Historical Events
Canonization
Apr 3 Pope Francis canonizes François de Laval, first bishop of Quebec, as a Catholic saint
- Apr 4 President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, claims that climate change will lead to battles over water and food within the next five to ten years
- Apr 5 167th Grand National: Leighton Aspell wins aboard Pineau de Re; sixth French-bred horse to win the GN
- Apr 5 Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire picks up the 1,000th win of his MLB career as the Twins score a 7 - 3 victory over the Cleveland Indians
Academy of Country Music Awards
Apr 6 49th Academy of Country Music Awards: George Strait, Jason Aldean, and Miranda Lambert win
Cricket History
Apr 6 ICC Men's Cricket T20 World Cup, Mirpur: Sri Lanka wins their first title with 6 wicket victory over India with 13 balls remaining; Player of the Series: Indian batsman Virat Kohli (319 runs)
- Apr 6 ICC Women's Cricket T20 World Cup, Dhaka: captain Meg Lanning's 44 from 30 balls leads Australia to 106/4; beat England 105/8 to win by 6 wickets (with 29 balls remaining); 3rd consecutive T20 WC
Golf Major
Apr 6 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: 19-year-old Lexi Thompson shoots a bogey-free final round 68 to win her first major title, 3 strokes ahead of Michelle Wie
Election of Interest
Apr 6 Viktor Orbán's Fidesz is re-elected Prime Minister of Hungary
WrestleMania
Apr 6 WrestleMania XXX, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA (75,167): Daniel Bryan defeats Batista and Randy Orton in Triple Threat title match
- Apr 7 76th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Kentucky, 60-54; 2nd time a school has won both men's & women's Div I national titles in same year
- Apr 8 33rd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Notre Dame, 79-58; 2nd time a school has won both men's & women's Div I national titles in same year
Sports History
Apr 8 Mike Babcock wins his 414th career game as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the winningest coach in Red Wings history (passing Jack Adams)
- Apr 9 Joel Embiid declares for the 2014 NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility
- Apr 9 Stuart Parkin is awarded the Millennium Technology Prize for his work on magnetic storage
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Apr 10 "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone premieres in London
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Apr 10 29th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Peter Gabriel; Hall & Oates; KISS; Nirvana; Linda Ronstadt; Cat Stevens; The E Street Band; Brian Epstein; and Andrew Loog Oldham
- Apr 10 88 civilians are killed by barrel bombs from Syrian war planes in Aleppo, Syria
- Apr 10 The Council of Europe suspends Russia's right to vote
- Apr 12 The new drug, ABT-450, with a 90-95% success rate for treating Hepatitis C, is announced
US Masters Golf
Apr 13 78th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Bubba Watson wins his 2nd Masters, 3 shots ahead of runners-up Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth
- Apr 13 Kenyan Wilson Kipsang wins the London Marathon
Boxing Title Fight
Apr 13 Manny Pacquiao defeats Timothy Bradley to regain his WBO welterweight boxing title
Fargo
Apr 15 US TV series "Fargo" created by Noah Hawley, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman premieres on FX
- Apr 16 Real Madrid defeat Barcelona to win its 19th Copa del Rey trophy
- Apr 16 South Korean ferry MV Sewol sinks on route Incheon to Jeju, 304 drown, mostly students. National controversy erupts over rescue efforts and actions of crew and owner.
Event of Interest
Apr 17 Abdelaziz Bouteflika wins a fourth term as President of Algeria
Music Concert
Apr 17 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Bruno Mars, Jennifer Hudson, and Bryn Terfel
- Apr 18 12 Nepalese climbers are killed by an avalanche on Mt Everest
Sports History
Apr 18 Marco van Basten is announced to replace Dick Advocaat as the manager of AZ Alkmaar at the start of the 2014-15 season
- Apr 21 118th Boston Marathon: American Meb Keflezighi men's champion in 2:08:37; Rita Jeptoo of Kenya wins her 2nd women's title in 2:18:57
- Apr 22 David Moyes is sacked as manager of Manchester United
- Apr 23 60 people are killed & 80 are injured after a train crashes in The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Apr 26 Oratorio for chorus evoking Pennsylvania coal-mining life "Anthracite Fields" by composer Julia Wolfe premieres in Philadelphia (Pulitzer Prize for Music 2015) [1]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Apr 27 "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" late-night talk and news show fronted by John Oliver premieres on HBO
Problem
Apr 27 Ariana Grande's first single from her album, "Problem" featuring Iggy Azalea, is released
Film & TV History
Apr 28 Craig Ferguson announces he will leave "The Late Late Show" at the end of 2014
- Apr 30 Masked gunmen and pro-Russian separatists take control of more buildings in eastern Ukraine
Famous Weddings
- Apr 1 Media personality Willard Scott (80) weds Paris Keena in Fort Myers, Florida
- Apr 3 Who's the Boss actor Danny Pintauro (38) weds partner Wil Tabares in Dana Point, California
- Apr 4 TV personality Taylor Armstrong (42) weds attorney John Bluher at the Bel Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades, California
- Apr 11 Actor and painter Titus Welliver (53) weds former model Jose Stemkens at Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas, California
- Apr 12 Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (35) weds actor Josh Dallas (32) in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 12 Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter (34) weds long term girlfriend Lauren Kitt in Santa Barbara, California
- Apr 19 Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor Joe Lo Truglio (43) weds Beth Dover in Santa Barbara, California
- Apr 26 Actor Brian Baumgartner (41) weds Celeste Ackelson in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Joe "Speedo" Frazier, American doo-wop vocalist (Impalas - "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)"), dies at 70
- Apr 2 Urs Widmer, Swiss writer, dies at 75
- Apr 3 Freda Kida, American cartoonist, dies at 93
- Apr 3 Tommy Lynn Sells, American serial killer, executed for murder at 49
- Apr 3 Virginie Korte-van Hemel, Dutch Catholic People's Party (KVP) politician (Council of State, 1992-99; Secretary of Justice, 1982-89), dies at 84
- Apr 4 Margo MacDonald, Scottish national broadcaster and politician (MP for Glasgow Govan 1973-74), dies at 70
- Apr 5 John Pinette, American comedian and actor (The Punisher, Junior), dies from an pulmonary embolism at 50
- Apr 6 Jacques Castérède, French composer and pianist (Pandora's Box), dies at 87
Mickey Rooney (1920-2014)
Apr 6 American Emmy award-winning actor (Boys Town, The Black Stallion), dies at 93
- Apr 7 John Shirley-Quirk, British operatic bass-baritone (Death in Venice), dies at 82
- Apr 7 Peaches Geldof, English columnist and daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, dies of a heroin overdose at 25
- Apr 8 The Ultimate Warrior [James Brian Hellwig], American Hall of Fame professional wrestler, dies from a heart attack at 54
- Apr 9 Bertha Tickey, American softball pitcher (Hall of Fame 1973), dies at 91
- Apr 10 Jim Flaherty, Canadian politician, Minister of Finance (2006-2014), dies at 64
- Apr 10 Richard Hoggart, British author (The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working Class Life) and warden (Goldsmith's College London), dies at 95
- Apr 11 Jesse Winchester, American musician and songwriter, dies from bladder cancer at 69
- Apr 12 Beverly Hanson, American golfer (Western Open 1956; Titleholders C'ship 1958; Women's PGA C'ship 1955), dies of Alzheimer's & COPD at 89
- Apr 12 Fred Ho [Houn], American jazz baritone saxophonist, composer (Year of the Tiger), playwright, writer and social activist, dies of colon cancer at 56
- Apr 12 Hal Smith, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1957, 59, 59²; St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 82
- Apr 14 Armando Peraza, Cuban jazz, Latin jazz, and rock percussionist (George Shearing; Cal Tjader; Santana, 1972-90), dies at about 89 [birth year disputed]
Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014)
Apr 17 Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist (1982 Nobel Prize in Literature), dies of pneumonia at 87
- Apr 18 Brian Priestman, British conductor and teacher, dies at 87
- Apr 20 Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, American boxer (famous murder conviction overturned after 19 years imprisonment), dies of prostate cancer at 76
- Apr 21 George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (helped invent LCD displays), dies at 77
- Apr 21 U Win Tin, Burmese journalist, co-founder of the National League for Democracy and a political prisoner for 14 years, dies of multiorgan failure at 85
- Apr 23 Benjamín Brea, Spanish-Venezuelan jazz saxophonist, arranger and teacher, dies of stomach cancer at 67
- Apr 23 Patric Standford, British composer (Taikayoku; Christus Requiem), dies at 75
- Apr 23 Volker Wangenheim, German conductor and composer (Sinfonia Notturna), dies at 85
- Apr 24 Konstantin Orbelyan, Armenian pianist, jazz and classical composer, and orchestra leader (State Estrada (Pops) Orchestra), dies at 85
- Apr 25 Earl Morrall, American NFL quarterback (Super Bowl 1970, 72, 73; Pro Bowl 1957, 68; First-team All-Pro 1968, 72; NFL MVP 1968; Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins), dies from Parkinson's disease at 79
- Apr 26 Sandro Lopopolo Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960), dies at 74
- Apr 28 Dennis Kamakahi, American Grammy Award-winning slack-key guitarist, dies from lung cancer at 61
- Apr 28 Idris Sardi, Indonesian violinist and composer, noted for his film scores, dies at 75
- Apr 28 Jack Ramsay, American Hall of Fame basketball coach (Portland Trail Blazers, 1977 NBA Champions), dies from cancer at 89
- Apr 28 Richard Kenshaw, British broadcaster, dies at 80
- Apr 29 (Abraham) "Glenn" Osser, American arranger and orchestra leader (Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue; Miss America Pageant), dies at 99
- Apr 29 Bob Hoskins, English actor (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), dies from pneumonia at 71
- Apr 29 Gailene Stock, Australian ballerina, teacher, and dance school director, dies of cancer at 68
- Apr 29 Paul Goddard, American rock bassist (Atlanta Rhythm Section - "So In To You"), dies of cancer at 68
- Apr 30 Leo Kraft, American composer, dies at 91
