- Apr 1 J van Bale appointed governor of New Guinea
- Apr 1 Walcott Worrell & Weekes all make centuries in innings v India
- Apr 2 Raab forms his 1st government in Austria
- Apr 7 1st west-to-east jet transatlantic nonstop flight
- Apr 7 UN General Assembly begins session that will elect Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden as Secretary-General
Event of Interest
Apr 8 Jomo Kenyatta convicted of involvement with the Mau Mau rebellion and sentenced to 7 years jail in Kenya
Jomo Kenyatta
- Apr 10 Dag Hammarskjöld becomes the 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Apr 11 Oveta Culp Hobby becomes 1st at Health, Education, & Welfare
- Apr 11 US Department of Health, Education and Welfare created
- Apr 12 Keizo Yamada runs fastest marathon to date, at Boston
- Apr 14 Viet-Minh offensive in Laos
- Apr 15 Malans National Party wins South African elections
Event of Interest
Apr 16 British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II
- Apr 23 General Charles P Cabell, USAF, becomes deputy director of CIA
Knighthood
Apr 24 Winston Churchill knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Winston Churchill
Elizabeth II
Scientific Discovery
Apr 25 Francis Crick and James Watson's discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is published in "Nature" magazine
Francis Crick
James Watson