- 310 St Eusebius begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 387 Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptizes Augustinus
- 1025 Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland
- 1506 The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid in the Vatican
- 1518 Bona Sforza is crowned queen consort of Poland
Event of Interest
1521 Diet of Worms: Cardinal Alexander questions Martin Luther
Martin Luther
- 1552 Mauritius of Saksen occupies Linz
- 1663 Osman declares war on Austria
- 1666 Peace of Kleef: Netherlands & bishop Von Galen of Munster
- 1676 Sudbury, Massachussetts, attacked by Indians
- 1688 "Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery": Francis Daniel Pastorius authors 1st formal written protest against African-American slavery in English colonies in Germantown, Pennsylvania
- 1738 Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") founded in Madrid
Event of Interest
1775 Paul Revere and William Dawes ride from Charlestown to Lexington warning the "regulars are coming!"
Paul Revere
Election of Interest
1835 William Lamb (Lord Melbourne) becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Robert Peel resigns out of frustration
William Lamb
Robert Peel
Event of Interest
1861 Colonel Robert E Lee turns down offer to command Union armies (US Civil War)
Robert E. Lee
Event of Interest
1865 Confederate General Johnson surrenders to General William T. Sherman in North Carolina
William Tecumseh Sherman
Event of Interest
1874 David Livingstone, African explorer, buried in Westminster Abbey
David Livingstone
- 1876 Daniel O'Leary completes a 500 mile walk in 139 hrs 32 min
- 1879 Trial of Standing Bear-Crook on indians citizen rights begins
- 1880 An F4 tornado strikes Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100.
- 1881 Natural History Museum opens in South Kensington, England
- 1890 NY Commission of Emigration ends, closing Castle Clinton
- 1899 John McGraw, at 36, has his managerial debut as Oriole manager
San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire kills nearly 4,000 while destroying 75% of the city
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Boxing Title Fight
1908 Tommy Burns KOs Jewy Smith in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
Tommy Burns
- 1912 Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City
- 1912 Tripolitan War: in continuing hostilities, Turkey closes the Dardanelles Straits after an Italian naval bombardment of the coastline
- 1915 French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
- 1916 US Secretary of State Warns Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships stop
Event of Interest
1916 Edith Wharton is appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest award, for her contribution to the war effort
Edith Wharton
- 1918 Cleveland center fielder Tris Speaker turns an unassisted double play
- 1921 Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Spring
- 1921 Philip James Barry's "Punch for Judy" premieres in NYC
- 1922 Netherlands soccer team defeats Denmark 2-0
- 1923 74,000 (62,281 paid) on hand for opening of Yankee Stadium
- 1923 Poland annexes Central Lithuania
- 1924 1st crossword puzzle book published by Simon & Schuster
- 1925 World's Fair opens in Chicago
- 1926 Rhein Stadium opens in Dusseldorf, Germany
Event of Interest
1927 Chiang Kai-shek forms anti-government in China
Chiang Kai-shek
- 1929 Palace for People's industry in Amsterdam devastated by fire
- 1930 Attempted raid on the armoury of police and auxiliary forces in Chittagong in Bengal province, British India by armed pro-independence revolutionaries led by Surya Sen popularly known as Master-da
- 1930 BBC news announcer announces "there is no news" at 20:45 news bulletin, plays music instead
- 1934 1st "Washateria" (laundromat) opens (Fort Worth, Texas)
Event of Interest
1934 Adolf Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop ambassador for disarmament
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Adolf Hitler
- 1935 Gen Sarazen's double eagle on 15th, wins him his 2nd Masters
- 1935 Netherlands election (Musserts NSB wins 8% of vote)
- 1936 Pan-Am Clipper begins regular passenger flights from San Francisco to Honolulu
- 1938 Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland
- 1939 Franz von Papen becomes German ambassador in Turkey
- 1939 Hubert Pierlot forms Belgian government
- 1942 "Stars & Stripes" paper for US armed forces starts
Event of Interest
1942 James Doolittle bombs Tokyo & other Japanese cities
Jimmy Doolittle
- 1942 Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 3
- 1944 48th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:31:50.4
- 1944 Leonard Bernstein & Jerome Robbins' ballet premieres in NYC
- 1945 1 armed outfielder, St Louis Brown Pete Gray, 1st game he goes 1 for 4
- 1945 Epe freed (by corporal G van Aken)
- 1945 Clandestine Radio 1212, after broadcasting pro-nazi propaganda for months used their influence to trap 350,000 German army group B troops
- 1945 Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bolivia established
- 1946 Rome, Auerbach and Horwitt's musical "Call Me Mister" opens at National Theater NYC for 734 performances
Event of Interest
1946 Jackie Robinson debuts as 2nd baseman for the Montreal Royals
Jackie Robinson
- 1946 League of Nations dissolves (3 months after UN starts)
- 1946 US recognizes Tito's Yugoslavia government
- 1948 International Court of Justice opens at The Hague Netherlands
- 1949 Republic of Ireland withdraws from British Commonwealth
- 1950 1st opening night-game, Cards beat Pirates, 4-2
- 1950 Polish Catholic church & government sign accord over relations
- 1950 Sam Jethroe is 1st African American to play for Boston Braves
- 1950 Yankees win 15-10 after trailing Red Sox 9-0 in 6th
- 1951 "Make a Wish" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 102 performances
- 1951 Dutch Antilles government of Da Costa Gomez forms
- 1951 France, West Germany & Benelux form European Steel & Coal Community
- 1953 "Pal Joey" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 542 performances
- 1954 Colonel Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power & becomes Prime Minister of Egypt
- 1955 "Ankles Aweigh" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 176 performances
- 1955 1st "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed
- 1955 1st Bandoeng Conference - Afro-Asian conference opens
- 1956 Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire
- 1958 Government troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra Indonesia
- 1958 NL single-game record of 78,682, Giants lose to Dogers 6-5, in LA
Event of Interest
1958 A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.
Ezra Pound
- 1959 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
- 1961 CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule
- 1962 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
- 1963 Dr James Campbell performed the 1st human nerve transplant
- 1963 Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1
- 1964 "Cafe Crown" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 3 performances
- 1964 "Foxy" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 72 performances
- 1964 Artisans strike in Belgium ends
- 1964 Sandy Koufax is 1st to strike out the side on 9 pitches
- 1964 Van Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr Sloane"
Event of Interest
1966 Bill Russell becomes first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)
Bill Russell
- 1968 178,000 employees of US Bell Telephone System go on strike
- 1968 1st ABA basketball championship began
- 1968 Dutch Department of Amnesty International forms
- 1968 London Bridge is sold to US oil company (to be erected in Arizona)
- 1968 Mart Crowley's "Boys in the Band" premieres in NYC
- 1968 Peter Luke's "Hadrian VII" premieres in London
- 1968 San Francisco's Old Hall of Justice demolished
- 1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1969 Greek actress and activist Melina Mercouri establishes Greek Aid Fund
- 1971 Gavaskar makes 220 in 2nd inning v WI after 124 in 1st
- 1972 "Lost in the Stars" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 39 performances
- 1972 The Widgery Report on 'Bloody Sunday' in Northern Ireland is published, causing outrage among the people of Derry who call it the "Widgery Whitewash"
Event of Interest
1973 US Government ends Mandatory Oil Import Program, established in 1959 by President Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1974 Red Brigade kidnaps Italian attorney general Mario Sossi
Event of Interest
1975 John Lennon releases "Stand by Me"
John Lennon
Event of Interest
1977 Alex Haley author of "Roots" awarded Pulitzer Prize
Alex Haley
Baseball Event
1977 Eddie Murray hits his 1st HR
Eddie Murray
- 1977 Pulitzer prize awarded to Michael Cristofer for "Shadow Box"
- 1978 Senate votes to turn Panama Canal over to Panama on Dec 31, 1999
- 1979 "Real People" premieres on NBC TV
- 1979 Major Haddad declares South-Lebanon independent
- 1980 Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) declares independence from UK
- 1981 Longest game in Professional Baseball: Pawtucket Red Sox tie Rochester Red Wings 2-2 in 32 innings (game resumed 23rd June)
- 1982 Atlanta Braves win record 11th straight opening game (beat Astros)
- 1982 Canada Constitution Act replaces British North America Act
- 1982 Zimbabwean capital Salisbury renamed Harare
- 1983 87th Boston Marathon: Greg Meyer of United States 1st man in 2:09:00 and Joan Benoit of United States 1st woman in 2:22:43
- 1983 A lone suicide bomber kills 63, at US Embassy in Lebanon
- 1983 KMO-AM in Tacoma Wash changes call letters to KAMT (now KKMO)
Event of Interest
1983 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Alice Walker for "The Color Purple"
Alice Walker
- 1984 Space Shuttle Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly Air Force Base
- 1984 Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)
- 1985 Wham become the first western pop act to release an album in China
- 1986 IBM produces 1st megabit-chip
- 1986 Robert M Gates becomes deputy director of CIA
- 1986 Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB
- 1987 Bob Land wins his 6th straight Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race
Baseball Record
1987 Mike Schmidt hits 500th home run (vs Robinson-Pirates)
Mike Schmidt
Music Recording
1988 Barbra Streisand records "Warm All Over"
Barbra Streisand
- 1990 Bankruptcy court forces Frank Lorenzo to give up Eastern Airlines
- 1990 Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF
- 1990 Supreme Court rules states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one's home
- 1991 US Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census
- 1991 Congress ends railroad worker 1 day strike
Event of Interest
1991 John Stockton breaks his own NBA season assist record at 1,136
John Stockton
Event of Interest
1993 David Lee Roth arrested in NYC for purchasing marijuana for $10
David Lee Roth
- 1993 Trish Johnson wins LPGA Atlanta Women's Golf Championship
- 1994 "Beauty & the Beast" opens at Palace Theater NYC
- 1994 98th Boston Marathon: Cosmas Ndeti of Kenya 1st man in 2:07:15 and Uta Pippig of Germany 1st woman in 2:21:45
- 1994 Arsenio Hall announces he will end his show in May 1994
- 1994 Cricketer Brian Lara hits 375 runs on 1 day for WI vs England to beat Gary Sobers' world record
- 1994 Former President Nixon suffered a stroke & dies 4 days later
- 1994 Lebanon drops relations with Iran
- 1994 STS-59 (Endeavour) lands [approx]
- 1995 Houston Post folds after 116 years
Event of Interest
1995 Quarterback Joe Montana announces his retirement from football
Joe Montana
Event of Interest
1998 NFL Draft: Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning first pick by Indianapolis Colts
Peyton Manning
- 1998 51st British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): "The Full Monty" Best Film, Baz Luhrmann Best Director
Event of Interest
1999 Wayne Gretzky plays his last game in the NHL, as his New York Rangers lose 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Wayne Gretzky
- 2004 50th British Academy Television Awards: "Little Britain" Best Comedy, "Buried" Best Drama
- 2005 109th Boston Marathon: Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia 1st man in 2:11:44 and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya 1st woman in 2:25:12
- 2007 The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision
- 2008 NBA owners give approval of a potential Seattle SuperSonics' relocation to Oklahoma City in a 28–2 vote by the Board of Governors
Music Awards
2010 45th Academy of Country Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Miranda Lambert win
Carrie Underwood
- 2011 115th Boston Marathon: Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya 1st man in 2:03:02 (course record) and Caroline Kilel of Kenya 1st woman in 2:22:36
- 2012 The Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples begins burning artworks after cultural institution budget cuts
- 2013 27 people are killed and 65 are injured in a cafe bombing in Baghdad, Iraq
- 2013 Two earth-like planets are discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62
Film Premier
2013 "Iron Man 3", directed by Shane Black, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, premieres in London
Gwyneth Paltrow
Robert Downey Jr
- 2014 12 Nepalese climbers are killed by an avalanche on Mt Everest
Hall of Fame
2015 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Lou Reed, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Green Day, Bill Withers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the 5 Royales
Ringo Starr
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Mike Dirnt
- 2017 British Prime Minister Teresa May announces she will seek a "snap" election
- 2018 Protests begin in Managua, Nicaragua, over proposed changes to social security, protesters beaten by suspected pro-government gangs
- 2018 “Black Panther” is the first film shown at a commercial cinema in 35 years in Saudi Arabia as cinemas are reopened
April in History
Boxing Match That Went for 42 Rounds
The first "world championship" boxing match was a brutal affair, lasting nearly two and a half hours and stretching over 42 rounds.
April 17, 1860
Wicked or Sinless? The Life of Lucrezia Borgia
Hardly a week went by when Lucrezia Borgia, born on this day, was not accused of some foul deed. But was she just a pawn in the hands of her evil family?
April 18, 1480
Millions Come Up to See Mae West
Mae West, jailed on this day for obscenity, became one of the most successful sex symbols. Fans could not resist the offer: ‘Come up and see me some time.’
April 19, 1927
World's First Motor Race
It was hardly the stuff of today's adrenalin-pumping Formula 1 match ups, but on this day two men climbed aboard their machine for "the world’s first motor race”.
April 20, 1887