What happened on April 4 ?

397 - St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan

636 - Saint Isidore of Seville, Church Father and the proposed patron of Internet

896 - Pope Formosus (b. 816)

1284 - King Alfonso X of Castile (b. 1221)

1292 - Pope Nicholas IV (b. 1227)

1305 - Jeanne of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France

1536 - Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)

1588 - King Frederick II of Denmark (b. 1534

1609 - Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (b. 1526)

1617 - John Napier, Scottish mathematician (b. 1550)

1643 - Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian (b. 1583)

1661 - Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier

1701 - Joseph Haines, entertainer and author

1743 - Daniel Neal, English historian (b. 1678)

1761 - Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler (b. 1722)

1766 - John Taylor, English classical scholar (b. 1704)

1774 - Oliver Goldsmith, English writer (b. 1728)

1792 - James Sykes, American politician (b. 1725)

1807 - Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de Lalande, French astronomer (b. 1732)

1817 - André Masséna, French marshal (b. 1758)

1841 - William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)

1842 - Jean Moufot, French philosopher and mathematician (b. 1784)

1846 - Solomon Sibley, Senator from Michigan Territory (b. 1769)

1861 - John McLean, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1785)

1870 - Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)

1874 - Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaelogist and politician (b. 1826)

1879 - Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist (b. 1803)

1884 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist and diarist (b. 1860)

1890 - Edmond Hébert, French geologist (b. 1812)

1919 - Sir William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)

1923 - John Venn, British mathematician (b. 1834)

1951 - Al Christie, Canadian film director and producer (b. 1881)

1951 - George Albert Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)

1953 - King Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)

1967 - Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1898)

1968 - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (assassinated) (b. 1929)

1972 - Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American politician (b. 1908)

1972 - Stefan Wolpe, German-born composer (b. 1902)

1976 - Harry Nyquist, important contributor to information theory (b. 1889)

1979 - Ali Bhutto, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1928)

1979 - Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)

1983 - Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1897)

1984 - Oleg Antonov, Russian airplane engineer (b. 1906)

1987 - C.L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)

1991 - Max Frisch, Swiss writer (b. 1911)

1991 - H. John Heinz III, U.S. Senator (plane crash) (b. 1938)

1991 - Forrest Towns, American hurdler (b. 1914)

1991 - Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)

1991 - Arthur Russell, American cellist (b. 1951)

1995 - Priscilla Lane, American singer, actress (b. 1915)

1995 - Kenny Everett, British radio DJ and television entertainer (b. 1944)

1996 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918)

1996 - Larry LaPrise, American songwriter (b. 1913)

1999 - Early Wynn, baseball player (b. 1920)

1999 - Faith Domergue American actor (b. 1924)

2001 - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American custom car designer (b. 1932)

2002 - Harry L. O'Connor, Czech-born film stuntman

2003 - Resortes, Mexican comedian (b. 1916)

2004 - Casey Sheehan, American soldier, son of Cindy Sheehan (b. 1979)

2005 - Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman (b. 1924)