* 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. * 1014 - Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle. * 1229 - Ferdinand III of Castile conquers Cáceres. * 1343 - St. George's Night Uprising. * 1348 - The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III of England is announced on St George's Day. * 1521 - Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros. * 1597 - William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance. * 1635 - First public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts. * 1660 - Treaty of Oliwa is established between Sweden and Poland. * 1661 - King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey. * 1815 - The Second Serbian Uprising (1815-1817) was a second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire. * 1867 - William Lincoln patents the zoetrope, a machine which shows animated pictures by mounting a strip of drawings in a wheel. * 1920 - The national council in Turkey denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces a temporary constitution. * 1920 - The Grand National Assembly of Turkey is founded in Ankara. * 1923 - Inauguration ceremonies take place of Gdynia as a temporary military port and fishers' shelter. * 1932 - The 153-year old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, the Netherlands burns down. * 1935 - Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted. * 1940 - The Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people. * 1941 - World War II: Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the attacking Wehrmacht. * 1942 - World War II: Baedeker Blitz - German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck. * 1948 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, the major port of Israel, is captured from Arab forces. * 1955 - The Canadian Labour Congress is formed by the merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour. * 1961 - Algiers putsch by French generals. * 1967 - A group of young radicals are expelled from the Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN). This group goes on to found the Socialist Workers Party (POS). * 1968 - Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university. see main article Columbia University protests of 1968. * 1979 - Fighting in London between the Anti-Nazi League and the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group results in the death of protester Blair Peach. * 1982 - Conch Republic is established. * 1985 - Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. (The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.) * 1987 - 28 construction workers die when the L'Ambiance Plaza apartment building collapses while under construction in Bridgeport, Connecticut. * 1988 - Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon leaves the charts for its first time after spending a record of 741 consecutive weeks (over 14 years) on the Billboard 200. * 1990 - Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations. * 1993 - Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum. * 1997 - Omaria massacre in Algeria: 42 villagers are killed. * 2003 - Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus. * 1170 - Isabelle of Hainaut, queen of France (d. 1190) * 1185 - King Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223) * 1464 - Joan of France, Duchess of Berry, queen of France (d. 1505) * 1484 - Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian philosopher (d. 1558) * 1500 - Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (d. 1565) * 1516 - Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571) * 1598 - Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653) * 1621 - William Penn, English admiral (d. 1670) * 1628 - Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (d. 1704) * 1676 - King Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751) * 1720 - Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (d. 1797) * 1725 - Saint Gerard Majella, Catholic saint (d. 1755) * 1746 - Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794) * 1775 - J. M. W. Turner, English painter (d. 1851) * 1791 - James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868) * 1792 - John Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882) * 1794 - Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar (d. 1856) * 1805 - Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher (d. 1879) * 1813 - Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator from Illinois and Presidential candidate (d. 1861) * 1813 - Frédéric Ozanam, French scholar (Society of Saint Vincent de Paul) (d. 1853) * 1823 - Abd-ul-Mejid, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1861) * 1853 - Winthrop M. Crane, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920) * 1857 - Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919) * 1858 - Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947) * 1858 - Ethel Mary Smyth, English composer (d. 1944) * 1861 - Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, British general (d. 1936) * 1865 - Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943) * 1867 - Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1928) * 1872 - Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, British musician (d. 1951) * 1876 - Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian (d. 1925) * 1880 - Michel Fokine, Russian choreographer and dancer (d. 1942) * 1882 - Albert Coates, British composer (d. 1953) * 1888 - Georges Vanier, French-Canadian soldier and diplomat (d. 1967) * 1889 - Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942) * 1893 - Frank Borzage, American film director (d. 1952) * 1894 - Cow Cow Davenport, American pianist (d. 1955) * 1895 - Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand writer (d. 1982) * 1897 - Lucius Clay, American general (d. 1978) * 1897 - Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1972) * 1899 - Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1979) * 1899 - Minoru Shirota, inventor of Yakult (d. 1982) * 1900 - Joseph Green, Polish-born actor and director (d. 1996) * 1900 - Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (d. 1959) * 1901 - E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist (d. 1988) * 1902 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998) * 1903 - Guy Simonds, youngest general officer in the Canadian army (d. 1974) * 1904 - Duncan Renaldo, Spanish-American actor (d. 1985) * 1907 - Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975) * 1907 - Lee Miller, American photographer & model (d. 1977) * 1908 - Myron Waldman, American animator (d. 2006) * 1910 - Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005) * 1917 - Dorian Leigh, American supermodel (d. 2008) * 1918 - Maurice Druon, French author * 1919 - Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet double-agent * 1921 - Janet Blair, American actress (d. 2007) * 1921 - Warren Spahn, American baseball player (d. 2003) * 1923 - Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas * 1923 - Avram Davidson, American writer (d. 1993) * 1923 - Antonino Rocca, professional wrestler * 1924 - Chuck Harmon, American baseball player * 1924 - Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (d. 2007) * 1926 - J. P. Donleavy, Irish American author * 1928 - Shirley Temple, American actress and politician * 1932 - Jim Fixx, American athlete and writer (d. 1984) * 1932 - Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990) * 1934 - George Canseco, Filipino music composer (d. 2004) * 1935 - Bunky Green, American musician * 1936 - Roy Orbison, American singer and musician (d. 1988) * 1939 - Jorge Fons, Mexican film director * 1939 - Lee Majors, American actor * 1939 - Ray Peterson, American singer (d. 2005) * 1940 - Michael Copps, American Federal Government official * 1941 - Jacqueline Boyer, French singer * 1941 - Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland 1995-2003 * 1941 - Michael Lynne, American film executive * 1942 - Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005) * 1943 - Gail Goodrich, American basketball player * 1943 - Tony Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player * 1943 - Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter * 1943 - Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993) * 1947 - Glenn Cornick, British musician (Jethro Tull) * 1947 - Bernadette Devlin, Irish politician * 1948 - Pascal Quignard, French author * 1948 - Serge Thériault, French-Canadian comedian and actor * 1949 - David Cross, British violinist (King Crimson) * 1949 - Joyce DeWitt, American actress * 1952 - Narada Michael Walden, American musician and producer * 1954 - Michael Moore, American filmmaker * 1955 - Judy Davis, Australian actress * 1955 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001) * 1957 - Kenji Kawai, Japanese composer * 1957 - Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer and art director * 1958 - Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic music composer * 1958 - Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player * 1960 - Valerie Bertinelli, American actress * 1960 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (d. 1991) * 1960 - Claude Julien, French-Canadian ice hockey player and coach * 1961 - Terry Gordy, American professional wrestler (d. 2001) * 1961 - George Lopez, American actor and comedian * 1962 - Hillel Slovak Former guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers (d. 1988) * 1962 - John Hannah, Scottish actor * 1963 - Paul Belmondo, French actor and racing driver * 1963 - Magnús Ver Magnússon, Icelandic powerlifter * 1967 - Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player * 1967 - Melina Kanakaredes, American actress * 1968 - Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (d. 2001) * 1968 - Princess Aisha bint Al Hussein of Jordan * 1968 - Princess Zein bint Al Hussein of Jordan * 1969 - Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast * 1969 - Byron Thames, American actor * 1969 - Richard Wolstencroft, Australian Filmmaker * 1969 - Martin López-Zubero, Spanish swimmer * 1970 - Scott Bairstow, American actor * 1970 - Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league footballer * 1970 - Dennis Bayne Culp, American singer/songwriter * 1970 - Sadao Abe, Japanese actor * 1971 - Charmaine Sinclair, English model * 1972 - Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet * 1972 - Patricia Manterola, Mexican singer * 1972 - Sonya Smith, American actress * 1973 - Patrick Poulin, French-Canadian ice hockey player * 1974 - Carlos Dengler, American musician (Interpol) * 1974 - Barry Watson, American actor * 1975 - Jón Þór Birgisson, Icelandic musician and singer (Sigur Rós) * 1975 - Bobby Shaw, American football wide receiver for the NFL * 1977 - John Cena, American professional wrestler * 1977 - Andruw Jones, Curaçaoan baseball player * 1977 - Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player * 1977 - Kal Penn, American actor * 1977 - Lee Young-Pyo, Korean footballer * 1979 - Barry Fratelli, Scottish bassist (The Fratellis) * 1979 - Yana Gupta, Indian actress & model * 1979 - Jaime King, American actress * 1979 - Lauri Ylönen, Finnish singer (The Rasmus) * 1981 - Sean Henn, American baseball player * 1981 - Joanna Krupa, Supermodel/actress * 1981 - Chris Sharma, American rock climber/boulderer * 1982 - Taio Cruz, London/English R&B, Pop, Hip Hop singer * 1983 - Daniela Hantuchová, Slovakian tennis player * 1983 - Jennifer Heil, Canadian free style skier * 1984 - Alexandra Kosteniuk, Chess Woman World Champion * 1985 - Angel Locsin, Filipina TV and movie actress * 1986 - Sven Kramer, Dutch speedskater * 1986 - Jessica Stam, Canadian supermodel * 1987 - Emily Fox, American cupstacking champion * 1988 - Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer * 1989 - Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player * 1990 - Matthew Dillon Underwood, American actor * 303 - Saint George, Roman soldier and Christian martyr * 725 - Wihtred, King of Kent * 871 - Ethelred of Wessex * 997 - Saint Adalbert of Prague, bishop (b. c. 956) * 1014 - Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (killed in battle) * 1016 - Ethelred II of England * 1124 - King Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078) * 1151 - Queen Adeliza of England (b. 1103) * 1217 - King Inge II of Norway (b. 1185) * 1407 - Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326) * 1605 - Tsar Boris Godunov of Russia (b. c. 1550) * 1616 - Miguel Cervantes, Spanish author (b. 1547) * 1616 - William Shakespeare, English writer and actor (b. 1564) (Julian calendar) * 1616 - El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Peruvian writer (b. 1539) * 1625 - Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (b. 1567) * 1702 - Margaret Fell, English Quaker leader (b. 1614) * 1740 - Thomas Tickell, English writer (b. 1685) * 1781 - James Abercrombie, British general (b. 1706) * 1792 - Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer (b. 1741) * 1794 - Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (executed) (b. 1721) * 1827 - Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek hero of the Greek War of Independence * 1839 - Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French explorer (b. 1768) * 1850 - William Wordsworth, English poet (b. 1770) * 1889 - Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, French writer (b. 1808) * 1895 - Carl Ludwig, German physician (b. 1815) * 1905 - Gédéon Ouimet, Quebec politician (b. 1823) * 1907 - Alfred Packer, American Cannibal (b. 1842) * 1915 - Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887). * 1936 - Teresa de la Parra, Venezuelan writer (b. 1889) * 1951 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865) * 1952 - Julius Freed, American inventor and banker (b. 1887) * 1975 - William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908) * 1979 - Blair Peach, New Zealand-born anti-fascist (b. 1946) * 1981 - Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and writer (b. 1897) * 1983 - Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908) * 1984 - Red Garland, American jazz pianist (b. 1923) * 1985 - Sam Ervin, American politician (b. 1896) * 1986 - Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905) * 1986 - Jim Laker, English cricketer (b. 1922) * 1986 - Otto Preminger, Austrian-born film director (b. 1906) * 1990 - Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1911) * 1991 - Johnny Thunders, American musician (b. 1952) * 1992 - Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker (b. 1921) * 1993 - César Chávez, American labor activist (b. 1927) * 1995 - Howard Cosell, American sports journalist (b. 1918) * 1995 - John C. Stennis, U.S. Senator from Mississippi (b. 1904) * 1996 - Jean-Victor Allard, Canadian military officer (b. 1913) * 1996 - P. L. Travers, Australian author (b. 1899) * 1997 - Denis Compton, English cricketer (b. 1918) * 1998 - Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek politician (b. 1907) * 1998 - James Earl Ray, American assassin (b. 1928) * 2003 - James H. Critchfield, American Central Intelligence agent (b. 1917) * 2003 - Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer (b. 1910) * 2005 - Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (b. 1911) * 2005 - Al Grassby, Australian immigration minister (b. 1928) * 2005 - John Mills, English actor (b. 1908) * 2005 - Romano Scarpa, Italian-born comic artist (b. 1927) * 2005 - Earl Wilson, American baseball player (b. 1934) * 2006 - Johnnie Checketts, New Zealand fighter pilot (b. 1912) * 2007 - Paul Erdman, American economist and author (b. 1932) * 2007 - David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (b. 1934) * 2007 - Boris Yeltsin, first President of the Russian Federation (b. 1931)

* UNESCO International Day of the Book in honor of the death of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes on April 23, 1616. * Turkey - National Sovereignty and Children's Day (1920) * Feast Day of Saint George: ** Patron saint and National Day of England ** Patron saint of Catalonia * Castile and León - Castile and León Day * Saint Adalbert of Prague * Saint Gerard (d. 1138) * World Book and Copyright Day TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA.

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