Events in History
- Apr 1 Aden becomes a British crown colony
- Apr 22 NYC college students stage 4th annual peace strike
- Apr 26 German Luftwaffe destroys Basque town of Guernica in Spain
- Apr 27 1st US social security payment made
- Apr 28 1st commercial flight across Pacific operated by Pan Am
- Apr 29 Symbolic 'Golden Rivet', completing the Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, is driven (later replaced with a more structurally sound steel version)
- Apr 30 The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative
Birthdays in History
- Apr 2 Paul Kanjorski, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
- Apr 4 Hans van den Doel, Dutch politician and economist (PvdA), born in Zierikzee, Netherlands (d. 2012)
- Apr 4 Ian St James, novelist (Balfour Conspiracy, Vengeance, Money Stones)
- Apr 5 Allan R. Thieme, American inventor (first Power operated vehicle/scooter), born in Bridgeport, Michigan
Colin Powell (1937-2021)
Apr 5 American General and 1st Black US Secretary of State (2001-05), born in Harlem, New York City [1]
- Apr 5 Stuart May, senior partner (Theodore Goddard)
- Apr 8 Seymour Hersh, award-winning investigative reporter (NY Times), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Apr 8 Tony Clegg, English property trader (Montleigh), born in Littleborough, England (d. 1995)
- Apr 9 Barrington J. Bayley, English sci-fi author (Collision Course), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2008)
- Apr 9 Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.K.
- Apr 10 Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet (The String, Fever), born in Moscow (d. 2010)
- Apr 12 Igor Volk, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-12) and test pilot, born in Zmiiv, Ukraine (d. 2017)
- Apr 13 Lanford Wilson, American playwright (Hot L Baltimore), born in Lebanon, Missouri
- Apr 15 Conrad Russell, 5th Earl Russell, British historian, born in Harting, West Sussex (d. 2004)
- Apr 17 Brian Sedgemore, British MP (Labour Party 1974-79 and 1983-2005), born in Exmouth, Devon (d. 2015)
- Apr 17 Eduard Stepanov, Russian cosmonaut, born in Werkhopeniye, Russia (d. 2015)
- Apr 17 Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German automotive engineer and executive (Volkswagen Group), born in Vienna, Austria
- Apr 18 Jan Kaplický, British architect of Czech origin, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2009)
- Apr 21 Charles Lee Herron, Ky, FBI most wanted fugitive (Jan 1 1986)
- Apr 22 Bobbi Fiedler, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 2019)
- Apr 23 Victoria Glendinning, British author (Edith Sitwell A Unicorn Among Lions), born in Sheffield, England
Saddam Hussein (1937-2006)
Apr 28 President of Iraq (1979-2003), born in Al-Awja, Iraq
Weddings in History
Douglas MacArthur
Apr 30 General Douglas MacArthur (57) marries 2nd wife Jean Faircloth
Deaths in History
- Apr 2 Nathan Birnbaum, Austrian writer (Gottes Volk;; Der Ruf), and philosopher (early Zionist, later anti-Zionist), dies at 72
- Apr 4 Frantisek X Salda, Czech writer/critic, dies at 69
- Apr 17 Yi Sang, Korean author and poet (Dying Words, Wings, Child’s Bone), dies of tuberculosis in a Japanese prison camp at 26
- Apr 19 William Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English historian and explorer (Spitzbergen), dies at 81
- Apr 25 Clem Sohn, air show performer dies at 26 when his chute fails to open
- Apr 25 Michał Drzymała, Polish peasant rebel (Drzymała's wagon), dies at 79
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937)
Apr 27 Italian philosopher and Marxist theorist, dies at 46
- Apr 29 Wallace Carothers, American chemist and inventor (nylon), commits suicide at 41
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists