Historical Events
Battle of Racławice
Apr 4 Battle of Racławice, part of the Polish-Lithuanian uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko with a tactical Polish victory
Priestley Departs England
Apr 7 English chemist and theologian Joseph Priestley departs England for America on board Sansom at Gravesend
Joséphine de Beauharnais Imprisoned
Apr 21 Joséphine de Beauharnais, future Empress of French and first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, is imprisoned during the Reign of Terror
- Apr 21 NYC formally declares coast of Ellis Island publicly owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
- Apr 30 The Battle of Boulou: French forces defeat a Spanish army under General Union during the War of the Pyrenees
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 9 Aristide Farrenc, French flautist, music publisher, and musicologist (Trésor des pianistes), born in Marseilles, France (d. 1865)
- Apr 9 Theobald Boehm, German inventor of the modern flute, born in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1881)
Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858)
Apr 10 Commodore of the United States Navy who opened Japan to Western influence and trade, born in Newport, Rhode Island
- Apr 11 Edward Everett, American statesman and orator, born in Dorchester, Massachusetts (d. 1865)
- Apr 12 Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (geometry), born in Paris (d. 1847)
- Apr 15 Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist, born in Maureilhan, France (d. 1867)
- Apr 17 Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer, born in Erlangen, Germany (d. 1868)
- Apr 23 Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and geographer of Qing Dynasty, born in Shaoyang, China (d. 1857)
Famous Deaths
- Apr 5 Camille Desmoulins, French journalist, pamphleteer and revolutionary leader (his oratory led to storming of the Bastille), guillotined at 34
Georges Danton (1759-1794)
Apr 5 French politician and revolutionary (1st president of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution), executed by guillotine at 34
