Historical Events
Helter Skelter
Apr 1 "Helter Skelter", detailing Charles Manson's cult "family", their capture, trial, conviction and aftermath, premieres on CBS
- Apr 1 Conrail takes over operations from six bankrupt railroads in the northeastern U.S..
- Apr 1 Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect is first reported by the astronomer Patrick Moore.
Event of Interest
Apr 1 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs' parents house in Cupertino, California
- Apr 2 Cambodia Khieu Sampan succeeds Prince Sihanouk as Premier
Baseball Trade
Apr 2 Oakland Athletics trade 2 key members from recent World Series C'ship team, sending outfielder Reggie Jackson and pitcher Ken Holtzman to Baltimore Orioles in exchange for outfielder Don Baylor and pitchers Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell
- Apr 2 Portuguese constitution assumed
- Apr 3 130th Grand National: John Burke wins aboard Rag Trade; equal record 4th winner trained by Fred Rimell and 2nd winner owned by Pierre Raymond Bessone
- Apr 3 21st Eurovision Song Contest: Brotherhood of Man for United Kingdom wins singing "Save Your Kisses for Me" in The Hague
- Apr 3 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- Apr 3 Philadelphia Flyers win record tying 20th straight NHL home game
- Apr 4 Seni Pramoj's Democratic Party wins elections in Thailand
Election of Interest
Apr 5 Harold Wilson resigns as James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land
Apr 5 Tom Stoppard's play "Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land" premieres in London
Music History
Apr 6 1st quadrophonic movie track: "Ladies & Gentlemen the Rolling Stones"
Event of Interest
Apr 7 Chinese Politburo fires vice-premier Deng Xiaoping
- Apr 8 1976 NFL Draft: Lee Roy Selmon from University of Oklahoma first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
All the President's Men
Apr 9 "All the President's Men", directed by Alan J. Pakula, based on the non-fiction book by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward detailing their Watergate investigation, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, is released
- Apr 9 US & Russia agreed on size of nuclear tests for peaceful use
- Apr 10 Brewers' Don Money's grand slammer disallowed-Yanks win 9-7
- Apr 10 Cleveland Cavaliers win their 1st NBA Central Division title
US Masters Golf
Apr 11 40th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Raymond Floyd wins his only Masters title, 8 strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw
- Apr 11 The Apple I computer, created by Steve Wozniak is released
Sports History
Apr 17 Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley wins her second WTA Tour Championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; beats Chris Evert 6–3, 5–7, 6–3
Baseball Record
Apr 17 NL greatest comeback: trailing 12-1, Philadelphia Phillies beat Chicago Cubs, 18-16 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field; Mike Schmidt hits 4 consecutive HRs
Music History
Apr 20 George Harrison sings "The Lumberjack Song" with Monty Python in NYC
- Apr 21 Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing
- Apr 21 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1st US Female Nightly News Anchor
Apr 22 Barbara Walters becomes the first female US nightly network news anchor (ABC News)
Film & TV History
Apr 22 Director Ingmar Bergman leaves Sweden due to taxation
- Apr 25 Cub centerfielder Rick Monday rescues US flag from 2 fans trying to set it on fire
- Apr 25 Elections in Vietnam for a National Assembly to reunite the country
- Apr 25 India all out for 97 v West Indies
- Apr 25 Portugal adopts new constitution
- Apr 26 Pan Am begins non-stop flights NYC-Tokyo
- Apr 27 Arabic Monetary Fund established in Abu Dhabi
- Apr 27 Stan Daniels' musical "So Long 174th Street", starring Robert Morse, opens at Harkness Theater, NYC; runs for 16 performances
- Apr 29 Minister Irene Vorrink begins fluoridating Dutch drinking water
- Apr 30 "Silly Love Songs" single released by Wings (Billboard Song of the Year, 1976)
Boxing Title Fight
Apr 30 Muhammad Ali beats Jimmy Young in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
- Apr 30 Royal Canadian Mint opens a branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Apr 30 The Betsy Ross Bridge, spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey opens
Famous Birthdays
Clarence Seedorf (48 years old)
Apr 1 Dutch soccer midfielder (87 caps; AC Milan, Ajax, Real Madrid) and manager (AC Milan, Deportivo La Coruña, Cameroon), born in Paramaribo, Suriname
- Apr 1 David Gilliland, American auto racer and team owner (pole Daytona 500 2007; Meijer 300 2006), born in Riverside, California
- Apr 1 David Oyelowo, English Nigerian actor (Spooks, Lincoln), born in Oxford, England
- Apr 1 Hazem El Masri, Australian rugby league winger (Canterbury Bulldogs; NRL career point scoring record 2,418 points, 317 games; 159 tries, 891/1087 goals @ 81.97%), born in Tripoli, Lebanon
- Apr 2 Evan McMullin, American independent candidate for President (2016), born in Provo, Utah
- Apr 2 Rory Sabbatini, South African-Slovak golfer (US Masters 2007 runner-up; 6 PGA Tour titles), born in Durban, South Africa
- Apr 3 Drew Shirley, American Christian-rock guitarist (All Together Separate; Switchfoot, 2003-present), born in Key West, Florida
- Apr 3 Keith Closs, American basketball center (LA Clippers), born in Hartford, Connecticut
- Apr 3 Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player, coach (Davis Cup 2001), born in Chartres, France
- Apr 3 Will Mellor, English actor (Hollyoaks), born in Bredbury, Greater Manchester
- Apr 4 Emerson, Brazilian footballer (Brazil national team), born in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Apr 4 Sébastien Enjolras, French racing driver, born in Seclin, France (d. 1997)
- Apr 5 Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer
- Apr 5 Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer (British Open 2016), born in Gothenburg, Sweden
- Apr 5 Ike Hilliard, NFL wide receiver (NY Giants)
- Apr 5 Kim Collins, Nevisian athlete (World C'ship gold men's 100m 2003), born in Saint Peter Basseterre Parish, Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Apr 5 Ross Gload, American baseball player
- Apr 5 Ryan Drese, baseball pitcher (Olympic bronze 1996), born in San Francisco, California
- Apr 5 Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
Sterling K. Brown (48 years old)
Apr 5 American actor (The People v. O. J. Simpson, This is Us), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- Apr 6 Candace Cameron Bure, American actress (DJ Tanner-Full House), born in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 6 Georg Hólm, Icelandic rock bassist (Sigur Rós), born in Iceland
- Apr 7 Kevin Alejandro, American actor
- Apr 9 Nikole Hannah-Jones, American journalist (Pulitzer Prize - The 1619 Project), born in Waterloo, Iowa
- Apr 10 Sara Renner, Canadian cross-country skier, born in Golden, British Columbia, Canada
- Apr 12 Brad Miller, American basketball player, born in Kendallville, Indiana
- Apr 13 Dan Campbell, American football coach and former tight end, born in Clifton, Texas, United States
- Apr 13 Everton Matambanadzo, Zimbabwean cricket pace bowler (v Paki 1996), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003)
Apr 13 American actor (seaQuest DSV - "Lucas Wolenczak"), born in Danbury, Connecticut
- Apr 13 Valentina Cervi, Italian actress, born in Rome, Italy
- Apr 13 Yu Ji-tae, South Korean actor, born in Seoul
- Apr 14 Christian Älvestam, Swedish heavy metal guitarist (Scar Symmetry: Miseration), born in Skövde, Sweden
- Apr 14 Jason Wiemer, Canadian NHL left wing, 1994-2006 (Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames, and 4 other teams), born in Kimberley, British Columbia
- Apr 14 Kyle Farnsworth, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1999-2014 (Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and 7 other teams), born in Wichita, Kansas
- Apr 15 Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player
- Apr 15 Susan Ward, American actress
- Apr 16 Dan Kellner, American fencer, born in Livingston, New Jersey
- Apr 16 Kelli O'Hara, American stage actress and singer (The King and I), born in Elk City, Oklahoma
- Apr 16 Lukas Haas, American actor (Witness; Inception), and musician, born in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 16 Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress (Three Times), born in Taipei, Taiwan
- Apr 17 Alex Nesic, Serbian-French-American actor, born in Santa Barbara, California
- Apr 17 Maïwenn [Le Besco], French actress and filmmaker ( Polisse), born in Les Lilas, France
- Apr 17 Monet Mazur, American actress and musician, born in Los Angeles, California
Andrew Ng (48 years old)
Apr 18 British-born American computer scientist (Google Brain, Baidu, Stanford), born in London, England
- Apr 18 Fayray [Minako Ōhashi], Japanese pop-jazz singer-songwriter (Taiyō no Gravity), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Apr 18 Justin Ross, American politician (Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 22nd district 2003-12), born in Bowie, Maryland
Melissa Joan Hart (48 years old)
Apr 18 American actress (Clarissa, Sabrina), born in Smithtown, New York
- Apr 19 Ruud Jolie, Dutch symphonic metal guitarist (Within Temptation), born in Tilburg, Netherlands
- Apr 20 Joey Lawrence, American actor (Gimme a Break, Blossom, Summer Rental), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Apr 20 Lenka Němečková, Czech tennis star (1993 Futures-Maribor-SLO), born in Brno, Czechoslovakia
- Apr 20 Shay Given, Irish footballer, born in Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland
- Apr 21 Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player, born in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Philippines
- Apr 22 Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer
- Apr 23 Aaron Dessner, American songwriter, musician and producer (The National), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Apr 23 Bryce Dessner, American guitarist, songwriter (The National), orchestral and film score composer, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Apr 24 Shane McDermott, American actor (Garrett Booth-Swan's Crossing), born in Middletown, New York
- Apr 24 Sonya Jeyaseelan, Canadian tennis star (1995 Futures Fla), born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
- Apr 24 Steve Finnan, Irish footballer, born in Limerick, Ireland
- Apr 25 Gilberto [Gilberto da Silva Melo], Brazilian soccer midfielder (36 caps; Hertha BSC; Flamengo), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Apr 25 Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player (Olympic silver 2004), born in Korbach, West Germany
Tim Duncan (48 years old)
Apr 25 American NBA forward (San Antonio Spurs), born in Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Apr 26 José Pasillas, American drummer (Incubus - "Meglomaniac"; "Drive"), born in Calabasas, California
- Apr 26 Sarah Tueting, American ice hockey goalie (USA, Olympics 1998), born in New York City
- Apr 27 Isobel Campbell, Scottish singer and composer, born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Apr 27 Sally Hawkins, English film actress (The Shape of Water), born in London, England
- Apr 27 Walter Pandiani, Uruguayan footballer, born in Montevideo, Uruguay
- Apr 28 Karuna Nundy, Indian lawyer (Supreme Court of India), born in Bhopal, India
- Apr 29 God Shammgod, American NBA guard (Wash Wizards), born in New York City
- Apr 29 Jay Orpin, Swedish-Finnish pop composer and record producer, born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Apr 30 Amanda Palmer, American performance artist, pianist, singer, and lyricist (The Dresden Dolls), born in New York City
- Apr 30 Victor Glover, American astronaut (Artemis II), born in Pomona, California [1]
Famous Weddings
Carl Bernstein & Nora Ephron
Apr 14 The Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein (32) weds writer and director Nora Ephron (34) at a civil ceremony in Manhattan; divorce in 1980
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Freddie Lennon, father of John Lennon (Beatles), dies at 63
- Apr 1 Max Ernst, German-French surrealist painter and sculptor (founded surrealism), dies at 85
- Apr 1 Miroslav Ponc, Czech composer, dies at 73
- Apr 2 Ray Teal, American actor (Judgment at Nuremberg, Bonanza), dies at 74
- Apr 3 Maurice Johnstone, English brass band composer, dies at 75
- Apr 4 Harry Nyquist, Swedish-American physicist and electronic engineer who contributed to communication theory (Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem; Nyquist rate), dies at 87
Howard Hughes (1905-1976)
Apr 5 American reclusive billionaire, filmmaker and aviator, dies at 72
Wilder Penfield (1891-1976)
Apr 5 American-born Canadian neurosurgeon, dies at 85
- Apr 6 Ruth Plumly Thomson, American children's writer (Oz series), dies at 84
- Apr 6 Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
- Apr 7 Mary Margaret McBride, American radio personality (WOR-AM, NYC), dies at 76
- Apr 9 Akio Yashiro, Japanese composer, dies at 46
- Apr 9 Phil Ochs, American anti-war folk singer ("I Ain't Marching Anymore"; "Draft Dodger Rag"), commits suicide at 35
- Apr 11 Liam Dunn, American actor, dies at 59
- Apr 12 Paul Ford, American actor (Phil Silvers Show), dies at 74
- Apr 14 José Revueltas, Mexican write and political activist, dies after a heart attack at 61
- Apr 14 Maudie Prickett [Doyle], American character actress (Harvey; Hazel - "Rosie"), dies of renal failure at 61
- Apr 15 Gerald Smith, American antisemite (Nationalist Christian Crusade), dies at 78
- Apr 17 Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist who discovered vitamin K and won the 1943 Nobel Prize in Medicine, dies at 81
- Apr 17 Jean-Jacques Gailliard, Belgian painter, dies at 85
- Apr 18 Mahmoud Younis, Suez Canal nationalization engineer, dies at 65
- Apr 22 Frutuoso de Lima Viana, Brazilian pianist and composer, dies at 79
- Apr 23 James Flavin, American actor (King Kong, In Cold Blood, Man With a Camera), dies from a ruptured aorta at 69
- Apr 23 Karl Schäfer, Austrian figure skater (Olympic gold 1932, 36), dies at 66
- Apr 23 Ronald Radd, British actor (King Lear, Up Jumped a Swagman), dies at 47
- Apr 23 Shimen Ruskin, Polish actor (Beau Brummel, Having a Wonderful Time), dies at 69
- Apr 24 Mark Tobey, US abstract painter, (Broadway Norm), dies at 85
- Apr 25 Alexander Brailowsky, Russian-French pianist (Chopin specialist), dies at 80
- Apr 25 Carol Reed, English film director (Agony & Ecstasy, Oliver!), dies at 69
- Apr 25 Margaret Bannerman, actress (Great Defender), dies at 79
- Apr 26 Allan Jackson, American newscaster (Youth Takes a Stand), dies at 60
- Apr 26 Neil McCallum, British-Canadian actor (Pete-Saber of London), dies at 45
- Apr 26 Sid James [Solomon Joel Cohen], South African-born British character & comedy actor (Hancock's Half Hour, Carry On), dies from a heart attack at 62
- Apr 28 Eugen Roth, German poet, dies at 81
- Apr 28 Richard Hughes, English writer (Fiction as Truth), dies at 76
- Apr 29 Wilhelm Maler, German composer, dies at 73
- Apr 30 Edvard Fliflet Braein, Norwegian composer (Ut mot havet (Out To Sea); Anne Pedersdotter), dies at 51
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide