April 1934 in History

Events in History

Murder of Interest

Apr 1 Clyde Barrow kills two young highway patrolmen, H. D. Murphy and Edward Bryant Wheeler, at the intersection of Route 114 near Grapevine, Texas. Bonnie Parker's role in the murders helps turn public perception against the gang for good

Apr 6 418 Lutheran ministers arrested in Germany

Event of Interest

Apr 7 In India, Mahatma Gandhi suspends his campaign of civil disobedience

Apr 12 Second highest ever wind speed of 372 km/h (231 mph) recorded on Mt Washington
Apr 12 The US Auto-Lite Strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
Apr 13 4.7 million US families report receiving welfare payments
Apr 13 US Congress passes Johnson Debt Default Act
Apr 18 1st "Washateria" (laundromat) opens (Fort Worth, Texas)

Appointment of Interest

Apr 18 Adolf Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop ambassador for disarmament

Event of Interest

Apr 20 Heinrich Himmler becomes inspector Prussian secret state police

Event of Interest

Apr 22 US Division of Investigation (later the FBI) under Melvin Purvis botch an operation to capture the John Dillinger Gang at Little Bohemia Lodge, Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. with 2 dead and 4 injured

Apr 28 Spanish government of Ricardo Samper forms
Apr 28 Tigers' Goose Goslin grounds into 4 straight double plays

Event of Interest

Apr 28 US President FDR signs Home Owners Loan Act

Apr 30 Austria gets "Austrian fascist" constitution

Birthdays in History

Apr 1 Vladimir Posner, Russian-French-American journalist who represented and explained the views of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, born in Paris
Apr 2 Christopher France, British permanent secretary (Department of Health) (d. 2014)
Apr 2 Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician (Cohen forcing, Continuum hypothesis), born in Long Branch, New Jersey (d. 2007)
Apr 2 Peter Middleton, British permanent secretary (Treasury)

Jane Goodall (88 years old)

Apr 3 British primatologist, anthropologist, and writer (Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe), born in Hampstead, London, England

Apr 5 Roman Herzog, President of Germany (1994-99), born in Landshut, Bavaria, Germany (d. 2017)
Apr 5 Tina Maria Stone, runner (1 year distance record of 15,472 miles)
Apr 7 Swami Shantananda, Hindu Saint, Philosopher, Disciple of Swami Sivananda, Founder of Temple of Fine Arts
Apr 8 Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect (d. 2007)
Apr 9 Bill Birch, New Zealand politician (38th Minister of Finance), born in Hastings, New Zealand
Apr 10 David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (Pulitzer 1964), born in NYC, New York (d. 2007)
Apr 11 Dame Anne Poole, British chief nursing officer (Department of Health)
Apr 11 Mark Strand, American poet, editor and translator (Another Republic), born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada (d. 2014)
Apr 11 Richard A. Garland, artist and photographer (d. 1994)
Apr 12 Charlie Robertson, American politician (mayor of York, Pennsylvania 1994-2002), born in York, Pennsylvania, (d. 2017)
Apr 14 Fredric Jameson, American philosopher and cultural theorist
Apr 16 Geoffrey Owen, British editor (Financial Times)
Apr 20 Lindsay Oliver John Boynton, furniture historian (d. 1995)
Apr 20 Robert G. Wilmers, American banker (M&T Bank), billionaire and philanthropist, born in New York (d. 2017)
Apr 22 Nico Ladenis, Tanganyikan-British restaurateur (Nico at 90), born in Tanganyika, Tanzania
Apr 24 Allen Aylett, Australian Rules football midfielder (North Melbourne FC 220 games) and executive (president North Melbourne FC 1971-76, 2001-05; chairman VFL 1977-84), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2022)
Apr 26 Michael McCloskey, American environmentalist and chairman (Sierra Club), born in Eugene, Oregon
Apr 28 Lois Duncan, American young adult novelist (I Know What You Did Last Summer), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)
Apr 29 Pedro Pires, President of Cape Verde (2001-2011), Prime Minister of Cape Verde (1975-91), born in Fogo, Cape Verde

Deaths in History

Apr 7 William Monroe Trotter, American newspaper editor and activist for African-Americans civil rights, dies in a fall from his roof on his 62nd birthday
Apr 11 John Collier, English painter (Lady Godiva) and writer, dies at 84
Apr 30 William H. Welch, American pathologist who founded John Hopkins Hospital, dies at 75