What Happened in April 1919

Historical Events

  • Apr 1 Stanley Cup Final, Seattle Ice Arena, Seattle, WA: With Montreal Canadiens (NHL) & Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) tied at 2-2-1, trophy not awarded due to worldwide flu epidemic
  • Apr 1 The influential Bauhaus School opens in Weimar, Germany, headed by architect Walter Gropius teaching painting, sculpture, architecture, and design [1]
  • Apr 3 Austria expels all Habsburgers
  • Apr 5 Antwerp is officially declared the host city for the Games of the 7th Olympiad to be conducted in 1920; first post WWI Olympics

Eamon de Valera President

Apr 5 Eamon de Valera becomes President of Dail Eireann, the Irish parliament

  • Apr 5 Polish Army executes 35 young Jews
  • Apr 6 Bavaria proclaims itself a soviet republic

General Strike

Apr 6 Mahatma Gandhi organizes a general strike in India to protest the Rowlatt Acts, which allowed political cases to be tried without juries and internment without trial

  • Apr 7 1st parcel of land is purchased for Cleveland Metroparks
  • Apr 10 Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos
  • Apr 11 The International Labour Organization is founded.
  • Apr 12 British Parliament passes a 48-hour work week with minimum wages
  • Apr 13 British troops open fire on demonstrators in Amritsar, India, killing 350
  • Apr 13 Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
  • Apr 19 André Messager's romantic opera "Monsieur Beaucaire", based on Booth Tarkington's novel, opens at the Prince's Theatre in London, England
  • Apr 19 French assembly decides on 8 hour work day
  • Apr 20 King Nicholas of Montenegro abdicates under duress
  • Apr 20 Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from Soviet Army
  • Apr 21 23rd Boston Marathon won by Carl Linder in 2:29:13.4
  • Apr 23 US Major League Baseball opens a reduced 140-game season
  • Apr 28 1st jump with US Army Air Corps (rip-cord type) parachute (Les Irvin)
  • Apr 28 American stuntman and parachute developer Leslie Irvin (23) makes first premeditated free-fall parachute jump from a plane above US the Army Air Service's McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio [1]
  • Apr 30 Phillies beat Brooklyn Dodgers 9-0 in 20 innings
1919 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Apr 1 Joseph Murray, American surgeon, Nobel laureate, (d. 2012)
  • Apr 2 Antoon Hubben, Dutch Mayor of Maasbree and trade union leader, born in Nieuwenhagen, Netherlands (d. 1992)
  • Apr 2 Delfo Cabrera, Argentine distance runner (Olympic gold marathon 1948), born in Armstrong, Argentina (d. 1981)
  • Apr 2 Ian Hunter, British impresario of classical music, born in Hadley Wood, Middlesex (d. 2003)
  • Apr 3 Duke of Grafton, 11th Duke of Grafton, born in Cape Town (d. 2011)
  • Apr 4 Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (Metropolitan Opera 1957), born in London (d. 1987)
  • Apr 5 Douglas Henley, British auditor-general, born in Beckenham, Kent (d. 2003)
  • Apr 5 Les Munro, New Zealand WWII pilot (Dambusters Raid), born in Gisbourne New Zealand (d. 2015)
  • Apr 6 Paula Kelly, American big band singer (The Modernaires), born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, (d. 1992) [1]
  • Apr 7 Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (6x Olympic gold, 1936-1960), (d. 2012)
  • Apr 7 Ralph Flanagan, American orchestra leader (Let's Dance), born in Loraine, Ohio (d. 1995)
  • Apr 8 Ian Smith, Rhodesian farmer, fighter pilot, and politician (Prime Minister of Rhodesia, 1964-79), born in Selukwe, Rhodesia (d. 2007)
  • Apr 9 J. Presper Eckert, Jr., American engineer and co-inventor (1st electronic computer-ENIAC), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1995)
  • Apr 11 Hugh Carey, American politician and attorney (Gov-D-NY), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2011)
  • Apr 11 Raymond Carr, English historian and warden (St Antony's College Oxford), born in Bath, Somerset, England (d. 2015)
  • Apr 12 Billy Vaughn, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader ("Sail Along Sil'vry Moon"), born in Glasgow, Kentucky (d. 1991)
  • Apr 12 István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian classical and electronic music composer (La Tourangelle; Winthrop), educator (McGill; Queens (Ontario) Universities), and writer (Alternative Voices), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2012) [1]
  • Apr 12 Maurice Girodias, French publisher and founder (Olympia Press), born in Paris (d. 1990)
  • Apr 13 Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American atheist who opposed prayer in school and was murdered in 1995, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1995)
  • Apr 13 Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer, born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2000)
  • Apr 13 Roland Gaucher, French journalist, born in Paris (d. 2007)
  • Apr 13 [Harold] Howard Keel, American actor, singer, (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Kiss Me Kate), and president of the Screen Actors Guild, born in Gillespie, Illinois (d. 2004)
  • Apr 14 Mendelis Bašs, Latvian composer, conductor, and pedagogue, born in Riga, Latvia (d. 2012)
  • Apr 15 Clive Beadon, British RAF Wing Commander and pilot (WWII), born in Conoor near Poona, India (d. 1996)
  • Apr 15 Meriol Trevor, English novelist and biographer (Civil Prisoners), born in London (d. 2000)
  • Apr 16 Merce Cunningham, American choreographer (Acrobat in Every Soul is a Circus), born in Centralia, Washington (d. 2009)
  • Apr 16 Tom Willmore, English geometer, born in Gillingham, England (d. 2005)
  • Apr 17 Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer, born in San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia Province, Costa Rica (d. 2012)
  • Apr 17 Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (1984-90), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2016)
  • Apr 17 Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado, Cuban communist politician and 14th President of Cuba (1959-76), born in Cienfuegos, Cuba (d. 1983)
  • Apr 18 Virginia O'Brien, American actress and singer (Meet the People; DuBarry Was A Lady; Thousands Cheer), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2001)
  • Apr 19 Gil Langley, Australian cricketer (Australian wicket-keeper 1951-56), born in Adelaide, Australia (d. 2001)
  • Apr 20 Richard Hillary, Australian Spitfire pilot and author (The Last Enemy), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1943)
  • Apr 21 Don Cornell [Luigi Varlaro], American pop singer (Sammy Kaye Orchestra - "Room Full of Roses; solo - "Hold My Hand"), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2004)
  • Apr 21 Frank Essed, Surinamese politician and forestry scientist (Operation Grasshopper), born in Paramaribo, Suriname (d. 1988)
  • Apr 21 John Goddard, West Indian cricket all-rounder and captain (27 Tests @ 30.67; 33 wickets; Barbados), born in St Michael, Barbados (d. 1987)
  • Apr 21 Roger Doucet, French Canadian tenor, noted for his bilingual rendition of national anthem "O Canada" at Montreal sporting events, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1981)
  • Apr 22 Benjamin "Bull Moose" Jackson, American R&B saxophone player and singer ("Hurry, Hurry"), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1989)
  • Apr 22 Donald J. Cram, American biochemist (development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity - Nobel 1987), born in Chester, Vermont (d. 2001)
  • Apr 23 Arthur K. Watson, American businessman (IBM), and US Ambassador to France (1970-72), born in Summit, New Jersey (d. 1974) [1]
  • Apr 23 Bulent Arel, Turkish-born electronic composer, born in Istanbul (d. 1990)
  • Apr 23 Dorian Leigh, American supermodel and icon of the fashion industry, born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 2008)
  • Apr 23 Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet military intelligence (GRU), born in Vladikavkaz, Russia (d. 1963)
  • Apr 23 Tālivaldis Ķeniņš, Latvian-Canadian composer, organist, and pedagogue, born in Liepāja, Latvia (d. 2008)
  • Apr 25 Heinz Wunderlich, German organist and composer, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 2012)
  • Apr 27 Walter Ritchie, British sculptor (Man's Struggle), born in Coventry, England (d. 1997)
  • Apr 29 Gérard Oury [Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum] French actor and filmmaker, born in Paris, France (d. 2006)
  • Apr 30 Valeer van Kerkhove, Flemish writer (De Bungalow), born in Sleidinge, Belgium (d. 1982)
Born in 1919

Famous Divorces

Jack Dempsey

Apr 2 American world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey (23) divorces Maxine Gates after 2 years of marriage

Famous Deaths

  • Apr 3 Paul Geisler, German conductor, composer, and pedagogue, dies at 62
  • Apr 4 William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (Crookes-pipe, thallium), dies at 86
  • Apr 6 Stefan Surzynski, Polish conductor and composer, dies at 63

Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852-1919)

Apr 8 American businessman, retail pioneer (Five-and-Dimes; self-service display cases) and founder of F. W. Woolworth Co, dies at 66 [1]

  • Apr 8 Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist (introduced idea of molecular surface tension), dies at 70 (b. 1848)
  • Apr 10 Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary and peasant leader (Plan de Ayala), murdered in an ambush at 39
  • Apr 13 Phoebe Hearst, American philanthropist & suffragist, dies at 76
  • Apr 15 Jane Delano, American nurse and educator (Red Cross Nursing Service during WWI), dies at 57
  • Apr 30 Henry Wood, English cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 134no; Kent CCC, Surrey CCC), dies at 65