Historical Events
Stop to Love
Apr 1 "Stop to Love" compilation album by Luther Vandross is released
- Apr 1 64th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Maryland beats Indiana, 64-52; Terrapins' first title in first title game
- Apr 1 The Netherlands legalizes euthanasia, becoming the first nation in the world to do so.
- Apr 2 Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.
- Apr 4 The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War
- Apr 6 155th Grand National: 8-year-old 20/1 shot Bindaree, ridden by Jim Culloty and trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies wins by 1¾ lengths from What's Up Boys
- Apr 6 France beats Ireland 44-5 at Stade de France, Saint Denis to complete a Grand Slam and win the Six Nations Rugby Championship; their 13th title
Event of Interest
Apr 9 Funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey UK. More than a million people line the streets
Coup d'état
Apr 11 An attempted coup d'état takes place in Venezuela against President Hugo Chávez.
- Apr 11 The Ghriba synagogue bombing by Al Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia
- Apr 12 Palestinian suicide bomber (female) kills 7 and injures 104 (among them 9 Arabs) at the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem.
- Apr 12 Pedro Carmona becomes interim President of Venezuela during the military coup against Hugo Chávez.
- Apr 13 Pedro Carmona, interim president of Venezuela, resigns one day after taking office
Music Concert
Apr 13 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Nina Simone, Smokey Robinson, Lulu, Patti Labelle, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, Wynonna Judd, and Rebecca Del Rio
US Masters Golf
Apr 14 66th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Tiger Woods becomes the 3rd player to claim back-to-back Masters, 3 strokes ahead of Retief Goosen of South Africa
- Apr 14 Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military
- Apr 15 106th Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Rodgers Rop claims men's event in 2:09:02; Margaret Okayo women's winner in 2:20:43
- Apr 15 An Air China Boeing 767-200, flight CA129 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Busan, South Korea, killing 128.
- Apr 17 Four Canadian Forces soldiers are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two United States Air Force F-16s, the first deaths in a combat zone for Canada since the Korean War
- Apr 20 NFL Draft: Fresno State quarterback David Carr #1 pick by Houston Texans
- Apr 21 48th British Academy Television Awards: "The Sketch Show" Best Comedy, "Cold Feet" Best Drama
Meeting of Interest
Apr 23 Pope John Paul II meets with U.S. Catholic Church leaders at Vatican regarding sexual abuse of minors
- Apr 26 Robert Steinhäuser infiltrates and kills 17 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
- Apr 27 The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10
- Apr 28 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Superstition Mountain G&CC: Jim Thorpe wins his lone career major title with birdie on first playoff hole against John Jacobs
- Apr 29 The United States is re-elected to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, one year after losing the seat it had held for 50 years
Important Vote
Apr 30 A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 2 Emma Myers, American actress (Enid in Wednesday), born in Orlando, Florida
- Apr 8 Skai Jackson, American actress (Jessie) and author, born in New York City
- Apr 11 Alexa Gerasimovich, American actress (World Trade Center), born in New York City
- Apr 16 Sadie Sink, American actress (Stranger Things), born in Brenham, Texas
- Apr 19 Loren Gray, American singer and TikTok star, born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Famous Weddings
- Apr 13 "Law & Order" actor Benjamin Bratt (38) weds actress-model Talisa Soto (35) in San Francisco, California
Mark McGwire
Apr 20 MLB player Mark McGwire (38) weds Stephanie Slemer (26) in Las Vegas, Nevada
Carl Yastrzemski
Apr 20 Retired MLB outfielder Carl Yastrzemski (62) weds Nancy Benson
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Simo Hayha, Finnish marksman (b. 1905)
- Apr 2 Henry Slesar, American writer and playwright (The Edge of Night), dies at 74
- Apr 2 Jack Kruschen, Canadian character actor (The Apartment, Busting Loose), dies at 80
- Apr 2 John Pierce, American engineer (1st communications satellite Telstar 1), dies at 92
- Apr 3 Fad Gadget [Francis Tovey], English singer and musician, dies of a heart attack at 45
- Apr 4 Harry L. O'Connor, Czech film stuntman
- Apr 5 Layne Staley, American rock singer and guitarist (Alice in Chains - Dirt), dies at 34
- Apr 7 John Agar, American actor (Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache), dies at 81
- Apr 8 María Félix, Mexican actress (Doña Bárbara), dies at 88
- Apr 9 Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b. 1891)
- Apr 9 Pat Flaherty, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1956), dies from cancer at 76
- Apr 13 Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racecar driver, dies at 73
- Apr 14 Buck Baker, American auto racer (Grand National Series Champion 1956. 57; NASCAR Speedway Div Champion 1952), dies at 83
- Apr 15 Byron "Whizzer" White, American football player and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, dies at 84
- Apr 15 Damon Francis Knight, American sci-fi author (CV, Beyond the Barrier), dies at 79
- Apr 15 William Leonard "Will" Reed, British pianist and composer, dies at 91
- Apr 16 Robert Urich, American actor (Spenser: For Hire), dies of cancer at 55
- Apr 16 Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (Ruth's Chris Steak House in Louisiana), dies at 75
Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002)
Apr 18 Norwegian anthropologist and explorer (Kon Tiki, Aku-Aku), dies of a brain tumor at 87
- Apr 25 Michael Bryant, British actor (Sakharov, Girly), dies at 74
- Apr 26 Del Sharbutt, American radio and TV announcer (Your Hit Parade), dies at 90
- Apr 26 Robert Steinhäuser, German spree killer, dies at 19
- Apr 27 George Alec Effinger, American author, dies at 55
- Apr 27 Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Dutch-Swiss industrialist, dies at 81
- Apr 27 Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (invented the Barbie doll), dies of cancer at 85
- Apr 28 Alexander Lebed, Russian general, dies at 52
Lou Thesz (1916-2002)
Apr 28 American professional wrestler, dies at 86
- Apr 29 Bob Akin, American industrialist and race car driver (b. 1936)
- Apr 29 Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist, dies at 100
- Apr 29 Lor Tok [Sawong Supsamruay], Thai comedian and actor (Ngern, Ngern, Ngern), dies at 88
- Apr 30 Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, founder of the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf. (b. 1928)
- Apr 30 Leslie Melville, Australian economist and public servant who helped develop the country's central banking system, dies at 100
