Historical Events
Willard vs Johnson
Apr 5 Jess Willard KOs Jack Johnson after 26 rounds to win the heavyweight boxing title in front of 25,000 fans at Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba
- Apr 10 Castbergian Child Laws adopted in Norway - one of the first laws in the world to protect the welfare of extra-martial children [1]
- Apr 14 A's Herb Pennock is within 1 out of pitching 1st Opening Day no-hitter
- Apr 14 Dutch merchant navy ship Katwijk sunk by Germany torpedo
- Apr 14 Turkey invades Armenia
- Apr 15 Manuel de Falla's ballet "El Amor Brujo" premieres in Madrid
Marquard's No-Hit Game
Apr 15 NY Giant Rube Marquard no-hits Bkln, 2-0
- Apr 18 French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
- Apr 19 19th Boston Marathon won by Canadian Édouard Fabre in 2:31:41.2
- Apr 20 The Armenians rise and seize the Turkish town of Van, which they hold until Russians relieve them on 19 May; thousands of Armenians are killed
- Apr 22 First military use of poison gas occurs when Germany uses chlorine gas against the Allies at Ypres in World War I [1]
- Apr 22 NY Yankees don pinstripes & hat-in-the-ring logo for 1st time
- Apr 22 The Second Battle of Ypres begins on the Western Front in WW I
- Apr 23 ACA becomes National Advisory Council on Aeronautics (NACA)
- Apr 24 German army fires chloroform gas in Ypres (Leper)
- Apr 24 Leaders of the Armenian community in Constantinople (now Istanbul) are arrested by Ottoman authorities, and many later killed, marking the start of the Armenian Genocide
- Apr 24 Pittsburgh Rebels' Frank Allen no-hits St Louis Terriers (Federal League), 2-0
Gallipoli: Guts, Glory and Defeat
Apr 25 First landings at Gaba Tepe and Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula by ANZAC forces during World War I
- Apr 26 Italy secretly signs the "Treaty of London" with Britain, France and Russia, bringing Italy into World War I on the Allied side
Turkish Counterattack
Apr 27 Counterattack launched by Turkish forces under the command of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk against allied troops
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 1 Art Lund, American pop baritone singer ("Mam'selle"), screen and stage actor (Fiorello!), born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 1990)
- Apr 1 Jeff Heath, Canadian baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1941, 43, 45; Cleveland Indians), born in Fort William, Ontario (d. 1975)
- Apr 1 Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrian actor (Helden, Ich suche dich), born in Klosterneuburg, Austria-Hungary (d. 2004)
- Apr 2 Al Barlick, American Baseball Hall of Fame umpire (7 x World Series; 7 x MLB All Star games), born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 1995)
- Apr 2 Antony Dornhorst, British physician and Professor of Medicine, born in Woodford, Essex, England (d. 2003)
- Apr 2 Arthur Ballard, English artist, born in Liverpool, England (d. 1994)
- Apr 3 İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish paediatrician, academic and the founder of YÖK, born in Arbil, Ottoman Empire (d. 2010)
- Apr 3 Paul Touvier, French Nazi collaborator in World War II called the "Hangman of Lyon" and convicted war criminal, born in Saint-Vincent-sur-Jabron, France (d. 1996)
- Apr 3 Piet de Jong, Dutch politician (Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1967-71), born in Apeldoorn, Netherlands (d. 2016)
- Apr 4 Jan Drda, Czech writer (Nema Barikada, Mestecko Na Dlani), born in Příbram, Czech Republic (d. 1970)
- Apr 4 Lars Ahlin, Swedish writer (My Death is My Own), born in Sundsvall, Sweden (d. 1997)
Billie Holiday (1915-1959)
Apr 7 American jazz singer ("I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"; "Strange Fruit"), and songwriter ("God Bless The Child"; "Lady Sings the Blues"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [1]
- Apr 7 Henry Kuttner, American sci-fi author (Dark World, As You Were), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1958)
- Apr 7 Stanley Adams, American character actor (Star Trek - "Cyrano Jones"; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Lilies of the Field), born in New York City (d. 1977)
- Apr 9 Albert Rémy, French actor (Grand Prix, The 400 Blows, The Train), born in Sèvres, Seine, France (d. 1967)
- Apr 9 Bob Quinn, Australian Football Hall of Fame rover (All Australian captain 1947; SA captain 1945-47; Magarey Medal 1938, 45; Port Adelaide FC), born in Adelaide, South Australia (d. 2008)
- Apr 9 Daniel Johnson, Sr., Canadian politician, 20th Premier of Quebec, born in Danville, Quebec, Canada (d. 1968)
Harry Morgan (1915-2011)
Apr 10 American actor (December Bride; M*A*S*H, 1975-83 - "Col. Sherman Potter"; AfterMASH; Dragnet - "Bill Gannon"), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Apr 10 Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist and poet, born in Gouda, Netherlands (d. 2014)
- Apr 12 Emil Petaja, American sci-fi author (Star Mill, Tramontane), born in Milltown, Missoula County, Montana (d. 2000)
- Apr 12 Ernest Borneman, German sexual researcher, psychotherapist, musician and writer (Bang, You're Dead), born in Berlin (d. 1995)
- Apr 12 Hound Dog Taylor [Theodore Roosevelt], American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, born in Natchez, Mississippi (d. 1975)
- Apr 13 Bert Peleman, Flemish writer, born in Puurs, Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1995)
- Apr 13 Bob Devaney, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship, University of Nebraska 1970, 71; University of Wyoming; career record 136–30–7), born in Saginaw, Michigan (d. 1997)
- Apr 13 Rederic Coote, British Anglican Bishop (Colchester) (d. 2000)
- Apr 13 Stephan Hermlin, German writer, born in Chemnitz, Germany (d. 1997)
- Apr 13 Tom Greenshields, English sculptor, born in Devon, England (d. 1994)
- Apr 15 Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and print maker (Mother and Child), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012)
- Apr 16 Dany Tuijnman, Dutch politician (Minister of Transport and Water Management), born in Middelburg, Netherlands (d. 1992)
- Apr 16 Gerard McLarnon, British-Irish actor and writer (The Wrestler's Honeymoon), born in Clitheroe, Lancashire (d. 1997)
- Apr 16 Joan Alexander [Louise Abrass], American actress (The New Adventures of Superman, The Tales of Hoffmann), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 2009)
- Apr 17 Joe Foss, American fighter ace, football executive (Medal of Honor-1943; first commissioner American Football League) and politician, born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (d. 2003)
- Apr 18 Joy Davidman, American poet, writer and wife of C. S. Lewis, born in New York City (d. 1960)
- Apr 19 Dorian Le Gallienne, Australian composer (Four Holy Sonnets of John Donne; Jinker Ride), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1963)
- Apr 19 Harry Craft, American MLB baseball player and manager, born in Ellisville, Mississippi (d. 1995)
- Apr 20 Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist, born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 1997)
- Apr 21 Andor Kovach, Romanian composer (Médée), born in Transylvania, Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 2005)
Anthony Quinn (1915-2001)
Apr 21 Mexican-American actor (Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia, Lust for Life), born in Chihuahua, Mexico
- Apr 21 Emanuel Vardi, Israeli-American viola virtuoso and conductor (South Dakota Symphony 1978-82), born in Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire (d. 2011) [1]
- Apr 21 Werner Groebli, Swiss ice skating clown, (Frick in ice skating act Frick & Frack), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 2008) [1]
- Apr 22 Dick Dudley, American TV host (Village Barn), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 2000)
- Apr 22 Edward Larrabee Barnes, American architect (Walker Art Center), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2004)
- Apr 23 Arnold Hall, British aeronautical engineer, born in Liverpool, England (d. 2000)
- Apr 25 Aksel Quintus Bosz, Surinamese lawyer, born in Pasuruan, Java, Indonesia (d. 1993)
- Apr 25 William Goyen, American writer, born in Trinity, Texas (d. 1983)
- Apr 26 Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer and guitarist, born in Memphis, Tenneessee (d. 1992)
- Apr 29 Donald Mills, American singer (Mills Brothers), born in Piqua, Ohio (d. 1999)
- Apr 30 Mabel Scott, American gospel and R&B vocalist (Boogie Woogie Santa Claus), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 2000)
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Johann Joseph Abert, German composer, dies at 82
- Apr 3 Andrew Stoddart, English cricket batsman and captain (16 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 173; Middlesex CCC) and rugby union centre & captain (10 Tests; first captain Barbarians RFC), dies by suicide at 52
- Apr 14 James Hutton Brew, Pioneer of West African Journalism, dies
- Apr 16 Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, dies at 73
Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)
Apr 23 British WW I poet (Lithuania, The Soldier), dies at 27
- Apr 25 Frederick William Seward, United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
- Apr 25 Nicola d' Arienzo, Italian composer, and pedagogue, dies at 72
- Apr 27 Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (Prometheus), dies at 43
- Apr 27 John Labatt, Canadian brewer and businessman (Labatt Brewing Company), dies at 76
