Did you know
Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England
Notable Deaths on April 12
103 people
45 BC – 2026
April 12 has seen 103 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 45 BC – 2026. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1866 — Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood
English politician, founded Fleetwood (born 1801)
Did you know
Predeceased by an older brother, he inherited estates in west Lancashire in 1824
Did you know
Inspired by the transport developments of the early 19th century, he decided to bring the railway to the Lancashire coast and develop a holiday resort and port
Did you know
He hired architect Decimus Burton to design his new town, which he named Fleetwood; construction began in 1836
Did you know
Hesketh-Fleetwood was instrumental in the formation of the Preston and Wyre Railway Company and with his financial support, a railway line was built between Preston and Fleetwood which opened in 1840.
Roman general and politician (born 75 BC)
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was a Roman politician and general from the late Republic.
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-45
352
archbishop of Constantinople
Maximianus of Constantinople was the archbishop of Constantinople from 25 October 431 until his death on 12 April 434.
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434
Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI
Eudokia Baïana was a Byzantine empress consort as the third wife of Leo VI the Wise.
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901
Duke of Bohemia (born 1065)
Vladislaus I was Duke of Bohemia from 1109 to 1117 and from 1120 until his death.
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1125
king of Sweden (born c. 1130)
Karl Sverkersson or Charles VII was the ruler of Götaland, and then King of Sweden from c. 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated in a military attack by Knut Eriksson who then succeeded him as king.
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1167
Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (born c. 1217)
Margaret of Bourbon was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1234 until 1253 as the third wife of Theobald I of Navarre. After her husband's death, she ruled both the kingdom and the county as regent for…
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1256
English archbishop (born 1364)
Henry Chichele was Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–1443) and founded All Souls College, Oxford.
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1443
Count of Gorz (born 1440)
Leonhard was the last count of Gorizia from the Meinhardiner dynasty. He ruled at Lienz and Gorizia (Görz) from 1454 until his death. He also held the title and rights as a count palatine of Carinthia.
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1500
Princess of Castile (born 1462)
Joanna of Castile, known as la Beltraneja, was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.
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1530
1550
1555
English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (born 1609)
Richard Bennett was an English planter and Governor of the Colony of Virginia, serving 1652–1655. He had first come to the Virginia colony in 1629 to represent his merchant uncle Edward Bennett's business, managing his…
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1675
Italian instrument maker (born 1596)
Nicola Amati, Nicolò Amati or Nicolao Amati was an Italian master luthier from Cremona, Italy. Amati is one of the most well-known luthiers from the Casa Amati. He was the teacher of illustrious Cremonese School…
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1684
English-American soldier (born 1619)
Ambrose Dixon was an early American Quaker pioneer who was born in England and emigrated to America at an early age where he lived in the Virginia Colony before moving to Maryland.
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1687
French bishop and theologian (born 1627)
Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and literary stylist of the French language.
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1704
English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (born 1685)
William Kent was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but his…
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1748
Italian-Austrian poet and composer (born 1698)
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.
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1782
French-Italian composer (born 1719)
Charles-Antoine Campion, italianized as Carlo Antonio Campioni was a French-Italian composer who was born in the Duchy of Lorraine. He was a prolific composer and represented a link between Baroque compositional…
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1788
Bavarian general (born 1710)
Johann Kaspar (Jean-Gaspard) Reichsgraf Basselet von La Rosée was a leading Bavarian general.
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1795
English composer and historian (born 1726)
Charles Burney was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist and book donor to…
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1814
French astronomer and academic (born 1730)
Charles Messier was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the Messier objects, referred to with the letter M and their number…
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1817
American lexicographer and missionary (born 1788)
Adoniram Judson was an American Particular Baptist missionary who worked in Burma for almost 40 years. At the age of 25, Judson was sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led…
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1850
Greek composer and theorist (born 1795)
Nikolaos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros was a Greek-Italian composer, born in Corfu. He was a major representative and founder of the so-called Ionian school of music.
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1872
American lawyer and politician (born 1823)
William Magear "Boss" Tweed" was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New…
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1878
Confederate general (born 1826)
Richard "Dick" Taylor was an American planter, politician, military historian, and Confederate general. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, Taylor joined the Confederate States Army, serving first as a…
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1879
Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (born 1817)
William Lodewyk Crowther FRCS was a Tasmanian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 20 December 1878 to 29 October 1879.
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1885
Canadian cardinal (born 1820)
Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1871 until his death in 1898. The first Canadian cardinal, he was elevated to the College of…
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1898
French physicist and academic (born 1842)
Marie Alfred Cornu was a French physicist and professor of École polytechnique. The Cornu spiral, a graphical device for the computation of light intensities in Augustin-Jean Fresnel's model of near-field diffraction,…
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1902
Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (born 1836)
Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, was an Indian Sanskrit scholar during the Bengal Renaissance. He served as the principal of the Sanskrit College from 1876 to 1895 and was a colleague of…
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1906
American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (born 1821)
Clarissa Harlow "Clara" Barton was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not very…
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1912
Greek jourtnalist (born 1848)
Vlasis Gavriilidis was a prominent Greek journalist who in 1883 founded the progressive newspaper Akropolis in Athens. He played a significant role in the politics of the day, often supporting the demoticist movement in…
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1920
American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (born 1835)
Adelbert Ames was an American sailor, soldier, businessman and politician who served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. A Radical Republican, he was a military governor, U.S.…
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1933
Turkish playwright and poet (born 1852)
Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan was an early 20th-century Ottoman playwright and poet. He was one of the leading lights of the Turkish Romantic period. He is known in Turkish literature as "Şair-i Azam" and "Dahi-i Azam".
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1937
Russian opera singer (born 1873)
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the…
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1938
Estonian colonel (born 1889)
Viktor Puskar VR I/1 was an Estonian military commander (Colonel) during the Estonian War of Independence.
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1943
American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (born 1882)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving US president and the only one to have served more than two…
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1945
Australian actor and therapist (born 1880)
Lionel George Logue was an Australian speech and language therapist and amateur stage actor who helped King George VI manage his stammer.
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1953
Scottish racing driver (born 1923)
William Ronald Flockhart was a British racing driver. He participated in 14 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, achieving one podium finish and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race twice.
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1962
English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (born 1910)
Sydney Herbert Allard was a British businessman and rally and hillclimb driver. He was the founder of the Allard car company and competed in cars of his own manufacture.
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1966
German engineer (born 1899)
Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff was a German engineer who led the rebuilding of Volkswagen (VW) after World War II. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine on Feb. 15, 1954.
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1968
American baseball player and dentist (born 1886)
Edward Francis Lafitte was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12), Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–15), and Buffalo Blues (1915). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, at his…
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1971
American songwriter and producer (born 1894)
Arthur Freed was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for An American in Paris and in 1958 for Gigi. Both films were musicals, and both were…
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1973
French actress, activist, and humanitarian (born 1906)
Freda Josephine Baker, also spelled Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to star in a…
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1975
Greek mountain guide (born 1882)
Christos Kakkalos was a Greek mountain guide. He led the 1913 expedition of the Swiss Daniel Baud-Bovy and Frédéric Boissonnas and is considered the first climber to have ascended Mytikas, the highest peak of Mount…
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1976
American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (born 1894)
Philip Knight Wrigley was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the son of William Wrigley Jr.
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1977
Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (born 1913)
William Richard Tolbert Jr. was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until his assassination in 1980.
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1980
Prince Yasuhiko Asaka was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family and served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. He was…
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1981
1981
Norwegian football player and journalist (born 1906)
Jørgen Juve was a Norwegian football player, jurist, journalist, and non-fiction writer. For most of his career, he played as a striker for Lyn. He also played for a season at Basel in Switzerland before retiring and…
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1983
American baseball player (born 1944)
Carl Wendle Morton was an American professional baseball pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves. Morton was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 1970…
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1983
American admiral and cryptanalyst (born 1903)
Edwin Thomas Layton was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Layton is most noted for his work as an intelligence officer before and during World War II. He was the father of the historian Edwin T. Layton, Jr.
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1984
Russian author and playwright (born 1897)
Valentin Petrovich Kataev was a Soviet writer and editor who managed to create penetrating works discussing post-revolutionary social conditions without running afoul of the demands of official Soviet style. Kataev is…
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1986
French singer and actress (born 1927)
Colette Deréal was a French actress and singer. She is best known for representing Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961.
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1988
South African historian and author (born 1903)
Alan Stewart Paton was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), Too Late the Phalarope (1953), and the short story The Waste Land.
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1988
American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (born 1936)
Abbot Howard Hoffman was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the Flower Power…
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1989
American boxer (born 1921)
Walker Smith Jr., better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded as the…
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1989
Italian racing driver and businessman (born 1911)
Ilario Bandini was an Italian businessman, racing driver, and racing car manufacturer.
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1992
American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906)
George Wald was an American scientist and activist who studied pigments in the retina. He won a share of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Haldan Keffer Hartline and Ragnar Granit.
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1997
Canadian poet and diplomat (born 1915)
Robert Arthur Douglas Ford, was a Canadian poet, translator and diplomat.
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1998
American singer-songwriter (born 1931)
Lecil Travis Martin, whose stage name was Boxcar Willie, was an American country music singer-songwriter, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with overalls and a floppy hat. "Boxcar Willie" was…
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1999
American illustrator, created the smiley (born 1921)
Harvey Ross Ball was an American commercial artist. He played a major role in the adoption and design of the modern day smiley face, which became an enduring and notable international icon. Ball was approached by…
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2001
Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (born 1908)
George Shevelov was a Ukrainian-American professor, linguist, philologist, essayist, literary historian, and literary critic. A longtime professor of Slavic philology at Columbia University, he challenged the prevailing…
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2002
Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (born 1925)
Edward James Moran Campbell, was a Canadian physician. He was the founding Chair of the Department of Medicine at McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences from 1968 to 1975. He was also the inventor of the Venturi mask.
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2004
American minister and activist (born 1924)
William Sloane Coffin Jr. was an American Christian clergyman and peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. In his younger days…
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2006
Australian journalist (born 1936)
Kevin John Crease was a South Australian television presenter and news presenter. He was most noted for presenting South Australian edition of the Nine Network's National Nine News with Rob Kelvin between 1987 and 2007.
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2007
English-American figure skater and coach (born 1920)
Magdalena Cecilia Colledge was a British figure skater. She was the 1936 Olympic silver medalist, the 1937 World Champion, the 1937–1939 European Champion, and a six-time British national champion.
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2008
Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (born 1923)
Patrick John Hillery was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the European Commission and European Commissioner…
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2008
Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (born 1949)
Jerry Zucker was an Israeli-born American businessman, investor, inventor and philanthropist.
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2008
American actress
Marilyn Ann Taylor, known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer, and vice-presidential candidate. She was known for her 1972 hardcore film debut,…
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2009
Canadian trade union leader (born 1916)
Michel Chartrand was a Canadian trade union leader from Quebec.
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2010
German director and screenwriter (born 1945)
Werner Schroeter was a German film director, screenwriter, and opera director known for his stylistic excess. Schroeter was cited by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as an influence both on his own work and on German cinema at…
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2010
Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (born 1962)
Karim Fakhrawi, also known as Abdulkarim Ali Ahmed Fakhrawi, was a Bahraini publisher who was the co-founder of Al-Wasat, considered one of the more popular newspapers in Bahrain by winning numerous awards. He died…
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2011
Indian poet and playwright (born 1934)
Mohit Chattopadhyaya was a Bengali Indian playwright, screenwriter, dramatist and poet. He was a leading figure in modern Indian drama. Mohit Chottopadhya died on 12 April 2012 due to throat cancer.
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2012
American pianist and composer (born 1935)
Rodgers Lee Grant was an American jazz pianist, composer, and lyricist. After working with saxophonist Hugo Dickens in the 1950s, he became pianist for Mongo Santamaría in the 1960s. In 1963, Grant wrote the hit "Yeh!…
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2012
American chess player and author (born 1928)
Robert Eugene Byrne was an American chess player and chess author who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). He won the U.S. Championship in 1972, and was a World Chess Championship Candidate in 1974. Byrne…
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2013
South African boxer (born 1964)
Johnny du Plooy was a South African former heavyweight boxer best known for his win over former WBA World Heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. He challenged once for the WBO World Heavyweight title in 1989.
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2013
American screenwriter (born 1962)
Michael France was an American screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the screenplays for Cliffhanger (1993), the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), and the comic book films Hulk (2003), The Punisher (2004), and…
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2013
American priest and author (born 1934)
Richard Francis Xavier Manning, known as Brennan Manning, was an American author, laicized Catholic priest, and public speaker. He is best known for his bestselling book The Ragamuffin Gospel.
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2013
Hungarian journalist and politician (born 1961)
Annamária Szalai was a Hungarian journalist, politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Zala County, Fidesz (1998–2004). She became a member of the National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT) in 2004, and as a result…
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2013
Israeli rabbi and politician (born 1946)
Ya'akov Yosef was an Israeli rabbi and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shas between 1984 and 1988.
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2013
French author and poet (born 1947)
Pierre Autin-Grenier was a French author. The catalogue of the Bibliothèque nationale de France gives his date of birth as 1947, though later dates ranging through to 1953 are quoted on various web pages including at…
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2014
French cyclist (born 1960)
Pierre-Henri Menthéour was a French professional road bicycle racer.
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2014
Brazilian footballer (born 1990)
Maurício Alves Peruchi or simply Maurício, was a Brazilian football striker. He started his career in Fluminense FC and last played for US Boulogne in Championnat National.
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2014
2014
American race car driver (born 1953)
William Gerald Standridge was an American stock car racing driver. He was a competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Busch Series.
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2014
Brazilian jurist and politician (born 1924)
Paulo Brossard de Souza Pinto was a Brazilian jurist and politician. Born in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, he graduated in Law and served several terms as a parliamentarian in his state and in the National Congress as well.…
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2015
Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (born 1950)
Patrice Dominguez was a French tennis player born in Algeria. He reached a career high ranking of No. 36 in 1973. He represented France in the Davis Cup between 1971 and 1979.
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2015
German commander (born 1916)
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide…
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2015
Gabonese politician (born 1957)
André Mba Obame was a Gabonese politician. After serving as an adviser to President Omar Bongo in the 1980s, he was a minister in the government of Gabon from 1990 to 1991 and again from 1997 to 2009; during that time,…
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2015
Emirati politician & diplomat (born 1930)
Mohamed Abdallah AlGaz, was a financier, developer, diplomat, central banker and philanthropist in the early years of the United Arab Emirates. AlGaz became a member of Dubai’s first generation of market-making…
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2016
American actress (born 1925)
Anne Jackson was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-starred. In 1956, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a…
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2016
American actor and comedian (born 1959)
Charles Quinton Murphy was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was best known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show, and a co-star of the sitcom Black Jesus. He…
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2017
American football player (born 1983)
Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Alabama State Hornets. He…
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2020
American actor and producer (born 1955)
Joseph Siravo was an American actor. He acted on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning productions of Oslo and The Light in the Piazza. His roles in film and television included Johnny Soprano in The Sopranos and Fred…
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2021
American comedian, actor, and singer (born 1955)
Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was best known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York dialect, his squint, and his edgy, often controversial sense of humor. His…
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2022
Italian fashion designer and inventor (born 1940)
Roberto Cavalli was an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He was known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The Roberto Cavalli fashion house sells luxury clothing, perfume, and…
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2024
American filmmaker (born 1936)
Eleanor Jessie Coppola was an American documentary film director, screenwriter, and artist. A member of the Coppola family, she was married to director Francis Ford Coppola from 1963 until her death. She was best known…
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2024
Canadian-American journalist and author (born 1931)
Robert Breckenridge Ware MacNeil, often known as Robin MacNeil, was a Canadian-American journalist, writer and television news anchor. He partnered with Jim Lehrer to create the landmark public television news program…
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2024
Filipino singer-songwriter and actress (born 1939)
Pilar "Pilita" Garrido Corrales was a Filipino singer, actress and comedian. She was known for her distinctive backbend when singing and was popularly referred to as the "Greatest singer in the Philippines" and "Asia's…
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2025
Indian playback singer, businesswoman, actress and television personality (born 1933)
Asha Bhosle was an Indian playback singer, businesswoman, actress and television personality who predominantly worked in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she was described in the media as one of the greatest…
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2026
Chris Payton-Jones was an American professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
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2026
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April 12 in the Blog
Apollo 13 Accident — April 12, 1970
Discover the story of Apollo 13 Accident on April 13, 1970 in Mission Control, Houston, Texas, USA.
Read the full storyNotable deaths
Who died on April 12?
Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood — English politician
FeaturedPeter Hesketh-Fleetwood
Death year1866
Known forBorn Peter Hesketh, he changed his name by Royal assent to Hesketh-Fleetwood, incorporating the name of his ancestors, and was later created Baronet Fleetwood
Deaths on this date103 (45 BC – 2026)
Explore April 12
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on April 12 in History
2026
The Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar wins the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, defeating Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, which had ruled the country for 16 years, marking the first change in government in Hungary for over a decade. Wikipedia →
2014
The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying more than 2,500 homes. Wikipedia →
2013
See all events on April 12
Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali. Wikipedia →
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