Historical Events
- Apr 1 J van Bale appointed governor of New Guinea
- Apr 1 KXMC TV channel 13 in Minot, ND (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
Three West Indian Centuries
Apr 1 West Indian cricket batsmen Frank Worrell (237), Clyde Walcott (118) and Everton Weekes (109) all make centuries in 1st innings of drawn 5th Test v India in Kingston, Jamaica
- Apr 2 Raab forms his 1st government in Austria
TV Guide
Apr 3 American magazine "TV Guide" publishes 1st issue; cover features photo of Lucille Ball's new born baby boy, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (later professionally known as Desi Arnaz, Jr.)
Election of Interest
Apr 7 UN General Assembly begins session that will elect Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden as Secretary-General
Jomo Kenyatta
Apr 8 Jomo Kenyatta convicted of involvement with the Mau Mau rebellion and sentenced to 7 years jail in Kenya
- Apr 10 "House of Wax" 1st color 3-D movie, premieres in New York
- Apr 10 Dag Hammarskjöld becomes the 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Apr 10 NBA Championship Finals, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minnesota, MN: Minneapolis Lakers beat NY Knicks, 91-84 for a 4-1 series victory; Lakers' 5th title in 6 years
- Apr 11 Oveta Culp Hobby becomes 1st at Health, Education, & Welfare
- Apr 11 US Department of Health, Education and Welfare created
17th US Masters
Apr 12 17th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Hogan shatters the Masters scoring record by 5 strokes with a 274 (−14) to finish 5 strokes ahead of runner-up Ed Oliver; Hogan's second Masters
- Apr 12 Keizo Yamada runs fastest marathon to date, at Boston
- Apr 12 KFDX TV channel 3 in Wichita Falls, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
British Expedition to Mount Everest
Apr 12 Leading icefall party of the British expedition to climb Mount Everest reaches Base Camp at 17,900 ft (5455 m)
- Apr 13 1st game of Milwaukee Braves, they beat Cincinnati Reds 2-0
- Apr 14 Viet-Minh offensive in Laos
- Apr 14 WHYN (now WGGB) TV channel 40 in Springfield-Holyoke, MA (ABC) begins
- Apr 15 Malans National Party wins South African elections
- Apr 15 WHP TV channel 21 in Harrisburg, PA (CBS) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
Apr 16 British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II
- Apr 16 Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Connie Ryan bats 6 from 6 in a 14-12 defeat against the Pirates at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh
- Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 1-0 for a 4-1 series win
- Apr 16 WAND TV channel 17 in Decatur, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
Sports History
Apr 17 Mickey Mantle hits a 565' (172 m) HR in Washington, D.C.'s Griffith Stadium
Pal Joey
Apr 18 Revival of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical "Pal Joey", starring Harold Lang and Vivienne Segal, closes at Broadhurst Theater, NYC, after 540 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
- Apr 19 WAFB TV channel 9 in Baton Rouge, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 20 57th Boston Marathon won by Keizo Yamada of Japan in 2:18:51
- Apr 23 "Shane", directed by George Stevens and based on the 1949 novel by Jack Schaefer, starring Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur premieres
- Apr 23 USAF General Charles P. Cabell becomes deputy director of CIA, serves until 1962
- Apr 23 WCOV TV channel 20 in Montgomery, Alabama (IND/CBS) begins broadcasting
Winston Churchill Knighted
Apr 24 Winston Churchill knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Structure of DNA Published
Apr 25 Francis Crick and James Watson's discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is published in "Nature" magazine
- Apr 27 1st general elections in British Guiana, won by the People's Progressive Party with Cheddi Jagan first person of Indian descent to be elected head of government outside South Asia
- Apr 27 Wrestler Freddie Blassie coins term "Pencil neck geek"
- Apr 29 6th Cannes Film Festival: "The Wages of Fear" directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- Apr 29 Milwaukee Braves' Joe Adcock is 1st to homer into Polo Grounds center field bleachers
- Apr 29 The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 1 Aftab Baloch, Pakistan cricket batsman (2 Tests; 7th player to pass the 400 first class run milestone, 428 for Sind 1974), born in Karachi, Pakistan
- Apr 1 Alberto Zaccheroni, Italian soccer manager (AC Milan, Lazio, Internazionale, Torino, Juventus, UAE, Japan), born in Meldola, Italy
- Apr 1 Barry Sonnenfeld, director (Get Shorty, Men in Black), born in New York City
- Apr 1 Pavol Biroš, Slovak soccer defender (9 caps, Czechoslovakia; Slavia Prague), born in Prešov, Slovakia (d. 2020)
- Apr 2 David Robinson, American rock drummer (Cars; The Modern Lovers), born in Malden, Massachusetts
- Apr 2 Debralee Scott, American actress (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - "Cathy"; Angie), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (d. 2005)
- Apr 2 Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician, born in Listooder, Crossgar, Northern Ireland
- Apr 2 Patricia Darcy Jones, American session and touring rock vocalist (Cher), and Broadway actress, born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 2007)
- Apr 3 Craig Taubman, Jewish-American singer (Friday Night Live), born in Millington, Tennessee
- Apr 3 Huub van der Lubbe, Dutch rock singer (Stampei - The Dike), born in Amsterdam
- Apr 3 Mehdi Cerbah, Algerian soccer goalkeeper (57 caps; JS Kabylie), born in Algiers, Algeria (d. 2021)
- Apr 3 Pattie D'Arcy, American musical theater, session and touring vocalist (Cher), born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 2007)
- Apr 3 Russ Francis, American football tight end (New England Patriots; Super Bowl XIX San Francisco 49ers; Pro Bowl 1977, 78, 79), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2023)
- Apr 4 Chen Yi, Chinese-American violinist, composer (From the Path of Beauty), and educator (UMKC Conservatory, 2006-present), born in Guangzhou, China
- Apr 4 Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician (Liberal Party of Canada), born in Fort-Coulonge, Quebec, Canada
- Apr 5 John Buchanan, Australian cricketer (Qld batsman 78-79, Shield coach 1995), born in Ipswich, Queensland
- Apr 6 Christopher Franke, German musician and composer (Tangerine Dream), born in Berlin, Germany
- Apr 6 Janet Lynn, ice skater (Olympic bronze 1972)
- Apr 6 Patrick Doyle, Scottish film composer (Artemis Fowl; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; Thor), born in Uddingston, Scotland
- Apr 7 Everard Endt, American sailor (Olympic gold 1952)
- Apr 9 Dominique Perrault, French architect (National Library of France), born in Clermont-Ferrand, France
- Apr 9 Hal Ketchum, American country singer ("Small Town Saturday Night"), born in Greenwich Village, New York (d. 2020)
- Apr 10 David Moorcroft, British athlete (5,000m world record holder 1982-85), born in Coventry, England
- Apr 10 Terre Roche, American folk-rock singer (The Roches - "Hammond Song"), born in New York
- Apr 11 Andrew Wiles, British mathematician (number theory, proved Fermat's last theorem), born in Cambridge, England
- Apr 11 Branimir "Johnny" Štulić, Croatian rock singer (Azra), born in Skopje, Yugoslavia
- Apr 11 Guy Verhofstadt, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium (1999-2008), born in Dendermonde, Belgium
- Apr 12 Tony James, English rock bassist (Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F-111), born in Shepherds Bush, London
Brigitte Macron (71 years old)
Apr 13 French teacher and wife of politician Emmanuel Macron, born in Amiens, France
- Apr 13 Stephen Byers, British politician (L), (MG Rover Group controversy), born in Wolverhampton
- Apr 14 David Buss, American Evolutionary psychologist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Apr 14 Eric Tsang, Hong Kong actor, director and TV host (Super Trio series), born in Hong Kong
- Apr 16 J. Neil Schulman, American writer (Alongside Night), born in Forest Hills, New York
- Apr 16 Jay O. Sanders, American actor (Meeting Venus, V I Warshawski), born in Austin, Texas
- Apr 16 Peter Garrett, Australian environmentalist, activist, former politician (Labour Party), and musician (Midnight Oil), born in Wahroonga, Sydney
- Apr 18 Rick Moranis, Canadian actor (SCTV; Spaceballs; Ghostbusters; Honey I Shrunk the Kids), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Apr 19 Rod Morgenstein, American rock drummer (Dixie Dregs; Winger), born in New York City
- Apr 19 Ruby Wax, British actress (Girls on Top), born in Evanston, Illinois
- Apr 19 Sara Simeoni, Italian high jumper (Olympic gold 1980), born in Rivoli Veronese, Italy
- Apr 20 James Chance [Siegfried], American punk-jazz saxophonist, keyboard player,(The Contortions), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Apr 20 Ollie Brown, American session and touring drummer and percussionist (Billy Preston; Ray Parker, Jr.), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Apr 20 Sebastian Faulks, British novelist (The Girl at the Lion d'Or), born in Donnington, Berkshire
- Apr 21 Ed Fiori, American golfer (4 PGA Tour titles), born in Lynwood, California
- Apr 22 Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer, mostly of choral music, born in Jämsänkoski, Finland
- Apr 22 Steve Bond, Haifa Israel, actor (General Hospital, To Die For)
- Apr 23 Fred Upton, American politician (US Representatives from Michigan, 1987-2023), born in St. Joseph, Michigan
- Apr 23 James Russo, American actor (My Own Private Idaho;China Girl), born in New York City
- Apr 24 Eric Bogosian, American actor (Talk Radio), born in Woburn, Massachusetts
- Apr 24 John P. Hiler, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana (1981-91), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Apr 25 Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer (Australian batsman 1975-78, 109 on debut v WI), born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia
- Apr 25 Ron Clements, American animation director (Moana), born in Sioux City, Iowa
- Apr 25 Zeriiya Zekkariyas [Linda Womack (née Cooke)], American soul songwriter and singer (Womack & Womack -"Teardrops"), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Apr 27 Arielle Dombasle (née Sonnery), American-French actress (Pauline at the Beach), singer and film dircetor, born in Norwich, Connecticut
- Apr 27 Ellen S. Baker, American physician and NASA astronaut (STS 34, 50, 71), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Apr 27 Pat Hennen, American motorcycle racer (first US rider to win a 500cc GP 1976), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 2024)
- Apr 28 Kim Gordon, American rock bassist (Sonic Youth - "100%"), born in Rochester, New York
- Apr 28 Roberto Bolaño, Chilean author and poet (2666), born in Santiago, Chile (d. 2003)
- Apr 29 Nikolai Nikolayevich Budarin, Russian cosmonaut (STS 71, TM-27), born in Kirya, Russia
- Apr 30 Merrill Osmond, American pop singer, and songwriter (Osmond Brothers - "One Bad Apple"; "Down by the Lazy River"), born in Ogden, Utah
Famous Weddings
Ernie Banks
Apr 6 MLB baseball player Ernie Banks (22) weds Mollye Louise
Alexander Fleming
Apr 9 Biologist Alexander Fleming (71) weds doctor Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas (41)
Gordie Howe
Apr 15 Ice hockey player Gordie Howe (25) weds sports agent Colleen Joffa (20) at Calvary Presbyterian Church
Famous Deaths
- Apr 2 Jean Epstein, French director (Vive la Vie), dies at 56
- Apr 4 Carol II, King of Romania (1930-40), dies at 59
- Apr 4 Rachilde [Marguerite Vallette-Eymery], French author (Monsieur Venus, "Why I am not a Feminist"), dies at 93
- Apr 6 Idris Davies, Welsh poet (b. 1905)
- Apr 6 Whirlaway, American thoroughbred racehorse (Triple Crown 1941), dies at 15
- Apr 11 Kid Nichols, American Baseball HOF pitcher (3 × NL wins leader; All-Time Saves Leader 1899–1906; Boston Beaneaters, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (St. Louis Cardinals 1904–05), dies at 83
- Apr 12 Lionel Logue, Australian speech therapist who treated King George VI (The Kings Speech), dies at 73
- Apr 14 Emmanuel de Bom, Flemish writer (Scheldelucht), dies at 84
- Apr 20 Erich Weinert, German communist writer, dies at 62
- Apr 22 Top Naeff, Dutch writer (School Idyills), dies at 75
- Apr 29 Moïse Kisling, Polish-French painter (La souris boiteuse), dies at 62
