What happened on April 2 ?

1348 - Andronicus IV Palaeologus, Eastern Roman Emperor

1510 - Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (d. 1550)

1545 - Elizabeth of Valois, wife of Philip II of Spain (d. 1568)

1565 - Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)

1618 - Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)

1653 - Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of Anne of England (d. 1708)

1719 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)

1725 - Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer (d. 1798)

1781 - Bhagwan Swaminarayan, The Supreme God (d. 1830)

1788 - Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862)

1798 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874)

1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (d. 1875)

1827 - William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)

1838 - Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)

1840 - ÿmile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902)

1862 - Nicholas Murray Butler, former president of Columbia University, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1947)

1867 - Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925)

1869 - Hughie Jennings, baseball player (d. 1928)

1875 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)

1891 - Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)

1900 - Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942)

1907 - Luke Appling, Major League Baseball Player (d. 1991)

1908 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)

1914 - Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)

1917 - Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989)

1920 - Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1982)

1923 - G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician

1926 - George MacDonald Fraser, English author

1926 - Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver

1927 - Carmen Basilio, American boxer

1927 - Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer

1927 - Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d. 1980)

1928 - Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)

1928 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d. 1991)

1934 - Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician

1934 - Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (d. 1997)

1937 - Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)

1938 - John Larsson, 17th General of The Salvation Army

1938 - Whirlaway, American racehorse, 1941 Triple Crown Winner (d. 1953)

1939 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)

1940 - Penelope Keith, English actress

1941 - Dr. Demento, American radio personality

1941 - Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist session musician

1942 - Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef

1945 - Linda Hunt, American actress

1945 - Don Sutton, Major League Baseball player

1945 - Reggie Smith, Major League Baseball player

1947 - Emmylou Harris, American singer

1947 - Camille Paglia, American feminist writer

1949 - Pamela Reed, American actress

1951 - Ayako Okamoto, Japanese professional golfer

1951 - Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist

1952 - Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

1953 - Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician

1953 - David Robinson, American musician

1953 - Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)

1954 - Ron Palillo, American actor

1955 - Allan Davis, Australian Diplomat

1959 - Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver

1960 - Linford Christie, British athlete

1961 - Christopher Meloni, American actor

1961 - Keren Woodward, British singer (Bananarama)

1962 - Pierre Carles, French documentarist

1962 - Clark Gregg, American actor

1962 - Mark Shulman, American children's author

1965 - Rodney King, American victim of police brutality

1966 - Bill Romanowski, American football player

1966 - Teddy Sheringham, English footballer

1967 - Greg Camp, American guitarist and songwriter (Smash Mouth)

1967 - Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter

1971 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player

1982 - Shandi Sullivan, American model

1984 - Ashley Peldon, American actress

1984 - Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress