Events in History
- Apr 1 Croatia and Albania join NATO
- Apr 3 Australia formally adopts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Apr 5 North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks
- Apr 6 A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing at least 253.
Fujimori Sentenced
Apr 7 Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces
Abbas Calls Netanyahu
Apr 12 President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority makes a courtesy phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, restarting the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue
- Apr 12 U.S. Navy rescues captain Richard Phillips, killing three pirates and capturing a fourth
- Apr 15 Even though official government sources state that Argentina's GDP will actually grow this year, private consulting firms state that Argentine economy has actually been in recession since October 2008
Helen Clark Appointed to Head UNDP
Apr 17 Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark becomes the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the first woman to lead the organization
- Apr 23 Gamma ray burst (GRB) 090423 is observed for 10 seconds, the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe
- Apr 30 Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Apr 30 Failed attack on the Dutch Royal Family results in 7 deaths and 17 injured
- Apr 30 The United Kingdom formally ends combat operations in Iraq
Deaths in History
- Apr 2 Frank Springer, American comics artist (The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist), dies at 79
- Apr 7 Dave Arneson, American game designer (Dungeons & Dragons), dies of cancer at 61
- Apr 8 Wally Baker, American supercentenarian, dies at 111
- Apr 10 Deborah Digges, American poet (b. 1950)
- Apr 11 Corín Tellado, Spanish romance novelist, sold the most books in Spanish (400 million), dies at 81
- Apr 12 John Maddox, British science writer and editor (Nature), dies at 83
- Apr 12 Kirby Laing, English Construction head (John Laing & Son), dies at 92
- Apr 14 Maurice Druon, French writer and journalist (Prix Goncourt), dies at 90
- Apr 17 Honoré Desmond Sharrer, American artist (Tribute to the American Working People), dies aged 88
- Apr 17 Martin Garrod, British Commandant General Royal Marines, dies at 73
- Apr 19 J.G. Ballard, British novelist (Empire of the Sun; Crash), dies of prostate cancer at 78
- Apr 21 Vivian Maier, American street photographer unknown until her death, dies at 83
- Apr 24 John Michell, British writer, (b. 1933)
- Apr 25 John J. Marchi, American politician (NY Senate 1957-2006), dies at 87
- Apr 30 Venetia Burney [Phair], British woman credited with naming Clyde Tombaugh's discovered planet "Pluto" (1930), dies at 90
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists