Historical Events in April 1944

  • Apr 1 Japanese troops conquer Jessami, Eastern India
  • Apr 2 CPI-leader Palmiro Togliatti returns to Italy
  • Apr 2 Dmitri Shostakovitch's 8th Symphony premieres in NY
  • Apr 2 Soviet Army marches into pro-German Romania
  • Apr 3 British dive bombers attack battle cruiser Tirpitz
  • Apr 3 US Supreme Court (Smith v Allwright) "white primaries" unconstitutional
  • Apr 4 British troops capture Addis Ababa Ethiopia
  • Apr 4 De Gaulle forms new regime in exile, with communists
  • Apr 4 Allied Bucharest bombings targeting railroads kills 5,000
  • Apr 5 140 Lancasters bomb aircraft factory in Toulouse
  • Apr 5 World War II: 270 inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans
  • Apr 6 Jewish nursery at Izieu-Ain, France, overrun by Nazis

BattleD-Day

Apr 7 World War II: General Montgomery speaks to generals at St. Paul's School about his vision for the upcoming D-Day landings
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"Into the Jaws of Death" by Robert F. Sargent
  • Apr 9 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Orientals Ecclesiae
  • Apr 10 "Patrolling the Ether" is shown on 3 TV stations simultaneously
  • Apr 10 Soviet forces liberate Odessa from Nazis
  • Apr 11 RAF bombs census bureau in The Hague
  • Apr 12 Lillian Hellman's "Searching Wind" premieres in NYC
  • Apr 13 South Carolina rejects black suffrage
  • Apr 13 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens sweep Chicago Blackhawks in 4 games
  • Apr 13 Transport #71 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
  • Apr 13 Diplomatic relations are established between New Zealand and the Soviet Union
  • Apr 14 1st Jews transported from Athens arrive at Auschwitz
  • Apr 14 Freighter "Fort Stikene" explodes in Bombay India, killing 1,376

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Apr 14 General Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force

34th US President & WWII General Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th US President & WWII General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Apr 14 Greek Colonel Venizelos forms government
  • Apr 18 48th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:31:50.4
  • Apr 18 Leonard Bernstein & Jerome Robbins' ballet premieres in NYC
  • Apr 19 Allied fleet attack Sabang Sumatra
  • Apr 19 1944 NFL Draft: Angelo Bertelli from University of Notre Dame first pick by Boston Yanks
  • Apr 20 Dutch Communist Party resistance fighter John Postma sentence to death
  • Apr 20 NFL legalizes coaching from bench
  • Apr 21 NFL Chic Cardinals & Pittsburgh Steelers merge (dissolves on Dec 3)
  • Apr 22 Allies land near Hollandia, New-Guinea

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Apr 22 Adolf Hitler & Benito Mussolini meet at Salzburg

Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini
Italian Dictator
Benito Mussolini
Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler
Dictator of Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
  • Apr 24 1st Boeing B-29 arrives in China "over the Hump"
  • Apr 25 United Negro College Fund incorporates
  • Apr 26 1st B-29 attacked by Japanese fighters, one fighter shot down
  • Apr 26 Papandreou government in Greece forms
  • Apr 27 Boston Brave Jim Tobin no-hits Bkln Dodgers, 2-0

Conference meetingMeeting of Interest

Apr 28 Stalin meets Polish US priest S Orlemanski

Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin
Soviet General Secretary
Joseph Stalin
  • Apr 28 Exercise "Tiger" ends with 750 US soldiers dead in D-Day rehearsal after their convoy ships were attacked by German torpedo boats off Slapton Sands, Devon.
  • Apr 29 Raid by Dutch Resistance on the National Printing Office in The Hague to procure 10,000 Dutch identity cards.
  • Apr 30 NY Giant Phil Weintraub gets 11 RBIs
  • Apr 30 NY Giant, Mel Ott scores 6 runs in 1 game drawing 5 walks for 4th time