Historical Events
Jesse James Assassinated
Apr 3 American outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back of the head and killed by fellow gang member Robert Ford at home in St. Joseph, Missouri
The Elektromote
Apr 29 The "Elektromote" - forerunner of the trolleybus - is tested by Werner von Siemens in Berlin
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 1 Paul Anspach, Belgian fencer (Olympic gold individual epée, team epée 1912), born in Burcht, Belgium (d. 1981)
- Apr 4 Mary Howe, American composer (Sand) and pianist, born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 1964)
- Apr 5 Don Blackie, Australian cricket spin bowler (3 Tests, 14 wickets, BB 6/94; Victoria), born in Bendigo, Australia (d. 1955)
- Apr 7 Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricket spin bowler (14 Tests; 74 wickets @ 17.97; Queensland, Victoria), born in Pine Mountain, Australia (d. 1971)
- Apr 7 Kurt von Schleicher, German politician (German Chancellor 1932-33, murdered during Night of the Long Knives), born in Brandenburg an der Havel (d. 1934)
- Apr 8 Lulu McConnell, American vaudeville, radio, and television comedienne (It Pays To Be Ignorant), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1962)
- Apr 9 Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, born in Palermo, Italy (d. 1945)
- Apr 14 Moritz Schlick, Austrian philosopher, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1936)
- Apr 15 Giovanni Amendola, Italian anti-fascist and editor-in-chief (Il Mondo), born in Naples, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1926)
- Apr 16 Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (Six Pieces for Organ), born in Bloomfield, New Jersey (d. 1972)
- Apr 17 Artur Schnabel, Austrian pianist (Beethoven Piano Sonatas), born in Lipnik, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1951)
- Apr 18 Leopold Stokowski, British conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra, 1912-40; Disney's Fantasia, 1939; American Symphony Orchestra, 1962-72), organist, and arranger, born in London, England (d. 1977)
- Apr 20 Holland Smith, American General in the U.S. Marine Corps, born in Seale, Alabama (d. 1967)
- Apr 21 Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 - physics of high pressure), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 1961)
- Apr 23 Albert Coates, English conductor and composer (Eagle; Pickwick), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1953)
- Apr 23 Max Winders, Belgian architect (WWII), responsible for bringing the Belgian gold stock, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1982)
- Apr 24 Hugh Dowding, commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, born in Moffat, Scotland (d. 1970)
Fred McLeod (1882-1976)
Apr 25 Scottish golfer (US Open 1908), born in North Berwick, Scotland
- Apr 28 Alberto Pirelli, Italian industrialist, born in Milano, Italy (d. 1971)
- Apr 29 Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch artist (The Blue Barge) and resistance fighter, born in Leens, Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1945)
- Apr 30 Nine van de Schaaf, Dutch author (To the Invisible), born in Terhorne, Netherlands (d. 1973)
Famous Weddings
Sarah Bernhardt
Apr 4 Actress Sarah Bernhardt marries diplomat Aristide Damala in London
Famous Deaths
- Apr 3 Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken, German composer, dies at 71
Jesse James (1847-1882)
Apr 3 American outlaw and son of a clergyman, shot dead at 34 by fellow gang member Robert Ford in St. Joseph, Missouri
- Apr 8 Jules Quicherat, French historian and archaeologist, dies at 67
- Apr 9 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English Pre-Raphaelite poet and painter, dies at 53
- Apr 10 William Hulbert, American Baseball HOF executive (President Chicago White Stockings; National League 1877-82), dies from a heart attack at 49
- Apr 13 Bruno Bauer, German theologian, dies at 72
- Apr 17 George Jennings, English sanitary engineer (invented first public flush toilets), dies at 71
- Apr 18 Henry Cole, English inventor and civil servant, 1st director of the V&A Museum, promoter of 1851 Great Exhibition, dies at 73
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Apr 19 English naturalist (Origin of the Species) who conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection, dies of heart failure at 73
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Apr 27 American essayist and philosopher (Concord Hymn), dies of pneumonia at 78