François Duvalier

François Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, was a Haitian politician who served as the president of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. He was elected president in the 1957 general election on a populist and black nationalist platform. After thwarting a military coup d'état in 1958, his regime rapidly became more autocratic and despotic. An undercover government death squad, the Tonton Macoute, indiscriminately tortured or killed Duvalier's opponents; the Tonton Macoute was thought to be so pervasive that Haitians became highly fearful of expressing any form of dissent, even in private. Duvalier further sought to solidify his rule by incorporating elements of Haitian mythology into a personality cult.

14 April 1907

Born on the same birth day (14 April): Anthony Michael Hall • Avner Dorman • Barthélemy Catherine Joubert • Fredric Jameson • Georg Lammers • Georg Siimenson • George Grey • Hidetaka Suehiro • Joseph de Villèle • Matt Derbyshire • Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom • Ritchie Blackmore • Roberto Ayala

Born in the same month (April 1907): Augoustinos Kantiotes • Felix de Weldon • Fred Zinnemann • Harald Andersson • Harold Stassen • Luke Appling • Paul Douglas (actor) • Shivakumara Swami • Zawgyi (writer)