Events in History
Historic Event
Apr 2 Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for his kidnapped son
Election of Interest
Apr 10 Paul von Hindenburg is re-elected President of Germany in a runoff election against Adolf Hitler
- Apr 12 Emmanuel Chabriers & Balanchines ballet premieres in Monte Carlo
Historic Event
Apr 17 Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia ends slavery
Historic Event
Apr 19 President Herbert Hoover suggests 5 day work week
Historic Event
Apr 19 Bonnie Parker is captured in a failed hardware store burglary, and subsequently jailed. A grand jury fails to indict her, however, and she is released a few months later
Historic Event
Apr 23 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens at Stratford-on-Avon, England
Historic Event
Apr 26 Jean Anouilh's "L'Ermine" premieres in Paris
Birthdays in History
- Apr 3 Janet Bately, Prof of English Language (King's College London)
- Apr 3 Martin Nourse, Lord Justice of Appeal of England and Wales (d. 2017)
- Apr 4 Richard Lugar, American politician (U.S. Senator from Indiana, 1977-2013), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2019)
- Apr 9 Jim Fowler, American naturalist (Wild Kingdom), born in Albany, Georgia
- Apr 9 Paul Krassner, American comic strip cartoonist (MAD Magazine) and founder (Yippies), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Apr 9 Peter Moores, British businessman and director (Littlewoods), born in Lancashire, England (d. 2016)
- Apr 9 Vladimir Aleksandrovich Degtyaryov, Russian cosmonaut, born in Voronezh, Russia
- Apr 11 Francis G. Neubeck, USAF pilot and astronaut, born in Washington, D.C.
- Apr 12 Jack Gelber, American playwright (The Connection, Apple), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2003)
- Apr 12 Dennis Banks, American activist (leader of the American Indian Movement), born in Leech Lake Indian Reservation, Minnesota (d. 2017)
- Apr 12 Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan politician (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka), born in Colombo, British Ceylon (d. 2005)
- Apr 13 Orlando Letelier, Chilean economist and politician, born in Temuco, Chile (d. 1976)
- Apr 14 Bill Bennett, Canadian politician, Premier of British Columbia (1975-86), born in Kelowna, British Columbia (d. 2015)
- Apr 15 Nikolai Porvatkin, Russian cosmonaut, born in Vozdvizhenka, Saratov Oblast (d. 2009)
- Apr 17 Han J. A. Hansen [Jansen], Dutch journalist (King Comes!)
- Apr 19 Fernando Botero, Colombian figurative artist & sculptor, born in Medellín, Colombia
- Apr 23 Halston [Roy Halston Frowick], American fashion designer (1972 Hall of Fame), born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 1990)
- Apr 23 Jim Fixx, American jogger and writer (Jim Fixx on Running), born in NYC, New York (d. 1984)
- Apr 26 Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist (Nobel 1993- Site-directed mutagenesis), born in Blackpool, England (d. 2000)
- Apr 27 Roelof "Pik" Botha, South African minister of Foreign affairs, born in Rustenburg, Transvaal, South Africa
- Apr 27 Gian-Carlo Rota, Italian-born American mathematician and philosopher, born in Vigevano, Italy (d. 1999)
- Apr 29 Yevgeni Alekseyevich Zaikin, Russian cosmonaut (Voshkod 2 backup)
Deaths in History
- Apr 2 Bill Pickett, American rodeo performer (invented bulldogging), dies after being kicked in the head by a bronco at 61
- Apr 4 Ottokar Czernin, Austro-Hungarian diplomat (Imperial Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary) and politician, dies at 59
- Apr 4 Wilhelm Ostwald, Baltic German physical chemist (Nobel Prize - 1909), dies at 78
- Apr 7 Erv A Kelley, US policeman, shot to death by Pretty Boy Floyd
- Apr 10 André Baillon, Belgian-French author (& sabots), dies at 56
- Apr 13 Johannes T de Visser, 1st Dutch Min of Education, dies at 75 [or 14th]
- Apr 17 Patrick Geddes, Scottish biologist and town planner who coined the term conurbation, dies at 77
- Apr 20 Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and glottologist, dies at 73
- Apr 27 Hart Crane, American poet (The Bridge), commits suicide at 32 by jumping overboard into the Gulf of Mexico