Historical Events
- Apr 1 32nd Golden Raspberry Awards: Jack and Jill wins
Academy of Country Music Awards
Apr 1 47th Academy of Country Music Awards: Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, and Miranda Lambert win
- Apr 1 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Sun-Young Yoo wins sudden-death playoff on 1st extra hole after I.K. Kim misses a one-foot putt on the 72nd hole for the win
- Apr 1 Plane crash in Western Siberia kills at least 31 people (UTair Aviation ATR-72)
WrestleMania XXVIII
Apr 1 WrestleMania XXVIII, Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL: The Rock defeats John Cena, titled "Once in a Lifetime"
- Apr 2 74th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky defeats Kansas, 67-59; Wildcats guard Doron Lamb, 22 points
- Apr 2 Oikos University, Oakland shooting kills seven people and injures 3
- Apr 3 31st NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Baylor beats Notre Dame, 80-61; Lady Bears' second National title
- Apr 3 Moscow fire kills 17 migrant workers
Rock for the Rainforest
Apr 3 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Jennifer Hudson, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Esperanza Spaulding, Bruno Mars, Bryn Terfel, and Bill Clinton
- Apr 3 Spanish unemployment reaches record high, youth unemployment stands at 50%
Election of Interest
Apr 3 US President Barack Obama officially secures Democratic presidential nomination
- Apr 4 Boris Tadić, President of Serbia, resigns
Historic Publication
Apr 4 German Nobel Laureate, Günter Grass, publishes controversial poem that claims Israel is plotting to wipe out Iran
- Apr 4 Somalia's National Theater is struck by a suicide bomber killing ten people including the presidents of the Somali Olympic Committee and Football Federation
- Apr 5 77-year old pensioner's suicide outside Greek parliament prompts further protests in Athens
- Apr 5 A three-run homer by J.P. Arencibia off Jairo Asencio gives the Toronto Blue Jays a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians; 16 inning game duration a MLB Opening Day record
- Apr 5 International internet group Anonymous hack several Chinese bureaus in opposition to censorship
- Apr 5 Severe storms in Argentina kill 14 people
- Apr 6 US F-18 Hornet crashes into side of apartment building in Virginia with no fatalities
- Apr 7 130 Pakistani Army soldiers are buried in an avalanche near the Siachen Glacier
- Apr 7 Joyce Banda becomes President of Malawi
US Masters Golf
Apr 8 76th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Bubba Watson wins on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with South African Louis Oosthuizen
- Apr 8 German writer Günter Grass labelled 'persona non grata' by Israeli internal affairs minister Eli Yishai, due to his poem "What Must Be Said"
Easter Message
Apr 8 Pope Benedict XVI calls for an end to Syrian blood shed in papal Easter message
Election of Interest
Apr 10 Rick Santorum suspends his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination making Mitt Romney the overwhelming favourite
- Apr 10 United Nations deadline for Syrian troop withdrawal passes as violence continues
The Avengers
Apr 11 "The Avengers", directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner, premieres in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 11 2011 London riot looter is jailed for 11 years after starting a fire at a furniture retailer
- Apr 11 8.6 magnitude earthquake and 8.2 aftershock occurs off the coast of Indonesia
Buffett Diagnosed with Cancer
Apr 11 Billionaire Warren Buffett is diagnosed with prostate cancer
- Apr 11 Prime Minister of Greece, Lucas Papademos, resigns and calls an election for May 6
- Apr 11 South Korean legislative elections result in the governing Saenuri Party retaining governance
- Apr 12 A ceasefire in the 2011-2012 Syrian uprising comes into effect
- Apr 12 Bodleian, Oxford University and Vatican libraries announce over 1.5 million pages of ancient texts will be made available across the internet
- Apr 12 Civilian rule in Mali is returned after Dioncounda Traore is sworn in as interim president
Album Release
Apr 13 Jason Mraz's fourth studio album, "Love Is a Four Letter Word", is released
- Apr 13 North Korean long range rocket testing ends in failure after the rocket broke up after launch
- Apr 14 165th Grand National: Daryl Jacob wins aboard Neptune Collonges; beats Sunnyhillboy in a photo finish and the closest ever GN finish
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Apr 14 27th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Beastie Boys; Donovan; Guns N' Roses; Laura Nyro; The Red Hot Chili Peppers; The (Small) Faces; The Blue Caps; The Comets; The Crickets; The Famous Flames; The Midnighters; The Miracles; Freddie King; Don Kirshner; Tom Dowd; Glyn Johns; and Cosimo Matassa
Event of Interest
Apr 14 J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels, launches her website "Pottermore"
- Apr 15 400 Islamist Militants escape from a Pakistan prison after an insurgent attack
- Apr 15 China loosens monetary policy and allows the Yuan to fluctuate up to 1% against the US dollar
Music Concert
Apr 15 Hologram of late rapper Tupac features on stage with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at Coachella music festival
Girls
Apr 15 TV comedy drama "Girls" created by and starring Lena Dunham premieres on HBO
- Apr 15 US Secret Service inappropriate conduct scandal begins with at least 11 people implicated
- Apr 16 116th Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Wesley Korir wins men's section in 2:12:40; Sharon Cherop first woman in 2:31:50
- Apr 16 At least 55 people are killed in the Syrian uprising despite UN presence to oversee ceasefire
- Apr 16 For the first time since 1977 no Pulitzer Prize is awarded for fiction
St. Cuthbert Gospel
Apr 17 The 8th century St. Cuthbert Gospel, Europe's oldest intact book, is purchased by the British Library for 9 million pounds
Film & TV History
Apr 20 People magazine name Eva Mendes as one of 2012's Most Beautiful at Every Age
- Apr 20 Plane crash near Islamabad, Pakistan, kills 127 people
- Apr 21 Chicago White Sox pitcher, Philip Humber, pitches the 21st MLB perfect game against the Seattle Mariners
- Apr 21 Two trains in Sloterdijk, Netherlands, injure 117 people in a head on collision
- Apr 22 30-year-old woman collapses and dies during London Marathon
Premiere of Veep
Apr 22 TV political comedy "Veep" created by Armando Iannucci, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Anna Chlumsky premieres on HBO
- Apr 23 38,000 London Marathon entrants have their home and email contacts published in a data protection breach
Election of Interest
Apr 23 Netherlands Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, tenders resignation, paving the way for early elections
- Apr 23 Rangers F.C. owner, Craig Whyte, is banned for life from any involvement in Scottish football
- Apr 25 The United Kingdom dips back into recession after the economy shrank 0.2% in the first quarter of 2012
- Apr 26 70 people are killed by rocket attacks by the Syrian Army on the city of Hama
- Apr 26 Indonesia suspends imports of American beef after a confirmed case of mad cow disease in California
- Apr 26 NFL Draft: Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck first pick by Indianapolis Colts
- Apr 27 Four explosions in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, kill 27 people
- Apr 28 Tent collapse in St Louis, Missouri, kills one and injures 110 people
- Apr 29 International Chemical Weapons Convention deadline for chemical weapon stockpiles comes into effect
- Apr 30 Manchester City defeat Manchester United 1-0 in what is claimed to be the biggest match in the English Premier League's history
- Apr 30 Overloaded ferry in the Brahmaputra River, India, killing 103 people
- Apr 30 Spain's economy double dips after a 0.3% contraction and 25% unemployment rate
- Apr 30 The unfinished One World Trade Center overtakes the Empire State building to become the tallest building in New York
Music History
Apr 30 UNESCO celebrates the 1st International Jazz Day with a daylong celebration in Paris; a sunrise concert in New Orleans’ Congo Square; and a sunset concert at the United Nations in NYC; performers included Tony Bennett, George Benson, Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, Hiromi, Angelique Kidjo, Lang Lang, Shankar Mahadevan, Hugh Masekela, and Esperanza Spalding [1]
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 4 Grumpy Cat [Tardar Sauce], American cat internet celebrity, born in Morristown, Arizona (d. 2019)
Famous Weddings
Ricki Lake
Apr 8 American actress and television host Ricki Lake (42) weds jewelry designer Christian Evans in a secret ceremony at Southern California
Neil Diamond
Apr 21 Music legend Neil Diamond (71) weds music manager Katie McNeil (42) at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Famous Divorces
Heidi Klum & Seal
Apr 6 Actress and model Heidi Klum (39) divorces British soul and R&B singer-songwriter Seal (49) due to irreconcilable differences after almost seven years of marriage
Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony
Apr 9 Salsa artist Marc Anthony (42) files for divorce from pop star and actress Jennifer Lopez (43) due to irreconcilable differences after 7 years of marriage; finalized in 2014
Martin Lawrence
Apr 25 Comedian and actor Martin Lawrence (47) files for divorce from Shamicka Gibbs due to irreconcilable differences after 1.5 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian soccer striker (14 caps; Lazio, NY Cosmos), dies from heart attack at 65
- Apr 1 Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican President, dies from complications of pulmonary emphysema at 77
- Apr 2 Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and print maker (Mother and Child), dies at 96
- Apr 4 Claude Miller, French director and screenwriter, dies at 70
- Apr 5 Ferdinand A. Porsche, German car designer (Porsche 911), dies at 76
- Apr 5 Jim Marshall, British businessman and electric guitar amplifier pioneer known as "The Father of Loud", dies at 88
- Apr 6 Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi, dies from heart attack at 78
- Apr 6 Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist/dissident, dies at 76
- Apr 6 Thomas Kinkade, American artist, dies from acute intoxication at 54
Mike Wallace (1918-2012)
Apr 7 American journalist and media personality (60 Minutes, 1968-2006; Biography), dies of natural causes at 93
- Apr 8 Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman (Commodore Computers), dies at 83
- Apr 9 Dave Shriver, American rock bassist (Eddie Cochran, Trini Lopez), and music director, dies of cardiac arrest following a stroke at 76
- Apr 9 Mark Lenzi, American springboard diver (Olympic gold 1992), dies at 43
- Apr 10 Raymond Aubrac, French Resistance Leader, dies at 97
- Apr 10 Ritchie Teeter, American drummer (The Dictators, 1976-79; Twisted Sister, 1980-81), dies of esophageal cancer at 61
- Apr 11 Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian socialist revolutionary and 1st President of Algeria (1963-65), dies at 93
- Apr 12 Andrew Love, American saxophonist (The Memphis Horns), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 70
- Apr 12 George Mesterhazy, Hungarian-American jazz pianist, and arranger, dies at 56
- Apr 14 Émile Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 92
- Apr 14 John Herbert "Jonathan" Frid, Canadian actor (Barnabas Collins-Dark Shadows), dies of pneumonia at 87
- Apr 15 Charles Pringle, British air marshal, dies at 92
- Apr 15 Joan Tozzer, American figure skater, dies at 90
- Apr 15 Murray Rose, Australian Olympic gold winning swimmer, dies from leukemia at 73
- Apr 16 Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish shipping Magnate, dies at 98
- Apr 17 Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer, dies from a heart attack at 64
Dick Clark (1929-2012)
Apr 18 American radio and television personality (American Bandstand), dies from a heart attack at 82
- Apr 18 Robert O. Ragland, American film score composer (The Thing With Two Heads), dies at 80
- Apr 19 Greg Ham, Australian rock saxophonist and flutist (Men At Work - "Who Can It Be Now"), dies under mysterious circumstances at 58
- Apr 19 Levon Helm, American drummer and singer (The Band - "Up On Cripple Creek"; "The Weight"), and actor (Coal Miner's Daughter; The Right Stuff), dies from throat cancer at 71
- Apr 19 Valeri Vasiliev, Soviet ice hockey defenceman (2x Olympic gold, dies at 62
- Apr 20 Bert Weedon, British jazz, pop, and blues guitar player ("Guitar Boogie Shuffle"), dies at 91
- Apr 20 Peter Carsten, German actor and film producer actor (A Study in Terror, Mr Super Invisible), dies at 83
- Apr 21 Charles Colson, Nixon adviser (Watergate), dies from a brain hemorrhage at 80
- Apr 23 Chris Ethridge, American country rock bass guitarist (International Submarine Band; The Flying Burrito Brothers), dies from pancreatic cancer at 65
- Apr 23 LeRoy T. Walker, American sports executive (first black president US Olympic Committee 1992-96), dies at 93
- Apr 23 Tommy Marth, American rock saxophone player (the Killers, 2008-2010), dies of self-inflicted gunshot at 33
- Apr 24 Nel Ginjaar-Maas, Dutch under-secretary of Education (VVD), dies at 80
- Apr 27 Bill "Moose" Skowron, American baseball first baseman (8 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1956, 58, 61, 62 NY Yankees, 1963 LA Dodgers), dies from lung cancer at 81
- Apr 27 Jan Bark, Swedish jazz, classical, and avant agrde trombonist and composer, dies at 78
- Apr 28 Jackie Kelso [John Joseph Kelson Jr], American jazz saxophonist & session musician, dies at 90
- Apr 28 Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and researcher, dies at 92
- Apr 28 Patricia Medina, British actress (The Three Musketeers, High-Low), dies from natural causes at 92
- Apr 29 Amarillo Slim, American professional poker player, dies at 83
- Apr 29 Jim McCrary, American photographer (album covers such as Tapestry, Ticket to Ride), dies of a chronic nervous system disorder at 72
- Apr 29 Shukri Ghanem, Libyan Prime Minister, dies at 69
- Apr 30 George Murdock, American actor, dies at 81
