Historical Events
- Apr 1 Austrian government of Ignaz Seipel falls
- Apr 1 Doorne's trailer factory in Eindhoven Netherlands opens
- Apr 1 Louie Marx introduces Yo-Yo
- Apr 1 Luis Buñuel releases "Un Chien Andalou" 24-minute film
- Apr 1 Morehouse College, Spellman College & Atlanta University affiliate
- Apr 3 Persia agrees to Litvinov Pact
- Apr 3 RMS Queen Mary is ordered from John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering by Cunard Line.
- Apr 4 1st AAU Greco-Roman wrestling championships held
- Apr 4 Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II's operetta "The New Moon" opens at the Drury Lane Theatre in London's West End
- Apr 5 Lithuania signs Litvinov-pact
Delhi Assembly Courts Arrest
Apr 8 Indian Independence Movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest
- Apr 11 KLO-AM in Ogden UT begins radio transmissions
- Apr 11 Loetafoon celluloid film system demonstrated in Amsterdam
- Apr 15 33rd Boston Marathon won by Canadian Johnny Miles in 2:33:08.6; his second win in the event
- Apr 16 Cleveland rookie center fielder Earl Averill, becomes first American League player to hit a HR on 1st at bat; Indians beat Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at League Park
- Apr 16 New York Yankees become first MLB team to permanently feature numbers on backs of uniforms; numbers correspond to position in batting order
- Apr 18 Palace for People's industry in Amsterdam devastated by fire
- Apr 24 1st non-stop England to India flight takes-off
- Apr 24 Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark
- Apr 26 1st non-stop England to India flight lands
- Apr 27 Ryder Cup Golf, Moortown GC: Great Britain beats US, 7-5 in bitterly cold and snowy conditions
- Apr 30 Ernst Streeruwitz becomes Chancellor of Austria, lasts less than 5 months
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 1 Bo Schembechler Jr., American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (Miami U), coach (Miami U 1963-68, University of Michigan 1969-89; career record 234–65–8), and administrator (Michigan), born in Barberton, Ohio (d. 2006)
- Apr 1 Jane Powell [Suzanne Burce], American singer and actress (Royal Wedding; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2021)
- Apr 1 Milan Kundera, Czech-French poet and novelist (The Joke: The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Immortality), born in Brno, Czechoslovakia (d. 2023) [1]
- Apr 1 Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator [The Adventure of Sudsakorn), born in Klong Warl, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Thailand (d. 2010)
- Apr 2 Catherine Gaskin, Irish-Australian romantic novelist (Fiona, Coporation Wife), born in Dundalk Bay, County Louth, Ireland (d. 2009)
- Apr 2 Frans Andriessen, Dutch politician (KVP/CDA; European Commissioner, 1981-93), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 2019)
- Apr 3 Dennis Farr, Museum director (Courtauld Institute Galleries) and art historian, born in Luton, Bedfordshire (d. 2006)
- Apr 3 Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect (Sears Tower, Chicago; John Hancock Center, Chicago; Metrodome, Minneapolis), born in Dhaka, British India (now Bangladesh) (d. 1982)
- Apr 3 Lee Leonard, American television personality (ESPN, CNN), born in New York City (d. 2018)
- Apr 4 Patricia McBride Lousada, American ballerina (Ballet Society/ New York City Ballet, 1946-51), and cookbook author (Pasta Italian Style), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2019)
- Apr 4 William F. Clinger Jr., American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, born in Warren, Pennsylvania
- Apr 5 Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (Cool Lover, Sugar), born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 2008)
- Apr 5 Joe Meek, English record producer (Telstar), born in Newent, Gloucestershire, England (d. 1967)
- Apr 5 Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (Tartuffe, Pope John Paul II), born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England (d. 2001)
- Apr 6 André Previn, German-American conductor (London Symphony), film score composer (My Fair Lady), and jazz pianist, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2019)
- Apr 6 Art Taylor, American jazz drummer (Bud Powell, Red Garland, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd), bandleader (Taylor's Wailers), and writer (Notes and Tones), born in New York City (d. 1995)
- Apr 6 Edison Vasalievich Denisov, Russian avant-garde composer (Sun of the Incas), born in Tomsk, Siberia (d. 1996)
- Apr 6 Joi Lansing [Joyce Brown], American model, film and television actress (Touch Of Evil; Bob Cummings Show), and nightclub singer, born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 1972)
- Apr 6 Li Yuan-chia, Chinese artist (Ton Fan group), born in Guangxi, China (d. 1994)
- Apr 6 Willis Hall, British writer
Jacques Brel (1929-1978)
Apr 8 Belgian singer, songwriter, actor, director and composer (Le Far West, Pain in the A--), born in Schaerbeek, Brussels
- Apr 8 Renzo de Felice, Italian historian of Fascism, born in Rieti, Italy (d. 1996)
- Apr 8 Walter Berry, Austrian lyric bass-baritone singer, ex-husband of Christa Ludwig, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
- Apr 8 WIlliam K. Everson, English American film historian, born in Yeovil, England (d. 1996)
- Apr 9 Harvey Lichtenstein, American head of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2017)
- Apr 10 Duje Bonačić, Croatian rower (Olympic gold coxless four 1952), born in Split, Croatia (d. 2020)
- Apr 10 Dusan Radic, Serbian composer, born in Sombor (d. 2010)
Max Von Sydow (1929-2020)
Apr 10 Swedish actor (Hawaii, Exorcist, Dune, Game of Thrones), born in Lund, Sweden
- Apr 10 Mike Hawthorn, English auto racer (F1 world champion 1958), born in Mexborough, England (d. 1959)
- Apr 11 Lawrence Coughlin, American lawyer and politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
- Apr 12 Elspet Gray, Lady Rix, Scottish actress (4 Weddings & a Funeral, Solo, Tenko), born in Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland (d. 2013)
- Apr 13 Marilynn Smith, American golfer (Titleholders Championship 1963-64), born in Topeka, Kansas (d. 2019)
- Apr 14 Gerry Anderson, English television producer, (d. 2012)
- Apr 14 Paavo Berglund, Finnish violinist and conductor (Helsinki Chamber Orchestra; Finnish RSO, 1956-72), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 2012)
- Apr 14 William Edgar Thornton, American medical doctor, USAF officer, and NASA astronaut (STS-8; STS-51-B), born in Faison, North Carolina (d. 2021)
- Apr 15 Adrian Cadbury, British confectionery manufacturer (Cadbury) and author of report on Corporate Governance (d. 2015)
- Apr 15 Jocelyn Barrow, British race relations campaigner (Card) and 1st black female governor of the BBC, born in Port of Spain, Trinidad (d. 2020)
- Apr 16 Ed Townsend, American doo-wop singer, songwriter, and producer ("For Your Love"; Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On"), born in Fayetteville, Tennessee (d. 2003)
- Apr 16 Roy Hamilton, American singer (You'll Never Walk Alone), born in Leesburg, Georgia (d. 1969)
- Apr 17 James Last, German-born composer and big band bandleader, born in Bremen, Germany (d. 2015)
- Apr 18 Peter Hordern, British Conservative Party politician
- Apr 18 Peter Jeffrey, British character actor (Dr Phibes Rides Again, Twinsanity), born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, (d. 1999)
- Apr 19 Eddie Crook Jr., American boxer (Olympic gold middleweight 1960), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2005)
- Apr 20 Bob Braun, American TV and radio personality (Dotty Mack Show), born in Ludlow, Kentucky (d. 2001)
- Apr 22 Margaret Pereira, English forensic scientist (Nicholls and Pereira method), born in Bexley, England (d. 2016)
- Apr 22 Michael Atiyah, English mathematician (Atiyah-Singer Index, Fields Medal 1966), born in London, England (d. 2019)
- Apr 22 Robert Wade-Gery, British diplomat (High Commissioner to India 1982–87), born in Oxford (d. 2015)
- Apr 23 George Steiner, French-American literary critic and educator, born in Paris (d. 2020)
- Apr 23 Len Barnard, Australian jazz drummer ("The Naked Dance"; Galapagos Duck), born in Melbourne Australia (d. 2005)
- Apr 24 Ferit Tüzün, Turkish composer (Esintiler - Inspirations; The Ears of Midas), and conductor (Turkish State Opera and Ballet Orchestra, 1959-77), born in Istanbul (d. 1977)
- Apr 24 Rajkumar [Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju], Indian actor and singer in Kannada cinema and cultural icon, born in Gajanur, Madras, India (d. 2006)
- Apr 24 Shammi [Nargis Rabadi], Indian actress (Half Ticket, Dekh Bhai Dekh), born in Bombay, British India (d. 2018)
- Apr 25 José Ángel Valente, Spanish poet (A modo the esperanza), born in Orense, Spain (d. 2000)
- Apr 25 Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper (Olympic gold 1952), born in Dunedin, New Zealand
- Apr 26 Richard Mitchell, American professor and author (The Underground Grammarian), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
- Apr 27 Nina Ponomaryova, Russian athlete (Olympic gold USSR discus 1952, 60; bronze 1956), born in Smychka, Russia (d. 2016)
- Apr 29 April Stevens [Caroline LoTempio], American vocalist ("Deep Purple" - the song, not the band), born in Niagara Falls, New York (d. 2023)
- Apr 29 Mickey McDermott, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- Apr 29 Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer (Kakadu), born in Launceston, Tasmania (d. 2014)
- Apr 29 Ray Barretto, American percussionist and Latin jazz bandleader (Charanga Moderna - "El Watusi"), born in New York City (d. 2006)
- Apr 29 Václav Kučera, Czech composer (Concierto imaginativo; Homenaje a Salvador Dalí), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2017)
- Apr 29 Walter Kempowski, German writer (German Chronicle), born in Rostock (d. 2007)
- Apr 29 [John] Jeremy Thorpe, British politician, Leader of the Liberal Party (Norman Scott scandal), born in London (d. 2014)
Famous Weddings
Famous Deaths
Karl Benz (1844-1929)
Apr 4 German inventor, engine designer and automobile manufacturer (Mercedes-Benz), dies of bronchial inflammation at 84
- Apr 10 Edmond Thieffry, Belgian air pioneer and WW I flying ace (first flight Belgium to the Congo), dies in an airplane crash at 36
- Apr 15 Antonio Smareglia, Italian composer, dies at 74
- Apr 22 Henry Lerolle, French painter, dies at 80
- Apr 22 Ödön Mihalovich, Hungarian composer, dies at 86
- Apr 23 Rudolf Nilsen, Norwegian poet (Hverdagen), dies of tuberculosis at 28