April 3
Events
Pre-1600
- 686 - Maya king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' assumes the crown of Calakmul.
- 1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
- 1077 - The Patriarchate of Friûl, the first Friulian state, is created.
- 1559 - The second of two treaties making up the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis is signed, ending the Italian Wars.
- 1589 - The janissaries revolt in response to the debasement of coins.
1601–1900
- 1721 - Robert Walpole becomes, in effect, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, though he himself denied that title.
- 1851 - Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand after the death of his half-brother, Rama III.
- 1860 - The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1882 - American Old West: Robert Ford kills Jesse James.
- 1885 - Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for a light, high-speed, four-stroke engine, which he uses seven months later to create the world's first motorcycle, the Daimler Reitwagen.
- 1888 - Jack the Ripper: The first of 11 unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.
- 1895 - The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
1901–present
- 1905 - Association football club Boca Juniors is founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 1920 - Attempts are made to carry out the failed assassination attempt on General Mannerheim, led by Aleksander Weckman by order of Eino Rahja, during the White Guard parade in Tampere, Finland.
- 1922 - Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1933 - First flight over Mount Everest, the British Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.
- 1936 - Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., the infant son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
- 1946 - Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- 1948 - Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- 1948 - In Jeju Province, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses known as the Jeju uprising begins.
- 1955 - The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg's book Howl against obscenity charges.
- 1956 - Hudsonville–Standale tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
- 1961 - LAN-Chile Flight 621 crashes in the Andes mountains, killing 21 people, including Argentinian football player Eliseo Mouriño.
- 1968 - King Jr.">Monarchy of Thailand">King Jr. delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech; he was assassinated the next day.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.
- 1973 - Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
- 1974 - The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second largest tornado outbreak in recorded history. The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
- 1975 - Vietnam War: Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children in the closing stages of the war begins.
- 1975 - Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
- 1980 - US Congress restores a federal trust relationship with the 501 members of the Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and the Indian Peaks and Cedar City bands of the Paiute people of Utah.
- 1981 - The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
- 1989 - The US Supreme Court upholds the jurisdictional rights of tribal courts under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in Mississippi Choctaw Band v. Holyfield.
- 1993 - The outcome of the Grand National horse race is declared void for the first time.
- 1996 - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is captured at his Montana cabin in the United States.
- 1996 - A United States Air Force Boeing T-43 1996 [Croatia USAF CT-43 crash|crashes] near Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia, killing 35, including Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.
- 1997 - The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
- 2000 - United States v. [Microsoft Corp. (2001)|United States v. Microsoft Corp.]: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.
- 2004 - Islamic terrorists involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
- 2007 - Conventional-Train World Speed Record: A French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record of 574.8 km/h.
- 2008 - ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, files for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceases all operations.
- 2008 - Texas law enforcement cordons off the Fundamentalist [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints|FLDS]'s YFZ Ranch. Eventually 533 women and children will be taken into state custody.
- 2009 - Jiverly Antares Wong opens fire at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.
- 2010 - Apple Inc. released the first generation iPad, a tablet computer.
- 2013 - More than 50 people die in 2013 [Argentina floods|floods] resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2016 - The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
- 2017 - A bomb explodes in the St Petersburg metro system, killing 14 and injuring several more people.
- 2018 - YouTube headquarters shooting: A 38-year-old gunwoman opens fire at YouTube Headquarters in San Bruno, California, injuring three people before committing suicide.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1016 - Xing Zong, Chinese emperor
- 1151 - Igor Svyatoslavich, Kievan Rus' prince
- 1395 - George of Trebizond, Greek philosopher, scholar and humanist
- 1438 - John III of Egmont, Dutch nobleman
- 1529 - Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer
- 1540 - Maria de' Medici, Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo.
- 1593 - George Herbert, English poet
1601–1900
- 1643 - Charles V, duke of Lorraine
- 1682 - Valentin Rathgeber, German organist and composer
- 1693 - George Edwards, English ornithologist and entomologist
- 1715 - William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist
- 1764 - John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist
- 1769 - Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat
- 1770 - Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general
- 1778 - Pierre Bretonneau, French doctor who performed the first successful tracheotomy
- 1781 - Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader
- 1782 - Alexander Macomb, American general
- 1783 - Washington Irving, American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian
- 1791 - Anne Lister, English diarist, mountaineer, and traveller
- 1798 - Charles Wilkes, American admiral, geographer, and explorer
- 1807 - Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer
- 1814 - Lorenzo Snow, American religious leader, 5th President of [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]
- 1822 - Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author
- 1823 - George Derby, American lieutenant and journalist
- 1823 - William M. Tweed, American politician
- 1826 - Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman
- 1837 - John Burroughs, American botanist and author
- 1842 - Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel
- 1848 - Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and captain
- 1852 - Talbot Baines Reed, English author
- 1858 - Jacob Gaudaur, Canadian rower
- 1860 - Frederik van Eeden, Dutch psychiatrist and author
- 1864 - Emil Kellenberger, Swiss target shooter
- 1875 - Mistinguett, French actress and singer
- 1876 - Margaret Anglin, Canadian actress, director, and producer
- 1876 - Tomáš Baťa, Czech businessman, founded Bata Shoes
- 1880 - Otto Weininger, Jewish-Austrian philosopher and author
- 1881 - Alcide De Gasperi, Italian journalist and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1882 - Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop
- 1883 - Ikki Kita, Japanese philosopher and author
- 1885 - Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1885 - Bud Fisher, American cartoonist
- 1885 - Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic
- 1885 - St John Philby, English colonial and explorer
- 1886 - Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer
- 1887 - Ōtori Tanigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 24th Yokozuna
- 1887 - Nishizō Tsukahara, Japanese admiral
- 1888 - Thomas C. Kinkaid, American admiral
- 1889 - Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer
- 1893 - Leslie Howard, English actor
- 1895 - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American composer and educator
- 1895 - Zez Confrey, American pianist and composer
- 1897 - Joe Kirkwood Sr., Australian golfer
- 1897 - Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general
- 1898 - David Jack, English footballer and manager
- 1898 - George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer
- 1898 - Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time magazine
- 1900 - Camille Chamoun, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Lebanon
- 1900 - Albert Walsh, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland
1901–present
- 1903 - Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Indian social reformer and freedom fighter
- 1904 - Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman
- 1904 - Sally Rand, American dancer
- 1904 - Russel Wright, American furniture designer
- 1905 - Robert Sink, American general
- 1910 - Ted Hook, Australian public servant
- 1911 - Nanette Bordeaux, Canadian-American actress
- 1911 - Michael Woodruff, English-Scottish surgeon and academic
- 1911 - Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner
- 1912 - Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-English author
- 1912 - Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician
- 1913 - Per Borten, Norwegian politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway
- 1914 - Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1914 - Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal
- 1915 - Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- 1915 - İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish physician and academic
- 1916 - Herb Caen, American journalist and author
- 1916 - Cliff Gladwin, English cricketer
- 1916 - Louis Guglielmi, Catalan composer
- 1918 - Mary Anderson, American actress
- 1918 - Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor
- 1919 - Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer
- 1919 - Clairette Oddera, French-Canadian actress and singer
- 1920 - Stan Freeman, American composer and conductor
- 1920 - Yoshibayama Junnosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 43rd Yokozuna
- 1921 - Robert Karvelas, American actor
- 1921 - Jan Sterling, American actress
- 1922 - Yevhen Bulanchyk, Ukrainian hurdler
- 1922 - Doris Day, American singer and actress
- 1923 - Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic
- 1924 - Marlon Brando, American actor and director
- 1924 - Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper
- 1925 - Tony Benn, English pilot and politician, Secretary of State for Industry
- 1926 - Alex Grammas, American baseball player, manager, and coach
- 1926 - Gus Grissom, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1927 - Wesley A. Brown, American general and engineer
- 1928 - Don Gibson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1928 - Emmett Johns, Canadian priest, founded Dans la Rue
- 1928 - Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach
- 1928 - Jennifer Paterson, English chef and television personality
- 1929 - Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi engineer and architect, co-designed the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center
- 1929 - Poul Schlüter, Danish lawyer and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1930 - Lawton Chiles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida
- 1930 - Helmut Kohl, German politician, Chancellor of Germany
- 1930 - Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician
- 1930 - Wally Moon, American baseball player and coach
- 1931 - William Bast, American screenwriter and author
- 1933 - Bob Dornan, American politician
- 1933 - Rod Funseth, American golfer
- 1934 - Pamela Allen, New Zealand children's writer and illustrator
- 1934 - Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist
- 1934 - Jim Parker, American football player
- 1935 - Harold Kushner, American rabbi and author
- 1936 - Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader
- 1936 - Harold Vick, American saxophonist and flute player
- 1938 - Jeff Barry, American singer-songwriter, and producer
- 1938 - Phil Rodgers, American golfer
- 1939 - François de Roubaix, French composer
- 1939 - Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach
- 1939 - Paul Craig Roberts, American economist and politician
- 1941 - Jan Berry, American singer-songwriter
- 1941 - Philippé Wynne, American soul singer
- 1942 - Marsha Mason, American actress
- 1942 - Wayne Newton, American singer
- 1942 - Billy Joe Royal, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 - Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
- 1943 - Jonathan Lynn, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 - Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1943 - Hikaru Saeki, Japanese admiral, the first female star officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
- 1944 - Peter Colman, Australian biologist and academic
- 1944 - Tony Orlando, American singer
- 1945 - Doon Arbus, American author and journalist
- 1945 - Bernie Parent, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 - Catherine Spaak, French actress
- 1946 - Nicholas Jones, English actor
- 1946 - Dee Murray, English bass player
- 1946 - Marisa Paredes, Spanish film actress
- 1946 - Hanna Suchocka, Polish politician, Prime Minister of Poland
- 1947 - Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer
- 1948 - Arlette Cousture, Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1948 - Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch academic, politician, and diplomat, 11th Secretary General of NATO
- 1948 - Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German footballer
- 1948 - Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexican economist and politician, 53rd President of Mexico
- 1949 - Lyle Alzado, American football player and actor
- 1949 - A. C. Grayling, English philosopher and academic
- 1949 - Richard Thompson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 - Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan cricketer and economist
- 1951 - Brendan Barber, English trade union leader
- 1951 - Annette Dolphin, British academician and educator
- 1951 - Mitch Woods, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1952 - Mike Moore, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 - Sandra Boynton, American author and illustrator
- 1953 - Wakanohana Kanji II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 56th Yokozuna
- 1953 - James Smith, American boxer
- 1954 - Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer
- 1954 - K. Krishnasamy, Indian physician and politician
- 1956 - Kalle Kulbok, Estonian politician
- 1956 - Boris Miljković, Serbian director and producer
- 1956 - Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor
- 1956 - Ray Combs, American game show host
- 1958 - Alec Baldwin, American actor, comedian, producer and television host
- 1958 - Adam Gussow, American scholar, musician, and memoirist
- 1958 - Francesca Woodman, American photographer
- 1959 - David Hyde Pierce, American actor and activist
- 1960 - Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 - Tim Crews, American baseball player
- 1961 - Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- 1962 - Dave Miley, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 - Mike Ness, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 - Jaya Prada, Indian actress and politician
- 1963 - Les Davidson, Australian rugby league player
- 1963 - Ricky Nixon, Australian footballer and manager
- 1963 - Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1964 - Marco Ballotta, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 - Nigel Farage, English politician
- 1964 - Claire Perry, English banker and politician
- 1964 - Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist and manager
- 1964 - Andy Robinson, English rugby player and coach
- 1964 - Jay Weatherill, Australian politician, 45th Premier of South Australia
- 1965 - Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist
- 1966 - John de Vries, Australian race car driver
- 1967 - Cat Cora, American chef and author
- 1967 - Pervis Ellison, American basketball player
- 1967 - Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 - Cristi Puiu, Romanian director and screenwriter
- 1967 - Mark Skaife, Australian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1968 - Sebastian Bach, Bahamian-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1968 - Charlotte Coleman, English actress
- 1968 - Jamie Hewlett, English director and performer
- 1968 - Tomoaki Kanemoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1969 - Rodney Hampton, American football player
- 1969 - Peter Matera, Australian footballer and coach
- 1969 - Ben Mendelsohn, Australian actor
- 1969 - Lance Storm, Canadian wrestler and trainer
- 1971 - Vitālijs Astafjevs, Latvian footballer and manager
- 1971 - Emmanuel Collard, French race car driver
- 1971 - Picabo Street, American skier
- 1972 - Jennie Garth, American actress and director
- 1972 - Catherine McCormack, English actress
- 1972 - Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
- 1973 - Nilesh Kulkarni, Indian cricketer
- 1973 - Adam Scott, American actor
- 1974 - Marcus Brown, American basketball player
- 1974 - Lee Williams, Welsh model and actor
- 1975 - Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
- 1975 - Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1975 - Aries Spears, American comedian and actor
- 1975 - Yoshinobu Takahashi, Japanese baseball player
- 1975 - Koji Uehara, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 - Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player
- 1978 - Matthew Goode, English actor
- 1978 - Tommy Haas, German-American tennis player
- 1978 - John Smit, South African rugby player
- 1979 - Simon Black, Australian footballer and coach
- 1980 - Andrei Lodis, Belarusian footballer
- 1980 - Megan Rohrer, American pastor and transgender activist
- 1981 - Aaron Bertram, American trumpet player
- 1981 - DeShawn Stevenson, American basketball player
- 1982 - Jared Allen, American football player
- 1982 - Iain Fyfe, Australian footballer
- 1982 - Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
- 1983 - Ben Foster, English footballer
- 1983 - Stephen Weiss, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 - Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer
- 1984 - Maxi López, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 - Jari-Matti Latvala, Finnish race car driver
- 1985 - Leona Lewis, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1986 - Amanda Bynes, American actress
- 1986 - Stephanie Cox, American soccer player
- 1986 - Annalisa Cucinotta, Italian cyclist
- 1986 - Sergio Sánchez Ortega, Spanish footballer
- 1987 - Rachel Bloom, American actress, writer, and producer
- 1987 - Jay Bruce, American baseball player
- 1987 - Yileen Gordon, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 - Jason Kipnis, American baseball player
- 1987 - Martyn Rooney, English sprinter
- 1987 - Julie Sokolow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1987 - Yuval Spungin, Israeli footballer
- 1988 - Kam Chancellor, American football player
- 1988 - Brandon Graham, American football player
- 1988 - Peter Hartley, English footballer
- 1988 - Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
- 1989 - Romain Alessandrini, French footballer
- 1989 - Israel Folau, Australian rugby player and footballer
- 1989 - Joel Romelo, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 - Thisara Perera, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1990 - Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer
- 1990 - Madison Brengle, American tennis player
- 1990 - Sotiris Ninis, Greek footballer
- 1990 - Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian actress and singer
- 1991 - Hayley Kiyoko, American actress and singer
- 1992 - Simone Benedetti, Italian footballer
- 1992 - Yuliya Yefimova, Russian swimmer
- 1993 - Pape Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
- 1994 - Kodi Nikorima, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1994 - Dylann Roof, American mass murderer
- 1996 - Mayo Hibi, Japanese tennis player
- 1997 - Gabriel Jesus, Brazilian footballer
- 1997 - Zhao Xintong, Chinese snooker player
- 1998 - Paris Jackson, American actress, model and singer
- 1999 - Chanel Harris-Tavita, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
Deaths
Pre-1600
- 33 - Jesus of Nazareth
- 963 - William III, Duke of Aquitaine
- 1153 - al-Adil ibn al-Sallar, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
- 1171 - Philip of Milly, seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- 1203 - Arthur I, Duke of Brittany
- 1253 - Saint Richard of Chichester
- 1287 - Pope Honorius IV
- 1325 - Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saint
- 1350 - Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy
- 1538 - Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire
- 1545 - Antonio de Guevara, Spanish chronicler and moralist
1601–1900
- 1606 - Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
- 1630 - Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English noble
- 1637 - Joseph Yuspa Nördlinger Hahn, German rabbi
- 1680 - Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian emperor, founded the Maratha Empire
- 1682 - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter and educator
- 1691 - Jean Petitot, French-Swiss painter
- 1695 - Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Dutch painter
- 1717 - Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician and academic
- 1728 - James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian
- 1792 - George Pocock, English admiral
- 1804 - Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest, historian, and author
- 1826 - Reginald Heber, English priest
- 1827 - Ernst Chladni, German physicist and academic
- 1838 - François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician and author
- 1844 - Edward Bigge, English cleric, 1st Archdeacon of Lindisfarne
- 1846 - William Braine, English soldier and explorer
- 1849 - Juliusz Słowacki, Polish-French poet and playwright
- 1868 - Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and surgeon
- 1880 - Felicita Vestvali, German actress and opera singer
- 1882 - Jesse James, American criminal and outlaw
- 1897 - Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer
1901–present
- 1901 - Richard D'Oyly Carte, English composer and talent agent
- 1902 - Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge
- 1930 - Emma Albani, Canadian-English operatic soprano
- 1936 - Richard Hauptmann, German-American murderer
- 1941 - Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna
- 1941 - Pál Teleki, Hungarian academic and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Hungary
- 1943 - Conrad Veidt, German actor, director, and producer
- 1946 - Masaharu Homma, Japanese general
- 1950 - Kurt Weill, German-American composer and pianist
- 1950 - Carter G. Woodson, American historian, author, and journalist, founded Black History Month
- 1951 - Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian poet and playwright
- 1952 - Miina Sillanpää, Finnish minister and politician
- 1957 - Ned Sparks, Canadian-American actor
- 1958 - Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author
- 1962 - Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer and educator
- 1970 - Avigdor Hameiri, Israeli author
- 1971 - Joseph Valachi, American gangster
- 1972 - Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer
- 1975 - Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress
- 1976 - David M. Dennison, American physicist and academic
- 1976 - Claude-Henri Grignon, Canadian journalist and politician
- 1978 - Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor
- 1978 - Winston Sharples, American composer
- 1981 - Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways
- 1982 - Warren Oates, American actor
- 1983 - Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager
- 1986 - Peter Pears, English tenor and educator
- 1987 - Tom Sestak, American football player
- 1988 - Milton Caniff, American cartoonist
- 1990 - Sarah Vaughan, American singer
- 1991 - Charles Goren, American bridge player and author
- 1991 - Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic
- 1993 - Pinky Lee, American television host
- 1994 - Frank Wells, American businessman
- 1995 - Alfred J. Billes, Canadian businessman, co-founded Canadian Tire
- 1996 - Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce
- 1997 - John Ugelstad, Norwegian chemical engineer and inventor
- 1998 - Mary Cartwright, English mathematician and academic
- 1999 - Lionel Bart, English composer
- 1999 - Geoffrey Walsh, Canadian general
- 2000 - Terence McKenna, American botanist and philosopher
- 2000 - Dina Abramowicz, Librarian and YIVO and Yiddish language expert
- 2005 - François Gérin, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 2007 - Nina Wang, Chinese businesswoman
- 2008 - Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian footballer
- 2012 - Mingote, Spanish cartoonist and journalist
- 2012 - Richard Descoings, French civil servant
- 2012 - Govind Narain, Indian politician, 8th Governor of Karnataka
- 2012 - Chief Jay Strongbow, American wrestler
- 2012 - José María Zárraga, Spanish footballer and manager
- 2013 - Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress
- 2013 - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter
- 2014 - Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director
- 2014 - Fred Kida, American illustrator
- 2014 - Prince Michael of Prussia
- 2014 - Jovan Pavlović, Serbian metropolitan
- 2014 - Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer
- 2015 - Sarah Brady, American activist and author
- 2015 - Bob Burns, American drummer and songwriter
- 2015 - Shmuel Wosner, Austrian-Israeli rabbi and author
- 2016 - Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager
- 2016 - Joe Medicine Crow, American anthropologist, historian, and author
- 2016 - Koji Wada, Japanese singer and songwriter
- 2017 - Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical vocalist
- 2021 - Stan Stephens, Canadian-American politician, 20th Governor of Montana
- 2022 - June Brown, English actress
- 2024 - Bob Lanigan, Australian rugby league player
- 2024 - Gaetano Pesce, Italian architect and designer
- 2025 - Theodore McCarrick, American former cardinal
- 2025 - Mick O'Dwyer, Irish Gaelic footballer and manager
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day:
- * Agape, Chionia, and Irene
- * Burgundofara
- * Luigi Scrosoppi
- * Richard of Chichester
- * April 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)