Historical Events
- Apr 4 Mali Federation founded, consisting of Senegal & French Sudan (dissolved 1960)
- Apr 4 France beats Wales, 11-3 at Stade Colombes to win the Five Nations Rugby Championship outright for the first time
- Apr 5 23rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Art Wall Jr wins by 1 stroke from Cary Middlecoff for his only PGA Tour major victory
Academy Awards
Apr 6 31st Academy Awards: "Gigi", Susan Hayward & David Niven win
Susan Hayward
David Niven
NBA Record
Apr 9 Bill Sharman hits a NBA record 56 consecutive foul shot
Bill Sharman
- Apr 9 NASA names 1st 7 astronauts for Project Mercury
- Apr 9 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games, first of Boston Celtics record 8 straight titles
- Apr 10 Chicago White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox gets a MLB Opening Day record tying 5 hits in 7 at-bats in a 14-inning, 9–7 win in Detroit
- Apr 11 "Jamaica" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 558 performances
- Apr 11 Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale hits his 2nd Opening Day HR
- Apr 11 Dutch prince Bernhard visits Lockheed factory
- Apr 12 13th Tony Awards: J B & Redhead win
- Apr 12 France Observator reports torture practice by French army in Algeria
- Apr 13 USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit
- Apr 13 Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed)
- Apr 13 Vatican edict forbids Roman Catholics from voting for communists
- Apr 14 (Robert) Taft Memorial Bell Tower dedicated in Washington, D.C.
- Apr 14 KDIN TV channel 11 in Des Moines, IA (PBS) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
Apr 15 Fidel Castro begins US goodwill tour
Fidel Castro
Event of Interest
Apr 15 US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles resigns
John Foster Dulles
- Apr 16 "Party with Comden & Green" opens at John Golden NYC for 44 performances
- Apr 16 Datu Abdul Rozak inaugurated as premier of Malaysia federation
- Apr 16 NY Yankees unveil their 1st message scoreboard
- Apr 16 Phils' Dave Philley gets a major league record 9th straight pinch hit
- Apr 18 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens' 4th straight title; beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 for a 4-1 series win
- Apr 19 Uprising in La Paz Bolivia, fails
- Apr 20 63rd Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:22:42
- Apr 21 Alf Dean using a rod & reel hooks a 2,664lb, 16' 10" great white shark off the coast of Ceduna, Australia
Baseball Record
Apr 22 Yankee Whitey Ford strikes out 15, beating Senators, 1-0 in 14 innings
Whitey Ford
- Apr 22 Chicago White Sox beat KC Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, & 3 errors
- Apr 23 "Destry Rides Again" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 472 performances
- Apr 23 1st heliport in Britain opens in London
- Apr 24 Neth Dance Theater opens (Rudi of Dantzig & Cut Flier)
- Apr 24 WICD TV channel 15 in Champaign, IL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 25 St Lawrence Seaway linking Atlantic and the Great Lakes opens to shipping
Event of Interest
Apr 25 Then-bishop Karol Wojtyla's (future Pope John Paul II) celebrates newly completed Nowa Huta, Poland's first ever Mass at midnight of Christmas morning
John Paul II
- Apr 27 "Today" show goes abroard 1st time (Paris France)
Event of Interest
Apr 27 Mao Zedong resigns as Chairman of the PRC after the disastrous failure of the Great Leap Forward
Mao Zedong
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 2 Brian Goodell, American swimmer (Olympic gold 400m WR 3:51.93, 1500m WR 15:02.40 1976), born in Stockton, California
- Apr 2 Dean Townson, American singer (Pirates of Miss-Fred Jake), born in St Petersburg, Florida
- Apr 2 Gelindo Bordin, Italian athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1988), born in Vicenza, Italy
- Apr 2 Ken Macleay, Australian cricket fast bowler (16 ODIs, 15 wickets; Western Australia), born in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England
- Apr 2 Ezzaki Badou, Moroccan soccer goalkeeper (76 caps; Mallorca) and manager (Morocco), born in Sidi Kacem, Morocco
- Apr 2 Juha Kankkunen, Finnish rally driver (World rally champion 1986, 87, 91, 93; Dakar Rally [cars] 1988; Race of Champions 1988, 91), born in Laukaa, Finland
- Apr 2 Yves Lavandier, French film writer and director, born in France
- Apr 3 David Hyde Pierce, American actor (Niles Crane-Fraiser), born in Saratoga Springs, New York
- Apr 6 Dianne Brill, Tampa, fashion designer/party girl (Queen of the Night)
- Apr 8 Franklyn Stephenson, cricketer (great all-rounder)
- Apr 8 Martin Weston, English cricketer
- Apr 9 Dave Innis, American country singer (Restless Heart-Wheels), born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
- Apr 10 Brian Setzer, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Stray Cats), born in Massapequa Park, New York
- Apr 10 Yvan Loubier, Canadian politician and one of founders of the Bloc Québécois, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Apr 10 Babyface [Kenneth Edmonds], American Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, songwriter and record producer, born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Apr 12 Elissa Leeds, American actress (Cissy-Dorothy), born in NYC, New York
Emma Thompson
Apr 15 Emma Thompson, British actress (Henry V, Howards End, Oscar 1992), born in London, England
Emma Thompson
- Apr 15 Kevin Lowe, Canadian NHL defenceman, coach and executive (Edmonton Oilers; Stanley Cup x 6), born in Lachute, Quebec
- Apr 15 Fruit Chan, Hong Kong film director, born in Guangdong, China
- Apr 15 Thomas F. Wilson, American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Apr 16 Anne Kursinski, American equestrian show jumper (Olympic silver 1996), born in Pasadena, California
- Apr 16 Scott McKinsey, American television director, born in California
- Apr 17 Elizabeth Lindsey, Polynesian actress (China Beach), born in Oahu, Hawaii
- Apr 17 Stephen Singleton, English rocker (ABC), born in Sheffield, England
- Apr 17 Teri Austin, Canadian actress (Terminal Choice, Knots Landing), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Apr 17 Sean Bean, English actor (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, A Game of Thrones)
- Apr 18 Jim Eisenreich, American MLB outfielder (Tourette syndrome, Florida Marlins WS 1997), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota
- Apr 20 Clint Howard, American actor (Gentle Ben), born in Burbank, California
Robert Smith
Apr 21 Robert Smith, English rock guitarist and vocalist (Cure-Hell's Kitchen), born in Blackpool, England
Robert Smith
- Apr 21 Jerry Only [Gerald Caiafa Jr], American musician (Misfits), born in Lodi, New Jersey
- Apr 21 Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (Cowboy Junkies), born in Montreal
- Apr 21 Tim Jacobus, American artist (Goosebumps)
- Apr 22 Ranjan Madugalle, cricketer (pioneer of Sri Lanka's Test teams)
- Apr 22 Ryan Stiles, American actor (Lewis-Drew Carey Show), born in Seattle, Washington
- Apr 23 George Kalovelonis, Greek tennis player, born in Athens, Greece
- Apr 24 Yvonne Cagle, American astronaut and physician, born in West Point, New York
- Apr 24 Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer (Jaguar Racing), born in Sydney, Australia
- Apr 25 Billy Rankin, Scottish rocker, born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Apr 25 Tony Phillips, MLB player (Oakland Athletics), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2016)
- Apr 25 Dominique Blanc, French actress (Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train), born in Lyon, France
- Apr 26 John Corabi, American musician (Mötley Crüe), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Apr 26 Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico politician, Governor of Puerto Rico (2019-), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Apr 27 Marco Pirroni, rock guitarist (Adam & The Ants), born in London, England
- Apr 27 Sheena Easton [Shirley Orr], singer (Sugar Walls), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Apr 27 Louis Lortie, French-Canadian concert pianist, born in Montreal
- Apr 30 Kamaran Abdalla, Iraq/Engl/Neth actor (Goede Tijden Selechte Tijden)
Paul Gross
Apr 30 Paul Gross, Canadian actor (Constable Benton Fraser - Due South), director, and writer (Passchendaele), born in Calgary, Alberta
Paul Gross
Stephen Harper
Apr 30 Stephen Harper, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada (2006-15), born in Toronto, Ontario
Stephen Harper
- Apr 30 W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist
Famous Weddings
- Apr 1 American sci-fi writer "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Philip K Dick marries 3rd wife Anne Williams Rubinstein
Famous Divorces
Divorce of Interest
Apr 22 Actor Marlon Brando and actress Anna Kashfi divorce
Marlon Brando
Famous Deaths
Frank Lloyd Wright
Apr 9 Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (Guggenheim) recognized as "the greatest American architect of all time", dies at 89
Frank Lloyd Wright
- Apr 12 Ernest Willem Mulder, composer, dies at 60
- Apr 12 James Gleason, American writer and actor (Bishop's Wife, Flying Fool), dies at 76
- Apr 13 Eduard van Beinum, Dutch musician & conductor, dies at 58
- Apr 13 Rigardus "Rijn" Rijnhout, Giant of Rotterdam (2.375m), dies at 38
- Apr 16 Charles Halton, British stage actor (Dr Cyclops, Tugboat Annie Sails Again), dies at 83
- Apr 18 Irving Cummings, American silent screen actor & director (In Old Ariz), dies at 70
- Apr 24 Jef van Hoof, Flemish composer, dies at 72
- Apr 27 Gordon Armstrong, American inventor of the baby incubator, dies at 69
- Apr 30 Armand Marsick, Belgian composer, dies at 81
