Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

What Happened in April 1786

Famous Birthdays

  • Apr 7 William Rufus DeVane King, American politician, 13th US Vice President (1853), born in Sampson County, North Carolina (d. 1853)
  • Apr 15 Walter Channing, American physician who was the first to use anesthesia during childbirth, born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 1876)
  • Apr 16 John Franklin, English rear admiral and explorer (Arctic), born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England (d. 1847)
  • Apr 18 Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee, Swiss composer, born in Lucerne, Switzerland (d. 1868)
  • Apr 23 Thomas Potter Cooke, English actor, first person to portray Frankenstein on stage, born in London (d. 1864) [1]

Famous Deaths

  • Apr 10 John Byron, British Royal Navy officer, dies at 62
  • Apr 20 John Goodricke, English deaf astronomer (first to notice that some variable stars were periodic), dies at 21
  • Apr 23 Alexander Cozens, English water colors painter, dies at about 68