14 April on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born

Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.

Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho in the First Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome.

Following his marriage to the Christian Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.

Otto II, Co-Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, marries Byzantine princess Theophanu. She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII in Rome the same day.

Combined Bulgarian and Cuman army under Kalojan ambushes and defeats forces of the Latin Empire of Constantinople in the Battle of Adrianople.

Tokhtamysh–Timur war: At the Battle of the Terek River, Timur defeats the army of the Golden Horde, beginning the khanate's permanent military decline.

In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl is killed and Edward resumes the throne.

A celestial phenomenon is reported over Nuremberg, described as an aerial battle.

Thirty Years' War: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Electorate of Saxony are defeated by the Swedes at the Battle of Chemnitz, ending the military effectiveness of the Saxon army for the rest of the war and allowing the Swedes to advance into Bohemia.

The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, the first abolition society in North America, is organized in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.

The French troops led by Léger-Félicité Sonthonax defeat the slaves settlers in the Siege of Port-au-Prince.

Bussa, a slave in British-ruled Barbados, leads a slave rebellion, for which he is remembered as the country's first national hero.

Lexicographer Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary of American English

Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Lajos Kossuth as its leader.

The 1858 Christiania fire severely destroys several city blocks near Stortorvet in Christiania, Norway, and about 1,000 people lose their homes.

Actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth fatally shot U.S. president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln dies the following day.

William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State, and his family are attacked at home by Lewis Powell.

The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight occurs in El Paso, Texas.

The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C.

The first ever commercial motion picture house opens in New York City, United States. It uses ten Kinetoscopes, devices for peep-show viewing of films.

The 1895 Ljubljana earthquake, both the most and last destructive earthquake in the area, occurs.

The world's fair Exposition Universelle opens in Paris.

The first meeting of the Azusa Street Revival, which will launch Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement, is held in Los Angeles.

Hauser Dam, a steel dam on the Missouri River in Montana, fails, sending a surge of water 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m) high downstream.

Muslims in the Ottoman Empire begin a massacre of Armenians in Adana.

The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic and begins to sink.

The inaugural Monaco Grand Prix takes place in the Principality of Monaco. William Grover-Williams wins driving a Bugatti Type 35.

The Second Spanish Republic is proclaimed and King Alfonso XIII goes into exile. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, Francesc Macià proclaims the Catalan Republic.

The Black Sunday dust storm, considered one of the worst storms of the Dust Bowl, sweeps across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring areas.

World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, preceding a larger force which will arrive two days later.

World War II: German and Italian forces attack Tobruk, Libya.

The freighter Fort Stikine, carrying cotton bales, gold and ammunition, exploded in the harbour of Bombay, India, sinking surrounding ships and causing about 800 deaths.

World War II: In what becomes known as the Razing of Friesoythe, the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division deliberately destroys the German town of Friesoythe on the orders of Major General Christopher Vokes.

The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a female dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.

Gnassingbé Eyadéma overthrows Nicolas Grunitzky and installs himself as the new President of Togo, a title he will hold for the next 38 years.

After an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 exploded, disabling the spacecraft's electrical and life-support systems, astronaut Jack Swigert reported: "Houston, we've had a problem here".

Tbilisi demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.

The Progressive Alliance of Liberia stages a protest, without a permit, against an increase in rice prices proposed by the government, with clashes between protestors and the police resulting in over 70 deaths and over 500 injuries.

STS-1: The first operational Space Shuttle, Columbia, completes its first test flight.

Let's Dance, English musician David Bowie's best-selling album, was released.

The heaviest hailstones ever recorded, each weighing 1 kilogram (2.2 lb), fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.

In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.

The Republic of Georgia introduces the post of President following its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.

In a friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two U.S. Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two U.S. Army helicopters, killing 26 people.

Pai Hsiao-yen, daughter of Taiwanese artiste Pai Bing-bing, is kidnapped on her way to school, preceding her murder.

A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.

NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees. Yugoslav officials say 75 people were killed.

Series of bombings at Ramna Park in Dhaka during the Bengali New Year celebrations leave 10 people dead and dozens other injured.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military.

The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.

U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner MS Achille Lauro in 1985.

The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.

Twin blasts triggered by crude bombs during Asr prayer in the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi injure 13 people.

Nearly 2,700 people were killed in an earthquake registering 6.9 Mw in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China.

Plumes of ash from a major eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland led to widespread disruption of air travel throughout Europe for several days.

Boko Haram abducts 276 girls from a school in Chibok, Nigeria.

Two bombs detonate at a bus station in Nyanya, Nigeria, killing at least 88 people and injuring hundreds. Boko Haram claims responsibility.

Western Kentucky University announced a five-year suspension of their swimming and diving programs as a result of a hazing scandal.

The foreshock of a major earthquake occurs in Kumamoto, Japan.

Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Russian warship Moskva is struck by two anti-ship missiles and sinks into the Black Sea.

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is launched by the European Space Agency.

Flooding in the Persian Gulf starts, killing 19 in Oman.

B. R. Ambedkar, Indian economist, jurist, and politician, 1st Indian Minister of Law and Justice (died 1956)

Averroes, Andalusian Arab physician and philosopher (died 1198)

Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (died 1695)

Arnold J. Toynbee, English historian and academic (died 1975)

Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (died 1975)

Philip III of Spain (died 1621)

Adrien Brody, American actor

Julie Christie, Indian-English actress and activist

Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress

Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (died 1598)

Thomas Schelling, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016)

François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (died 1971)

John Gielgud, English actor, director, and producer (died 2000)

Rod Steiger, American soldier and actor (died 2002)

Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007)

Erich von Däniken, Swiss pseudohistorian and author (died 2026)

Abigail Breslin, American actress

Ritchie Blackmore, English guitarist and songwriter

Peter Behrens, German architect, designed the AEG turbine factory (died 1940)

Moritz Schlick, German-Austrian physicist and philosopher (died 1936)

Robert Doisneau, French photographer and journalist (died 1994)

Roberto Ayala, Argentinian footballer

V. Gordon Childe, Australian archaeologist and philologist (died 1957)

Loretta Lynn, American singer-songwriter and musician (died 2022)

Fredric Jameson, American philosopher and theorist (died 2024)

Peter Capaldi, Scottish actor

Anne Sullivan, American educator (died 1936)

Robert Carlyle, Scottish actor and director

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1809)

Yuri Oganessian, Armenian-Russian nuclear physicist

Efim Bogoljubow, Russian-German chess grandmaster (1889–1952)

Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (died 1944)

Francis Collins, American physician and geneticist

Péter Esterházy, Hungarian author (died 2016)

Lita, American wrestler

Brad Garrett, American actor and comedian

Henry I, king of Castile (died 1217)

Nicola Berti, Italian international footballer

Anderson Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer

Ali Akbar Khan, Hindustani musician (died 2009)

Valeriy Brumel, Soviet high jumper (died 2003)

Katsuhiro Otomo, Japanese director, screenwriter, and illustrator

Anthony Michael Hall, American actor

Rob McElhenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

Edward C. Tolman, American psychologist (died 1959)

Berry Berenson, American model, actress, and photographer (died 2001)

James McFadden, Scottish footballer

Bradford Dillman, American actor and author (died 2018)

Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist, conductor, and educator

Henry Corbin, French philosopher and academic (died 1978)

Anthony Modeste, French footballer

Frank Serpico, American-Italian soldier, police officer and lecturer

Pete Rose, American baseball player and manager (died 2024)

Valentin Lebedev, Russian engineer and astronaut

Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor

David Miller, American tenor

Charles Hamelin, Canadian speed skater

Matt Derbyshire, English footballer

Erwin Hoffer, Austrian footballer

Valerie Hobson, English actress (died 1998)