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On this day: April 1

April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years), with 274 days left until the end of the year.

 

Events on April 1

  • 1725 J. S. Bach's later Easter Oratorio in its first version is performed at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig on Easter Sunday. Wikipedia
  • 1789 In New York City, the United States House of Representatives achieves its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker. Wikipedia
  • 1865 American Civil War: The Union Army under Major General Philip Sheridan inflicted more than 2,900 casualties on the Confederates at the Battle of Five Forks. Wikipedia
  • 1865 American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia's last supply line during the Siege of Petersburg. Wikipedia
  • 1867 Singapore becomes a British crown colony. Wikipedia
  • 1873 The White Star steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century. Wikipedia
  • 1922 In newly formed Northern Ireland, six Catholics are murdered in the Arnon Street killings, one week after six others were killed in the McMahon killings. Wikipedia
  • 1924 Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years fortress confinement for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch" but spends only nine months in jail. Wikipedia
  • 1941 A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister. Wikipedia
  • 1944 World War II: Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen. Wikipedia
  • 1946 The 8.6 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii. Wikipedia
  • 1948 Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark. Wikipedia
  • 1948 Cold War: Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin. Wikipedia
  • 1954 United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Wikipedia
  • 1955 The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece. Wikipedia
  • 1970 U.S. president Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring that a prominent warning by the surgeon general be placed on cigarette packages. Wikipedia
  • 1970 President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law. Wikipedia
  • 1973 Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India. Wikipedia
  • 1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer, Inc. (first logo pictured). Wikipedia
  • 1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc. Wikipedia
  • 1979 Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah. Wikipedia
  • 1986 Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion. Wikipedia
  • 1989 Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), is introduced in Scotland. Wikipedia
  • 2001 Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it. Wikipedia
  • 2004 Google launches its Email service Gmail. Wikipedia
  • 2011 After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people, including seven UN workers. Wikipedia

Born on April 1

  • 1578 William Harvey, English physician and academic (died 1657) Wikipedia
  • 1753 Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (died 1821) Wikipedia
  • 1776 Sophie Germain, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (died 1831) Wikipedia
  • 1815 Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (died 1898) Wikipedia
  • 1865 Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1929) Wikipedia
  • 1868 Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (died 1918) Wikipedia
  • 1873 Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1943) Wikipedia
  • 1875 Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (died 1932) Wikipedia
  • 1885 Clementine Churchill, English wife of Winston Churchill (died 1977) Wikipedia
  • 1908 Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (died 1970) Wikipedia
  • 1917 Sydney Newman, Canadian screenwriter and producer, co-created Doctor Who (died 1997) Wikipedia
  • 1919 Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012) Wikipedia
  • 1920 Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (died 1997) Wikipedia
  • 1927 Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 2006) Wikipedia
  • 1929 Milan Kundera, Czech-French novelist, poet, and playwright (died 2023) Wikipedia
  • 1932 Debbie Reynolds, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2016) Wikipedia
  • 1933 Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
  • 1937 Yılmaz Güney, Palme d'Or award-winning Kurdish film director, scenarist, actor, novelist and activist (died 1984) Wikipedia
  • 1940 Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011) Wikipedia
  • 1961 Susan Boyle, Scottish singer Wikipedia
  • 1968 Alexander Stubb, Finnish academic and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Finland and 13th President of Finland Wikipedia
  • 1976 Clarence Seedorf, Dutch-Brazilian footballer and manager Wikipedia

Died on April 1

  • 33 Jesus of Nazareth, (Gregorian Calendar Date) Wikipedia
  • 996 John XV, pope of the Catholic Church Wikipedia
  • 1204 Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen Consort of France and England (born 1122) Wikipedia
  • 1917 Scott Joplin, American pianist and composer (born 1868) Wikipedia
  • 1922 Charles I, emperor of Austria (born 1887) Wikipedia
  • 1947 George II, king of Greece (born 1890) Wikipedia
  • 1968 Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1908) Wikipedia
  • 1976 Max Ernst, German painter and sculptor (born 1891) Wikipedia
  • 1984 Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (born 1939) Wikipedia
  • 1991 Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (born 1894) Wikipedia
  • 1994 Robert Doisneau, French photographer (born 1912) Wikipedia
  • 2002 Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (born 1905) Wikipedia
  • 2017 Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Soviet and Russian poet and writer (born 1932) Wikipedia
  • 2025 Val Kilmer, American actor (born 1959) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 1” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.