1889 – 1970 – Charlie Chaplin, English comic actor (The Great Dictator, The Gold Rush), filmmaker, film editor and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film.

1918 – 2002 – Spike Milligan, Anglo-Irish comedian and writer (The Goon Show, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Down Among the Z Men).

1921 – 2004 – Peter Ustinov, English actor (Spartacus, Death on the Nile, Blackbeard’s Ghost) and the voice of Prince John in Disney’s animated film, Robin Hood.

1939 – 1999 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (“Son of a Preacher Man”, “The Look of Love”).

1943 – 2022 – Ruth Madoc, Welsh actress, best known for her role as Gladys Pugh in the BBC television comedy Hi-de-Hi!

1947 – 2011 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer (“Baker Street”), songwriter and founding member of Stealers Wheel (“Stuck in the Middle with You”).

1960 – Rafael Benítez (66), Spanish professional football manager (Panathinaikos) and former player (Real Madrid), born in Madrid, Spain.

1963 – Jimmy Osmond (63), American singer and youngest member of the group, the Osmonds (“Long Haired Lover From Liverpool”), born in Los Angeles, California, United States.

1963 – Nick Berry (63), Retired English actor (Eastenders, Heartbeat) and pop singer (“Every Loser Wins”, “Heartbeat”), born in Woodford, East London.

1965 – Martin Lawrence (61), American actor (Bad Boys, Big Momma’s House, Life) and comedian, born in Frankfurt, Germany.

1969 – Gabrielle (57), English singer and songwriter (“Dreams”, “Rise”, “Out Of Reach”), born in London Borough of Hackney, London.

1971 – Max Beesley (55), English actor (The Gentlemen, Hotel Babylon, Suits), born in Burnage, Manchester.

1973 – Akon (53), Senegalese-American singer (“Lonely”, “Locked Up”, “Smack That”), born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

1984 – Claire Foy (42), English actress (The Girl in the Spider’s Web) best known for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, born in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

1996 – Anya Taylor-Joy (30), American-born English actress (The Queen’s Gambit, The Menu, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Peaky Blinders), born in Miami, Florida, United States.

1998 – Fred Davis (b. 1913), English professional snooker and billiards player winning eight World Snooker Championships from 1948 to 1956.

2021 – Helen McCrory (b. 1968), English actress (Peaky Blinders, Skyfall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

1912 – American Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel. She took off from Dover, en route to Calais, France and made the flight in 59 minutes, landing about 25 miles from Calais, on a beach. Although Quimby died at the age of thirty-seven (in an aeroplane accident), she had a major influence upon the role of women in aviation.

1919 – Gandhi organised a day of ‘prayer and fasting’ in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British. Official Government of India sources estimated the fatalities at 379, with 1,100 wounded, many of them women and children.

1921 – The birth of Peter Ustinov (Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov), English actor, film maker and writer. He was also a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and chancellor of Durham University from 1992 until his death in 2004.

1941 – The Little Theatre in the Adelphi (located on John Adam Street, south of the Strand) permanently closed following a severe German bombing on the night of 16 April 1941. Although there were initial hopes for rebuilding, the theatre was never restored and was eventually demolished in 1949 for commercial development.

1945 – The Battle of Berlin took place between 16 April to 2 May 1945 and was one of the last major battles of the Second World War in Europe. Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin mistrusted the Western Allies and wanted to capture Berlin first.

1951 – The Royal Navy submarine HMS Affray sank in the English Channel during a training exercise, resulting in the deaths of all 75 crew and passengers on board. The vessel was located months later near Hurd Deep, marking the last loss of a Royal Navy submarine at sea.

1953 – Queen Elizabeth II launched the Royal Yacht Britannia at Clydeside in Scotland. She was used by the British Royal Family for state visits and diplomatic missions for the next 45 years and is now permanently moored as an exhibition ship at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh.

1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.

1964 – Twelve members of the Great Train Robbery gang, who stole £2.6m in used bank notes after holding up the night mail train travelling from Glasgow to London, were sentenced to a total of 307 years.

1986 – Brewery heiress Jennifer Guiness was released in Dublin after being kidnapped and held hostage for 7 days.

1987 – Michael Jordan became only the second NBA player in history to score 3,000 points in a single season. During the 1986-87 season, Jordan totaled 3,041 points joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to achieve this milestone.

1996 – The Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, announced that they were to divorce.

1997 – A comprehensive DNA database for wild birds was developed to combat the illegal theft of eggs and chicks, with significant advancements in this forensic technology highlighted in recent years. This database allows scientists and wildlife forensic experts, such as those at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), to map DNA samples from wild birds to pinpoint the parents of chicks or eggs in the wild, thus proving they were stolen.

2003 – The Treaty of Accession was signed in Athens, Greece officially paving the way for ten new countries; Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia to join the European Union. This largest-ever enlargement became effective on May 1, 2004, increasing the EU from 15 to 25 member states.

2004 – The Cunard liner Queen Mary 2 (QM2) embarked on her first Transatlantic crossing, a key moment following her maiden voyage in January of that year. As the largest and most powerful ocean liner ever constructed, she began regularly scheduled service between Southampton and New York, reinforcing the classic route with modern luxury.

2006 – Actor Colin Farrell reached a confidential, amicable settlement with his ex-girlfriend, former Playboy model Nicole Narain, to prevent the public release of a sex tape they filmed together in 2003.

2008 – It was announced that Karen Matthews (aged 32, from Dewsbury) was to stand trial alongside Michael Donovan, charged with the kidnapping and false imprisonment of her 9 year old daughter Shannon who disappeared on 19th February. On 23rd January 2009, Matthews and Donovan were sentenced to eight years in prison by Mr. Justice McCombe. In February 2017 a British television drama of the kidnap (entitled ‘The Moorside’) was shown on BBC Television.

2017 – A record-setting 662 Charlie Chaplin lookalikes gathered at the Chaplin’s World museum in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. Participants dressed as the “Little Tramp” to mark what would have been his 128th birthday, setting a certified record for the largest gathering of Chaplin lookalikes.

2020 – 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore had raised over £12 million for NHS Charities, having completed his 100th lap of his Bedfordshire garden with the help of a walking frame. By the time his fundraising page closed on his 100th birthday (30 April 2020), he had raised over £32.79 million. Following his achievement, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2020, becoming Sir Tom Moore. Captain Sir Tom Moore passed away on 2 February 2021.

2025 – Chinese Chess grandmaster Ju Wenjun won her fifth Women’s World Chess Championship title in a row. Ju became only the fourth woman to win five world championship titles, joining legends Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili, and Maia Chiburdanidze.

2025 – It was announced that researchers filmed a juvenile colossal squid measuring approximately 30 cm, in its natural habitat for the first time, almost exactly 100 years after the species was first identified. The video footage was captured near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean on March 9.

1956 – Chuck Berry recorded “Roll Over Beethoven” which was released by Chess Records the following month. It is said that Berry wrote the song in response to his sister Lucy always using the family piano to play classical music when Berry wanted to play pop music. The lyric “roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news” refers to how classical composers would roll over in their graves upon hearing that classical music had given way to rock and roll.

1964 – The Rolling Stones first album was released in the UK, it went to No.1 two weeks later and stayed on the chart for 40 weeks, with 11 weeks at No.1. The American edition of the LP, with a slightly different track list, came out on London Records on 30 May 1964, subtitled England’s Newest Hit Makers, which later became its official title.

1969 – Desmond Dekker and the Aces were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Israelites’, making Dekker the first Jamaican artist to have an UK No.1 single.

1970 – The Led Zeppelin single ‘Whole Lotta Love’ was certified Gold in the US after selling over a million copies. The single had peaked at No. 4 on the US singles chart. In the UK, Atlantic Records had expected to issue the edited version themselves, and pressed initial copies for release on 5th December 1969. However, band manager Peter Grant was adamant that the band maintain a ‘no-singles’ approach to marketing their recorded music in the UK, and he halted the release.

1972 – The Electric Light Orchestra made their debut at The Fox and Greyhound in Croydon, London. ELO were formed to accommodate former Move members Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne’s desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones. Wood departed following the band’s debut record, Lynne wrote and arranged all of the group’s original compositions and produced every album.

1977 – David Soul one half of TV cop show Starsky & Hutch, went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’, his only US hit. Also No.1 in the UK.

1993 – Paul McCartney headlined an “Earth Day” benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl on April 16, 1993, marking his first performance there since The Beatles’ 1965 appearance. The concert, featuring Ringo Starr, Don Henley, Steve Miller Band, k.d. lang, 10,000 Maniacs, PM Dawn, Bruce Cockburn, and Kenny Loggins was a major environmental fundraiser.

1994 – Prince had his first UK No.1 with ‘The Most Beautiful Girl In The World’, (his 37th single release). It was his first release since changing his stage name to a symbol.

1705 – Queen Anne of England knighted the scientist Isaac Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge.

1746 – Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) was defeated at the Battle of Culloden Moor by British government forces under the command of William, Duke of Cumberland. Cumberland’s army comprised 16 infantry battalions, including four Scottish units and one Irish. The bloody battle earned the Duke the name ‘Butcher Cumberland’. The Young Pretender Charles Stuart escaped and was later helped by Flora Macdonald to flee the country.

1786 – The birth of John Franklin, English Arctic explorer who, in 1845, was assigned to traverse the last, unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage. After being icebound for more than a year, his ships Erebus and Terror were abandoned and by that point Franklin and nearly two dozen others had died. The survivors, led by Franklin’s deputy Francis Crozier and Erebus’ captain James Fitzjames, set out for the Canadian mainland and disappeared. In 2014, a Canadian search team discovered the wreck of Erebus. Two years later, the Arctic Research Foundation found the wreck of his ship Terror. Both sites are now protected as a combined National Historic Site.

1847 – The shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand Wars.

1886 – The death of Alexander Balfour, Scottish merchant and founder of the Liverpool shipping company ‘Balfour Williamson’. He was a committed philanthropist, and founded the Duke Street Home, to provide better conditions for sailors, and orphanages for their children.

1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English-born film actor and director was born. Chaplin was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1972, having been previously excluded because of his political beliefs. He died on the 25th December 1977 (aged 88) in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

1895 – The birth of Sir Ove Arup, English structural engineer, to Danish parents. He built the Sydney Opera House and worked with Sir Basil Spence on Coventry Cathedral.