April 1918 in History

Events in History

Event of Interest

Apr 1 Henry Miller's Theater opens at 124 W 43rd St NYC

Apr 1 United Kingdom: the Royal Air Force is created from the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps.
Apr 3 US House of Representatives accepts American Creed written by William Tyler
Apr 4 Food riot in Amsterdam
Apr 13 Electrical fire kills 38 mental patients at Oklahoma State Hospital
Apr 14 Douglas Campbell is 1st US ace pilot (shooting down 5th German plane)

Historic Publication

Apr 15 Georges Clémenceau publishes secret French/Austrian documents

Apr 16 The British House of Commons passes a new Military Service Bill, taking men up to 55 years old and extending to Ireland
Apr 18 The People's Council of Latvia proclaims the independence of the new country of Latvia

Event of Interest

Apr 20 Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day

Apr 21 World War I: German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen "The Red Baron", shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France, Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown credited with the kill
Apr 23 Dover Patrol overthrows Germany U-boat in East Sea
Apr 23 Raid of Zeebrugge; the British navy attempts to block German vessels from leaving port by sinking obsolete ships - mostly fails

Birthdays in History

Apr 2 Charles White, American artist (The Contribution of the Negro to American Democracy), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1979)
Apr 4 George Jellicoe, Earl Jellicoe, British naval commander and member of the House of Lords (1939-2007), born in Hatfield (d. 2007)
Apr 6 Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president (d. 1982)
Apr 6 Joan Bernard, English educator (Principal Trevelyan College, Durham) and army officer (WWII Auxiliary Territorial Service), (d. 2012)

Betty Ford (1918-2011)

Apr 8 First Lady of the United States (1974-77) and founder of the Betty Ford Center clinic, born in Chicago, Illinois

Apr 8 Glendon Swarthout, American novelist (Where The Boys Are; The Shootist), born in Pickney, Massachusetts (d. 1992)
Apr 11 Jean-Claude Servan-Schreiber, French journalist, born in Paris
Apr 11 Richard Wainwright, English politician, Liberal MP for Colne Valley (1966–70), born in Leeds (d. 2003)
Apr 13 A. L. [Audrey] Barker, English writer, born in St Pauls Cray, Kent, England (d. 2002)
Apr 18 Cliff Hillegass, American publisher (Cliffsnotes), born in Rising City, Nebraska (d. 2001)
Apr 18 Roger de Grey, British landscape painter and President of Royal Academy (1984-93) (d. 1995)
Apr 23 Gordon Hirabayshi, American civil rights activist and WWII internment opponent (Hirabayshi v. United States), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2012)
Apr 23 Maurice Druon, French writer and journalist (Prix Goncourt), born in Paris (d. 2009)
Apr 25 Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French astronomer, born in Paris (d. 1995)
Apr 27 John Alfred Scali, American journalist and diplomat, born in Canton, Ohio (d. 1995)
Apr 27 Sten Rudholm, Swedish jurist, member of the Swedish Academy, born in Karlstad, Sweden (d. 2008)

Weddings in History

Eugene O'Neill

Apr 12 American Playwright Eugene O'Neill marries second wife novelist Agnes Boulton

Deaths in History

Apr 5 Paul Vidal de la Blanche, French geographer, dies at 73
Apr 6 John Q. A. Brackett, American politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (1890-91), dies at 75
Apr 13 Lavr Georgevich Kornilov, Russian military officer, dies at 47
Apr 20 Karl Ferdinand Braun, German inventor, co-developed wireless telegraphy (Nobel 1909), dies at 67