Year 1541
Father Francis Xavier, Spanish founder of the Jesuits, 35, and three friends set sail from Lisbon, Portugal for Goa. They became the first Roman Catholic missionaries to travel to India.
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Daily Historical Chronicle
UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix
7 April: What Happened On This Day in History
Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 7 April.
Observances & Special Days
World Health Day
Year 1818
British Government imposed 'State Prisoners Regulation III -1818' for detention and deportion of political prisoners and revolutionaries without any trial. This black act was in force till 1947 when India got independence.
Year 1906
The city of Naples was devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Year 1919
England's Imperial Airways had extended its flight to London-Karachi instead of London-Kahira. It was the first commercial air service in undivided India.
Year 1921
Revolutionary leader San Yat-Sen became the first President of the Chinese Republic.
Year 1934
Mahatma Gandhi suspended his campaign of civil disobedience in India.
Year 1940
Booker T. Washington became the first black American to have a picture on a postage stamp.
Year 1948
Establishment of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Year 1962
Umrigar slams 172* vs WI at Port-of-Spain in 248 minutes.
Year 1986
Charles Sobhraj and his associate David Hall were nabbed at Mapusa in Goa.
Year 1987
In a case filed by Saira Banu of Kerela, Supreme Court held that all wives, including Muslim women, whose husbands have either married again or taken a mistress are entitled to maintenance.
Year 1993
Narsimha Rao,PM, arrives in Bangkok on a three-day visit to Thailand.
Year 1996
Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya set a world record for a half-century off 17 balls in the Singers Cup.
Year 1997
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan finalise preparations for a new trade bloc called 'Growth Quadrangle
Year 1998
Soli Sorabjee is appointed Attorney-General of India.
Year 2012
130 Pakistani soldiers died of landslides in Siachen.
Born 1506
Saint Francis Xavier, Jesuit priest, Spanish missionary teaching in India and Japan, was born in the Spanish kingdom of Navarre.
Born 1768
Mah Laqa Bai, an Indian 18th century Urdu poet.
Born 1770
William Wordsworth, an English Romantic poet.
Born 1860
W.K. Kellogg, an American industrialist in food manufacturing, was best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company.
Born 1891
Sir David Low, a New Zealand political cartoonist and caricaturist.
Born 1920
Pandit Ravi Shankar, an Indian musician, and composer of Hindustani classical music.
Born 1925
Chaturanan Mishra, an Indian politician and trade unionist.
Born 1942
Jeetendra, an Indian actor.
Born 1954
Jackie Chan, a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, film director, action choreographer, screenwriter, producer, and singer.
Born 1962
Ram Gopal Varma, an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Died 1935
Shankar Abaji Bhise, famous Indian scientist, died.
Died 1938
Kashiram Chhabildas Rana was born in Surat (Gujarat).
Died 1942
Anandshankar Bapubhai Dhruv, famous Gujarati expert, Sanskrit Pandit and editor of a monthly magzine, died.
Died 1947
Henry Ford, an American industrialist and business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company.
Died 2001
G.N. Ramachandran, an Indian physicist.
Died 2004
Kelucharan Mohapatra, a legendary Indian classical dancer.
Died 2014
V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (b. 1923)