)source
1649Elihu Yale, American benefactor of Yale University (died 1721)source
1692Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (died 1730)source
1716Jeremiah Theus, American artist (died 1774)source
1719Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar, prince of Persia (died 1747)source
1726Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the American Declaration of Independence (died 1791)source
1732Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter (died 1806)source
1751Marie-Aimée Lullin, Swiss entomologist (died 1822)source
1784Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer (died 1859)source
1804Matthias Schleiden, German botanist (died 1881)source
18095 April (in England): George Augustus Selwyn, first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand.source
1827Joseph Lister, English surgeon, medical pioneer (died 1912)source
1841Hallgrímur Sveinsson, prelate (Bishop of Iceland)source
1856Booker T. Washington, American educator (died 1915)source
1900Spencer Tracy, American actor (died 1967)source
1905Ramón Torrado. (died 1990)source
1908Bette Davis, American actress (died 1989)source
1916Gregory Peck, American actor (died 2003)source
1917Robert Bloch, American writer (died 1994)source
1923Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, 2nd President of South Vietnam (died 2001)source
1928Maja Hug, figure skater (died 2023)source
1937Colin Powell, American politician (died 2021)source
2010Arisa Trew, skateboardersource

Deaths

517Timothy I, patriarch of Constantinoplesource
582Eutychius, patriarch of Constantinoplesource
902Al-Mu'tadid, Abbasid caliphsource
902Caliph Al-Mu'tadid dies in Baghdad after a 10-year reign. Possibly poisoned in a palace intrigue, he is succeeded by his eldest son Al-Muktafi as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
991991 Damascus earthquake in Syria: According to historian George Elmacin (13th century), the earthquake caused the fall of 1,000 houses in Damascus itself, and many people were trapped in their ruins and died. The village of Beglabec was reportedly engulfed, due to the earthquake.source
1145Gabriel II, patriarch of Alexandriasource
1168Robert de Beaumont, English nobleman (born 1104)source
1199Ashikaga Yoshikane, Japanese samurai and monksource
1202Geoffrey III, Count of Perche (or Geoffrey IV), French nobleman and knightsource
1205Isabella I, queen and regent of Jerusalem (born 1172)source
1206Ottaviano di Paoli, Italian cardinal-bishop and diplomatsource
1258Juliana of Liège, Flemish nun, mystic and saintsource
1308Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian nobleman and palatine (born 1245)source
1325Ralph de Monthermer, English nobleman and peeragesource
1340William Melton, English archbishopsource
1417Jean de Touraine, the Dauphin of France and heir to the French throne as the eldest living son of King Charles VI, dies suddenly at the age of 18 from a suspected poisoning. Jean's 15-year-old brother, Charles, becomes the new Dauphin.source
1417John, Duke of Touraine (born 1398)source
1419Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (born 1350)source
1431Bernard I, Margrave of Baden-Baden (born 1364)source
1470At Srinagar in the Kashmir Sultanate, the Sultan Zayn al-Abidin the Great dies after a reign of almost 52 years, and his succeeded by his son, Prince Haji Khan, who takes the name Haider Shah Miri on his proclamation as Sultan on May 12.source
1473Philip I, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church as Patriarch of Moscow since 1464, dies after a reign of almost nine years.source
1481Mahmud Gawan, the chief minister (peshwa) of India's Bahmani Kingdom (now in the state of Karnataka) is executed in Bidar on orders of the Sultan Muhammad Shah III Lashkari, after being falsely convicted of treason. The preparer of the forged document that led to Gawan's overthrow, Malik Hasan Bahri, becomes the new peshwa.source
1534April 5 (Easter Sunday) – Anabaptist Jan Matthys is killed by the Landsknechte, who laid siege to Münster on the day he predicted as the Second Coming of Christ. His follower John of Leiden takes control of the city.source
15731573 Polish–Lithuanian royal election: Polish and Lithuanian nobles gather at Warsaw to elect a successor to King Sigismund II Augustus, who had died the previous July 7. The vote comes down to four candidates, from France, the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden and Russia.source
1612Diana Scultori, Italian engraversource
1681John Cutt, New England merchant and politician (born 1613)source
1684Lord William Brouncker, English mathematician (born 1602)source
1693Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, French writer (born 1627)source
1695George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, English writer and statesman (born 1633)source
1697King Charles XI of Sweden, King of Sweden from 1660 to 1697 (born 1655)source
1697Charles XI of Sweden dies of stomach cancer, and is succeeded by Charles XII of Sweden under the regency of his grandmother, Hedwig Eleonora.source
1723Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect (born 1656)source
1735William Derham, English minister and writer (born 1657)source
1735Sir Edward Stradling, 5th Baronet, MP for Cardiff and Sheriff of Glamorgan, 62source
1751Sweden's King Frederick I dies at the age of 74 (March 25 on the Julian calendar, which remains in effect in Sweden and Finland until 1753), after a reign of 31 years, bringing an end to the rule of Sweden by the House of Hesse because he has no legitimate heirs. Prince Adolf Frederick of the House of Holstein-Gottorp, who had been elected as the crown prince in 1743, becomes the new King.source
1754Lord Archibald Hamilton, Scottish officer of the Royal Navy (born 1673)source
1765Edward Young, English poet (born 1683)source
1794Reign of Terror: Georges Danton and Camille Desmoulins are executed.source
1794Camille Desmoulins, French Revolutionary leader (executed) (born 1760)source
1794Georges Danton, French Revolutionary leader (executed) (born 1759)source
1834Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats, Governor of Newfoundland (born 1757)source
1876William Spain, first New South Wales Inspector-General of Policesource
1919Pinsk massacre: 35 Jews are killed by the Polish Army without trial after being accused of Bolshevism.source
1964Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army general, Supreme Allied Commander in Japan after World War II (born 1880)source
1975Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese nationalist general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (born 1887)source
1976Howard Hughes, American aviation pioneer, film director and millionaire recluse (born 1905)source
1991Former U.S. Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia.source
1994Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana. commits suicide at the age of 27 at his home in Seattle. His body was found three days later.source
1997Allen Ginsberg, 70, American poet and writer, liver cancer.source
2002Layne Staley, 34, American singer (Alice in Chains), drug overdose.source