Historical Events
Sports History
Apr 2 At 27 years, 249 days Texas Rangers infielder Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest MLB player to hit 300 home runs; homers off Ramon Ortiz in 5th inning of an 11-5 loss to the Angels in Anaheim
- Apr 5 156th Grand National: 10-year-old 16/1 shot Monty's Pass, ridden by Barry Geraghty wins by 12 lengths from 2001 Welsh National winner Supreme Glory
- Apr 5 18th Soap Opera Digest Awards - General Hospital wins
- Apr 5 The Kansas City Royals become the first MLB team to begin the season 5-0 after losing 100 games the previous year, beating the Cleveland Indians, 2 - 1
CMT Music Awards
Apr 7 2nd CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards: Toby Keith & Martina McBride win
- Apr 7 65th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Syracuse beats Kansas, 81-78; Orangemen win first title; Carmelo Anthony named tournament Most Outstanding Player
Event of Interest
Apr 7 U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.
Sports History
Apr 8 22nd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Tennessee, 73-68; UConn guard Diana Taurasi is named Most Outstanding Player
Invasion of Iraq
Apr 9 Baghdad falls to US forces, ending the invasion of Iraq, resulting in widespread looting
- Apr 13 49th British Academy Television Awards: "Alistair McGowan's Big Impression" Best Comedy, "Spooks" Best Drama
- Apr 13 67th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Mike Weir wins his only major title in a 1-hole playoff over Len Mattiace; only Canadian to win a major and first left-handed Masters champion
- Apr 14 The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%
- Apr 14 U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the Achille Lauro in 1985
- Apr 16 Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens, admitting 10 new member states to the European Union
Sports History
Apr 16 Washington Wizards' Michael Jordan plays his final NBA game, in Philadelphia, where he receives a 3 minute standing ovation.
Music History
Apr 19 Nina Simone is awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
Boston Marathon
Apr 21 107th Boston Marathon: Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya men's champion in 2:10:11; Svetlana Zakharova of Russia women's winner in 2:25:19
NHL History
Apr 22 Patrick Roy plays his final career NHL game
SARS Outbreak
Apr 23 Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus
- Apr 26 NFL Draft: USC quarterback Carson Palmer first pick by Cincinnati Bengals
Sports History
Apr 28 Andre Agassi recaptures the world no. 1 ranking to become the oldest top-ranked male in the history of the ATP rankings (33 years, 13 days)
Famous Birthdays
Famous Weddings
Russell Crowe
Apr 7 Academy Award "Gladiator" actor Russell Crowe (39) weds singer Danielle Spencer (32) at his 560-acre cattle farm in Nana Glen, New South Wales, Australia; divorce in 2018
- Apr 12 Prince Laurent of Belgium (39) weds land surveyor Claire Coombs (29) in Brussels, Belgium
- Apr 22 "Star Trek: Enterprise" actress Jolene Blalock (28) weds "Live Nation" CEO Michael Rapino in Negril, Jamaica
- Apr 25 "Angel" actress Amy Acker (26) weds actor James Carpinello (27) at Hans Fahden Vineyard in Napa Valley, California
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor, singer and composer (Farewell My Concubine), commits suicide at 46
- Apr 2 (Charles) Edwin Starr [Hatcher], American soul and R&B singer ("War"), dies of a heart attack at 61
- Apr 2 Michael Wayne, American film producer (Green Berets, McLintock), son of John Wayne, dies at 68
- Apr 3 Homer Banks, American singer and songwriter ("Be What You Are"), dies at 61
- Apr 3 Michael Kelly, American journalist (b. 1957)
- Apr 4 Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
- Apr 4 Resortes, Mexican comedian (b. 1916)
- Apr 5 Arthur Knight, CEO (Courtaulds), dies at 86
- Apr 6 Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian percussionist (Drums of Passion), educator, and social activist, dies at 75
- Apr 6 David Bloom, American reporter (b. 1963)
- Apr 6 Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian Catholic clergyman (Archbishop of Toronto, 1978-90; Cardinal 1979-2003), dies at 91
- Apr 7 Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (b. 1903)
- Apr 7 David Greene, British television director (b. 1921)
- Apr 7 Jutta Hipp, German-American jazz pianist and composer, dies at 78
Little Eva (1943-2003)
Apr 10 American pop singer ("The Loco-motion"; "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby"), dies of cervical cancer at 59
- Apr 11 Cecil Howard Green, British geophysicist and businessman (b. 1900)
- Apr 12 Cecil H. Green, American manufacturer (b. 1900)
- Apr 15 Erin Fleming, Canadian actress, dies at 61
- Apr 15 Leonard Tose, American trucking magnate and owner of NFL Philadelphia Eagles (1969-85), dies at 88
- Apr 15 Reg Bundy, British performer, dies at 56
- Apr 16 Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - "Charlie"; Misery; 7th Heaven), dies of multiple myeloma at 72
- Apr 16 Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
- Apr 17 Earl King, American R&B and blues guitarists, singer, and songwriter ("Come On"; "Big Chief"), dies from diabetes-related complications at 69
- Apr 17 John Paul Getty Jr., American-born British oil magnate and billionaire (Getty Oil), dies of a chest infection at 70
- Apr 17 Robert Atkins, American dietician (b. 1930)
- Apr 17 Yiannis Latsis, Greek shipping tycoon, dies at 92
- Apr 18 Edgar F. Codd, English-American computer scientist who contributed to the theory and practice of database management systems, dies at 79 [1]
- Apr 19 Conrad Leonard, British composer and pianist, dies at 104
- Apr 20 Bernard Katz, German-born Australian biophysicist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1970), dies at 92
- Apr 20 Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
- Apr 20 Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
Nina Simone (1933-2003)
Apr 21 American jazz pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and civil rights activist (“Mississippi Goddam”; “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”, “Feeling Good”; “Wild Is The Wind”), dies of breast cancer at 70
- Apr 22 Felice Bryant, American songwriter (Bye Bye Love; Wake Up Little Susie), dies at 77
- Apr 22 Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman, dies at 91
- Apr 22 Michael Larrabee, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4x400m relay 1964), dies from pancreatic cancer at 69
- Apr 23 Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer, dies at 92
- Apr 23 James H. Critchfield, American C.I.A. officer, dies at 86
- Apr 25 Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (b. 1966)
- Apr 26 Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, dies at 98
- Apr 26 Peter Stone, American writer, dies at 73
- Apr 26 Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician, dies at 85
- Apr 27 Piet Roozenburg, Dutch World champion checker player (1948, 51, 52, 55), dies at 78
- Apr 30 Mark Berger, University of Kentucky professor (b. 1955)
- Apr 30 Peter "Possum" Bourne, New Zealand race car driver, dies at 47
