Who was born on April 2?
April 2 is packed with notable birthdays. Explore 117 famous birthdays, sorted by recent English Wikipedia pageviews. Top ranked names include Marvin Gaye, Diana Shnaider, Emma Myers, Alec Guinness, Zach Bryan. Filter by actor, musician, athlete, and more — or open any other calendar day.
April 2
117 people
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Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (né Gay; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Commonly referred to as the "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul", he helped to shape the sound of Motown and soul music in the 1960s and 1970s. A cultural icon, Gaye is often considered one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Gaye began his career being guided by Harvey Fuqua, who put him in his group, Harvey and the Moonglows, before Gaye ventured into a solo career at the beginning of the 1960s. Signing to Motown's Tamla subsidiary, he achieved stardom with a series of hit singles such as "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and also earned success as a collaborative duet partner with several female artists, most notably, Diana Ross and Tammi Terrell, the latter of whom recorded the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Following the successful release of his landmark album, What's Going On and its hit of the same name, in 1971, Gaye became one of the first Motown artists to break away from the reins of a production company, later producing the albums, Let's Get It On, I Want You and Here, My Dear. After a period as a tax exile in Europe from 1980 to 1981 and leaving Motown for Columbia Records in 1982, Gaye re-emerged that year with "Sexual Healing" and its album, Midnight Love, which became his most successful single and album respectively to date and performed a memorable rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. The success of "Sexual Healing" led to Gaye winning an American Music Award and two Grammy Awards. On April 1, 1984, Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr. at his parents' house in Western Heights, Los Angeles, on the eve of his 45th birthday. Gay Sr. later pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, receiving a six-year suspended sentence and five years of probation. In addition to 1960s soul music, Gaye also influenced 1970s soul music and his recordings of that era later influenced the R&B subgenres quiet storm and neo soul. Several of his hit singles and albums have made several best-of Rolling Stone lists, including its greatest albums and greatest songs of all time. In addition to the two Grammys and American Music Award, Gaye's accolades include the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star and inductions into the NAACP Hall of Fame, National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Diana Shnaider
Diana Maximovna Shnaider (Russian: Диа́на Макси́мовна Шна́йдер, pronounced [dʲɪˈanə mɐˈksʲiməvnə ˈʂnajdɨr]; born 2 April 2004) is a Russian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of No. 11, achieved on 5 May 2025, and a best doubles ranking of No. 8, reached on 16 June 2025. Shnaider has won five singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and was a silver medalist in women's doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Mirra Andreeva.
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Emma Myers
Emma Elizabeth Myers (born April 2, 2002) is an American actress. She is best known for her breakthrough role as Enid Sinclair in the Netflix series Wednesday (2022–present). She has since appeared in the television series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2024–present), and in films such as Family Switch (2023) and A Minecraft Movie (2025), with the latter earning her a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award. She was featured in the 2026 class of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
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Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI listing of the 100 most important British films of the 20th century, he was the single most noted actor, represented across nine films—six in starring roles and three in supporting roles—including five directed by David Lean and four from Ealing Studios. His accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, a Tony Award and a Volpi Cup. In 1959, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in 1980 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 1989. Guinness began his stage career in 1934. Two years later, at the age of 22, he played the role of Osric in Hamlet in the West End and joined the Old Vic. He continued to play Shakespearean roles throughout his career. He served in the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War and commanded a landing craft during the invasion of Sicily and Elba. Along with Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, he was one of the great British theatre actors who made the transition to films after the war, making his name in six Ealing comedies, starting in 1949 with both A Run for Your Money and Kind Hearts and Coronets (in which he played eight different characters). He went on to lead roles in 1951 with The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill Mob (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor), then in 1955 with The Ladykillers, and culminating in 1957 with Barnacle Bill. Guinness collaborated six times with director David Lean: as Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946); Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948); Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), for which he won both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor; Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962); General Yevgraf Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965); and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India (1984). In 1970, Guinness played Jacob Marley's ghost in Ronald Neame's Scrooge. He also portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy, which brought him further recognition; for his performance in the original 1977 film, he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for the Academy Award and Golden Globe. Guinness's later life was closely associated with his definitive depiction of the leading role of George Smiley in the BBC television series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People by John le Carré.
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Zach Bryan
Zachary Lane Bryan (born April 2, 1996) is an American country singer-songwriter. Born in Yokosuka, Japan, and raised in Oologah, Oklahoma, he released two self-produced studio albums, DeAnn (2019) and Elisabeth (2020), before signing with Warner Records to release his third album and major label debut American Heartbreak (2022), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and was led by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Something in the Orange". His self-titled fourth album (2023) debuted atop the Billboard 200, while its lead single, "I Remember Everything" (featuring Kacey Musgraves), peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts simultaneously, also earning him a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. His fifth studio album, The Great American Bar Scene (2024), peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten single "Pink Skies". Throughout his career, Bryan has won several awards, including an Academy of Country Music Award, a Grammy Award and four Billboard Music Awards. He has sold over 30 million albums and singles, according to the RIAA.
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Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012) was an African-American man who on March 3, 1991 became a victim of police brutality when he was severely beaten by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high speed pursuit on California's state freeway, Interstate 210 having initially evaded arrest. George Holliday, an uninvolved resident, saw and filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and then sent the footage, which showed an unarmed King on the ground being beaten, to KTLA, a local news station who broadcast the film, which was then rebroadcast by other stations casting a worldwide spotlight on the LAPD and King. King was taken to Pacifica Hospital after his arrest where he was found to have suffered a fractured facial bone, a broken right ankle, and multiple bruises and lacerations. Nurses later reported that the officers who accompanied King openly joked and bragged about the number of times they had hit him. Blood and urine samples taken five hours after his arrest measured King's blood alcohol content at 0.075%, below the legal limit of 0.08%. The LAPD initially charged King with "felony evading", but later dropped the charge. Upon his release, King spoke to reporters from his wheelchair, with his injuries evident: a broken right leg in a cast, his face badly cut and swollen, bruises on his body, and a burn area on his chest where he had been jolted with a stun gun. King described the beating and also stated that he was scared for his life when the officers drew their guns on him. Three of the four officers were charged with excessive force. Within hours of their acquittals the 1992 Los Angeles riots started, sparked by outrage among minorities over the trial's verdict as well as long-standing societal issues. King appeared on television to advocate for peace, that has been often paraphrased as "Can we all just get along?". The federal government prosecuted a separate civil rights case, obtaining grand jury indictments of the four officers for violations of King's civil rights. In April 1993, two of the officers were found guilty in federal court and sentenced to prison while the other two were acquitted. In a separate civil lawsuit in 1994, a jury found the City of Los Angeles liable and awarded King $3.8 million.
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Ajay Devgn
Vishal Virender Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who mainly works in Hindi films. He has appeared in over 100 films and has won numerous accolades, including four National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. In 2016, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian honour. Devgn made his film debut with the action romance Phool Aur Kaante (1991), which established him as a leading star. He went on to star in action films such as Jigar (1992), Vijaypath (1994), Suhaag (1994), Dilwale (1994), Naajayaz (1995), Jaan (1996), Major Saab (1998) and Kachche Dhaage (1999), as well as romantic films including Ishq (1997), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998) and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). His dramatic performance in Zakhm (1998) earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor. In the 2000s, Devgn saw limited commercial success, but gained critical acclaim for films, including Company (2002), The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Gangaajal (2003), Khakee (2004), Raincoat (2004), Apaharan (2005) and Omkara (2006). For portraying Bhagat Singh in The Legend of Bhagat Singh, he received his second National Film Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. He made a comeback in 2010 with three back-to-back hits, Golmaal 3, Raajneeti and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and continued to star in several commercially successful ventures, such as Singham (2011), Bol Bachchan (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), Singham Returns (2014), Drishyam (2015), Raid (2018), Shaitaan (2024), Raid 2 (2025) and Dhamaal 4 (2026). His highest-grossing releases include Tanhaji (2020) and Drishyam 2 (2022). For playing the title role in Tanhaji, he won his third National Film Award for Best Actor. Devgn owns the production company Ajay Devgn FFilms, established in 1999. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker Rohit Shetty and is married to actress Kajol, with whom he has two children.
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Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( AN-dər-sən; Danish: [ˈhænˀs ˈkʰʁestjæn ˈɑnɐsn̩, - ˈkʰʁæs-] ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish writer. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes, have been translated into more than 125 languages. They have become embedded in Western collective consciousness, accessible to children as well as presenting lessons known for their virtue. His most famous fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Red Shoes", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Match Girl", and "Thumbelina." Andersen's stories have inspired ballets, plays, and animated and live-action films.
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Thom Evans
Thom Evans (born 2 April 1985) is a Scottish former international rugby union player and model. He last played on the wing for Glasgow Warriors in the Celtic League. Evans's rugby career ended aged 24 on his tenth appearance for Scotland when he suffered a serious neck injury.
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Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr.; April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), was an American actor and dancer, widely known for his role as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971) as well as his title role in the television detective drama Barnaby Jones (1973–1980). Also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen. Originally a dancer, Ebsen began his film career in Broadway Melody of 1936. He also appeared as a dancer with child star Shirley Temple in Captain January (1936). He was cast to appear in The Wizard of Oz (1939), originally as the Scarecrow, but before filming began, his role was changed to the Tin Man. He fell seriously ill during filming due to the aluminum dust in his makeup and was forced to drop out. He appeared with Maureen O'Hara in They Met in Argentina (1941) and June Havoc in Sing Your Worries Away (1942). In Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), he portrayed Doc Golightly, the much older husband of Audrey Hepburn's character. Before his starring role in The Beverly Hillbillies, Ebsen had a successful television career, the highlight of which was his role as Davy Crockett's sidekick, George Russell, in Walt Disney's Davy Crockett miniseries (1953–54).
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Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (French: [sɛʁʒ(ə) ɡɛ̃zbuʁ] ; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative releases which caused uproar in France, dividing public opinion. His artistic output ranged from his early work in jazz, chanson, and yé-yé to later efforts in rock, zouk, funk, reggae, and electronica. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorise, although his legacy has been firmly established and he is often regarded as one of the world's most influential popular musicians. Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, which have been covered more than 1,000 times by diverse artists. His lyrical works incorporated wordplay, with humorous, bizarre, provocative, sexual, satirical or subversive overtones. Since his death from a second heart attack in 1991, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. While controversial in his lifetime, he has become one of France's best-loved public figures. He has also gained a cult following across the world with chart success in the United Kingdom and Belgium with "Je t'aime... moi non plus" and "Bonnie and Clyde", respectively.
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Leon Russell
Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and the Tulsa sound. His recordings earned six gold records and he received two Grammy Awards from seven nominations. In 1973 Billboard named Russell the "Top Concert Attraction in the World". In 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Russell collaborated with many notable artists and recorded 33 albums and 430 songs. He wrote "Delta Lady," recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in 1970. His "A Song for You," which was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been recorded by more than 200 artists, and his song "This Masquerade" by more than 75. As a session pianist with The Wrecking Crew, Russell played in his early years on albums by the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Dick Dale, and Jan and Dean. On his first album, Leon Russell, in 1970, the musicians included Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. One of his early fans, Elton John, said that Russell was a "mentor" and an "inspiration". They recorded their album The Union in 2010, earning them a Grammy nomination. Russell produced and played in recording sessions for Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, and many other artists. He wrote and recorded the hits "Tight Rope" and "Lady Blue". He performed at The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, along with Harrison, Dylan, and Clapton; for this, he earned a Grammy Award.
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Quavo
Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo ( KWAY-voh), is an American rapper and record producer. He is the frontman of the hip-hop duo (formerly a trio, until the death of his nephew Takeoff in 2022) Migos. Formed with Takeoff and their mutual friend Offset in 2008, the group released four commercially successful studio albums before disbanding in 2023 and reuniting in 2026. As a solo act, Marshall has guest performed on six Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles: Post Malone's diamond-certified "Congratulations", Justin Bieber's "Intentions", Liam Payne's "Strip That Down", Drake's "Portland", and DJ Khaled's "No Brainer" and "I'm the One", the latter of which peaked atop the chart. His debut studio album, Quavo Huncho (2018), peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the platinum-certified single "Workin Me". His second album, Rocket Power (2023), peaked at number 18 and was released in memory of Takeoff, who was fatally shot the year prior.
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Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (; Italian: [ˈdʒaːkomo dʒiˈrɔːlamo kazaˈnɔːva, kasa-]; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and writer who was born in the Republic of Venice and travelled extensively throughout Europe. He is chiefly remembered for his autobiography, written in French and published posthumously as Histoire de ma vie ("The Story of My Life"). That work has come to be regarded as a unique and provocative source of information on the customs and norms of European social life in the 18th century. Born to a family of actors, Casanova studied law at the University of Padua and received minor orders in the Catholic Church with a view towards pursuing a career as a canon lawyer. However, he had no enthusiasm for the law or vocation for the church, and he soon abandoned those plans and launched instead upon an itinerant life as a gambler, violinist, confidence trickster, and man of letters. Throughout his life, Casanova obtained money and other advantages from various aristocratic patrons by pretending to possess alchemical, cabbalistic, and magical secret knowledge. Among other exploits, Casanova escaped from the Piombi prison, to which he had been confined by order of the Venetian Council of Ten for offenses against religion and morals, and later helped convince the authorities of the Kingdom of France to establish a state lottery as a source of revenue. Casanova, who often misrepresented himself as an aristocrat, used a variety of pseudonyms, including Baron or Count of Farussi (his mother's maiden name) and the invented title Chevalier de Seingalt (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ɡɑl]). After he began writing in French, following his second exile from Venice, he often signed his works as "Jacques Casanova de Seingalt". In his autobiography, Casanova reports encounters with popes, cardinals, and monarchs, as well as with major intellectual and artistic figures such as Voltaire, Goethe, and Mozart. The most notorious aspect of Casanova's career are his many complicated sexual affairs with women, stretching from his early adolescence to his old age, which he described in detail in his autobiography. As a consequence of this, Casanova's name has become a byword for a male seducer and libertine, like "Lothario" or "Don Juan". He spent his final years in Bohemia, where he served as librarian to the household of Count Waldstein and resided at Dux Castle, where he wrote his autobiography.
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Émile Zola
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also US: ; French: [emil zɔla]; 2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in his renowned newspaper opinion headlined J'Accuse...! Zola was nominated for the first and second Nobel Prizes in Literature in 1901 and 1902.
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Pascal Siakam
Pascal Siakam ( see-AH-kəm; born 2 April 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A four-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection, he won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Nicknamed "Spicy P", Siakam played college basketball for the New Mexico State Aggies and was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2016. He was selected by Toronto with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft. After being assigned to the NBA Development League (now the G League) as a rookie in 2017, Siakam led Toronto's affiliate team to a league championship, earning Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors. He was named the NBA Most Improved Player in 2019, becoming the first player to win the award and an NBA title in the same season. The following year, Siakam led Toronto to the second-best record in the league, earning All-NBA Second Team while being named a starter in his first NBA All-Star Game. He became the first player to play in the G League and to start an All-Star game. After a second All-Star selection in 2023, Siakam was traded to the Pacers during the 2023–24 season. In 2025, he earned a third All-Star appearance and was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP en route to his second NBA Finals appearance. In 2026, he earned a fourth All-Star appearance.
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Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), also known professionally as Dr. Demento, is a retired American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and unusual recordings. Hansen created the Demento persona in 1970 while working at KPPC-FM in Pasadena, California. After playing "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus on air, DJ "The Obscene" Steven Clean remarked that Hansen had to be "demented" to play it; Clean and Peter Wolf then devised a "mythical character" named Dr. Demento that would become Hansen's persona. His weekly show went into syndication in 1974 and was syndicated by the Westwood One Radio Network from 1978 to 1992. Broadcast syndication of the show ended on June 6, 2010, but the show continued weekly online until his retirement in October 2025. Hansen holds a master's degree in ethnomusicology and has written for magazines and as a liner notes author for recording artists outside the novelty genre. He is credited with introducing generations of listeners to early and mid-20th-century artists such as Harry McClintock, Spike Jones, Jimmy Durante, Benny Bell, Rusty Warren, Yogi Yorgesson, Nervous Norvus, Allan Sherman, Ray Stevens, Candy Candido, Stan Freberg, and Tom Lehrer. He also helped bring "Weird Al" Yankovic to national attention.
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Bill Romanowski
William Thomas Romanowski (born April 2, 1966) is an American former football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. Nicknamed "Romo" and "RomoCop", he spent the majority of his career with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos. Romanowski played college football for the Boston College Eagles, receiving second-team All-American honors in 1987, and was selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 1988 NFL draft. He played six seasons each in San Francisco and Denver. Romanowski was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders for two seasons each. At the time of his retirement, Romanowski won four Super Bowl titles, two each with the 49ers and Broncos, and twice received Pro Bowl honors during his Broncos tenure. He also led a controversial career due to often engaging in unsportsmanlike behavior, which resulted in altercations with opponents and teammates.
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Ibrahim Afellay
Ibrahim Afellay (Arabic: إبراهيم أفيلاي; born 2 April 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He currently works for Dutch broadcaster NOS as a football pundit. He played youth football at Elinkwijk before joining the PSV Eindhoven youth academy at age 10. After debuting in 2004, he represented PSV for eight seasons, helping them to four Eredivisie titles before moving to Barcelona for €3 million in January 2011. Rarely used by Barcelona and marred by injury, he was loaned to Schalke 04 and Olympiacos before signing for Stoke City in 2015. Afellay spent three seasons with Stoke before ending his career back at PSV. Making his Netherlands national team debut in 2007, Afellay appeared at the 2010 World Cup, contributing to the Dutch side finishing in second place in the tournament. He was also present at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, making over 50 appearances in total.
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Elisabeth of Valois
Elisabeth of France, or Elisabeth of Valois (Spanish: Isabel de Valois; French: Élisabeth de Valois; 2 April 1546 – 3 October 1568), was Queen of Spain as the third wife of Philip II of Spain.
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Paul Gambaccini
Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American–British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and "The Professor of Pop", Gambaccini was a BBC Radio 1 presenter for 16 years, including 11 years on a weekly show counting down the Billboard Top 30 songs. A regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's long-running arts programme Kaleidoscope, Gambaccini was a long-time TV morning show correspondent for British television, and makes regular appearances on other British TV magazine shows. Gambaccini was the host of the 12-part Classic FM series Paul Gambaccini's Hall of Heroes, and chairs the Radio 4 music quiz Counterpoint. He was presenter of Pick of the Pops on BBC Radio 2 from 9 July 2016, to 7 October 2023 and America's Greatest Hits on Greatest Hits Radio on Saturday afternoons from February 2020 until February 2026. He now presents the Paul Gambaccini Collection on Radio 2 which began on 29 October 2023. He was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in 2005. Gambaccini is the author of more than 15 books.
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Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1955 to 1970. Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, in 1959, 1960 and 1966, and 14 Grands Prix across 16 seasons. He co-founded Brabham in 1960, leading the team to two World Constructors' Championship titles, and remains the only driver to have won the World Drivers' Championship in an eponymous car. Brabham was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic and ran a small engineering workshop before he started racing midget cars in 1948. His successes with midgets in Australian and New Zealand road racing events led to his going to Britain to further his racing career. There he became part of the Cooper Car Company's racing team, building as well as racing cars. He contributed to the design of the mid-engined cars that Cooper introduced to Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and won the Formula One world championship in 1959 and 1960. In 1962 he established his own Brabham marque with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, which in the 1960s became the largest manufacturer of custom racing cars in the world. In the 1966 Formula One season Brabham became the only man to win the Formula One world championship driving one of his own cars. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving World Champion of the 1950s. After the 1970 Formula One season, Brabham retired to Australia, where he bought a farm and maintained business interests, which included the Engine Developments racing engine manufacturer and several garages.
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Michael Clarke
Michael John Clarke (born 2 April 1981) is an Australian former cricketer. He was captain of the Australian cricket team in both Test and One Day International (ODI) between 2011 and 2015, leading Australia to victory in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He also served as captain of the Twenty20 International (T20I) team between 2007 and 2010. With his time representing Australia, Clarke won multiple ICC titles with the team: the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2015 Cricket World Cup which he was the winning captain, and the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. Nicknamed "Pup", Clarke was a right-handed middle-order batsman, an occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler and also a slip catcher. He represented New South Wales at a domestic level. Clarke retired from all forms of cricket after the final Test of the 2015 Ashes series.
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Zack Steffen
Zackary Thomas Steffen (born April 2, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids. Steffen began his youth career with West Chester United before joining the Philadelphia Union in 2012. In May 2013, Steffen committed to playing college soccer for the Maryland Terrapins. He established himself as the starting goalkeeper, spending two seasons with the Terrapins before joining German club SC Freiburg, being assigned to play with the reserves. In July 2016, Steffen returned to the United States with the Columbus Crew, joining United Soccer League club Pittsburgh Riverhounds on loan the following month. From the next season, Steffen would establish himself as the starting goalkeeper for the Columbus Crew, winning the Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2018. In December 2018, Steffen agreed to join Premier League club Manchester City. He signed in July 2019 before immediately being loaned to Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf for the 2019–20 season. He was the starting goalkeeper but was then sidelined for the remainder of the loan due to injuries. He returned to Manchester City the following season, serving as a backup to Ederson. In April 2021, Steffen won his first career trophy, starting in the final of the EFL Cup; he kept a clean sheet as Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur 1–0. In January 2024, Steffen agreed to leave Manchester City and returned to Major League Soccer for the first time since 2018, signing with the Colorado Rapids. Steffen had represented the United States youth teams before being called into the senior squad in May 2016. He made his senior debut in January 2018 against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the starting goalkeeper for the United States during the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, leading the side into the final where they were defeated 1–0 by Mexico. He then served as backup to Brad Guzan through the Nations League but then became the starting keeper in the finals. Steffen started the final against Mexico but was substituted in the 69th minute by Ethan Horvath after suffering a knee injury. The United States would go on to win 3–2 in extra time, earning Steffen his first international honor.
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Michael Stone
Michael Anthony Stone (born 2 April 1955) is a British former militant who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. He was convicted of three counts of murder committed at an IRA funeral in 1988. In 2000, he was released from prison on licence under the Good Friday Agreement. In November 2006, Stone was charged with the attempted murder of Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams, having been arrested attempting to enter the parliament buildings at Stormont while armed. He was convicted and sentenced in 2008 to 16 more years' imprisonment, before being released on parole in 2021.
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Prince George of Denmark
Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland (Danish: Jørgen; 2 April 1653 – 28 October 1708), was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of George and Anne was arranged in the early 1680s with a view to developing an Anglo-Danish alliance to contain Dutch maritime power. As a result, George was disliked by his Dutch brother-in-law, William of Orange, who was married to Anne's elder sister, Mary. Anne and Mary's father, the British ruler James II, was deposed in the Glorious Revolution in 1688, and William and Mary succeeded him as joint monarchs with Anne as heir presumptive. The new monarchs granted George the title of Duke of Cumberland. William excluded George from active military service, and neither George nor Anne wielded any great influence until after the deaths of Mary and then William, at which point Anne became queen. During his wife's reign, George occasionally used his influence in support of his wife, even when privately disagreeing with her views. He had an easy-going manner and little interest in politics; his appointment as Lord High Admiral of England in 1702 was largely honorary. Anne's seventeen pregnancies by George resulted in twelve miscarriages or stillbirths, four infant deaths, and a chronically ill son, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, who died at the age of eleven. Despite the deaths of their children, George and Anne's marriage was a strong one. George died aged 55 from a recurring and chronic lung disease, much to the devastation of his wife, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey.
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Ellen Adarna
Ellen Meriam Go Adarna-Ramsay (born April 2, 1988) is a Filipino former actress, model, and former internet celebrity. Her family owns various hotels, condominiums and Queensland and Madonna, a chain of motels in Cebu, Manila and Davao. They also own a temple in honor of her late grandmother (Temple Of Leah). A Gravure model, Adarna has appeared in various magazine covers in the Philippines, such as Candy, FHM, Esquire, UNO, Preview, Speed and Women's Health.
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Donald Jackson
Donald George Jackson (born April 2, 1940) is a Canadian retired figure skater. He is the 1962 World Champion, four-time Canadian national champion, and 1960 Olympic bronze medallist. At the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, he landed the first triple Lutz jump in international competition and won the world title.
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Gregory Abbott
Gregory Joel Abbott (born April 2, 1954) is an American singer, musician, composer and producer. Although he continues to record to date, he is best known for his singles in the mid-1980s including his platinum single, "Shake You Down", from his 1986 debut album.
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Linford Christie
Linford Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former sprinter and athletics coach. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. He was the first European athlete to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m and held the British record in the event for close to 30 years. He is a former world indoor record holder over 200 metres, and a former European record holder in the 60 metres, 100 m and 4 × 100 metres relay. He remains one of the most highly decorated British athletes of all-time. By the end of his track career Christie had won 24 medals overall, more than any other British male athlete before or since. In 1993 he was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Christie tested positive for a banned stimulant in 1988 during the Seoul Olympics. In 1999 he was suspended for two years by the IAAF after the banned substance nandrolone was found in a test, although he had been effectively in retirement since 1997. As a coach, two of his charges, Darren Campbell and Katharine Merry, went on to win Olympic and World medals.
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Walter Chrysler
Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, automotive industry executive, and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler Corporation.
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Jim Allister
James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a British unionist politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 2007 and has led the party since its formation. Prior to his election to Westminster, Allister was a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim, having been first elected in the 2011 Assembly election. Allister had been a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since its foundation in 1971, and for which he successfully stood for election in the 2004 European Parliament election for Northern Ireland, succeeding Ian Paisley. He continued as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) following his resignation from the DUP and establishment of the TUV, serving until 2009. He is a supporter of Brexit. Allister also sits on the Great British PAC advisory board and is the group’s Northern Ireland envoy.
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Rodrigo Riquelme
Rodrigo Riquelme Reche (born 2 April 2000), also known as Roro, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis and the Spain national team.
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William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism. These features were influenced by the writings of John Ruskin and Thomas Carlyle, according to whom the world itself should be read as a system of visual signs. For Hunt, it was the duty of the artist to reveal the correspondence between sign and fact. Of all the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Hunt remained most true to their ideals throughout his career. He was always keen to maximise the popular appeal and public visibility of his works.
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Harindranath Chattopadhyay
Harindranath Chattopadhyay (2 April 1898 – 23 June 1990) was an Indian English poet, dramatist, actor, musician, and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, the second woman President of the Indian National Congress and first Indian woman to hold the position, and Virendranath Chattopadhyay, an international communist revolutionary. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1973.
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Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 1647 – 13 January 1717) was a German-Dutch entomologist, naturalist, and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to document observations about insects directly; her work established that insects have a life cycle and do not appear by spontaneous generation. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Merian family. Merian received her artistic training from her stepfather, Jacob Marrel, a student of the still life painter Georg Flegel. Merian published her first book of natural illustrations in 1675. She had started to collect insects as an adolescent. At age 13, she raised silkworms. In 1679, Merian published the first volume of a two-volume series on caterpillars; the second volume followed in 1683. Each volume contained 50 plates that she engraved and etched. Merian documented evidence on the process of metamorphosis and the plant hosts of 186 European insect species. Along with the illustrations Merian included descriptions of their life cycles. In 1699, Merian travelled to Dutch Guiana to study and record the tropical insects native to the region. In 1705, she published Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium. Merian's Metamorphosis has been credited with influencing a range of naturalist illustrators. Because of her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly, Merian is considered by David Attenborough to be among the more significant contributors to the field of entomology. She discovered many new facts about insect life through her studies. Until her careful, detailed work, it had been thought that insects were "born of mud" by spontaneous generation. Her pioneering research in illustrating and describing the various stages of development, from egg to larva to pupa and finally to adult, dispelled the notion of spontaneous generation and established the idea that insects undergo distinct and predictable life cycles.
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Eyal Berkovic
Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, Hebrew: אייל ברקוביץ'; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional association footballer, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter. As a player he was an attacking midfielder who spent most of his career in England playing in the Premier League for Southampton, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Portsmouth. He also had a spell in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic as well as beginning and finishing his career in his native Israel for Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv. He made 78 appearances for Israel, and is considered one of the nation's greatest players. Graeme Souness described Berkovic as "a tremendous passer. In the last third of the field, he is the best that I've ever worked with." Berkovic was also noted for various clashes with managers and players, including Kevin Keegan (his manager at Manchester City), and Welsh striker John Hartson. Following retirement he was appointed as general manager of Maccabi Netanya and later held a similar position of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He is the former owner of Hapoel Rishon LeZion.
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Dominic Savio
Dominic Savio (Italian: Domenico Savio; 2 April 1842 – 9 March 1857) was a 19th-century Italian teenager who was a student of John Bosco and became a Catholic saint. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotion to the Catholic faith, and was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Bosco regarded Savio very highly, and wrote a biography of his young student, The Life of Dominic Savio. This volume, along with other accounts of him, were critical factors in his cause for sainthood. Despite the fact that many people considered him to have died too young to be considered for sainthood, he was considered eligible for such a singular honour on the basis of displaying "heroic virtue" in his everyday life. Savio was canonised a saint on 12 June 1954 by Pope Pius XII, making him the youngest non-martyr to be canonised in the Catholic Church, until the canonisations of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the pious visionaries of Fatima (aged 10 and 9 respectively), in 2017.
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Paquita la del Barrio
Francisca Viveros Barradas (April 2, 1947 – February 17, 2025), known professionally as Paquita la del Barrio (lit. 'Franny, the One from the Neighborhood'), was a Mexican singer. She was a Grammy-nominated performer of rancheras, boleros and other traditional and contemporary Mexican musical genres. Her songs were often characterized as a female empowering against Mexico's sexist and "macho" male culture and as criticizing Latino men for causing problems in relationships. This theme was present in some of her most notable songs, such as "Rata de dos patas", "Me saludas a la tuya" and "Tres veces te engañé", which became feminist anthems in Mexico. In 2021, Paquita was honored with the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award.
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George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven novels and one short-story collection in the Flashman series of novels, as well as non-fiction, short stories, novels and screenplays—including those for the James Bond film Octopussy, The Three Musketeers (along with both its sequels) and an adaptation of his own novel Royal Flash.
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Greg Camp
Gregory Dean Camp (born April 2, 1967) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band Smash Mouth and served as a guitarist and songwriter across several stints (1994–2008, 2009–2011, 2014, 2018–2019). Camp is credited as one of the main songwriters for the band, and as such received a Grammy nomination for the song "All Star". Since leaving the band for a solo career in 2008, he has rejoined Smash Mouth periodically. Camp is currently a member of The Defiant.
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Pete Incaviglia
Peter Joseph Incaviglia (born April 2, 1964) is an American professional baseball coach and former left fielder who is currently the manager for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1986–1998), for six different big league teams, and also spent one year in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Incaviglia was drafted in the first round (eighth overall pick) by the Montreal Expos in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft out of Oklahoma State University, then was traded later that same year to the Texas Rangers. He debuted in the major leagues on April 8, 1986, without having spent any time in the minor leagues. His last MLB game was on September 27, 1998. Incaviglia was noted for his power hitting ability as well as his tendency to strike out. During his MLB career, he struck out 1,277 times, while leading the league twice, 1986 and 1988. Incaviglia owns several single-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records, including home runs (HR) (48) and runs batted in (RBI) (143).
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Delfo Cabrera
Delfo Cabrera Gómez (April 2, 1919 – August 2, 1981) was an Argentine athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history.
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Léon Gambetta
Léon Gambetta (French pronunciation: [leɔ̃ ɡɑ̃bɛta]; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Gambetta was a strong believer in democratic systems of government, believing that the victory of democracy in France meant (amongst other gains) “protection of the legitimate and basic rights of labour, the raising up morally and materially of the lower classes, but without compromising the position of those favoured by wealth and talent.”
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Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (April 2, 1792 – May 6, 1840) was a Neogranadine military and political leader who served as Vice-President of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1826, and was later elected by Congress as the President of the Republic of New Granada between 1832 and 1837. Santander played a pivotal role in the Colombian War of Independence being one of the main leaders of the Patriot forces and helped lead the Patriot Army alongside Simón Bolívar to victory. He is often credited with creating the legal foundations for democracy in Colombia, as well as creating the country's first system of public education. For these reasons he is considered a National Hero in Colombia and has thus commonly been known as "The Man of the Laws" ("El Hombre de las Leyes") as well as the "Organizer of Victory" ("El Organizador de la Victoria"). Santander was born into a wealthy criollo family in Villa del Rosario, in the Viceroyalty of New Granada and spent most of his formative years there. In 1805 he left his home to continue his education in the Viceregal capital of Santa Fe de Bogotá, while finishing his studies on July 20, 1810 he joined in the revolutionary fervor that would be movement for New Granadan Independence. At the age of 18 Santander abandoned his studies to begin his military career fighting for the Patriot cause against the Royalists initially with the Centralists but switched sides and became an officer in the army of the Federalist United Provinces of New Granada. In 1813 he was wounded and captured during the civil war between the Federalists and the Centralists, but was released to serve under Manuel del Castillo y Rada and Simón Bolívar in the defense of the Cucuta Valley from the Royalists. For the next 3 years Santander defended the valley from Royalist Incursion until he was defeated at the Battle of Cachirí during the Spanish Reconquest of New Granada. With the collapse of the first republic, he fled to the Casanare Province and joined forces with Venezuelan Patriot forces there first under the command of José Antonio Páez, and then joined Bolívar's forces in Guayana in 1817. Under the command of Bolívar during the 1819 Campaign to Liberate New Granada, Santander led his troops valiantly at the battles of Paya, Gameza, Vargas Swamp, and at Boyacá liberating his homeland from Spanish Rule. With the creation of Gran Colombia in December 1819, Santander was initially chosen as Vice-President of Cundinamarca, in 1821 at the congress of Cúcuta he was elected as Vice-President of Gran Colombia with Bolívar as President. For the next 6 years, with Bolívar away on campaign, Santander became acting president of the new nation, using his administrative skills to create the foundations for the new republic. In 1827 political differences between him and Bolívar led to a rupture in their relationship, culminating in 1828 when Bolívar accused of him of having masterminded a plot to assassinate him. While no evidence was ever found to corroborate this, Santander was sentenced to the death however this punishment was changed and Santander was instead stripped of his titles and positions and sent into exile where he would spend next 4 years in Europe and in the United States. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia, in 1832 the newly established congress of the Republic of New Granada elected him as President where he served his term from 1832 to 1837. After the end of his presidency he was elected as a representative for Bogotá in the chamber of representatives, however his health began to rapidly decline resulting in his death on May 6, 1840.
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Marco Amelia
Marco Amelia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko aˈmɛːlja]; born 2 April 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and last coached Serie D amateurs Sondrio. A Roma youth product, Amelia spent most of his professional club career at Livorno, where he made 181 appearances across all competitions, including playing and scoring in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup. He later played for several other Italian clubs, and also had a spell in England as a reserve goalkeeper with Chelsea. At international level, Amelia won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, and earned nine senior caps for Italy between 2005 and 2009. He was part of the squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, also being included for Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squads.
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Keshorn Walcott
Keshorn "Keshie" Walcott, ORTT (born 2 April 1993) is a Trinidadian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is the 2012 Olympic champion and the 2025 World champion. He is the first Caribbean male athlete, as well as the first of African descent, to win the gold medal in a throwing event in the history of the Olympics. He is also the holder of the North, Central American and Caribbean junior record. Walcott is the youngest Olympic gold medallist in the men's javelin (19 years 131 days), and the first athlete in any track and field event to win World Junior and Olympic titles in an individual event the same year. He is also the second-oldest gold medallist in the men's javelin at the World Championships (32 years 169 days).
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Mary of Jesus of Ágreda
Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, OIC, (Spanish: María de Jesús de Ágreda; born María Coronel y de Arana; 2 April 1602 – 24 May 1665), was an abbess and spiritual writer. She is best known for her extensive correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain and her reports of bilocation between Spain and New Spain. She was a noted mystic whose popularity has endured. A member of the Conceptionists, Mary of Jesus wrote 14 books, including a series of revelations about the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She has been dubbed the "Lady in Blue" and "the blue nun," after the color of the Conceptionist's habit.
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Carmen Basilio
Carmen Basilio (born Carmine Basilio, April 2, 1927 – November 7, 2012) was an American professional boxer who was a two-time Undisputed Welterweight Champion and Undisputed Middleweight champion, beating Sugar Ray Robinson for the latter title. Basilio combined technical ability with an aggressive approach; although capable of boxing strategically, he was generally inclined to engage opponents in close-range exchanges. An iron-chinned pressure fighter, Basilio was a combination puncher who had great stamina and eventually wore many of his opponents down with vicious attacks to the head and body. In 1957, The Ring magazine named Basilio Fighter of the Year and he won the Hickok Belt, a trophy that was awarded to the top professional athlete of the year. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1955 and 1957. Basilio also holds the distinction of being in The Ring magazine's Fight of the Year in five consecutive years (1955–59), a feat unmatched by any other boxer. In 2002, Basilio was voted by The Ring magazine as the 40th greatest fighter of the last 80 years. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
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Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ɑ̃tɛlm bʁija savaʁɛ̃]; 2 April 1755 – 2 February 1826) was a French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of Physiologie du goût (The Physiology of Taste), became celebrated for his culinary reminiscences and reflections on the craft and science of cookery and the art of eating. Rising to modest eminence in the last years of France's Ancien Régime, Brillat-Savarin had to escape into exile when the Reign of Terror began in 1793. He spent nearly three years in the United States, teaching French and playing the violin to support himself, before returning to France when it became safe to do so, resuming his career as a lawyer, and rising to the top of the French judiciary. The Physiology of Taste was the product of many years' writing in the author's spare time. Published weeks before his death in 1826, the work established him alongside Grimod de La Reynière as one of the founders of the genre of the gastronomic essay.
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Gloria Henry
Gloria Eileen McEniry (April 2, 1923 – April 3, 2021), known professionally as Gloria Henry, was an American actress, best known for her role as Alice Mitchell, Dennis' mother, from 1959 to 1963 on the CBS family sitcom Dennis the Menace.
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Francisco Balagtas
Francisco Balagtas y de la Cruz (April 2, 1788 – February 20, 1862), commonly known as Francisco Balagtas and also as Francisco Baltazar, was a Filipino poet and litterateur of the Tagalog language during the Spanish rule of the Philippines. He is widely considered one of the greatest Filipino literary laureates for his impact on Filipino literature. The famous epic Florante at Laura is regarded as his defining work. Balagtas adopted the legal surname Baltazar in fulfillment of the edict issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua in 1849 that mandated the native population to adopt standard surnames. The name is commonly misspelled as Baltasar and sometimes misinterpreted as his pen name.
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Nicholas Murray Butler
Nicholas Murray Butler (April 2, 1862 – December 7, 1947) was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the late James S. Sherman's replacement as William Howard Taft's running mate in the 1912 United States presidential election. The New York Times printed his Christmas greeting to the nation for many years during the 1920s and 1930s.
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Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1890 – 20 October 1957) was a British theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. Born to a comfortable middle-class family in Scotland, Buchanan attempted to follow his father into auctioneering, but conceived a strong desire to be a performer. After a calamitous début as a stand-up comic, he moved to London and between 1912 and 1917 built up a performing career in the chorus or small parts in musical comedies before achieving leading roles in West End shows and remaining at the top of his profession for the rest of his career. He was known for more than three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as the last of the knuts. Among his leading ladies in West End, and, later, Broadway, shows were Binnie Hale, Gertrude Lawrence, Beatrice Lillie, Jessie Matthews, Phyllis Monkman and – the partner with whom he was most associated – Elsie Randolph. Buchanan directed, choreographed, and produced many shows, and ran theatres and a film studio. He made several British films, often adaptations of his stage successes, but his best-known film was the Hollywood musical The Band Wagon in 1953.
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John Corvinus
John Corvinus (Hungarian: Corvin János, Croatian: Ivaniš Korvin, Romanian: Ioan Corvin; 2 April 1473 – 12 October 1504) was the illegitimate son of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, and his mistress, Barbara Edelpöck.
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Paul Cohen
Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a Fields Medal.
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August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben [ˈaʊɡʊst ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈhɔfman fɔn ˈfalɐsˌleːbn̩] , after his hometown; 2 April 1798 – 19 January 1874) was a German poet associated with the Young Germany movement. He is best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, and a number of popular children's songs.
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Brenda Fruhvirtová
Brenda Fruhvirtová (born 2 April 2007) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 87, achieved on 29 July 2024. She reached a career-high ITF junior ranking of world No. 4, achieved on 13 December 2021.
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Edward Egan
Edward Michael Egan (April 2, 1932 – March 5, 2015) was an American Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Bridgeport in Connecticut from 1988 to 2000 and as archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001.
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Buddy Jewell
Buddy Jewell Jr. (born April 2, 1961) is an American country music singer who was the first winner on the USA Network talent show Nashville Star. Signed to Columbia Records in 2003, Jewell made his debut on the American country music scene with the release of his self-titled album, which produced the singles "Help Pour Out the Rain" and "Sweet Southern Comfort". Another album, Times Like These, followed in 2005.
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Karl Beattie
Karl Beattie is an English television director, producer and cameraman. Beattie and wife Yvette Fielding co-own and run Antix Productions.
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Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During those three seasons, Jennings had 355 runs batted in and hit .335, .386, and .401. Jennings was a fiery, hard-nosed player who was not afraid to be hit by a pitch to get on base. In 1896, he was hit by pitches 51 times – a major league record that has never been broken. Jennings also holds the career record for being hit by pitches with 287, with Craig Biggio (who retired in 2007) holding the modern-day career record of 285. Jennings also played on the Brooklyn Superbas teams that won National League pennants in 1899 and 1900. From 1907 to 1920, Jennings was the manager of the Detroit Tigers, where he was known for his colorful antics, hoots, whistles, and his famous shouts of "Ee-Yah!" from the third base coaching box. Jennings suffered a nervous breakdown in 1925 that forced him to leave Major League Baseball. In 1945, Jennings was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Shaul Ladany
Shaul Paul Ladany (Hebrew: שאול לדני; born April 2, 1936) is an Israeli Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian. He holds the world record in the 50-mile walk (7:23:50), and the Israeli national record in the 50-kilometer walk (4:17:07). He is a former world champion in the 100-kilometer walk. Ladany survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944, when he was eight years old. In 1972, he survived the Munich Massacre. He is now a Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben Gurion University, has authored over a dozen books and 120 scholarly papers, and reportedly speaks nine languages. He lives in Omer, Israel. Asked if it would be fair to call him the ultimate survivor, Ladany laughed and answered: "I don't know about that. What I can say is that in my life there has never been a dull moment."
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Cornelis de Houtman
Cornelis de Houtman (2 April 1565 – 11 September 1599) was a Dutch merchant seaman who commanded the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies. Although the voyage was difficult and yielded only a modest profit, Houtman showed that the Portuguese monopoly on the spice trade was vulnerable. A flurry of Dutch trading voyages followed, eventually leading to the displacement of the Portuguese and the establishment of a Dutch monopoly on spice trading in the East Indies.
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John C. Whitehead
John Cunningham Whitehead (April 2, 1922 – February 7, 2015) was an American banker and civil servant, a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation (WTC Memorial Foundation), and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
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Clément Ader
Clément Ader (French pronunciation: [klemɑ̃ adɛʁ]; 2 April 1841 – 3 May 1925) was a French inventor and engineer who was born near Toulouse in Muret, Haute-Garonne, and died in Toulouse. He is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation. In 1870 he was also one of the pioneers in the sport of cycling in France.
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Jan Tschichold
Jan Tschichold (German pronunciation: [jan ˈtʃɪçɔlt]; born Johannes Tzschichhold; (2 April 1902 – 11 August 1974), also known as Iwan Tschichold or Ivan Tschichold, was a German calligrapher, typographer and book designer. He played a significant role in the development of graphic design in the 20th century – first, by developing and promoting principles of typographic modernism, and subsequently idealizing conservative typographic structures. His direction of the visual identity of Penguin Books in the decade following World War II served as a model for the burgeoning design practice of planning corporate identity programs. He also designed the typeface Sabon.
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Arthur Boka
Etienne Arthur Boka (born 2 April 1983) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a left back for the Ivory Coast national team. At club level, he last played for Atlético de Marbella in the seventh-tier Primera Andaluza. He was a part of the Ivory Coast squads at two FIFA World Cups and five Africa Cups of Nations between 2006 and 2013. Boka is known for his lightning pace even though he is a man of a very small build.
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Jürgen Drews
Jürgen Ludwig Drews (German pronunciation: [ˈjʏʁɡn̩ ˈluːtvɪç ˈdʁeːfs]; born 2 April 1945) is a German schlager singer.
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Dick Radatz
Richard Raymond Radatz (April 2, 1937 – March 16, 2005) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Monster", the 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 230 lb (100 kg) right-hander had a scorching but short-lived period of dominance for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1960s. Radatz is reported to have gotten his nickname during a game against the New York Yankees in Boston in 1963 in which he came in to pitch with the bases loaded and no one out. He consecutively struck out Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Elston Howard, after which Mantle grumbled about Radatz being "that monster".…
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Tayfun Korkut
Tayfun Korkut (German pronunciation: [ˈtaɪfʊn ˈkɔɐ̯kʊt]; born 2 April 1974) is a football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach of Hertha BSC. Born in Germany, he represented the Turkey national team internationally.
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Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE (2 April 1888 – 28 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became The Manchester Guardian's cricket correspondent in 1919 and its chief music critic in 1927, holding the two posts simultaneously until 1940. His contributions to these two distinct fields in the years before the Second World War established his reputation as one of the foremost critics of his generation. Cardus's approach to cricket writing was innovative, turning what had previously been largely a factual form into…
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Pietro Della Valle
Pietro Della Valle (Latin: Petrus a Valle; 2 April 1586 – 21 April 1652), also written Pietro della Valle, was an Italian composer, musicologist, and author who travelled throughout Asia during the 17th century. His travels took him to the Holy Land, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and as far as India.
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Roberto Arlt
Roberto Arlt (April 2, 1900 – July 26, 1942) was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, and journalist.
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Adrián Liso
Adrián Liso Lahoz (born 2 April 2005) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a left winger for Real Zaragoza.
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Bobby Ávila
Roberto Francisco Ávila González (April 2, 1924 – October 26, 2004), known as "Beto" in Mexico and as "Bobby" in the United States, was a Mexican professional baseball second baseman. A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Ávila began his career playing for the Puebla Angeles of the Mexican League from 1943 to 1947. He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians from 1949 to 1958 before dividing the 1959 season between the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Braves. Ávila won the 1954 American League batting championship with a .341 batting average. He also…
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Lynn Westmoreland
Leon Acton "Lynn" Westmoreland Jr. (born April 2, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 3rd congressional district from 2007 to 2017 and the 8th district from 2005 to 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.
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György Konrád
György (George) Konrád (2 April 1933 – 13 September 2019) was a Hungarian novelist, pundit, essayist and sociologist known as an advocate of individual freedom.
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Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto
Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto (born 2 April 1971), better known simply as Edmundo, is a Brazilian football pundit and retired footballer who played as a forward. Nicknamed O Animal, he was a talented yet controversial footballer and drew attention both for his skill, as well as for his volatile behaviour, both on and off the pitch. Edmundo started his professional career in Vasco da Gama in 1991, making his debut in 1992, where he won the Cariocão Grupo A in 1992. In 1993, he signed with Palmeiras, where he was part of the team that won the Brasileirão Série A in 1993 and 1994 and the Paulistão…
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Ed Dorn
Edward Merton Dorn (April 2, 1929 – December 10, 1999) was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is Gunslinger (1968).
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Francesco Maria Grimaldi
Francesco Maria Grimaldi (2 April 1618 – 28 December 1663) was an Italian Jesuit priest, mathematician and physicist who taught at the Jesuit college in Bologna. He was born in Bologna to Paride Grimaldi and Anna Cattani.
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Nate Huffman
Nathaniel Thomas Huffman (April 2, 1975 – October 15, 2015) was an American professional basketball player, who played most of his career with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He was the 2001 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, as well as the 2001 FIBA SuproLeague Player of the Year.
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Gelindo Bordin
Gelindo Bordin (born 2 April 1959) is an Italian former long distance runner, winner of the marathon race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the first Italian to have won an Olympic gold in the marathon and the only male to win both the Boston Marathon and the Olympic gold medal in this event.
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Paul Triquet
Brigadier-General Paul Triquet (April 2, 1910 – August 8, 1980) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the presence of the enemy that can be awarded to British and other Commonwealth forces. Triquet held the rank of captain at the time of his VC award and went on to achieve the rank of brigadier-general. Triquet was the only Quebecer to be awarded the VC during the Second World War.
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J. C. Squire
Sir John Collings Squire (2 April 1884 – 20 December 1958) was an English writer, most notable as editor of the London Mercury, a major literary magazine in the interwar period. He antagonised several eminent authors, but attracted a coterie that was dubbed the Squirearchy. He was also a poet and historian, who captained a famous literary cricket-team called the Invalids.
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Ayako Okamoto
Ayako Okamoto (岡本 綾子, Okamoto Ayako; born 2 April 1951) is a Japanese professional golfer. She won 62 tournaments internationally, including 17 on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour in the 1980s and 1990s. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
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Francesca Cuzzoni
Francesca Cuzzoni (2 April 1696 – 19 June 1778) was an Italian operatic soprano of the Baroque era.
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Samuel Bogart
Samuel Bogart (2 April 1797 – 11 March 1861) was an itinerant Methodist minister and militia captain from Ray County, Missouri who played a prominent role in the 1838 Missouri Mormon War before later moving to Collin County, Texas, where he became a Texas Ranger and a member of the Texas State Legislature. He is best remembered, however, for his role in leading opposition to Mormon settlers in northwestern Missouri, and for the active role he took in operations against them in the fall of 1838. These operations led to the expulsion of nearly all Mormons from the state following the issuance…
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Avi Benedi
Avi Benedi (Hebrew: אבי בנדי; born 2 April 1980) is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He has released three albums: Avi Benedi & Diamond Band in 2001 (in Austria), We Met Late (Встретились поздно) in 2012 (in Russia). and Loco in 2017.
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Jacob Nash Victor
Jacob Nash Victor (April 2, 1835 in Sandusky County, Ohio – October 3, 1907 in San Bernardino, California), son of Henry Clay Victor and Gertrude Nash, was a civil engineer who worked as General Manager of the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Victor oversaw the construction in the early 1880s of the California Southern between Colton and Barstow, California, including the section that is now one of the busiest rail freight routes in the United States, Cajon Pass. The city of Victorville, California, is named in his honor.
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Richard Collinge
Richard Owen Collinge (born 2 April 1946) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played 35 Tests and 15 ODIs. He was a New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year in 1971.
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Caroline Dean
Dame Caroline Dean (born 2 April 1957) is a British plant scientist working at the John Innes Centre. She is focused on understanding the molecular controls used by plants to seasonally judge when to flower. She is specifically interested in vernalisation — the acceleration of flowering in plants by exposure to periods of prolonged cold. She has also served on the Life Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize from 2018.
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Keith Hitchins
Keith Arnold Hitchins (April 2, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was an American historian and a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Romania and its history.
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John Larsson
John Alfred Larsson (2 April 1938 – 18 March 2022) was a Swedish Salvationist, writer and composer of Christian music and hymns, who was the 17th General of The Salvation Army.
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Engin Atsür
Engin Atsür (born April 2, 1984) is a Turkish professional basketball player for Orlandina Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Standing at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), he plays the point guard position. Atsür played college basketball at the North Carolina State University from 2003 to 2007. He has also German citizenship by his mother.
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Lucio Norberto Mansilla
Lucio Norberto Mansilla (April 2, 1789 – April 10, 1871) was an Argentine military officer, surveyor and politician who played a prominent role in the Argentine War of Independence, the Cisplatine War and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata. He was the first governor of the Entre Ríos Province. Although he commanded several units in many battles, he is most renowned for commanding the Argentine forces in the battle of Vuelta de Obligado on the Paraná River during the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata.
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Yevgeniya Kanayeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva OMF (Russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, winning at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she finished with 3.75 points ahead of silver medalist Inna Zhukova, and at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she also became the oldest gymnast to win the Olympic gold. On 4 July 2013, Kanaeva received the International Fair Play Award for "Sport and Life". Kanaeva holds the record for most World titles with seventeen and…
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Gerald Bouey
Gerald Keith Bouey (April 2, 1920 – February 6, 2004) was a Canadian economist who served as the fourth governor of the Bank of Canada from 1973 to 1987, succeeding Louis Rasminsky. He was succeeded by John Crow. Born in Axford, Saskatchewan, Bouey earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Queen's University. During the Second World War, he served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, attaining the rank of flight lieutenant. In 1948 Bouey joined the Bank of Canada Research Department and became Assistant Chief in 1953, Deputy Chief in 1956 and Chief of Research in 1962. Bouey became…
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Per Elofsson
Per Eilert Elofsson (born 2 April 1977 in Röbäck, Västerbotten) is a Swedish former cross-country skier who competed from 1997 to 2004. He won a bronze medal in the 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, being upgraded from fourth place in 2004, after Spain's Johann Mühlegg got stripped of his gold medal due to the use of darboepotine. Elofsson also won five medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with three golds (2001: 15 km, 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit; 2003: 10 km + 10 km double pursuit), one silver (2001: 4 × 10 km relay), and one bronze…
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Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim
Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (2 April 1719 – 18 February 1803) was a German poet, commonly associated with the Enlightenment and Rococo movements.
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Dillon Bassett
Dillon W. Bassett (born April 2, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for his team, Bassett Racing. He and his family team also previously competed full-time in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East. He is the brother of Ronnie Bassett Jr., who also drives for and co-owns Bassett Racing.
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Pablo César Aguilar
Pablo César Aguilar Benítez (born 2 April 1987) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back who plays for Sportivo Luqueño. From March to July 2017, Aguilar served a ten-match suspension after head-butting a referee.
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Lionel Chevrier
Lionel Chevrier (April 2, 1903 – July 8, 1987) was a Canadian politician who was a Member of Parliament and cabinet minister.
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Bill Malinchak
William John Malinchak (born April 2, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and special teams ace in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers
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Erastus Brigham Bigelow
Erastus Brigham Bigelow (April 2, 1814 – December 6, 1879) was an American inventor of weaving machines.
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Edmund Dwyer-Gray
Edmund John Chisholm Dwyer-Gray (2 April 1870 – 6 December 1945) was an Irish-Australian politician, who was the 29th Premier of Tasmania from 11 June to 18 December 1939. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
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Caterina Bueno
Caterina Bueno (2 April 1943 – 16 July 2007) was an Italian singer and folk music historian.
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Pierre Carles
Pierre Carles is a French documentary filmmaker. He has been compared to Michael Moore for his use of the documentary form to denounce mainstream media, which he accuses of having conflicts of interest.
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Johnny Golden
Johnny Golden (April 2, 1896 – January 27, 1936) was an American professional golfer.
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Alphonse-Marie Parent
Alphonse-Marie Parent (April 2, 1906 – October 7, 1970) was a Canadian priest, educator and academic administrator. He is best known for having given his name to the Parent Report on the reform of Quebec's education system. Born in Saint-Jean-Chrysostome, Quebec, the son of Alphonse Parent and Marie Gosselin, he studied at the Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and the Séminaire de Québec. He was ordained a priest in 1929, and obtained a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain. During the 1940s, he worked for the Austrian imperial family and for Pope Pius XII. He…
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Harald Andersson
Harald "Slaktarn" Andersson (2 April 1907 – 18 May 1985) was a Swedish discus thrower. In 1934 he won a European title and held the world record for eight months. The same year he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.
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Roald Als
Roald Als (born April 2, 1948) is a Danish cartoonist best known for his editorial cartoons in Danish newspapers Weekendavisen and Politiken.
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Andreas Anastasopoulos
Andreas Anastasopoulos (born April 2, 1976) is a Greek track and field athlete in the shot put. From October 23, 2001 to October 22, 2003 he was suspended by the IAAF.
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Iván Persa
Iván Persa (Slovene: Ivan Perša) (April 2, 1861 – September 26, 1935) was a Hungarian Slovene Roman Catholic priest and writer. Born in the Municipality of Beltinci in the village of Ižakovci, his parents were the farmers István Persa and Mária Kolár. He was ordained on July 14, 1885. Between 1885–1887 he served as a curate in Grad, where he founded the Scapulary and Heart of Jesus and Mary associations. From 1887–1894 he was a priest in Alsószölnök. From 1894–1913 he was a priest in Felsőszölnök, near Szentgotthárd. There, he also founded his two associations. By 1913 he was a priest in…
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Stefano Bettarello
Stefano Bettarello (born 2 April 1958 in Rovigo) is an Italian former rugby union player. He played as a fly-half for several clubs, mainly Rovigo and Benetton Treviso, winning an Italian Championship with each. Son of Romano Bettarello and nephew of Ottorino Bettarello, both international players for Italy, he was considered amongst of the best Italian players of his generation. He won 55 full caps for Italy, from 1979 to 1988, scoring 7 tries, 46 conversions, 104 penalties and 17 drop goals totalising 483 points, that made him the second best international scorer for his country after Diego…
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Lennart Fagerlund
Lennart Fagerlund (born 2 April 1952) is a Swedish former cyclist. He competed in the individual road race and team time trial events at the 1972 Summer Olympics. His sporting career began with Mariestadcyclisten.
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Dmitry Lipartov
Dmitry Viktorovich Lipartov (Russian: Дмитрий Викторович Липартов; born 2 April 1973) is a former Russian professional footballer who played as a striker.
Who's birthday is it today? — FAQ
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