German historian and author (died 2014)

Wolfgang Leonhard

Wolfgang Leonhard was a German political author and historian of the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and Communism. A German Communist whose family had fled Hitler's Germany and who was educated in the Soviet Union, after World War II Leonhard became one of the founders and leaders of the German Democratic Republic until he became disillusioned and fled in 1949, first defecting to Yugoslavia and then moving to West Germany in 1950 and later to the United Kingdom. In 1956 he moved to the United States, where he was a popular and influential professor at Yale University from 1966 to 1987, teaching the history of communism and the Soviet Union, topics about which he wrote several books. After the Cold War ended, he returned to Germany.

Born

1921

April 16

Died

2014

Era

1920s

Country

—

About

Wolfgang, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1921 Born
2014 Died

Also on April 16

What else happened on this day, through history

-1457 Battle of Megiddo: The first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.
69 Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho commits suicide.
73 Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
556 Pope Pelagius I is consecrated following Imperial approval by Emperor Justinian I.

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The world in 1921

When Wolfgang arrived

april 11 Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
april 2 The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.
august 14 Tannu Uriankhai, later Tuvan People's Republic is established as a completely independent country (which is supported by Soviet Russia).
august 23 British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the Humber Estuary; of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on April 16

Bill Belichick 1952– American football coach Charles Montagu 1661–1715 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, First Lord of the Treasury (died 1715) Dusty Springfield 1939–1999 English singer and record producer (died 1999) George Bingham 1800– 3rd Earl of Lucan, English field marshal and politician (died 1888) John Franklin 1786–1847 English admiral and politician, fourth Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land (died 1847) Merce Cunningham 1919–2009 American dancer and choreographer (died 2009) Paul Waner 1903– American baseball player and manager (died 1965) Peter Ustinov 1921–2004 English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004) Petrus Apianus 1495–1557 German mathematician and astronomer (died 1557)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1921

Ágnes Keleti 1921–2025 Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921) Alexander Dubček 1921–1992 Slovak soldier and politician (died 1992) Art Clokey 1921–2010 American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1921) Bill Willis 1921–2007 American football player and coach (born 1921) Brian Moore 1921–1999 Northern Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (died 1999) Esther Williams 1921–2013 American swimmer and actress (died 2013) Ezzard Charles 1921–1975 American boxer (died 1975) Franciszek Blachnicki 1921–1987 Polish priest (born 1921) Franco Corelli 1921–2003 Italian tenor and actor (died 2003)

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Wolfgang's birthday April 16 Wolfgang's zodiac Aries When Wolfgang arrived 1921