April 16 is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 259 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events[link]

• 1457 BC – Likely date of the Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh, the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.
• 1178 BC – The calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus' return home from the Trojan War.
• 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.
• 1346 – Dušan the Mighty is proclaimed Emperor, with the Serbian Empire occupying much of the Balkans.
• 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.
• 1521 – Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.
• 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
• 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland. After the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
• 1780 – The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.
• 1799 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
• 1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada.
• 1847 – The accidental shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand land wars.
• 1853 – The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
• 1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
• 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
• 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
• 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
• 1917 – Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Switzerland.
• 1919 – Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British.
• 1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
• 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
• 1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
• 1941 – World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
• 1941 – Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
• 1944 – Allied forces started bombing of Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
• 1945 – The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
• 1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
• 1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.
• 1947 – Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
• 1947 – Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• 1953 – Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia.
• 1962 – Walter Cronkite takes over as the lead news anchor of the CBS Evening News, during which time he would become "the most trusted man in America".
• 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
• 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• 1990 – The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
• 1992 – The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
• 2001 – India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
• 2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
• 2007 – Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest spree shooting in modern American history. Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 and injures 23 before committing suicide.

Births[link]

• 778 – Louis the Pious (d. 840)
• 1319 – John II of France (d. 1364)
• 1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
• 1516 – Tabinshwehti, King of Burma (d. 1550)
• 1646 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
• 1660 – Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
• 1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)
• 1682 – John Hadley, English mathematician and inventor of the octant (d. 1744)
• 1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer (d. 1738)
• 1693 – Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1743)
• 1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German composer and organist (d. 1778)
• 1728 – Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
• 1730 – Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
• 1755 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
• 1786 – John Franklin, British navy officer and explorer (d. 1847)
• 1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
• 1821 – Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)
• 1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
• 1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet (d. 1879)
• 1844 – Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
• 1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss architect (d. 1906)
• 1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian social reformer (d. 1919)
• 1865 – Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
• 1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican statesman and journalist (d. 1918)
• 1867 – Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
• 1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
• 1878 – Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
• 1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)
• 1885 – Leo Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)
• 1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
• 1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, and composer (d. 1977)
• 1890 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek javelin thrower (d. 1957)
• 1893 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian novelist (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer (d. 1948)
• 1896 – Pat Clayton, British surveyor and explorer (d. 1962)
• 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)
• 1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (d. 1988)
• 1904 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
• 1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
• 1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)
• 1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founder of Bombardier Inc. and invented the snowmobile (d. 1964)
• 1908 – Ray Ventura, French bandleader (d. 1979)
• 1910 – Berton Roueché, American writer (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1912 – Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Joan Alexander, American actress (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Dick Gibson, British race car driver (d. 2010)
• 1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Pat Peppler, American football coach and executive
• 1922 – Léo Tindemans, Belgian politician
• 1924 – John Harvey-Jones, English businessman (d. 2008)
• 1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
• 1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)
• 1927 – Edie Adams, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
• 1927 – Peter Mark Richman, American actor
• 1928 – Dick Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
• 1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
• 1933 – Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
• 1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet
• 1935 – Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter
• 1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
• 1937 – George "The Animal" Steele, American wrestler
• 1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician
• 1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player
• 1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (The Lana Sisters and The Springfields) (d. 1999)
• 1939 – Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008)
• 1940 – Margrethe II of Denmark
• 1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian politician
• 1942 – Frank Williams, English founder and team principal of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team
• 1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball player
• 1943 – Ruth Madoc, Welsh actress
• 1943 – Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat and Savoy Brown) (d. 2000)
• 1944 – Richard Bradshaw British conductor
• 1945 – Tom Allen, American politician
• 1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist
• 1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
• 1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish musician and songwriter (The Humblebums and Stealers Wheel) (d. 2011)
• 1948 – Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
• 1949 – Melody Patterson, American actress
• 1949 – Ann Romney, American horse rider, wife of Mitt Romney
• 1950 – Robert Dutil, Canadian politician
• 1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer
• 1951 – Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
• 1951 – Mordechai Ben David, American singer
• 1952 – Bill Belichick, American football coach
• 1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor
• 1952 – Billy West, American voice actor
• 1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer and politician (Midnight Oil)
• 1953 – J. Neil Schulman, American writer
• 1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
• 1954 – John Bowe, Australian race car driver
• 1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
• 1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
• 1956 – David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
• 1959 – Scott McKinsey, American director
• 1959 – Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
• 1959 – Robert Casilla, American artist and illustrator
• 1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
• 1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager
• 1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer
• 1961 – Doris Dragović, Croatian singer
• 1962 – Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)
• 1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American singer (The Osmonds)
• 1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
• 1964 – Dave Pirner, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Soul Asylum)
• 1964 – David Kohan, American television producer and writer
• 1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor
• 1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor
• 1965 – Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director
• 1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager
• 1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish alpine ski racer
• 1969 – Fernando Viña, American baseball player
• 1970 – Dero Goi, German musician (Oomph!)
• 1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
• 1971 – Selena, American singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
• 1971 – Max Beesley, English actor and musician
• 1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor
• 1971 – Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor
• 1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese race car driver
• 1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Russian tennis player
• 1972 – Ed Byrne, Irish comedian
• 1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish tennis player
• 1973 – Akon, American singer and song writer
• 1973 – Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
• 1974 – Mat Devine, American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and author (Kill Hannah)
• 1974 – Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress and director
• 1974 – Valarie Rae Miller, American actress
• 1974 – Fabián Robles, Mexican actor
• 1974 – Thomas Tevana, American actor
• 1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player
• 1975 – Sean Maher, American actor
• 1975 – Nick Pickard, British actor
• 1975 – Karl Yune, American actor
• 1976 – Phil Baroni, American mixed martial artist
• 1976 – Robert Dahlqvist, Swedish guitarist and singer (The Hellacopters, Dundertåget, and Thunder Express)
• 1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor
• 1976 – Dan Kellner, American fencer
• 1976 – David Lyons, Australian actor
• 1976 – Kelli O'Hara, American actress and singer
• 1976 – Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress
• 1977 – Tameka Empson, English actress
• 1977 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
• 1977 – Alek Wek, Sudanese model
• 1978 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress and model, Miss Universe 2000
• 1978 – Jody Marie Gnant, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1978 – Nikki Griffin, American actress
• 1978 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian footballer
• 1978 – John Buffalo Mailer, American author, playwright, actor, producer, and journalist
• 1978 – Kristin Proctor, Norwegian-American actress
• 1978 – Igor Tudor, Croatian footballer
• 1978 – Ivan Urgant, Russian television host and actor
• 1978 – Christos Vasilopoulos, Greek actor
• 1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch race car driver
• 1979 – Jonathan Bearden, American actor
• 1979 – Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter
• 1979 – Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player
• 1979 – Sean Costello, American singer and musician (d. 2008)
• 1979 – Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer
• 1980 – Jens Hartwig, German actor
• 1980 – Paul London, American wrestler
• 1980 – Juliette Marquis, Ukrainian actress, model, and ballerina
• 1980 – Adriana Sage, Mexican-American porn actress and model
• 1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Maya Dunietz, Israeli pianist, singer and composer
• 1981 – Russell Harvard, American actor
• 1981 – Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player
• 1981 – Jake Scott, American football player
• 1981 – Vico Thai, Australian actor
• 1982 – Gina Carano, American mixed martial arts fighter, actress, and model
• 1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
• 1982 – Barry Jones, Scottish magician
• 1982 – Michael Ratajczak, German footballer
• 1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
• 1983 – Mikey Dalton, Iranian-English model and music producer
• 1983 – Marié Digby, American singer
• 1983 – Manuela Martelli, Chilean actress
• 1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher
• 1983 – George Patis, Greek badminton player
• 1984 – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author
• 1984 – Natalie Blair, Australian actress
• 1984 – Teddy Blass, American composer and producer
• 1984 – Dane Brookes, English actor and writer
• 1984 – Noah Fleiss, American actor
• 1984 – Claire Foy, English actress
• 1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
• 1985 – Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian
• 1985 – Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player
• 1985 – Nate Diaz, American mixed martial artist
• 1985 – Rhiana Griffith, Australian actress, model, and artist
• 1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
• 1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentine actor, singer, musician, and model (Erreway)
• 1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
• 1985 – JC Tiuseco, Chinese-Filipino model, actor, and basketball player
• 1986 – Laura Langman, New Zealand netball player
• 1986 – Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Paul di Resta, British race car driver
• 1986 – Peter Regin, Danish hockey player
• 1986 – Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast
• 1987 – Neil Haskell, American dancer
• 1987 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
• 1987 – Kyley Statham, Canadian actress
• 1988 – Jullie, Brazilian singer-songwriter, model, and actress
• 1988 – Alisa Durbrow, Japanese model, actress, and singer
• 1990 – Jérémy Kapone, French actor, singer, and songwriter
• 1990 – Lily Loveless, English actress
• 1990 – Evangelos Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
• 1990 – Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
• 1990 – Nia Ramadhani, Indonesian actress and singer
• 1990 – Jules Sitruk, French actor
• 1992 – Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg
• 1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
• 1994 – Liliana Mumy, American actress
• 2003 – Alina Foley, American actress
• 2008 – Princess Eléonore of Belgium

Deaths[link]

• 69 – Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
• 665 – Fructuosus of Braga
• 744 – al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
• 924 – Berengar of Friuli
• 1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev (b. 1050)
• 1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily
• 1198 – Duke Frederick I of Austria
• 1645 – Tobias Hume, English composer
• 1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
• 1689 – Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)
• 1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
• 1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
• 1828 – Francisco Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
• 1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
• 1850 – Marie Tussaud, French-English artist, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)
• 1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
• 1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French mystic and Saint (b. 1844)
• 1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)
• 1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (b. 1875)
• 1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)
• 1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
• 1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
• 1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)
• 1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henry Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
• 1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, philosopher and activist (b. 1894)
• 1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
• 1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
• 1947 – Rudolf Höß, German Lieutenant, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)
• 1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish labor leader (b. 1872)
• 1958 – Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
• 1968 – Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1968 – Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
• 1970 – Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
• 1972 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor (b. 1929)
• 1973 – Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (b. 1944)
• 1978 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (b. 1897)
• 1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
• 1989 – Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)
• 1991 – David Lean, British director (b. 1908)
• 1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1992 – Andy Russell, American singer (b. 1919)
• 1994 – Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)
• 1995 – Arthur English, English actor and comedian (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)
• 1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)
• 1997 – Doris Angleton, American socialite and murder victim (b. 1951)
• 1997 – Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
• 1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician (Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape) (b. 1946)
• 2001 – Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)
• 2002 – Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur, founder of Ruth's Chris Steak House (b. 1927)
• 2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
• 2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
• 2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
• 2005 – Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)
• 2006 – Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)
• 2007 – Seung-Hui Cho, American student, perpetrator of the Virginia Tech Massacre (b. 1984)
• 2007 – Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)
• 2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Canadian instructor of French at Virginia Tech (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
• 2007 – Liviu Librescu, American-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Holocaust survivor (b. 1930)
• 2007 – G. V. Loganathan, Indian-American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
• 2008 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Joseph Solman, American painter (b. 1909)
• 2010 – Rasim Delic, Bosnian military chief of staff and war criminal (b. 1949)
• 2011 – Sol Saks, American screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Sari Barabas, Hungarian soprano (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Marian Biskup, Polish author and academic (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Ray Davey, Irish-Presbyterian minister, founder of the Corrymeela Community (b. 1915)
• 2012 – George Kunda, Zambian lawyer and politician, Vice-President of Zambia (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish shipping magnate and businessman (b. 1913)
• 2012 – Carlo Petrini, Italian footballer (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Ageeth Scherphuis, Dutch journalist and broadcaster (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Jack Streidl, American football coach and educator (b. 1918)

Holidays and observances[link]

• Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (Denmark)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Benedict Joseph Labre
  • Bernadette Soubirous
  • Drogo
  • Fructuosus of Braga
  • Martyrs of Zaragoza
  • Turibius of Astorga
  • April 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C.)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: April 16

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

The Electric Boys are a funk metal band founded in Sweden in 1988, which enjoyed a cult status in Europe at the end of the decade.^[1]

They were formed by Conny Bloom (real surname: Blomqvist) (guitar/vocals) and Andy Christell (bass). Originally a duo, they signed for Polygram and scored a local Swedish hit with the single "All Lips and Hips" in 1988, which according to some people is their best song so far.^[2] This early version of what would become perhaps the band's best-known hit also appeared that same year in America on the soundtrack to the movie Feds. The band then added second guitarist Franco Santunione and drummer Niklas Sigevall.^[1]

In 1989, the band's debut album Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride, including a revamped version of "All Lips and Hips" was a success in Europe, and they picked up a strong following in Britain,^[3] where, as well as headlining small clubs, they supported Thunder. When headlining Newcastle upon Tyne, Riverside club, the band were joined on stage by the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis who were performing in the same venue at around the same time. The following year, the album was released in America, where they also became moderately successful, thanks to the singles "All Lips and Hips" and "Psychedelic Eyes." However, the follow-up album Groovus Maximus did not emerge until 1992, by which time grunge had swept all before it and the album was overall inferior to the debut. By the end of an American tour to promote it supporting Mr. Big, the band had lost Santunione and Sigevall and both North American and European record deals. Outgoing members were replaced by Thomas Bromann (drums) and Martin Thomander (2nd guitar) and this lineup released the band's third album, Freewheelin' on the Music For Nations label in Britain. The album attracted little interest and the band dissolved. In 2005, founders Bloom and Christell had joined Hanoi Rocks.

The Groovus Maximus album was recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. There were two music videos made from that album: "Mary in the Mystery World" & "Dying to be Loved." The "Dying to be Loved" music video only had a budget of £100.^[4]

The band reformed in 2009 and released "And Them Boys Done Swang" in 2011.

^[1]

Discography[link]

Albums:

Studio albums[link]

Singles:

• 1988 "All Lips 'N Hips" (original version)
• 1990 "All Lips 'N Hips" (#76 US Hot 100, #16 US Mainstream Rock)
• 1990 "Psychedelic Eyes"
• 1992 "Mary in the Mystery World" (#27 Sweden)
• 1992 "Groovus Maximus"
• 1992 "Dying to be Loved"
• 1994 "Ready To Believe"
• 2011 "Father Popcorn's Magic Oysters"
• 2011 "Angel In An Armoured Suit"
• 2011 "Sometimes U Gotta Go Look For The Car"

Other Recordings:

• 1990 "För fet för ett Fuck" - Svullo With Electric Boys (#2 Sweden)
• "King Kong Song" - ABBA cover for the 1992 Swedish ABBA tribute album ABBA: The Tribute, released on Polar Music.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• MusicMight bio
• Live Photos From London Concert July 09