Historical Events
Golf Major
Apr 5 ANA Inspiration Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Brittany Lincicome eagles last hole to force a playoff, then beats Stacy Lewis on 3rd extra hole to win her 2nd major title
- Apr 5 Rolling Stone Magazine retracts its "Rape on Campus" story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia after being discredited
- Apr 6 77th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke beats Wisconsin, 68-63; Blue Devils' point guard Tyus Jones, 23 points
- Apr 7 34th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Notre Dame, 63-53; Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis & Moriah Jefferson, 15 points for Huskies
- Apr 11 168th Grand National: Jockey Leighton Aspell wins his second consecutive GN aboard 25/1 shot Many Clouds; owner Trevor Hemmings' 3rd GN victory
Film & TV History
Apr 11 Amy Schumer hosts the 2015 MTV Movie Awards
Meeting of Interest
Apr 11 Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama, the first meeting of US and Cuban heads of state since the Cuban Revolution
US Masters Golf
Apr 12 79th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jordan Spieth leads wire-to-wire to win his 1st major title by 4 strokes from Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose
Event of Interest
Apr 12 Hillary Clinton announces she will run for the Democratic nominee for US President for the 2nd time
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Apr 13 "Avengers: Age of Ultron", directed by Joss Whedon, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner, premieres in Los Angeles, California
- Apr 13 Migrant ship carrying around 550 sinks off the Libyan coast, about 400 drown
- Apr 14 Archaeologists announce they have found at Lomekwi in Kenya 3.3 million-year old stone tools, the oldest ever discovered and which pre-date the earliest humans
Laureus Awards
Apr 15 Laureus World Sports Awards, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai, China: Sportsman: Novak Đoković; Sportswoman: Genzebe Dibaba; Team: German Men's National Football team
Event of Interest
Apr 16 Elizabeth Holmes, American entrepreneur, inventor, and founder and CEO of Theranos, is named one of TIME's "100 Most Influential People" of 2015
Music History
Apr 17 American jazz composer and saxophonist John Coltrane is awarded a posthumous Special Citation by the Pulitzer Prize board
- Apr 17 James Anderson becomes the highest wicket-taking bowler in England's test cricket history
- Apr 17 Marianne Winkler finds "message in a bottle" on the shore of the German island of Amrum; it had been dropped in the North Sea by British marine scientist George Parker Bidder on November 30th, 1906, making its length of time spent adrift 108 years, 138 days
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Apr 18 30th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band; Green Day; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; Lou Reed; Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; Bill Withers; The "5" Royals; and Ringo Starr
Academy of Country Music Awards
Apr 19 50th Academy of Country Music Awards: Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Miranda Lambert win
- Apr 19 Boat carrying approx. 850 migrants is shipwrecked in the Mediterranean between Italian and Libya, with only 27 migrants rescued.
- Apr 20 119th Boston Marathon: Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia wins men's race in 2:09:17; Caroline Rotich of Kenya women's champion in 2:24:55
- Apr 20 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Anthony Doerr's for his novel "All the Light We Cannot See" and to Elizabeth Kolbert for "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History"
Sports History
Apr 23 Kawhi Leonard is named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the first time
Appointment of Interest
Apr 23 Loretta Lynch is confirmed by US Senate vote, 56-43, as the first African-American woman as US Attorney-General, succeeding Eric Holder
- Apr 24 Armenia commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire
Gallipoli: Guts, Glory and Defeat
Apr 25 100 year anniversary of the Gallipoli Peninsula landings in Turkey by ANZAC forces during WWI
- Apr 25 7.8-magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu in Nepal, killing 8000, leaving over 100,000 homeless, destroying many historic sites
London Marathon
Apr 26 35th London Marathon: Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge & Ethiopian Tigist Tufa win
FC Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga
Apr 26 FC Bayern Munich wins the 2014–15 Bundesliga for a 25th time
Election of Interest
Apr 26 Nursultan Nazarbayev is re-elected President of Kazakhstan with 97.7% of the vote
- Apr 29 German Measles is declared eradicated from North and South America - 1st world region to do so
- Apr 29 Indonesia executes 8 prisoners, including 7 foreigners, for drug offences at Besi Prison on the island of Nusakambangan
- Apr 30 MESSENGER spacecraft is intentionally deorbited and destroyed
- Apr 30 NFL Draft: Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Event of Interest
Apr 30 US senator Bernie Sanders announces he will seek the Democratic Party's nomination for President
Music History
Apr 30 Whitney Museum of American Art holds ribbon cutting ceremony with Michelle Obama and NY Mayor Bill de Blasio, for its new building designed by Renzo Piano
Famous Weddings
Andy Murray
Apr 11 Pro tennis player Andy Murray (28) weds Kim Sears at Dunblane Cathedral in Scotland
- Apr 12 Actor David Arquette (43) weds entertainment host Christina McLarty in a quiet ceremony
- Apr 12 Fashion designer Tina Knowles (61) weds actor Richard Lawson (68) in Newport Beach, California
- Apr 25 Heart's lead singer Ann Wilson (64) weds multi-generational community developer Dean Wetter in her manager's California backyard
- Apr 26 "The Vampire Diaries" actor Ian Somerhalder (36) weds Twilight actress Nikki Reed (26) in Malibu, California
Famous Deaths
- Apr 1 Cynthia Lennon (née Powell), first wife of Beatle John Lennon (1962-68), and mother of singer, photographer, activist Julian Lennon, dies of cancer at 75
- Apr 1 Dave Ball, British rock guitarist (Procul Harum), dies of cancer at 65
- Apr 1 Eddie LeBaron, American NFL quarterback (Pro Bowl 1955, 57, 58, 62; Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys), dies at 85
- Apr 1 John Paul Hammerschmidt, American politician (Rep-R-AR, 1967-93), dies at 92
- Apr 2 Doug Sax, American mastering engineer (Bob Dylan, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles), dies of cancer at 78
- Apr 2 Robert Schuller, American Christian televangelist (Glass Cathedral; Hour of Power), dies at 88
- Apr 3 Andrew Porter, British organist, opera director, music critic, and librettist, dies at 86
- Apr 3 Bob Burns, American drummer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a car crash at 64
- Apr 3 Sarah Brady, American gun-control activist, dies at 73
- Apr 4 Elmer Lach, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Stanley Cup 1944, 46, 53 Montreal Canadiens; Hart Trophy 1945; Art Ross Trophy 1948; 5 x NHL All Star), dies of a stroke at 97
- Apr 4 John Read, British businessman, CEO (TSB Group), dies at 97
- Apr 5 Claudio Prieto, Spanish composer (Solo a Solo; Cantata manriqueña), dies at 80
- Apr 5 Richard Dysart, American actor (Leland MacKenzie-LA Law, The Last Days of Patton), dies at 86
- Apr 6 Dave Ulliott, English poker player (World Series of Poker bracelet 1997; World Poker Open 2003), dies of colon cancer at 61
- Apr 6 David Leon Kaplan, American-Canadian music professor (University of Saskatchewan, 1960-82), conductor (Saskatoon Symphony, 1962-72), and composer, dies at 91
- Apr 6 Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 85
- Apr 6 James Best [Jewel Franklin Guy], American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Sounder), dies at 88
- Apr 6 Milton Delugg, American pianist, accordion player, composer ("Hoop-Dee-Do"; "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians"), and orchestra leader (The Tonight Show, 1966; The Paul Winchell Show; The Gong Show), dies at 96 [1]
- Apr 7 Ad de Besten, Dutch poet, dies at 92
- Apr 7 Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (Earl-Flo, Gun Shy), dies at 79
- Apr 7 Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, eldest son of King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, dies at 52
- Apr 7 Stan Freberg, American satirist, ad executive and cartoon voice (Bertie), dies at 88
- Apr 9 Margaret Rule, British archaeologist (Mary Rose Tudor warship), dies at 86
- Apr 9 Pim Lier, Dutch lawyer and illegitimate son of Prince Consort Henry, dies at 96
Richie Benaud (1930-2015)
Apr 10 Australian cricket all-rounder and captain (62 Tests, 3 x 100s, 248 wickets; NSW CA) and broadcaster (9 Network, BBC), dies from skin cancer at 84
Günter Grass (1927-2015)
Apr 13 German writer, playwright (The Tin Drum) and Nobel Prize laureate (1999), dies at 87
- Apr 14 Percy Sledge, American soul singer ("When A Man Loves A Woman"), dies at 73
- Apr 15 Jonathan Crombie, Canadian actor (Anne of Green Gables), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 48
- Apr 16 Martin Quittenton, British rock and blues guitarist (Steamhammer), and songwriter ("Maggie May"; "You Wear It Well"), dies at 69
- Apr 18 Joseph Lechleider, American electrical engineer (invented DSL/high speed internet technology), dies at 82
- Apr 19 Richard Anthony [Btesh], Syrian-French pop singer, and songwriter ("Aranjuez mon amour"; "Amoureux de ma femme"), dies at 77
- Apr 19 Roy Mason [Baron Mason of Barnsley], British defense secretary and Labour MP, dies at 91
- Apr 20 Aharon Lichtenstein, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, dies at 81
- Apr 20 Bob St. Clair, American NFL football player, 1953-63 (San Francisco 49ers), known as "The Geek", dies at 84
- Apr 20 Raymond Carr, English historian and warden (St Antony's College Oxford), dies at 96
- Apr 21 Ian Todd, English surgeon, President of the Royal College of Surgeons (1986-89), dies at 94
- Apr 23 Sawyer Sweeten, American actor (Everyone Loves Raymond), commits suicide at 19
- Apr 26 Jayne Meadows, American actress (Dark Delusion; David and Bathsheba) & wife of Steve Allen, dies of natural causes at 95
- Apr 27 Gene Fullmer, American boxer (World Middleweight title 1957; NBA [WBA] World Middleweight title 1959-62), dies at 83
- Apr 27 Rolf Smedvig, American classical trumpet player (Boston Symphony, 1971-81; Empire Brass, 1972-2015), and educator (Boston University), dies of a heart attack at 62
- Apr 27 Suzanne Crough, American child actress (The Partridge Family), dies at 52
- Apr 28 Jack Ely, American singer and guitarist (The Kingsmen - "Louie, Louie"), dies at 71
- Apr 29 Brian Sedgemore, British MP (Labour Party 1974-79 and 1983-2005), dies at 78
- Apr 29 Calvin Peete, American golfer (12 PGA Tour titles), dies of lung cancer at 71
- Apr 29 Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman and founder of Weight Watchers, dies at 91
- Apr 30 Ben E. King [Nelson], American soul singer (Stand By Me), dies at 76
- Apr 30 Ronald Senator, British composer (Holocaust Requiem), and educator (Musicolor), dies in a house fire at 89
