What happened on April 8 ?

563 BC - Gautama Buddha, Indian religious leader (d. 483 BC)

1320 - King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)

1533 - Claudio Merulo, Italian composer (d. 1604)

1541 - Michele Mercati, Italian physician and gardener (d. 1593)

1605 - King Philip IV of Spain, (d. 1665)

1641 - Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English statesman (d. 1704)

1692 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (d. 1770)

1859 - Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (d. 1938)

1865 - Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist (d. 1940)

1868 - King Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)

1869 - Harvey Cushing, American neuorosurgeon, pioneer of brain surgery (d. 1939)

1874 - Stanis?aw Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising (d. 1960)

1875 - King Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)

1889 - Sir Adrian Boult, British conductor (d. 1983)

1892 - Mary Pickford, Canadian actress and studio founder (d. 1979)

1904 - John Hicks, British economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1989)

1905 - Helen Joseph, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 1992)

1905 - Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)

1908 - Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (d. 1987)

1911 - Melvin Calvin, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)

1911 - Emil Cioran, Romanian philosopher and essayist (d. 1995)

1912 - Alois Brunner, Austrian Nazi

1912 - Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (d. 1969)

1914 - María Félix, Mexican actress (d. 2002)

1918 - Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States

1918 - Glendon Swarthout, Award-winning American author (d. 1992)

1919 - Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia

1921 - Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (d. 2003)

1923 - George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)

1923 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (d. 1997)

1926 - Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian

1928 - John Gavin, American actor and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico

1929 - Walter Berry, Austrian bass-baritone (d. 2000)

1929 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer and composer (d. 1978)

1930 - Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma, French-born fascist

1933 - Fred Ebb, American composer (d. 2004)

1934 - Kurokawa Kisho, Japanese architect

1937 - Seymour Hersh, American journalist

1938 - Kofi Annan, Ghanian United Nations Secretary General, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

1940 - John Havlicek, American basketball player

1941 - Vivienne Westwood, British fashion designer

1942 - Roger Chapman, British rock singer (Family, Streetwalkers)

1943 - Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and theater director (d. 1987)

1943 - Miller Farr, American football player

1946 - Catfish Hunter, Hall of Fame baseball player (d. 1999)

1946 - Tim Thomerson, American actor

1947 - Tom DeLay, American politician

1947 - Steve Howe, British rock guitarist (Yes, Asia, GTR)

1947 - Robert Kiyosaki, American investor, businessman, and writer

1947 - Larry Norman, American singer and songwriter

1949 - John Madden, British director

1949 - Brenda Russell, American singer and songwriter

1954 - Gary Carter, baseball player

1955 - Joolz Denby, English poet and novelist

1955 - Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist

1960 - John Schneider, American actor

1962 - Izzy Stradlin, American musician (Guns N' Roses)

1963 - Julian Lennon, British musician and singer

1963 - Alec Stewart, British cricketer

1964 - Biz Markie, American rapper and disc jockey

1966 - Robin Wright Penn, American actress

1966 - Mazinho, Brazilian football player

1966 - Bobby Ologun, Nigerian television personality and martial artist

1968 - Patricia Arquette, American actress

1971 - Chino XL, American rapper

1972 - Paul Gray, American bassist (Slipknot)

1973 - Alex S. Gonzalez, American Major League Baseball player

1975 - Timo Pérez, Dominican Major League Baseball player

1977 - Mark Spencer, computer programmer

1979 - Alexi Laiho, Finnish guitarist and singer (Children of Bodom)

1980 - Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer

1980 - Grace Park, American actress

1980 - Katee Sackhoff, American actress

1982 - Judy Star, Canadian ex porn star

1984 - Júlia Liptáková, Slovakian model

1986 - Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress and model

1986 - Igor Akinfeev, Russian football player