Historical Events
- Apr 1 9 people are killed by a suicide bombing in Tikrit, Iraq
- Apr 1 The world’s first smelling TV screen is unveiled in Japan
- Apr 2 13 children are killed in a fire in a mosque in Yangon, Burma
- Apr 2 13 people are killed in a quarry accident, in Arusha, Tanzania
- Apr 2 4 more critical cases of bird flu (H7N9) are reported in China
- Apr 2 7 people are killed in an attack on a power plant in Peshawar, Pakistan
- Apr 2 9 mutilated bodies are found in an SUV in Tamaulipas, Mexico
- Apr 2 Eurozone unemployment reaches a high of 12%
- Apr 2 The UN General Assembly approves the first Arms Trade Treaty
- Apr 2 Uruguay passes legislation to legalize same-sex marriage
- Apr 3 24 people are killed after a bus plunges off a cliff in Papua New Guinea
- Apr 3 46 people are killed and 100 are injured by a court-house suicide bombing in Farah, Afghanistan
- Apr 3 50 people are killed by flooding across Argentina
- Apr 4 74 people are killed after an illegally constructed building collapses in Thane, India
- Apr 4 9 people have been killed on an axe-murdering rampage in Chhattisgarh state, India
- Apr 4 Poecilotheria rajaei, a giant tarantula with a 20cm leg span, is discovered in Sri Lanka
- Apr 5 60 people are killed in Nigeria after a bus collides with an oil tanker
- Apr 5 Baltimore outfielder Chris Davis becomes 4th player to homer in first 4 games of a MLB season; 8th-inning grand slam propels Orioles to a 9-5 win over the Twins; his RBI total of 16 a MLB record
- Apr 5 Japan’s Nikkei 225 reaches its highest level in five years
- Apr 6 11 people are killed in an attack on a village in Midlu, Nigeria
- Apr 6 166th Grand National: Ryan Mania wins aboard 66/1 Auroras Encore for trainer Sue Smith
- Apr 6 22 people are killed and 60 are injured by a suicide bombing at an election campaign tent in Baquba, Iraq
Academy of Country Music Awards
Apr 6 48th Academy of Country Music Awards: Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert & Jason Aldean win
Sports History
Apr 6 Bayern Munich win their 23rd German Bundesliga title with 6 games to spare
- Apr 7 15 people, including 9 children, are killed by an air strike on Aleppo by the Syrian Air Force
Golf Major
Apr 7 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Inbee Park wins her 2nd major title, 4 strokes ahead of fellow South Korean So Yeon Ryu; first of Park's 3 straight major victories in 2013
- Apr 7 Sweden wins the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship defeating Canada
WrestleMania
Apr 7 WrestleMania XXVIII, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ (80,676): John Cena defeats The Rock to win his record 11th WWE Championship
- Apr 8 15 people are killed and 53 are wounded by a car bombing in Damascus
- Apr 8 163 people are killed and 50,000 are displaced after tribal violence erupts in Darfur, Sudan
- Apr 8 75th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats Michigan, 82-76; Cardinals' forward Luke Hancock hits 22 points
- Apr 8 Filip Vujanović’s election as President of Montenegro is confirmed by the electoral commission
- Apr 9 12 civilians and UN peacekeepers are killed in an ambush in Jonglei, Sudan
- Apr 9 13 people are killed and 3 are injured from a shooting spree in Velika Ivanča, Serbia
- Apr 9 32nd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Louisville, 93-60; Huskies' 8th National title
- Apr 9 37 people are killed and 850 are injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Iran
- Apr 9 The French Senate approves a bill for same-sex marriage
- Apr 10 Japan and Taiwan sign an agreement on fishing rights around the Senkaku Islands
- Apr 11 14 people are killed in clashes between drug traffickers and police in Michoacán, Mexico
- Apr 11 57 people are killed by the Syrian Army in Daraa Governorate, Syria
- Apr 11 Fossilized dinosaur eggs with embryos are discovered in China
- Apr 11 Two women are beheaded for sorcery in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
- Apr 12 11 people are killed and 30 are injured in mosque attacks across Iraq
- Apr 12 A man-made 32-foot and 60 tonne monument that is dates around 2000 BC is discovered in the Sea of Galilee
- Apr 13 20 civilians are killed by the government bombing of Saraqib, Idlib
- Apr 13 8 people are killed after a bomb explodes on a bus in Peshawar, Pakistan
- Apr 14 11 people are killed and 50 are injured after a hotel fire in Xiangyang, China
- Apr 14 20 people are killed in attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia
- Apr 14 33 people are killed after a bus tumbled off a cliff in Trujillo, Peru
- Apr 14 77th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Adam Scott wins his first major title and becomes first Australian Masters champion with a 2nd hole sudden death playoff win against Ángel Cabrera
Film & TV History
Apr 14 Comedian Kevin Hart is arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in California
Election of Interest
Apr 14 Justin Trudeau, son of long-serving Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, is elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
- Apr 15 117th Boston Marathon: Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia men's winner in 2:10:22; Rita Jeptoo of Kenya wins women's section in 2:26:25
- Apr 15 33 people are killed and 163 are injured in a wave of bombings across Iraq
- Apr 15 Boston Marathon bombings: 3 people are killed and 183 injured after two explosions near the finish line
Election of Interest
Apr 15 Nicolás Maduro is narrowly elected President of Venezuela
- Apr 16 16 people are killed after a gold mine collapses in Kyekyewere, Ghana
- Apr 16 37 people are killed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Khash country, Iran
- Apr 17 15 people are killed and 100 are injured after a fertilizer plant explodes in West, Texas
- Apr 17 5 people are killed in Wana, Pakistan, by a United States drone attack
- Apr 17 North Korea blocks a South Korean supply delegation from the Kaesong joint industrial zone
- Apr 17 Same-sex marriage is legalized in New Zealand
Iron Man 3
Apr 18 "Iron Man 3", directed by Shane Black, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, premieres in London
- Apr 18 27 people are killed and 65 are injured in a cafe bombing in Baghdad, Iraq
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Apr 18 28th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Heart; Albert King; Randy Newman; Public Enemy; Rush; Donna Summer; Quincy Jones; and Lou Adler
- Apr 18 Two earth-like planets are discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62
- Apr 19 Boston bombing suspects killed and captured in Boston after 4 days
- Apr 20 193 people are killed and 11,826 are injured after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Lushan County, China
- Apr 20 5 snowboarders are killed by an avalanche in Loveland Pass, Colorado
- Apr 20 Giorgio Napolitano is re-elected President of Italy
- Apr 21 185 people are killed in a conflict between Islamic extremists and the Nigerian military
- Apr 21 Horacio Cartes is elected President of Paraguay
- Apr 21 Tsegaye Kebede and Priscah Jeptoo win the 2013 London Marathon
- Apr 22 6 people are killed in a shooting rampage in Belgorod, Russia
- Apr 22 Manchester United defeat Aston Villa to claim the 2012/2013 English Premier League
Star Trek Into Darkness
Apr 23 "Star Trek Into Darkness" directed by J. J. Abrams starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Sydney
- Apr 23 21 people are killed during violent unrest in Xinjiang, China
- Apr 23 28 people are killed and 70 are injured during clashes between police and Sunni Muslims in Hawija, Iraq
Event of Interest
Apr 23 A 1% flash crash hits the US stock market after a news agency was hacked and claimed injury to President Obama
- Apr 23 The French National Assembly passes an amended bill legalizing same-sex marriage
Cricket History
Apr 23 West Indian cricketer, Chris Gayle, smashes the fastest century in history in just 30 balls
- Apr 24 33 people are killed and 115 are injured after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes Jalalabad, Afghanistan
- Apr 24 Deadliest structural failure in history when 1,134, mostly garment workers killed and 2,500 injured after the Rana Plaza building collapses in Savar Upazila, Bangladesh
- Apr 25 38 people are killed in a psychiatric hospital fire in Ramensky, Russia
- Apr 25 NFL Draft: Central Michigan offensive tackle Eric Fisher first pick by Kansas City Chiefs
- Apr 25 The United Kingdom reopens its embassy in Somalia after 22 years
- Apr 26 30 people are killed after a bus crashes following a Taliban attack in southern Afghanistan
Music History
Apr 26 Cory Monteith is reported to have completed treatment at a drug rehabilitation facility
- Apr 27 10 people are killed and 25 are injured after a bomb attack in Karachi, Pakistan
- Apr 28 3 people are killed and 14 are injured after a gas explosions causes a building to collapse in Reims, France
- Apr 28 8 people are killed and dozens are injured after Taliban attacks on election candidates in Pakistan
- Apr 29 7 people are killed after a Boeing 747 crashes in Bagram, Afghanistan
- Apr 30 13 people are killed after a bomb explodes in Damascus
- Apr 30 Apple offers the largest bond offering from a private company of 17 Billion
- Apr 30 Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna is declared "The First Superstar of Indian cinema" at the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards
- Apr 30 Hannah Warren, who was born without a trachea, at 2, becomes the youngest patient to receive a stem cell bioengineered organ
Event of Interest
Apr 30 Willem-Alexander becomes the first male Monarch of Netherlands in 123 years, following the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 11 Arrogate, American thoroughbred racehorse (Breeders' Cup Classic, World's Best Racehorse 2016; Pegasus World Cup, Dubai World Cup 2017), born in Clearsky Farms, Kentucky (d. 2020)
Famous Weddings
Jamie Dornan
Apr 27 Irish "Fifty Shades of Grey" actor Jamie Dornan (30) weds English composer Amelia Warner (30)
Michael Jordan
Apr 27 NBA great Michael Jordan (50) weds 2nd wife model Yvette Prieto at Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Basia Johnson (née Barbara Piasecka), Polish-American domestic servant, philanthropist, humanitarian, art collector, and heir to Johnson & Johnson fortune, dies at 76
- Apr 1 Jack Pardee, American College Football Hall of Fame linebacker (Texas A&M; NFL: LA Rams, Washington Redskins) and coach (Houston Oilers), dies at gallbladder cancer at 76
- Apr 1 Nicolae Martinescu, Romanian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold 100kg 1972), dies at 73
- Apr 2 Chuck Fairbanks, American football coach (New England Patriots 1973-78; University of Oklahoma 1967-72, University of Colorado 1979-81), dies from brain cancer at 79
- Apr 2 Fred Othon Aristidès, French comic artist (Philémon), dies at 82
- Apr 2 Jesús Franco, Spanish film director and writer, dies from complications from a stroke at 82
- Apr 2 Milo O'Shea, Irish character actor (Barbarella, Staircase and Mass Appeal, Romeo & Juliet), dies at 86
- Apr 3 Robert Ward, American composer (Pantaloon), dies at 95
- Apr 3 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American novelist and screenwriter, dies from pulmonary failure at 85
- Apr 4 Carmine Infantino, American comic book artist, dies at 87
- Apr 4 Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league hooker (25 Tests [10 as captain]; St. George RLFC) and coach (Australia 5 Tests; St. George, Parramatta), dies at 80
- Apr 4 Roger Ebert, American film critic (Pulitzer Prize 1975), dies of cancer at 70
- Apr 6 Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist, 1944-62, dies at 85
- Apr 7 Andy Johns, British sound engineer and record producer (Humble Pie; Free; Joe Satriani), dies at 62
- Apr 7 John St Aubyn, 4th Baron St Levan, English peer (St Michael's Mount), dies at 94
- Apr 7 Les Blank, American documentary filmmaker, dies at 77
- Apr 7 Marty Blake, NBA executive (GM Atlanta Hawks, NBA Director of Scouting), dies at 86
- Apr 8 Annette Funicello, American actress (Mickey Mouse Club; Beach Blanket Bingo), and singer ("Tall Paul"). dies from multiple sclerosis complications at 70
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)
Apr 8 British Prime Minister (Conservative: 1979-90), dies of a stroke at 87
- Apr 8 Sara Montiel, Spanish actress and singer (The Last Torch Song; The Violet Seller), dies at 85
- Apr 9 David Hayes, American sculptor, dies from leukemia at 82
- Apr 9 Zao Wou-Ki, Chinese French painter (Juin-Octobre 1985), dies at 93
- Apr 10 Jimmy Dawkins, American electric blues musician, dies at 76
- Apr 10 Raymond Boudon, French sociologist, dies at 79
- Apr 10 Robert Edwards, British physiologist, IVF pioneer, and Nobel laureate, dies at 87
- Apr 11 Angela Voigt, German athlete (Olympic gold GDR long jump 1976), dies at 61
- Apr 11 Grady Hatton, American baseball player and manager, dies from natural causes at 90
- Apr 11 Hilary Koprowski, Polish virologist and immunologist, dies at 96
Jonathan Winters (1925-2013)
Apr 11 American comedian (The Jonathan Winters Show, Mork & Mindy), dies from natural causes at 87
Maria Tallchief (1925-2013)
Apr 11 American prima ballerina (The Nutcracker), dies at 88
- Apr 12 Marv Harshman, American College/Basketball HOF coach (Pacific Lutheran, Washington State Uni, Uni of Washington; Pac-10 Coach of the Year 1982, 84), dies at 95
- Apr 12 Michael France, American screenwriter, dies from complications from diabetes at 51
- Apr 12 Robert Byrne, American chess player (FIDE Grandmaster), dies from Parkinson’s disease at 84
- Apr 13 Bernhard Krol, German hornist and composer (Figaro Metamorphoses), dies at 92 [1]
- Apr 13 Chi Cheng, American rock bassist (Deftones, 1990-2008), dies of cardiac arrest after years after never fully recovering from injuries in a car crash at 42
- Apr 13 Frank Bank, American actor (Lumpy-Leave it to Beaver), dies at 71
- Apr 13 Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, dies at 85
- Apr 13 Stephen Dodgson, British composer, dies at 89
- Apr 14 Dennis Moran, American computer hacker, dies from an overdose at 30
- Apr 14 George Jackson, American rhythm & blues, rock, and southern soul songwriter (One Bad Apple; Old Time Rock and Roll), and singer, dies of cancer at 68
- Apr 14 John S Ragin, American actor (Dr Astin-Quincy ME), dies at 83
- Apr 14 Sir Colin Davis, British conductor (Covent Garden, 1970-85; Bavarian Radio Symphony, 1983-93; London Symphony, 1995-2006), dies at 85
- Apr 15 Jean-François Paillard, French conductor, dies at 85
- Apr 15 Jo Roland [Rolando Bonardelli], Swiss pop singer and TV personality (Rendez-vous), known as the 'Swiss Perry Como', dies at 80
- Apr 15 Richard LeParmentier, American actor (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), dies at 66
- Apr 15 Sal Castro, Mexican-American activist, dies from thyroid cancer at 79
- Apr 16 George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer (Billy Graham Crusades, 1947-2013), dies at 104
Pat Summerall (1930-2013)
Apr 16 American NFL player (NY Giants) and CBS sportscaster, dies from cardiac arrest at 82
- Apr 17 Bi Kidude, Tanzanian Taarab singer, dies at c. 100
- Apr 17 Deanna Durbin [Edna Mae Durbin], Canadian actress and vocalist (Every Sunday, Three Smart Girls, 100 Men & a Girl), dies at 91
- Apr 18 Cordell "Boogie" Mosson, American musician (Parliament-Funkadelic collective), dies of liver failure at 60
- Apr 18 Storm Thorgerson, British graphic designer and music video director (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, The Cranberries), dies of cancer at 69
- Apr 19 Al Neuharth, American newspaper founder (USA Today), dies at 89
- Apr 19 Allan Arbus, American commercial photographer, and actor (M*A*S*H - "Dr. Sidney Freeman"; Greaser's Palace; Curb Your Enthusiasm), dies of congestive heart failure at 95
- Apr 19 François Jacob, French biologist and bacteriologist (Nobel 1965), dies at 92
- Apr 19 Mike Denness, English cricket batsman and captain (28 Tests, top score 188), dies from cancer at 72
- Apr 19 Patrick Garland, British director (Doll House), dies at 78
- Apr 20 Howard Phillips, American politician, dies from dementia and Alzheimer's disease at 72
- Apr 20 Nosher Powell, English actor and boxer, dies at 84
- Apr 20 Struther Arnott, Scottish molecular biologist and chemist (cancer research), dies at 78
- Apr 21 Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer- songwriter (Divinyls - "I Touch Myself"), dies of breast cancer at 53
- Apr 21 Jean-Michel Damase, French pianist and composer, dies at 85
- Apr 21 Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, dies at 107
Shakuntala Devi (1929-2013)
Apr 21 Indian writer and mental calculator known as the "Human Computer", stops calculating at 83 due to complications from severe respiratory problems
- Apr 22 Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian Carnatic violinist and composer, dies at 82
- Apr 22 Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist who opened the Woodstock Festival ("Freedom"; "Here Comes The Sun"), dies from a heart attack at 72
- Apr 23 Bob Brozman, American world music guitarist, ethnomusicologist, and educator, commits suicide at 59
- Apr 23 Robert W. Edgar, American businessman and politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th district), dies from a heart attack at 69
- Apr 24 Larry Felser, American sports columnist (Buffalo Courier-Express, The Buffalo Evening News, The Sporting News), dies at 80
- Apr 25 Jacob Avshalomov, Russian-American composer (Symphony of Songs; The Oregon), conductor (Portland Youth Philharmonic, 1954-91), and pedagogue, dies at 94
- Apr 25 Rick Camp, American MLB pitcher, dies of natural causes at 59
- Apr 25 Virginia Gibson, American actress, dies at 88
- Apr 26 George Jones, American country singer-songwriter ("Golden Rings"; "Oh Lonesome Me"), dies from hypoxic respiratory failure at 81
- Apr 26 Jacqueline Brookes, American actress (Jack & Mike, Another World), dies at 82
- Apr 28 János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist, dies at 88
- Apr 28 Lonnie Turner, American rock and blues bassist (Steve Miller Band - "Fly Like An Eagle"), dies of lung cancer at 66
- Apr 29 John La Montaine, American composer, dies at 93
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide