April 2 in History

Liberation Day tariffs: U.S. President Donald Trump announces sweeping worldwide tariffs.

Viertola school shooting: A 12-year-old pupil is killed and two others injured by a shooter of the same age in Vantaa, Finland.

At least 49 people are killed in a train derailment in Taiwan after a truck accidentally rolls onto the track.

A Capitol Police officer is killed and another injured when an attacker rams his car into a barricade outside the United States Capitol.

COVID-19 pandemic: The total number of confirmed cases reach one million.

Gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya, killing at least 148 people and wounding 79 others.

Four men steal items worth up to £200 million from an underground safe deposit facility in London's Hatton Garden area in what has been called the "largest burglary in English legal history."

A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood army base in Texas, with four dead, including the gunman, and 16 others injured.

A mass shooting at Oikos University in California leaves seven people dead and three injured.

UTair Flight 120 crashes after takeoff from Roshchino International Airport in Tyumen, Russia, killing 33 and injuring 10.

India wins the Cricket World Cup for the second time in history under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed.

Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted.

Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, into which armed Palestinians had retreated.

In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.

Forty-two civilians are massacred in the town of Bijeljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.

Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist, best known for the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987.

Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act.

A Soviet bio-warfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock.

Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.

Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 crashes into the Polica mountain near Zawoja, Poland, killing 53.

After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.

The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.

American entry into World War I: President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.

The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.

Canadian Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, killing nine.

American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia.

American Civil War: The largest in a series of Southern bread riots occurs in Richmond, Virginia.

French Revolutionary Wars: In the Battle of Copenhagen a British Royal Navy squadron defeats a hastily assembled, smaller, mostly-volunteer Dano-Norwegian Navy at high cost, forcing Denmark out of the Second League of Armed Neutrality.

Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.

The Coinage Act is passed by Congress, establishing the United States Mint.

Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on the west coast of India.

J. S. Bach's cantata Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, is first performed in Leipzig on Easter Monday.

Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Johns River.

Election of Pope Honorius IV following the death of Pope Martin IV.

Seljuq sultan Muhammad I Tapar begins the siege of Shahdiz, a fortress of the Nizari Ismailis.

Brenda Fruhvirtová, Czech tennis player

Adrián Liso, Spanish footballer

Diana Shnaider, Russian tennis player

Emma Myers, American actress

Rodrigo Riquelme, Spanish footballer

Josip Stanišić, Croatian footballer

Dillon Bassett, American race car driver

Abdelhak Nouri, Dutch footballer

Austin Riley, American baseball player

Zach Bryan, American singer-songwriter

André Onana, Cameroonian footballer

Zack Steffen, American soccer player

Pascal Siakam, Cameroonian basketball player

Keshorn Walcott, Trinidadian javelin thrower

Bruno Zuculini, Argentine footballer

Quavo, American rapper

Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast

Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer

Amr El Solia, Egyptian footballer

Ellen Adarna, Filipino actress, model and public figure

Renée Good, American writer, poet and shooting victim (died 2026)

Jesse Plemons, American actor

Pablo Aguilar, Paraguayan footballer

Shane Lowry, Irish Professional Golfer, winner of the 2019 Open Championship and European Team Member for the 2021 and 2023 Ryder Cups

Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer

Andris Biedriņš, Latvian basketball player

Drew Van Acker, American actor, model and producer

Thom Evans, Zimbabwean-Scottish rugby player

Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater

Engin Atsür, Turkish basketball player

Nóra Barta, Hungarian diver

Jérémy Morel, French footballer

Miguel Ángel Moyá, Spanish footballer

Arthur Boka, Ivorian footballer

Maksym Mazuryk, Ukrainian pole vaulter

Marco Amelia, Italian footballer

David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player

Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer

Kapil Sharma, Indian stand-up comedian, television presenter and actor

Avi Benedi, Israeli singer and songwriter

Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist

Gavin Heffernan, Canadian director and screenwriter

Ricky Hendrick, American race car driver (died 2004)

Wairangi Koopu, New Zealand rugby league player

Carlos Salcido, Mexican international footballer

Per Elofsson, Swedish skier

Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor and producer

Hanno Pevkur, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice

Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter

Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer

Nate Huffman, American basketball player (died 2015)

Randy Livingston, American basketball player

Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, German rower

Pattie Mallette, Canadian author and film producer

Pedro Pascal, Chilean and American actor

Tayfun Korkut, Turkish football manager and former player

Dmitry Lipartov, Russian footballer

Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican-American actress

Aleksejs Semjonovs, Latvian footballer

Eyal Berkovic, Israeli footballer

Remo D'Souza, Indian choreographer and dancer

Calvin Davis, American sprinter and hurdler (died 2023)

Zane Lamprey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, Brazilian footballer

Jason Lewry, English cricketer

Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player and sportscaster

Ajay Devgn, Indian actor, director, and producer

Greg Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Phil Demmel, American guitarist and songwriter

Bill Romanowski, American football player and actor

Teddy Sheringham, English international footballer and coach

Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (died 2012)

Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player and coach

Jonathon Sharkey, American wrestler

Karl Beattie, English director and producer

Mike Gascoyne, English engineer

Pierre Carles, French director and producer

Billy Dean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Clark Gregg, American actor

Buddy Jewell, American singer-songwriter

Christopher Meloni, American actor

Keren Woodward, English singer-songwriter

Linford Christie, Jamaican-English sprinter

Brad Jones, Australian race car driver

Pascale Nadeau, Canadian journalist

Gelindo Bordin, Italian runner

David Frankel, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver

Yves Lavandier, French director and producer

Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and manager

Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby player

Larry Drew, American basketball player and coach

Caroline Dean, English biologist and academic

Hank Steinbrenner, American businessman (died 2020)

Michael Stone, Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary

Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer

Donald Petrie, American actor and director

Jim Allister, Northern Irish lawyer and politician

Rosemary Bryant Mariner, 20th and 21st-century U.S. Navy aviator (died 2019)

Malika Oufkir, Moroccan Berber writer

Debralee Scott, American actress (died 2005)

James Vance, American author and playwright (died 2017)

Lennart Fagerlund, Swedish cyclist

Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer

Lynn Westmoreland, American politician

Paul Gambaccini, American-English radio and television host

Bernd Müller, German footballer

Pamela Reed, American actress

David Robinson, American drummer

Roald Als, Danish author and illustrator

Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (died 2012)

Daniel Okrent, American journalist and author

Joan D. Vinge, American author

Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer, songwriter and actress (died 2025)

Tua Forsström, Finnish writer

Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Camille Paglia, American author and critic

Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer

Jürgen Drews, German singer-songwriter

Guy Fréquelin, French race car driver

Linda Hunt, American actress

Reggie Smith, American baseball player and coach

Don Sutton, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2021)

Anne Waldman, American poet

Bill Malinchak, American football player

Caterina Bueno, Italian singer (died 2007)

Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (died 2017)

Antonio Sabàto, Sr., Italian actor (died 2021)

Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2016)

Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor

Dr. Demento, American radio host

Sonny Throckmorton, American country singer-songwriter

Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater and coach

Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (died 1981)

Penelope Keith, English actress (died 2026)

Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (died 1984)

Anthony Lake, American academic and diplomat, 18th United States National Security Advisor

Lise Thibault, Canadian journalist and politician, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of The Salvation Army (died 2022)

Booker Little, American trumpet player and composer (died 1961)

Al Weis, American baseball player

Dick Radatz, American baseball player (died 2005)

Shaul Ladany, Serbian-Israeli race walker and engineer

Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (died 2007)

Brian Glover, English wrestler and actor (died 1997)

Carl Kasell, American journalist and game show host (died 2018)

György Konrád, Hungarian sociologist and author (died 2019)

Edward Egan, American cardinal (died 2015)

Keith Hitchins, American historian (died 2020)

Vladimir Kuznetsov, Russian javelin thrower (died 1986)

Ed Dorn, American poet and educator (died 1999)

Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (died 1991)

Carmen Basilio, American boxer and soldier (died 2012)

Howard Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (died 2014)

Rita Gam, American actress (died 2016)

Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (died 2014)

Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (died 2006)

George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish author and screenwriter (died 2008)

Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television host (died 1987)

Bobby Ávila, Mexican baseball player (died 2004)

Gloria Henry, actress (died 2021)

Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer, coach, and manager (died 2015)

G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician, psychologist, and author (died 2016)

John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (died 2015)

Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and civil servant (died 2004)

Jack Stokes, English animator and director (died 2013)

Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1982)

Delfo Cabrera, Argentinian runner and soldier (died 1981)

Alec Guinness, English actor (died 2000)

Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1980)

Chico Xavier, Brazilian spiritual medium (died 2002)

Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (died 2003)

Harald Andersson, American-Swedish discus thrower (died 1985)

Luke Appling, American baseball player and manager (died 1991)

Alphonse-Marie Parent, Canadian priest and educator (died 1970)

Lionel Chevrier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Justice (died 1987)

Jan Tschichold, German-Swiss graphic designer and typographer (died 1974)

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe (died 1994)

Roberto Arlt, Argentinian journalist, author, and playwright (died 1942)

Anis Fuleihan, Cypriot-American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1970)

Alfred Strange, English footballer (died 1978)

Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (died 1990)

Johnny Golden, American golfer (died 1936)

Jack Buchanan, Scottish entertainer (died 1957)

Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor, and poet (died 1976)

Tristão de Bragança Cunha, Indian nationalist and anti-colonial activist from Goa (died 1958)

Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (died 1975)

J. C. Squire, English poet, author, and historian (died 1958)

Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (died 1940)

William Donne, English cricketer and captain (died 1942)

Edmund Dwyer-Gray, Irish-Australian politician, 29th Premier of Tasmania (died 1945)

Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (died 1928)

Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1947)

Iván Persa, Slovenian priest and author (died 1935)

Dominic Savio, Italian Catholic saint, adolescent student of Saint John Bosco (died 1857)

Clément Ader, French engineer, designed the Ader Avion III (died 1926)

Émile Zola, French novelist, playwright, journalist (died 1902)

Léon Gambetta, French lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of France (died 1882)

Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer (died 1907)

William Holman Hunt, English soldier and painter (died 1910)

Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (died 1879)

Hans Christian Andersen, Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet (died 1875)

August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and academic (died 1874)

Samuel Bogart, Texas state legislator (died 1861)

Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (died 1840)

Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (died 1871)

Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet and author (died 1862)

Wilhelmine Reichard, German balloonist (died 1848)

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French lawyer and politician (died 1826)

Giacomo Casanova, Italian explorer and author (died 1798)

Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (died 1803)

Francesca Cuzzoni, Italian operatic soprano (died 1778)

Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland (died 1708)

Maria Sibylla Merian, German-Dutch botanist and illustrator (died 1717)

Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (died 1663)

Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Franciscan abbess (died 1665)

Pietro Della Valle, Italian traveler (died 1652)

Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (died 1599)

Elisabeth of Valois, queen consort of Spain (died 1568)

John Corvinus, Hungarian noble (died 1504)

Charlemagne, Frankish king (died 814)

Emperor Xian of Han, Chinese emperor (died 234)

Khamtai Siphandone, Laotian politician, 4th President of Laos (born 1924)

Jerry Abbott, American country music songwriter and record producer (born 1942)

John Barth, American writer (born 1930)

Maryse Condé, Guadeloupean novelist, critic, and playwright (born 1934)

Christopher Durang, American playwright (born 1949)

Larry Lucchino, American attorney and baseball executive (born 1945)

John Sinclair, American poet (born 1941)

Juan Vicente Pérez, Venezuelan supercentenarian (born 1909)

Estelle Harris, American actress and comedian (born 1928)

Simon Bainbridge, British composer (born 1952)

Alma Delia Fuentes, Mexican actress (born 1937)

Gallieno Ferri, Italian comic book artist and illustrator (born 1929)

Robert Abajyan, Armenian sergeant (born 1996)

Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1908)

Robert H. Schuller, American pastor and author (born 1926)

Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician, Governor of Limburg (born 1954)

Urs Widmer, Swiss author and playwright (born 1938)

Fred, French author and illustrator (born 1931)

Jesús Franco, Spanish director, screenwriter, producer, and actor (born 1930)

Milo O'Shea, Irish-American actor (born 1926)

Jesús Aguilarte, Venezuelan captain and politician (born 1959)

Elizabeth Catlett, American-Mexican sculptor and illustrator (born 1915)

Mauricio Lasansky, American graphic designer and academic (born 1914)

John C. Haas, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1918)

Chris Kanyon, American wrestler (born 1970)

Albert Sanschagrin, Canadian bishop (born 1911)

Bud Shank, American saxophonist and flute player (born 1926)

Yakup Satar, Turkish World War I veteran (born 1898)

Henry L. Giclas, American astronomer and academic (born 1910)

Lloyd Searwar, Guyanese anthologist and diplomat (born 1925)

Lillian O'Donnell, American crime novelist (born 1926)

Pope John Paul II (born 1920)

John Argyris, Greek computer scientist, engineer, and academic (born 1913)

Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (born 1942)

Levi Celerio, Filipino composer and songwriter (born 1910)

John R. Pierce, American engineer and author (born 1910)

Charles Daudelin, Canadian sculptor and painter (born 1920)

Rob Pilatus, American-German singer-songwriter (born 1965)

Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese director and producer (born 1910)

Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1908)

Betty Furness, American actress, consumer advocate, game show panelist, television journalist and television personality (born 1916)

Marc Fitch, British historian and philanthropist (born 1908)

Juanito, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1954)

Jan van Aartsen, Dutch politician (born 1909)

Manolis Angelopoulos, Greek singer (born 1939)

Buddy Rich, American drummer, songwriter, and bandleader (born 1917)

Walter Wolf, German academic and politician (born 1907)

Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (born 1911)

Franz Halder, German general (born 1884)

Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial artist and educator (born 1887)

C. S. Forester, English novelist (born 1899)

Hoyt Vandenberg, US Air Force general (born 1899)

Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (born 1885)

Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (born 1907)

Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (born 1862)

Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (born 1860)

Ranjitsinhji, Indian cricketer (born 1872)

Zewditu I of Ethiopia (born 1876)

Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1868)

Topal Osman, Turkish colonel (born 1883)

Bryn Lewis, Welsh international rugby player (born 1891)

Paul Heyse, German author, poet, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1830)

Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (born 1852)

Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (born 1803)

Albert Pike, American lawyer and general (born 1809)

Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek playwright and politician, 249th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1823)

Samuel Morse, American painter and academic, invented the Morse code (born 1791)

A. P. Hill, American general (born 1825)

Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (born 1763)

Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and educator (born 1776)

Johann Heinrich Jung, German author and academic (born 1740)

Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish judge and politician (born 1721)

Thomas Dadford, Jr., English engineer (born 1761)

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (born 1749)

Thomas Gage, English general and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (born 1719)

Thomas Carte, English historian and author (born 1686)

Johann Jacob Dillenius, German-English botanist and mycologist (born 1684)

James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (born 1675)

Joseph Dudley, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (born 1647)

Pedro Calungsod, Filipino missionary and saint (born 1654)

Diego Luis de San Vitores, Spanish Jesuit missionary (born 1627)

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1608)

Jean-Jacques Olier, French priest, founded the Society of Saint-Sulpice (born 1608)

Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and poet (born 1595)

Bernard VII, Lord of Lippe, German nobleman (born 1428)

Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded the Order of the Minims (born 1416)

Arthur, prince of Wales (born 1486)

Ferdinand I, king of Aragon (born 1379)

Ruy González de Clavijo, Spanish explorer and author

Henry of Bohemia (born 1265)

Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English husband of Sanchia of Provence (born 1209)

Henrik Harpestræng, Danish botanical and medical author

Baldwin I, king of Jerusalem

Bardas Skleros, Byzantine general

Yuan Dezhao, Chinese chancellor (born 891)

Muflih al-Turki, Turkish general

Æbbe the Younger, Frankish abbess

Hasan ibn Ali the second Shia Imam (born 624)