Historical Events
- Apr 1 The Golden State Warriors NBA record winning home run ends at 54 games with a 109-106 defeat to the Boston Celtics; the loss at Oracle Arena was the Warriors’ first since January 2015
Cricket History
Apr 3 ICC Men's Cricket T20 World Cup, Kolkata: West Indies beat England by 4 wickets with 2 balls remaining for their second title; Player of the Series: Indian batsman Virat Kohli (273 runs • 1 wicket)
- Apr 3 ICC Women's Cricket T20 World Cup, Eden Gardens, Kolkata: Hayley Matthews with 66 from 45 balls leads West Indies to 149/2; beat Australia 148/5 by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare
- Apr 3 Panama Papers published - 11.5 million confidential documents from offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca expose widespread illegal activities including fraud, kleptocracy, tax evasion and the violation of international sanctions by the world's elite in the world's largest ever data leak
WrestleMania
Apr 3 WrestleMania XXXII, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX (101,763): Roman Reigns defeats Triple H; The Undertaker beats Shane McMahon in "Hell in a Cell"
- Apr 4 78th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Villanova defeats North Carolina, 77-74; Wildcats guard Phil Booth, 20 points
Sports History
Apr 5 35th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut defeats Syracuse, 82–51; Huskies' power forward Breanna Stewart, 24 points
- Apr 5 Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigns after the Panama Papers leak show a conflict of interest
- Apr 5 PayPal announces it is cancelling a $3.6 million investment in North Carolina after the state passes anti-gay legislation
- Apr 5 San Francisco becomes the first US city to mandate paid parental leave
- Apr 6 First baby born with DNA from 3 parents through mitochondrial transfer in Mexico
- Apr 6 France passes legislation making it illegal to pay for sex
Event of Interest
Apr 6 Protests in Lima, Peru by 30,000 against presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori on 24th anniversary of her father Alberto Fujimori's coup
Election of Interest
Apr 6 US primary elections: Wisconsin won by Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Ted Cruz
- Apr 7 Longest-ever captured python found on Penang Island in Malaysia (26ft/8m)
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Apr 8 31st Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Chicago, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Steve Miller, and N.W.A
- Apr 9 169th Grand National: David Mullins victorious aboard 33/1 Rule The World; wins by 6 lengths from race favourite The Last Samuri
US Masters Golf
Apr 10 80th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: England's Danny Willett wins his first major title, 3 strokes ahead of Lee Westwood and defending champion Jordan Spieth
- Apr 10 Explosions and a fire caused by fireworks at Puttingal Temple in Kerala, India, kills more than 100 and injures nearly 400
Event of Interest
Apr 10 Hong Kong pro-democracy political party Demosistō established by Nathan Law, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow
- Apr 11 UN-backed ceasefire comes into effect in Yemen conflict between Iranian-backed Houthis rebels and government forces
- Apr 11 Updated "Tree of Life" published in "Nature Microbiology" by scientists from Berkeley University in California
Event of Interest
Apr 12 Breakthrough Starshot: Scientists and internet entrepreneurs, including Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg, announce interstellar project to send robot spacecraft to Alpha Centauri
- Apr 18 120th Boston Marathon: Ethiopian double; Lemi Berhanu Hayle wins men's section in 2:12:45; Atsede Baysa takes women's event in 2:29:19
Sports History
Apr 18 Kawhi Leonard wins the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year
Laureus Awards
Apr 18 Laureus World Sports Awards, Palais am Funkturm, Berlin, Germany: Sportsman: Novak Đoković; Sportswoman: Sernea Williams; Team: New Zealand Men's National Rugby Union team
Event of Interest
Apr 21 US President Barack Obama begins a 4 day visit to the UK with Michelle Obama
- Apr 22 Paris Agreement on climate change signed in New York binding 195 nations to an increase in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C
- Apr 26 CEO of Chobani, Hamdi Ulukaya, announces that he will be giving his employees 10% of the shares in Chobani
- Apr 28 George Wolfe's musical "Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed", based on Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's original revue, and featuring Audra MacDonald and Billy Porter, opens at the Music Box Theatre, NYC; runs for 100 performances
- Apr 28 NFL Draft: Cal quarterback Jared Goff first pick by Los Angeles Rams
- Apr 29 "H.O.L.Y" single released by Florida Georgia Line (Billboard Song of the Year, 2016)
- Apr 29 Canadian musician Drake releases "Views", his 4th studio album
- Apr 29 Iranian run-off elections give moderates and reforms a majority in parliament
Famous Weddings
Famous Deaths
- Apr 2 Gato Barbieri, Argentinian Latin jazz musician (Last Tango in Paris), dies at 83
- Apr 3 Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer, 1954-67 (AC Milan and 2 other teams), and manager, 1967-1999 (6 teams), dies at 84
- Apr 3 Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer and musician (Terminal Choice; Finian's Rainbow), dies at 84
- Apr 3 Erik Bauersfeld, American voice actor (Star Wars' Admiral Ackbar "Its a trap"), dies at 93
- Apr 3 Joseph Medicine Crow, Native American chief and historian, dies at 102
- Apr 3 Lars Gustafsson, Swedish poet and novelist (The Death of a Beekeeper, The Cracks in the Wall), dies at 79
- Apr 4 (Dorothy) "Dottie" Schwartz (née Hummitzsch), American barbershop quartet vocalist (The Chordettes, 1946-52), dies at 89
- Apr 4 Carlo Mastrangelo, Italian-American rocker (Dion & The Belmonts), dies of cancer at 78
- Apr 4 Chus Lampreave [María Jesús Lampreave Pérez], Spanish actress (Volver, Belle Époque), dies at 85
- Apr 5 Leon Haywood, American funk and soul singer, and keyboardist ("It's Got To Be Mellow"; "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You"), dies at 74
- Apr 6 Dennis Davis, American jazz, rock and funk drummer (Roy Ayers; David Bowie, 1975-80; Stevie Wonder), dies of cancer at 66
Merle Haggard (1937-2016)
Apr 6 American country singer-songwriter ("Mama Tried"; "If We Make It Through December"; "Okie from Muskogee"), dies on his 79th birthday
- Apr 7 Marcel Dubé, Canadian playwright (Zone), and French language advocate, dies at 86
- Apr 10 Howard Marks, British drug dealer and author (Mr Nice), dies at 70
- Apr 11 Emile Ford, Caribbean-born British singer and engineer (first black male singer to top UK charts), dies at 78
- Apr 12 Alan Loveday, New Zealand and British violinist, dies at 88
- Apr 12 Anne Jackson, American stage actress (Twice Around the Park), dies at 90
- Apr 12 Arnold Wesker, British playwright (Chips with Everything), dies at 83
- Apr 12 David Gest, American television producer, dies at 62
- Apr 13 Jeremy Steig, American jazz flutist ("Howlin' for Judy"; "Wayfaring Stranger"), dies of cancer at 73
- Apr 13 Ray Thornton, American politician (Democratic U.S. Representative for Arkansas), dies at 87
- Apr 16 Charlie Hodge, French Canadian goalkeeper (Montreal Canadians), dies at 82
- Apr 16 Peter Tolson, English rock guitarist (Pretty Things), dies at 64
Doris Roberts (1925-2016)
Apr 17 American actress (Everybody Loves Raymond), dies at 90
- Apr 17 Warren Davis, American doo-wop singer (The Monotones - "The Book of Love"), dies at 77
- Apr 18 Brian Asawa, Japanese-American countertenor, dies of liver failure at 49
- Apr 18 [Julia Liane] Aleah Stanbridge, South African metal musician (Trees of Eternity), dies of cancer at 39
- Apr 19 Milt Pappas, American baseball pitcher, (3-time MLB All Star), dies at 76
- Apr 19 Patricio Aylwin, Chilean lawyer, politician and President of Chile (1990-94), dies at 97
- Apr 19 Walter Kohn, Austrian-born American scientist (Nobel Prize Chemistry 1998), dies at 93
- Apr 20 Chyna [Joanie Laurer], American professional wrestler and reality TV star, dies at 46
- Apr 20 Guy Hamilton, British director (Goldfinger), dies at 93
- Apr 20 Victoria Wood, British comedian and actress, dies of cancer at 62
- Apr 21 Lonnie Mack, American rocker ("Baby What's Wrong"), dies at 74
- Apr 21 Peter Ruckman, American Baptist minister and founder of Pensacola Bible Institute in Pensacola, dies at 94
Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016)
Apr 21 American funk, rock, R&B singer-songwriter and musician ("1999"; "Purple Rain"), dies from an accidental overdose of painkillers at 57
- Apr 22 Isabelle Dinoire, French recipient of world's 1st partial face transplant, dies from surgical complications at 49
- Apr 22 Madeleine Sherwood, Canadian actress (Mother Superior - Flying Nun), dies at 93
- Apr 23 Banharn Silpa-archa, Prime Minister of Thailand (1995-96), dies at 83
- Apr 24 Billy Paul [Paul Williams], American soul singer ("Me & Mrs Jones"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 81
- Apr 24 Jan Henrik Kayser, Norwegian concert pianist (Grieg Prize, 1978), dies at 83
- Apr 24 Papa Wemba [Wembadio Kikumba], Congolese singer, known as the "King of Rumba Rock", dies after collapsing on stage at 66
- Apr 24 Tommy Kono, American weightlifter (Olympic gold 67.5kg 1952, 82.5kg 1956; silver 75kg 1960; World C'ship gold x 6), dies at 85
- Apr 25 Mei Baojiu, Chinese opera performer and director (Mei Lanfang Peking Opera), dies at 82
- Apr 28 Barry Howard, British comic actor (Hi-de-Hi!), dies of blood cancer at 78
- Apr 28 Conrad Burns, American politician (Senate-R-Montana 1989-2007), dies at 81
- Apr 28 Jenny Diski, English writer (Stranger on a Train), dies of cancer at 68
- Apr 29 Dmytro Hnatyuk, Ukrainian baritone (1951-88), opera director State Opera, 1975-88), and parliamentarian, dies at 91
- Apr 30 Daniel Berrigan, American Jesuit priest and peace activist (Vietnam War), dies at 94
- Apr 30 Marisol (Maria Sol) Escobar, Venezuelan sculptor, dies at 85
- Apr 30 Phil Ryan, Welsh keyboardist and composer (Man; Pete Brown), dies at 69
