Historical Events
1st Woman in US House
Apr 2 Jeannette Rankin (Rep-R-Montana) begins her term as 1st woman member of US House of Reps
Wilson Asks for War
Apr 2 US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany
Stieglitz Shows Georgia O'Keeffe
Apr 3 Alfred Stieglitz opens first one-person show of the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe at 291 art gallery in New York
Lenin Returns to Russia
Apr 3 Vladimir Lenin arrives in Petrograd, returning to Russia from exile in Switzerland [NS=April 16]
- Apr 4 US Senate agrees (82-6) to participate in WWI
- Apr 6 The United States declares war on Germany and enters World War I on the side of the Allies
- Apr 7 J.M. Barrie's play "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" premieres in London
- Apr 7 Manuel de Falla's ballet "El Sombrero de tres Picos" ("The Three-Cornered Hat") premieres at Teatro Eslava in Madrid, Spain
- Apr 9 Battle of Arras begins
Vimy Ridge
Apr 9 Vimy Ridge in France stormed by Canadian troops
- Apr 10 Munition factory explosion at Eddystone, Pennsylvania, kills 133 workers
- Apr 12 Bijou Theater opens at 222 W 45th St NYC (Demolished 1982)
- Apr 12 Domenico Scarlatti & Jeab Cocteaus ballet premieres in Rome
- Apr 14 Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Cicotte no-hits St Louis Browns, 11-0
- Apr 16 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy in 2:28:37.2
- Apr 16 Vladimir Lenin issues his radical "April Theses" calling for Soviets to take power during the Russian Revolution [OS Apr 4]
- Apr 16 [OS Apr 3] Lenin arrives back from exile in Russia at Finland Station, Petrograd to join the Russian Revolution
- Apr 24 NY Yankees left-handed pitcher George Mogridge no-hits Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Fenway Park
- Apr 24 US Congress passes the Liberty Loan Act, authorizing the Treasury to issue a public subscription for 2 billion in bonds for the war
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 1 Leon Janney (Ramon), American actor (Charly, Stolen Paradise, Hawk), born in Ogden, Utah (d. 1980)
- Apr 2 Lou Monte [Scaglione], Italian-American novelty song singer-songwriter (Peppino the Italian Mouse; Dominick the Donkey), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1989)
- Apr 2 Robert "Dabbs" Greer, American actor (Gunsmoke, The Green Mile, Little House on Prairie), born in Fairview, Missouri (d. 2007)
- Apr 3 Bill Finegan, American pianist and big band arranger (Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey), composer and bandleader (Sauter-Finegan Orchestra), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2008)
- Apr 3 Tibor Andrasovan, Slovak composer, born in Slovenská Lupca, Zólyom, Austria-Hungary (d. 2001)
- Apr 4 Joseph Ortiz, French-Algerian extremist and rebel (barricade uprising), born in Guyotville, Algeria (d. 1995)
- Apr 5 Richard Yardumian, American composer (Come Creator Spirit), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1985)
- Apr 5 Robert Bloch, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Psycho), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1994)
- Apr 6 Leonora Carrington, British-Mexican Surrealist artist, born in Clayton-le-Woods, England (d. 2011)
- Apr 7 Egil Harder, Danish concert pianist and composer (The Blue Anemone), born in Norway (d. 1997)
- Apr 7 R G Armstrong [Robert Golden], American actor (Predator, Dick Tracey, T.H.E. Cat), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2012)
- Apr 9 Brad Dexter [Boris Milanovich], American actor (Macao, The Magnificent Seven), born in Goldfield, Nevada (d. 2002)
- Apr 9 Johannes Bobrowski, German poet and writer, born in Tilsit, East Prussia (d. 1965)
- Apr 9 Vincent O'Brien, Irish racehorse trainer (6 x Epsom Derby; 2 x British champion trainer; only British Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky 1970), born in Churchtown, Ireland (d. 2009)
- Apr 10 Robert B. Woodward, American organic chemist (Nobel 1965), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1979)
- Apr 11 Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster (Hockey Night in Canada), born in Sydney, Nova Scotia (d. 1993)
- Apr 11 David Westheimer, American novelist (Von Ryan's Express), born in Houston, Texas (d. 2005)
- Apr 12 Helen Forrest [Fogel], American big band, pop, and swing jazz singer (Artie Shaw; Benny Goodman; Harry James), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 1999) [1]
- Apr 12 M Marie Wadlow, American softball pitcher (Hall of Fame 1957), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1979)
- Apr 12 Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricket all-rounder (44 Tests, 5 x 100, HS 231, 162 wickets, BB 8/52; Nawanagar, Hindus, Gujarat, Bombay, Rajasthan), born in Jamnagar, India (d. 1978)
- Apr 14 Marvin Miller, American Baseball HOF executive (Executive Director MLB Players Association 1966-82), born in New York City (d. 2012)
- Apr 14 Valerie Hobson, British actress (Great Expectations), born in Larne, County Antrim, Ireland (d. 1998)
- Apr 15 Hans Conried, American actor (Peter Pan; Bullwinkle Show; Make Room for Daddy - "Uncle Tonoose"; The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1982)
- Apr 15 Pietro Grossi, Italian composer, and electronic music pioneer, born in Venice, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2002)
- Apr 16 Barry Nelson, American actor, first actor to play James Bond, born in San Francisco, California (d. 2007)
- Apr 16 Charlotte Salomon, German-Jewish artist, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1943)
- Apr 17 Bill Clements, American politician, Governor of Texas (1987-91), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2011)
- Apr 18 Frederica of Hanover, Queen Consort of Greece, born in Blankenburg am Harz, Duchy of Brunswick (d. 1981)
- Apr 18 Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player, born in Edmundston, New Brunswick (d. 1947)
- Apr 19 Johnny Hoes, Dutch musician and producer (Wished I'd stayed with my Mom), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2011)
- Apr 22 Leo Abse, Welsh politician and biographer, born in Cardiff (d. 2008)
- Apr 22 Sidney Nolan, Australian painter and illustrator (Ned Kelly), born in Carlton, Victoria, Australia (d. 1992)
- Apr 22 Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina, born in Paris (d. 2016)
- Apr 23 Jacob Kistemaker, Dutch nuclear physicist (ultra centrifuge), born in Kolhorn, Netherlands (d. 2010)
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
Apr 25 American jazz, swing, pop, and blues singer, known as "The First Lady of Song" (Verve "Songbook" series), born in Newport News, Virginia [1]
I. M. Pei (1917-2019)
Apr 26 Chinese-American modernist architect (Louvre Pyramid; JFK Library; Dallas Symphony Hall; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Brunner Prize (1961), PrItzker Prize (1983), born in Kwangchou, Canton, China [1]
- Apr 26 Sal Maglie, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1954; MLB All Star 1951, 52; NY Giants; no-hitter 1956 Cleveland Indians), born in Niagara Falls, New York (d. 1992)
- Apr 28 Joop Waasdorp, Dutch writer (Naked Life), born in Amsterdam (d. 1988)
- Apr 28 Robert Anderson, American writer (Tea & Sympathy, I Never Sang for My Father), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2009)
- Apr 28 Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (Thing, War of the Worlds, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), born in St. Helens, Oregon (d. 2006)
- Apr 29 Celeste Holm, American actress (Gentleman's Agreement, All About Eve), born in New York City (d. 2012)
- Apr 29 Maya Deren [born Eleanora Derenkowskaia], American filmmaker (Meshes of the Afternoon; At Land), born in Kyiv, Ukraine (d. 1961)
- Apr 30 Bea Wain, American singer and radio host ("Deep Purple"; "Heart and Soul"), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2017)
Famous Deaths
Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
Apr 1 American ragtime composer (The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag), dies at 48
- Apr 2 Bryn Lewis, Welsh rugby union winger (2 caps; Newport, Cambridge University), dies on active duty in WWI at 26
- Apr 3 Arthur Graeme West, British writer and war poet (The Diary of a Dead Officer), killed by a sniper at about 25
- Apr 7 Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer (Olympic Hymn), dies at 53
- Apr 9 Edward Thomas, poet, killed in WW I
- Apr 9 James Hope Moulton, British scholar of Classical Greek (b. 1863)
- Apr 14 L. L. Zamenhof, Polish physician and linguist (Esperanto), dies at 57
- Apr 18 Moritz von Bissing, Prussian general, dies at 73
- Apr 18 Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist, professor, and writer (The Forensic Psychopathology), dies of renal failure at 59
- Apr 24 Oskar Blumenthal, German playwright and critic, dies at 65
