Historical Events
- Apr 1 14th Easter Seal Telethon raises $24,600,000
- Apr 1 3rd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: USC goes back-to-back; beats Tennessee, 72-61; Cheryl Miller 2nd consecutive MOP award
- Apr 1 8 men record longest distance (13 miles) rowed in 24 hours
PGA Players Championship
Apr 1 PGA Tournament Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: 24-year old Fred Couples finishes at 277 (-11), 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino
Sports History
Apr 2 46th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Georgetown beats Houston, 84-75; Hoyas center Patrick Ewing tournament MOP; John Thompson first African-American head coach to lead his team to any NCAA Division I title
- Apr 5 Galt MacDermot and William Dumaresq's musical "The Human Comedy", based on the novel by William Saroyan, opens at Royale Theater, NYC; runs for 13 performances
NBA Record
Apr 5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421)
- Apr 6 11th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (41C): Challenger 5 launches
- Apr 6 1st time 11 people in space
- Apr 6 Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
Sports History
Apr 7 Detroit Tiger Jack Morris no-hits Chicago White Sox, 4-0
- Apr 8 4th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Lonely Lady" wins
Golf Major
Apr 8 Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Juli Inkster wins the first of her 7 major titles in a sudden-death playoff with Pat Bradley, with a par on the 1st extra hole
- Apr 8 U.S. Census Bureau estimates rank Los Angeles as second most populated city, displacing Chicago which held the position since 1890; New York City remains the top
Academy Awards
Apr 9 56th Academy Awards: "Terms of Endearment", Robert Duvall & Shirley Maclaine win
Academy Awards
Apr 9 56th Academy Awards: Linda Hunt becomes the first person to win an Oscar for portraying a character of the opposite sex, Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
- Apr 9 Canada Health Act, the country's public funded heath insurance scheme (Medicare), passed by the Canadian House of Commons [1]
- Apr 10 Damaged Solar Max satellite snared by Challenger shuttle
- Apr 10 US Senate condemns CIA mining of Nicaraguan harbors
- Apr 11 Challenger astronauts complete 1st in space satellite repair
- Apr 11 Chinese troops invade Vietnam
Appointment of Interest
Apr 11 General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko named President of the Soviet Union
- Apr 11 Soyuz T-11 returns to Earth
- Apr 13 11th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (41C): Challenger 5 returns to Earth
- Apr 13 India beat Pak by 58 runs to win 1st Asia Cricket Cup in Sharjah
- Apr 14 Farewell concert of Dutch pop-ska band Doe Maar at Maasport in Den Bosch, Netherlands
US Masters Golf
Apr 15 48th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Crenshaw wins the first of his 2 green jackets, 2 strokes ahead of 1977 & 1981 champion Tom Watson
- Apr 15 Extremist Sikhs plunder 40 stations in Punjab India
- Apr 15 Galt MacDermot and William Dumaresq's musical "The Human Comedy", based on the novel by William Saroyan, closes at Royale Theater, NYC, after 13 performances
- Apr 15 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- Apr 16 88th Boston Marathon: Englishman Geoff Smith wins men's event in 2:10:34; Lorraine Moller of New Zealand women's champion in 2:29:28
Baseball Record
Apr 16 Oakland A's Dave Kingman hits 3 HRs including a grand slam
- Apr 16 Pulitzer prize awarded to Mary Oliver for "American Primitive"
- Apr 17 Braves pitcher Pascual Perez suspended due to cocaine usage
- Apr 17 During Libyan Embassy demonstration in London, British police officer Yvonne Fletcher shot dead
- Apr 18 Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)
- Apr 18 Space Shuttle Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly Air Force Base
- Apr 19 Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, with green and gold the national colors
- Apr 19 Nemesis, death star of dinosaurs 1st appears in print (Nature magazine)
- Apr 20 Russian offensive in Panshirvallei Afghanistan
- Apr 21 "Nightline" reverts from 1 hour to ½ hour format
Music History
Apr 21 After 37 weeks Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" is knocked off as top album by movie soundtrack for "Footloose"
- Apr 21 Centers for Disease Cont says virus discovered in France causes AIDS
- Apr 21 Franz Weber of Austria skis downhill at a record 209.8 kph
- Apr 21 Montreal Expo David Palmer no-hits St Louis Cards, 4-0 in a perfect 5 inn game
Premiere of "Pope John Paul II"
Apr 22 CBS premiere of TV film "Pope John Paul II", starring Albert Finney in title role
Chinese History
Apr 26 US President Ronald Reagan visits China
- Apr 27 Cleveland Indians beat Detroit Tigers, 8-4, in 19 innings
- Apr 27 Over 70 inches of snow falls on Red Lake Montana
- Apr 28 "La Tragedie de Carmen" closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 187 performances
- Apr 29 "Oliver!" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 17 performances
- Apr 30 1,700 skiers participate in an alpine event at Are, Sweden
- Apr 30 Strong winds cause a 30 min delay in Toronto Blue Jays game
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 1 Olga Rei, Russian television personality
- Apr 2 Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress and singer (The Tribe), born in George, Cape Province, South Africa
- Apr 3 Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer (Club Brugge midfielder), born in Ypres, Belgium
- Apr 3 Maxi López, Argentine footballer (Udinese), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Apr 4 Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian-Serbian backstroke swimmer, born in Vorkuta, Russia
- Apr 4 Augustin Hadelich, Italian-German-American Grammy-winning classical violinist, born in Cecina, Italy
- Apr 4 Carolina Gaitán, Colombian actress (Encanto), born in Villavicencio, Colombia
- Apr 5 Shin Min-a, South Korean model and actress
- Apr 6 Max Bemis, American rock singer-songwriter (Say Anything), and comic-book writer, born in New York City
- Apr 8 Ezra Koenig, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk"; "Oxford Comma"), and broadcaster (Time Crisis), born in New York City
- Apr 8 Kirsten Storms, American actress, born in Orlando, Florida
- Apr 8 Taran Noah Smith, American actor (Mark Taylor-Home Improvement), born in San Francisco, California
- Apr 9 Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player, born in Surrey, British Columbia
- Apr 9 Linda Chung, Chinese-Canadian actress and singer, born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
Mandy Moore (40 years old)
Apr 10 American singer ("Candy") and actress (This Is Us - "Rebecca Pearson"), born in Nashua, New Hampshire
- Apr 10 Zoe, 1st frozen-embryo child, born in Melbourne Australia
- Apr 11 Kelli Garner, American actress (Dreamland), born in Bakersfield, California
- Apr 13 Hiro Mizushima, Japanese actor, born in Tokyo
- Apr 14 Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer-songwriter, born in Torrance, California (d. 2004)
- Apr 14 JP Duminy, South African cricket all-rounder (46 Tests, 6 x 100, HS 166; 42 wickets; 199 ODIs; Western Province + 4 IPL teams), born in Cape Town, South Africa
- Apr 15 Ben Kasica, American rock guitarist (Skillet), born in St Louis, Missouri
- Apr 15 Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
- Apr 16 Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author, born in Silver Spring, Maryland
Claire Foy (40 years old)
Apr 16 English actress (The Crown), born in Stockport, England
- Apr 16 Noah Fleiss, American actor, born in White Plains, New York
- Apr 18 America Ferrera, American actress (Ugly Betty), born in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 19 Lee Da-Hae, South Korean actress (My Girl), born in Seoul, South Korea
- Apr 20 Tyson Griffin, American mixed martial artist (UFC Fight of the Night x 5; Fight of the Year 2007), born in Sacramento, California
- Apr 21 Ashley Peldon, actress (Marsha-Guilding Light, Deceived), born in Staten Island, New York
- Apr 22 Amelle Berrabah, Moroccan-British singer (Sugababes - "Round, Round"), born in Aldershot, Hampshire, England
- Apr 22 Michelle Ryan, English actress
- Apr 23 Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess grandmaster (Women's World Chess Champion 2008-10), born in Perm, Russia
- Apr 24 Michael League, American Grammy Award-winning jazz-funk fusion and world music bassist, composer, and bandleader (Snarky Puppy), born in Long Beach, California
- Apr 24 Tyson Ritter, American singer and songwriter (The All-American Rejects), born in Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Apr 25 Robert Andino, Cuban-American baseball player, born in Miami, Florida
- Apr 26 Mija Martina, Bosnian singer (Eurovision 2019 - "Ne Brini"), born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Apr 26 Ryan O'Donohue, American actor (Byrds of Paradise, Boys are Back), born in Pomona, California
- Apr 27 Frank Carter, British musician (Gallows) and tattooist, born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Patrick Stump (39 years old)
Apr 27 American musician (Fall Out Boy), born in Evanston, Illinois
- Apr 27 Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player (Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders), born in Sherbrooke, Quebec
- Apr 29 Firass Dirani, Lebanese-Australian actor (Power Rangers Mystic Force), born in Sydney, Australia
- Apr 29 Phạm Văn Quyến, Vietnamese footballer
- Apr 30 Shawn Daivari, Persian-American professional wrestler and manager
Famous Weddings
Frances McDormand
Apr 1 American filmmaker Joel Coen (29) marries American actress Frances McDormand (26)
Famous Divorces
Pierre Trudeau
Apr 2 Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (64) divorces Margaret Sinclair (35) due to irreconcilable differences, after 13 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Chepín [Electo Rosell], Cuban violinist, bandleader, and composer (Orquesta Chepín-Chovén), dies at 76
Marvin Gaye (1939-1984)
Apr 1 American soul singer-songwriter ("It Takes Two"; What's Going On"; "Let's Get It On"), shot to death by his father Marvin Gay, Sr., during a domestic dispute in Los Angeles at 44
- Apr 3 Antanas Račiūnas, Lithuanian composer and pedagogue, dies at 78
- Apr 4 Johnny Arnold, English cricket batsman (1 Test, HS 34; Hampshire CCC) and soccer winger (1 cap; Oxford City, Southampton, Fulham), dies at 76
- Apr 4 Oleg Antonov, Soviet airplane engineer (b. 1906)
- Apr 5 Arthur Harris, British RAF Commanding Chief known as "Bomber/Butcher Harris" for commanding the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, dies at 91
- Apr 5 Arthur Travors Harris, marshal of British RAF, dies
- Apr 5 Robert Adams, English sculptor and designer, dies at 67
- Apr 5 Theo Koomen, Dutch sportscaster, dies in auto-accident at 54
- Apr 6 Jimmy Kennedy, Irish singer-songwriter ("Teddy Bears' Picnic"; "My Prayer"), dies at 81
- Apr 6 Ral Donner, singer/narrator, dies at 41
- Apr 7 Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (United States Senator from Idaho), dies at 59
- Apr 7 Samuel C Engel, poet, dies of heart failure at 79
- Apr 8 Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist (Nobel 1978), dies at 89
- Apr 9 Basil Henry Blackwell, British publisher, dies
- Apr 10 Ray Middleton, American actor (1776;, Hurricane Smith), dies at 75
- Apr 11 Fred Robinson, American jazz trombonist (Louis Armstong's Hot Five; Fats Waller; Cab Calloway), dies at 83
- Apr 12 Ruth Taylor, actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), dies at 76
- Apr 13 Christopher Wilder, Australian serial killer, dies at 39
- Apr 13 Dionyssis Papayannopoulos, Greek actor, dies at 71
- Apr 13 George Fierstone, British jazz and session drummer, (The Skyrockets), dies at 67
- Apr 13 Ralph Kirkpatrick, American musician, musicologist and harpsichordist (Domenico Scarlatti), dies at 72
- Apr 13 Richard Hurndall, British actor (Doctor Who, The Inheritors, It's Murder But Is It Art), dies from a heart attack at 73
- Apr 14 Dioniysis Papagiannopoulos, Greek stage and screen actor, dies of a stroke at 71
- Apr 15 Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer, dies at 58
- Apr 15 Machito [Francisco "Frank" Grillo], Latin jazz musician and creator of Cu-bop and salsa music (Afro-Cubans), dies following a stroke at 76
- Apr 15 Tommy Cooper, British comedian and magician, collapses and dies on stage at 61
- Apr 15 William Empson, English poet and critic (Milton's God), dies at 77
- Apr 16 Charles G. Finney, American fantasy author (Circus of Dr Lao), dies at 78
- Apr 17 Claude Provost, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
- Apr 17 Mark W. Clark, American general, dies at 87
- Apr 18 Arvi Kivimaa, Finnish writer (Groenende Cross), dies at 79
- Apr 18 Francis De Wolff, British character actor (A Christmas Carol, From Russia With Love), dies at 71
- Apr 18 John Lee Mahin, American screenwriter, dies of emphysema at 81
- Apr 20 Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer (b. 1943)
- Apr 20 Mabel Mercer, British jazz and cabaret singer whose style and phrasing influenced Frank Sinatra ("Fly Me to the Moon"), dies at 84
Ansel Adams (1902-1984)
Apr 22 American landscape photographer and environmentalist (Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980), dies at 82
- Apr 23 (William) "Red" Garland, American jazz pianist (Miles Davis Quintet), dies of a heart attack at 60
- Apr 23 Guus Oster, Dutch stage and screen actor and director (Voorbij, Voorbij; Kiss Me Kate), dies at 68
- Apr 23 Juan Tizol, Puerto Rican jazz trombonist (Duke Ellington), and composer ("Caravan"; "Perdido"), dies at 84
- Apr 25 Richard Benedict, actor (Okinawa), dies at 64 of a heart attack
Count Basie (1904-1984)
Apr 26 Jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader ("One O'Clock Jump"; "April In Paris"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 79
- Apr 26 Barry Gray [John Livesey Eccles], British pianist, ondist, Hammond organ player, film and television composer (Thunderbirds; Space:1999), dies at 75
- Apr 26 Henry Rowland, American actor (Rogue's Regiment), dies at 70
- Apr 26 May McAvoy, American actress (Ben Hur), dies at 82 after a heart attack
- Apr 28 Glen H. Taylor, American senator, dies at 80
- Apr 28 Moses "Whispering" Smith, American blues harmonica player and singer ("A Thousand Miles From Nowhere"; "Hound Dog Twist"), dies at 52
- Apr 28 Piet Kraak, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (33 caps; Stormvogels, Elinkwijk), dies from a stroke at 55
- Apr 28 Silvia Ashton-Warner, New Zealand writer, dies at 76
